The Martial Unity

"I'm not in the habit of beating around the bush too much, Squire Quarrier." Senior Ceeran eyes narrowed a little as his demeanor grew more solemn. "So I will ask you directly. Is your account of the execution of the mission accurate? Did you truly, with a technique of your own creation, accurately hit the target of the mission from nearly a kilometer away?"

Rui remained silent for a moment, before nodding. "My report is the whole and complete truth. I stand by every word written in it."

The man stared at Rui for a few seconds, trying to assess how sincere Rui was being.

"Your claims are more than just a little surprising. They're frankly shocking. What you claim to accomplish shatters known and established paradigms when it comes to long-range accuracy." He explained to Rui. "If true, they are a cause for celebration. Just discovering a new path to accomplishing high degrees of accuracy is a great contribution to the Martial World. It proves that there are other paths forward for us to pursue in the field of accuracy."

"Assuming, of course, that you're telling the truth." He added. "If you aren't... You will find our implementation of the penalties of deceit in reports and such to be fierce. So, having cleared that, do you still maintain your claims?"

The air grew frostier. The mighty Martial Senior did not even attempt to exert any pressure on Rui. Just the sheer latent sense of danger that Rui felt from him due to his sharp senses alone was greater than even his most powerful Mind Mask!

fairy tales and serve them to the Martial Union when I know I would not be able to escape its consequences? I assure you, my report is the whole and

will, rather than my position within the Martial Union. I identify with my identity as a Martial Artist more than anything else." He smiled, lightening the atmosphere a notch or two. "Secondly, I am of the personal opinion that you are sincere. My warning was more of an expression of the official

ask, what is your

made an extraordinary breakthrough." Senior Ceeran's eyes lit up with greed. "Tell me everything. How does this technique work? What

I thought the Martial Union respected the autonomy and right to privacy of

enthusiasm dampened a bit as he studied Rui with a measured look. "Are you

given it much thought." Rui lied. "But I am open to it, I

the Martial Union does not force its Martial Artists to divulge their techniques and Martial Art." Senior Ceeran. "We obtain their techniques through the carrot, rather

figured out why. While the Martial Union was, no doubt, powerful enough to bully nearly every Martial Artist and extract their secrets from them, this would be highly detrimental in the long run. The most negative consequences would involve a mass migration of Martial Artists from the

of Gorteau, and the Sekigahara Confederation. These nations would more than happily

no qualms about employing violence against the Martial Artist class to obtain what it wanted.

norm and setting a dangerous precedent that would break the trust that it