The Martial Unity

Chapter 2368:  Grave Aftermath

Once the battle ended and the Martial Artist filed their reports, the aftermath began.

And the aftermath was grave.

The death of Sage Lauren, the native protector of the Shionel Confederation, was a deep and by far the worst blow to the nation.

Their geopolitical power had instantly halved.

Instantly, it became harder to bargain with nations and organizations alike.

Instantly, it became harder to deter their enemies.

Instantly, the difficulty of conducting business for all Shionel merchants had risen significantly.

It didnʼt matter if the Martial Sage was not directly involved in the businesses of Shionel merchants. His death caused grave harm to the entire nation.

After all, raising capital became much harder.

Private investors and venture capital firms were less certain about the security of their businesses and organizations. Public shareholders dumped shares in the market, losing faith in their security and longevity, causing the Shionel Stock Exchange to experience a sharp plummet. Demand for both private and public equity fell, reducing not only the capital influx, but also the evaluations of their company, which in-turn cut off a lot of their international credit lines.

The sharp absence of credit was already being felt as the merchants urgently needed funds for the expenditure of repairs and securing of alternative supply lines and logistical infrastructure while the repairs were ongoing.

These were merely the acute consequences that had already begun.

The long-term consequences were no less horrific.

As a deeply commercial trade hub that imported and exported across all of East Panama and even all of the Panama Continent, the falling demand for their business, plummeting evaluations, lowering capital influx, and drying credit lines meant that they would be unable to earn the money to maintain the imports that were needed to sustain not just their businesses but also their entire nation.

If they couldnʼt maintain their economic power, then they wouldnʼt be able to stop all their Martial Artists from leaving for better lands.

The short-term and long-term consequences of the death of the sole native Martial Sage of the Shionel Confederation were terrible enough to cause the geopolitical and economic death of the entire nation.

If not for the fact that the nation still had one Martial Sage, there would be much greater panic and mass hysteria on the streets of the Shionel Confederation.

However, while Shionel citizens were grateful for the presence of at least one Martial Sage, the high-level merchants knew better.

Sage Sariawar was not answerable to the Shionel Merchant Guild.

She was answerable to Chairman Bradt Patrick.

In other words, the guildmaster was the only reason that the nation had not gone to the dogs yet.

Or one of two reasons, rather.

There was one more reason that, while they mourned for the death of Sage Lauren, they were still hopeful for the future.

Their newfound alliance with the Kandrian Empire.

Inside a highly secure conference hall in the Shionel Confederation sat the guildmaster of the nation, staring at a three-dimensional projection of the Emperor of Harmony.

”We have just suffered horrific losses…” Guildmaster Bradt began with an intense tone. ”So forgive me for skipping all formal etiquette and cutting right to the point.”

His eyes narrowed sharply. ”We require the Kandrian Empireʼs unreserved aid and support during these trying times. Monetary, logistical, Martial, political, and developmental aid. We hope that the Kandrian Empire will, in the spirit of our unofficial alliance, agree to give us the aid we seek.”

His expression did not betray the fear he felt inside at the possibility of the Kandrian Empire turning its back on him. They hadnʼt signed a single agreement.

They hadnʼt closed a single agreement.

Nothing was official yet.

As a businessman, he knew that handshakes and verbal agreements were meaningless.

Until a contract was signed and the first payment or transaction had occurred, the agreement could not be trusted.

Thus, it was not particularly unlikely for a nation to back out of an unofficial agreement like the one that they had had.

Of course, on a logical level, he knew it would not happen. The Britannian Empire, despite being part of the alliance, would be more than happy to welcome the Shionel Confederation to their ranks despite having partaken in this attack.

Most importantly, the Kandrian Empire had an extremely good track record with credibility, reliability, and trustworthiness.

Guildmaster Bradt could not think of a single time when the Emperor of Harmony had operated in bad faith.

Thus, he was extremely certain that the Kandrian Empire would enthusiastically go above and beyond to do more than what was ever expected of it in order to keep the Shionel Confederation a happy and satisfied ally.

And he was right.

”As the third emperor of the Kandrian Empire, I, Rael Di Kandria, hereby swear upon the great name of Kandria, to fulfill every single need of the Shionel Confederation in these trying times.” His tone was solemn. ”If you need capital, you will have as much as you want. Resources? More than you can store. Martial power? More than youʼll know what to do with. Logistical aid and other services will be fully taken care of by us and our allies. I will even commission the search for an available Sage who is willing to sign decade-long protection commissions with the Shionel Confederation to return things to how they were before. I will propose deep partnership agreements that will benefit not just the Shionel Confederation but also the Kandrian Empire.”

It was still only words thus far, but the guildmaster grew satisfied with the attitude of the Kandrian Emperor. He didnʼt use the weakened position to try and squeeze as much out of them in the short term.

He understood that building unbreakable bonds between the two nations and empowering the Shionel Confederation as an absolute ally would benefit the Kandrian Empire immensely in the long run. It was why nations were even giving the Kandrian Empire a serious chance despite the fact that they were up against three powerhouses.

”I look forward to all of this, Emperor Rael.” Guildmaster Bradt smiled.