The Martial Unity

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!

The ten Sages defending the Kandrian Empire pushed back against the Sage-level assault team of the enemy alliance with greater numbers and less exhausted Sages. The combat was so intense that not even the appearance of a brand-new Martial Sage, whom literally nobody had ever seen before, could derail the battle long enough.

Sage Sayfeel proudly wore attire that featured the coat of arms and the banner of the Kandrian Empire. He merely showed the Kandrian Sages a Royal Seal bestowed upon him by the Emperor of Harmony for everybody to understand that Rael had something to do with this and that they could fight alongside this stranger and newcomer.

The rest didn’t matter; they were more than happy to push back the annoying enemy Sages, who very quickly understood that this operation was dead the second reinforcements arrived. The only reason that they hadn’t retreated yet was due to standard modern Martial protocol for nested Martial attacks featuring Martial Artists from multiple Realms. The Sages needed to wait until they got the green light from the retreating Masters.

If they didn’t give their Martial Masters enough time to retreat as far as possible, then the enemy Martial Sages could potentially head straight to the retreating Masters and hunt them alive. Most nations with a well-organized and sensible military and Martial system had such protocols.

Exceptions, however, included the Sekigahara Confederate.

The price that it paid for having sloppy retreat-securing protocols led to the deaths of almost all their retreating Martial Artists.

It was a good reminder to everybody in the Martial world why such protocols mattered. Prime Minister Edward had established a common-law protocol that all Martial Artists of the alliance had to adhere to in order to ensure that everybody was on the same page regarding how to operate in missions and what to do in what circumstances.

The Martial Sages were absolutely not allowed to retreat until the green light signaling the safety of the Martial Masters came.

And soon enough, that message came.

BZZT BZZT

Sage Lela glanced at her comms artifact, confirming that the Masters had gotten far away enough.

“Retreat,” she ordered.

The other Martial Sages were more than happy to adhere to that command.

Despite losing an arm, it was impossible to fight the Devil even when they were essentially just running away from him, no longer able to handle him without a numeric advantage.

WHOOSH

And just like that, they were gone.

“COME BACK YOU FUCKING PUSSIES!” the Devil snarled, glowering at the retreating maggots. “I FOUGHT YOU SEVEN-TO-ONE AND YOU RUN AWAY WHEN IT’S EVEN? FUCK THAT!”

“Damian, don’t!” Sage Roschem pulled at the man’s shoulders. “Stop!”

“LET ME GO. I WILL TEAR THEM APART!” Sage Damian roared. “I WILL EAT THEM ALIVE!”

“Enough. The battle is over.” The Flickering Elder stood before him with a warning tone. “Your condition is critical. We need to preserve and reattach your arm as soon as possible. With the Divine Doctor, it should be as good as new if not better.”

“I don’t give a fuck about my arm.” His eyes burned with rage. “I’m supposed to let them go after what happened?!”

Sorrow lit up in the eyes of the Flickering Elder. “…Damian, I miss her too.”

He stared at her with a fiery expression.

“But she wouldn’t want you to get yourself killed in order to get revenge for her. You know that. Instead, she would rather you get revenge successfully.” The Flickering Elder’s voice was soft but firm. “Heal, grow stronger, and then kill them all by your own hand when you grow strong enough.”

Her words seem to take effect.

He lowered his fists, unfurling them as he heaved a deep breath.

“Fine,” he growled. “I will destroy them when the time comes.”

WHOOSH

In just the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Silence overtook the atmosphere upon Damian’s departure as the Sages caught their breaths, heaving tired sighs.

WHOOSH

Sage Sariawar also took off, heading back to the Shionel Confederation to report to Guildmaster Bradt.

The rest of the Kandrian Sages weren’t so eager to leave just yet.

…Who are you?” Sage Roschem raised an eyebrow as he carefully studied the new Martial Sage. “I know every Sage in all of East Panama. I have no idea who you are.”

The Flashing Flier could sense the immense formidability of the Martial Sage, which-even when accounting for inaccuracy and margins of errors-meant that, at the very least, he was strong, very strong. Sage Roschem didn’t get the feeling that the stranger was a peak Sage. But he did get the sense that the man was particularly strong.

Stronger than most Martial Sages in the Kandrian Empire.

It only increased his curiosity.

He was positive that he had never heard of any Martial Sage that was even remotely like him.

The world of Martial Sages was much smaller than all previous Realms. Not only that, but each Martial Sage was extremely distinct and highly individualistic. The only thing that they had in common was that they had Bodies, Hearts, Minds, and Souls. Everything else was extremely different, meaning that it was impossible to mistake one for another. “…Direct any questions you have to His Majesty,” Sage Sayfeel calmly replied before taking off.

The other Kandrian Sages frowned with confusion as it became increasingly clear from the way the Sage referred to the Emperor of Harmony that he regarded the latter with deep deference. It was unlikely that someone new to the Empire could harbor such loyalty to the

Emperor of Harmony.

It got them wondering.

Was this new Martial Sage truly new?

They weren’t entirely sure.

It made them curious about the story that the Emperor of Harmony would be telling them when they got back home. They had a feeling that there was more to this than met the eye.

Regardless, it was time to go home now that the battle had ended.

And return, they did.