The Martial Unity

Chapter 3397: Justifying Onslaught

WHOOSH!

Rui brought the two of them back to their room in their inn in the blink of an eye, far away from the rampaging dragons.

RUMBLE...

The tremors from the great power of the dragons reached their inn despite the fact that it was on the other end of the port city.

”Why did you do that?!” she gazed at him with shock.

”I teleported us back because I didn’t want to stick around for their rampage or the forces of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire that were surely bound to ensue,” Rui remarked, tilting his head with a confused expression.

”No, I meant why did you use your Authority to manipulate the dragons to rampage in the port city?” She folded her arms with a stern expression. ”You will get many innocent people hurt! All those precious goods and cargo will be destroyed! The entire market will be burned!”

Rui heaved a sigh.

This was the Amare side of her talking. She had retained Amare’s heart despite all the tribulations she had undergone with her own mind, something that Rui loved about her, but often found challenging to overcome when it came to ugly situations like that.

”I did it for the good of the Panama Continent and human civilization, of course. Perhaps for the greater good of all of Gaia,” he replied, taking a seat on their bed as he drank some water.

She simply stared at him with a bewildered expression. ”What...?”

How could manipulating those dragons to harm the people of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire possibly help the Panama Continent?

She didn’t understand.

Rui heaved another sigh. ”The goal is to create a political friction between the Hlakaschken Trade Empire and the Ryu Clan. Think about it, I have commanded those dragons to unleash destruction across the entirety of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire. I also instructed them to carry their unconscious bonded therianthropes with them, so that it looks like the therianthropes, making it seem like the latter are in control.”

He raised a finger.

”The forces of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire have already arrived at the scene. What do you think will enter their mind when they see that dragons are going out of control with the therianthropes on them?”

Amare’s eyes widened with realization. ”...They’ll think the therianthropes are controlling their dragons to destroy the Hlakaschken Trade Empire.”

”Correct, after all. Only the bonded therianthropes can control their dragons. And if the dragons went out of control despite that, the responsibility and blame of that still squarely falls on the Ryu Clan of Kiriket.”

He smiled. ”This will cause immense resentment and hatred for the Ryu Clan among the people of the Hlakaschken Trade Empire, making it extremely difficult for Empress Schlieffen to ally herself with the War Coalition of Kiriket. Though it won’t stop her from allying with the Evolutionary Army, it still is a small win.”

Unlike his father, who had checks and balances only on paper, the Hlakaschken Trade Empire was a true constitutional monarchy where the monarch was subject to genuine limitations. Empress Schlieffen would not be able to ally herself with Kiriket Continent as easily as she might have hoped to.

”You thought of that on the spot?” Her eyebrows rose.

”I thought of it the moment that dragon man called me out,” Rui remarked with a thoughtful tone. ”I suppose I’m always thinking of how to best squeeze the most out of the situation to further my goals. Had he been stronger, I might have enjoyed a good fight, but he was too weak for that. At the same time, I didn’t want to let go of the opportunity to cause some harm to the Ryu Clan. But...”

He shrugged.

”I realized that if I simply butchered those dragon men and their dragons then and there, then it would be to the benefit of the Ryu Clan politically, since it would give them a moral high ground and even some justification to enact military action.”

”So that’s why you had them go berserk,” Amare realized. ”That would put the Ryu Clan at a disadvantage geopoltically. It would reduce trust in them worldwide, and it would make them look unstable and unreliable.”

”Correct,” Rui remarked with a smirk. ”This will definitely impede their ambitions, and it will help the Harmonist Faction in Kiriket. You saw how that leopard guy reacted to the dragons. All therianthropes fear the Ryu Clan. And people don’t like what they fear. They actually hate things they fear. This should hopefully give the Harmonist Faction some political capital to gain more support.”

Having done his research on the political situation in Kiriket in Genora, Rui was able to calculate ways and means he could help the Harmonist Faction push back against the War Coalition even before he reached the continent. While he wasn’t a politician at heart, he was still quite adept at playing the game.

”What about the innocent people you hurt directly and indirectly?” Amare folded her arms. ”Collateral damage in an unavoidable battle is one thing, but it’s another thing entirely to actively cause so much harm and suffering.”

Rui shook his head. ”They would suffer more if they grew closer to the enemies of the Panama Continent. Our people would suffer more if they drew closer to the enemies of the Panama Continent. With this, we have choked our enemy of important resources. Not to mention... the great civilizations have a military agreement with the Hlakaschken Trade Empire that they will need to honor if they want to continue trading with the powerful commercial entity. This will help secure the future of the Panama Continent in the long run. Not to mention...”

He shrugged. ”It’s like I said. The market was already largely evacuated. It was adjacent to the elven market, so I knew the elves would interfere because even though they are pacifist, they do act in self-defense. And they’ve done a good job, haven’t they?”

His pupils dilated as he gazed at the market on the other side of the city. ”The elves have done a good job containing the fire and the seismic radiation with their energy-absorption flora technology. I fought against that technology in East Genora, and trust me when I say that those things are limitless.”