The Martial Unity

The air boiled with turmoil as the sheer magnitude of the words of the Emperor of Harmony struck them like a train.

It shattered all their previous mindset.

It shattered all their plans for the various possible scenarios.

It shattered the inertia in their attitude regarding this particular matter.

It erased the countless considerations and courses of actions that they had planned with their advisors.

It reset the game.

Not only did he announce an admission of guilt, but he also brazenly declared that he would not apologize.

On top of that, almost as if he was laughing in the face of death, he encouraged the rulers and leaders of the alliance to leave the alliance immediately if they simply could not, on principle, tolerate this no matter what.

And yet…

Even as they struggled to recollect their composure, not a single one of them got up and left.

That did not mean they were not unhappy.

The few allies that had truly believed the Kandrian Empire was innocent were displeased. They almost glared at the Emperor of Harmony with a hint of anger in their eyes.

They had invested billions into the campaign of the Void Prince.

And now, not only did he admit that he had intentionally defrauded them of all that money, he even said he wouldn’t apologize!

It was truly infuriating to the few people who had believed that he was innocent.

And yet…

None of them got up and left.

They couldn’t.

They had already invested much into the Kandrian Alliance.

Just by virtue of having suffered attacks from the East Panamic Treaty Alliance, they had suffered liabilities.

If they pulled out now, they would have reaped only liabilities and none of the rewards. From a cost-benefit analysis, leaving then and there was simply illogical and painful.

As for leaving on principle… there was no such thing.

No such thing as a politician with principles. It was almost antithetical to the very identity of a politician. Not even Emperor Rael, once regarded as one of the most principled rulers, had any absolute principles.

And thus, an entire minute passed as it became clear that not a single ally was willing to leave.

At least, not yet.

A smile emerged on Emperor Rael’s face as things unfolded within his predictions.

He would not have gone for this extreme route had he not been certain that it wouldn’t blow up in his face. He had constructed and revisited personality and temperamental profiles of each of the individuals in the conference, modeling the most likely reactions and decision-making.

“I am honored.”

His rich and melodious voice softened.

His expression grew a tad bit more gentle. “And in honor of your honor, I will ensure that you do not regret this choice.”

He waved his hand as his assistants brought in a series of documents that were distributed to the various dignitaries that sat around the table. Puzzled and quizzical expressions appeared on their faces as they opened them, skimming through them.

They froze as they quickly understood what the documents were. “This…!”

“Your Majesty…”

“Is that truly…?”

A smile appeared on Emperor Rael’s face. “It is. Those documents contain all intelligence into our strategic outlook. This includes our net Martial potential, our net military potential, projected rate of growth, our resource inventory, strategic capabilities, and any and everything that affects the war and the Kandrian Alliance.”

Their eyes widened with shock.

This was extremely precious strategic intelligence. This was not the kind of information that one just volunteered for free!

“This is part of the new commitment to transparency that the Kandrian Empire will adhere to till the conclusion of the war,” Emperor Rael revealed calmly. “You will be entitled to deploy inspectors, vetted by our Sages, to the Kandrian Empire and ensure firsthand that the Kandrian Empire is on track to keep up with the various promises that we have made in our partnership contracts, including but not limited to inventory, operations, communications, military and Martial operations, and so on and so forth.”

He smiled. “That is the first commitment to all of you. From this day forth, you will not need to be worried about whether the Kandrian Empire is trying to defraud you or not, because you will be able to very straightforwardly verify with your inspection team through the new transparency policy that we will hold ourselves to.”

The dazed leaders and representatives went through all the policies and protocols that Emperor Rael had personally crafted for the Kandrian Empire to follow in his commitment to quell any and all concerns and paranoia about being defrauded.

Absolute transparency.

That was Emperor Rael’s solution to the lapse in trust that Prime Minister Edward had inflicted on the Kandrian Empire.

By simply owning it very straightforwardly and clearly, he would be able to rob this trump card from the Britannian Prime Minister as long as he could quell his allies’ resentment and allay any concerns of fraud.

“I have decided to double the amount of promised Martial Artist breakthroughs.” Emperor Rael smiled generously. “This applies to Apprentice, Senior, and Master-level breakthroughs as well. On top of that, I have decided to, at the cost of the Kandrian Empire’s convenience, deliver half of the promised Martial Artist breakthroughs as soon as possible, rather than after the war ends.”

A magnanimous offer he would not have made if not for the recent acquisition of the still unconscious Tokugawa Ieyasu. With double the breakthrough power, he could afford to make such gestures without bleeding.

The shock was great, yet the greed in the politicians’ eyes was even greater.

Getting double the amount of promised breakthroughs just to assuage their resentment at the losses they had suffered was an extremely generous form of compensation. They would gladly get defrauded once again if it meant that they could triple the amount of Martial Artist breakthroughs!

In that moment, the Emperor of Harmony became larger than life before them, gushing with aura and charisma.

They were reminded.

They were reminded of why the Emperor of Harmony had received his ostentatious title.

They were reminded of why he was known as one of the greatest leaders in all five hundred years of the Age of Martial Art.

That day, the Kandrian Alliance grew stronger than it ever had.

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