The Martial Unity

Rui arrived before a giant manor, escalating down from the sky.

"Huh..." He frowned.

He had accepted the most well-paying sparring trainer mission in his inbox and had arrived at the client's residence, but the residence was more extravagant than he had expected. However, what surprised him was the insignia of the Kandrian Empire outside the gates.

('Did I misunderstand who my client is?') Rui frowned. ('Or am I in the wrong place?')

Furthermore, the guards below also had armor and weapons with the Kandrian Empire's insignia on them. They were spear-wielding Martial Apprentices, who immediately took a stance once they saw a Martial Squire stepping down from the sky before them.

"Purpose of visit?" They asked, noticing his garb from the Martial Union.

"Commission."

One of them pulled out a comms device, reading a message on it. "Name?"

"Rui Quarrier," Rui replied.

This commission was made directly to his actual identity, so he did not use his official alias to protect it. He also didn't bother bringing his mask for this mission, anyone who commissioned him had access to his public profile in the Martial Union.

"Mission verification code?" They asked.

"8b49ebJ87" Rui replied, recalling from memory.

"You may enter." They nodded, evidently also possessing the mission verification code. "We will escort you to the Master."

Rui quietly followed them about, noticing the various Martial Apprentices stationed at various locations guarding the mansion. They too were armored and armed with various weapons that also possessed the insignia of the Kandrian Empire.

('None of these Martial Apprentices are of the Martial Union.') Rui concluded the obvious. The fact that their armor and weapons possessed the insignia of the Kandrian Empire alone implied that they were part of some governmental or Royal branch. That combined with the fact that the gates of the mansion had the insignia of the Kandrian Empire implied that the client was an authority high up in the heirarchy of the government or the military. No ordinary employee of the government possessed this much power.

Rui frowned, the information on the client that the Martial Union had provided him did not match the inferences he had just made.

('Did the client use a personal servant to commission this mission?') Rui wondered.

Still, wouldn't the Martial Union have easily detected this? After all, it was able to figure out the true client of a mission he had completed a while back that did exactly the same thing. Furthermore, this was in a foreign country, while this was within the Mantian Region of the Kandrian Empire.

The guard led Rui inside the mansion, where Rui froze for a second.

"Hm?" The guard noticed.

"This..." Rui frowned. ('This pressure... isn't just a Martial Squire, is it?')

His senses were remarkably sharp, with Primordial Instinct, he could easily sense Martial Artists who were suppressing their presence to an extent. The moment he actually reached the mansion, he had come across a presence with a sense of danger that far exceeded what someone within the Squire Realm ought to be able to produce.

"What happened? The master is waiting, come." The guard insisted, coaxing Rui.

Rui nodded as he continued following him inside, growing curious about who his true client was.

They walked in deeper and the presence drew closer to Rui until it was just a rock's throw away.

"Hm." Rui heard a strong deep voice acknowledging his arrival.

"You've arrived." He walked towards Rui rigidly.

The man was seven feet tall, standing a foot taller than Rui. Rui could sense that his body was coursing with power, the sheer amount of power that coursed through the man's body was intimidating was unnerving. Yet he didn't give Rui the profound sense of pressure that people like Master Aronian did, who could make Rui bow with sheer mental pressure alone.

"I am Martial Colonel Geringan Jenken." The man addressed Rui. "I've heard much about you, Rui Quarrier.

Rui's eyes widened at the man's introduction. "Pleasure to meet you too, colonel."

The man curtly nodded before gesturing to his lavish sofa, never taking an eye off Rui. "Have a seat."

It sounded more like an order, Rui suppressed the urge to salute with a 'sir, yes sir!' as he took his seat.

"I take it you are the real client of the commission?" Rui asked, breaking the ice.

Geringan didn't respond, he simply waved his hand. A few seconds later, a butler appeared. Rui wasn't surprised when he recognized the man as the actual client of the commission. What he was surprised by was why the Martial Union didn't inform him of it. Unless the colonel had gone through extensive means to hide it, he didn't think there was any possibility that the Martial Union wasn't aware of it.

Rui remained silent. He was dealing with an individual with far more power than himself in every measurable parameter. Although he was curious and cautious about why a person from the Royal Kandrian Army had commissioned a Martial Artist from the Martial Union, he didn't want to be too forward in his inquisition.

"You must be wondering why I went through such a degree of obfuscation to commission you, correct?"

"Perhaps." Rui remained ambiguous.

"Hmph, fret not. I'm not going to do anything to you." He replied. "The Martial Union will not tolerate a Martial Senior of the Royal Army bullying one of their Martial Squires even if I did have any malicious intentions. It does violate the commission contract too."

"You are powerful and of high rank," Rui replied, with a little bit of straightforward honesty.

"Exactly." He nodded. "It is because of my status and my rank in the Royal Kandrian Army that the Martial Union cannot tolerate the affront, it would affect their prestige within the Kandrian Empire. Besides, they're not afraid of a Martial Senior in the first place."

He met Rui's gaze. "Besides, as I said, I don't have any ill intentions. I simply feared the possibility that you might reject my personal commission because I was from the army, hence the deception."