The Martial Unity

The air tingled nervously.

The atmosphere grew electric.

The mood was uncertain and fraught with danger.

The hybrid beings didn’t make any threatening moves, they simply drew closer and closer to the Martial Sages in slow and non-threatening gestures.

They moved measuredly and carefully, aware that the other party was on the very edge of initiating hostilities.

Their inhuman pupils, no more than thin slits, were intelligent and aware nonetheless, and Bodhisattva Maitreyi didn’t sense in them any of the common irrational or feral mannerisms that were common to beasts.

It meant that despite possessing beast-like physiology in their eyes, head, and other parts of their body, they were still capable of self-control, reason, and rationality.

Because their bodies were bare and ungarbed, it was easy to see to what extent they were inhuman, with many having fur across their limbs and some even having claws and paws for hands and fingers.

And yet, their broader anatomical structure was quite human.

The Martial Sages didn’t sense any particularly extraordinary power from their own physicality; the strongest among them was physically as strong as Martial Senior.

He was also the least human among them.

He was also their leader.

STEP

He arrived several meters away from Bodhisattva Maitreyi, gazing at her with his bull head.

It was truly a stunning sight.

A burly, muscular male body with a bull head, with mighty tusks that emerged from his skull.

Bodhisattva Maitreyi, in all her wisdom, wasn’t entirely sure what to make of these people.

These beast traits didn’t appear to be genetic racial traits, for they were too diverse, although perhaps they had different racial strains within their species?

She didn’t know.

The bull-headed man opened his mouth.

“qy ulk naay naatoaukdnaanibyr iv fegaaukhuk. qy hniirg ukugh iv oiho, naay adhukwakukdkr iv naay ginor kidturdydk.”

The sounds themselves were meaningless to them.

And yet, the Martial Sages widened their eyes as the meaning entered their minds.

“We are the therianthropes of Kiriket, and I am the Minotaur, the Patriarch of the Bull Clan. We hail all of you, the inhabitants of the Lost Continent.”

Bodhisattva Maitreyi’s eyes lit up with realization. “…Non-verbal communication.”

Research had shown that most information communicated in communication was actually non-verbal.

It theoretically meant that it was possible for someone of an entirely different language to successfully communicate the meaning of their alien language their through non-verbal communication.

“I see…” Bodhisattva Maitreyi’s expression grew knowing with dawning realization as she gazed back and forth between the beasts and the therianthropes that had ridden them.

She was starting to understand the dynamics of what these people were and how it related to their beasts and monsters.

“Welcome,” she spoke loud and clear, expressing herself through her nonverbal communication as well. “Welcome to the Panama Continent, therianthropes of the Kiriket Continent. We are the Martial Sages of human civilization, defenders of this continent.”

Her expression grew serious.

“Pray tell, Minotaur, what brings you this far to our continent?”

The air tingled with tension.

The Martial Sages hadn’t simply lowered their guards just because the other side was willing to engage in communication. The dwarves and the tekvores had proven that just a willingness to communicate wasn’t enough to guarantee peace.

The Minotaur regarded Bodhisattva Maitreyi with a knowing expression. His mouth opened as he spoke in beast-like grunts with a careful tone.

The meaning of his words was instantly communicated to their minds as they interpreted his nonverbal communication correctly.

“We would like to avoid violence if possible.”

That was a good start.

“However, we have come here determined to get what we seek.”

The Martial Sages stiffened at those words.

That wasn’t a good sign.

“We seek to expand the variety in our Beast Path by gathering as many specimens of the exotic beasts and monsters that we have detected in our continent with our outer-space celestial eagles,” the Minotaur explained with a calm, but unyielding tone. “We seek to befriend the monsters and beasts of this continent and harness them into our power.”

Bodhisattva Maitreyi sharpened her gaze.

She instantly knew that this was not a tolerable compromise.

The beasts and monsters, under the control of the Eldritch Chimera, destroyed most of human civilization and conquered most of the continent.

The very idea of allowing the inhabitants of another continent in the true world to gain control over them and manipulate them however they wanted was truly horrifying and intolerable.

“We cannot allow you to enter this control and tame the beasts and monsters of this continent,” Bodhisattva Maitreyi was unyieldingly firm about this matter. “However, we are willing to engage in a cooperative and mutually beneficial trading relationship with you therianthropes of the Kiriket Continent where we capture and trade some of our beasts for technology or resources from your continent. I’m sure that the Emperor of Harmony, the supreme commander of the Panamic Alliance and the leader of our civilization, will be more than happy to engage in a harmonious relationship with all of you.”

Bodhisattva Maitreyi was not a diplomat, however, she felt as though she had done as good a job as any diplomat him have, clearly drawing the lines that human civilization was not willing to watch be crossed while also offering high lucrative opportunities.

Unfortunately, it was her lack of comprehension, understandably, of the therianthropes of Kiriket and their cultural values that doomed her bridge-building diplomacy to failure.

The air boiled as the Minotaur’s bull eyes flared with blinding rage and fury.

The other therianthropes also grew profoundly angry at her words.

The Martial Sages gritted their teeth, taking their stances as the Minotaur gazed at her with chilling wrath.

“You people… capture and trade beasts and monsters against their will?”

His voice quivered with feral anger.

Bodhisattva Maitreyi gazed at the therianthropes with silence.

How would they react if they learned that they had been in war with the Beast Domain for seventeen long years until three days ago when the Unfolding happened?

She didn’t have time to think as a single gruff remark escaped the fuming Minotaur.

“Attack.”

RUMBLE!!!!!!

The world shook as the tremendous beasts and monsters surged forth at the Martial Sages, threatening to consume them alive.