The Martial Unity

Chapter 2508: The Human Summit

BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT

In an absolutely massive conference room of the Adventurerʼs Guildʼs headquarters, a large number of projections lit up across the vast seats that circled around the podium at the center.

At the podium was a speakerʼs stand along with a screen behind.

It resembled an enormous lecture hall.

The projections seated at the table were no mere students, however.

No.

They were the leaders, delegates, representatives and extremely powerful figures of each polity, nation, and organization around the entire world. There were many tens of thousands of such projections across the entirety of the enormous lecture hall.

Human civilization was absolutely gigantic.

Even with all the nations that had perished, many, many more still existed and were still fighting for survival desperately.

Each of them schooled their expressions immaculately.

Each of them wore a mask that concealed their emotions.

Each of them straightened their backs and puffed their chests.

Each of them did their absolute best to project power.

And yet, most of them were terrified to their bones.

Most of them had hearts gripped with dread, despair, and misery.

It was in these times that being the leader of a people was truly the worst possible fate.

They had each longed for the Human Summit held officially by the Adventurerʼs Guild, although pioneered and led by the most brilliant minds that all of human civilization had ever produced. They all desperately hoped that these sages would give them hope, give them direction, and maybe, just maybe,give them an ultimate solution to fixing the Beast Incursion.

What they wouldnʼt give to return to the good old days from just a month ago?

All the problems they had faced back then now seemed utterly insignificant and irrelevant compared to apocalyptic horrors they were beset with each second of each day since the inception of the Beast Incursion.

Alas, time only moved in one direction.

They sought to secure the future—the short-term security issues and supply-chain disruptions, the mid-term Martial Artist mortality rate versus breakthrough rate, and the long-term solution to ending the crisis of the Beast Incursion.

The obvious answer to the final concern was to simply wait it out until each and every single beast had been exterminated.

However, that was an extremely sub-optimal solution.

It would take years at best and decades at worst.

It was not a solution, but a concession of human superiority and dominance.

BZZT BZZT BZZT

With each passing second, hundreds of projections lit up, projecting a figure seated at each table. Leaders of nations reigning from Apprentice-level nations to the fourteen Sage-level powerhouses of human civilization showed up one by one.

President Raymond of the Republic of Gorteau, the fourteen clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate, and Prime Minister Edward of the Britannian Empire appeared.

Out of all the powerhouses of human civilization, there was no doubt that these three had it the worst. The desolate darkness in the eyes of Prime Minister Edward reflected the sheer impact that this apocalypse had had on his psyche.

The Council of Hive Island too had made a collective appearance, having the single largest collective of representatives out of any polity that had chosen to partake in the Human Summit. Other leaders joined too.

The Queen of the Solaris Kingdom, Sage Lianiala Solaris, also attended. Known to be one the most powerful Sages in all of human civilization, Sage Lianiala had earned the right to ascend the throne of the mighty Solaris Empire of South Panama. Consul Sergenilius, the head of the government of the subterranean empire known as the Nest of Terra.

The Patriarch of the Namgung Dynasty of the north, Sage Jinryong Namgung, donned an expression of haughty arrogance as he looked down on everybody in the conference room with a raised head.

The projection of Bodhisattva Maitreyi of the Gen Temple appeared seated at a table. Her demeanor and adornment were humble, limited to a long single piece of simple cloth that wrapped around her entire body. Yet, despite her humble appearance, not a single person dared to underestimate the peak Sage of the mighty Gen Temple.

The Vice President of Esocline Federation, second in command to the Esoterist, had also appeared, garbed in an attire that was the fusion of a suit and a laboratory coat.

The Martial Pontifex, the leader of the Cardinal Sage Council of the Virodhabhasa Theocracy, also appeared, representing one of the most powerful religions in all of human civilization.

Elder Deliliana of the Heaven Sect wore a golden-silver attire that was as flashy as could be. Her gaze looked down on all the leaders around her as though the floating Heaven Sect was cut from a different cloth from the terran-dwelling peasants around her.

The Emperor of the underwater Marinaera Empire of the Phinlin Ocean sported a bare upper half despite his royal status. His hair and clothes floated about due to being immersed in the waters of the Phinlin Ocean.

The blood-streaked appearance of the Cult Lord Sage Vrukshus shook many of the delegates seated around the entire conference hall. Nobody had expected the deputy leader of the Blood Cult to show up to a civilized human conference.

It spoke to just how unprecedented this event truly was.

The appearance of the Gujincan, Sage Asmodeus, the head of the Gu, was also a shock to many of the representatives, delegates, and leaders in the conference hall. It had been shunned, being one of the most controversial Martial polities in West Panama as it sought to put Martial Artists through horrific tribulations against one another in bloody, gruesome rituals known as gu in the hopes of producing the most powerful Martial Artists. This had caused it to grind against the Panamic Martial Federation on countless occasions, turning into a bit of a taboo power of human civilization.

BZZZT

The appearance that drew the most attention out of all the assembled dignitaries, was none other than the leader of the most powerful human power in all of human civilization.

The Emperor of Harmony of the Kandrian Empire bore an almost gravitic weight of presence. Every inch of his body and the way he conducted himself projected all the power that came with being the most powerful leader of the most powerful human force in existence.

And thus, all of human civilization had gathered for the Human Summit.

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