The Martial Unity

Rui closed his eyes and fell into thought.

Whatever choice he made, he needed to make it soon.

If he chose to stay, then they were at risk of dying to an excess of Martial Sages. Including his own bodyguards as well as the two Martial Sages of the Shionel Confederation, their side only had five Martial Sages.

It was very likely that Prime Minister Edward had sent more than five Sages in this little assault.

On top of that, his own bodyguards, the formidable Sage Knights of the Britannian Empire, were also part of the equation. Together, they undoubtedly possessed Martial Sages in excess of the protection that the Shionel Confederation possessed.

If Rui chose to fight, there was a good chance he would die at the hands of a Sage.

Under ordinary circumstances, that was.

His father had informed him that he was not going to die at the hands of a Martial Sage via prophecy.

However, it was possible that that was because Rui chose to evacuate in the foreseen future. That future might change if Rui, having heard the prophecy, chose to stay and fight.

On top of that, it didn’t mean that the three Martial Sages who were participating as his bodyguards wouldn’t die. Strong as Damian was, he wasn’t invincible and could still be overwhelmed by numbers.

The last thing that Rui wanted to do was make a decision that could lead to the death of one of the Sages of the Kandrian Empire. The death of any one of them was more than the Kandrian Empire was able to tolerate, especially in these grave circumstances.

Still, was he going to abandon the nation and the man who had just decided to place his trust in him?

If he abandoned the Shionel Confederation at this altar, then not only was the nation doomed, but the Kandrian Empire would suffer a heavy blow that it would be unable to recover from. RUMBLE!

The tremors intensified once more, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Your Highness…” Sage Roschem’s tone was urgent. “We need to-“

“I have decided.”

Rui’s powerful voice seemed to cleave past the Sage’s words.

His eyes opened.

In their depth stirred endless darkness.

“We will fight.” Rui’s expression grew severe.

Sage Damian’s grin widened at Rui’s words. “Hah, I knew I was right about you!”

Sage Roschem, on the other hand, was not so pleased by the fact that they were not retreating. “Your Highness…”

“I will handle the incoming Masters,” Rui replied. “You guys handle the incoming Sages. We stall for as long as possible.”

Sage Roschem stared at him with a grave expression. “Your Highness, that is deeply unwise. The reinforcements from the Kandrian Empire will not be able to make it in time if the forces of the enemy alliance are too great.”

“We have to try.” Rui narrowed his eyes. “Kandria will suffer much greater losses if the world learns that we ran away instead of protecting allies that we swore to protect from the threats of the alliance. Now quick! We don’t have much time left.”

Relief emerged on the guildmaster’s face as he was reassured of aid from the Kandrian Empire.

Prime Minister Edward’s smile, however, only grew more sinister.

This was exactly what he wanted.

He was afraid that the prince would make the sensible decision of retreating from the Shionel Confederation, leaving the nation to fend for itself against the wrath of the enemy alliance.

He had purposely tailored his words to make it impossible for the Void Prince to leave without destroying his relationship with the Shionel Confederation and the guildmaster, effectively shackling the Dawnbringer to protect the nation on the Master-level front.

This was the only way to kill him.

With the protection of the Martial Sages at his disposal, it was almost impossible to assassinate him, and with the artifact that allowed for instantaneous transportation back home, there was no way that they could rely on overwhelming military power to break past his defenses.

He needed the prince to volunteer to fight in a situation where he was bound to die. “It is a shame that I will be unable to witness the despair born from helplessness in your eyes.” Prime Minister Edward smiled as his bodyguards manipulated heaven and earth to elevate him away. “I want you to remember the desperation you feel today.”

BOOM!

They blasted out of his office before disappearing in a single flash.

RUMBLE!

The tremoring intensified.

Rui estimated that they had no more than a minute left.

“I just received an intelligence report from the surveillance corp.” Guildmaster Bradt’s tone grew urgent. “The forces are approaching from the West. We must intercept them before they can reach the border!”

Rui got up, narrowing his eyes. “Let’s go.”

WHOOSH!

The four of them leaped into action, activating their Realms of power as they surged across the Shionel Confederation at extraordinary speeds. Normally, it was the norm to not use temporary reserves of power for travel, but in this case, the situation was too urgent. Rui didn’t expect a fight this quickly, but he wasn’t necessarily complaining. He knew that he was going to be outnumbered heavily, without any shadow of a doubt. The Shionel Confederation only had fifteen Martial Masters, even after Rui broke some of them through. Meanwhile, he had no doubt that the enemy Martial Masters were going to be packing large numbers.

The strategic outlook was terrible.

Any ordinary Martial Master would undoubtedly be despairing at the terrible odds that they

were facing.

No Martial Master was pleased to have to deal with the fact that they would be fighting multiple Masters at once.

Yet, despite the immense pressure that had mounted on Rui, he was unable to suppress the

smile that cracked at the edge of his mouth.

He was unable to suppress the rising battle lust that erupted from deep within him.

He was unable to suppress the euphoria that had consumed him from within.

A battle that would push him to his limits and beyond.

He looked forward to it.