The Martial Unity

News of the death of the Emperor of Harmony spread fast.

Not just through the nation.

But through Panamic Civilization and even the true world.

It caused seismic shockwaves the likes of which were seldom ever seen. It was such a destructively consequential notion that countless parties simply gritted their teeth and refused to believe the rumors.

Others had already begun moving.

With the death of the Emperor of Harmony, there was a massive power vacuum in the Panama Continent, and even if the seat was filled by the next Emperor or Empress, there would be seismic shifts in the balance of power. The Emperor of Harmony’s base of power came not just from the immense Martial and military power of his Empire.

It also came from the countless ties, associations, and alliances he had forged. There were countless powers, both sovereign and otherwise, that lent their power to him and him only as an individual, persuaded by his excellent diplomatic skills.

All that power that was once monopolized by the Emperor of Harmony was now unleashed as a free-for-all within the Panama Continent, the consequences of which were going to be beyond fathoming.

“With his death, countless other powers are going to begin seriously grabbing for more power and influence within the Panama Continent,” Prime Minister Edward’s voice was grim.

His dark gray eyes sharpened as he steepled his fingers on his table.

He knew people were undoubtedly going to reach for the ocean of power and influence that the Emperor of Harmony had monopolized in the past, because he had been among them himself, elevating himself to the Grand General of the Panamic Alliance to try and begin contesting some of the power that the Emperor of Harmony had held all influence over.

“Rael…” his tone was one of regret.

There was a time when the death of the Emperor of Harmony would have been a dream come true for him. In fact, when he heard the Emperor of Harmony had fallen ill with the Eternal Dream disease, he had rejoiced, even if secretly lamenting the loss of an engaging rival and enemy.

This time, there was no joy.

He was the one and only man who bore witness to the death of the greatest ruler in all of Panama, and it moved him in ways he couldn’t have imagined.

Suddenly, he didn’t care about expanding his base of power and influence anymore. He didn’t care about elevating himself to a station he deemed worthy of his competence. He didn’t care about his own status and his own prestige within Panamic Civilization.

Now, a single desire emerged within him.

“I must preserve what my old rival and… friend has created.”

That didn’t mean he was going to prop the Kandrian Empire up by any means; the nation was still the most powerful force in the Panama Continent, and even if it had suffered a massive blow, it was still extremely powerful.

But the Emperor of Harmony had to unite the continent and turn it into a single power bloc, leveraging all of his personal influence and power to do so.

Without him, the Panamic Alliance would have never come to be, and would have crumbled away. Especially with NOVA’s very clever decision to attack only the Kandrian Empire and no other nation, costing him immense political capital to continuously drag the other nations into his conflict on the basis of the terms and conditions of the Panamic Alliance.

Without him, everything could fall apart.

The continent and Panamic Civilization could fall apart and become divided once more. The Panamic Alliance would become an empty organization with no real weight amidst the powerhouses.

“I will not allow that to happen,” Prime Minister Edward declared solemnly. “I will not allow Rael’s legacy to crumble.”

It was a cause devoid of personal gain.

A cause devoid of ego.

His eyes widened as he finally understood how his archenemy-turned-friend must have felt all these years. A profound desire to fight for a goal greater than oneself and beyond oneself.

He had always criticized the absence of a personal ego in the Emperor of Harmony. He believed that the ego was fundamentally human, and any ruler who did not possess it would not be able to truly understand the subjects he ruled over.

Perhaps that philosophy had some merit to it, but even then, he finally understood what his friend must have felt like. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he saw Rael die before his very eyes, but something had changed within him.

“My personal ego be damned. Protecting his legacy… will be my legacy.”

A fierce determination emerged within him as he made his choice.

“Still… it won’t be easy to achieve this goal.” His expression grew complicated. “The Kandrian throne is empty, which means…”

A new throne war.

“But… only if he allows it.” Prime Minister Edward huffed, shaking his head. “What will you do, Rui Quarrier?”

A throne war was inevitable unless the Void Prince decided to descend upon the throne immediately.

Doing so would reduce all the complications immensely. Rui would be able to leverage his extraordinary Martial prowess and his other miraculous gifts to fill the titanic void his father had left behind.

But… Prime Minister Edward knew that there was no way this was going to happen.

Because his relationship with Rael had deepened and they had gotten closer, Rael had told him the truth of what had happened during the throne war.

He had entrusted Rui with the throne, but Rui had decided to selfishly prioritize his own Martial Path and Project Water and went out of his way to find the Divine Doctor to heal his father.

Prime Minister Edward felt guilty for slandering it all as a ploy from his old rival, but that was why he knew that Rui Quarrier would not ascend the throne.

Not unless something moved him to.

He heaved a deep breath, shaking his head.

“I must prepare for the throne war now that it is inevitable.”