The Martial Unity

The impacts of the second Senior-level conflict between the Kaddar Treaty Organization were vast. Far more vast than anyone partaking had expected.

"What did you say?" A deep masculine voice boomed across a large throne room adorned with ostentatious decorations.

The throne room was adorned with many seats, each more extravagant than the last the further towards the opposite end of the entrance they went.

The king of the Graheria Empire sat on the giant gold and silver throne at the very end.

General Dereftar gritted his teeth and endured the reproachful eyes of the many royal dignitaries who presided over the meeting.

"General Dereftar," The king addressed the Martial Senior. "I asked you a question. How did Senior Ferin perish?"

"…A fourth Martial Senior of the Floating Sect killed her before we realized it." The man clenched his fist as he squeezed the words out of his mouth.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," The king replied simply. "How did the three of you fail to notice an attack from the enemy until after it killed Senior Ferin? How did Senior Ferin fail to miss such a lethal attack?"

Yet the general knew that the king's mood was anything but simple.

Or perhaps it was simple.

Simply furious, that was.

"It was… a sound-based attack, your majesty," The general straightforwardly.

"And…?" The king was not impressed by that statement, it meant nothing to someone who wasn't deeply familiar with the intricacies of Martial Art techniques.

"Sound-oriented Martial Art techniques are difficult to detect after execution," The man explained. "We usually rely on sensing the inception of the technique rather than the sound itself. For us to have not noticed it means that the Martial Senior could not have launched it within half a kilometer of Senior Ferin, otherwise our senses would have alerted us to it."

"That means that the Martial Artist that killed Ferin had to be a truly gifted marksman, correct?"

"Yes, your majesty," General Dereftar nodded gravely. "Certainly something that only a Martial Senior could do. To hit a bullseye from that far without the Martial Heart…"

He hesitated.

"What is it?" The king asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I would normally chalk it up to a long-range Martial Art, however, that man was also extremely powerful at close-range, and had absurd endurance and healing. I suppose it's possible that he was an all-rounder, but all-rounders aren't supposed to be that powerful in each individual field, so I can only speculate that the fourth Martial Senior is extremely capable, just like his peers.

"So not only did you all fail in your operation…" Pure fury could be heard in the king's voice. "But a Martial Senior of our kingdom was killed, resulting in the loss of one of our precious few national treasures. On top of that, the Floating Sect now has an extra Martial Senior out of nowhere. Is that right?"

General Dereftar winced inwardly, the reproach from the king was crystal clear.

"Answer the question." The king sternly demanded.

"That is correct, Your Majesty."

The king inhaled and exhaled deeply, allowing the truth to finally settle in.

It took him every ounce of self-control to burst out screaming in anger and frustration in a manner that was simply unbecoming of the ruler of the Graheria Kingdom.

What he was forced to deal with was one of the worst outcomes possible. The probability of such a thing happening had been estimated to be extremely low.

The thing that drove him mad was the one who had assured him that such a thing was impossible was the same man who was now telling him that that very impossible thing had somehow unfolded.

He truly wanted to get up from his throne, walk down there, and chew him out face to face, yet he abstained.

He could not go too far. Martial Seniors were too precious to the kingdom for him to even risk going too far with his aggressive criticism. He did not want to risk losing another Martial Senior due to having left him feeling disenfranchised.

This was the problem with Martial Artists.

They weren't just weapons, they were also people. If they were disenfranchised, they would simply leave.

Of course, Genera Dereftar would not leave so easily, because he was a loyal member of the military. Loyalty was something that was well-trained in the military. He had risen through the ranks as a Martial Artist and had been treated quite well by the nation.

"General Dereftar." The king addressed him.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Do you take responsibility for what happened?"

"I do, Your Majesty."

Regardless of what happened, they had ended up failing miserably. Someone needed to take responsibility. Even if General Dereftar was as much of a victim as everyone else, he needed to become a bit of a scapegoat.

Of course, he would not suffer materially in any way, however, the Graheria Kingdom would not forget the stain on his record.

Regardless, the failure of the mission would send ripples across the Kaddar Treaty Organization.

"How many Martial Seniors would it take to overcome Floating Sect's defenses? And feel free to be more cautious this time," The king glared at him.

"…Given the prowess of the fourth Martial Senior in his base form… I would say he too at least requires three martial Seniors."

The king's expression darkened. "Does that not mean that a total of twelve Martial Seniors are required from the Kaddar Region's end to match the might of the Floating Sect?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yet again, the king's formidable self-control was tested. He wanted to strangle the general with his own two hands but managed to refrain. Not only was it unbecoming of him as a king, but as a human, there was no way he could possibly strangle any Martial Artist, let alone a Martial Senior!

All he could do was his very best when it came to dealing with the consequences of this fiasco and mitigating the losses.

('Even then…') He clenched his fists. ('The war…')