The Martial Unity

Life had become a blur for the four royals ever since Rui Quarrier had been unveiled. One moment, Prince Randal ordered his Martial Masters to attack, and the very next, a gash had been inflicted on him and his half-sisters.

It couldn't be helped. The Martial Masters and even Rui lived on an entirely different speed, at least as far as combat was concerned.

That was what may have taken a lot of time for them in combat and might have been just a split second for the royals.

He had been hurt in a split second and seemingly simultaneously been fed a healing potion, which he was duly inhaling.

It was a lot of blurred darkness.

It was like a bad dream.

In fact, Prince Randal desperately hoped it was a bad dream.

Perhaps he had nodded off the morning of the assassination, having a horrible nightmare caused by his nervousness. Perhaps everything had gone smoothly, and this was a nightmare he was having later that day.

Perhaps he was just dreaming stuff up; maybe Rui Quarrier didn't exist at all.

"So what's it going to be, Your Masteries?" Rui Quarrier's voice broke him out of his stupor. "Our heads the cost of the royals…or a sensible retreat to live another day?"

Prince Randal's eyes widened as he gained a better inkling of what was happening.

He glanced at the Martial Masters covering him. Their teeth were gritted, and their expressions were grave.

'…Are they actually unable to kill them and protect us at the same time?' Prince Randal grew bewildered even as he healed himself.

He didn't understand.

The Martial Masters looked deeply conflicted.

Of course, they were entirely unwilling to let any harm befall their marks. Yet, at the same time, they did not want to let Rui Quarrier walk away alive. Especially not when he impertinently held a recording device that had been recording everything that had happened since the Voidreaper entered the meeting.

The air was tense.

Master Reina was excited, just itching to rush over and kill the four royals.

Master Gurren remained impassive, maintaining his calm, ready to ensure that the four royals bore witness to the Martial Embodiments any chance he got.

Rui, on the other hand, was rather remarkably nonchalant. He relaxed on the chair, rocking lightly as he stared at the group of Martial Masters.

Seconds, even a minute passed by.

The Martial Masters struggled to make a decision.

"…What are you doing?" Princess Ranea asked with a severe tone. "Kill them!"

"…It's not that simple, Your Highness," One of her bodyguards replied with gritted teeth.

The safety of the four royals was the highest priority of the Martial Master bodyguards. They were paralyzed as long as it was compromised, paralyzed because they could do nothing but protect them.

"…There are sixteen of you!" She yelled. "Just three of them! Go ahead and ki-"

"Ranea," Prince Randal's voice was grave and severe. "Just stop."

Despite being able to command their bodyguards, they were deeply unqualified to do so at that very moment. While Prince Randal possessed a much more thorough understanding of Martial Art and combat dynamics than his sisters, he knew that he didn't couldn't hold the dimmest candle in comparison to their understanding.

They were far and away the most qualified out of them all.

Even at this moment, their powerful minds were furiously considering their combat circumstances. Their eyes were fixed on the two enemy Martial Masters. Every twitch, every shift, every movement they made…it was a language.

A high-level form of communication that only Martial Artists of the Upper Realms could engage in. It allowed them to gain a measure of their opponents and the potential outcomes of conflict.

Unbeknownst to Prince Randal, Rui had been participating as well.

A small grin cracked at the edge of Rui's mouth as his eyes shifted across the sixteen enemy Martial Masters.

His message was clear, although he didn't say a word.

The second the sixteen of them were too busy protecting the royals from Reina; he would exploit the opportunity to kill them himself.

"Your Masteries," Prince Randal's voice regained some composure. I leave the decision to you. Whatever the outcome, the four of us will take full responsibility."

"Hah," Rui snorted.

His eyes turned to the four royals standing behind the sixteen Martial Masters. "Responsibility will be the least of your worries when I'm done with you four."

His voice was as cold.

The four royals grew grave at those words.

They didn't need to inquire what he meant by that.

He had absolutely irrefutable proof that they had aimed to assassinate him.

He had them by the balls.

The threat it represented to them was not something that they could withstand. If the Martial Union found out that they had tried to assassinate Rui Quarrier…

They didn't even want to think about what would happen.

The best-case scenario was that they would lose all support from the Martial Union.

It was not improbable that they would be tried in a judicial hearing conducted by the Martial Union since it would undoubtedly fall under their jurisdiction as mandated by the Crimes Against Martial Art Act ratified by the first Emperor of the Kandrian Empire in accordance with the Kandrian Martial Covenant.

That meant that they would be charged with murder conspiracy, and the judge would be the Martial Union, with the recording that Rui was making as proof of the crime.

It was game over.

"Your Highnesses…" One of the Martial Masters broke the silence with a resigned tone. "…We should retreat. This is…

untenable."

Prince Randal's expression crumpled with grave frustration and rage.

He glared at Rui with ungodly murderous rage.

The three princesses were speechless.

Shocked to their very cores.

"So be it," A whisper escaped his mouth.

Yet a glint of suspicion flashed in his eyes.

It wasn't directed towards Rui or the Voidreaper.

No.

It was directed at his own Martial Masters.

People he thought he could trust with his life.

"Is it Going so soon already?" Mockery rang in Rui's voice. "Don't worry; we'll be meeting each other soon," a mischievous smirk flashed on his face. "...Very soon."