The Kandrian Empire had timed the application of this strategy quite well. It had used this tactic for the final and the most important territory in the Serevian Dungeon so that the element of surprise would be at the highest for the most important territory to be claimed.
The three nations did not mount a retaliatory force against the Kandrian Empire within the Serevian Dungeon in order to reclaim the core of the Serevian Dungeon.
Not because they chose not to, but because they couldn't, it wasn't viable. Each of the three nations had lost a large sum of assets to the branch attack that Rui had triggered. Their bases in the Serevian Dungeon were simply too lacking in the military and especially Martial Artist assets needed to siege and overrun the fortifications that the Kandrian Empire had erected around the core of the Serevian Dungeon that they had now claimed as Kandrian territory.
Martial Apprentices did not grow on trees. Each nation had a limited number of Martial Apprentices. This naturally meant that each nation had a limited number of Martial Apprentices that could be deployed to the Serevian Dungeon.
The nations couldn't possibly deploy every single Martial Apprentice in their Martial Artist population to the Serevian Dungeon. Each nation had estimates of required Martial Apprentices based on different scenarios and circumstances to fulfill different goals, as well as a thorough analysis on the costs vs benefits of varying degrees of ambition in their Serevian Dungeon endeavors. All of these together created hard limits to the number of Martial Apprentices that they were willing to deploy to the Serevian Dungeon.
In order for the three nations to challenge the Kandrian Empire, they would need to exceed the hard limit of Martial Apprentices that they were willing to deploy in the Serevian Dungeon.
As much as they hated the Kandrian Empire for the moment, they were unwilling to cross their limits. If they deployed any more Martial Apprentices to the Serevian Dungeon for yet another battle, they would cross the threshold where the net losses incurred would exceed the benefits of the resources extracted from the core of the Serevian Dungeon.
This was how the Kandrian Empire annihilated three armies without a single casualty and proceeded to claim the territory over which the three armies were waging war.
Leaks of the happening leaked into international media as many people in the local geo-political sphere that encompassed the nations in question gaped at the shocking result.
The details were unclear and the media outlets that reported on the issue merely reported that the Kandrian Empire had pushed back three nations over a territorial dispute with some operation that allegedly featured a single Martial Apprentice.
The public went wild at that report as many speculations regarding what the operation was or who the Martial Apprentice were spurred wildly. Of course, there were a large number of people who expressed heavy skepticism over the news. After all, it was simply too wacky and wild to believe.
The Serevian Dungeon Wars came to an end as almost all of the resource-rich territory had been colonized by some nation or the other. The nations deployed enough number of defensive Martial Apprentices, while the rest of the Martial Apprentices would be sent back home and their mission in the Serevian Dungeon would be complete.
"Allow me to congratulate and thank you on behalf of the Kandrian Empire." Commissioner Feristen told him. "Your contributions to this mission have been disproportionately higher than what we would expect from a participating Martial Apprentice. We had high expectations of you in the field given your track record and other accomplishments. You not only exceeded those by making a visible impact on the battlefield in every battle despite facing active and targetted suppression, but you also brainstormed and singlehandedly executed an operation that allowed us to annihilate all opposition in a war over territory without a single casualty."
He took a pause. "The Martial Union is very pleased with your performance and has decided to double your already immense earnings, as a token of our appreciation. Should you need anything, you may turn to the Martial Union for aid, and you will find that we are willing to make accommodations and offer assistance that we would not extend to anybody else in your position. We hope to see you go far down your Martial Path."
"Thank you, commissioner Feristen." Rui bowed lightly. "I'm afraid the Martial Union has overestimated me."
"Not at all." He replied. "We're quite sincere in our appreciation of you."
The conversation proceeded blandly for a bit until commissioner Feristen asked an important question.
"What do you plan to do from here on out?" Commissioner Feristen asked curiously.
Rui paused for a moment as he contemplated his answer. "... I think I have achieved Squire candidacy. The clarity I feel about the current state of my Martial Art... Seems the last battle finally pushed me far enough to the point that I could reach this stage."
Commissioner Feristen's eyes lit up in elation. "Incredible! That's absolutely amazing to hear. The Martial Union will gladly aid you in the breakthrough to the higher Realm. Have you had any thoughts on whether you want to begin preparations for the breakthrough to the Squire Realm immediately?"
"I do want to begin them immediately." Rui nodded at his words. "I have waited long enough. Are you aware of what the preparation entails?"
"I'm not authorized to reveal it, unfortunately." He shook his head. "The Martial Union will first verify whether you have indeed achieved Squire candidacy when you apply for it. Once your status as a Squire Candidate is verified, you will be offered the Squire breakthrough process."
"How much does it cost?" Rui asked.
"Do not worry, the cost is incurred as a loan without interest even if you are unable to pay for it." Commissioner Feristen assured. "However, with the income you have accumulated from the Serevian Dungeon, I can't imagine you being forced to go down that route."
