The Martial Unity

President Raymond stared at the intelligence report before him with unadulterated horror. The sheer significance of the information it relayed shook him to his very core. "Is…" He hesitated. "Is this real?"

"…I'm afraid so, Mr. President." The Director of the Gorteau Bureau of Intelligence directed a grave gaze at him. "We barely managed to catch wind of this. We only got this information thanks to our network of spies that had managed to enter the highly classified division in the Kandrian Institute of Biotechnology."

The President of the Republic of Gorteau gritted his teeth as he suppressed the urge to throw up. Just the notion that former High Judge Sage Kole had been healed after joining the Kandrian Empire sent chills down his spine. "What is happening…?" Anger and frustration flashed in his eyes. "Just what is happening in that damned country?!"

President Raymond had been unable to fathom what was going on ever since the Emperor of Harmony had woken up from his long slumber. Ever since the damned Emperor of Harmony had regained control of the Kandrian Empire, he had been entirely elusive and beyond President Raymond's ability to read.

The Kandrian Empire itself had seemingly become a haven for miracles and extraordinarily rare events.

He didn't understand. First, the mass Apprentice breakthroughs, then the miraculous success rate in the Beast Domain, and then the mysterious healing of Sage Kole Kellin after she joined the Kandrian Empire. "At this rate…" His eyes widened as realization dawned on him. "The Kandrian Empire's power as a nation will continue rising until it completely surpasses the Great Limit. Each of these phenomena is pushing the limit by themselves, but together…"

Together, it was clear as day that unless they did something about it soon, it would soon be too late.

President Raymond gritted his teeth as he clenched his fist.

He glanced at a letter on his table.

'His predictions…' President Raymond's eyes widened. 'They all came true. He had known from the very start…!'

Over the past few months, the prime minister of the Britannian Empire had been slowly warming him up to the idea of war against the Kandrian Empire. He had been chipping at President Raymond's reluctance to pick a fight with the Emperor of Harmony, of all people, bit by bit.

"We need to act immediately, Mr. President." His vice president grew stern. "We cannot allow for such a clear threat to the Republic of Gorteau to affect our dominance as a Sage-level powerhouse. Should we leave the Kandrian Empire to its devices, it will become powerful enough to swallow East Panama. Now is the time to act, or else you will go down in history as the worst president in the history of Gorteau and the man who led it to its downfall."

Those words had the intended impact on her superior. She knew that he was a weak man who needed to be manipulated by his insecurities as a leader in order to get him to make the right choice.

"…General Havier," President Raymond directed a glance at a man garbed in military attire with a number of medals pinned to his uniform, "do you think the Republic of Gorteau can defeat the Kandrian Empire in an all-out war?"

The general's expression steeled with determination. "My soldiers and warriors will fight to the last brea—"

"You didn't answer my question." President Raymond narrowed his eyes.

"…Before the Kandrian Empire gained the Silas Clan and Sage Kole Kellin, I would have been more confident in saying yes, but," he shook his head, "with the Emperor of Harmony and the Martial Union firmly in control of the military and Martial power of the Kandrian Empire, they have far greater control over their net power that we do ours."

President Raymond grimaced at the brutally honest evaluation of his general, but he appreciated the honesty. It was true. The Republic of Gorteau had tremendous potential for war, but it was highly scattered and decentralized. It meant that President Raymond didn't have as much control over it. Certainly not nearly as much control as the Emperor of Harmony had over his nation. While President Raymond was the commander-in-chief of the army, the Gorteau Army did not contain most of the nation's military and Martial power.

A large part of the total power of the Republic of Gorteau was in its private sector. A majority of Martial Artists were a part of the private sector, employed by lucrative Martial contractors and Martial Insurance companies, as well as Martial development corporations.

In order to wage war, he would need to sign contracts with each and every single one of them and pay them a boatload to lend their Martial power to the war effort.

They were waiting for it. So much so that they had heavily donated to President Raymond's political campaign just so that he could declare war.

"…Everything had been going just fine until the Emperor of Harmony woke up." He gritted his teeth as his eyes grew bloodshot. "It's all because of him and his damn empire that threw a perfect presidency for a toss."

He closed his eyes, trying to gather his nerves and calm himself down.

When he opened them.

"With the power vested in me as the President of the Republic of Gorteau, I hereby declare war on the Kandrian Empire." President Raymond's expression grew more severe. "Have my chief of staff prepare the declaration immediately; I'll sign it and have my Vice President present it to Congress; we'll see how long those damn socialists have the balls to vote against it in these dire circumstances."

He knew that the Emperor of Harmony had managed to bribe the Democratic Socialist Party to impede the hawkish ambitions of his party; those pacifist bastards had been more than happy to accept his bribe due to the fact that they were inherently against war. However, if they dared to vote against his declaration of war, then they would suffer deeply due to how necessary it was.

"They have no choice but to vote for it," he growled. "Begin mobilizing our war potential immediately."

He paused for a moment.

"Also, arrange for a meeting with Prime Minister Edward."

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