The Martial Unity

Once the ship hit the island, the protocols were to immediately set up an elementary preliminary security perimeter around the ship. The ship was the most important asset to the mission as that was the only easy way back home. Thus the Martial Union had stuffed her up with enough Martial Artists to protect her at all costs.

The second step in the chain of protocols was to construct a temporary preliminary base on neutral territory.

The base, of course, was no more than a set of tents that would be guarded by the security team. The necessary supplies and personnel would be escorted by the cliffside by the skywalking Martial Squires.

"Just a day, correct?" Rui asked.

"Yes sir," A man behind nodded. "As soon as that is done, we initiate the diplomatic negotiations."

Rui nodded as he turned back to face the mountain at the center of the island.

The development proceeded quickly, as Rui and the diplomatic team completed the final steps of preparation for the diplomatic endeavor.

A day later, it was time

"Are you ready, Stemple, Zeyra?" Rui asked the two people behind him.

The two of them were dressed in highly professional attire themselves. They carried briefcases that contained files and documents that were translated into the Vilun Dialect.

Rui turned as he breathed deeply.

The time for the first swing had arrived.

The game plan had been set, and now it was time for Rui to make sure he executed it perfectly.

"Let's get going," Rui nodded as they headed out of the tent.

Waiting outside was a motorized chariot that was specifically meant to travel through narrower paths of the mountain. It would cause a minimal amount of damage to the surrounding environment.

Rui had made sure to not give the G'ak'arkan Tribe any reason to dislike their little convoy, and that included not harming the natural environment of the mountain that they cared so much about. It was narrow, flexible, and even far more silent than a standard motorized chariot that burned special esoteric substances that caused a lot of noise.

Rui could already sense motion in the surroundings with his sharp senses and techniques. Several humans.

('Scouts of the G'ak'arkan Tribe,') Rui noted silently.

They maintained their distance from the small convoy as they made their way up a path in the small mountain.

Rui just prayed that they wouldn't use long-range techniques to try and snipe them from a great distance away. The fact that they hadn't probably meant that the G'ak'arkan Tribe was not unwilling to meet with them.

The Martial Union had taken the initiative to build good decent, albeit superficial, relationships with all of the Martial Tribes, it had taken quite a long time of occasional but regular contact with the Martial tribes. Over many years, contact and communication slowly and painstakingly elevated from highly cautious and tense interactions to increasingly familiar interactions.

Only then did the Martial Union begin the diplomatic missions to try and negotiate a way to try and obtain their highly-guarded techniques. Which led to the history of diplomatic failures to succeed with the mission.

Rui had no intention of joining that list.

It quite some time for them to reach the top of the mountain. Rui could have skywalked to the very top very quickly, but he didn't want to leave behind his assistants.

The top of the mountain was scenic and picturesque, so much so that even Rui paused for a moment to admire it.

When he turned back, he saw several humans walking toward him.

Behind them in the distance were visible signs of a settlement.

Rui got off the chariot slowly, as he took slow and measured strides forward, as his assistants nervously followed.

The air was tense, so much so that one could nearly cut it with a knife.

Rui's demeanor was calm and relaxed, yet inwardly he was sweating bullets.

First impressions mattered, and they mattered a lot.

That was why he hadn't retracted his mind mask since he put it on. He was basically a glowing beacon that irresistibly drew the attention of the warriors of the G'ak'arkan Tribe.

All of them were Martial Squires, yet every Martial Artist knew that they were all weaker than him.

Or, at least, so they thought. Rui was the only one who knew that wasn't necessarily true.

"What brings you here?" An older man stepped forward amongst all of the approaching warriors of the G'ak'arkan Tribe.

('He's the strongest without a shadow of a doubt,') Rui noted.

The man exuded a combination of power and experience, a dangerous combination that Rui didn't want to be on the receiving end of.

"We come in peace," He smiled.

His voice was clear and calm, and his speech as fluent as a gentle ebbing stream.

"We bring gifts," He waved his hand as his assistants brought forward boxes similar to that which was given to the M'etKanun Tribe. "We wish to talk,"

Rui bemoaned the lack of formal synonyms in the Vilun Dialect inwardly.

"Speak about what?" The man didn't budge as he peered down at Rui.

"An important matter," Rui replied, unyielding as he continued walking slowly towards the man.

"Speak about what?" The man insisted as he enunciated each word. "

"You are not qualified," Rui calmly stated out loud for everybody to hear. "We will negotiate with an equal, or a superior."

The man's expression soured.

Yet Rui didn't hesitate. He would not have dared to utter such words against any other dignitary of any other group or state, but with the G'ak'arkan Tribe, it was truly the right approach, and that was one of the truly remarkable things about the tribe. Their hierarchy depended on power. Unlike with other groups where Rui would rely on standard negotiation tactics, Rui needed to double down. He was not going to earn their respect without the acknowledgment that he was stronger.

This, of course, was a bit of a gamble, but they had long decided that it was worth it.