The Martial Unity

The air in the conference room was heavy even as more and more projections lit up to project three-dimensional images of various leaders and representatives. It was not an exaggeration to say that this was an unprecedented event in human history. For one, this summit gathered all leaders at all levels.

This was a feat that could not be accomplished without the Beggar Sage and his nigh omniscient understanding of the powers of human civilization. Only he could have possibly gathered all leaders of human civilization in one room in the span of a month.

It was a summit of the leaders of a species, rather than just of civilization.

And it was fitting, given that they were fighting an existential war against the rest of all of life on land in the Beast Domain.

The momentous occasion was not lost on them, but they were simply unable to appreciate it. They had bigger concerns.

Like not being destroyed in the short-term, mid-term, and eventually emerging victorious in the long-term.

CLACK

The door at the other end of the gigantic conference-lecture hall opened up. A well-groomed suited man walked through it, arriving at the speaker’s stand as several lights lit up on him, illuminating him brightly.

Many of the leaders gathered in the conference hall recognized him immediately.

“Leaders of the world, Delegates and representatives, Martial Artists and dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen, I, the fifteenth Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild, Guildmaster Vaughn,” he smiled, “would like to begin by thanking all of you for partaking in our ambitious yet vital Human Summit. By doing so, you have given us the mandate to proceed  with everything that is to come. I would like to thank the elusive yet omnipresent Beggar’s Sect for their thorough cooperation with the Adventurer’s Guild without which this summit would have been impossible. I would also like to thank the various parties who have agreed to cooperate with us on this initiative.”

His gaze swept across all the seated projections. “Human civilization has been beset by a calamity unlike anything we have ever seen before in our entire lives. Never could we have imagined that the beasts and monsters of the Beast Domain could launch a unified assault on all of human civilization. Never could we have imagined that they would erode away so much of humanity and our mighty civilization in the way that they did.”

That rang true with a lot of human leaders.

Many considered themselves to be deeply unfortunate for having been leaders of a people in the era where the Beast Incursion would bloom in all its hellish glory.

“The Adventurer’s Guild has taken it upon ourselves to serve human civilization in a battle that could determine our future. The epoch of the Beast Incursion is the single greatest test that our civilization has ever faced.” His tone grew solemn. “As the human power that is most equipped to deal with threats of the Beast Domain, we have taken it upon ourselves to provide a briefing of an analysis provided by none other than the Ecologer, Dr. Milan Koloa herself, with every ounce of intelligence and information that we have been able to gather on the Beast Incursion.”

The gathered leaders grew more eager at those words.

This was why they had agreed to partake in this Human Summit.

“That isn’t all.” His tone grew more enthused. “While the Ecologer herself will share analysis on the Beast Incursion, we have had the honor of enlisting the services of some of the greatest solution providers in human civilization to come up with solutions to the apocalypse of the Beast Incursion. The first is none other than the Esoterist himself, the greatest master and engineer of esoteric reality and lastly…”

He threw the slightest bit of a glance at the Emperor of Harmony. “…the mighty Dawnbringer of the Kandrian Empire and his vaunted Martial ingenuity!”

To say that Emperor Rael’s composure had never been challenged as much as it was in that moment was hardly an exaggeration. It was the truth.

And yet, despite the shock that truly shook him where he was, he maintained an absolutely perfect and well-tailored expression and an erudite all-knowing facade. The calmness and composure that he projected convinced all the leaders who stole a glance at him that he was well-informed of this development.

They figured that he had even arranged it out of his magnanimous principle of harmony to restore the might of human civilization.

Many leaders across the aisle came to have more respect and regard for the Emperor of Harmony. The recent scandal that had come out had left a blight on his otherwise spotless track record, but now his willingness to allow all of them to benefit from the Martial genius of his son showed that he was truly a trustworthy and credible individual.

Emperor Rael quickly understood this dynamic and simply accepted it. He was still shocked about the revelation that his son was partaking in the special Beast Incursion task force of the Adventurer’s Guild, of course. But for now, he decided to go with the flow of things.

He would have a dear chat with his mischievous son later on.

“With the knowledge and wisdom of some of the brightest and greatest minds in all of human civilization, may we emerge victorious from this apocalypse,” the guildmaster said with a sense of finality. “And without further ado, I call upon the Ecologer herself to commence the presentation of the analysis briefing of the Beast Incursion.”

A middle-aged woman garbed in a lab coat entered the conference hall with a measured gait. Her long, brown hair swayed with each step while the circular lenses of her spectacles glinted in the light.

She radiated an aura of wisdom and knowledge.  An aura that came when someone dedicated their entire life, entire lives, in the pursuit of greater knowledge.

She arrived at the speaker’s stand, directing a sweeping gaze across the assembled audience.

“Leaders of humanity,” she began with a neutral tone. “I am the Ecologer.”

Her light green eyes bore deep upon all of them.

“…And I am here to inform all of you that you are yet to understand just how much danger we all are in, at the moment.”

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