The Martial Unity

Although each Squire was insignificant in the grand scheme of things, together, they protected the Kandrian Empire from Squire-level beasts and monsters.

This ensured that stronger beasts and monsters did not break past Martial Artists of the higher Realms who could focus solely on their targets without having to run around a massive battlefield to clean up Squire-level monsters.

Tens of millions of Apprentice-level creatures shivered with fear at the sight of the powerful Martial Squires of the Kandrian Empire before turning direction and heading even further north and south across the western side of the Kandrian Empire, entirely avoiding the Martial Squires.

The Squires noticed, most certainly, yet, they didn’t so much as direct a glance at the creatures even as tens of millions of Apprentice-level creatures  surged closer and closer to the Kandrian Empire.

They had gotten so close to the Kandrian Empire that the fort wall that separated the Kandrian Empire from everything foreign was clearly in sight in the distance.

Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of Martial Apprentices stood between them and the weak and vulnerable humans that cowered inside.

“ATTACK!” Thousands of peak Apprentices roared as they led their fellow Martial Apprentices to intercept countless beasts across the area.

POW POW POW POW POW!!!

The Apprentice-level battle resembled a battle with human beings the most. A truly enormous army of them that spread further than the eye could see across a massive battlefield in a closely knit army. Countless humble beasts and monsters that were not exaggeratedly enormous or infested with mutative esoterics spread across the battlefield.

The clashes between both sides were also more human. Martial Apprentices were entirely human in their physiology and anatomy. Yet, their output was superhuman due to additional cognition across several parts of the brain. They moved more efficiently, they fought more effectively. What a human could achieve perhaps one in a billion times out of sheer fluke in what appeared to be a superhuman maneuver, a Martial Apprentice could achieve perfectly continuously as their normal. When they deployed special principles, they could produce an output that even the most accomplished human fighter could never accomplish in their dreams.

And yet, this battle was the most unstable out of all of them, with many Apprentices even panicking and running away from the battlefield in fear. Many of them were just teenagers who had never even fathomed such a horrifyingly large army of monsters. Many had just chosen to become a Martial Artist due to the fact that it was a highly stable career, financially. While it was also easily the single most dangerous and the riskiest career in all of humanity, it was also perceived to be ideal for kids in poverty to rise up the economic totem pole.

The bad part was that Martial Artists needed to fight.

The Martial Union partnership contracts that they signed contained clauses that essentially amounted to conscription in times of emergency.

An overwhelming majority of Martial Apprentices signed it nonetheless, believing that there was no way that the mighty Kandrian Empire would ever face an emergency.

They were so wrong that it wasn’t even funny. From the third Great East Panamic War to the Beast Incursion that swept across all of human civilization, the Kandrian Empire had been in hot waters for what felt like an eternity even though it had been less than a year. Had they been more experienced, they would have been able to maintain their composure, but due to Rui’s artificial breakthroughs, a much larger proportion of them were inexperienced Martial Apprentices who had never faced the horrifying catastrophe of war.

Many of them even had mental breakdowns due to how horrifying the beast tide was. It was not a pretty sight to be confronted by so many scary-looking monsters. “AAAAHHH!”

“SAVE ME!”

“LET ME BACK IN! I’LL DIE!”

Still, the veterans and other powerhouses within the Apprentice Realm held the force together with their powerful presence, ensuring that the Apprentice-level warfront didn’t crumble.

That would be disastrous for the Kandrian Empire.

Regardless, while the tens of millions of the larger beasts and animals fought against the Martial Apprentices, the countless smaller animals swept right past them, avoiding them entirely as they headed straight to the Kandrian Empire’s walls in a frenzy.

And yet, despite the sheer number of Martial Artists that they had avoided, despite the sheer number of siege blasts that they had been fortunate enough to survive, they were still unable to reach the Kandrian border.

“FALL IN!” the commander of the Kandrian Army bellowed to the infantry of the Kandrian Empire. “INTERCEPT THE BEASTS! DON’T LET EVEN A SINGLE ONE OF THEM THROUGH!”

Millions of men stretched across an absolutely enormous perimeter intercepted hundreds of millions of smaller animals and creatures that could still cause immense harm to human civilization if let loose.

Had the men been alone or been unarmed, the battle would have been doomed. But clad in powerful armor and armed with esoteric blades and esoteric elementary projectile weapons, they were able to mow down the countless animals even as they surged towards them in what appeared to be an endless tide.

And yet, they were not Martial Artists.

Even if they were armed with weapons that gave them advantages over the incoming small and weak beasts and monsters, their brains and minds were not specialized for combat. Despite their greatest care, they let slip many, many beasts and monsters who gladly climbed up the border fort wall of the Kandrian Empire.

And yet, the second they stepped foot inside Kandrian territory—

BOOOM!

The enhanced corps blasted all of them into pure blood mist.

Together, every sector and layer of the Kandrian Empire that was able to fight fought to contribute and protect the Kandrian Empire from the endless hordes of beasts and monsters that threatened to consume all of human civilization.

The third Great East Panamic War was a highly elite war where only Sages and Masters  mattered. The Beast Incursion was a war against human civilization.

Every ounce of power mattered.

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