The Martial Unity

Chapter 3471: Discerning Eye

From Lord Vakratunda radiated immense power with an equally powerful sense of calmness, control, and harmony.

Rui could feel it.

This man was strong. Strong enough to challenge members of the top ten most powerful entities in the world, even if he wasn’t recognized as among them. Moreover, his power was different from that of any other person that Rui had ever sensed; it felt profound in a way that he wasn’t able to describe.

His serene eyes bore deep into Rui’s.

”I have sought to meet you for a long time, Prince Rui Quarrier.”

Rui gazed at the man at the center of the giant structure they were within with a curious expression, his pitch-black eyes bearing deep into the elephantine eyes of the man who addressed him.

His demeanor was knowing, one that conveyed ephemeral wisdom. His presence bore down on the world around him like he had his own gravitational field.

And in fact, he did, just like the Dragon Emperor. However, Rui could sense that he was actively manipulating space to counter it so that he could be with his people in his nation without destroying it with his very presence.

That alone spoke to a man who was deeply considerate about his people. He didn’t view them as a luxury or a privilege or worse, something that he was entitled to do with as he pleased. Instead, he viewed them as a responsibility, one that he needed to bear.

Furthermore, gazing at him, Rui began to understand many things that had escaped his understanding previously. The structure that they were in was not that of a tusk for no reason.

On top of that, it was not as big as it was for no reason.

It was situated at exactly the very epicenter of the country, and it could draw attention from a massive distance away. It allowed Lord Vakratunda to extend his presence in people’s awareness over great distances.

He suspected that the therianthrope leader likely used this construct to resist the Dragon Emperor’s Authority for his people. Perhaps one of the reasons that he was in the very epicenter of his nation was precisely because he wanted to spread his influence across the entire nation and help his people remain neutral to the Dragon Emperor’s power.

Immediately, he gained more respect for the therianthrope.

”...Your Excellency,” Rui replied. ”It is my pleasure to meet the ruler of the Gajanan Clan. I have heard much about you from the eldest Mother of the dark elves. She spoke highly of you and informed me that you were a wise and powerful man who perhaps shared mutual goals with me.”

”Vyia is indeed a good friend of mine,” the elephant-man replied with a knowing tone. ”She has been of great help in times of great need. I am constantly in her debt, and now she has sent me you. It seems I owe her even more, as I owe you for coming all this way to Kiriket and Minala. It is a bit late, but...”

He raised a hand to Rui. ”Welcome to the land of therianthropes. And welcome to the land of elephants, Sage Rui Quarrier Silas Kandria. I have to apologize to you in person for not giving you a more grand and extravagant welcome worthy of someone of your stature. Unfortunately, it would be politically inconvenient for us to achieve both our mutual goals at the moment. The Dragon Emperor will attack the moment he confirms your presence in our land.”

Rui found it interesting that he chose to address Rui by his Martial rank as opposed to his status as prince of the Kandrian Empire, when most people chose to honor his status as prince. Perhaps because it would be viewed as an insult if they didn’t, but it appeared that the leader of the Gajanan Clan had no such compunctions.

”Thank you for your warm welcome, Lord Vakratunda,” Rui replied with a respectful tone. ”And you needn’t bother with an ostentatious welcome, Your Majesty. I generally do not like partaking in them in any way. I have come here for a rather solemn objective, and I would much rather focus on that.”

Lord Vakratunda, however, appeared more interested in Rui himself. ”Rather dedicated to your mission, aren’t you? This, along with your willingness to sneak into Kiriket like a pair of spies, tells me that you likely don’t have much of an ego or a desire to be venerated like a living god.”

That was because Rui was sick of being venerated like a living god back home, whether it was the Virodhabhasa Faith or the Faith of Dawn. It was highly convenient when he wanted things to go his way, like the absolute protection that he gave all hemosapien children with his word alone. People treated it as gospel, and it allowed hemosapien children to lead a much, much better life.

But other times, he hated it the most.

”It would do people good to recognize that I’m just a person like they are,” Rui remarked. ”Even if I recognize that it is futile to desire such a thing when I’m as powerful as I am.”

”Futile indeed...” Lord Vakratunda’s tone grew soft. ”I, too, find myself in a similar situation. We therianthropes worship the animals that we bond with, and that naturally ends up meaning that the strongest therianthropes who adopt the most beastiality end up also being worshipped for resembling the animal that is worshipped. Perhaps that is why I like keeping most of my body, except for my head, as that of a human.”

He turned towards Rui. ”However, the Dragon Emperor, our mutual enemy, is a man who revels in being worshipped as a living god. It has always been Lord Shenlong’s greatest desire, and his tyranny upon this continent has only grown more and more intense ever since he slew his father and took over the Ryu Clan. And now...”

He gazed at Rui. ”He wishes to consume you and use your Authority of Alpha to take over this continent entirely, as well as that of the Panama Continent, and eventually the entire world. We of the Harmonist Faction, led by me, are the only thing standing in his way at the moment, even if we are decisively weaker.”