Chapter 1781 Soft Power

Chapter 1781 Soft Power

Rui had chosen to refuse the will bequeathed by the Emperor of Harmony.

The reason was simple.

It cost him what he cared for the most. It was a sacrifice that he was unwilling to make, for the same reason that he had refused to make a similar sacrifice for his family ten years ago when offered protection for his family.

His decision today led to a covenant with Sage Sayfeel.

In return for prolonging the Emperor's life, Rui would ascend the throne should he fail to heal the Emperor. If he failed, however, he would ascend the throne.

It was a risk.

Yet, it was a calculated risk he was willing to take.

Rui was keenly aware of the many things that could go wrong.

He could potentially just never find the Divine Doctor; that was a very real possibility.

Even if he did find him, he could potentially fail to compel him.

Even if he did compel him, it was possible that they wouldn't make it in time.

Hell, it was possible that Rui would just die in the Beast Domain even before he met the Divine Doctor.

All these possibilities were very real and impossible to deny.

"...Still, as long as I have you, a Martial Sage, by my side," Rui heaved a sigh.

A single answer escaped Rui's mouth.

"Win."

Their eyes lit up at that answer.

"I will win this war before it begins," Rui closed his eyes. "Just like my father before me."

He couldn't leave the Empire without preparing his faction. It meant that he couldn't leave immediately; he would need to put a lot of effort into reeling in powerful allies and patrons until he overwhelmingly dwarfed the power of his opponents.

"I look forward to it, Your Highness," Master Zentra remarked, smiling. "Do you know what your first order of business looks like?"

"I need a staff and administration," Rui narrowed his eyes. "I cannot build a faction without a hundred-strong team of people who will handle the minutiae of building a faction. So, the first order of business is for me to hire a team of staff and administration. After that, I need to set up a foundation that will accept donations. And only then can the development of a faction happen."

Rui felt a headache coming up. During a time when he ought to be focusing on refining the Angel of Laplace to make it combat-viable, he had to deal with this mess, all because he was revealed to be a prince and now had the power to fix the Kandrian Empire potentially.

It was a complete pain in the ass, but the faction needed to be built not only to stop his siblings from ascending the throne if he failed but also to fulfill his oath to Sage Sayfeel if he failed in healing Emperor Rael.

He swore an oath that he would ascend the throne.

He intended to keep it if he failed.

He needed a faction for that, too.

"The Martial Union is more than willing to aid you with all these minor matters," Master Zentra graciously informed him.

"That's fine, but my faction cannot be comprised of people who are a part of the Martial Union. I won't tolerate any managers or bureaucrats who have had any history with the Martial Union," Rui calmly informed him. "They must be independent. Is that clear?"

Neither Martial Master missed the subtle hint of change in his manner of address. Yet, they didn't voice it. While Rui did not suddenly gain a royal bearing all of a certain, an implicit sense of power seemed to radiate from him.

As a royal prince, as the beloved of the Martial Union, and as he who had complete control over four other royal factions, Rui's soft power and his capacity to impact the nation had risen to be on par with that of a Martial Sage.