The Martial Unity

Chapter 3230: Efficient Technology

Rui grew eager as they drew closer and closer to their first destination.

The Forest of War was, as the name suggested, a forest.

Except it was markedly different from the forests in Genora. For one, it was much darker and ominous in its vibe than the other vegetation on the continent. It contained a huge edge of danger that made Rui eager to draw closer.

RUMBLE...

The closer they drew, the more the world shook.

It wasn’t just the world, however.

”The forest...” His eyes lit up as they drew closer. ”The flora itself is shaking.”

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Rui and Amare grew stunned as a tsunami of branches, leaves, and wood erupted from the forest, crashing into the ground with a destructive impact.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

RUMBLE

The sheer force of the attack shook heaven and earth around them violently.

It was a powerful Sage-level attack that unleashed tremendous power and seismic radiation that would have constituted a destructive earthquake.

”Won’t this cause harm to all the elves living in the forests surrounding the Forest of War?” Rui asked with a stunned tone.

”There are no elves that live within a thousand kilometers of the Forest of War,” she reassured him. ”And even that may be an unnecessary precaution, for all flora on the Genoran Continent is genetically modified to have roots containing the properties of Phileas Seismitia.”

”What is that?” Amare asked with a curious tone.

”Phileas Seismitia is a species of plant colloquially known as the Quakeater,” she replied. ”This was a species of flora that evolved during the Era of Tumult to absorb the energy of earthquakes through its roots.”

”What...? There exists such a species?” Rui’s eyebrow rose.

”Indeed, there does.” Veruschia nodded. ”We elves studied this species in a lab and isolated the DNA that allows for its roots to absorb seismic energy and greatly enhanced it. Subsequently, we have integrated this into all our vegetation, but especially into the forests surrounding the Forest of War. They absorb all the seismic energy released by our warriors’ training in the Forest of War and ensure that none of it reaches the rest of the continent.”

Rui’s eyes lit up. ”This... to think that such a thing was possible without esoteric substances.”

It reminded him of the Beast Domain and how it could insulate the destructive power of Martial Sages and quasi-Transcendents. However, in this case, it wasn’t just being insulated; it was also being absorbed.

”This way, you can recycle deployed energy for future use,” Rui realized. ”That’s fascinating.”

”Indeed,” she nodded. ”That is what biotechnology specializes in. Energy efficiency and effectiveness. There is a reason that life on Gaia took the form of cells centered around organic chemistry, making use of chemical potential energy as opposed to machines made of metal and powered by whatever it is that the dwarves and tekvores are using these days. Biotechnology can achieve the same results but with much lower energy, strain, and environmental damage.”

Rui nodded knowingly.

Biotechnology was efficient in ways that conventional technology was not, with the biggest example being the human brain.

It was postulated to possess a processing speed of one exaflop, which was equal to a billion billion calculations per second. This was a speed that put even supercomputers to shame, despite the sheer size, weight, and energy that the supercomputers had, not to mention all the maintenance and other supplementary systems that were in place to ensure that the supercomputer didn’t burn.

If the elves had maximized this principle, then it was entirely possible that they would be able to match Martial Artists in terms of efficiency!

The very thought of it made Rui’s blood boil with excitement.

WHOOSH!

They arrived before the quaking Forest of War, brimming with the power of the warrior elves who trained to elevate their power in combat. The vast forest stretched farther than even his senses could fathom and was filled to the brim with energy. It was dark despite the bright light of the morning Sun shining down upon it from above.

”We have reached the Forest of War,” she informed them. ”It is structured so that going deeper will yield you stronger elven warriors. The Forest of War creates a hierarchy for our elven warriors and also establishes a chain of command and authority, as measured by distance, although all of them still fall under the Mothers of Nature.”

An excited smile emerged on Rui’s face.

”Great, when can I get started?”

Veruschia tilted her head. ”...’Get started?’”

”I would like to test fight with your elven warriors,” Rui’s eyes lit up with a fighting vigor. ”I can’t wait to fight against the Nature Path.”

She stared at him with a befuddled expression. ”You want to go out of your way to fight our warriors?”

”I won’t kill anyone, of course,” Rui cracked his knuckles. ”But I will push them to their limits to see what they have to offer.”

”...”

She stared at him like he had uttered alien words.

To a elf, the concept of wanting to fight was a foreign notion. She was so caught off guard by his fighting spirit.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

Another giant explosion emerged in the distance from a wave of wood.

Rui could hardly restrain himself any longer.

”If you have no issues, then bye.”

WHOOSH

Before Veruschia could even stop him, he disappeared in front of her eyes, diving straight into the Forest of War with an eager smile.

She turned towards Amare with a silent stare, who heaved an exasperated smile.

”Well, this was the main reason that he came to the continent, after all.”

Veruschia’s eyes widened. ”He came all the way to Genora to fight with elves?”

That would have sounded like a declaration of war in any other situation.

She turned down with a strange expression.

”So this is what a Martial Artist is like.”

The concept of cultivating the art of combat was something that the dark elves were unable to fathom.

And yet, they were able to learn firsthand just what Martial Artists were.

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A colossal explosion emerged from the Forest of War as many dark elves gazed at Rui with a stunned expression.

BAM

Rui’s fist collided against his palm as his eager expression lit up with excitement.

”Who’s first?”