The Martial Unity

Finally, twenty-four hours had passed since the Unfolding.

So much had happened in the past day alone that it felt like a month had passed in real time just dealing with everything.

The anomaly.

The environmental disruptions and the hysteria of people.

The discovery of the true world and the subsequent attack on the Esocline Federation.

The Summit of Salvation and the return of the Martial Sages.

Their awakening.

And of course, the Emperor of Harmony’s unilateral annexation of the Martial Sages of human civilization.

It sent shockwaves across human civilization.

“What do you mean you won’t be coming back home, Your Majesty!” the Chief Minister of South Levanton, a simple Sage-level nation in the West Panama cried to his queen.

“I have decided to partake in the Kandrian Empire’s Martial Insurance Pact,” the projection of a female Martial Sage remarked. “In exchange for my contributions to the Martial Insurance, our nation of Levanton will gain said Martial Insurance from the Kandrian Empire.”

The chief minister looked at her like she had lost her mind.

“Your Sagehood,” he gritted his teeth. “You can protect our Kingdom by being here yourself! How can you protect us if you are in the Kandrian Empire?!”

She directed a calm gaze at her subordinate who had been ruling the Kingdom in her stead while she was off in the Central Highlands fighting the quasi-Transcendent monsters and beasts, folding her arms.

“With the World Bridge, of course.”

The chief minister simply stared at her disbelief.

“The Kandrian Empire has a powerful instant transmission technological system,” she continued with an easy tone. “That means that if our Kingdom suffers, then the Emperor of Harmony can open up a portal to our nation and I, along with fifteen other Martial Sages, will be there to protect it from any attacks.”

Chills crawled across the chief minister’s skin as he gazed at her with an expression of shock. The queen he knew and served would not have made that remark eleven years ago before she departed to the Central Highlands of the Beast Domain.

She would not have placed such an inordinate amount of trust into a foreign party, especially one that was vastly more powerful than themselves. She would have been exceptionally distrustful of a party like the Kandrian Empire making such promises to them.

“I am aware of that.”

She could almost read his mind.

She heaved a sigh.

“I am aware of the changes that I have undergone.”

Of course she was.

That was what Enlightenment of Self meant.

“I am aware that I’m placing a great amount of trust in the Kandrian Empire and the Emperor of Harmony,” she remarked with a knowing tone. “However, it is a change that I’ve not only accepted but believe is for the better. In this era of the true world and the unfolding, distrust is no different from destruction. If we distrust each other, we will be alone and by ourselves, making it easier for others to take over us.”

Her eyes sharpened with determination.

“We need a powerful leader to unite us, to lead us and guide us, and to harness our power to protect all of us.”

It was in that moment that the chief minister understood that her many years in the Central Highlands of the Beast Domain had changed her beyond what he could have ever imagined.

It wasn’t even that she was strictly wrong.

It was indeed true that they needed to unite against the threats of the true world.

It was indeed true that a powerful leader acting in the interests of human civilization would be better than no leader.

However, that was the genius of Emperor Rael’s plan.

He didn’t need to lie to steal power.

The truth was sufficient.

And because it was the truth, the chief minister found himself utterly speechless, unable to mount a single point of opposition.

“Speak freely,” she said to him. “I can see that you are deeply dissatisfied.”

He gritted his teeth.

“Your Majesty, the Emperor of Harmony is just using this an excuse to coalesce power in his own hands so that he can control the future of human civilization. I am not saying that he has malicious intentions with the future of human civilization. I even believe that he will keep to his word and not violate his oath and promise, but how can you not see that this is a just a power play?!”

She heaved a sigh, shaking her head.

“He doesn’t control us. With all the hundreds of Martial Sages in the Kandrian Empire, he doesn’t dare to antagonize us. We hold all the power in this arrangement. If we wanted to, we could destroy the Kandrian Empire and erase it from existence with our collective power. Not even the Dawnbringer can stop hundreds of Martial Sages at once. So don’t worry…”

She gazed at him deeply.

“We are in control, not the Emperor of Harmony.”

In that moment, the chief minister felt horror and terror beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life.

Not even the Beast Incursion had inspired such fear in him.

Not even the anomaly, nor the revelation of the true world, had inspired such dread within him.

The Emperor of Harmony had gained full control over the Martial Sages and had simultaneously managed to convince them they were the ones in control.

To manipulate entities that had gained Enlightenment of Self to such an extent that they were almost completely oblivious to what he was doing was a truly terrifying skill. It dawned on him at that moment that Emperor Rael’s reputation still preceded him. He was capable of far more than anybody had ever realized, and that was precisely why he caught all of them off guard.

The oh-so-generous absolute promise that he had made to the leaders of the summit in exchange for their support in the collectivist reforms was nothing more than a trap, now, he could just add a clause that demanded all their Martial power be housed in the Kandrian Empire and he would still be protecting that oath.

He had deceived not just the Martial Sages, but also all the leaders of human civilization.

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