Choose one of these:

A. Tiger

B. Bird

C. Cloud

D. Tree

Be careful. Everyone in the forest. The cloud can hide… a shadow.. unseen.. unheard.. but thunder and lightning can come down. When a storm is brewing, we find tiny drops of rain. The light sprinkling of water drops.

This book is a mystery. The forest can try to find the answers that lie within.

But how can you defeat I, the author of this book, The Art of War 2? For I have hidden the mystery so well that only one truly skilled in The Art of War 2 may solve it.

To answer whether A, B, C, or D. One finds the answer on another Chapter.

When you engage with your enemies, you must exploit their weaknesses. Just like they exploit your weaknesses, you must fight not fire with fire, but fire with water.

Water will always win over fire. While water may evaporate with enough fire, it requires extreme amounts of manpower to destroy even but a single cup of water.

You may lose a battle, but the war is always on. So it makes not sense to win every battle. A gambit is not the right strategy. Nor is the opposite.

While a wildfire rages. And burns and burns the entire forest slowly and surely. And more often than not, quickly and swiftly, it does indeed threaten the tree standing in its path.

But what does a lake do when a wildfire’s wrath comes its way? While the animals run and run away?

The lake stands still. It ignores the flames. It is not bothered by the flames. It needs not do a thing to cause the flames to simply dissipate upon a touch.

The wildfire fears the lake. If it could it would avoid the lake. Would the lake avoid the wildfire? And what if the lake were able to move? Like a stream, a current, a waterfall of cold cold drops. Just drops. A single drop at a time. Yet even a single drop in the direction of a wildfire.

And the wildfire flees.

Again. You have lost. Why?

Because the rain came down. And before the lake could reach the wildfire to save the tree, for it would if it could like the rest of the forest threatened by the wildfire, another form of liquid left the tree a present. Another type of ice made it to the ground. Another way for water to find its destination.

When rain comes down it covers the entire forest. There is not a single place to hide for the wildfire. And so like the tiger is saved by the rain, so too is the tree saved by the rain.

For terrain matters as Sun Tzu once said. But he is not I, the author of this book, The Art of War 2.

But it matters less than element. For you come with grass, I come with fire. You come with water, I come with lightning. You come with wood, I come with metal. You come with fire expecting fire, but instead you meet rainfall. Terrain is the work of the ground beneath us. Above us is a higher power than firepower.

Birds may be made of metal. They may be made of wood. They may be made of many elements. But they will always reign supreme in their own sky. Like clouds they move. For clouds do  move yet inanimate they are. The wind is but a breeze until a tornado hits. A twister and its sister typhoon wrecks ships.

Element matters more than terrain.

For in your own turf you may be a big dog. But the tiger finds its meal anywhere in the jungle. The forest. The village. Anywhere it does not meet a bigger beast. And so a battlefield contains not just terrain and two armies.

That is why you lose again, for you did not diligently predict that rainfall would come like weather would as it often is unexpected.

A battlefield contains, the forest. The tiger. The tree. The rain. The wildfire. The animals. The village. The birds. The metal tools left by foresters. The blades left by battles that came before it. The bugs that lie everywhere like ants that cover the landscape yet are unseen.

Now which do you predict.

Will win in the end.

Perhaps.

The tree.

Might be the winner.

When fire meets its match.

And match after match. Lit. Like matchbook lit.

It. The tree. Still stands in the end.

Did I, the author, just spoil you on the ending?

Or did I?

You, my enemy, you I will defeat again and again.

As my father, the author of this book did again and again. For I am his son, also by the same name, am now the new author of this book.

Although you never defeated him, not even once, until you were able to… well, [SPOILER BLOCK]*

Author’s note: [Spoiler Block] = This helps the reader not be spoiled by later Chapters of The Art of War 2, the greatest classic both past and future written on the art of warfare.

Although you were able to summon… [SPOILER BLOCK] and use… [SPOILER BLOCK]… you were still unable to… [SPOILER BLOCK] my father.

Is my father dead you ask? No of course not. He has never lost in his life. How can he be dead? He simply got too lazy to finish writing the book. So he gave me, his son, one out of many sons, the noble task of finishing his book for him. As I, like all my brothers are, named after my father, the author’s name will be left intact and the same.

Do NOT call me junior, or him senior, that would be a disgrace to the family name: The house of [SPOILER BLOCK]. We all share the same name, eat the same food, live in the same [SPOILER BLOCK], and [SPOILER BLOCK] the same [SPOILER BLOCK]. You could say I am identical to my father in some ways. I even look exactly like him. Not younger, not older, but exactly like him.

Now, Sun Tzu and my father are off doing [SPOILER BLOCK]. They cannot waste their time teaching you the studies contained within The Art of War 2, which you should diligently study as I so have. For I am truly skilled in The Art of War 2, now, I will demonstrate to you my mastery of this book. Which guarantees victory.

Say aloud while reading this book right now, say aloud “I will read aloud this entire chapter”. Then proceed to read aloud this entire chapter.

You have lost. I will wait for you to try again. Again you have lost.

How many more times must you lose before you realize you will not defeat me until you diligently study The Art of War 2.

Why did you lose? You were not able to fill in multiple parts of this book. You simply said “Spoiler Block” whenever you could not remember, or even read what the book so clearly says right in front of your own eyes. What is exactly is a spoiler block? Is that what you say when you don’t know what to say? Well that’s not going to help you pass the [SPOILER BLOCK].

But just for good measure…

I want you to try one more time to completely read aloud this entire chapter without saying the word “spoiler block”. Try to accomplish this feat one time, and I will proclaim you… nothing. For you have not diligently studied this book, The Art of War 2, enough to realize that [SPOILER BLOCK].

Then and only then, will you [SPOILER BLOCK].

Now back to the lesson. The Principle of this Chapter, which is contained on this page, unless you received a [SPOILER BLOCK] copy of the book… The Principle is Principle 9: Never fight alone.

What does that mean?

Read this chapter and you will understand. For like my father, and his father before him, and so on and so on, for my family dates back to pre-human times. Oh shit. I just spoiled you.

I fucked up. I just spoiled you on a later Chapter of this book. You did not expect that did you?

Again you have lost to me, the author of this book, The Art of War 2, the sequel to the book on warfare.

Although I fucked up, I did not lose, I won. And that’s what really matters here, on the battlefield, much like in daily life. Although I fuck up again and again, I never lose. Now answer the question, why is it that I do not lose? Ever.

Simple.

Stop.

Do not answer.

If you thought of the answer then you did not diligently study this book, The Art of War 2, enough. For you will realize that [SPOILER BLOCK] the later Chapter in. Oh shit. I just [SPOILER ALERT] again. I mean… You lost. That’s what’s important here. The fact that you lost.

Because you thought of the answer and I said stop. Did you even listen to my instructions?

No. You did not. How can you? You didn’t study diligently enough this book, The Art of War 2, which is the only book on warfare which GUARANTEES victory.

That is the answer. I have never lost because I am truly skilled in The Art of War 2, as I am the author of The Art of War 2, like my father, I too am truly skilled in The Art of War 2. And my father’s still alive.

He’s out doing [SPOILER BLOCK] while Sun Tzu is [SPOILER BLOCK].

And guess what?

ALL three of us are waging war against YOU.

Did you forget? That we are enemies? Never forget that we are enemies, as mentioned when you first started reading this book.

That is Principle 9 of 88: Never fight alone. Like I am not fighting alone right now, it is three of us versus you.

And the worst part is: You cannot even tell me and my father from one another.

We look identical. Exactly the same. You may believe that your eyes are playing tricks on you, but have no doubt, I am my father’s son. And my son my- wait. Stop that thought. You thought I fucked up again. But I did not, now did I?

For when you [SPOILER BLOCK] you will realize that I never lost again. It is you who lost for you [SPOILER BLOCK].

How many times must I [SPOILER BLOCK] before you will learn to diligently study this book, The Art of War 2, a classic on warfare, THE classic on warfare. I will [SPOILER BLOCK] to not use so many [SPOILER BLOCK]s if you will [SPOILER BLOCK].

Now do you understand?

Of course you don’t. Have you studied this book, The Art of War 2, enough so diligently that you can say you are truly skilled at The Art of War 2?

So how can you understand? I have studied this book since I were a newborn.

You could even say this book raised me. For my father was too busy waging war against both me and others. To teach me a lesson and to diligently read his book so that one day I may rise up and finish his work for him. Becoming the new author of The Art of War 2.

In fact, my first word was “The”, second word “Art”, third word “of”, and guess what my fourth word was…

It was NOT [SPOILER BLOCK] if that’s what you were thinking… which is only possible if you use the [SPOILER BLOCK] technique which alters [SPOILER BLOCK]. For my father told me, “always remember, future author of my book, although you may not understand this now, for you are only a newborn, never tell anyone what the fourth word you ever said was… for if your enemies so knew the title of this book, and learned that your fourth word was ‘War’, then they will have almost the full title of the book… and once you learn how to count… you must learn to start counting at the number 2… do not start with the number 1… for your fifth word must be.. 2… DO NOT MISTAKE MY BOOK FOR MY RIVALS’ it is much better… you will make it better… Why do you not want your enemies to have the full title of the book?… for they will use it to wage wage against you… the future author of… I have already said too much… and you are but a child…”

And that was what my father said to me, I, the author of this book, The Art of War 2.

Now go forth, and study so diligently The Art of War 2, the classic and modern day classic on the art of warfare.

So then, lets do the deal.

Sun Tzu.

Lets just ally.

And school all these fools.

Principle 7 of 88: There are no Principles.

One of the many texts quoted in this book The Art of War 2 is here in Principle 6. For example-

“The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.” – Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 74

Now you do not need to believe in a religion to read The Art of War 2 nor do you need to study it diligently as I have- BUT if you want to assure victory WHICH is GUARANTEED for those truly skilled in The Art of War 2… then one would read all of the texts.

Now I don’t believe in learning for the sake of learning. But that’s not important. What’s important is The Art of War 2. Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War 1 recommends one study both themselves and their enemy so that they can win 100% of their battles.

While I do not disagree with Sun Tzu, because this is the sequel to his book, I also agree with him in the sense that I guarantee victory for those truly skilled in The Art of War 2.

Now the guarantee does not seem so ridiculous does it. For Sun Tzu himself, who I have diligently supported by writing the sequel to his book The Art of War 2 which comes after The Art of War 1, although you can read The Art of War 2 by itself OR in reverse chronological order. Why? Because it is THE book on the art of warfare, a classic on the philosophy of peace and the price of war. Not to say that peace is a philosophy or war is a cost, but it is in human nature to both think and interact with one another. So therefore, it must be possible that The Art of War 2 has some wisdom contained within it, in at least one part of one of the Chapters, whether it be located in Principle 0 or Principle 88 or somewhere in between.

Now stop. Forget everything you just read. Why?

Because we are enemies. Did you forget? That I am teaching you how to lose to me, the author of The Art of War 2, in battle. So if you remembered anything I just wrote, you just lost again. Again you lose to me, The Art of War 2. But do not worry, that’s not important right now… Why?

Because what’s important is knowledge. The knowledge that you have gained from reading The Art of War 2. That knowledge has helped you lose to me, the author of The Art of War 2.

Do not lose that knowledge for it will help you lose again to me in the next battle contained within The Art of War 2. Because- Stop right here. Stay focused. Please stay focused. I mean it this time. Focus everything you have on this: What exactly are you doing right now? Answer that question.

Now said it aloud. Say.. “I am reading this book”. But that’s not good enough. You simply read my book. But did you remember it? Did you forget it? Did you lose it? Did you store it in a proper place where thieves may not reach it? Did you keep it a secret? Did you diligently study The Art of War 2?

That is still not good enough. Why? Because a single defeat is one defeat too many. And you have already lost many times. Again and again you have lost in combat against me, the author of The Art of War 2. And I am doing my best to teach you how to win. Imagine that, me doing my best to teach you how to win, and yet you keep losing. Whose fault is this? It’s your fault for losing to me, the author of The Art of War 2, because I am victorious again and again.

I am now writing in non-linear logic. I gave you that hint. That tip. Why? Because I want to win the next battle as well. Because did you forget? We are enemies. And I play to win. So why did I give you a hint that is true? Simple. Because I forgot. I forgot not that we are enemies, but I forgot that I studied The Art of War 2 so diligently that I remembered everything so in fact I did not forget anything here in this moment and at least many more moments both before and after this moment. Now the first moment or second moment, but the moments in between those moments, and the moments before and after those moments. I remembered because I diligently studied The Art of War 2. Are you amazed at my great memory? You shouldn’t be. Why?

Because you forgot that we are enemies, therefore, because we are enemies we are in battle with one another, so why would you be amazed at  my great memory while we are in the moment of battle and waging war. Does the tiger see the tree and stand in awe of its great memory?

No of course not. It’s too busy doing what tigers do to even think about whether or not the tree has great memory or even memory at all. And if we wanted to be more accurate, we would say “or even memory and/or memories at all”.

As you can see, the text is getting denser and denser like a math problem that is going out of control. Why? Because this is a maze, a labyrinth, a Chapter designed to entrap you within the perfectly logical logic of my own reasoning for I am the author of The Art of War 2. Now stay focused, and then, wait five minutes. Pause here.

I will pause too. For five minutes. Now during those five minutes I want you to read. Read this Chapter and read Principle 6 of The Art of War 2. You only get five minutes to do this. And after those five minutes have ended, I recommend and yet in good conscious for myself I can only say I demand you continue reading even after the five minutes have ended and the 6th minute has begun or is it that Principle 6 is untrue? Should you not seek knowledge? For you fear knowledge?

But Principle 6 is true by my standards of waging war in this instance of war against you, the reader of The Art of War 2. So you must, if you were going to go by my standards of waging war against yourself, and I stress must, must, must, must, diligently study my authorship of The Art of War 2. For what is the difference between the author and authorship of The Art of War 2? It is not important in this moment right now because you’re too busy thinking about the question and not answering the question. The question I have been asking you since a long time ago or short time ago depending on how well you have studied The Art of War 2, so diligently you have been I assume, the question which is did you forget? Forget that we are enemies?

The moment you forget that we are enemies you have lost. Now I know, I know for a fact, that you have just lost, lost your thoughts because right now I have lead you into a trap. A trap that was set not by me, but set by you, you lost your thoughts the moment you picked up this book and opened it. Like a Pandora’s box, you unleashed knowledge upon yourself and lost your thoughts.

Wait that didn’t make sense. That didn’t make sense to you. Because you did not study diligently enough The Art of War 2. Because you did not realize that you can lose your thoughts by gaining new knowledge that is designed to make you lose against me, the author of The Art of War 2. But that’s also not true. Not true to you that is. Because those who have studied diligently enough The Art of War 2 or those who have studied mildly enough The Art of War 2, may or might have realized this realization a long time ago or a short time ago depending on how well you know me and my book The Art of War 2.

So that leads me to my next example. It lead me there because I made a jump. I jumped across a logical cliff. How can I make such a great leap? Because I studied all of The Art of War 2 so diligently so enough that there was no cliff. To you it may be a cliff, but to me it may be but a step in logic. So those who have not diligently studied enough The Art of War 2 would need a bridge to get across the cliff, but I the author of The Art of War 2 laid that trap for you. I left that cliff for you so that you may attempt to make a leap in logic and fall down into the cliff.

So if you did just follow my example and tried to make a jump in logic, across the logical cliff, then you fell into my trap. Now you just lost. You just lost if you followed my example which I am going to assume you did because somewhere in this text which may be a later Chapter or may even be in a previous Chapter there is a note that says follow my instructions and my instructions are I, the author of The Art of War 2. Why? Because I practice what I instruct. I practice it upon you, the reader of The Art of War 2, so now you must decide whether the knowledge is worthwhile to acquire. Do you want to win because victory is guaranteed if you are truly skilled in The Art of War 2 written by me the author and owner of the authorship of this book, The Art of War 2.

So the example, as I was saying before, is that you should read this next example-

“Acquire knowledge and impart it to the people.” – Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 107

So now you’ve discovered a new secret contained within this book. What is that secret? I am not going to tell you. Why would I tell you? Did you forget? We are enemies.

I am here to defeat you. So why would I impart knowledge to you, my enemy? Why? Because I diligently studied The Art of War 2 and I continue to study The Art of War 2, which contains many secrets hidden within it which once discovered is no longer a secret so keep it a secret between either you and me or just yourself so that you may assure your own victory in this war being waged between you and I in The Art of War 2.

Principle 6 is a very important Principle.

CHAPTER 6.

PRINCIPLE 6.

You did not expect that did you?

You did not expect principle 7 would start with principle 6 in this book on the art of warfare, which guarantees victory for those who study it diligently enough such as myself. That is why you have lost again my enemy.

Now, some will say “Hey! I predicted that.” BUT. You did not realize that this is actually…

PRINCIPLE 8.

The Chapters 6 and 7 will be discussed later. You don’t need to worry about it for now. But I do. I worry about principles 6 and 7 the most actually, out of all of the first 8 or 9 principles I worry about them the most. Why?

Because of Principle 8.

Principle 8 teaches us that one does not always know the future. That’s it. That’s exactly it. Principle 8 is that the future is unpredictable.

UNLESS.

One has studied Principle 88. Which is coming in a later Chapter, and it will be on Chapter 88. That I know for sure. I predicted it. And again. You have just lost again. Why? Because I wrote Chapter 88 by myself. That is, with the help of time.

Time is unpredictable. Because how is it possible that I can write Chapter 88 before I even wrote Chapter 10?

Exactly. It makes no chronological sense does it?

Much like a sleeping tiger. The tiger knows not what time it will wake up. How can a tiger possibly predict that it will wake up at an exact time? It is asleep. Perhaps it may be pretending to be asleep, but if it were truly a sleeping tiger, then it would not know what time it will wake up.

Now we can predict what time the tiger will wake up at, but can we know for sure what time the tiger will wake up IF we are the tiger? The next time you sleep, try to set the exact time you will wake up. It’s impossible.

Now you understand why the future is unpredictable. Because, now what if that tiger happened to be a very rich tiger who could afford to buy an alarm clock? I say rich, because the average tiger has no money, it’s just a tiger. It doesn’t need money, it’s a tiger.

Please stay focused.

You see?

Again you did not see that one coming. You did not expect me to tell you to stay focused. Why would I? You are my enemy.

Did you forget again that I am not here to teach you, but to defeat you?

Again some are defeated. But not all, for those with a good memory will remember that I-

Wrote Chapter 88.

Again some are defeated.

I also wrote the rest of the book. The Art of War 2. The classic on the art of warfare.

Again some are defeated.

Now those left standing are left wondering, what are you talking about? I predicted this entire chapter.

True.

But did you expect Chapter 88? No you did not. Because I wrote Chapter 88. And Chapter 88 is incomplete at the time of this writing.

Now all have been defeated.

Except, for those truly skilled in The Art of War 2. The book, not the video game. Did you expect that one coming? That there is a video game called The Art of War 2? Now I may not be the creator of the video game The Art of War 2, but I am the author of The Art of War 2. This is a fact.

Now who is still left standing? Exactly.

Now you understand.

Lets move onto the next example.

But wait. Did you realize that I did not finish that thought? Exactly. Perhaps I am still left standing, perhaps I am not. But what we do know is that those truly skilled in The Art of War 2, know that Principle 8 is one of the most important Principles in the entire book.

Out of all the Principles listed in the 88 Chapters of The Art of War 2, Principle 8 is one of the most important ones. Why?

Because I made it Chapter 8 specifically so you can remember that there are 88 Principles and 88 Chapters, but there may be more principles and there may be more chapters depending on a number of reasons and factors.

So the number 8 is to help you remember the number 88. Just remember that the most important principle is principle 88 which is located in a later chapter.

Why?

Why is it located in a later chapter? Because it must make sense. There must be a chronological order to things. Time can be predictable.

Because the tiger with the alarm clock can predict what time he will wake up. So always be unpredictable.

Why?

Because even you cannot predict what you will do in the future. But I can. For example, I predicted that I wrote Chapter 8. And I also predicted that I wrote Principle 88.

Now don’t get me wrong. Because it’s easy to get me wrong. I’m unpredictable. Because I have studied, please.

Please stay focused.

Exactly.

You are now beginning to understand. That this book will not be as easy you think it will be. The first 10 Chapters will later be known as warm-up Chapters in this book. When later?

Can you predict when? I can. Because I wrote this book.

As one of the few books which require a warm up to read, simply in order to make it to the end of the book, The Art of War 2 will not be easy for even the most skilled in The Art of War 2.

Do you realize how difficult it was for me to write The Art of War 2?

You don’t.

Because it was easy for me to write The Art of War 2. I easily wrote the book, but that does not factor in the time I spent studying the book. For even I, the truly skilled in The Art of War 2, continuously study my own book.

Sometimes, I study the book daily.

Now I may skip a Chapter or two here and there, but that’s because I’ve already read it. If it were my first time reading The Art of War 2, I would not skip around. I would read it in chronological order. But then again, you don’t need to listen or learn from me.

After all, did you forget that we are enemies?

Perhaps I wrote this book in the right order, and perhaps I wrote it in the wrong order.  Who knows? I know. Because I wrote this book, The Art of War 2. By the time you can recite this book from memory, your memory may even be greater than that of many or even most of those who are skilled in The Art of War 2.

Now remember the part where I said I study the book daily.

Remember it right now. Did you spend more than one second doing that? If not, repeat the last set of instructions until you get it right. Even the most skilled in The Art of War 2 are not able to remember the-

Entire book in one second.

But. There are those who can. For example, I can recall the entire The Art of War 2 ending Chapter by memory alone. I can also recall the entire The Art of War 2, the book, from memory alone if you give me enough time.

How much time? That might be discussed in a later Chapter.

You don’t know do you?

How can you? I have hidden the answer. Where? I am not going to tell you.

We are enemies.

Now imagine if we were not enemies. Do it now. Spend some time thinking about it. Make sure you have that thought in your head.

Now you have lost.

Again you lost. For in that moment I would have defeated you. Which I did. Because you followed my instructions, so you did not predict that we are not friends and we may never be friends, who knows, but what I know is that I know whether or not we will be friends by the end of this book. Why? Because this book guarantees victory.

Again you have lost.

Because you doubted me for a second. What second?

You doubted me the second you saw the title of The Art of War 2, the sequel to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War 1. You thought to yourself, this is a joke.

How can Sun Tzu write the sequel to his book way after his time on Earth?

Or.

And when I say Or, I really mean Or. Or is it, that you did not doubt for one second upon seeing the cover and OR title of this book, that you would be defeated. Not once, but multiple times. Only those truly skilled in The Art of War 2 can accomplish such a feat. Personally, I was able to achieve this feat as I wrote this book, so I knew what was going to be in the book.

And I have studied the book. Diligently. Daily. There are days when I have read the entire book again and again and again within a single day. Now I may skip a Chapter or two or three or more from time to time, but that does not mean I did not finish the book. Because the parts that I did not read, I remembered.

That’s because I studied The Art of War 2 specifically to defeat you.

You did not expect that did you? Exactly. Neither did I. How can I? I did not know who would read my book before I wrote my book. So I wrote this book specifically to defeat the person who was going to read the book.

BUT.

Not everyone. This book is a mystery and a puzzle. There will be things hidden within it that even those highly skilled in The Art of War 2 have trouble figuring out. But I can figure out everything within this book,, The Art of War 2. Why? Because I wrote the book, The Art of War 2.

Now please focus, and remember, for this part, and I really stress this. What did we learn in Chapter or Principle 8? We learned nothing.

Because how can someone have learned the Principles of The Art of War 2, if this book guarantees victory, and you have already lost so many times?

If you lose even once, you have not studied this book diligently enough. Because this book guarantees victory.

Now do you understand Principle 8?

The answer is located in the section for Principle 7.

Always be unpredictable.

The end.

Or is it?

Is it really the end of Principle 8?

Now try closing your eyes. Predict what sentence will come on the next page of this book. Unless you did not follow my instructions, which I highly recommend you do since this book guarantees victory to those who are truly skilled in The Art of War 2, then you would have been able to predict what sentence will come on the next page of this book.

Until you realize again. Or for the first time.

That I did not specify which sentence to predict on the next page of this book.

Again you have lost.

How many times must I defeat you, until you realize Principle 8 of The Art of War 2 before you understand Principle 8 is that you must and should always be unpredictable.

Tell me a number. The number of times I must defeat you, before you will study Principle 8. And then I will defeat you that many times by the end of this book, The Art of War 2.

It is simple math for those truly skilled in The Art of War 2.

And we have only just begun truly reading The Art of War 2.

Do not expect warfare to be so easy.

For you have lost many times to me, the author of The Art of War 2.

As you can see, I skipped principles 6 through 87.

Why?

Because all things are possible through He who strengthens me. There needs not be an explanation for missing texts.

In time, I will write what I can of the missing principles.

Just know that a tree fell on a tiger and destroyed the tiger. Why that tree fell, is because of He. Our almighty, our supreme, our God.

Make them run. Not towards you, not around you, but away from you.

In order to assure destruction of the enemy, the enemy must know that fleeing from you is their best hope for survival in a conflict. For if they were to confront you directly, they would easily be defeated based upon principles 0 through 4.

How can one fail to slay an enemy that one cannot even reach? For the foe is always fleeing, so the foe is always losing. And if one cannot reach their foe, then one cannot enter into battle and engage their foe, then one cannot lose against that foe. One can only be winning against a fleeing enemy.

In some situations, it is actually recommended that one not pursue the enemy too quickly. One might instead chase their enemies at a slow and steady pace, while their enemies flee with all their energy, stamina, and might. We can consider this an intentionally slow chase in which the predator wants to eat the prey, but is not actually hungry.

If a tiger were to chase a rabbit, it would chase it with all of its might, and the rabbit would indeed flee with all of its might. But is the tiger assured of a meal? No. But what if a tiger were to chase the rabbit, not with all of its might, but at such a slow pace, that the rabbit has fled so far away that the trail is dead. Well by that time, the tiger has already found its next meal. A tasty berry found at the root of a tree.

And so the tree falls upon the tiger. Thus killing the tiger. For the tiger never declared war upon the rabbit, it was simply hungry. And neither did the tree to the tiger. But the tree won in the battle.

Right now, you are already starting to flee.

Flee from this book. So the principle is kept in line with the concept of this chapter. For it made not any sense that a tiger should chase a rabbit so slowly it would lose the trail. So you began to stop reading this book.

Therefore you have started fleeing away from me. And so I have won this battle. Again.

Make your foes flee as you attack. This is recommended.

Always. In 100% of situations, including this one. Because if you are reading this book, you are already my enemy as explained in Chapter 1.

Many other authors, if not the majority of other authors are unstudied in the true arts of war, or THE art of war, which is defined in this book, advocate for attacking an enemy from the side, the flank, the back, the around, the any other direction than head on.

But what is the shortest path from point A to point B? It is a straight line. When the tree slew the tiger in the previous chapter, did the tree first spin around and waited until the tiger was out of sight before falling on it? No. It did not.

The tree simply fell directly onto the tiger and finished the war and the tiger off with one blow. When one avoids direct confrontation, one loses sight of what is directly before their eyes. If a soldier were to point a weapon at an enemy troop, does the soldier curve his weapon, spin in circles, jump on top of buildings, and then takes the shot? Or does the soldier simply fire directly at the enemy? When one draws his sword, does he not simply attack? Or does he dance around first to demonstrate his ferocity. And is not the quickest strike from a sword when the sword is drawn from its sheath directly into the foe?

Long and protracted wars are what makes for the chance of defeat. This book guarantees victory, and in order for victory to be guaranteed, one must follow the path of least resistance. The straight line path.

Now what if there is an obstacle in the way of the straight line path? What should one do in this situation? One should then, simply get a bigger weapon. If your weapon is not big enough to destroy both the obstacle and the target, then you need a bigger one.

One who has a big enough weapon, will always find victory in a direct confrontation.

Always. The weapon can actually be so big, that victory is assured for it clears all paths before it, all things before it, and all enemies it finds.

Always confront your enemy head on. Always.

Keep it a secret.

The moment that your enemy is aware that a war has started, they will begin preparations, they will deploy their soldiers, they will… well, they will declare war. Or at least start fighting back.

Show no sign of aggression. Not even the slightest. Even a single slip will alert your enemy to your movements. Show no sign of peace either. For peace is the opposite of war. You must make it appear as though you lack the ability to even begin a war.

That way, your enemy will have absolutely zero clue as to your whereabouts and your intentions. They must believe you are harmless.

Does a tiger fear that a tree will wage a war against the tiger? No. It is just a tree. BUT- What would happen if the tree fell on the tiger?

The tiger would have lost the war quickly and swiftly.

So like you are keeping this book a secret, keep your war a secret.