"That is also true." The colonel nodded. "There is a great debate within our faction regarding the nature of the union, after all, we need a clear and precise objective. It would be foolish of us to chase after the ambiguous principle 'united we stand, divided we fall'. There are a lot of issues that need to be resolved and ironed out that we still aren't as united as we wished we were." He sighed. "Frankly, a lot of the more technical issues are beyond my understanding and area of expertise, I am a Martial Artist and a military man, after all. But the principle alone is strong enough that we are able to come under one banner, a banner I am willing to lend my power and influence to."

Rui was clearly unconvinced. There was an argument to be made that the checks and balances that the Martial Union and the Royal Family placed on each other kept the nation stable. Neither side could be domineering as it would inevitably clash against the interests of the other, which meant that the former would not be allowed to go too far before the latter began exercising its power to contain the former.

For instance, the Royal Emperor could not be as exploitative of Martial Artists as perhaps a ruler would like to have been due to the Martial Union's powerful presence. Going too far against the Martial Union was not good, for if it decided to employ its vast Martial might, resources, and intelligence, the Kandrian government would not be able to remain stable. It could not afford to push the Martial Union too far lest the latter decide enough was enough and threaten civil war.

Furthermore, the Martial Union could not be as overbearing in its influence over society as it may have liked to be due to the Kandrian Empire curbing its influence. It still had to abide by the laws of the nation that it wasn't specifically exempt from in the Kandrian Martial Covenant.

This impasse was much more trustworthy than unlimited and unchecked power poured into the hands of a single entity.

He turned towards Rui, noticing his reaction. "Perhaps it is because you're still a young Martial Squire and haven't obtained enough power and authority within the Martial Union yet, which is why you may find the principle and objective to be naïve, however, it is certainly the case that a merger would strengthen this nation tremendously."

Rui raised an eyebrow in doubt. "I don't think the difference would be that tremendous. The net resources haven't increased, after all."

The man shook his head. "The Kandrian government and Martial Union waste a tremendous amount of capital of various sorts due to each other. Although it may appear that the impasse between the Kandrian government and the Martial Union isn't, it truly is taxing on both entities."

"How so?" Rui's eyes furrowed.

"Although both sides know that the other side is quite unlikely to provoke a civil war, the possibility exists and thus both sides employ a lot of measures and countermeasures to account for the possibility of a civil war provoked by their enemy." The colonel explained. "If such an outcome occurs, the most desirable wish in this scenario would be to know that it is coming. To know when it is coming, to know how it is coming. Both sides employ a large number of funds and resources in intelligence and information gathering. The Martial Union keeps a track of the movement of the military, it keeps track of existing siege weapons, their deployment, movements as well as the manufacturing of such siege weapons, it keeps track of the manufacturing and existing inventory of temporary augmentation potions, its most powerful Martial Artists, etc. The intelligence gathered from such activities allows them to evaluate whether the Kandrian Empire is gearing up for war or not."

Rui nodded. This was definitely a prudent measure and one that he approved of, it was important to be able to detect the earliest signs of civil war and prepare for it accordingly.

"The Kandrian Empire also does something very similar, obviously." The man explained. "It keeps track of the most powerful Martial assets of the Martial Union; its Martial Sages and Martial Masters as much as possible. There are entire departments within the Kandrian Intelligence Agency that are solely dedicated to keeping track of a single Martial Artist. If you become powerful enough, you can assume you'll have your own department as well. It also keeps track of the rate of acceptance of commissions of the Martial Union, the number of Martial Artists outside the country at any given moment, and the influx and outflux of Martial Artists through the borders as well as within the nation itself. All of these parameters allow the Kandrian Empire to evaluate whether the Martial Union is gearing up for war or not."

Rui nodded, this made a lot of sense. Just the sheer amount of funds and resources expended in the intelligence war that, no doubt, was constantly occurring between the Martial Union and the Kandrian Empire drained their capital a lot. Espionage, tapping, surveillance, tracking, infiltration, and other covert intelligence-gathering missions were no doubt quite expensive. Yet both sides could not afford to not engage in them.Belonging to .

Furthermore, if Rui wasn't wrong, there were probably other measures that both sides took that were taxing as well.

"It isn't limited to just intelligence gathering, either." He sighed. "Neither the Martial Union nor the Kandrian Empire can ever weaken their militaristic and Martial power within the Kandrian Empire beyond a certain degree because of the fear of inviting an attack from the other side. The martial Union cannot afford to allow its Martial Artists to accept more than a certain number of foreign commissions at any given point, because it cannot afford to have too many Martial Artists leave the Kandrian Empire, weakening their base power at any given time. The same also applies to the Kandrian Empire."

He sighed. "Don't you see? We are both holding each other back so much, the Kandrian Empire could be so much more if we truly made the best of every ounce of our power."

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