Chapter 4453 — How to Challenge
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"There are two sides to it: the on-field matchup is one, and the off-field scheming is the other. In a sense, the latter may be even more important than the former, because the former is merely tactics, while the latter is strategy." Wei Zhao, setting aside all further prevarication, took it upon himself to lay it out for them.
The crowd looked at one another. Some nodded with the vaguest glimmer of understanding; others were utterly lost, with no idea at all what Wei Zhao was talking about.
"Brother Ling means that making good use of those two challenge rights and two for-rights is what matters most?" Qi Wenmo grasped the point at a single word.
"Exactly. The off-field scheming determines the whole grand picture. If those four opportunities can be used well, we'll get twice the result with half the effort and seize the initiative; otherwise we'll be in some trouble," Wei Zhao nodded.
Only then did the rest belatedly understand. The championship rules stated only that each agency had two challenge rights and two for-rights, but placed no restriction whatsoever on who could issue a challenge first, or whom one might challenge—meaning all of it was left to each agency to decide for itself.
That made the waters very deep indeed. For their own Qingtian Escort Agency, there was nothing much to be said about the two for-rights—they could only respond passively, with little room for choice. But how exactly to use those two challenge rights would require careful deliberation.
"Whom do we challenge? And when do we issue the challenge?" Qi Wenmo immediately seized on the crux of the matter.
"Correct. Handle those two key questions well, and everything else will naturally fall into place," Wei Zhao said approvingly.
Qi Wenmo sank into thought. The two questions looked simple enough; following his own line of thinking, there were only two strategies—one conservative, one aggressive.
Take the conservative path, and naturally one picks the softest persimmons: challenge only those weak, small agencies. With the Qingtian Escort Agency's strength, two victories could be all but assured. As for the remaining two for-rights, all they need do is go all out—win whatever they could, one bout at a time.
That way, with two victories already banked as a cushion, even if both later matches were lost outright, they could at least guarantee no loss of points in this round of the championship.
And thanks to the enormous lead accumulated over the previous four rounds, even if the second-place Shenfeng Escort Agency won all four of their matches, they would gain at most six hundred and seventy points—just enough to draw level with the Qingtian Escort Agency. In other words, the worst possible outcome after five rounds would be a tie for first with Shenfeng—nothing they couldn't accept.
That was the most conservative strategy. Beyond it there was another, more aggressive approach: instead of challenging small agencies, go straight after the great houses that posed a threat to them—Shenfeng Escort Agency, ranked second, for instance. Win that, and they would be firmly and indisputably in sole possession of the top seat, no suspense left at all.
Of course, every advantage brings its drawback. Should such a move fail, they would bear the risk of being overtaken in points by the great houses—not only failing to hold first place, but even struggling to cling to second or third. (To be continued...)