The Martial Unity

Once the council disbanded, everyone hurried to work with grave expressions, determined not to fail in their duties. If there was ever a moment when their nation could not afford anything less than a stellar discharge of the duties of her leaders, it was now.

Each of them immediately got to work, swiftly and carefully discharging their responsibilities in accordance with protocol.

Soon enough, a national emergency was declared.

Esoteric communication and broadcast, fliers, posters, and announcements spread across the entire nation as Emperor Rael formally declared a national emergency.

Soon enough, the protocols were immediately put into place. The Ministry of Domestic Affairs immediately began a nationwide evacuation away from the borders in consultation with the Kandrian Intelligence Bureau.

It was best to ensure that the people were as far away from the borders as possible so that none of them could possibly be hurt by the devastating battle that was surely about to ensue nearby.

The Kandrial Border Patrol Force prepared pre-installed energy insulators on stand-by that would ensure that the seismic and atmospheric radiation from the battles would not enter the Kandrian Empire and would not wreak havoc. This allowed Kandrian Martial Sages and Masters to go all out without having to worry about inadvertently harming the nation amidst their battles.

The Royal Army and the Kandrian Border Patrol Force coordinated the reinforcements of additional Apocalypse-class long-range heavy artillery siege weapons to begin bombarding the incoming deep-strike force the moment they entered the strike range of the weapons.

Naturally, the sudden declaration of a national emergency shook the population of the Kandrian Empire, leaving them deeply terrified and in panic.

“It’s doomsday!” one man shrieked with a terrified voice as he tried wading through the heavily congested streets of the town of Hajin. “We’re all going to die!”

Unfortunately, his sentiment wasn’t uncommon.

“This nation is as good as dead!”

“Dammit! I need to leave!”

“Move! Get out of the way!”

The authorities delicately regulated and directed the panicking crowds in the cities of the Kandrian Empire.

“Calm down, citizens of Hajin.” The panicking townsmen froze as a powerful, elderly voice spread across the entirety of the town. It was powerful yet gentle.

“Panicking is neither needed nor helpful,” Headmaster Aronian announced with a calm voice. “Please move towards the underground bunkers in and around the Town of Hajin in a calm and orderly manner. Your safety is guaranteed. I can assure you that much.”

Emperor Rael had ordered the construction of powerful and highly secure bunkers capable of comfortably holding the entire population of the nation precisely for a day like this.

It was finally paying off now that war had been declared and even waged.

While the citizens were shepherded to safe bunkers, the upper echelons of the Kandrian Empire were even more shocked than the citizens.

It was rare that those in the know were caught so off-guard by such a massive development.

The least affected were the maritime and seafaring industries of the Kandrian Empire, yet they were forced to temporarily shut down all of their operations, much to their dismay. The various powerhouses in the finance, commercial, and industrial sectors experienced a sudden freeze in all their operations while the empire fully entered an official state of national emergency.

Even the Martial Union, the most powerful entity in the Kandrian Empire alongside the Emperor of Harmony, had no choice but to shut down all operations, missions, and commissions, domestic or international.

The human employees and members of the organization were forced to move to shelters and bunkers.

However, the Martial Artists were put to work.

They weren’t civilians, after all.

Martial Apprentices and Squires were harnessed to aid the Ministry of Domestic Affairs to some degree, while all Martial Artists of higher Realms focused on approaching external threats.

Protocol A65-KND was a protocol that arranged Martial and military resources in the most optimal manner for a large Sage-level deep-strike force approaching the Kandrian Empire.

Yet, while the Kandrian Empire hastily prepared for the incoming strike force, the world had already learned of everything happening in the Kandrian Empire.

How could it not?

Anything that happened in a Sage-level powerhouse sent ripples across a section of the continent. The abrupt declaration of national emergency of the nation put all of East Panama into a state of shock.

“What the hell happened in that blasted nation that it had to declare an emergency?!”

“Tsk, it’s the Kandrian Empire; something or the other is constantly happening.”

“It must be due to President Raymond’s declaration of war.”

The world had yet to learn of the existence of the deep-strike force that was moving to the Kandrian Empire, even as they speculated on the reason for the national emergency. Thus, on the outside, many people could only assume it was in reaction to the declaration of war from the Republic of Gorteau that had come just a bit prior.

In this case, many could not help but think that the Emperor of Harmony was overreacting.

Yet, the upper echelons of the political sphere knew that this was not the case.

Emperor Rael did not do anything that could be framed as an overreaction.

His reaction meant that something big was underway.

The nations in the vicinity of the Kandrian Empire were particularly nervous and terrified, declaring their own emergencies even if they had no idea why the Emperor of Harmony had chosen to do so in the first place. Regardless, the fact that the Kandrian Empire did it was a good enough reason for them to do so as well. After all, whatever could threaten the mighty Kandrian Empire was enough to also threaten the puny nations in its domain of power. 

Regardless, the entirety of the Panama Continent turned its gaze to the historic event that had unfolded in the Kandrian Empire with bated breaths.

Soon, the inception of the third Great East Panamic War would ensue, sparking a conflict that would define the future of human civilization.

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