The Martial Unity

Chapter 2809: Shifting World

The atmosphere of human civilization had changed.

It had changed ever since the Abyssal Dragon had emerged from the Beast Domain.

Previously, the embers of hope that Rui and Amare had rekindled painstakingly rekindled in the past three years had been ruthlessly crushed by the appearance of a single quasi-Transcendent monster.

It had drowned people in despair. That wasnʼt all. Its impact wasnʼt merely limited to people.

It also extended to the crazed beasts and monsters emerging from the Beast Domain. Ever since the Abyssal Dragon had emerged in East Panama, wreaking untold havoc, the beast and monsters had grown more galvanized. They had grown more aggressive.

”ROOOAAARRR!!!”

”RAAAWWWRRR!!!”

”KRIIIEEEKKK!!!”

Rui narrowed his eyes as he unleashed several thundering Yin-Yang Spears on the many beasts and monsters that mindlessly lunged at him. BOOOM!!! BOOOM!!! BOOOM!!!

Several more leaped on him from behind, hoping to get him in his blind spot.

BOOOOOM!!!

Amare vanquished them with a swift roundhouse kick, launching them into the distance.

”Letʼs take for the skies for now,” Rui told her. ”Itʼs slower, but we can avoid wasting too much energy.”

She nodded, taking his hand as he activated Greater Phantomind Void, simply melting into thin air in the eyes of the beasts and monsters as the two of them sky-walked away.

”Theyʼve grown more fearless…” she murmured to him with a troubled expression.

Rui nodded. ”They all somehow know that one of their higher leaders has finally joined the fight. This makes them quite confident and aggressive.”

She nodded slowly. ”They will surely get worse if another monster emerges from the Beast Domain. We need to commence the Solution of Harmony immediately.”

It had indeed heightened the urge to commence the Solution. Rui, in particular, grew more determined to compel the Gu to commence the solution as soon as possible. He didnʼt know how successful he was, but the survival of countless people depended on it. As the two of them traveled across human civilization, they found it harder and harder to do what they had been doing all this time: imparting hope.

It was more difficult than it ever had been, even though it should have been easier. After all, the halo that Rui had cultivated since the dawn of his journey had only grown stronger and stronger. People had even greater faith in him that he had the power to save human civilization from the apocalypse of the Beast Incursion.

And yet, the emergence of one quasi-Transcendent monster had all but re-inspired the raw terror that the inception of the Beast Domain. Just as people were starting to shed their fear and learn to live in the Era of Darkness without spending every second tremoring with horror, this event reignited the original fear, misery, and despair that human beings regained.

Even with Amareʼs Genism magic, the difficulty of leaving people with hope and peace grew. The kind of destitution in spirit that they witnessed made it difficult for them to maintain their optimism about the psychological state of humanity.

In fact, if not for Ruiʼs existing journey of hellbreaker embedding and breakthroughs, there was a good chance that the structures of human civilization would have eroded. Without his contributions to the survival of humanity, there was a genuine chance that human civilization would be left with a handful of centers of survivors while the rest of humanity would simply break and eventually be consumed by the beast tides.

That wasnʼt all.

”The esoterification of the Human Domain has made even more gains,” Ruiʼs expression grew grave. ”I canʼt even contact the Kandrian Empire, even with a special communication device. It allows monsters to recuperate, heal, and reproduce more effectively, allowing the Beast Domain to become a more permanent fixture in our lives.”

”…At this rate, we will go back to how the world was before the Progenitor,” Amare murmured with a troubled expression. ”Itʼs impossible to even stop monsters from spreading across humanity without getting rid of the Beast at the very center of the Beast Domain.”

Rui nodded with a grave expression. ”Things will get tough. I donʼt think the Solution of Harmony will succeed in a matter of years, either. Most likely, even while the Sages fight in the Beast Domain, human civilization will simply have to grow accustomed to fighting on the defense for years and decades to come.”

The very fundamental structure of human civilization would change. It would grow into one where a much smaller portion of the Panama Continent would be under the absolute control of human civilization.

”Even after the Era of Darkness concludes, we may have to grow accustomed to an age where much of the continent is now a regrown mystery. The only clues we may have are records of the past and the ruins of old establishments—”

Rui froze as a single thought flashed in his mind.

”Lost Cities…” Rui fell into serious thought. ”What if this isnʼt the first time the Beast Incursion has happened with human civilization?”

Amareʼs eyes widened with shock. ”…You mean before the Age of Martial Art?”

Rui nodded as his eyes wandered around in thought. ”In the Empty Ages, for instance. What if there was once a civilization that existed far prior to ours that was wiped out thoroughly by a similar Beast Incursion, causing the Beast Domain to cover the entirety of the Panama Continent?”

Amare realized just how revolutionary the hypothesis would be if true. ”That would explain why Lost Cities exist and why the Beast Domain covered pretty much the entirety of the continent before the advent of Martial Art.”

”It might have also been responsible for the existing spread of esoteric substances across the entirety of the continent,” Rui realized. ”If thatʼs the case, then it would explain why Lost Cities seem to have not had any esoteric substances whatsoever. On top of that, it would explain why they got routed without Martial Art.”

Of course, this was all wild conjecture.

He had no idea about the spontaneous hypothesis. Regardless, he had no intention of allowing the current human civilization to follow in the path of these hypothesized ancestors.