The Martial Unity

"What if he fails?" Princess Rafia asked prudently. "We only have one opportunity to assassinate Rui Quarrier, there is a high probability that the Martial Union will take some measure to ensure that it won't happen again if we fail."

"Hm, in that case, it would be prudent to hire all of the Martial Seniors of the shortlist and have them gang up on him," Princess Ranea remarked.

"That violates a constraint we are subject to, I believe," Princess Raemina remarked.

"Indeed," Prince Randal nodded. "The intensity of the conflict cannot reach above a certain level, and if it does, the Martial Union will be alerted. Deploying all of them at once will increase the intensity of the conflict above safe limits, and the Martial Union will be on our asses immediately. It is frustrating, but we will have to limit the number of assassins acting on Rui Quarrier to only one at a time to avoid drawing attention."

"That isn't the only reason, Your Highnesses," Sierra remarked. "You have neglected the assassin side of that conversation. The assassins on the shortlist possess zero synergy or compatibility with each other. In fact, it can be said they possess negative synergy with each other. For example…"

She gestured to the slide featuring data on the Maneater. "The Maneater is unable to control the range or scope of the target of her seductive Martial Art in any way. Thus, deploying her alongside the male assassins will mean that her Martial Art will affect them as well, seducing them in the process and causing them to lose control as well."

She turned back towards them. "That's not all; not only will she impede them, but they will impede her in turn. She will be unable to focus on Rui Quarrier while she is being assaulted by the seduced male assassins. It is her policy to assassinate with no other men around or after they are all dead."

"What a mess…" Prince Randal grumbled. "In that case, we can avoid commissioning her. If we remove her, all the conflicting elements between them should be gone, correct?"

"I would not recommend removing her from the assassination group, Your Highness. As a man in the prime of his life, Rui Quarrier will be extremely vulnerable to her. However, to answer your question, no. She isn't the only conflicting element. For example."

She shifted to the slide of yet another assassin.

"The Suffocator drains all life-sustaining components of air within a large radius. However, it is a passive effect of the domain. Thus, any other assassin within range will also be suffocated. Those aren't the only conflicting elements. There are many more between each assassin and every other. For exa-"

"Ok, Ok, stop," Princess Ranea heaved a tired sigh. "We get the point. It is simply impossible to have them gang up on Rui Quarrier together, is that correct?"

Sierra nodded. "Assassins are usually highly solitary Martial Artists. Ironically, the probability of success decreases the more of them you throw at Rui Quarrier simultaneously."

"Then what do you propose, Sierra?" Princess Rafia asked. "We cannot stake this matter on one assassin, as I mentioned earlier. At the same time, we cannot throw multiple assassins at Rui Quarrier for reasons you have thoroughly explained. As the expert, you must have a solution in mind."

"I do," Sierra calmly replied. "I propose setting up a series of failsafe backup rounds of assassins to take him on one after another rapidly. Thus, if the first assassination fails and the assassin is compromised, the second assassin will immediately leap in and take over. Should that fail, the third assassin will immediately leap in and take over. This way, they won't get in each other's way, and we'll still have backup in case the first assassin fails. The probability of Rui Quarrier surviving this particular arrangement is much lower than if we commission only one assassin or if we have all of them attack all at once."

She gestured to a large map of the Kandrian Empire, underneath which was a map of the Mantian Region.

Across them were lines of various different colors, besides which were notes specifying duration.

It was essentially a map of where and for how long Rui spent his daily life.

"The best location for an assassination would be here," Sierra tapped at the edge of the Great Jrava Mountain Range. "He crosses this point when leaving the Great Jrava Mountain Range; here, he is a thousand kilometers away from Master Gurren and also a thousand kilometers away from the town of Hajin. It is a deserted region with no settlements or civilization nearby. The closest Martial Union branch office is eight hundred and ninety-three kilometers away. At this distance, not even the resident Martial Masters will be able to detect them."

The four Royals couldn't help but note the several lines emerging from that spot to various places.

"What are those?"

"Those are the most likely escape routes he will take if he survives an assassination plot," Sierra calmly informed them. "We can have multiple backup Senior assassins at a short distance away, along those paths, from the initial assassination point on standby for immediate intervention if the initial assassination is a failure. Thus as soon as the first assassination fails, we can have the next assassin leap in less than a second later in a decided order without giving him a single moment of respite."

She turned back to the Royals. "We will have to instate some basic protocols while they're working. For example, the male assassins should be at least kilometers away if it happens to the Maneater's turn. And everybody in general should be a great distance away when it is the Suffocator's turn, and so on and so forth."

The Royals nodded unanimously in agreement.

"This is a sensible and rational strategy and plan of action when considering the complicated variables and constraints at play," Princess Rafia nodded.

"This is so exciting," Princess Raemina giggled softly.

"Sounds good to me. I don't really care as long as he dies and we don't get in trouble," Princess Ranea shrugged.

"Indeed," Prince Randal nodded, narrowing his eyes.