The Martial Unity

The clash of the two forces created a new front of war near the Kandrian Empire. The first front of war was, of course, the tekvore front that came from the north. The second front was the giant front that came directly from the east, where the Continent of Samarkha was. The third front of war came from the south, from the distant Evolutionary Army.

Despite the fact that the continent of Moridia was to the west of the continent of Panama, the Evolutionary Army still rotated around the continent from the south and attacked the continent from the east, targeting the Kandrian Empire from the south.

That was because the Kandrian Empire was the core of the Panamic Alliance. Its headquarters were located in the Kandrian Empire, and a large chunk of the upper echelons of the bureaucracy was situated in the Kandrian Empire, much to the muted displeasure of the rest of its constituency.

The other nations of the alliance were not pleased by the outsized influence that the Kandrian Empire had on the alliance, but it could not have been helped. Before the Esocline Federation shattered the Kandrian Empire’s monopoly on the World Bridge, the Emperor of Harmony had essentially ’stolen’ the Martial Sages of the world, who had grown comfortable working together as a cohesive group led by Kandrians in the Central Highlands of the Beast Domain.

Since then, of course, some of the power of the Kandrian Empire within the alliance had been curbed and pushed back with the appointment of Prime Minister Edward to the position of Grand General to take command of the war against the forces that sought to destroy the Panamic Alliance at its very heart.

“We require more firepower.” Prime Minister Edward’s voice was steely, yet calm.

He sat at the head of a conference table, much to his pleasure, overseeing the projections of a dozen other representatives across the table, leaning forward as he steepled his fingers.

Consul Notera of the Nest of Terra turned towards him with a knowing expression. “We have already deployed sixty percent of our forces to the aid of the Kandrian Empire. We cannot do more than that without compromising our own national security.”

She had grown visibly older since her interactions with Rui since his visit to the Nest, but still retained a vibrancy to her almost paper-white albino skin, a trait that characterized the subterranean race, evolved due to their dire absence of access to organic sunlight.

“We have also deployed a considerable amount of capital to creating large internal shelters and subterranean transport infrastructure,” she continued. “We cannot possibly weaken ourselves any further. We have completed more than all of our commitments to this alliance.”

The Panamic Alliance had commissioned the Nest of Terra to conduct strategic underground tunnel networks to serve as transport and inventory of strategically sensitive resources of manpower, making it difficult for their enemies to estimate their distribution of resources.

“We too have dedicated nearly seventy-five percent of our military power to the Kandrian Empire.” Elder Diana remarked with a pointed tone. “Ours is a floating haven, meaning we are not protected by the Beast Excursion controlled by the Elder Tree. We are also more vulnerable to attacks from outer space and surveillance from outer space, which compromises us strategically. Like the Nest of Terra, we too have been consumed with bolstering the aerial defense of the Panama Continent.”

One by one, each of the many powerhouses offered excuses, one after another, as to why they couldn’t deploy more of their Martial power, insisting on reserving anywhere between half to a quarter of their power for themselves.

Prime Minister Edward simply listened to their excuses with a calm and patient expression, until they reached the very final few powerhouses, some of which were new names.

“We of the Mallarkian Martial Collective are also unable to supply more, considering our national security.”

Prime Minister Edwards shifted his gaze at the last delegate with a peering gaze. The Mallarkian Martial Collective was the latest Sage-level powerhouse in the Panama Continent.

Situated in South Panama, it was created before the Era of Darkness as a home for all unanchored Martial Artists who didn’t have a state they were willing or able to dedicate their loyalty to.

Most nations that accepted Martial Artists made stringent demands of exclusivity, loyalty, and commitment. And not only were the conditions demanding, but the criteria of proof needed that Martial Artists needed to demonstrate to show that they fulfilled those conditions were even harsher. Even if a powerful Martial Master joined the Kandrian Empire and the Kandrian Martial Union, they would need to undergo several years of processing before they could be allowed to partake in the Master Council of the Union.

Otherwise, any foreign party could send sleeper Martial Masters and infiltrate the Martial Union to push their agendas.

This was something that a significant portion of the Martial Artist population was not fond of, often leaving them unanchored and unbound vagabonds that simply traveled the continent freely, often in search of a new home.

The Mallarkian Martial Collective was created by a real estate mogul who simply saw a business opportunity in these vagabond Martial Artists who were unwilling to commit. He created an organization that allowed Martial Artists not only to join it with no strings attached, but also gain access to its Martial resources in exchange for its power.

It worked. Countless Martial Artists flocked to the new nation to partake in it, including enough unanchored Martial Sages, turning it into a Sage-level powerhouse, albeit a weak one.

The conditions of the Era of Darkness had helped it too, for it destroyed the Panamic Martial Federation for all practical purposes and allowed them to get away with more, and it naturally used the external pressure of the Beast Incursion over eighteen years to unite the vagabonds into something resembling a cohesive group.

Very rarely did such a nation emerge and grow into a powerhouse at such a remarkable pace.