The Martial Unity

Chapter 2566: Needing Time

His demand was truly overwhelming for the clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate; it was so outrageous that they momentarily lost their calm and lashed out at him for his nonsensical suggestion.

And yet, Rui was entirely serious.

And to a certain extent, he had a point.

What value did the tree offer them compared to his Hellbringer model and his breakthroughs? Could it protect their nation without their Sages?

Could it protect their nations if the quasi-Transcendent beasts emerged from the depths of the Beast Domain?

No.

If it could do all that, they wouldnʼt have been so anxious to receive the Dawnbringerʼs blessings that they hosted him as an honored guest despite the fact that he was their greatest enemy in the previous war.

They wouldnʼt have sought an alliance with the Kandrian Empire despite trying to destroy it in the previous war.

They did this precisely because they knew that the Tree of Healings could not solve all their problems.

However, that didnʼt mean they were willing to just sell partial ownership over their national treasure to him for his services.

”The Tree of Healings is one of our greatest national powers; we cannot give you partial ownership over the tree!”

”Iʼll repeat myself,” Rui calmly retorted. ”Is that tree as valuable as the things that you see of me?”

They gritted their teeth at his question. ”...Your breakthroughs and your Hellbringer training are simply momentary gains. The Tree of Healings is a continuous supply of fruits for centuries to come. You cannot compare them whatsoever.”

”No, you can,” Rui narrowed his eyes. ”The fact of the matter is that you donʼt have a real long-term future without me and without participating in the unified Sage-level assault force into the Beast Domain. If you donʼt send any Sages, then Sekigahara will be the only country to be harmed by the quasi-Transcendent beasts when the time comes. And you canʼt send your Sages if your Masters cannot handle the load. And...”

He shrugged. ”Letʼs face it, your Masters cannot handle the load if I donʼt help. Do you find anything fallacious in my line of reasoning?”

Unfortunately, they couldnʼt. What he stated was all rooted in reality.

The only way to avoid the destruction that the quasi-Transcendent beasts would face was to fight them in the Central Highlands of the Beast Domain. That meant that they needed to send in Sages to ensure that those quasi-Transcendent beasts that were to emerge in the direction of the Sekigahara Confederate.

”That doesnʼt mean that we can just hand over partial ownership of our Tree of Healing,” the patriarch of the Oni clan growled.

”So itʼs just a matter of pride, is it?” Rui raised an eyebrow. ”You would doom your own people for the sake of pride?”

They glared at Rui without a filter. ”We seek a more reasonable transaction.”

”By reasonable, you mean something that doesnʼt hurt your pride as much, correct?” Rui scoffed. ”Iʼm afraid not. I am the key to your survival. And I will not tolerate being short- changed. And like I said...”

He smiled. ”This is part of your reparations.”

They gritted their teeth.

”You can take it or leave it,” Rui shrugged nonchalantly. ”Personally, I donʼt mind if the Sekigahara Confederate is destroyed. Iʼm not nearly as practical as my father is. So, if you refuse this offer, I will leave the Sekigahara Confederate and block the construction of the Water Sect in this nation. Without which learning the Hellbringer model will take more time than you have.”

They clenched their fists as Rui mercilessly gave them an ultimatum that staked survival against their national pride.

For one, he wasnʼt entirely sure if they would take it.

The Sekigaharans werenʼt any more rational than he was. He liked to think he was more sensible than them, too. But regardless, he figured there was a pretty solid probability that they would refuse his deal out of pride.

Surprisingly, they didnʼt refuse him off the bat.

Perhaps the clan leaders were truly more sensible than the Martial Sages.

”We need time to consider your offer, Dawnbringer,” the patriarch of the Shinken Clan stated. ”In the meantime, we will host you as our guest.”

Rui shrugged. ”Sure thing, but donʼt take too long. Iʼm a busy man who has a civilization to help.”

”We will keep that in mind,” the man retorted coldly.

And sure enough, Rui was escorted by several servants to his arranged quarters not too far away from the center of the town he was in. Despite being a Sage-level powerhouse, his quarters were even less luxurious than that of the Kingdom of Ucrea.

It reflected the frugal culture of the Sekigahara Confederate. The people of this nation didnʼt live consumerist and materialist lives and instead lived well below their means in most regards except for their expenditure on Martial Art.

He didnʼt mind, of course. He had already moved completely past material luxury, and it didnʼt matter to him whether he lived in a shed or in a suite.

He had no intention of spending most of his time in his quarters anyway.

WHOOSH

He took to the skies of the Sekigahara Confederate as he went about exploring the nation and everything that it had to offer. The one thing that he was most curious about was the Martial facilities that they had. Given that these were born by snuffing any and all funding for all other sectors, it was no wonder that the Sekigahara Confederate had excellent Martial institutions that were able to cater to each and every single need that the Sekigaharans had.

STEP

He arrived at one of the massive and expansive metropolitan cities of pure Martial Art training and sparring amenities. From a massive training chamber specifically meant to cater to Sages alone to many, many more chambers for all Realms, it was a Martial Artistʼs

paradise.

He chose to head into one of the most interesting facilities he spotted.

The combat arena center.

”Hehehe...” Rui grinned. ”Hopefully, something interesting can happen.”