The Martial Unity

2919  The Final Stand

The air grew heavy as the Martial Sages made the final preparations for the upcoming battle in their respective jets, consuming and carrying potions as they completed other pre-mission operations.

The air was heavy.

Tense.

They knew from experience that not all of them were going to make it. The Central Highlands re-inspired a sense of mortality among the Martial Sages that they hadnʼt experienced since they were mere Martial Apprentices.

STEP

Kane entered a particular compartment of the jet hangar, turning towards a seated figure upon the benches. ”Here you are.”

He spotted Rui simply gazing at meagre commemorations, erected within the jet, of the friends and allies that they had lost.

The Flashing Flier, Sage Dagar Roschem, Fionaʼs father, had passed away in battle years ago, as did the Sloth Sage and the Drunk Dame of the original members of the Martial Union. The Tempestuous Fortress had also died protecting their stasis chambers while they recuperated from the abuse of the Martial Mind and Soul.

A handful of the Martial Sages among those who had been healed by the Divine Doctor during the third Great East Panamic War had also passed away. Sage Farana, formerly of the Kandrian Border Patrol Force, had also passed away, as had the Breath of Destruction.

The Kandrian Empire had lost many good, powerful, and loyal Martial Artists in the Beast Domain.

Even though even more had taken their place, it was still a painful loss to all of them.

And yet, the Martial Artists chugged on wordlessly nonetheless.

Every Martial Artist knew that life was fleeting for themselves and for their peers.

This was especially true the stronger they got. According to the Panamic Martial Federation, less than one percent of the deaths of Martial Sages were natural.

In other words, they all knew that they and their peers were essentially guaranteed to die in battle. It was a fate that they had accepted from the very moment they became Martial Artists. Martial Art was the most perilous and dangerous field that any person could possibly pursue as it was a way life and livelihood that exposed one to constant danger and small, but significant possibility of death.

The psychology of their friendships and relationships was influenced by their apathy toward not only their own death but also that of their peers.

”…Itʼs time, Rui.”

Kaneʼs tone was gentle.

Rui stirred where he sat.

”…Yeah.”

He got up, directing one last look at all his fallen comrades, before leaving.

Kane walked by his side as the two of them slowly exited their jet, before arriving at a gathered group of Martial Sages.

The atmosphere tingled with peril.

It grew heavy with tension.

The Martial Sages smoldered with battle spirit. They smoldered with bloodlust.

They were as ready as they were going to be.

Rui directed a sweeping gaze across all of them before nodding.

”We are ready.”

His eyes sharpened. ”You know what your roles are. You know what the objectives are. You know what the protocols are…”

His tone grew intense, ”Then thereʼs nothing to be said. Letʼs go.”

BADUMP!!!

In that moment, hundreds of Martial Hearts, Martial Minds, and Martial Souls blazed to life with all their power, as humanityʼs greatest warriors unleashed their power. An endless maelstrom of Martial Embodiments emerged from the Martial Sages as it consumed the very world.

And then, they were overwritten by a single one.

RUMBLE!!!!!

The world shook as a universe of Water emerged from the depths of Ruiʼs very being. In the Sage Realm, the Martial Embodiment was a reflection of not just the Martial Mind but the entirety of oneʼs Martial Art due to the Martial Soul, gaining even more weight and power than ever before. In the blink of an eye, the Martial Sages departed at high speeds, surging deeper and deeper into the Central Highlands of the Beast Domain. In accordance to protocol, the various groups of the Martial Sages began parting from each other as they spread out, curling around as they formed a massive perimeter around the final haven of beasts and monsters.

They could not form a unidirectional approach, for this would give the monsters and beasts room to run away from the Central Highlands of the Beast Domain and potentially run away into the Human Domain.

They needed to box the quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters of the Beast Domain and ensure that there was no room for escape. One by one, the various nations seperated from the main force, starting with the Blood Cult and the Virodhabhasa Theocracy, followed by the depleted members of the Marinaera Kingdom that aimed for the water body in the core of the Central Highlands. The battered numbers of the Nest of Terra and the Namgung Dynasty followed next.

More than thirty of the Martial Sages of the Kandrian Empire charged together, led by Rui and Damian alike.

15:17

The Hive and the scant remaining Sages of the Solaris Kingdom were next.

The Gen Temple and the Republic of Gorteau.

The Britannian Empire and the Sekigahara Confederate.

Soon enough, only the massive dominant force of the Kandrian Empire remained on the path as they surged towards the core of the Central Highlands harboring the final remaining stand of the quasi-Transcendent monsters.

More than thirty of the Martial Sages of the Kandrian Empire charged together, led by Rui and Damian alike.

And then, even this force broke into two, led by each of them. Damian led some of the older Martial Sages with him, including the Flickering Elder, the Mountain of Fortitude, the Whispering Widower, and may of the old timers who were more accustomed to him while Rui led the younger generation of Martial Sages with him, followed by Kane, Sage Ceeran, Sage Sera, Sage Zentra, among others.

And soon enough, they had arrived.

STEP

The ever-present fog that permeated the Beast Domain, impeding senses, cleared as all three hundred or so Martial Sages of human civilization entered the core simultaneously, only to be confronted by an enormous array of quasi-Transcendent monsters waiting for them.

And thus, all hell broke loose.

RUMBLE!!!!!

The world shook as the most powerful of lifeforms in the entire continent unleashed their power upon each other.

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