The Martial Unity

Chapter 2452: Shocking News

”Rui...” Emperor Raelʼs expression grew relieved as he saw that his son was finally waking up.

The air in the medical ward grew jubilant and triumphant as the prince of the Kandrian Empire finally woke up after two weeks. The medical teams that had watched over his medical condition for every second of every day heaved a sigh of relief at the recovery of one of the most powerful and important figures of the Kandrian Empire.

The sheer amount of stress that they had each endured when tasked with saving none other than the Void Prince was beyond anything they had ever experienced in their entire lives. Any mistake on their part could mean not just the delayed recovery of the young Master, but also the defeat of the Kandrian Empire in the war.

Then they froze.

They froze as a wave of cold displeasure washed over them.

It sent chills across their skin.

And yet, it wasnʼt directed towards them.

No.

Ruiʼs eyes were fixed on one man.

Ieyasu met his chilling gaze with stoic eyes as the two men regarded each other for the first time since the end of their fated battle.

The air boiled tumultuously.

It boiled with peril.

WHOOSH

In the blink of an eye, Rui appeared before Ieyasu at blinding speeds.

BOOM!!!

A thundering Flowing Canon blasted into the manʼs guard as the two men narrowed their eyes with ferocity.

BADUMP!

Their Hearts and Minds flared with power as they brought out their full strength.

And just like that, round two began.

Or so they thought.

CLASP

The Tempestuous Fortress caught their attacks mid-air while protecting the humans from their Martial Embodiments.

”Thatʼs enough, Your Highness.” The Tempestuous Fortress gazed at Rui with a pointed glance. ”We are in an underground medical facility. You cannot fight here.”

Rui narrowed his eyes.

Yet, his gaze never once left the man before him.

A single question escaped him.

”Why am I alive?”

He had wondered this from the moment that he had confirmed that he wasnʼt dead.

He knew he had lost against Ieyasu.

He knew that nothing could have protected him from his opponent

Ieyasu stared at him with stoic eyes. ”... Your death would be unconducive to my objectives on many levels.”

”...Objectives.” A whisper escaped Rui. ”Is that why youʼre here? Joining the Kandrian Empire was an objective?”

”...From the very beginning.” Ieyasuʼs eyes remained fixed on Rui.

Ruiʼs stare was intense.

Intuitively, he found it shocking and surreal that Ieyasu wanted to join the Kandrian Empire. Yet, objectively, it made sense.

The Kandrian Empire was a Martial Artistʼs dream with all the resources and capabilities that it was known to possess.

It was one of the reasons that the war had begun at all. The treasures were too powerful and were guaranteed to skyrocket the Kandrian Empire to extraordinary heights if left unchecked. It was no wonder that Tokugawa Ieyasu was attracted to the prospects of joining the Kandrian Empire.

”And that was why you kept the fact that you always possessed the power to trigger breakthroughs even before you copied my Martial Art?” Rui narrowed his eyes. ”You didnʼt want to contribute to the Kandrian Empireʼs defeat?”

His words surprised everyone around him.

The fact that Tokugawa Ieyasu possessed the ability to break Martial Artists through of his own accord meant that he had truly gamed the East Panamic Treaty Alliance. Emperor Rael had failed to take into account the existence of another extraordinary Martial Artist with capabilities similar to Rui himself.

”It would be foolish to do so considering I planned to join it,” Ieyasu calmly replied. Emperor Raelʼs eyes narrowed suspiciously. ”Then why did you join the East Panamic Treaty Alliance at all? The Kandrian Empire welcomes all Martial Artists with open arms as long as they pass our extensively thorough and scrupulous vetting process. It would have been simpler for you to join the Kandrian Empire directly.”

Tokugawa Ieyasu didnʼt answer the question.

He didnʼt have to.

”He wanted to battle to the death against me.”

There wasnʼt a hint of uncertainty in Ruiʼs voice.

He knew.

He knew because he shared the same desire.

He hadnʼt been interested in some low stake duel like a sparring match or a monitored duel.

He had wanted a no-holds-barred match where they were both squeezing out their very absolute best to win the fight.

Rui had truly given everything to the battle.

He had mustered up every ounce of power, of Adaptive Evolution, to win the battle at all costs. He had even gone as far as to suffer for what felt like an eternity inside his own head just to adaptively evolve to the Harbingerʼs Martial Art.

The same could be said for his opponent.

While they did feel this way with other strong Martial Artists as well, there was something that especially drove them to be hyper-competitive with each other.

Perhaps it was because they were each otherʼs only equal.

Perhaps it was because they had fought many other Martial Artists and were the only ones

who were as extraordinary as each other.

Rui heaved a sigh, throwing one last glance at Tokugawa Ieyasu.

”Next time, I will win.”

Rui was deeply displeased by his defeat, but it only increased his determination to grow stronger faster so that he could win next time. Their battle had forced him to squeeze out power that he didnʼt know he had.

It showed him that he still had vast amounts of untapped potential when it came to his capacity to adaptively evolve. Potential that he was determined to unearth and manifest for

himself.

BZZZT

The buzzing of his fatherʼs royal comms artifact drew his attention.

”Your Majesty!” the Director of the Kandrian Bureau of Intelligence urged. ”We have received intelligence that an enormous force of forty-two Martial Sages has just been dispatched towards the Kandrian Empire from the Britannian Empire!”

RUMBLE

The air boiled with peril as grim severity and horror swept across each and every person that

was misfortunate enough to hear the horrifying news.

It was the beginning of the end.