The Martial Unity



The air grew solemn.

Rui needed to process what he had heard.

Senior Xanarn was in a coma.

For a brief moment, he almost did not know exactly how he ought to feel.

They hadn't known each other for too very long, nine months at most. They had had on-and-off hookups every once in a while.

He enjoyed her company. She was a quirky person with a surprisingly childish sense of humor for someone of her age and experience. Still, for some reason, he found it endearing.

He looked forward to the times that he spent with her, especially when they had fun together at night.

Their relationship provided him with warm physical intimacy that soothed his soul in a way that was different from anything he had ever experienced in both lifetimes. 

Yet when confronted with these circumstances, he almost didn't know how to feel.

It had hurt him when Senior Sarak had told him what had happened. 

And yet, there was also a cloud of uncertainty.

It was as though his heart did not know how sad he ought to have felt.

Should he have felt as much grief as if she were just an ordinary friend? Or perhaps a close friend? Or a best friend like Kane? Or… perhaps a lover?

He didn't know.

He didn't like that he didn't know. Yet he didn't know what to do about that. What did people do in such circumstances?

He put the matter aside for a moment as he turned his attention back to Senior Sarak, narrowing his eyes. "A solution from the outside…? Are there any possibilities or recommendations from the medical department?"

"I am told that there are potions and esoteric medical treatments out there that can help, but they are exceedingly difficult to procure," He sighed. "In ordinary circumstances, I would have set out myself in order to acquire them to wake Xanarn up but…"

"You can't go in these circumstances," Rui completed his sentence.

Senior Sarak nodded. "That reminds me, you haven't heard about what has unfolded regarding the kaddar-Ajanta War, have you?"

"Not at all," Rui replied. "The nurse informed me that you would brief me."

"Allow me to explain what has happened in the past three days," Senior Sarak continued. "The battle ended soon after you drove away the three Martial Seniors. The members partaking in other parts of the fight also swiftly retreated when they learned about the death of one of their peers."

Rui nodded, which had fallen well within his predictions. 

The reason he had foretold that was because he had already gotten deep insight into the psychology of the Kaddar Treaty Organization.

To it, victory was only the second most desired outcome. The number one most desired outcome was the survival of all their Martial Seniors.

Rui had come to that realization long ago when he carefully analyzed the number of Martial Seniors that the Kaddar Treaty Organization versus the amount of time it took for them to finally grow a spine and deploy Martial Seniors

That was also why they sent three or even four Martial Seniors for every Senior guardian to fight the Floating Sect. They did not want to lose a national treasure. None of the individual nations wanted to be the one to bear that cost.

After all, even if the Kaddar Treaty Organization won at the cost of a Martial Senior, it would mean that the nation that lost the Martial Senior essentially sacrificed a national treasure for the sake of all other nations in the Kaddar Region.

No nation was willing to make that trade, obviously. 

That was why when the Kaddar Martial Seniors learned of the death of their peer, they didn't spend too much time on the island. They had probably received strict instructions on what to do if one of their peers died, and one of those steps involved retreating immediately.

After all, if they lost a Martial Senior despite their numerical superiority, what's to stop them from losing another now that they are numerically weaker and even more vulnerable?

That was the thought process that occupied the minds of the nations that deployed the Martial Seniors. 

One of the reasons they stayed for a bit against Rui was because they were on the very edge of having killed Senior Xanarn and they didn't want to squander that opportunity.

"I'm guessing Senior Leonil was gravely injured but Ieyasu managed to intervene and the two of them were able to survive till the very end," Rui continued.

Senior Sarak nodded. "That is exactly what happened. Once the battle ended, Leonil and I mostly focused on the sect, hoping to make more in-depth preparations for the next wave of Martial Seniors, but something happened that made that plan irrelevant."

"The Kaddar Treaty Organization must have withdrawn from the war, if we're especially lucky they might even recognize the Floating Sect's claim over Ajanta Island as legitimate, although that is unlikely," Rui speculated.

An expression of surprise flashed across Senior Sarak's face. "You already know… So you mean to say you truly meant what you said back then?"

"Hm?"

"You know, when you said you would win the Floating Sect the war," Senior Sarak explained, his expression growing more incredulous. "Did you… Did you predict that this would happen?"

Rui smiled. "Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter at the end of the day. What else happened?"

The man stared at Rui for a few seconds, before sighing. "The Kaddar Treaty Organization did not officially announce the end of the war, however, they withdrew the prohibition of entry into Ajanta Island. Furthermore, based on our sources, the Martial Seniors we fought that had been on standby for the next assault have been dismissed and deployed elsewhere by their respective nations."

Rui nodded. "They don't want to publically admit that they lost to us. I imagine that in the past forty-eight hours, a huge influx of Martial Squires has greeted the Floating Sect."

"Indeed," Senior Sarak nodded with an elated smile. "It has been wonderful to see waves of enthusiastic Martial Squires join our sect."