The Martial Unity

“Mmm, good.” Emperor Rael heaved a sigh of relief. “One more Sage-level asset to protect the Kandrian Empire. We can never have too many. Especially considering the magnitude of the tribulations that await Kandria.”

Rui turned to his father with an intrigued expression. “How has the Sage recruitment program been going, Father?”

“It’s been going remarkably well thus far.” Emperor Rael smiled. “We have gotten five ill, crippled, or damaged Martial Sages on board. We still have three more cases in progress. If we can get all three of them, then we’ll be set.”

An excited smile cracked at the edge of Rui’s mouth. “Five Martial Sages? That’s crazy. That’s a historic growth in the number of Martial Sages for any nation within such a short number of years.”

The sheer significance of gaining five more Martial Sages did not go unnoticed by Rui. He understood more than anybody else just how incredible a feat it was. There probably was no better way to use the Divine Doctor, now that Rui thought about it. Not even researching the alien species would yield as much as simply using him to heal crippled or ill Martial Sages to win them over. It was the lowest-hanging fruit that yielded the most benefits.

“That’s true, but…” Emperor Rael’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not going to be enough, I’m afraid.”

Rui nodded. “You did say it was one of the many plans you had planned for.”

“That’s true. However, I did hope that we could find more Martial Sages who were afflicted with more medical conditions that impeded their Martial Art.” Emperor Rael heaved a sigh. “Unfortunately, these were the only ones that still retained a desperation to regain the power of their prime.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised that you’ve found eight such Sages considering how few Martial Sages there even are.” Rui raised an eyebrow. “Is it because health declines with age and Martial Sages are particularly old on average?”

His father nodded at his words. “Age comes for everybody. There aren’t enough longevity potions in the world to ensure the continuous vitality of Martial Sages. They are already old enough, which means they are more prone to failures in health. That’s why this tactic has so much scope.”

Rui nodded knowingly. Being strong did not mean one was immune to lapses in health.

“On top of that, taxing their bodies in intense combat at extremely high Realms eventually takes its toll on them,” Emperor Rael explained. “Healing potions also have limits, beyond a certain amount of stress and age.”

Rui nodded. “Maybe I should take another high-grade longevity potion.”

Emperor Rael smiled wryly. “I’m sure those crippled or ill Martial Sages wish they had the opportunity to do so at your age.”

“Speaking of which, can you tell me who they are? I’m curious what the new Martial Sages who have joined the Kandrian Empire are like.”

“Hm, thus far, we have secured the cooperation of Sage Laozhu, the East Wind; Sage Meilia, the Dancing Darling; Sage Lamperel, Mernolin the Meteor; Sage Devin, the Molten Mammoth; and, of course, Sage Kole Kellin, the Master of the Inferno Fist.”

Rui recognized those names.

Many of them were elder Martial Sages from the dawn of the Sage Realm and had left their mark on history a long time ago. Many of them had disappeared many years ago, yet it appeared that that hadn’t deterred his father from tracking each of them down meticulously and sending his envoys or the Martial Union.

“Finding them wasn’t too challenging,” Emperor Rael told Rui. “With the combination of the Beggar’s Sect, the Elder Tree, and your grandmother in the worst-case scenarios. There is nobody that can evade my pursuit. Almost half of them were cooped up somewhere in Beast Domain, strangely enough.”

“Hah, treasures in the Beast Domain indeed.” Rui smirked. “If we can get the remaining three, then the Kandrian Empire will have twenty-four Martial Sages.”

They would be the first organization in the world to have so many Martial Sages on retainer.

Of course, it still wouldn’t be enough against the nearly fifty Martial Sages that the Britannian Empire, Sekigahara Confederate, and the Republic of Gorteau had between them. However, it wasn’t necessary to be equal to their enemies.

“We just need to be powerful enough to deter them,” Emperor Rael mused knowingly. “We are close to reaching that stage. However, it won’t happen before the war commences. We will need to slug it out until it becomes absolutely clear that there is no victory to be won against the Kandrian Empire. Only then will we be able to live in peace without needing to make sacrifices that we would need to make otherwise.”

He turned his gaze to Rui. “There are only a few months left until war begins. Nearly all the conditions I set for a high probability of victory have been fulfilled. Prepare yourself for war. When it begins, you will have no chance to catch your breath. One way or another, the three Sage-level powerhouses will soon learn of the existence of the Divine Doctor, the manifold, and the Elder Tree connection.”

His eyes narrowed. “When they do, their fury will wash over East Panama, embroiling the entirety of it into war. What we are experiencing is merely the calm before the storm.”

Rui grew serious at his father’s warnings, nodding solemnly.

“I’ll be ready when it comes.”

He soon took his leave.

His father heaved a sigh as he relaxed, taking a moment of reprieve as he thought about everything that had happened in the past three-and-a-half years. Much had happened, yet it felt as though all that time had gone by in the blink of an eye.

Yet, slowly but surely, his grand plan was unfolding. So far, he hadn’t experienced any major failings.

Yet, that only made him a little nervous.

No plan could ever be perfectly executed—one would need to be omniscient for such a thing to happen in practice. It was always the most unexpected thing that went wrong in truly unforeseen manners.

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