The Martial Unity

Chapter 2596: A New Obstacle

Rui had to admit. His demonstration against the Britannian Masters was cathartic; it was

good to bully these fellows once again. Admittedly, he underestimated how much he disliked them due to their contributions against the Kandrian Empire in the previous war.

”Itʼs a shame I canʼt bully the prime minister like that.”

The Martial Sages would most certainly not tolerate that.

Besides, he didnʼt want to test their patience, even if they were more rational than the Sekigaharans.

Regardless, he had completed the purpose that he had come here for.

”And with that, I have fulfilled my end of the deal,” Rui told Prime Minister Edward in their meeting. ”I have already sent the details of our contract to the Emperor.”

Prime Minister Edward simply acknowledged this. ”Your services have been of great help to the strategic outlook of the Britannian Empire. We will adhere to our terms and continuously send large agricultural supplies to the Kandrian Empire. We pledge to develop the Water Sect in our nation. We also promise to commit to the Sage task-force as long as your solutions and that of the Esoterist function as promised.”

”They will be,” Rui assured. ”Though, with the Esoteristʼs solutions, they depend on how well you adopt them.”

The man knew exactly what he meant. ”We are not impractical enough to shun a weapon that can harness both technology and Martial Art. While we are a Martial Supremacist nation, we care more about power than any notions of the purity of power. Rest assured, MECHAS have a place in the Britannian Empire.”

Rui nodded. ”Iʼm glad to see that you guys are more reasonable than the Sekigaharans. MECHAS are a long-term and high-hanging fruit. But when theyʼre fully ripe, any nation that wasnʼt bullish on this new technology will be sorely regretting it in the many years to come. It will change the landscape of Martial Art.”

”Iʼm not unaware of its great potential,” Prime Minister Edward replied. ”However, potential is just that, potential. I intend to invest heavily on it with the full awareness of the fact that it may very well be bust. Admittedly, the fact that it is being pioneered by none other than the Esoterist itself is certainly more assuring.”

It was good that he appeared to be cautiously optimistic as far as MECHAS were concerned. That was good enough.

”Well then, I suppose our business has come to an end.”

”I suppose it has,” Prime Minister Edward curtly replied.

Rui fell into thought as he pondered on the next Sage-level powerhouse he would be targeting next. ”I suppose itʼs time for the Republic of Gorteau next.”

His gaze shifted back to the prime minister. ”Any advice?”

A hint of amusement appeared on the manʼs face. ”You would ask me, your old enemy, for advice?”

”Why not?” Rui shrugged. ”The past does not matter in the Era of Darkness, and you are a highly competent politician.”

Prime Minister Edward shook his head, resigned. ”The Republic of Gorteau is a democracy. It means that the leaders of the nation are vulnerable to public sentiment. They are vulnerable to public perception. Their grasp on power depends entirely on how popular they are with their people. This is what you need to be most cognizant of. It can work against you if youʼre not careful, but if you can harness it, then you will have gained their cooperation by force.” When he put it that way, he almost made it sound that democratic nations were weaker.

Rui wasnʼt sure how to feel about that.

”I will keep that in mind.”

Soon enough, it was time to leave the Britannian Empire. After bidding goodbye to the prime minister, he headed out on his journey once more. Unlike with the Sekigahara Confederate, there were no complications this time.

Having covered two of the three archenemies of the Kandrian Empire, he couldnʼt help but gain a hint of curiosity as to what the Republic of Gorteau would be like. Of course, he knew about it from his studies and research, but it was an entirely different experience to visit it.

The Republic of Gorteau was in a different situation compared to the Britannian Empire and the Sekigahara Confederate.

For one, it was weaker in its Sage-level forces compared to its Masters due to the fact that their peak Sage had been killed by none other than Sage Damian of the Kandrian Empire during the Great East Panamic War.

Their Master-level forces were strong enough, nonetheless.

In the case of this nation, the most important question was whether he could convince the President or the Congress to deploy their Sages into battle.

Rui recalled that in the case of the Republic of Gorteau, the right to deploy Martial Artists on missions not within the purview of any inherent powers of the executive branch was something that the President needed to initiate and Congress needed to approve.

Just thinking about the lengthy governmental process to approve of the initiative of the President gave Rui a headache.

”Whatever, Iʼll just bully Raymond into signing the goddamn contract and hope his congress isnʼt batshit crazy.”

”Raymond isnʼt the President anymore,” Prime Minister Edward corrected him. ”He lost the Presidential elections shortly after the Human Summit.”

Rui frowned as he recalled that democratic leaders didnʼt stick around for too long oftentimes.

”The new president is President Amelia Mansherwire,” Prime Minister Edward informed him. ”She is of the Democratic Socialist Party.”

”Thatʼs the party that my father bribed to cripple the Republic of Gorteauʼs war budget in order to reduce the effective military and Martial power of the nation, if I recall correctly.” Rui fell into thought. ”Perhaps I can bribe her, too.”

”Unlikely. Your father knew his strategy would work because he was bribing them to do more of what they were going to do anyway. You are trying to get her to do the opposite,” Prime Minister Edward pointed out. ”President Amelia is an extremely strong opponent of the Great East Panamic War and a pacifist in general. She managed to extract a victory by harnessing the dissatisfaction with the economic downturns caused by war amidst the general public. She is highly against any and all proactive military action. And that will impede your objectives.”

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