The Martial Unity

Rui had plenty to say on the most revolutionary Martial weapon in the history of mankind. However, he had no interest in droning on and on about it from the perspective of a Martial Artist.

“I think you should adopt it massively,” Rui replied. “It simply is a vastly superior weapon. There is absolutely no denying that. We have plenty of industrial and manufacturing capital. We have what it takes to aggressively adopt the MECHA.”

“…I did not expect you to be so open-minded,” Emperor Rael admitted with a hint of approval. “A preliminary analysis has already revealed that Martial Artists dislike MECHAs. I fear that the Sage Council of the Martial Union will not be as open-minded as you.”

“Well, you’re probably correct.” Rui smiled wryly. “A combination of human fear of the unknown, elitist and purist attitudes on what is or isn’t Martial Art, and the fear of being rendered obsolete is working against the MECHA. However, power is power. And soon enough, they will be forced to either accept, be left in the dust, or actually be rendered obsolete. That being said, the Martial Union is not important in this matter.”

His father frowned at his words. “And what makes you say that?”

“Because MECHAs are best adopted by the Royal Army and the Kandrian Border Patrol Force en masse by normal humans trained to be pilots,” Rui replied. “These MECHAs do not need to be piloted by Martial Artists to be strong. You saw the fight. It allowed an Apprentice to fight a Squire. If you adopt this en masse, you will be able to massively empower the infantry that mans the border as the last line. You will be able to take some pressure off the Apprentices and Squires, which will trickle upwards and eventually relieve pressure experienced by Martial Masters like myself.”

Emperor Rael’s eyes lit up. “You are correct. MECHAs by themselves can be quite excellent,  even without Martial Artists piloting them.”

Rui nodded. “Additionally, once MECHA pilots dedicate their lives to MECHAs and spend much time in one, it will radically affect their Martial Path, inclining it towards MECHAs. Especially if you start training MECHA pilots young. You will eventually start seeing MECHA Martial Artists by adopting it en masse. When the Martial Union is surrounded by powerful MECHA Martial Artists, it will be forced to acknowledge MECHAs.”

He shrugged. “Of course, if they do it anyway, that would be good.”

His father regarded his words with interest. “That is a sound analysis. I am personally very impressed with MECHAs as a weapon that fully harnesses technology while still ensuring that the human being is central to the weapon. I do intend to aggressively invest in the development of MECHAs. However, this is purely a long-term solution given the time it takes for MECHAs to be mastered.”

Rui nodded. Since it would take more than five years for MECHA pilots to be skilled enough to fight  against the Beast Incursion, that meant that they would not be immediately viable in war. “I do think that MECHAs will change the Martial World in the long run,” Rui explained. “But that isn’t particularly relevant to our most urgent problems. That is one of the reasons that the Esoterist started his presentation with boring but more immediate solutions for greatly improving the efficacy of siege weapons against beasts and monsters and introduced MECHAs at the very last. He knew that this weapon would only help defend against beasts and monsters in the long run. What will help in the short term is my Hellbringer model, for instance, and me running around the world spreading it everywhere I go.”

His father raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that you would only go to the Sage-level powerhouses.”

“At first, yes.” Rui nodded. “But after that I plan to travel across all of Panama. Not just to help people adaptively evolve to beasts but also for personal reasons.”

Emperor Rael gazed at him knowingly. “The sterile safety of the Kandrian Empire is holding back your progress as a Martial Artist.”

“Pretty much,” Rui affirmed it straightforwardly. “I have been thinking of leaving the Kandrian Empire for quite some time now, and this is a good opportunity to do so. On top of that…”

He smiled wryly. “I should get around to fulfilling my commitment to the Divine Doctor. Even though he hasn’t yet brought it up, I’m sure he still is eagerly waiting for me to finally get around to my promise to him. And given everything that he has contributed to us and to me, I wish to do right by him and help him achieve his greatest ambition.”

Rui had not forgotten his promise to the Divine Doctor at all. He had known that he wouldn’t be able to fulfill it immediately when the war commenced soon after his return from the Beast Domain.

But now was the perfect opportunity to fulfill this commitment along with several other objectives and tasks, killing multiple birds with one stone.

“Of course,” Rui turned around to leave the office, “Project Forge comes first. I will dedicate everything to this project for the next few months in real time. After that, I will be departing.”

“In that case, I bid you good luck on your training and your travels.” His father smiled at him. “You have done enough for this country and for the world. Now do what you need to for yourself.”

“That is indeed the plan.” Rui’s eyes sharpened with determination.

It wasn’t long before he left his father’s office after bidding him goodbye.

For the next few months, the world might as well not exist, for he intended to pay it absolutely no mind whatsoever. He refused to leave the manifold until he had completed Project Forge. The past month that he had spent on Project Forge had affirmed an instinct that he had had about the project when he had conceptualized it.

Project Forge would revolutionize his Martial Art unlike anything ever had before. This was a truth he felt in his soul.

And he was determined to manifest it, no matter the cost.

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