- I believe there is no need to introduce anybody here - said Adam, as they came close enough.

- What's going on? - asked Boris.

- We came to strategize, obviously - said the Asian man in perfect English.

- We were in the middle of that - said Nobuo.

- Good that you completely ignored us, and decided to do it by yourselves - said Edward, not hiding the sarcasm.

- This already sounds like fun. I wonder how many more seconds before you guys start fighting - said Gavriil with a nasty smile on his face.

- There is no need to start fighting. I do understand the tension because of the situation we are in, but let's cooperate. We all are in this together, so fighting among ourselves is not an option. Instead of trying to insult one another, or trying to antagonize each other, let's put that effort into finding the best strategy - Adam spoke again.

He fixed his glasses, as he was talking, which made him look even more intelligent than the words h spoke.

- We were just discussing that the first person to go shouldn't be the strongest, nor the weakest, to determine the capabilities of our opponents, and not die in the process - said Nobuo. - This might be a long class, as there is plenty of us, and from what we know, they could put way bigger forces to face us, so we might have to manage ourselves to not get wether down by numbers.

- But you are giving up when you leave the arena. Didn't they say that? - asked Paulo.historical

He was a huge dude, but not as big as Martin. Still pretty tall, since he easily had two meters, and his frame was incredible. The clothes looked tight on him. He had short black hair and a trimmed beard that was making him look handsome.

- A participant leaving the arena is considered him giving up - suddenly an artificial voice spoke out of the blue, and a blue human head appeared in the holoprojection in the middle of the room.

This caught everybody's attention, and people just became silent to listen.

- What about our weapons, and other equipment? - asked somebody from the crow of hunters.

- Everything is waiting for you in the armory room. You can find it after leaving the waiting room - informed the AI.

- So now we know - mumbled Boris.

- If that is the case, maybe we should start with the strongest people? We can stand much longer than the rest, and wether down their numbers, while resting in between fights - said Will. - There is no point in sending out the weakest, to just get injured or even die.

- He is right - agreed Edward.

- What do you think, Tai? - Adam asked the Asian man.

- I think that the previous proposition of starting with somebody in the middle is the better idea. We will at least know what we are dealing with. If we send somebody strong, and they will have to deal with weaklings, they will drop their guard down, which might end badly. On the other hand, if you stay alert for several battles, and avoid the surprise, you still get wethered down mentally.

- I agree with Tai-san - said Nobuo.

- Or we could send a monster, and watch the cry their eyes out - said Gavriil looking straight at me with a nasty grin on his face.

This caused everybody else to also look at me. I responded by showing him a middle finger.

- I meant it as a complement - added Semenov, not losing his smile.

- Actually, I think Gavriil should go first - said Boris. - He has the soldiers that could fight for him, and take down plenty of the enemies. Not to mention we would still keep Peter as our hidden card.

- I don't have a problem with that. I'll slaughter them like pigs. - He said and licked his lips making a nasty slurping sound. - They will shit themselves out of fear. I will destroy their morale.

- It's actually not a bad idea - Adam pointed out. - Quite safe, and the undead don't get tired, so if they will send some weaklings to take us down with numbers, they will hit a wall.

Tai nodded, showing that he is also on board, and then added:

- We will have enough time to observe them too and decide who should go next.

- So everybody agrees? - asked Will.

Nobody answered him, as the holoprojection shimmered, and showed us this time a bunch of aliens rushing towards the middle of the arena. They assembled in a formation, and one of them stepped forward, then spoke in a language we couldn't understand.

- I guess it started - said somebody from the hunters.

Then the whole group started singing and dancing in quite a strange manner. Wiggling their bodies to the strange electronic sounds. It went on for a few minutes. Then they all bowed and left, to make space for a group of the royal guards we already saw at the entrance to the royal district.

They also assembled a formation, then saluted with their fists, and one of them went forward to speak. We couldn't understand him either.

After they left the arena, the head of familiar to us alien, Ashal Kal Anur, appeared above the sand. He also had a short speech, and after his projection vanished, it was switched with the human head of the AI.

- Please prepare for the first battle - it informed u.

We all immediately looked at Gavriil, who smiled.

- I'll give them hell for you guys - he said and blew a kiss towards me, which made me raise my eyebrows.

He left towards the door leading outside the room, opposite the entrance we used to get to the waiting area. It slid open, revealing a place filled with equipment. Some of it was quite familiar to me. Especially the giant morgenstern that belonged to Martin.

Semenov went in, and the door closed. I immediately felt a slight tingling in my stomach. The anxiety before the fight.

People started to gather around the holoprojection that was now displaying the arena, and completely blocking the view for those who didn't want to stand around it.

Adam took it on himself, to tell everybody to not block the view, and just sit comfortably further away.