The Martial Unity

Now that his little exam was over, he was actually a lot more enthusiastic. He had already made sure that he would receive his degree almost immediately.

"Congratulations on becoming a journeyman scholar," The mayor personally delivered Rui's degree to him with a strained smile.

Rui could tell that he didn't like this one bit. The reason for that was obvious. It was clear to him that Rui was cheating somehow, and that the man had obviously not qualified to earn this certificate.

In fear of this, they had put into place many measures to prevent cheating. Not only was the best anti-sensory technology in place to prevent cheating but also multiple Martial Squires with sharp senses were temporarily deployed in the exam sight to see if there was any way to use Squire-level senses to gain information for the exam.

Yet, Rui still did extraordinarily well, so much so that mayor had been forced to sabotage him by deducting a mark so that he didn't become part of the few scholars that managed to score all two hundred and fifty marks. He couldn't allow such a thing to happen, it would irrefutably tarnish his reputation.

Regardless, it wasn't all bad. It meant that Rui could obtain what he came for, and thus two Martial Squires could stay at Crexeet Town and 0offer their Martial Squire services to the town of Crexeet.

"We can now sign an agreement as per your initial terms and conditions," The mayor explained privately. "You gain access to basic necessities, training resources, and access to our scientific libraries. In exchange for your power."

"What exactly is it that you need our services for anyway?" Rui asked with a little bit of interest. He hadn't forgotten the words of the Martial Squire that led them into the city. Just based on that alone he had concluded that there likely were tensions in the city that the professors and students were unaware about.

The man hesitated for a moment before relenting. "It's related to the fact that the surrounding kingdoms are interested in some of the outcomes in the research that we've conducted. I had chosen a region with underdeveloped Martial Art and technology, however, the surrounding nations in this region were not content with not taking advantage of Crexeet town and were especially unwilling to allow their competitors to gain control over our town. Thus there has been some… conflict."

"These are Squire-level states, correct?" Rui narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, their strongest warriors are Martial Squires. I chose this region because of that," The man nodded.

"It's why you were so desperate to rope us in by any means possible, even after we made demands that you were unwilling to fulfill," Rui remarked.

"…Yes, we need Martial Squires, the more the better. Only then can we match the hold off against the attempts to take control of the town by the surrounding states," The man helplessly replied.

Rui could understand his sentiment quite well. Given that the states surrounding them were Squire-level states, it made sense that these states were interested in the rich research that the town of Crexeet had engaged in.

"Sp specifically, you want us to incoming Martial Squires and make sure they never get anywhere near the town?" Rui asked.

"Yes," He nodded. "Most of the people within the town aren't aware of the extent to which we feel pressure, but I do want to avoid them learning about it at any costs," He explained.

"Ok," Rui nodded. "I'm assuming we're naturally outnumbered, right?"

"Of course," he nodded. "The extent to which, you can get the details from the head of defense Squire Ferilwal. She is much more intimately familiar with the state of the defense of our town. May I inquire about how long the two of you intend to stay here?"

"A few months, most likely," Rui revealed as he considered the matter. "Alright, Let's do the deal."

Considering that the town had survived for this long, it meant that they had enough defenses to last quite some time. It meant that the surrounding nations most likely couldn't overcome the defenses of this town without dedicating significant portions of their military.

Of course, this was not something that most of them were willing to do when they were currently in hostilities with each other. Meaning they couldn't throw everything they had at this town, otherwise, they would be leaving themselves vulnerable to each other.

"I suspect that you won't be able to complete what you are here for in a matter of months," The man replied.

"Why not?" Rui's eyes furrowed.

He did not want to be bogged down in this place for more than that. They were here for one very specific desire, and he wanted to get that over as soon as possible.

"Because you will be preoccupied with attacks, you'll only have half the time to do what you wish," The man sighed.

"Are the attacks that frequent?" Rui frowned.

"They are," He nodded. "We intercept them quite some distance away from town, hence why they're relatively unknown to the town. You'll be more officially briefed once you sign the contract."

Rui considered this new bit of information. He appreciated the man's honesty, but it was annoying. It meant that their rate of progress was half.

"I'd like to negotiate a new term," Rui added. "If I kill a Martial Squire, I get a free week with no deployment time, deal?"

The man considered the matter, stroking his chin. "…Deal. But you have to do it by yourself without enlisting the help of other Martial Squires. I cannot have you facing a hostile Martial Squire with another friendly Martial Squire just because you want to get the kill credit. It has to be solely your own work."

Rui smiled. "Deal."

The two of them proceeded to iron out the remaining terms and conditions, before the deal was finally sealed.

From this day forth, they would be fighting for Crexeet Town.