The Martial Unity

2895  Not Much Time Left

The atmosphere across human civilization was tense.

The air was electric.

The civilians of human civilization, having just learned of the operation, were restless and uneasy about the thought of humanity being deprived of its Martial Sages. This was especially true for the Sage-level powerhouses whose citizens took great comfort in their mighty godly Sages who protected their respective polities from the destruction of the Beast Incursion.

What was especially alarming to them was the fact that the Martial Masters would supposedly be taking on the burden that the Martial Sages were once the ones to take. The announcement of the Solution of Harmony caused much chaos among people who had just started growing fully acclimatized to living in the Era of Darkness.

Regardless of what the people said, governments around the world continued their plans without much delay. The destructive siege weapons and other technology that served as the Esoterist’s solution were put in place as supplies and ammunition, stockpiled over four years and finally ready to be used.

The Martial Sages gathered, arming themselves with the necessary potions and automatic potion dispensary units that would allow them to consume potions easier and faster than the normal way. As pressured as the Martial Masters were, the Martial Sages were even more pressured. They would be fighting far, far away from human civilization in the depths of the Beast Domain. On top of that, they would be fighting against monsters that were so horrific that not even Martial Sages could necessarily draw victory against them. Furthermore, they would be fighting those monsters on their home turf and in their element. Up until now, all the beasts and monsters that emerged from the Beast Domain were nerfed by virtue of not being in their element.

This time, however, they would be facing their enemies at their very strongest. And then, of course, there was the Beast That Roared. The one who started all of this from the very beginning.

They knew its exact location thanks to the Ecologer, but that only made it more unnerving.

“Hehehe…” an excited chuckle escaped the Devil. “I can’t wait to fight that fellow!”

In a large facility in the Kandrian Empire, twenty-seven Martial Sages had gathered.

The very fabric of heaven and earth struggled under the weight of their beings. The world strained under the sheer magnitude of their existence. The air among them was grim and severe.

Barring the Devil, none of them looked like they were particularly comfortable in the current circumstances.

It couldn’t be blamed.

It was very rarely the case that all of them would get assigned a joint mission. It was even rarer that, despite being together in a joint mission, they would still experience profound fear of what was to come.

“You’re too excited,” Kane grumbled at his father. “Aah, I hate this. I wish I’d never broken through to the Sage Realm.”

Unfortunately, it was not something he could choose. It was not even something that he could get rid of retrospectively.

He truly regretted that he wouldn’t get to spend much time with Fae at home.

“Hah, don’t be a child, boy,” Damian Sage growled. “Overcoming tribulations is the only path to power.”

The Flickering Elder snorted at his claim. “And also the quickest path to death. Tribulations are one thing, but what we are about to do is going to get many of us killed.”

“That is correct,” Matriarch Nephi ominously remarked.

Her affirmation bore even heavier on the atmosphere.

“…It’s unfortunate, but such is the reality of being a Martial Artist,” the Flashing Flier heaved a sigh. “All of us knew just how dangerous being a Martial Artist was when we first signed up. Having broken through to the Sage Realm and turned into a valued powerhouse, the prospects of death used to be lower. But now, we will face the reckoning that comes with being humanity’s strongest warriors. We will have to face the greatest peril in our world headfront.”

Many were deeply displeased by this revelation.

“Tsk, just after I realized what the hell I’m looking for,” Sage Zeamer grumbled. “There are no pretty women in the Beast Domain. Although…”

His eyes lit up with lust as he directed a sweeping gaze across the women among the Sages in the room who glowered at him with murderous eyes. “Hehehe, I suppose I don’t have to worry about—”

“Don’t even think about it.”

Chills crawled across his spine as Sage Sera’s perilous voice reached him.

A cold, chilling smile appeared on her face as she regarded the Martial Sage with eyes of disdain and disgust, the way she would a pest.

Ever since she had reinvented her Martial Art in the Sage Realm, she had grown even eerier than before, causing Martial Sages to keep a wary distance. They had seen what kind of a menace she had been in the Master Realm, and nobody wanted to lose their Martial Soul or Enlightenment of Self. “Hehehe…” The fear only excited Sage Zeamer.

It was this thrilling sense of excitement that he sought.

“Must you be such a degenerate teacher?”

The air grew heavy as the final Martial Sage arrived at the dispatch facility housing his peers. The Martial Sages across the aisle stirred at the arrival of the final Sage, directing attentive eyes, their evaluating gaze swept over him. His Martial Attire was brand new and white, neatly enveloping his entire body, contrasting with the deathly tint his body seemed to have had at certain angles. The crest embroidered on its chest was that of the symbol of water.

His black hair had grown longer than they remembered it to be.

His black eyes were even more unfathomable than they were before.

The Devil grinned with a fiery battle spirit while Kane waved at him with a friendly smile. Each of the Martial Sages regarded him with a nod of respect and admiration.

“Let’s focus.”

Rui’s voice was calm and composed.

“There isn’t much time left.”

–