The Martial Unity

Rui needed a moment to process what he had heard.

He had not expected this. Kandria had undergone significant shifts in the time that Rui had been away from it.

He didn't even need Commissioner Reze to explain any further after providing this bare basic contest, he quickly gathered all the facts, organizing them properly before analyzing them and deducing conclusions premised on them.

"DiViliers Industries is a powerful supplier of restricted technology, I believe," Rui recalled. "Charles DiViliers is unable to supply to restricted strategic Martial technology to anybody asides from the Martial Union and the Kandrian Military. If he is as much of a businessman as I remember, then these royal sanctions probably frustrate him. Which means..."

It meant that he had an interest vested in whoever was the next ruler of the Kandrian Empire. He would much rather the next ruler of the Kandrian Empire be a libertarian than anything else, removing the sanctions that were currently on him.

"Not just that... With the amount of power that an industrial powerhouse like Charles DiVilier has... He can play kingmaker to a certain extent. At the very least, he can bolster any one of the princes and princesses vying for the status of ruler and give them a real shot at ascending the throne."

"Correct," Commissioner Reze nodded. "Chairman Deacon will be a powerful ally. Obtaining his support means gaining the full power of the Deacon Industries as well as the support of the alliance and political power base that Chairman Deacon has steadily built over decades. That will allow Charles DiViliers to much more effectively bolster a Kandrian Prince or Princess of his choosing."

Rui finally understood the big picture. Chairman Deacon was still focused on killing Rui and his family. He had failed to find Rui and failed to kidnap his family, thus he decided to increase power within the Kandrian Empire to accomplish those. He did that with extensive support and aid from Charles DiViliers, in exchange for an entire dungeon floor and Chairman Deacon's political support for the Throne War.

"What a mess..." Rui sighed.

Rui did not particularly care about the Throne War. He was not a prince, after all. As long as the next ruler was not a psycho, he didn't care who it was.

"Indeed," Commissioner Reze sighed. "The Throne War has already begun tearing apart the nation into factions. Not even the Martial Union has been able to resist being torn apart. Different factions have chosen to support different princes and princesses based on their interests or political ideologies. The entire organization has become more disunited than it has ever been since its inception."

Rui could easily under why that had happened.

He had already been introduced to a few of the factions within the Martial Union over time. Senior Colonel Geringar was part of the Merger Faction that sought to dissolve the boundaries between the Kandrian government and the Martial Union. To dissolve the boundaries between the Royal Family that ruled over Kandria and the Martial Council that led the Martial Union.

He had also met Commissioner Derun of the Martial Supremacist faction who had deployed him to Vilun Island. Her faction was diametrically opposed to the Merge Faction. This faction would probably choose to support a Kandrian prince or princess who was a Martial Artist.

He wouldn't be surprised if there was a Martial Artist prince or princess who had chosen to join the Martial Union, that had earned the support of a good chunk of the Martial Union.

He wouldn't be surprised if several princes or princesses had attempted that.

The one to ascend the throne would be he or she who had accumulated as much power as possible. Political power. Support of powerful stakeholders. This included people with high authority in high offices within the government or the military. It included economic and commercial powerhouses like Charles DiViliers. It included international powers with a presence inside the nation and geographic proximity to the Kandrian Empire. It included all Martial Artists, the higher than rank, the higher the political power. It included the underworld and the powerful Kandrian mafia. It even included the civilian population.

The strongest one would be able to wring over the highest amount of support of the relevant stakeholders that comprised the nation, becoming the next ruler.

Just thinking about the conflict gave Rui a headache. Now, he was almost happy that he had left the Kandrian Empire for a while. Compared to such a dangerous mess, he would much rather be traveling to places of significance to Martial Artists that could help him grow stronger.

However, he had his family to think about. If not for them, he wouldn't mind leaving the Kandrian Empire for a decade before returning after this storm had blown over.

For now, the only thing he could do was grow stronger. Becoming a Martial Senior was the bare minimum, and the ideal was to be much stronger. To protect his family from Chairman Deacon, and to protect his family from the storm that was brewing over the Kandrian Empire.

"According to our analysis of your performance in the Martial Contest, you have reached nigh unprecedented levels of power within the Squire Realm." Commissioner Reze smiled at him. "We did expect that you would grow stronger, but this is beyond our wildest expectations. We estimate that you are on the very brink of becoming a Martial Senior, a shocking discovery considering your youth, but one that is true nonetheless."

"I will break through." Rui declared with a composed yet confident voice. "I do not intend to remain in the Squire Realm for long. For the sake of my ambition and the ones I care about."

"We have faith that you will." Commissioner Reze smiled. "By every measure and analysis, you truly possess the capital to ascend to higher Realms. We hope your journey to the Senior Realm will be unhindered."

"No hindrance can stop me. I will overcome every impediment no matter what."