The Martial Unity

According to the briefing that the Beggar's Sect had provided him with, the Shadow Isles were in the Sirana Gulf, surrounded by the east coast of the Derschek Region.

Since he was approaching the Shadow Isles from the east, he would need to pass through the Derschek Region to get to the Isles.

According to the intelligence from the Beggar's Sect, the Derschek Region was one of the most volatile war-ridden regions in its geopolitical surroundings. The reason for it was actually quite simple.

Access to incredibly cheap covert and assassination services.

The Shadow Isles that were surrounded by the Derschek Region on three sides were filled with quality and elite covert operatives and assassins looking to gain the tutelage of the Silent Shadow. During their stay on the Shadow Isles in search of the Silent Shadow, these covert operatives and assassins made a living by doing what they did best.

Their market was predominantly that of the Derschek Region, the only region that was by far the closest to the Shadow Isles.

Consequently, the Derschek Region had an overwhelming supply of freelancer covert operatives and assassins from the Shadow Isles.

When supply exceeded demand, prices deflated. This meant that it was far easier to hire genuinely elite Martial Artist assassins in the Derschek than arguably anywhere else on the continent.

On top of that, the Derschek Region was an inherently highly divided region with many nations and settlements. This bred a lot of conflict, which was only exacerbated by the ease with which assassins could be hired.

The consequence? An unending ocean conflict fueled by endless commissioned assassinations that never allowed for any kind of peace or stability to ever be fostered.

A maelstrom of chaos, war, and blood.

It was the ideal place for assassins. So much so that it had eventually become half the reason operators and assassins even came to the Shadow Isles, on top of searching for the Silent Shadow.

Was there a better place to hone his ability to kill a target? He could hardly think of any.

It took him a week of nigh-continuous travel to reach the Derschek Region, overlooking the entire coast from a large mountain from afar. To the ordinary eye, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary coastline that extended for many hundreds of kilometers, bordering the Vanema Ocean.

Rui felt like he could sense the maelstrom that brewed in the Derschek Region just looking

profile with his Mind Mask as he de-elevated his way to the Derschek Region. It

[Arabaor Town]

town that welcomed newcomers to the

was greeted with corpses that were uncaringly tossed and littered around the outskirts of the town. The

a greeting that Rui had never experienced when entering

chaotic place. Despite the clearly high death rate, the place was as densely packed as ever. Most of the establishments were small bars, pubs, or mess halls where many people

as he sensed an unusually high population density of Martial Artists, mostly restricted to

POW!

boy grimaced,

he's all grown up." A drunk

him stood

from me!"

grunted, racing his fist

crawl. With one step, he had arrived beside

TAP

permeated an impact that sunk in deep before striking the heart.

Rui did need to hold back immensely to make sure that he didn't flatten the man's

STEP

already a

pained expression, staggering a bit before falling down. The Martial Apprentices

to was not the

Nobody even noticed.

went about their day, as if they just spotted a leaf falling or any other mundane event that did

total apathy and indifference

Sect of the darkest parts of humanity. The Ajaor Town was merely the