The Martial Unity

Amare’s greatest flaw was assuming the best in people.

A smile, a welcoming greeting, and an offer for help.

That was all it took.

That was all it took to earn her goodwill.

And yet, he couldn’t blame her. With his warm mannerisms, his friendly demeanor, and his kind words, Rui couldn’t detect even the slightest hint of hostility from the man.

In fact, there wasn’t even the tiniest hint of bloodlust emanating from his mind. Rui’s Martial Mind sense couldn’t identify even the slightest hint of malevolence.

Everything, physical or mental, pointed in the direction that the man before them was genuine.

And yet, an instinct deep within his heart whispered a single thing.

A single warning.

“A monster.”

His irises were sky-blue, gazing at them with a cheery glint. His body language was relaxed, as though he wasn’t in the most hellish abyss known to man. Despite being at the very center of one of the most brutal massacres and battlefields that Rui had ever seen in his entire life, not even the slightest speck of blood could be spotted on his body.

He didn’t have so much as a single scratch on his body.

Not a single bruise.

His glistening white Martial attire was kempt while his curly silver hair was groomed neatly.

He looked out of place.

“You don’t seem to be doing too well,” his tone was light and friendly. “Would you like some help?”

Thoughtful.

And yet, every word he uttered sent chills down Rui’s spine.

Something was wrong.

Something was profoundly wrong.

“…Were you responsible for this?” a faint murmur escaped Rui. The monster in human form smiled as he simply nodded.

“Of course. I helped them to the best of my abilities.”

His tone was light.

And matter-of-factly.

Like he had just uttered the most mundane and insignificant words.

Amare’s eyes widened with a hint of horror. “Help…?”

The scattered corpses spread across the entire battlefield weren’t just killed.

They were tortured.

Ripped apart bit by bit.

Rui could tell because of how much blood had been spilled. Blood began coagulating almost immediately are death, ripping a body apart while or after they died would lead to most of the blood coagulating before it dripped out.

In order for so much blood to be spilled that a battlefield large than a city was drowned in blood to the ankles, one needed to keep one’s victims alive while shredding them bit by bit.

It was chilling.

And yet—

“I helped them.” He nodded at Amare.

STEP

STEP STEP

He began walking towards them.

“I helped them to the best of my ability.”

His gait was relaxed.

As was his body language.

And yet, it only sent chills across Amare’s skin.

“Suffering and death…” her voice was hurt, “…you call this help?”

“Of course.” His tone was friendly and warm. “I spared them from an even worse fate.”

His tone chilled a few degrees. “Weakness.”

A satisfied and validated smile appeared on his face.

The kind of smile that might appear on one’s face from the heartwarming feeling of doing a good deed to help another person.

He gazed straight into Amare’s eyes. “I helped them.”

His tone was sincere. “Helped them get rid of their weakness by killing them.”

Rui’s expression grew severe while Amare’s expression morphed with horror.

He arrived before them.

The air was electric.

It tingled with peril.

He simply stood before them with a friendly smile. “I think…”

His smile widened sweetly.

“I think I will help you as well.”

What followed exceeded Rui’s and Amare’s ability to react.

BOOOM!!!!!

A thundering blow crashed into Rui, launching him away.

Amare was shocked frozen as her gaze slowly turned towards her side.

One moment, he was simply standing there.

The very next moment?

It was as thought he had teleported.

As thought time had frozen while he struck Rui.

“You are strong,” the monster spoke as he continued walking in the direction that Rui had been launched in. “You do not need my help. But as for him…”

STEP

STEP

STEP

He arrived before the crater that Rui has landed within.

A cloud of dust appeared on his face.

His voice was chilling.

“I can’t sense your power.”

He gazed at the silhouette within the cloud of dust.

“Allow me to help you shed your weakness.”

WHOOSH

A blindingly swift Flowing Canon emerged from the depths of the dust cloud, surging towards his head with a fierce speed.

And yet—

WHOOSH

The attack was missed as the man disappeared in the face of the attack as Rui’s widened with a stunned expression.

His instincts tingled as he felt the briefest hint of danger to his side.

BOOOM!!!

He barely managed to shift his vitals out of the way as the thundering attack blasted him once more.

“Rui!” Amare surged with a ferocious expression.

“Stay out of the way.”

His tone was sharp and unyielding.

Amare hesitated.

And then she saw his expression.

The briefest hint of a smile cracked at the edge of his mouth while his eyes were lit with excitement.

The monster’s smile faded. “Does weakness please you?”

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!!!

A barrage of blows bombarded Rui as he struggled to react to any of them.

It was unlike anything Rui had ever experienced in his life. This wasn’t speed.

His raw movement speed was extremely impressive, but not beyond what Rui could handle. He wasn’t using any hypnosis or mental tricks to sabotage Rui’s reaction time, either.

It was as though his attacks began out of nowhere.

They came out of nowhere.

BOOOM!!!

Rui gritted his teeth as a thundering blow flung him away. He immediately activated Nemean Blossom as he realized that actively defending against his opponent was untenable, not until he figured out what was happening.

It had been a long time since he had been this pressured by an opponent. He had almost forgotten what it was like to fight a formidable Martial Master, even by his standards. The very notion thrilled him.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!!

Rui found his blood racing for the first time in a long time in a battle against a Martial Master.

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