The Rise of the Black Plain

Two hours after Minos' departure...

The Spiritual Saints who had suffered from the previous 'test' had already awakened from their unconscious states and started the treatment of their bodies.

The weakest of them would need a few weeks to fully recover and have to rest for at least a few days. But the leaders of local organizations, people at levels 75 and 76, could do this more quickly. Their injuries had not been as severe, and they recovered faster anyway.

So the strongest in this state were already gathered in the Assembly, along with reinforcements that had arrived in the last few minutes, ready to discuss their positions.

Not all were together in one group. On the contrary, these people were divided among several interest groups. Still, they were all in that building, discussing the same subject.

Surrender to Minos!

Among these groups, one of the three largest local noble families was in a luxurious room in one corner of that building, with those involved in the battle lying down with bandages on their bodies.

At the same time, the newly arrived reinforcements were standing or sitting on the outskirts with worried expressions on their faces.

They had never seen their leaders so severely wounded before!

But luckily, no one was in danger of death, and they would just have to hold their wounded states for a few days until they regained their full strength.

"Minos did all this by himself?" One of the newcomers asked, shocked at all he had heard so far.

"Yes, the wretch is a monster! He can temporarily steal the energies of his opponents but also part of his rivals' cultivation base!" Someone who had seen one of his subordinates goes from level 74 to 73 and then back to the previous level after Minos left said this to everyone while enduring the pain in his body.

The leader of the Guzman family clenched her fists and ignored the pain in her many bones that had broken from the meteor that hit her. "He's a demon. If he wanted to, he could have destroyed everyone in this city in the blink of an eye..."

"He didn't even use any of his fusions."

"But he couldn't even, after all our agreements with him, prevent him from doing that from these devices against us..." One of them was saying but was interrupted.

"That doesn't matter!" That woman spoke in a louder tone. "The fact is that he wasn't using everything he had, and he still destroyed us!"

"So what do we do now? If that's true, there's no hope against him! He's already as bad as that damned Harold!" One of the newcomers shouted angrily, not liking the situation at all.

"What alternative do we have, other than surrender? That's all we can do now..." An old fellow wailed as he felt his leg slowly growing back.

...

Meanwhile, in another Assembly meeting room...

In this place, the injured people had fewer injuries than those in the other room, and some even stood while talking.

"We made the right choice."

"Minos not only gives us an opportunity for resources, but he is also much stronger than the entire Vogel royal family in their prime. So he can ensure the state's security while we give him more powers without losing much in return."

"Not a bad deal..."

"Yes, and since we served one, we can't question serving another!" One of the newcomers commented to his injured elders soon after finding out about the sovereign's deeds.

One of the injured men then said. "Yes, we were already on his side, so this just showed us how right we were. From now on, we can enjoy the fact that we sided with the Stuart family before all this happened."

"I just wonder what will be left for those high-level families..." One of them laughed as he felt the blood rise up his throat from his unnecessary movement.

...

Before the news of what happened in Vogel even spread, Minos was already in the capital of the neighboring kingdom, Rosser!

The Black Plain Army had a post on the border between Cromwell's territory and that kingdom, from where someone at Minos' level could quickly reach Rosser's capital with a few hours of flight.

So, upon leaving the capital of Vogel, Minos had used his army's posts in that city and on that border with Cromwell to teleport himself to the vicinity of Rosser's capital, where he was at the moment.

With only three and a half hours since his victory against the elders of the Vogel noble organizations, the news had not even spread to the entire Vogel territory. So the friendly kingdoms of the noble families in that area were still in the dark about Minos' actions.

Hence, when he showed himself in this city, no one understood what Minos was doing there, and many even ignored him.

Not everyone in this city knew him, and as much as he was the leader of an enemy organization, the Gray Clouds Sect, he was also a partner of this state. So even those capable of recognizing him, local guards, did not despair at seeing his arrival through the local skies.

Since Minos had no reason to show hostility to the people of this kingdom, as the local royal family itself was already on his side in the matter of Vogel, he followed the local rules and did not fly through the skies of that city.

Minos just followed some of the guards he met on his way and asked for directions to the royal palace, where he wanted to meet the queen.

With that, in the blink of an eye, he arrived at that place where the prominent local experts were already together with the queen, with serious expressions due to the information of Minos' advance.

While some guards had directed Emperor Stuart there, others had notified the local command core about his new level.

As they faced him, these people were already aware that Minos was now one of them, a Spiritual Saint!

'Hmm, he seems very confident...' One of the queen's closest, level 76, thought about this while standing next to this woman, level 77.

On the other hand, this woman smiled at Minos and greeted him. "Your Majesty, to what do we owe the visit? I must say I am a little surprised by your arrival... If I had known, I would have prepared my house better to receive you."

Minos nodded, smiling at that woman, and commented. "Your Majesty is very courteous. There is no need for further preparation. I am here only for a brief conversation."

"Oh? And what is this about?" She asked.

"I have just visited Vogel and defeated 150 of the Assembly elders. Starting today, things in that territory will change, so as my allies, I am here to talk about it with you." He got straight to the point. "Does that bother you in any way?"

"What?"

"You defeated 150 elders?"

"How can that be? Why?"

The elders in the surrounding area muttered their doubts, not quite understanding how all this had happened but sure that some tragedy had occurred to their neighbors.

The queen lost her smile, turning a little pale at the thought that Minos had defeated elders almost as strong as she was. "Is that true? Did you fight them?"

...