The Martial Unity

Chairman Bradt frowned. “…This is a risky option, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Rael shook his head. “What’s risky is hoping that the worst does not happen. Let me remind you that we only know three things about the Beast That Roared.”

He raised a finger. “We know its location, at least as of sixteen years ago.”

He raised a second finger. “We know that it almost certainly is vastly more powerful than the quasi-Transcendent creatures.”

He raised a third finger. “We know that it harbors an unfathomably malevolent bloodlust against our species and civilization.”

He leaned forward as he steepled his fingers before him. “Should it emerge from the Beast Domain, any battle with it would lead to the absolute destruction of the entire continent for the same reason as it was the case for the quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters.”

He directed a pointed gaze at the Chairman. “There is only one place that we can fight and kill it without destroying humanity, and that is within the depths of the Beast Domain. Anywhere else means we will be destroyed no matter what. And so…”

His eyes sharpened. “These collections of facts and the fact that the risk of it exiting the Beast Domain increases with each passing day, month, and year, lead me to believe that we should not discount this extraordinary threat just because we have a more established threat of a much lesser degree of severity. The threat of the Beast That Roared cannot be solved without the Martial Sages, but our problem can be solved with our own ingenuity.”

A small smile of confidence and certainty emerged on the face of the Emperor of Harmony. “I believe in human ingenuity. I believe that we have the power to overcome this by ourselves.”

For a moment, a silence lingered in the air as the leaders stirred at his words with a mixed expression. Some were in agreement, while some were in disagreement, and others were on the fence.

BZZZT

The projection of the Vice-President flickered, before disappearing entirely.

In her place, the projection of man appeared.

His clothes were bizarre, comprised of strange metallic fabric with glowing circuitry running across the entirety of his body. His eyes were covered by a large singular panel of lenses that lit up with a headset display, augmenting his perception of reality with all kinds of data feed.

A strange helmet covered his entire head, a neural interface that connected his mind to technology, allowing him to control his incredible technology with a single thought. He grinned with excitement and approval at the Emperor of Harmony. “Well said, Emperor Rael! Indeed, we should never grow too dependent on the Martial Sages or Martial Artists in general! Allow me to show you…”

He grinned. “The power of human ingenuity.”

The Emperor of Harmony raised an eyebrow. “…I presume this means you have some technological inventions and innovations to show us this time?”

The Esoterist smirked. “You’re darn right I do. One of the many problems that I have dedicated my time to solving is the communication problem. Once upon a time, humanity used to be able to communicate amongst itself with no problem whatsoever. However, ever since the esoterification of human civilization had covered much of the continent in the past five years or so, our international communication systems have suffered tremendously and in fact…”

He directed a sweeping gaze across the meeting. “This meeting is our very limit and takes up almost our communication capital. The web of information across humanity has been shattered, destroying our wide-scale strategic advantage. The Beggar’s Sect, too, has experienced great difficulty with its mysterious techniques of communication. However…”

His grin widened. “Have no fear, for I am here.”

SNAP

With a snap of his fingers, a second projection emerged in the air.

It was a three-dimensional holographic display of a strange machine, one that had a large concave dish with a single spoke sticking out from the very center of the dish, with a device pointing back at the dish at the very other end of the spoke. Behind the dish was another large, extended body with great intricacy and detail.

It was unlike anything any of them had ever seen.

The Emperor of Harmony knit his eyebrows with a confused expression. “What is this strange contraption?”

The Esoterist grinned. “Behold, the satellite.”

The leaders of humanity stirred as they tried to grasp exactly what this strangely shaped machine even did. Its shape and structure not only didn’t elucidate what its purpose was, but it further confused all of them.

“This little fellow is actually quite big,” he remarked, waving his hand and placing a minute projection of human being next to the satellite to give them the necessary context as to how large it was. “And most importantly…”

His smirk widened. “This one will be going into the depths of space and will orbit around our planet the way the moon does.”

A wave of shock washed over the leaders of human civilization at this stunning revelation.

“What…?” Chairman Bradt remarked with a surprised tone.

“You see, the esoterification of humanity does not halt electromagnetic radiation from heading upwards,” he pointed to the sky. “This invention utilizes that principle to restore communication across the world. What we will do is beam signals straight into the sky towards the satellite in outer space and have the satellite receive the signal and send it down to another place on the continent. This will also not be impeded by the esoterification of human civilization. And thus…”

He spread his hands. “International communication can be restored across all of humanity.”

He continued explaining the principles of satellites to all the leaders, clarifying the most common questions and responses that emerged from the leaders. This revolutionary piece of technology was exactly what human civilization needed at this altar in its war with the Beast Incursion and the Esoterist clearly knew that, having focused more on it than his other projects to ensure that one of the most fundamental webs of humanity could be restored.

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