The Martial Unity

The Sekigahara Confederate was much more impressive as a nation than he could have expected. Perhaps their stupid and rash Martial Artists gave the entire nation a poor rep, but otherwise he could understand why the Sekigahara Confederate had become a Sage-level powerhouse.

This nation dedicated everything to Martial Art.

As Rui followed Sage Shinken across the nation, it became evidently clear that all Martial Art related institutions and establishments received an astronomical endowment of resources and capital, while all other sectors received pittances in comparison. It was a shocking imbalance that was truly jarring to Rui as someone who came from a saner nation like the Kandrian Empire.

Public and domestic infrastructure were truly lacking. Homes were simple and small with very few multi-storied buildings. Roads were simply pathways with large and flat stones at the surface, buried underneath the mud. Rui couldn’t spot a single motorized carriage in the streets; all of them were hand-pulled or horse-pulled.

And yet, their Martial infrastructure was shockingly incredible. It even narrowly edged out the Kandrian Army and the Martial Union despite the treasures they had. This was the result of a nation that was dedicated to war and nothing but war throughout the entirety of the Age of Martial Art.

They had dedicated everything to Martial Art.

It was no wonder that they were regarded as one of the best Martial forces in the entire world.

While his father opted for a nation with a balanced division of resources, developing manufacturing, servicing, seafaring, and maritime industries, the Sekigahara Confederate disregarded everything that wasn’t Martial Art or didn’t directly serve it, and simply poured all they had into Martial Art.

Their training chambers spanned entire cities in the most extraordinary establishments that Rui had ever seen, on par with the Panamic Martial Federation itself.

Yet, that wasn’t the only culture shock that Rui experienced.

This was one of the first times that he had run into a genuine Martial Supremacist nation.

He could feel the reverence that the average person had towards Martial Artists. Even Martial Apprentices were treated as godlings who could go on to become mighty deities in the making. Martial Artists were markedly wealthier and had a particularly exalted sociocultural status that was visible in the deference they experienced on the streets of the Sekigahara Confederate.

Of course, this was somewhat true even in the Kandrian Empire. Martial Artists all around the world had exalted statuses, especially after the Beast Incursion had occurred. However, it appeared that this was much deeper and much more highlighted in the Sekigahara Confederate than in any other nation. He even saw the ordinary people of the Sekigahara Confederate bowing down to any and all Martial Artists they came across in the middle of the street.

This was especially true if the Martial Artist’s attire featured the emblems of one of the fourteen ruling Martial clans of the Sekigahara Confederate. These Martial Artists in particular earned greater fear from others around them.

It appeared that a deep hierarchy was set in the very sociocultural structures of the Sekigahara Confederate.

And it was no wonder. The Sekigahara Confederate’s national model was that of a mercenary state. National income was overwhelmingly comprised of selling their Martial services to foreign third parties who needed it for war. Which meant that the mercenaries, who were Martial Artists, were the most important members of the state. “Truly fascinating,” Rui had to admit. “This is such a different nation from the Kandrian Empire. It has been an enlightening visit to another Sage-level powerhouse that was once an equal to the Kandrian Empire.”

Sage Shinken scowled at ‘once an equal,’ but simply gritted his teeth and kept on moving. It was such a blatant and obvious truth that he didn’t feel like making a fool of himself by trying to argue the inarguable.

Not that Rui would have even humored him in the first place.

There was a time and place to get into heated arguments.

It was not when he was amidst a recently sworn enemy that still harbored deep hatred and rage against him, who he was helpless against and entirely at their mercy. The only point in having these arguments, especially when they weren’t going to be changing the other’s mind, was to assuage their own pride or ego.

His father had warned him extensively not to do that, and, for once, he heeded his father’s words, allowing the peak Sage to get away with saying things he perhaps would not have had he not been in his home nation of the Sekigahara Confederate.

STEP They descended upon an enormous building in a more ostentatious province of the country. “This is the Clan Convergence,” he told Rui. “The leaders of the fourteen clans await you inside.”

He sky-walked away, glaring at Rui coldly. “And I don’t care what you tell them. You will be imparting the Sekigahara Confederate with compensation for everything you’ve done to us.”

WHOOSH

Just like that, he was gone.

Rui scoffed with a hint of amusement. It was actually hilarious how much they avoided personal responsibility for any and everything that was actually their fault and instead blamed him for all their woes. He shook his head, before entering the Clan Convergence, unimpeded by the guards and or any other security measures.

STEP And then, he arrived at the conference room designated for him. Within the room were the fourteen clan leaders, who sat down with legs folded in a neat row. They wore ornate formal ethnic attires local to the Sekigahara Confederate and simply waited for Rui to take his seat.

He expected to be able to get into discussions immediately but apparently not. Before they could begin, a set of shrine maidens arrived before all of them, pouring tea in their cups. Rui raised an eyebrow as the fourteen clan leaders raised their cups before them, gazing at Rui expectantly.

“…” It was only after he followed suit that they finally took a sip from their tea.

“As the fourteen clan leaders of the Sekigahara Confederate, we welcome you to the Sekigahara Confederate, Prince Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria.”

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