The Martial Unity

The Kandrian Empire began mobilizing its naval defense systems, its Martial Artists, and its long-range siege weapons. Emperor Rael swiftly declared a state of emergency, ordering evacuation measures on the eastern side of the Kandrian Empire, having citizens relocate to underground safety shelters prepared during the time of the Beast Incursion, coming in handy once more.

The Kandrian Empire activated its aquatic seismic stabilizers, technology it had independently developed to dispel tsunamis and other long-range assaults through the water.

Simultaneously, in accordance with protocols, the Kandrian Royal Navy and the Martial Artists of the Martial Union mobilized towards the eastern side of the country.

Martial Artists of all Realms, from Apprentice to Sage, moved as the Martial Union upheld its commitments to the Kandrian Empire.

“Stay here and look after Runark,” Kane remarked as he hugged his wife and child.

Fae nodded with a serious expression. “Be careful. Those tekvores are strong.”

“I know.” Kane’s green eyes blazed with an intense determination. “I won’t let them put even a scratch on Kandrian territory.”

He donned his belt containing his knife holsters, tightening his Martial attire, before directing one last look and nod to his wife and slumbering son. “I’ll be back soon.”

WHOOSH

He disappeared just like that, surging through the Kandrian Empire at high speed as he headed straight east, sensing the presence of other Martial Sages gathering on the eastern seaboard.

At his speed, it took merely seconds for him to reach them.

STEP

He arrived at the giant Martial launchpad a hundred feet above sea level. The warm ocean breeze brushed past his long green hair, causing it to sway along with his Martial attire.

“You’re here.” Sage Zentra’s composed voice reached him. “Good timing.”

The man appeared as calm as ever. Despite having arrived on short notice, live everybody else, his appearance was as perfectly groomed as ever, being faultless even to the powerful eyes of the Martial Sages around him.

“The others have yet to come,” Sage Sera remarked, leaning against a pillar. “Once we get the order from the strategic command center, we need to depart immediately.”

“Fighting them at sea might be disadvantageous,” Sage Vericita offered with a cautious tone. “The simple fact of the matter is that we will be able to mount a much more powerful defense if we remain here along with our siege weapons.”

“A long-range assault from afar will be ideal,” Sage Ceeran remarked with a strong tone. “We will be able to soften them without taking any damage and ensure that our forces will be able to overwhelm them when they get closer.”

“They will also adopt that same strategy, most likely,” Kane added with a knowing expression. “Given that stationary and rooted siege artillery tends to have a much greater range of attack, our forces will likely begin hitting theirs before the opposite. We will be deployed to engage in combat with the vessels and ensure that the battle with them will be as far away from the Kandrian Empire as possible.”

The Martial Sages were generally familiar with protocols and paradigms of war at sea, even if they didn’t have too much experience with it over the past few decades, having fought monsters and beasts in the Beast Domain for eleven years.

There was the brief one-month invasion of the true world into the Panama Continent shortly after the Unfolding that had given them some experience, but it was quite irregular nonetheless.

Kane turned towards a solitary, aloof figure who did not care to chime in despite having the most to offer, perhaps. “What do you think, Matriarch Nephi? What do you foresee?”

The elderly grandmother turned towards Kane briefly before her gaze returned to the vibrant blue ocean. “I am reserving my power for the actual battle. But I foresee a sustained conflict with Greater Tekvori, along with an escalation in the intensity of the conflict.”

Her heavy words bore on the atmosphere with a lot of weight. The Martial Sages grew silent as the sounds of ocean waves washing over the shores of the Kandrian Empire hung in the air.

The hum of mobilizing siege weapons and the bustle of arriving Martial Artists from across the Kandrian Empire and even beyond added to the growing peril in the air as the Martial Sages awaited the battle they knew that they were headed to.

“This war will not end easily or quickly,” Matriarch Nephi added with an ominous tone. “Now that my grandson has stripped our continent of an army of sea monsters that protected it at sea from foreign invasions, there is no protective layer to insulate us from danger.”

Her expression grew more severe. “We will have to fight to earn our survival. It is as simple as that.”

The Martial Sages absorbed her message with a grim outlook. Indeed, they were not pleased by the fact that they had to go to war because Rui had used his Authority to strip the continent of its prickly aquatic armor. It put them in danger, and it undoubtedly meant that, in the long run, some of them would likely die.

However, at the same time, they knew that negatron matter was a resource that needed to be acquired at all costs, especially for Panamic Civilization. Their continent was being targeted by most nations, organizations, and civilizations due to the esoteric resources that it contained. Everybody wanted a piece of it and would mercilessly tear it from the continent if they had the power to.

Negatron matter allowed them to access virtually infinite resources in the cosmos, and if the Panamic Alliance didn’t get its hands on them, they would become weaker in the long run.

Even if they understood this rationale and the absolute need for negatron matter in the long run, it was not pleasant knowing that they would be subject to war once more.

RUMBLE…

The siege artillery had been prepared and activated, and commenced its long-range attacks against the distant incoming warships.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!!!!!

RUMBLE!!!