The Martial Unity

2947  A Final Call

The people of the Sekigahara Confederate had slowly learned to live on the edge in the past fifteen years. They had learned to live knowing that they were no longer the dominant force that they used to be.

That they, who once ruled all of North-East Panama, were now reduced to a weakened shell of their former selves that relied on hand-outs to ensure that they didnʼt get wiped out. They had shed their ego and pride and learned to simply appreciate what they had.

Alas, it wasnʼt in their destiny to have even that for too much longer.

RUMBLE…

The villagers of a village on the outer bounds of the country paused as a soft wave of seismic radiation trickled across their village, before simply shrugging and moving on with their day, tending to a large field of crops that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The largest sector in the Sekigahara Confederate after Martial Art was agriculture, which had gained even more significance and importance in the Era of Darkness, characterized by food scarcity despite the Britannian Empireʼs cornucopia.

There simply wasnʼt enough food to go around because there wasnʼt enough food that could be easily transported across the entire world. The Sekigahara Confederate, however, was entirely self-sufficient in that regard. The farmers of the nation lived a peaceful and uneventful life on the outskirts, simply committing to producing as much food as they could to support themselves, their village, and the people of their nation.

It was hard, grueling work, since the Sekigahara Confederate did not adopt esoteric technology outside of Martial Art, but it was a humble, stable, and peaceful life.

RUMBLE…!

The farmers frowned as the seismic radiation grew even more intense.

RUMBLE!

Their eyes widened as the ground began palpably quaking, causing them to stumble and fall.

Their eyes widened with horror as they gazed in the direction of the border of the Sekigahara Confederate.

The sky has darkened ominously in that direction as they felt horrifying chills.

RUMBLE!!!

”Aaaah!”

”Help!”

”Mother!” A child squealed with horror, racing to his motherʼs comfort.

His eyes and hair were a profound blood red.

He turned towards the border of the Sekigahara Confederate with eyes of terror as they spotted the looming monstrous eyes emerging from the depths as the fire dragon unleashed a devastatingly destructive breath of fire.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

The entire village and all the farms of the Sekigahara Confederate were wiped out in the blink of an eye as the blue flames vaporized everybody and everything.

Despite the very low population density of the Sekigahara Confederate on the outskirts, many millions of people perished in the blink of an eye as the Sage-level beasts and monsters.

The other Martial Masters of the Sekigahara Confederate emerged with grim expressions of horror as they surged across the country with a blinding speed before eventually confronting the Martial Sages with all the power that they were able to muster.

15:13

BOOOOOM BOOOOOM BOOOOOM!!!

The battle between the Sage-level beasts and monsters and the remaining recuperating Martial Masters of the Sekigahara Confederate was intense, as the Martial Masters did everything in their power to bide time for their citizens to evacuate.

But alas, it wasnʼt easy. Despite having the Hellbringer Model, they were simply unable to kill the Sage-level beasts and monsters. After all, Ruiʼs solution in and of itself was not meant to allow nations to deal with the Sage-level beasts and monsters with Masters.

It was meant to be used in conjunction with the Esoteristʼs solutions.

Which simply werenʼt available at the moment.

”RRROOOAAARRR!!!” the Fire Dragon roared as its bloody reptilian flared with a murderous bloodlust while the creature unleashed a vast wave of fire, burning the Martial Masters with its intense heat.

”Rrgghh…!” the Martial Masters gritted their teeth with agony as the heat charred away at their skin.

And yet, the dragon was just one of many, many opponents.

BOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

A thundering tailwhip from a nine-tailed fox blasted them away as the beast unleashed thundering impacts, ravaging much of the Sekigahara Confederate with its sheer destructive power. ”AAAARRRGHH!!!”

”HELP HELP HELP!”

”NO STOP!”

BOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

What followed was pure, unadulterated destruction while much of the Sekigahara Confederate was ravaged by the Sage-level beasts and monsters. The Martial Masters stalled for as long as they could, but ultimately, they were felled, completely caught off-guard and in a highly sub-optimal circumstance. Even if they could bring out their best, they simply stood no chance against the Sage-level beasts and monsters.

Soon enough, an apocalypse swallowed the entirety of the Sekigahara Confederate as the people perished while the nation was ravaged with by Sage-level beasts and monsters.

Minutes had passed, and half of the massive nation was already turned into a smouldering pit.

People died before they even understood what was happening.

THUD

Patriarch Shinken fell to his knees as he gazed out of his palace in the center of the Sekigahara Confederate as a wave of fire and smoke could be witnessed from across the entire nation due to how intense it was. His expression was distraught with horror and despair. ”I should have…” his voice quivered. ”I should have swallowed my pride.”

He should have swallowed his pride and admitted that the Sekigahara Confederate was the weakest nation among the powerhouses and could not survive without at least one Martial Sage.

He should have swallowed his pride and tried not to deny the reality that was plainly in front of him. He should have been more aggressive in adopting new methodologies and technologies from the Esoterist instead of shunning technology.

As he watched the Sekigahara Confederate consumed by a wave of destruction, an endless surge of regrets emerged from the depths of his heart. Regret after regret, tracing back to one regret born nearly two decades ago.

His expression grew distraught. ”I should never have attacked the Kandrian Empire.”

That was the day it all went wrong.

That was the source of all ensuing suffering.

That was the source of their inevitable destruction.

Even as he waited for his inevitable death, he was consumed with regret.

BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT

His communication artifact buzzed.

His eyes flickered at the identity of the caller.

[Emperor Rael]