The Martial Unity

He wandered through the streets of the harbor city, studying the people and the layout of the entire place with a curious gaze. He avoided major markets like those of the elves and the dwarves; he knew that he wouldn’t find what he was looking for over there.

The port city had a more slummy part further into the society, far away from the pristine parts of the town that faced the sea, welcoming everybody who came into a majestic display of a bustling trade hub.

The immense economic activity pushed out many who couldn’t afford the way of life that occurred in the heart of the city, pushing them to the edges and the far end, where they relied on illegal and shady ways of making money.

STEP

He eventually found himself in a district that was markedly different from the ones he had explored with Amare. It was characterized by broken buildings and shitty infrastructure, with nothing above a single storey still intact.

The roads had turned into mud paths laden with gravel, while the air reeked of garbage, much of which was littered across the side of the streets.

The darkness that had come past dusk bore heavily on the world around him, coming alive as a sense of peril lingered in the air. The people here had a sense of wariness in their eyes, even if they were of different races, some pureblood and some hybrid.

STEP

He found himself in an alley with several hooded figures speaking in whispers.

“Hm, you guys look like you might be, or at least know, some information brokers,” he loudly remarked, drawing attention from them.

They turned towards him with a hint of alarm before immediately running away.

They couldn’t, of course.

“Breathing Crucifix.”

They froze, choking as they collapsed to the ground, clawing at their chest.

Against Martial Artists, it could only hamper breathing, but against regular people, it could completely seal off any breathing.

He dispelled the hypnosis after a few seconds, walking over to the three hooded figures. He could tell that they were hybrids between tekvores and therianthropes by the scales and the cyborg technological implants.

“Interesting.” His eyes lit up as he pondered how that would work.

“W-What the hell are you?!” one woman among them asked desperately, gasping for air after he released the hypnosis.

“Tell me,” Rui squatted before them. “Who is the most knowledgeable information broker in this empire?”

A look of pure terror appeared in her eyes. “Get the hell away from me!”

Her hand contained a plasma cannon integrated into it as it activated.

It was too slow, of course.

CRACK!

Rui effortlessly broke her arm, destroying the weapon within.

“ARGGHHHH!” she screamed with pain.

“Answer my question,” Rui told her in a calm tone. “Who is the most knowledgeable information broker in this empire?”

“…”

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” Rui remarked. “I can tell you guys are up to no good. If I toss you to the authorities, that wouldn’t be good for you, would it?”

“…” she shivered.

Not in pain, but with fear.

She shook her head vigorously, refusing to open her mouth.

“Are you that afraid of the person that I’m asking about?” Rui raised an eyebrow.

She gazed at him with horror in her eyes.

“You have no idea.”

Rui’s eyes lit up with interest.

If the information broker she had in mind was able to inspire so much fear in her, then it was a good chance that she was truly powerful by virtue of the information she possessed.

“…The Whisperer, Lady Ghen…” she spoke with a shaky breath, “is the most knowledgeable person in this isla—”

“Caw… caw…” The loud sound of a crow sent chills down her spine.

She turned desperately as her eyes widened with fear.

A group of crows had already arrived at the scene.

Rui frowned at the sight as he realized something was wrong.

It was just the crows.

Rates emerged from little holes in the alleyways.

Their eyes were blood-red.

They squeaked as they began swarming around her.

“NO!” the woman screamed with horror. “I didn’t tell him anything! I didn’t tell him anything!”

It was of no use.

The crows and the rats lunged at her with ferocity, devouring her viciously, while roots emerged from the ground, holding her still where she was, shackling her resistance against the animals.

Rui simply watched with a mystified expression, trying to get more information about what he was dealing with.

The animals were not normal.

He could tell that much.

They were being manipulated.

They were also in a hazy state of mind, which indicated that they were likely under the influence of some substance.

He also recognized something deeper ,however.

He hadn’t been exposed to the Beast Path or beast manipulation all that much, but he could sense that they were going through something of the same sort. Indicating that whoever was manipulating them was a therianthrope.

However, the roots that held the woman down while the rats and crows consumed the woman alive were clearly manipulated through nature manipulation, which meant that he was dealing with elven blood.

“…A therianthrope and elven hybrid?” Rui raised an eyebrow with curious fascination even as the crows and the rats devoured the screaming woman alive.

Soon enough, her struggles halted, as did her pained screams.

The crows and rats dispersed from the area.

What was left behind was nothing.

They had completely devoured her entire body; not even the tiniest patch of blood was left.

Rui already had a good idea of what he was dealing with.

The ability to act from afar and to intervene without being traced back to them was a precious one that gave them quite the advantage in most interactions.

Unfortunately for the person he was dealing with, they had no fathoming of what Rui was capable of.

He was the King of Beasts.

The Emperor of the Beast Domain.

“R̷̛͎̭̰̝̩̒̇͊̕̚͠a̸͚̫̒̿͆̀̇̚r̵̜̟̖̝͔͈̳̦̹̂̓̂̆̄̎r̶̪̩̀̄̕ŗ̵̣̜̳͍͇̜̈ͅ…” he snarled, conveying a single command to the dispersing crows and rats.

Lead me to your master.

The rats and crows froze as his Authority of Alpha overrode all the control that the person manipulating had over them. They instantly rushed back to him, prostrating before him deferentially.

As you please, Sovereign of Beasts.

Rui grinned as he followed after the crows and rats that led him where he sought to go.