The Martial Unity

“He is responsible for the genocide that gave birth to the Panamic Martial Federation’s existing apparatus of rules and regulations.”

A billion human beings.

Erased in the single most horrifying genocide in the history of mankind. It became the birthplace of the Gu.

A cursed hellhole within human civilization.

One that all life instinctively stayed away from. The only ones who went there were those who yearned for power even in the face of death.

“An abyss said to be black from the rotten corpses and blood spilled from the genocide,” Prime Minister Edward’s tone was cold. “He is a demon. A monster in human form. He does not care for self-preservation. He does not care for norms. He does not care for civilization. He would wipe out ever life form in the world in his pursuit of power.”

He gazed straight into the eyes of the Emperor of Harmony. “Do you believe that you will be able to deter such a demon?”

Emperor Rael stirred as his rival’s words were sharp. “I am inclined to agree with the Britannian Prime Minister,” Bodhisattva Maitreyi remarked with a knowing expression. “I have met Sage Asmodeous just once in my entire life, and he is… different.”

Her expression grew severe. “Demon… a fitting description. Only a demon could have given rise to that hellish apocalypse known as the Gu.”

The other leaders fell into thought as they thought about what they knew about the Gu.

It was an abyss created by the Demon of Asmodeous for the sole purpose of breeding power. Vast populations of people were thrust into battle, leading to only the strongest surviving. This was done over and over and over until they forged warriors who were the strongest warriors in each Realm.

Yet, that wasn’t all. Gu translated to poison.

It was the most potent poison.

It was a poison extracted from the surviving insect of multiple poisonous and venomous insects sealed within a jar, said to be the most potent poison anywhere in the world. It was said that gu poison could be refined by doing this process over and over, cultivating even more potent gu poisons. Of course, these were largely legends.

Nobody knew the truth of the gruesomely horrific rituals that occurred within the Gu. Nobody wanted to know. With the most powerful Martial Artists residing in the hellhole of an abyss, no Sage-level powerhouse wanted to provoke the Gu.

It had happened once in the past.

A Sage-level powerhouse had tried to intervene in the deathly abyss out of humanitarian sentiment.

What followed shook the world.

The number of powerhouses was reduced from fifteen to fourteen.

“Mount Hua Sect and its naive virtues tried to dispel the darkness of the Gu more than a century ago,” Prime Minister Edward’s tone was grave. “And it paid the price and suffered absolute destruction, did it not?”

The entire mountain, all its disciples, and every last Martial Artists was exterminated from the world, not leaving a single survivor.

It was an extraordinarily powerful argument.

But that wasn’t all. “It is said that the genocide that Sage Asmodeous perpetrated was caused by the smallest of drops of his gu.”

The air chilled by a few degrees.

The atmosphere tingled with peril.

If a single drop of his gu could wipe out a billion human beings, then it would mean he could potentially wipe out all life on the planet.

The Demon of Asmodeous was a bigger threat to human civilization than the Beast Incursion.

The Era of Darkness, nothing short of a hellish nightmare to almost all nations, was simply a delightful spring to a monster like the Demon.

There was a reason he got away with as much as he did.

He had implicit deterrence.

As long as he simply kept quiet and remained within the impenetrable abyss of the Gu, the world was inclined to simply ignore him. Nobody knew what happened within it outside of the horrifying tales of a handful of survivors.

“I, too, would question the wisdom of sending the Dawnbringer to the Gu, Your Majesty,” the Vice President’s expression grew complicated. “If the Dawnbringer dies, then the Marinaera Kingdom and the Namgung Clan will also refuse to join because they will not have acquired his services. That is a much worse outcome than cooperating with an anomaly like the Gu.”

Emperor Rael’s expression grew graver as he thought about everything he knew of the Gu. It was a temple of death.

Its population was unknown, yet many estimated that it likely had far more people than even the Nest of Terra, although this was difficult to discern.

The Gu was armed with the most potent sensory isolating esoteric reserves that made it almost as difficult to peer into it as peering into the core of the Beast Domain.

It was a complete black box.

“Huff…” Emperor Rael heaved a deep breath. “I will leave the decision to my son.”

The leaders around the table stirred at his words.

“If my son, Prince Rui, decides that it is worth the risks to enter the Gu and earn their cooperation, then so be it.” The Emperor of Harmony put the matter to rest.

He trusted his son’s judgment even if it was flawed. He ultimately had gotten the job done each time, he believed that his son was a good enough to decide whether he wanted to go the Gu or not.

And thus, the matter was settled.

It would be a while before the decision was made. The Dawnbringer was still in a coma.

The price of fighting a Martial Sage was heavy. He had used Gigabrain longer in this battle than he had any battle prior, thanks to the Blood of Solaris. The blood evolution treatment had increased its output, but it also resulted in strain, requiring him to rest for longer than any period he had ever rested for in the past.

His physical injuries were also extraordinarily severe, delaying his recovery. And thus, the world waited.

It waited for the recovery of the Dawnbringer.

And his decision.

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