The Martial Unity

The Prime Minister raised an eyebrow. “The Kandrian Empire cannot consume the excess with its population of three hundred million or so citizens.”

“That isn’t my intention,” Rui replied. “In the eight months since the Human Summit, the Kandrian Empire has expanded its seafaring capacity to an even greater extent. We are now able to supply the most essential resources to more people. One of the most essential resources being food, of course. In a globalized economy, many, many nations get their food with imports through land-faring routes which have now been entirely demolished.”

Many had considered eating the monsters that were felled, but processing esoteric monster meat on an industrial scale was something that most nations were simply not equipped to do. Additionally, the esotractor ravaged corpses, rendering them unfit for human consumption.

Food had become priceless in the Era of Darkness.

The one thing that many nations had taken for granted in the Age of Martial Art was now becoming more valuable than gold.

“You intend to profit from squeezing the entire world with high prices that you can get away with due to high demand?” Prime Minister Edward regarded the plan with a hint of respect. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Not quite.” Rui furrowed his eyebrows. “We can supply food to those who truly need it. That’s more important than making money. Currency itself has devalued due to hyperinflation caused by sky-rocketing demand for essential goods and services and plummeting supply. Alleviating it will allow human civilization to survive better and increases our odds of overcoming this apocalypse.”

“Hah, you have inherited your father’s harmony,” Prime Minister snorted with a hint of scorn. “Pursuing harmony at the cost of profits for some vague long-term benefits. Typical Rael.”

“Results are all that matter,” Rui reminded him. “He averted civil war while it ravaged everybody else. That harmony was why even stood a chance against all of you in the last war. But I digress. We don’t need money. We are already on our way to breaking the Great Limit. All we need is time. And helping human civilization survive is the best thing we can do to buy time.”

This was a fact.

With the manifold, the Silas Clan, breakthroughs, and the Divine Doctor, the Kandrian Empire had a clear and very straightforward path to becoming astronomically stronger than it ever had been.

Thus, the Emperor of Harmony had but one goal.

To ensure that human civilization did not fall.

As long as that condition was satisfied, there was no need to try and profit. An endless amount of profits would come to the Kandrian Empire as it underwent its elevation.

Prime Minister Edward was clearly cognizant of this dynamic.

A hint of envy flashed in his eyes as he thought about just how fortunate the Kandrian Empire was to get its hands on all these treasures and someone like the Dawnbringer.

“… Your proposal is acceptable,” Prime Minister Edward acquiesced.

Rui frowned with a hint of surprise.

He had expected a heavy backlash to the proposal.

Perhaps the man was more desperately in need of Rui’s breakthroughs and the Hellbringer than previously expected, but regardless, it was good that he had acquiesced as easily as he did.

“Great, let’s iron out the agreement as soon as possible.”

What followed was a painstaking deliberation where they ironed out the agreement, ensuring that both sides got what they wanted without any hidden traps or loopholes. Eventually, they had arrived at a contract that the Prime Minister sealed with his imperial seal and Rui with his Royal Seal.

The Royal Seal and his Royal Amulet were essentially official symbols of royalty and authority that gave Rui immense authority within the Kandrian Empire, second only to the throne and

crown.

And thus, the Kandrian Empire had just signed a powerful contract with the Britannian Empire.

The Britannian Empire would make reparations with a specified supply of agricultural products to the Kandrian Empire, agree to commit to the unified Sage taskforce, and develop the Water Sect in the nation in exchange for the blessings of the Dawnbringer.

Prime Minister Edward was satisfied with this because he essentially lost nothing that would hurt the Britannian Empire with this condition while getting many breakthroughs and the hypnotic embedding of the Hellbringer from Rui himself.

In this apocalyptic age, that was an extremely good deal.

Once the deal was official, Prime Minister Edward heaved a soft sigh of relief. “There is something that you need to know about our Master Knights. They have experienced issues with performance against the beasts and monsters ever since they failed to protect the Kandrian Empire in the absence of our Sage Knights. It has left… a deep impact on them. This has impacted their performance and has caused an extremely negative reaction from them to the idea of the Sage Knights leaving Britannia.”

Rui immediately understood one of the reasons behind the Britannian Empire’s reluctance towards the Sage taskforce plan his father had provided.

“They do not believe that they can protect the Britannian Empire without the Sages?” Rui wondered aloud. “It would make sense, I suppose. Still, it is surprising that Martial Masters are still vulnerable to this kind of mental shock.”

Prime Minister Edward’s expression darkened at those words. “Our Martial Artists are not like those of the Martial Union. They are loyal knights who have sworn to protect the Britannian Empire at all costs, no matter what. They are different from the wishy-washy Martial Artists of the Kandrian Empire. We have loyal warriors, you have mercenaries.”

Rui frowned at his inaccurate description, but could not be bothered to fight on him every single point. “So, you’re saying that their psychological devastation is due to their deep devotion to the Britannian Empire?”

“Precisely,” Prime Minister Edward calmly replied. “I hope that you will be able to restore their confidence and faith in themselves with your breakthroughs and your Hellbringer model. If their numbers increase and if their effectiveness against the monsters and beasts increase, they should regain their confidence and, with it, our trust in their ability to withstand the incoming wave of beasts and monsters.”