The Martial Unity

Chapter 2550: Relenting Considerations



"Still..." the Whispering Widower remarked. "How can you possibly call MECHAS weapons? How can you possibly consider MECHA pilots to be Martial Artists? It can't be. It simply cannot be. Those cold, dead humanoid machines are abominations!"

Rui shook his head. "You are Martial Sages. You have attained the Enlightenment of Self. Unless that enlightenment was just hot air, you should be fully aware of all your biases that have been shaped by your experiences of a different world. With that in mind, can you tell me that all of you are regarding MECHAS fairly?"

Their expressions darkened as their eyes displayed a hint of profound awareness.

It wasn't that they weren't fully aware of their own biases as a part of their Enlightenment of Self.

They were.

However, that didn't change who they were.

"At the end of the day, we do not decide what constitutes a Martial Artist," Rui replied. "It is the Martial Path that does that. If a particular field is able to serve as a viable Martial Path, then those who pursue that path and discover that path are proper Martial Artists. Clearly, the Esoterist has put a lot of thought into this project and has been keenly aware of this dynamic. After all, he made sure to publicize his inventions after they broke through to the Apprentice Realm to convince naysayers like yourselves. And more importantly..."

His eyes sharpened. "MECHAS are inevitable. Even if every single Martial Sage banded together and tried to oppress MECHAS, you would fail. This is because you are not in control of the manufacturing industry. That is firmly in the control of human forces and nations." Martial Artists did not intersect much with manufacturing. Perhaps the only intersection was that of training chambers and auxiliary resources but nothing fundamental to Martial Art. This meant that they didn't have the power to stop industries from adopting MECHAS en masse across all of human civilization.

"On top of that, there's a good chance that we will need MECHAS in the long run," Rui continued. "Hunting quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters and killing the beast that roared is not something that can be done in a short timeframe. Human civilization will have to go many years without you Sages and withstand the Beast Incursion with everything. MECHAS will surely help alleviate the pressure that we experience. Are you really going to make humankind suffer because you don't like MECHAS?"

This was a brutally impactful point that eroded away their reluctance towards this new weapon, as much as they instinctively disliked it.

"You are wise for your age, Rui." The Flashing Flier regarded Rui with newfound respect. "It is rather surprising to me that you are this comfortable with MECHAS. MECHAS have earned universal distaste from all Martial Artists of all Realms and ages. Its eerie lifeless humanoid shape is disturbing to most Martial Artists, and the fact that it falls under the category of weapons like spears and swords is too difficult to accept for all of us. Yet you seem completely at home with them."

Rui smiled wryly. "I am not a standard Martial Artist. My tolerance for the extreme is much higher than others. Additionally, I look forward to them because, frankly, Martial Artists are too weak for me. It would be good if MECHAS allowed Martial Artists to catch up with me."

His words sounded arrogant, but anybody who knew anything about him knew that he was being entirely truthful.

However, that was just a cover-up for the real reason that he was extremely familiar with the concept of MECHAS due to them being ubiquitous in fiction back on Earth. Granted, he was shocked that they had become reality on Gaia, and it certainly was very different from the fictional paradigms that he was familiar with, but the core concept was the same.

Regardless, he was not going to allow the Sages to hamper MECHAS as a new field of Martial Artists.

"Mark my words," Rui declared. "One day, MECHA Martial Artists will be the strongest Martial Artists in the entire world. All Martial Artists who came before them will be rendered obsolete. Or at least..."

He smirked. "Almost all Martial Artists. I have no intention of failing to overcome them." "Hm, your words are bold, but it is true that MECHAS will become a force to reckon with," Sage Ourlen remarked. "Frankly, I refuse to acknowledge them as a weapon like my trusty Greatsword. I cannot bring myself to see MECHA pilots as real Martial Artists. But I will not impede their introduction and development."

That was all Rui could ask for. It was too much to expect these living fossils of a different era to be extremely open-minded to the revolutionary possibilities. He just hoped that when the time came, he would not be as close-minded as them. Regardless, just the concession of not impeding MECHAS was not good enough; they would eventually need to accept it as a part of the Martial Union.

All in good time.

Rui was content with baby steps for now.

"What are your plans from here on out?" the Flickering Elder asked him with an intrigued voice. "Will you begin your voyage across human civilization immediately?"

"That is indeed my intention, Your Sagehood," Rui replied. "I have delayed it enough. Even if my grandmother has foreseen a time period of five years, it is best that I ensure that human civilization is absolutely equipped with the Hellbringer so that we are as prepared for the absence of Sages as possible. I will try to cover not just the powerhouses, but also as many Sage-level nations as well so that all powers that will lose their Martial Sages to the united Sage force will be well-prepared even in their absence."

They nodded. "We too will be mastering your Hellbringer model as much as possible in the next five years. After all, we too have a taxing battle against the beasts and monsters in the Central Highlands of the Beast Domain."

Rui stirred at their words as he somehow missed that even the Martial Sages would benefit from his Hellbringer Model.

"All the more reason for me to leave the Kandrian Empire immediately," he realized. "I can equip not just Masters but also Sages with my power so that human civilization may emerge victorious from the Era of Darkness."