The Martial Unity

By the time he was done, seventy percent of them had agreed to his offer on the spot, while fifteen percent refused for varying reasons, usually because the conditions were incompatible with their life paths. Another fifteen percent was undecided.

It wasn’t a matter that required immediate decision-making in the first place.

After all, they weren’t going to drop dead any time soon.

“The Kandrian Empire will welcome you any time and in any place.” Rui’s final words in the meeting were heavy.

BZZZT

The meeting came to an end as the hologram projections disappeared, leaving only three real people in the room in an awkward and tense silence. The Psycher had some misgivings about what Rui had done, while the Esoterist was pissed off at his friend for deceiving him the entire time.

“I ought to slap you in the face with my new exoskeleton.”

“My body is superhuman, so if that makes you feel better, you may go right ahead,” the Psycher offered. “Your anger is justified and understandable. However, I’m not sorry. If I had to do it all over again, I would. Human civilization would have perished or suffered great harm and sanction if not for your countless contributions. We have acted with great deceit, yes, but we have done it for the sake of human civilization.”

The Esoterist sharpened his eyes as they bore deep into those of his friend, before the man eventually heaved a sigh, shaking his head.

“Whatever, I’m not the type to care about this kind of stuff. Still… it’s unnerving to know that there is no continuity between me and the original Esoterist… that I’m just a vessel with implanted memories.” He gazed at his hands with a deep expression. “…Looks like I’m really going to stock up on those longevity potions, huh? Also, death feels real now. Damn… this sucks.”

The Psycher turned towards Rui with a resigned expression. “You are ambitious. And greedy.”

Rui shrugged. “People who don’t take will only be taken from. If I’m to raise Kandria to greater heights, then I’m going to have to draw talent and greatly brain-drain the entire continent. No longer will I allow Esocline Federation to monopolize science and technology.”

He turned towards the Esoterist with a pointed gaze. “When I’m done, the Kandrian Empire will become more technologically advanced than your nation.”

“Ambitious indeed.” The Esoterist grinned. “Bring it on, punk. I’ve been around a lot, a lot longer than you have. It’s not going to be easy to beat me.”

The Psycher simply shook his head at the exchange with exasperation. “What has been done is done. I hope this was worth it, because your relationship with the Beggar Sage is definitely frosty now. He won’t act in a hostile manner against you, but you can forget about favors or purchasing any intelligence from him. Out of the three of us, it was the Beggar Sage who actually cared about the Immortal Sage program the most. I was supportive, and the Divine Doctor was the least invested. So the beggar will definitely take this blow the hardest.”

“I have other ways to make him comply once he gets over this,” Rui replied with a calm tone. “Including what he desires the most. More importantly, I intend to create an actual immortal sage program in the Kandrian Empire formally once I ascend the throne. Death is something that people fear, and immortality should be an irresistible offer. Allowing you fellows to monopolize it when I can easily offer something much better would be a foolish move from my end.”

He also planned to use the immortal sage program to win over the intellectual sector of human society to his rule. They were an important stakeholder, and not all of them had the best opinion of Martial Artists ruling human civilization, given how poorly that fared for the intellectual sectors of society.

However, with the support of the best intellectuals and the announcement of his immortal sage program, he should be able to get even more widespread support, giving him an even more powerful mandate from the people when he ascended the throne.

“Alright, that deals with the main reason I’m here,” Rui remarked. “That brings me to the second reason.”

He turned towards the Esoterist with a pointed gaze.

“How is Sentinel Prime doing?”

Rui had dropped the leader of the sentinels with the Esoterist so that he could get rid of NOVA’s program in the central processing system. Ensuring that he was returned to normal was very important to Rui. He didn’t even want to control the sentinel the way NOVA had. He believed the best thing they could get was for this pathwalker to be returned to normal and set free with a heavy debt to Rui.

“We’ve almost fixed him,” the Esoterist replied simply. “It was easy enough since we could operate on him. We’re holding off on the last step since, well, we don’t know what he will do when he wakes up. He’s a top-ten pathwalker, so I don’t want to take any risks.”

Rui got up with a serious expression. “Then take me there. I’ll ensure nothing happens.”

The Esoterist directed a knowing gaze at Rui and his ethereal body. So much had happened that there wasn’t even enough time to address all the changes that Rui had clearly gone through.

However, one thing had become clear from studying his latest battle.

He was unstoppable on the battlefield.

The Esoterist heaved a sigh. “Fine. Just make sure nothing gets harmed. Not even a scratch, got it?”

“Will do.”

The Esoterist snapped his finger as the two of them teleported to a chamber in the Esocline Federation where the body of Sentinel Prime floated midair with several instruments tinkering with the electronics in his body. The glass windows into the chamber revealed teams of computer scientists outside monitoring the mainframe of the sentinel’s body.

“Good luck.” The Esoterist walked out of the chamber, shutting Rui alone within it. “Alright, folks, the Dawnbringer is here. So let’s proceed with the final step of the reset.”

VMMM

The sentinel’s floating body shuddered as the circuitry on his body began glowing prominently.

Then, his eyes opened.