The Martial Unity

Everybody just stared at Rui in disbelief.

He simply stared back, letting them process the fact that he wouldn’t be giving them the Scriptures of Terra on a silver platter.

He felt bad for them, but at the end of the day, it was better that they interpreted the Scriptures of Terra for themselves so that they could actually make use of it. Nobody could make use of the Scriptures of Terra as a system of thought simply because it was too large and too thought-intensive.

Consul Notera stared at him with a broken expression, while Consul Sergenilius couldn’t hide the delight in his eyes. “You can’t do this to us…” A quivering murmur escaped from Consul Notera. “You cannot do this to us…!”

Her expression crumbled with anger.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG WE HAVE WAITED?!”

Her wrathful bellow shook everybody.

She glared at Rui with a murderous expression.

And yet, despite that, Rui found himself to be unrelentingly calm. After everything that he had gone through, not even facing the anger of the leader of a Sage-level powerhouse could shake him all that much anymore.

Not to mention, he knew for a fact that they were probably limited after getting warned by the Kandrian Empire. They were stepping on thin ice.

“You…” she continued with a chilling expression. “You will give us what we seek.”

“I’m afraid not.” His voice was unwavering. “My decision is final.”

The air tingled with tension.

The atmosphere boiled tumultuously as the Martial Artists felt the electric anticipation of a conflict.

“Stand down, Notera…” Consul Sergenilius growled at her. “I won’t let you bring harm to the esteemed Dawnbringer. His Highness is our guest! You cannot use force against him!”

Rui stared at the man with an incredulous expression.

The sheer irony of what he was saying was hardly lost on him. And yet, Consul Notera ignored the man and remained focused on Rui. A single remark escaped her.

“Get him.”

Just like that, one-half of the Sages and Masters leaped at Rui with fearsome speed and power.

As strong as Rui was, there was no way he had even the slightest chance of resisting such overwhelming power.

And yet, much to his amusement, it was his enemy’s Martial Artists that intervened to protect him. BOOOOOOOOM!!!

The fact that the City of Martia was built to withstand the weight of Martial Artists was the greatest reason their power didn’t lead to widespread destruction, in addition to all of them being forced to hold back. “Cease this foolhardy nonsense, Notera!” He snarled. “How dare you attack the Dawnbringer!”

Consul Notera glared at him with murderous vengeance. “SHUT UP, YOU HYPOCRITE! We will capture him and squeeze the Scriptures of Terra from his mind!”

“Protect the Dawnbringer at all costs!” Consul Sergenilius gritted his teeth.

RUMBLE!!!

The Nest of Terra shook under the weight of the power that the Martial Artist unleashed. The Martial Artists of the two factions warred against each other furiously, one side seeking to capture the Dawnbringer while the other side sought to protect him.

“Let’s go.” Rui narrowed his eyes as he clasped Amare’s hand, and the two of them shot towards the skies. “We’re leaving.”

He hadn’t even finished completing the Hellbringer model for the Martial Artists who were participating in the defense of the Beast Incursion, but he was sure it wasn’t entirely necessary for the Nest of Terra that had immense natural protection by virtue of their subterranean civilization.

Regardless, he had had enough of a nation that chose to attack him twice from two different factions.

He surged towards the skies, holding Amare’s hand dearly, unwilling to let her go. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have been able to escape past the Nest of Terra very easily, but ever since he had gained the Scriptures of Terra, his earth-bending had grown hyper-efficient, smooth, and fast.

On the spot, he activated his Realms of power and the Forge of Creation to create a technique that would allow him to leave the Nest of Terra as fast as possible.

“Escaping The Nest Of Terra.”

Not the best of names for a Martial Art technique, but in his defense, he was in a hurry. And thus, he began digging through the bedrock, soil, and gravel that constituted the foundation of the Nest of Terra.

RUMBLE

Thanks to his newfound mastery of earth-bending, it wasn’t too long before he wormed his way across the entirety of the Nest of Terra and eventually emerged onto the surface for the first time in two months, being blessed with the tremendous might of the shining Sun.

They gasped for pure, fresh air, basking in the raw warmth and light of the Sun.

And yet, they weren’t cleared for safety. “Let’s go, we need to get far, far away from here.”

And thus, they did. The two of them shot away from the Nest of Terra at tremendous speeds, making a run from the nation.

“To think that the people who were on your side would try to capture you and the one who tried to capture you would end up protecting you…” she murmured with a stunned expression.

Rui scoffed. “At the end of the day, they’re not that different from each other. They’re both power-mongers who think of themselves as pursuers of a noble goal. But…”

His eyes narrowed. “…all they want is power.”

This was what most leaders were like, so he wasn’t too surprised. But it also meant that he needed to be careful about how he interacted with nations from here on out. This was the first nation that had been this hostile to him. Not even the Solaris Kingdom had dared to attack him outright, even though they were racial supremacists who thought he was cursed because of the color of his hair and eyes. The Nest of Terra had seemed like a pretty reasonable nation, even if very unique, but had ultimately been more of a pain in the ass than any other nation thus far.

“Note to self: do not possess something that Sage-level powerhouses desperately want if you are not willing to get it further from them.”

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