The Martial Unity

His attire was distinctly different from his normal attire. He didn't wear the extravagant royal attire of the Emperor, but rather wore the elegant attire expected of the Chancellor of Gaia. A mix of militaristic and formal attire, with the crest of the Gaian Alliance proudly embroidered on the chest.

His crown was also missing.

It became clear that he had chosen to speak to humanity not as Emperor or Martial Artist, but as a leader of the entire civilization.

His very presence was powerful. Even though it was just a stream, his presence felt more real to everybody watching the stream than people standing beside them in real life. Somehow, he made a heavier impression on those who beheld him through a screen.

Just looking at him calmed people down.

There was no loud sign of it, but a quiet, yet absolute power hung in the air. One that could not be defied. Nothing about his body language or demeanor had any of the urgency that had spread across almost all other people in human civilization.

[I convey my words to you through this announcement to confirm what all of you already know,] he spoke with a calm but serious voice. [Roughly eighty-six minutes ago, a giant wormhole spanning a thousand kilometers opened in the Arima III Star System at the edge of our civilization. An alien invasion comprising ships numbering in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, commenced immediately after. Our enemy is the same species and civilization that humanity encountered in an infected world mining operation in the Strehegeld Star System that has, since then, been prohibited to travel to by the Gaian Alliance. They are known as the arakai and…]

His ethereal eyes remained fixed on the camera.

[And they are powerful.]

That confirmation should have made each and every single one of them fearful, but the gravity of his powerful voice kept their emotions anchored.

[They possess a great many forces, many of which are powerful,] the Chancellor of Gaia continued. [They are a great threat to human civilization, and defeating them will not be easy. This invasion has sparked a war that will not end soon. It will be a burden for all of us. And yet…]

A confident smile emerged on his face.

[We will win.]

His declaration didn't have any pomp to it. He spoke those words like it was a mundane truth. He didn't assert it. He didn't even sound like he was trying to convince them. And yet, those three words alone were more convincing than any of the measures undertaken by any of the peacekeeping forces or governments to instill confidence in their people.

[We will win because we are even stronger,] he continued. [We will win because we have many brave pathwalkers. We will win because we have prepared for this for thirteen years. We will win because we have great minds engineering our victory. We will win because we have acquired a new Transcendent. Humanity will win because…]

His voice grew more confident.

[Humanity has me.]

If there were any words that could bring about a surge of relief among people, it was the confirmation that the Emperor of Water would be partaking in the war. Even though he had been silent and elusive in the Era of Expansion, his long-lasting impact on human civilization was heavy and deep. His story had become part of human culture. His story was history itself. His name emerged across all textbooks, documents, and virtually any field of pursuit with how vast his influence was.

[Rest assured, I will not allow human civilization to suffer defeat or to come to ruin,] he declared. [I'm willing to wager human civilization will not even need me. For we have many powerful people who have gathered to attack our invaders and destroy them. Citizens of human civilization, behold your protectors.]

The stream shifted to feature live footage of a wide-scale view of the Greater World Bridge in the Solar System. It was one of the most famous technological structures of human civilization, for it was the same bridge that facilitated humanity's first steps into the stars.

It had grown nearly a hundred times larger since that auspicious day more than thirteen years ago, stretching a hundred kilometers in diameter.

But what truly drew their attention this time was the cloud of spaceships that was so expansive it took up all of the space that the world bridge had to offer. The stream panned to show a close-up view of the ships, allowing humans to behold their grandeur up-close.

They were the first ten armadas of Strategic World Bridge Force.

"Woah, look at those massive battleships!"

"This is the first time we're getting to see the battleships of the Gaian Alliance operate on this scale. There has never been a threat that justified their deployment."

"I didn't know we had so many warships on standby, sheesh!"

RUMBLE

The world bridge activated, rapidly boring a tunnel through reality itself. The ripples it sent caused the camera to vibrate a little, making it feel as if they were there. Then, a wormhole opened, allowing the many warfleets of human civilization to charge through. The stream shifted to the live footage from the Arima III System, collected and compiled from the many space telescopes.

A wormhole emerged just ten thousand kilometers away from the invading arakai force. From the very moment the armadas entered the Arima III System, their gun barrels shifted towards the invading force, and immediately began launching an extraordinary siege upon the invading enemy.

Beams of light, antimatter beams, and even directed gravitational pulse attacks flew towards the Web of War before it could even react. The breachhead, still reshuffling to close the massive gaping hole that Bodhisattva Maitreyi had opened up, failed to stop all of them.

BOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOM!!! BOOOOOM!!!

Massive explosions of light erupted from not just the interdiction force, but also the warships deeper in the formation, creating an impressive spectacle that couldn't help but inspire confidence in those that beheld it.

"Woohoo! Go Alliance!"

"Destroy them! Destroy every last one of them!"

"We're so back! I knew this wouldn't be the end of humanity!"

The stream cut back to Rui at exactly the right moment. He smiled as if he could hear all of them in real time.

[Do not lose hope. Do not lose confidence. And do not lose. I know I have no intention of doing so. With that, I bid you a brief goodbye. Rest assured that I will be fighting for human civilization.]

BZZZT

The stream ended, leaving morale in a much higher place than it was prior to it.

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