The Martial Unity

Rui’s ethereal voice reflected just a hint of the guilt he felt deep inside him. He still bore a sense of responsibility for what had happened to his father, and the notion that he was defying what his father’s will was was not particularly helpful to the guilt that he felt.

“Still…” His expression grew determined. “It does not change anything. It doesn’t change my conviction and my reasons for doing this, nor the fact that I have already committed to it in heart and mind. I will become the next Emperor and implement my vision of the world. I will use it the empower my growth.”

“I am with you to the very end, Your Highness,” Claris affirmed with a firm expression. “Those are all of the important developments in the throne war that I wished to inform you of. The anti-Rui alliance believes that you are going to choose a prince or princess to support, one that aligns with your ideology. Currently, they believe that you have chosen to support Princess Ranea.”

Rui raised an eyebrow as a small smile cracked at the edge of his mouth. “They think that I’m supporting Ranea? That’s funny.”

“They believe it because of the obvious shift in the princess after she chose to become a part of your alliance,” Secretary Claris replied. “Based on everything that I am able to gather, they still have absolutely no idea that you actually intend to ascend upon the throne.”

Rui frowned. “Is it really that hard to believe? Even before I had my little enlightenment on the nature of responsibility, I was still willing to ascend the throne and stabilize the Kandria and Panama.”

“Hah!” The Shepherd snorted, shifting her thick glasses with a finger before glaring at Rui with her auburn eyes. “You forsook the throne even when you were a Martial Senior and had the most to gain by ascending it. Now you are the most powerful man without the throne and gain nothing by ascending it; it’s no wonder that not a single person thinks you will become Emperor. I, too, would have ruled it out if I didn’t know better.”

“…Is that so? Well, then they’re going to have the shock of their lives when I announce my bid for the throne in two days,” Rui remarked with a hint of anticipation.

He wondered what kind of expression all the princes and princesses of the world would make when they realized that he would be taking the throne for himself rather than endorsing a prince or princess.

“Currently, we have managed to handle housing provisions for the heads of state of the most important leaders in the world. Right now, we’re scrambling to arrange transportation for each of them,” Claris informed her boss. “We have also booked an appropriate venue considering the sheer scale of the event, and we are ironing out logistics for the funeral. In two days, the world will gather at the royal funeral. Until then, I suggest you do not make too many moves. If you want your bid for the throne to have the highest impact, then you must not give people any reason to even consider it to be a realistic possibility beforehand.”

Rui wanted the announcement for his bid for the throne to be so heavy that it would instantly crush the fermenting political maelstrom within the Kandrian Empire and the Panama Continent. The more impactful the announcement, the more decisive the resolution of the political mess would be.

“Two days…” Rui gazed at his translucent hand. “Two days and the world will change.”

The weight of what they were building up was not lost upon either of his new subordinates. Claris and the Shepherd understood the sheer magnitude of what was to come, and the sheer amount of influence they had on the future of the world just by directly serving the most powerful man on the continent, making what was perhaps the most important decision of his life.

“This has been a fruitful talk.” Rui got up as he directed a knowing gaze far, far into the distance. “I need to get going…”

His eyes sharpened.

“They have woken up.”

Far away in another part of Kandria, in a luxury hotel complex administered specifically to accommodate Martial VIPs, a large number of Martial Sages began gathering in a banquet hall.

The golden lights within the hall dispelled the darkness of the dusk sky outside, illuminating them warmly. A vast spread of tables stretched from one end to the other in the spacious, luxurious setting, enough to accommodate each and every single Martial Sage in human civilization. The spread of food across the banquet hall was even wider, taken from every major cuisine in the world to accommodate the palate of every Martial Sage on the continent.

“Esteemed Sages and guardians of human civilization, we express our gratitude for your services to Panama and Kandria.” The manager of the establishment bowed deeply before the various Martial Sages who had taken their due rest, waking up soon. “Please partake in today’s lunch arrangements. We have endeavored to take care of every last detail of comfort so that you are not inconvenienced in any way. Please let us know if we are able to help in any other way.”

“A banquet, hm?” The Reverend of Reckoning directed a sweeping gaze around. “Very well. I suppose I have worked up an appetite after all that fighting and subsequent resting.”

“I’m starving, I’m not gonna hold back,” the Terrampager grinned as he dug into the food immediately.

“Man, the Kandrian Empire sure knows how to pamper Martial Sages, I’ll tell you that, there’s so much food that not even I can eat all of it!” Sage Archyle Mirne of the Republic of Gorteau grinned with gluttony.

“They even have Sekigaharan cuisine,” Sage Himari lit up the varied assortment of sushi in the buffet.

“Oh? These root dishes taste just like home back in the Nest of Terra,” Sage Kyria chewed away at some fried root balls.

“They even have blood soup…” Vice Lord Mariel’s blood-red eyes lit up with a hint of shock. “This… this is truly stunning. I thought our cuisine was regarded as disgusting by the rest of the world.”

The Martial Sages immediately began helping themselves with the food, eating well as the relief of the conclusion of the war hung in the air. Indeed, they had faced losses, but they did not let it dull the gallant atmosphere of victory. Death and loss were simply part and parcel of the Martial Path, especially for those who had risen to the very pinnacle of the Martial World.

WHOOSH

Rui appeared before them in the blink of an eye, drawing all of their attention in one fell swoop.