The Martial Unity

"Cough… Cough…" Captain Deacon spluttered blood as he panted deeply.

His body was a mess, riddled with deep wounds that refused to stop bleeding. His left eye was missing, causing him to take a stance that tilted his left side away. His Martial Art attire was completely torn, yet he didn't care. He stumbled as he moved forward.

Each step he took splashed around the blood that submerged his heels, produced by all the corpses around.

He glanced around him.

The grade-ten Martial Squires that had taken the lead of their wounded force in the battle against the Root were all dead.

One of them was flattened, while the other one was severed in half, the third one had been throttled away. Considering he never returned, Captain Deacon that he was dead too.

He was the only one left, half a day later.

The raid force had put up a brave fight, the grade-ten Martial Squires rallied the wounded Martial Artists into going all out against the roots. Hundreds of Martial Squires launched long-range attacks one by one as the close-range Martial Artists rushed forward. They mustered every ounce of power they could to resist the nightmare that the roots were.

The worst part wasn't that they were crushed in the end.

No.

The worst part was that they weren't crushed immediately.

The worst part was that they even made some progress, believing they could win.

Hoping they could win.

The worst part was when the roots allowed them to hope, before crushing it mercilessly, leaving behind nothing but despair.

individual roots, each with the power and speed of grade-ten Martial Squires, crushed any and all resistance that the Martial Squires mustered

the end, only he, the most invincible Martial

he knew that it was just a matter

wasn't quite

afford to care, for

as a leader, as the son of his

only because of his personal failures but because he knew that his personal failure

that he would do anything in his power to aid

very opposite. He had gone and suffered the greatest failure in his

of the catastrophe that they had suffered by losing

elections was absolutely devastating. It was a political catastrophe of unprecedented detriment. It would cost Chairman Deacon the entirety of his political campaign, his one and only

him that his failure as a

as his father's image appeared in

hard ass, yet it was certain that he loved his children deeply, going

his father to not kill himself because he was too

gritted his teeth, before turning around and heading for

BAM!!!

he left. He had gotten a brief moment of respite

grown stronger over twenty years of growth, and the

not someone who could be put down as easily as the other grade-ten Martial Squires. Of course, they had inflicted far more damage than he had to the Root, they simply did not possess the ability to

he was escaping, a figure appeared before him

SLASH

SPLAT!

blade struck at his exposed neck, leaving a wound

kill you," Rui murmured from behind his mask. "Grade-ten Martial Squires sure are impressive, it makes sense that you managed to escape despite