The Martial Unity

The rest of the Martial Sages were not keen on watching in silence as the mother-in-law and son-in-law bickered.

“Enough.” Sage Lemolen snorted. “What is this, a comedy routine? Do you know who we are?”

His eyes narrowed. “We are the Sage Council.”

Emperor Rael directed his gaze to the displeased assassin.

“We are the Martial Union,” Sage Lemolen asserted.

“…As wound up as always, Lemolen.” Emperor Rael smiled. “It would behoove you to remember that we are on the same side. This was true more than three hundred years ago when I convinced all of you to create a union for Martial Artists. It was true when the powers of East Panama sought to crush us, and…”

His gaze grew sharper. “…it will be true when they inevitably do it again.”

The eleven Martial Sages stirred as they sensed the weight of his words. Grumble as they might about being dragged to the Royal Palace, they did it nonetheless for they knew that Emperor Rael was not a man who spoke or acted without due cause.

“‘Inevitably?’” The Flickering Elder narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that? Tensions between the Kandrian Empire and the other Sage-level powerhouses have risen, but not to the level of war.”

“Not yet, no,” Emperor Rael’s heavy gaze bore on them. “However, I have strong reason to believe that it will happen in the future.”

A deep silence brooded in the air as the eleven Martial Sages of the Martial Union gazed at the Emperor of Harmony, considering his dark declaration.

Yet only one of them caught on to what his words meant.

“Rael.” Sage Arrancar grinned. “You plan to trigger a third war, don’t you?”

The Emperor of Harmony smiled. “War is not my intention, but rather an inevitable consequence of my intentions.”

“Hah!” Sage Arrancar grunted with grudging respect and excitement. “Same thing. About damn time, too. The last ninety years have been boring peace and shitty harmony.”

“Your words prick, Damian.” Emperor Rael smiled wryly. “Harmony is my philosophy, after all.”

“It’s a shitty philosophy.”

“Agreed.” Sage Kalyn, the Hugging Hegemon, nodded.

“Enough, you two,” Sage Vintar, the Mountain of Fortitude, interjected, earning a scowl from the Devil and the Hugging Hegemon.

Yet, his attention was fixed on Emperor Rael. “Explain. What do you mean? What is this all about?”

Emperor Rael gazed at him for a moment.

“Mira.”

“Yes, sir.” One of his assistants distributed eleven copies of a document to each of the Martial Sages of the Sage Council, who immediately began reading them with a hint of curiosity and intrigue.

What they read, however, shook them.

One of his assistants distributed eleven copies of a document to each of the Martial Sages of the Sage Council, who immediately began reading them with a hint of curiosity and intrigue.

What they read, however, shook them.

The air palpably boiled as the Sage Council grew stunned at what they had read.

It changed everything.

“This…” The Flashing Flier, Sage Dagar Roschem murmured faintly.

“…Is this real?” Sage Lemolen’s voice was stunned.

“Yes,” Emperor Rael nodded with severity. “My son would never lie about it to me, and we have verified the veracity of his claims in the flesh, directly and indirectly. My recovery is proof of this. These are real, and Kandria is in possession of all of them.”

His words weighed on them like mountains as they came to understand the gravity of the situation.

They also understood the depth of the meaning of his words.

“If the rest of the world finds out…” Even the Sloth Sage grew stiff. “…We’re dead.”

His gaze turned to Emperor Rael. “You… You intend to show these off to the world?”

“That would be foolish, Sevian,” Emperor Rael calmly replied. “I plan to extract the maximum benefit out of these resources and produce the best long-term outcome for Kandria.”

His tone grew more confident. “I believe that, with these, it is possible to elevate Kandria to unprecedented and unparalleled power and, thus, unparalleled prosperity.”

Had anyone else dared suggesting anything as absurdly risky and fraught with danger, they would have scoffed and even attempted to suppress the fool to stop him from getting them all killed.

Yet, any retort died in their throat when the powerful gaze of the Emperor of Harmony fell on them.

They were unqualified to tell him, of all people, that it was impossible.

Because the last time they did, he proved them wrong.

“This takes me back.” The Mountain of Fortitude closed his eyes. “We had gathered just like this before the First East Panamic War. Back then, you were the newly ascended Emperor, and we were peak Martial Masters. You won that war.”

“We won that war.” Emperor Rael’s deep, rich voice grew gentle. “It wouldn’t have been possible without all of you. Without all of us working together in harmony. I asked you to trust me back then, and I ask you to trust me once more. Together, we can raise Kandria to transcendent heights.”

The Martial Sages of the Sage Council stirred at his words.

Not all of them had trouble making a choice, of course.

“Count me in!” Sage Damian grinned. “I gotta thank that brat of yours for bringing in such juicy bait for war.”

A hint of amusement and exasperation lit up in Emperor Rael’s eyes. “I think you are the only one who is more interested in the war for these priceless resources than the priceless resources themselves.”

“He isn’t.” Sage Kalyn began drooling at the thought of another major war. “I can’t wait. How soon do we start.”

The two of them earned glares from the rest of the Martial Sages.

“This is why I hate the Fire Sect,” the Flickering Elder grumbled. “Bunch of warmongering fools,” the Whispering Widower concurred.

Unbeknownst to them, this was why Emperor Rael appreciated the Fire Sect. Sometimes, war was inevitable when soaring to greater heights. In these times, the Fire Sect merrily supported Emperor Rael, completely ignorant of the fact that Emperor Rael manipulated them to do so by carefully and surgically framing his rhetoric to trigger them into supporting him.

They served as useful political capital for pushing for his causes.

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