The Martial Unity

Emperor Rael’s eyes narrowed, growing cold and icy.

He stared at Rui with a sharp gaze.

“You may have been able to fool everyone else,” Emperor Rael’s tone grew heavy.

The air boiled with peril as his powerful gaze pinned Rui in his place.

“But you cannot fool me.”

“Hehe…” Rui chuckled. “Just as I figured, you’re even more entertaining than I had expected.”

Rui’s form shifted, revealing his true identity.

“You might just be more fun than Rui himself, at the moment,” Master Reina smirked mischievously.

Emperor Rael gazed at her with a steely expression. “I could have you executed for trespassing on Royal grounds, at this very moment.”

“I could kill you before you do it,” Master Reina shrugged nonchalantly. “Aren’t you afraid of being in my presence without many Martial Masters or Martial Sage? You’re not in a position to be threatening me, you know~”

Had most Martial Masters threatened one of the most powerful men in all of human civilization, they would be quaking in their boots. Yet, she looked amused and even excited at the consequences of her insane words.

Yet, they did not so much as stir the Emperor of Harmony.

He gazed at her impassively, unimpressed.

The moment she even mentally decided to try and kill him, the invisible Sage Sayfeel behind him would snuff her life with the slightest exertion.

Naturally, she was not aware of his presence or even existence, nor did Rael intend to expose him to elucidate how delusional her threat was.

For a moment, he was at an impasse in regards to what to do about the odd woman before him.

“Silent Shadow.” His rich voice beckoned her. “Tell me…”

His deep voice grew stronger.

“Why are you here?”

She stared at him, heaving a sigh. “I am bored.”

Emperor Rael directed a deep gaze at her.

“Rui has just entered another one of his long training sessions in isolated training,” she remarked lethargically. “Knowing him, he’s going to be in there for the next few years. He abandoned his poor Master without any source of entertainment after using her for three years. Oh, the woe.”

She expressed exaggerated grief.

Emperor Rael simply stared at her silently.

“Since he left me all alone and lonely.” Mischief lit up in her eyes. “He shouldn’t blame me if I do everything I can to find new entertainment. In a world of bland, empty, and meaningless masses of humans, finding entertaining and amusing sources of fun is a tough thing, y’know?”

It didn’t take more than a minute for Emperor Rael to precisely and accurately gain a good understanding of her personality and temperament.

He didn’t like what he saw.

He detected traces of psychopathy deep within her, beneath her exterior colorful emotional expression.

This woman was dangerous.

He could already tell that his son was not as cautious and wary towards her as he ought to be. Perhaps it was because he had developed an emotional attachment to her due to being trained and guided by her in the field of assassinations, which had helped him to take down Chairman Deacon.

He needed to handle this delicately.

“You seek entertainment, do you?”

Emperor Rael closed his eyes. “I just returned from a coma recently; what makes you think I could be a source of entertainment for you?”

“Hah,” Master Reina scoffed. “Please. Only a blind man would fail to see what broiling in East Panama. I have no doubt that if I remain by your side, I will find the entertainment I seek.”

“…And what makes you think I would ever want you by my side?” “Well,” Master Reina’s eyes twinkled with excitement. “The fact that you haven’t already had me locked up and executed. I have pride in my prowess, but I do not think I can escape the grasp of the Emperor of Harmony.”

Her smirk grew wider. “So I can only assume that you have decided that it is sub-optimal.”

A small smile fleetingly cracked at the edge of Emperor Rael’s mouth. She had hit it the bullseye.

One of the things that had impressed him about Rui’s tale of the past four years was how Master Reina had managed to fool all Martial Masters, intelligence organizations, and the variety of investigative efforts that had been directed towards her while she pretended to be Rui. She had fooled the entire world.

It took a Martial Sage, in the flesh, to expose her.

That was extremely impressive and even more rare and unprecedented.

The notorious Silent Shadow lived up to her vaunted reputation.

It would be a waste to not make use of her impressive capabilities.

“Aid me, and I will give you the entertainment of a lifetime.”

His rich voice was powerful and certain.

It left no room for doubt.

Her eyes lit up with delight. “Hehehe…that sounds fun. I accept your offer. So, what are we going to do?”

Emperor Rael shook his head. “Not so quick. You cannot be trusted as far as I am concerned. I will have you go through some of the highest calibers of examinations that the empire is able to muster before I can trust you with any duty or information of any kind.”

Instantly, she grew sullen, pouting. “Boo.”

“If you are unwilling to adhere to these conditions, then I’m afraid there can be no cooperation.”

The Emperor of Harmony was unyielding on that. “Does that mean you’ll have me executed for trespassing if I don’t agree to that condition?”

“No,” the Emperor remarked. “Even if your intentions were entertainment and amusement, you have materially contributed to the recovery of the Emperor of Kandria, and I shall give you a royal pardon for all your crimes thus far. Though, if you trespass another time after, then I shall have you executed without hesitation.”

Another ruler in his place would have merrily used the threat of execution to force her to serve him, but Rael was able to accurately and precisely weight the long-term costs versus benefits and had come to the conclusion that it wasn’t in his interests to entrust important duties to someone who was resentful of him.

Master Reina smiled, growing more enthusiastic. “I accept your offer.”

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