The Martial Unity

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The past five months had truly tested the integrity of the fibers of human civilization. The Beast Incursion continued eroding away at human civilization with each passing minute, in a multitude of manners beyond merely territorial erosion.

It eroded away confidence in the very model of human civilization.

Many of the institutions, structures, and philosophies underpinning human civilization were products of an era that hadn’t been drowned in an existential apocalypse. A home for each person, vast swathes of territory that were clearly only there because human civilization could afford to have them. In the Era of Darkness, it became increasingly clear that these luxuries could no longer be afforded by most nations. Civilians were rounded up and huddled up in cramped shelters and defensive bases where any concept of personal space and privacy didn’t exist. It was simply much easier to protect everyone the more concentrated the populations were. A civilization where the human population could languish around in large territories was something that was now an increasingly dangerous and risky privilege that could not be afforded.

Only the Sage-level nations and the most well-defended nations could afford to take on such a risk.

And only the Kandrian Empire was strong enough to retain every ounce of civilian life despite the looming apocalypse.

And even then, the Kandrian Empire was still deeply affected by the Beast Incursion. The economy had been reduced to shambles due to the destruction of land-faring imports and exports, causing mass unemployment that resulted in a plummet in demand, which triggered a massive depression unlike anything that the Kandrian Empire had ever experienced in its history.

Still, as terrible as it was, it was much better than literally every other nation in the world. Most nations didn’t have an economy anymore, having fully transitioned to a war-time martial law polity where all goods and resources were seized by the government or Martial Artists and were carefully redistributed to the most essential sectors.

And yet, when Rui exited the manifold and returned to the real world, it was hard to say things were going well when they clearly weren’t.

The streets of the Kandrian Empire were either empty or filled.

His mind sense perceived a malaise of misery, fear, despair, frustration, and a multitude of other negative emotions that festered in the atmosphere.

“I hope that the seafaring expansion plan commences as aggressively as possible,” Rui muttered to himself. “We’ll need to commence trade once more if people are to feel like they still have a life.”

He was sure that his father was doing his absolute best to expand seafaring while also not compromising on things like the upgrades of the Esoterist and Rui. It was a difficult balancing act that could spell disaster for human civilization if even a single mistake was made.

Fortunately, he wasn’t worried about his father, of all people, messing up.

The first place that he headed to was home.

He needed to make sure that all of them were alright.

Of course, he had instructed the staff and administration of the Water Sect to cater to all their needs and desires, so he was sure that they were doing just fine.

And he was right.

STEP When he got there, he could sense that the negativity in the air was less intense and there were even hints of positivity despite these dire circumstances.

They had managed to avoid being hit too hard by this disaster.

“Look, it’s big brother!”

“Uncle Rui!”

“Welcome back!”

The children and the adolescents noticed him immediately, delighted by his arrival.

Rui smiled as he was greeted by a flock of kids. “Well, what do we have here? You guys have grown much taller than before.”

“I have been practicing Martial Art!”

“I got accepted into the academy, big brother!”

“Max and Mana have been training us!”

Rui raised an eyebrow. “Have they now?”

“Big brother.”

He sensed two Senior-level auras descend from the sky.

“You two…” Rui murmured. “You broke through to the Senior Realm. Congratulations!”

Max and Mana beamed with pride as their big brother praised their accomplishments. “We broke through in the defensive lines recently. We have been growing stronger and stronger ever since the Beast Incursion began.”

That was no surprise.

Five months into the Beast Incursion and the drive to survive had become a new permanent fixture in the motivations of most Martial Artists, making them fight harder and grow faster.

The drive to survive was arguably the strongest drive that one could possibly have. And when tapped into, one was capable of many things that they wouldn’t be able to tap into otherwise.

“Have you two been training the children of the orphanage in Martial Art?” Rui raised an eyebrow. The two of them exchanged glances before turning back to him and nodding. “We have especially ramped it up since the Beast Incursion commenced.”

Rui frowned. “As things stand for the Kandrian Empire, the Beast Incursion is more dangerous for Martial Artists than civilians since we are the ones who are confronting it. If you want to protect someone in the Kandrian Empire, you should not make them a Martial Artist.”

“For now, but if things take a turn for the worse then only Martial Artists will be able to protect themselves, big brother,” Mana replied, earning a nod from Max.

Rui could understand this rationale, but it struck him as more likely to be detrimental. “The Kandrian Empire is not weak. We are the strongest. We have the highest quantity and quality of Martial Artists compared to the rest of the world. We are not in a state where we need to start rounding up ordinary civilians and start mass-training them for the sake of gaining as many Martial Artists as possible. As long as I’m there, we won’t need to resort to such measures. Still…”

His tone grew melancholic. “I suppose it is not the worst thing to train them to defend themselves and the people they care about.”

“Anything can happen, big brother. We must be strong enough to protect ourselves.”

He heaved a sigh, ultimately relenting.

He could have the Martial Union change protocols to ensure that Apprentices were fully broken in and trained to deal with the Beast Incursion instead of just throwing them into the defense and expect them to learn by experience.

With the amount of power and influence that he had, he could easily instate such changes unilaterally.

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