The Martial Unity

“Sir, our intel suggests that the Dawnbringer is in Sector 3445AJ79 of the inter-city labyrinth, according to the most recent spotting from the surveillance corps.”

“Relaying intel to Sage Sielken as per protocol.”

“Please confirm, Your Sagehood.”

In a busy command center, a large team of analysts and intelligence officers of the intelligence force of the Nest of Terra busily handled an influx of intel reports on the location and movements of Prince Rui.

The moment Consul Sergenilius had decided to use force against the Dawnbringer to physically prevent him from finding the Scriptures of Terra, his faction got to work, tracking the Dawnbringer actively with powerful surveillance while cooperating with Sages on standby.

“Confirmed,” Sage Sielken narrowed his eyes. “Commencing target capture.”

WHOOSH

He disappeared from his dispatch base, surging through the Nest of Terra at a tremendously frightening speed. He rapidly entered the labyrinth of tunnels in between cities, heading straight to the designated sector where the Dawnbringer was last spotted, according to the most recent intel reports from the surveillance corps.

And yet, he never reached.

BOOOOOOM!!!!!

RUMBLE!!!

The world shook as Sage Sielken’s rapid charge was blocked by a fellow Sage.

“Going somewhere, Sielken?” Sage Kyria’s cold voice reached the man from within the cloud of dust before him.

“Kyria…” Sage Sielken growled. “Get out of my way.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’m afraid not.”

“You don’t want to do this.” His eyes flared with bloodlust. “This is exactly what I want to do, Sielken,” she glared coldly at him. “Stopping filthy traitors like you gives me greater joy than any other, short of accomplishing our ultimate objective.”

Her words evoked his wrath, stoking his anger.

“I’M THE TRAITOR?” He bellowed. “YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE, DARE TO CALL ME A LOYAL SOLDIER TO MY NATION, A TRAITOR?”

“You’re a traitor to Martial Artists,” she snorted. “You’re a traitor to Martial Art itself.”

He gritted his teeth. “I don’t serve Martial Art. Martial Art serves me. You power-hungry treacherous Martial Artists of the Martial Faction have forgotten to whom you swore allegiance!”

“Enough talk,” she snorted. “When we accomplish our ultimate objective, we will thoroughly re-educate you. Until then…”

Her eyes sharpened. “Stay away from the Dawnbringer.”

Sage Sielken’s expression crumbled with rage. “I don’t think so.”

BOOOM!!!

Their battle was muted, for they were too close to the cities. While they had thoroughly opposing political objectives, the one thing that they agreed upon was that they couldn’t allow any harm to befall the citizens of the Nest of Terra.

If not for the fact that the bedrock around cities prevented the flux of seismic energy, even this level of output would have reached their citizens, causing immense harm. But regardless, Sage Sielken failed to break past Sage Kyria.

He wasn’t the only one.

Of the many Sages that surged towards Rui, not a single one had managed to actually reach him. The Martial Faction stood guard like a hawk, intercepting any and all Sages that rapidly approached him with the intention of halting his search for the Scriptures of Terra.

Numerous battles between Sages erupted across the Nest of Terra.

The Martial faction succeeded in holding off the Martial Sages of the non-Martial faction that aimed to prevent Rui from finding the Scriptures of Terra while Rui covered every inch of area that he could cover in his voyage through the Nest.

This wasn’t easy when they were simultaneously dealing with an all-out Beast Incursion with Beast tides ravaging their border. It required Sages, on one hand, to fight each other at home while simultaneously fighting by each other’s side when dealing with the beasts and monsters.

And yet, although it appeared to be a stalemate, just the fact that Rui’s search of the Scriptures had not been impeded was a victory for the Martial Faction. That alone meant that regardless of the individual outcomes, the Martial Faction had accomplished its goal while the non-Martial Faction had failed.

“Sage Sielken has been intercepted, Your Excellency.”

“Sage Mierra has also been intercepted.”

“Sage Keltin has also been intercepted.”

Consul Sergenilius’ expression grew frustrated. “Goddammit! She is going absolutely all out. There is no doubt that she has thrown the gauntlet and is ready to go absolutely all-out to accomplish her ultimate objective!”

He was truly angered by how difficult it had proven to be just to reach the Dawnbringer when he was within their domain of power. It appeared that the Martial Faction had harbored even greater belief and faith in his ability to find the Scriptures of Terra.

“…what about the Beggar’s Sect? Have they responded yet?” “No, Your Excellency,” one intelligence officer nervously gulped. “They have completely ignored all our attempts at contacting them. It appears that they are no longer willing to help us anymore.”

BANG

His fist slammed the table with fury. “Can’t trust those filthy beggars!”

The Beggar’s Sect had been a staunch ally of the non-Martial Faction, helping them sabotage the Martial Faction and prevent them from making progress in their goals. Yet, they had suddenly cut off all communication and collaboration with the non-Martial faction when they needed their help the most.

With the intel of the Beggar’s Sect, they would probably be able to actually reach Rui before they were intercepted due to having more accurate and timely intelligence on his location. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they were prioritizing their relationship with the Dawnbringer despite the ideological disagreement with the consequences of his actions. The only thing he could be grateful for was that it didn’t appear that they were helping the Martial faction either; it appeared that they were content with staying out of the matter entirely.

“Something needs to change,” he realized. “We can’t keep sending Martial Sages only for them to get intercepted. At this rate, we will never be able to stop him from finding the Scriptures of Terra!”

“Your Excellency…” one of his subordinates hurriedly supplied him with a file. “We… we might have figured out a solution!”

The man frowned as he dived into the file, reading the documents with great care and scrutiny.

His eyes lit up.

“This might actually work.”