Rui wasn't particularly fond of the idea of meeting the Blood Cult.
For one, he knew that it was not a rational polity, which he really desired after dealing with the Virodhabhasa Theocracy. Was it too much to ask for a pletely sane and normal powerhouse to deal with that could listen to reason and not make his life even harder?
Alas, it was very unlikely that such a nation would have ever made it to the position that they did if they were so normal.
Standing out among countless human polities required one to truly diverge from the norm. The Kandrian Empire did this through his father's aversion of civil war and harnessing the full power of the nation by having previously conflicting forces work in harmony to elevate the nation to a higher level while other nations were devastated by the second Martial Revolution and the civil wars that came from it. For the Blood Cult, it was their obsession with blood to an extreme and irrational degree that allowed them to diverge from the norm and emerge far ahead of the norm.
He recalled how, in the Human Summit, they were among the three Sage-level powerhouses that were willing to watch the quasi-Transcendent beasts and monsters destroy the world. They were perfectly fine, with half of the remaining population of humanity being wiped out by the vast destruction that these apocalyptic monsters would bring about upon humanity.
Their Martial Artists were known to be among the very strongest and among the most numerous. Their only weakness was that they didn't rely on siege technology whatsoever, leaving them vulnerable defensively.
"At the very least, they will be interested in my techniques," Rui remarked. "They might also be interested in upgrading their Hungry Pain to their Martial Bodies, which should serve as a powerful bargaining chip."
On top of that, the Kandrian Empire had the Divine Doctor with them. Even if the rumor that they had gained access to his extraordinary knowledge long ago was true, they would surely be inclined to get access to his expertise in the present if they could.
After all, the Divine Doctor was constantly growing, too, with even greater knowledge and intellect.
"All in all, it should be manageable."
Still, Rui didn't lower his guard by any means. At the end of the day, he was dealing with a group that literally called themselves a cult. There was no telling what these fellows were capable of.
His biggest concern with them wasn't their willingness to cooperate but whether or not they were willing to accept the Esoterist's solutions or not. After all, it was only when both sets of solutions were bined that Martial Masters could do what Sages were handling. Thus, the Blood Cult either needed to have something alternative to it, or he needed to convince them to at least accept MECHAs if their Martial supremacy prevented them from accepting the use of siege weapons in their arsenal.
"Regardless, it all remains to be seen until I reach my next destination."
And thus, they journeyed toward the Blood Cult in West Panama.
These fellows had perched themselves in the massive Blood Valley, located between two enormous mountain ranges, allowing them to isolate themselves geographically. The Blood Cult preferred to avoid contact with outsiders and even went as far as to take a page from the book of the Nest of Terra to do so.
Of course, only a page.
They didn't go as far as developing massive cavities with enormous mega-cities within them. Reaching the Blood Cult also proved to be annoying, with an endless sea of mountains standing between them and their destination.
The closer they got, the more they could feel it.
The air tingled with a hint of perilous tension.
An eerie atmosphere grew to envelop them the closer they drew to Blood Valley.
Amare and Rui grew silent as they subconsciously became increasingly alert to any and all danger that could potentially strike at them. The suffocating pressure that began mounting on them only grew the closer they got to Blood Valley.
It allowed them to know that they were getting closer to their destination.
And then, they finally arrived.
STEP
Rui paused at the edge of a mountain cliff as he gazed down at Blood Valley.
"…What an appropriately named valley."
It was blood-red.
The soil, mud, rocks, and gravel were immersed in blood, turning the entire region into a bloody and marshy landscape.
Rui's expression grew even macabre as he sniffed the air. "This… this is human blood. Just… just how many human beings have they killed to spread so much blood across the entire valley?"
An expression of pure disgust emerged on Amare's face as she stepped away from the nauseatingly sickening vision and fetid odor of the valley. It was the first time Rui had ever seen such an unadulterated negative expression on her face, and admittedly, it was understandable. He felt his own mouth curl involuntarily at the disgusting sight below.
The worst of all was that the blood was so intense that it even colored the vegetation that absorbed it, polluting the flora of the region into a sickening mix of green and red.
It took pure willpower not to throw up.
Of all the powerhouses he had visited, this was by far the absolute worst impression that any nation had ever made on him. Even the Solaris Kingdom and its light-obsessed reflective and shiny infrastructure were downright heavenly pared to such a grotesque powerhouse.
It was no wonder that many powers in the world steered clear of the Blood Cult. They not only had no concept of optics but seemed like they were actively trying to shoo away as many people as possible.
And yet, this only deterred human beings.
It did not deter beasts and monsters driven to destroy humanity and reclaim human territory.
RUMBLE
The world tremored as the battle between Martial Artists and beasts raged on in the distance outside of the valley.
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