All of the nations had been surveilling the war at the heart of the Serevian Dungeon closely. It was an important war over the richest of territories with the highest esoteric resources yield. Whichever nation of the four nations won that war would likely 'win' the war of the Serevian Dungeon as a whole.
The Sekigahara Confederate, Republic of Gorteau, and the Britannian Empire had thought the Kandrian Empire had simply thrown in the tower as it chose not to send a powerful army, but instead a single Martial Apprentice. A single Martial Apprentice who, while no doubt extremely impressive, could not accomplish anything meaningful in a war of this scale all by himself.
Thus, one could imagine their sheer shock and bewilderment when a huge tide of branches swept across the warzone wiping out almost all of the military and Martial Artist assets from the entire battlefield.
Initially, they were shocked as such a catastrophe was completely outside of any predictions of any of the nations. However, the nations weren't stupid, it didn't take too long for the intelligence departments to gain an understanding of what happened.
Or what they thought happened.
"The Kandrian Empire violated the Serevian Pact by bringing in a Martial Squire!" The delegate of the Britannian Empire snapped, barely containing his rage.
"The Sekigahara Confederate strongly supports the Britannian Empire in its allegations of the Kandrian Empire." The delegate of the Sekigahara Confederate coldly supported the delegate of the Britannian Empire.
"The Republic of Gorteau also chastises the Kandrian Empire for this violation of the Serevian Pact." The delegate of the Republic of Gorteau chipped in.
The three nations were infuriated, and an emergency diplomatic Summit had been called for by all three of them as they applied pressure on the Kandrian Empire.
"The Kandrian Empire vehemently denies the accusations levied by the Sekighara Confederate, the Republic of Gorteau, and the Britannian Empire." The delegate of the Kandrian Empire calmly stated. "The Kandrian Empire has not violated a single clause of the Serevian Pact. The Kandrian EMpire advises the three nations to not make defamatory allegations."
"There is irrefutable proof that the Kandrian Empire deployed a Squire-level asset. Multiple surviving Martial Apprentices from different nations have corroborated that the bloodlust and pressure they had experienced were in the Squire Realm." The delegate of the Britannian Empire.
"The Kandrian Empire employed a Martial Apprentice, we do not believe that the three nations are unfamiliar with the Martial Apprentice deployed." The delegate of the Kandrian Empire said. "We have documented proof that the Martial Artist deployed is a Martial Apprentice. The Kandrian Empire is even willing to allow the other nations to verify this, under the supervision of the Kandrian Empire, of course."
"The testimonies of the surviving Martial Apprentices of the three nations cannot be explained by a Martial Apprentice." The delegate of the Britannian Empire coldly retorted.
"Sure they can." The delegate of the Kandrian Empire replied casually. "The Martial Apprentice in question is a Martial Apprentice that has mastered a mental technique that allows the user to manipulate the pressure and danger exuded by the user. The Martial Apprentice in question can use the technique to exert Squire-level aura and danger. This explains why the surviving Martial Apprentices of the battlefield report experiencing a Squire-level aura. We have documented proof of this as well.
The delegates of the three nations remained silent at that as they furiously thought about a valid counter to the explanation that the delegate of the Kandrian Empire.
In reality, none of the three nations gave a damn about whether the Kandrian Empire did or didn't break the Serevian Pact. All they wanted was an excuse to diplomatically justify the extra retaliation from the three nations. They were enraged by the losses they suffered and were simply looking for the best excuse that could justify the three nations taking measures to make the Kandrian Empire pay for their losses.
Yet, to their surprise, the Kandrian EMpire had an airtight excuse. The nations could not simply trigger a war outside the bounds of the Serevian Dungeon because each of the three nations had publically agreed to the Serevian Pact that prevented them from escalating the conflict outside the Serevian Dungeon.
If they did not have just cause in any measures for retribution they took, they would not be able to justify even the slightest bit of retribution outside the Serevian Dungeon.
It would violate their credibility and reputation in the international geopolitical market. It would affect alliances, partnerships, agreements, and trade as well. Nations would not want to engage in trade with a nation that violated written agreements with such ease. It would jeopardize trade and supply chains and channels that were vital to the economies of their nations.
If only the Kandrian Empire had violated the Serevian Pact, then their responses would be justified. However, it had become exceedingly clear as the delegate of the Kandrian Empire provided irrefutable proof in favor of its claims, that there was no possibility of that being the case.
The Kandrian Empire had prepared extremely carefully, the strategic department had predicted the need for proof and had already conducted several demonstrations of several kinds that proved the truth.
"Thus, we can say with absolute certainty that the operation was carried out by a Martial Apprentice." The delegate of the Kandrian Empire concluded, switching off the projection. "There was no violation of the Serevian Pact, all MArtial and military assets that the Kandrian Empire has ever deployed have been limited to the Apprentice Realm. If there's nothing else, then this emergency diplomatic meeting comes to an end."
The delegates of the three nations were silent, there was nothing more to be said.
"Good day to you, ladies and gentlemen." The delegate of the Kandrian Empire chuckled as he logged out of the call, causing them to leave silently one by one as well.
Back in the Serevian Dungeon, the Kandrian Empire claimed the heart of the Serevian Dungeon as it rapidly began erecting powerful fortifications around the entire area, claiming it for itself.
