In most people's minds, the president of any given country was the ultimate authority. But was this really the case? At the bottom of the power hierarchy were ordinary citizens, followed by government officials, ranging from the lowest to the highest ranking, with the president sitting at the top—or so it seemed. This was the common perception, yet it was far from the truth.
In reality, the world was divided into two distinct realms: the political and the military. The political realm was led by the president or prime minister, depending on the country. However, a common misconception was that the military was entirely under the president's command as the commander-in-chief. The truth was, the military operated under a different, more powerful hierarchy where the true decision-makers held far more authority than the president. These figures were largely unknown to the general public because they rarely involved themselves in the day-to-day governance of the nation. Their primary responsibility was to ensure the country's safety, operating in the shadows with unparalleled influence.
At the pinnacle of this military realm were the Elders and the Guardian. The Elders were on par with the president in terms of status, while the Guardian stood at the apex. The Guardian held the highest authority, even above the president, capable of issuing orders that the president himself had to follow, though such interventions were rare due to the Guardian's general disinterest in political matters. The Guardian was the true sovereign of the country, the ultimate protector, and the head of the military realm. While the president might have been the commander-in-chief, if conflicting orders had been given by the president and the Guardian, the military would have unquestionably followed the Guardian's commands.
The Guardian and the Elders typically remained detached from the political realm unless a grave threat to the country arose. In such scenarios, the Guardian's power came into play, overriding any presidential authority. Their sole purpose was to defend the nation from external threats, and their effectiveness hinged on one crucial factor: sheer physical strength.
In a situation where an enemy army threatened the country, the enemy would never have launched a full-scale invasion without first ensuring that the Guardian and all the Elders had been neutralized. If the enemy were to take control of the country without dealing with the Guardian, they would have lived in constant fear, knowing that a formidable adversary was watching, waiting for the right moment to strike back. After all, without the intervention of another Guardian or a coalition of Elders, no one could have stopped the Guardian alone.
A Guardian who decided to remain hidden and launch surprise attacks would have been a nightmare for any occupying force. Such a figure could have single-handedly wreaked havoc, killing countless people and disappearing before any local military force could have responded. A nation would have been in dire straits if its Guardian had fallen, with no successor to take on the mantle.
There was once a nation where the Guardian died of old age, and no one strong enough could have taken his place. Shortly after the Guardian's funeral, an enemy seized the opportunity to invade. Without the Guardian to act as a deterrent, the Elders fell in battle, and the country was swiftly overtaken by the enemy.
Guardians were far more powerful than the Elders, standing at the peak of both strength and authority. Within the ranks of the Guardians, there were two classifications: the strong and the weak. To qualify as an Elder, one had to possess the ability to dodge bullets. This skill represented their speed, not necessarily their strength, but it was a testament to their advanced martial abilities. Elders, trained in martial arts, were not merely fast; they were formidable in every sense. Even the weakest Elder could dodge bullets, making them nearly impossible to kill with conventional firearms unless they were caught unconscious or heavily outnumbered.
Guardians, however, were on another level entirely. A Guardian could catch a bullet, even from a sniper rifle, with ease. They moved faster than bullets and possessed reflexes so acute that a surprise attack with a firearm wouldn't even graze them. Each country had at least one Guardian, while stronger nations might have had two or three. There were also individuals with the strength of a Guardian who chose to live as hermits, disconnected from any nation.
Despite their extraordinary abilities, Guardians were not immortal. An ordinary Guardian could have been killed if twenty peak-level Elders joined forces against them. However, the top ten Guardians in the world were a different story. These elite figures could have escaped from such a situation, no matter how many Elders or Guardians were involved in the attack. Killing an average Guardian might have required three Guardians working together, while defeating a strong Guardian would have necessitated the combined efforts of five Guardians. The top ten Guardians were even more formidable; it would have taken fifty Elders, five strong Guardians, and a peak-level Guardian to bring down one of them. Nevertheless, they were still human and could have been killed, but it would have required extreme measures, such as a bomb with enough destructive power to obliterate everything within a 200-meter radius, to ensure the Guardian was caught in the explosion.
These peak-level figures, both Guardians and Elders, had long since abandoned the use of long-range weapons like guns. They relied on their bodies or short-range weapons, such as daggers, rods, and swords, to fight. Some unique Guardians were known to wield spears, showcasing their mastery of close-quarters combat.
The top five Guardians were predominantly former leaders of the three superpowers—China, Russia, and the United States. These individuals were over eighty-five years old, yet they were far from frail. They possessed wisdom beyond their years and remained more energetic than men decades younger. Though they had retired from active duty, these former Guardians still wielded considerable influence, capable of commanding even the current Guardians.
These top-tier figures could have easily defeated ordinary Guardians, underscoring the vast gap in strength between them and the rest. No matter how many gunmen one might have employed, killing these elite Guardians was an impossible dream. Even with a thousand guns firing simultaneously, they would have remained unscathed. Their only true vulnerability lay in the potential of a well-placed bomb, though even this would have been difficult as their heightened senses would likely have alerted them to the danger in time to escape.
These Guardians kept each other in check, preventing any one nation from expanding its territory through sheer force. If a former Guardian had intervened in such matters, their counterparts would have risen to oppose them, ensuring a balance of power was maintained.
In the realm of martial arts, there were six ranks: C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS, with each level subdivided into two ranks, such as C and C+. Ordinary people who had not trained in martial arts were classified at the D level, while those with significant physical prowess might barely have reached the C level. To be capable of dodging bullets, one had to be at least at the S rank. Elders were typically ranked from S to SS+, depending on the strength of their country. In weaker nations, a peak S master might have become an Elder, while in stronger countries, the threshold was higher, requiring at least an S+ or even an SS rank.
Weak Guardians were typically at the entry level of SSS, with middle-level SSS being considered average for Guardians. However, any Guardian with an SSS+ rank was a force to be reckoned with. There were fewer than thirty SSS+ figures in the entire world. Among these, the top ten Guardians possessed at least middle SSS+ strength, while the eleventh-ranked Guardian also held middle SSS+ power. The top three Guardians, however, were in a league of their own, boasting top SSS+ strength, with the strongest man in the world reaching the peak of SSS+.
The youngest person to achieve the SSS rank was Feng, who reached this level at the age of fifty-four. Now, at sixty-three, he remained the youngest Guardian, a testament to the difficulty of attaining such power. Guardians at this level were nearly unstoppable, and their mere presence commanded respect and fear across the globe.