The Martial Unity

"We have successfully acquired the targets of your mission, Squire Quarrier." A woman wearing a uniform with the emblem of the Kandrian Martial Union told Rui, bowing. "Thank you for completing your mission."

Rui nodded. "Will there be any problems with handling the Martial Apprentices and getting them back to the Kandrian Empire?"

"Not at all." She politely responded. "The Martial Apprentices will be carefully monitored by a team of experts who will ensure they remain sedated. We have an extradition treaty with the Kingdom of Violis and there are many channels that the Martial Union has established for smuggling larger goods in and out of the Kingdom of Violis."

Rui nodded in response.

"Is there anything else, Squire?" She asked politely.

"Not at all, I'll be taking my leave then." Rui nodded.

"I bid you farewell then." She wished him.

He left the branch office of the Martial Union soon after, breathing a sigh of relief. He had finally gotten something off his shoulders after this long, he felt like a weight had gotten lifted off of him, leaving him more refreshed and at peace.

On the way back, he pondered the mission he had just completed.

('Certainly one of my smoother missions.') Rui noted.

He had an incredible success rate as a Martial Apprentice, failure was extremely rare. Of course, this didn't mean that the mission itself was too easy, it was just about right for its grade. The actual arrest was the easy part, the investigation and location of the target of the mission were the harder part. The mission deployed a Martial Squire to extract and return an escaping charged criminal back to the Kandrian Empire the moment his location was determined.

Of course, normally, the intelligence gathering was done by the intelligence department of the Martial Union. But Rui took the matters into his own hands and made more progress in a few hours than they had made in a week, thanks to the resourceful and effective means of acquiring intelligence that he had come up with.

He didn't expect anything other than a perfect evaluation from the Martial Union.

THUD

He landed after jumping over the wall that ran along the perimeter of the country, before running back towards the Kandrian Empire casually. Just like when he set out for the Kingdom of Violis from the Kandrian Empire, it took him only half an hour to reach the Kandrian Empire.

He quickly entered the Kandrian transit port before undergoing the brief protocols that returning Martial Artist citizens needed to go through before finally setting foot into the Kandrian Empire.

Once in the Kandrian Empire, he could sky-walk without any problems at all. It was only when he was outside the Empire that the risk of taking to the skies and making yourself an open target was a risky move.

"Ahhhh..." He sighed as he treaded through the atmosphere. He couldn't get over just how pleasant it was to freely traverse the skies. One of the most primal desires of man was to fly, after all. It was that desire for freedom that led to the birth of the plane.

The ability of Martial Squires and Martial Artists of higher Realms to be able to accomplish that with raw physicality alone dampened the marvel of that feat in this world. However, there did indeed exist means of traveling through the sky via esoteric technology. Of course, he had never seen such means of transport himself. What were the principles and mechanics by which this technology operated?

Such thoughts centering topics that intrigued him flashed around in his mind all throughout his return to the Mantian Region and the town of Hajin.

Eventually, he reached, descending to the Quarrier Orphanage. There were several figures in the garden.

"Max, Mana." He called out. "How's it going?"

"Big brother!" They cooed when they saw him descending from the air. "You can fly?!"

Rui chuckled, recalling he hadn't yet told them that Martial Squires could sky-walk. "Just a trick."

"Why don't you teach us how to do that?" Max asked innocently.

"Maybe when you're older," Rui suggested with a wry smile.

"Are you going to overlook our training?" Mana asked.

"While I am here, of course." Rui turned to the third figure in the backyard. "I trust their training has gone well?"

"Yes, of course, Squire Quarrier." The Martial Apprentice bowed, expressing respect. "They certainly have potential, as well as the drive."

Rui had commissioned a Martial Apprentice with training experience to overlook their training while he was gone. The entrance exam for the Martial Academy was half a year away and he wanted to increase the intensity and quality of their training. It was especially necessary to hone their mental fortitude which required a Martial Artist.

That was one of the core responsibilities that the Apprentice trainer was burdened with. She was to train and build the mental fortitude of the siblings by exposing them to greater mental strain as time passed, among other things.

Rui quickly scanned their bodies, observing the changes they had undergone in the past few months. Their muscle tone had increased to what Rui would consider an optimal level. It wasn't too little where the power they generated as well as their durability were both too low, nor too much where their flexibility and agility suffered too much.

They had the bodies of fighters.

"Hm..." Rui nodded.

Of course, this was just the bare minimum.

"Let's see how much progress you've made," Rui told them. "Come."

The two children grew excited as they adopted their stances. Mana adopted a lighter stance with her center of gravity localized and close, hopping and bobbing on her feet. Max, on the other hand, planted himself on the ground, positioning his legs to maximize the amount of power they could generate.

Rui smiled. "How scary. Looks like I might not be able to hold back."

"We're going to make you fight hard, big brother!"

They charged at him together.