The Martial Unity

Chapter 3426: The Power Of Hierarchy

Hierarchy was a powerful tool that evolved within species and between species. Within species, it evolved as a means to facilitate evolution by natural selection. Those members within a species that were higher up a hierarchy got to have more food, got to reproduce the most, and tended to be the most powerful. It allowed for organization and a chain of command that increased cohesion and effective power of a group of any given species, increasing their chances of survival.

Members of the species had genes that almost forced them to submit in the face of hierarchy, and it was precisely these genes that the Authority of Alpha exploited.

However, this only applied within a species.

Members of different species did not submit to each other or recognize the authority of other species. Power alone was not enough; the genes of hierarchy that forced submission could only be triggered by members of the same species. That was why Martial Artists could not simply command beasts that they were stronger than; the same was true for any pathwalker.

’There must be a mechanism by which users can bypass this hurdle,’ Rui’s eyes lit up with realization. ’...Do they figure out a way to trick members of the species that they’re trying to dominate into thinking that they’re of the same species?’

Rui thought back to the Eldritch Chimera.

The creature had assimilated every species of the animal kingdom into its body and roared commands with all of them. Thus, every species in the world was confronted with a supremely powerful god within their own species commanding it.

That would explain why the Eldritch Chimera had been able to gain Authority of Alpha and trigger the genes that were activated only by one’s own species. Rui was replicating that with a technique that allowed him to trigger the same gene, allowing him to gain Authority of Alpha as well.

He wasn’t as strong as the Eldritch Chimera, of course. But he was able to fake that part with Mind Mask, thereby allowing him to perfectly copy the Eldritch Chimera’s Authority.

’What about Jormungandr and the Dragon Emperor?’

Rui sharpened his gaze as his pitch-black eyes wandered about in thought.
Jormungandr wasn’t a chimera that integrated the bodies of its creatures into its body. He was a serpent with no other species sticking out of his body like the Eldritch Chimera, yet he was able to command all life in the ocean with his hiss.

’That means that there must be other ways of getting the gene to recognize an outsider as a member of their species,’ Rui realized. ’...If it’s not biology, then it can only be one thing.’

Behavior and psychology.

He suspected that both Jormungandr and the Dragon Emperor had found a way to essentially use nonverbal communication to compel the members of the species they commanded to believe that they were of the same species. It was likely similar to a form of bestial hypnosis, allowing them to trigger the hierarchy gene of submission within each species.

’Given that they do this by eating their prey, they must have found a way to extract information from their prey’s body and brain,’ Rui’s series of realizations continued. ’They must have... a digestive track that can not only extract energy and nutrients, but also information! Then they use that information to build a nascent authority over other species, eventually evolving it into Authority of Alpha!’

It made sense. It would explain almost everything that he had seen about the Authority of Alpha.

It would also explain why Authority of Alpha was so rare.

It wasn’t just enough to be the strongest.

It wasn’t just enough to have consumed every creature.

One needed to do both and extract the necessary information from the prey one digests, which meant evolving one’s digestive track to be able to extract information in addition to energy from the prey they ate.

They would have to do this millions, if not billions and trillions of times.

Making Authority of Alpha a virtual pipe dream for most therianthropes.

In that regard, Rui gained a measure of respect for the Dragon Emperor. Whatever the faults of the dragon were, he had undoubtedly worked extremely hard for an extremely long time. Rui couldn’t even imagine how difficult it must have been to grow to his level of power while simultaneously consuming every species on the continent to grow to the level of power that he had.

He was dealing with an apex predator with an unfathomable amount of experience hunting all manner of prey, and next on his list was Rui himself.

’He plans to assimilate the information in my brain by eating me, and then gain my Authority of Alpha, which will allow him to control all fauna on the Panama Continent.’ Rui’s eyes sharpened. ’If that happens, human civilization is doomed.’

The stakes were extremely high.

He could afford to die, and he certainly couldn’t afford to be eaten by the Dragon Emperor.

Rui heaved a sigh as his eyes steeled themselves with determination. He looked forward to fighting the Dragon Emperor, an opponent who was truly able to kill him with the amount of power he possessed, but unlike with the light elves, he wasn’t swept away by his battle lust.

He kept the big picture in mind this time.

The stakes were too high for him to take any risks.

He turned to the Whisperer with a nod. ”I appreciate your information. Our deal is completed.”

WHOOSH

He teleported away in the blink of an eye, leaving the Whisperer alone in her office, where she simply took another drag from her pipe, blowing smoke into the air. ”...I wonder how the world is going to change because of this.”

It was the first time that she had done something of such high consequence that it would have great ramifications for the world. She personally looked forward to seeing the consequences unfold as Dawnbringer of the Panama Continent prepared for his ultimate battle with the Dragon Emperor of Kiriket.

”I wonder which of them will prevail.”