The Martial Unity

“We must use this opportunity to strip away power from the Kandrian Empire.”

In a conference room, Prime Minister James leaned forward, planting his elbows at the head of the conference table. His young eyes shone with ambition as he directed a sweeping gaze at the various leaders of the Panama Continent.

“In the past, it was impossible, but since His Majesty has decided to liberalize space conquest and expansion, we must use this moment to pool our power together to ensure that we outpace the Kandrian Empire in the stars, to give us more leverage,” Prime Minister James insisted with a strong tone of voice. “If the Kandrian Empire gains the kind of dominance in outer space that it has in the Panama Continent, then we will never be able to gain any kind of leverage.”

The other leaders of Sage-level powerhouses exchanged glances with each other. Everybody knew that the successor of Prime Minister Edward was a hot-blooded, relatively young man with great nationalistic ideals about the grandeur of the Britannian Empire.

However, they hadn’t expected that he would be this forthright with his desire to form a coalition with the rest of Panama, specifically removing the Kandrian Empire. The fact that Minister Ru, who was the Minister of Harmony of the Kandrian Empire, wasn’t present was a rather pointed act of unfriendliness. Many Sage-level powerhouses even began sweating over whether they should have even accepted this meeting. There was no way that the Kandrian Empire wasn’t aware of this meeting. It would undoubtedly take note of their participation.

“That reaction…” Prime Minister James sharpened his eyes, directing a sweeping gaze across the room. “That reaction is precisely why we need to do this. Look at all of you…”

His expression contorted with disgust. “Cowering! Cowering at the very thought of the Kandrian Empire disapproving of you! What happened to us?! We used to be equals just some decades ago, and now we have been completely left in the dust!”

His words were deeply offensive and antagonistic, not to mention highly inappropriate for a diplomatic conference of this kind. If he had said this in public, they would have had no choice but to condemn his words to save face.

But in this conference meeting, it was just them. They couldn’t lie to themselves when he pointed out what they all knew.

They were terrified of the Kandrian Empire.

The Kandrian Empire wasn’t even particularly scary in its foreign policy. The Void Order was indeed unpleasant to a lot of the political class, but ultimately, their subjects thrived underneath, so they couldn’t say it was bad.

What was terrifying was that the Kandrian Empire could conquer all of Panama if it really wanted to.

But it chose not to.

It allowed them to survive.

And yet, because of that power differential, it made them feel deeply wary about ever giving the Kandrian Empire a reason to intervene. And there had been moments in the past where it did intervene, having even executed leaders of other Sage-level powerhouses, like Consul Notera of the Nest of Terra.

That was why everybody was on their best behavior, especially outside of their jurisdictions, when engaging with the rest of the continent. This had especially heightened after Rui broke through to the Transcendent Realm and defied the patterns of Transcendents of the past.

He didn’t seclude himself and withdraw.

Instead, he grew even more involved. He exercised his power without too much restraint.

This was something that was unprecedented in Panamic history.

“Don’t be too scared of that wet emperor,” Prime Minister James scoffed with contempt. “He’s not going to do anything even if we openly show our desire to gain more power to balance against his. If he did…”

The man smiled. “He would destroy the reputation that he has built over the past six years as Emperor. A tolerant and accepting Emperor who allows civilization to flow and change like water, or whatever. He has put effort into cultivating that image; he won’t just waltz over and try to oppress us just because we try and expand through the cosmos.”

His eyes sharpened. “And why shouldn’t we? I’m not saying we should wage war against the Kandrian Empire. All I’m saying is that we should grow strong enough to at least resist the overwhelming influence of the Kandrian Empire. Right now, the Kandrian Empire is like the adult, and we Sage-level powerhouses are like helpless infants. We should grow up to at least being adolescents with some power and agency. And…”

He stretched out an arm. “We can do it together. We can grow stronger together if we coordinate our efforts and our resources. If this works out, then even the Kandrian Empire will be forced to show us some respect. And that is all I want. I don’t seek to overthrow them, I just want to be able to speak to the Emperor of Water as not an inferior.”

And therein lay the true motivations. It wasn’t even uncommon among prime ministers of Britannia. They had a personal ego that was quite intense and stubborn.

Still, his words did resonate with them. No matter what, they were still the leaders of the most powerful nations in the world. It did bruise their pride and self-esteem when they became doormats for the Kandrian Empire. Minister Ru was friendly and harmonious, but everybody could sense how easily she got her way every time they had a conference on some issue or agenda.

“What do you have in mind?” President Merel of the Republic of Gorteau asked with a cautious expression. “We have great ties with the Kandrian Empire. I don’t want to do anything that will compromise it.”

Prime Minister James knew that this was the opportunity to bait them with a low-risk, simple plan that would produce great results nonetheless.

“I propose we create a consortium with all Sage-level nations,” Prime Minister James began with a serious tone of voice. “Wouldn’t that include the Kandrian Empire?” Blood Lord Mariel asked with a raised eyebrow.

Prime Minister James couldn’t control the smile that emerged on his face.

“The Kandrian Empire is no longer a Sage-level powerhouse. They are a Transcendent powerhouse. So they do not count anymore. Thus, they are ineligible to enter our consortium.”

It was the perfect excuse.

The expressions of the various leaders grew more serious as they realized the political and diplomatic merits of framing such a consortium in this manner, turning towards the young prime minister with a hint of regard

He was inexperienced, a little politically immature, and a little egotistical, but this was a man who had been chosen by none other than Prime Minister Edward himself. The conference continued as more and more of them grew more attracted by his proposal.