The Martial Unity

“…And reports suggest that all of the other nascent resistance groups that formed across the entirety of the Panama Continent have rapidly disbanded after His Majesty decimated the Sovereign Martial Alliance.” Minister Ru’s tone was composed and well-modulated. “We have noticed a complete collapse in the signals of rebellion, particularly from the Martial Sages of our continent, and a large number of Sage-level nations that previously rejected the Void Order have now accepted it and have integrated it into their local law and order enforcement. We expect to see plummeting rates of violence and rising rates of FDI pouring into nations from financial markets to fuel development.”

The former princess smiled at the others gathered in the meeting. “We expect to see rising development indexes over the next ten years, coupled with rising literacy and skilled labor levels once the Martial World has fully settled into the ways of the new regime. All in all, I think it is fair to say that the Void Order regime has been a spectacular success, all things considered.”

“The effects have been most pronounced in the Kandrian Empire,” Minister Danes added with an enthusiastic expression. “We have actually had days with zero reported instances of Martial violence, sometimes back to back, and their frequency is only rising. I suspect that in the future, people will cease to associate Martial Artists with violence at all. At this rate, the Kandrian Empire can modernize at a level that is very close to that of the Esocline Federation. We already have with Project MetroVision a thorough success.”

“Additionally,” the Minister of Finance, Minister Varken, took over. “I might add that the Nationalized Martial Insurance that we instituted to compensate for the destruction of property and infrastructure caused by Martial Artists has experienced some deflationary pressures, suggesting that people don’t feel the need to opt into this program thanks to your regime, Your Majesty. The international markets are pleased by your rapid, but smooth suppression of Martial chaos.”

They all turned towards the Emperor seated at the head of the table, who leaned back on his comfortable chair, resting his head on his hand. The meeting was no different from a victory lap, where they recounted all their successes since the advent of his regime and talked about how well things were going.

Rui simply heaved a soft sigh before nodding. “That’s brilliant news, it seems that we have managed to make the best-case scenario manifest. We have been blessed with good fortune.”

“Come now, Your Majesty! We are not going to let you pretend that this wasn’t due to your merits.”

“Indeed, there’s no doubt that without your extraordinary power, this outcome would have never materialized.”

“Especially without your brilliant suppression of the Sovereign Martial Alliance, this would have never achieved such a brilliant start.”

The ministers praised him, out of sincerity and also to butter him up. But he simply accepted their praise before shifting his gaze to one individual with a raised eyebrow.

“It seems at least one person does not entirely agree with these turn of events.”

The Minister of Martial Art had done well to hide his displeasure and distaste for what was happening outwardly, but she couldn’t hide her emotions from Rui. She was a woman in her early forties, having governed Martial policy for several years under the Emperor of Harmony, shortly before he passed.

“We believe we have said to all of you before that you may speak your mind without fear of consequence,” Rui remarked. “Speak your mind, Minister Seres.”

The attention of the meeting shifted towards her as she heaved a deep breath, resolving herself to speak her mind. “…Your regime of order will do well for the development of civilization in the long run, Your Majesty. But it will weaken our Martial World. I believe you have already been made aware of the issue of depleting incentives. One of the reasons that people pursue their Martial Path is often to gain power over others, and your regime eliminates that at the Apprentice and Squire levels. Now, fewer and fewer people have reason to pursue their Martial Path.”

Rui nodded. “We are aware of this problem, and it is one that we intend to solve with other forms of compensation, as previously discussed. We will put Martial Artists to work, and we will pay them handsomely, making them much wealthier than others. The money incentive should be attractive enough.”

“It’s not just the incentives that trouble me, Your Majesty. There’s also the fact that without such an iron-grip on Martial violence, the international Martial market for offensive missions will be gone, reducing not just earning opportunities but also opportunities for Martial Artists to experience real combat,” Minister Seres continued. “I’m afraid that all this law and order will create weaker Martial Artists with very little motivation to get stronger, is my ultimate concern. But…”

Her eyes sharpened. “My biggest concern is a diminishing drive for violence in our civilization and species. Martial Artists are meant to be violent, to put it bluntly. They are meant to use their power to hurt other people. It is in our blood, for better or worse. None of the other six species of the true world has as much internal conflict, not even the therianthropes have a propensity for harming each other to the extent that we do, despite being more diverse. It is our strength and what allows us to stand up to the other six civilizations.”

Rui could understand her compunctions, but he had already had thoughts about all of this.

“They will have plenty of opportunity for real combat experience in war,” he remarked. “But not internal war, but external. We are still in a state of hostility with the Evolutionary Army and Greater Tekvoria. I don’t intend to simply let these fellows sit and bide time; we will eventually mount regular offensive operations against both parties in the future and slowly chip away at their power with our greater numbers born from mass breakthroughs.”

Rui’s expression grew severe. “We were very disappointed with the level of power of the newly broken through Martial Sages. They are weak and brittle because the Enlightenment of Self was handed to them on a platter. We plan to send them to war against our enemies to break them in and eliminate the unworthy. With the exploding numbers of Martial Sages, we can afford mass death of Martial Sages every once in a while to create a healthy Sage Realm. And also…”

Rui leaned forward with a hint of interest in his ethereal eyes. “Once our earnest bid for the stars starts, conflict in space will undoubtedly erupt in full power. We can reward Martial Artists for their success with their own territory in other solar and star systems across outer space. Now that’s what I call a powerful incentive structure.” It was an idea that caused the ministers of the meeting to stir with interest.