The Martial Unity

They didn’t expect him to fight them all by himself.

Yet, there he was.

All by himself.

Dozens of Masters against one.

They should have felt triumphant.

They should have felt certain.

They should have felt confident.

Yet, when they beheld the maelstrom of peril that emanated within the depths of his dark

eyes…

They only felt fear.

It was hard to describe.

It was hard to comprehend.

His Heart and Mind were dormant, yet somehow, he made them feel… insignificant.

Everything about him, from how he stood to how his dark eyes seemed to pierce into them, made their instincts scream with peril.

“He’s just one man.” A powerful masculine voice dispelled the angst that had been building up in the air. “We are dozens strong. He is but one. Our victory is all but assured. Additionally…”

The air around him boiled with unfathomable power.

“…You have me.” His eyes sparkled with raw might.

In an instant, a surge of confidence and jubilation shot through the Masters as their gait grew stronger while their eyes turned more fierce.

Of course, their victory was guaranteed.

How could it not be?

After all, they had none other than Master Knight Stephen Laurenbourg, the mighty Convergence and the final grade-thirty Martial Master of East Panama, to lead them to victory.

The old man fashioned a militaristic Martial attire that bore the coat of arms of the Britannian Empire proudly. He was one of the most authoritative and influential members of the Britannian Empire, second only to the Sages and Prime Minister Edward himself. He was a proud Martial Master with a long history of serving the Britannian Empire since before the Age of Martial Art.

Normally, he considered himself above participating in such a lowly assault force.

Normally, he would not have accepted the mission that Prime Minister Edward had prepared.

That was, of course, until Edward had informed him that he might have had the opportunity to kill the Void Prince.

It was an offer that he couldn’t refuse.

“I suppose I owe that crafty fox one.” A faint murmur escaped him as menacing bloodlust erupted from him. Shivers crawled down the spines of the surrounding Masters while a gruesome smile appeared on his face.

He uttered a single command as they reached their sole target.

“Attack.”

RUMBLE

Dozens of Martial Hearts erupted in full power as they drew their very best from the get-go. Heaven and earth shook as their Minds shined with immense vigor.

Yet, that wasn’t all.

The very world came undone, swallowed whole by the tsunami of Martial Embodiments erupting from the depths of their minds. Their very existences seemed to transcend mortal limitations as their Embodiments wove together a profound tapestry.

A culmination of centuries of cultivated thought.

“Your death is all but written.” Visceral bloodlust quaked in the Convergence’s voice as his glorious Martial Embodiment bloomed in all its power.

A whirlpool.

One that subsumed all of heaven and earth.

A Martial Mind that had been refined for two centuries was not to be underestimated. It was a beacon of thought, the likes of which were seldom seen. It was one of his greatest sources of pride as one of the most prestigious Martial Masters in East Panama.

That was why what followed shook him to his very core.

BADUMP

Rui’s Martial Heart blazed into power as the microcosm of his Martial Mind erupted with extraordinary force.

From the depths of his mind surged forth an endless darkness.

An infinite void.

One moment, the maelstrom of Martial Embodiments towering over the lone Dawnbringer stood tall and proud.

The very next?

It was gone.

Consumed.

Consumed by the supernova of information that eroded their paltry Martial Embodiments away into nothingness.

Horror lit up in the eyes of the enemy Masters as they felt the devastating weight of Rui’s thought.

They gritted their teeth as they beheld a realm of cognition beyond their wildest dreams. They clenched their fists as they struggled to fathom the microcosm within the depths of his mind.

It was the reaction of every single Martial Master that ever gained the privilege of witnessing the full depth of Rui’s mental power.

Even Master Stephen’s expression steeled with grim severity as he realized that not only were the tales of the Dawnbringer’s mental prowess entirely true, but they even, in fact, understated the truth.

“Such an existence cannot be tolerated.” His eyes sharpened, sparkling with power. “Such power… must not be. I will not allow it. I shan’t.”

His expression grew ugly as he witnessed the awe on the faces of the Martial Masters around him at the power of Rui’s Martial Mind.

Not even a minute of real time had passed since they had run into him and each and every single one of them was gazing at him with awe.

The very sight of it made his blood boil.

How dare they admire another Martial Master while he stood on the same battlefield as them?

“How dare you…?” His rage heightened.

How dare an upstart whelp who hadn’t even lived half a century steal away the glory and prestige he had worked his entire life for?

“ATTACK!” he bellowed at his team. “ATTACK HIM IN THE NAME OF TRANSCENDENT

EMPEROR!”

The Britannian Martial Masters broke out of their daze as they leaped at Ruiwith fierce

bloodlust.

Dozens of Martial Artists converged upon him.

Yet, Rui didn’t so much as budge.

His body was relaxed.

His expression was calm.

Serene.

Yet, he couldn’t suppress a smile cracking at the edge of his mouth.

Time slowed down in his eyes as he closed them.

His internal pressure began shifting and alternating, constricting blood flow across his entire

body while loosening up intracranial cerebral pressure.

Blood surged from across his entire body to his brain, elevating his neurological activity to extraordinary levels. The entirety of his brain lit up like an inferno as his mind reached unfathomable levels of activity.

His eyes flashed blood-red when he opened them as an even deeper avalanche of information flooded the feeble minds of his enemies even as they surged forward to attack him.