The Rise of the Black Plain

A few weeks later in the Spiritual World...",

The situation was unchanged from weeks prior. The Irpoll aliens had conquered the Evergreen's area and were steadily extending their control into the territories of their adversaries.

The forces of the Black Plain Empire, now including Callie and Aurae, along with the forces of the Eastern Empire, led by Vico, faced daily assaults on their lands.

How did the Irpoll manage this? The Gods of Irpoll keep the Gods of the Spiritual World busy, while the alien warriors, strengthened by years of conflict and superior to the surviving natives, gradually triumphed in battle.

Thus, Irpoll's territory had consistently expanded over the recent months, pushing the native forces to a point where they could only defend the heart of their domains and impede the enemy's progress.

With the aliens' maneuvers on the continent, all lands once part of the Evergreen Empire and the Flowers Kingdom had fallen under their control. Portions of Blackrock and the Flaming Empire were also captured, and it seemed only a matter of weeks before they, too, would be finally absorbed by Irpoll.

As the Ice Age receded, Irpoll's forces gained strength.

However, they refrained from launching a major offensive to overthrow their mightiest enemies. Even for the three level 100, defeating Callie, Vico, and Aurae posed a formidable challenge.

All three were exceptionally powerful, and with the Ice Age still over two and a half years away, Callie remained a formidable opponent.

Instead of seeking an immediate decisive battle to conclude the war, Irpoll had more calculated strategies to dismantle their foes. Their plan involved seizing all enemy territories and systematically eliminating the remaining Demigods until the three Gods were left with no options.

Ultimately, they intended to either eliminate them or exile them from the planet.

The forces of The Adamant Land in the underwater part of the Ancestral Sea were also still in hiding, having not yet encountered their enemies because of the solid layers of ice protecting them.

...

In the Dry City, the tension in the city grew stronger every day.

Even though this place remained untouched after 15 years of war, the population of the area, which had now surpassed 40 million, could not be optimistic.

It was only a matter of time before what happened on the Divine Continent, the Elf Island, and the Continent of Beasts would also happen on the Central Continent.

As a result, the climate in this city protected by the quasi-Spatial Kingdom of Minos was not good, even considering its spiritual wealth, the absence of the climatic effects of the Ice Age, and the abundance of food.

Other parts of the world quickly perished as crops froze and aliens attempting to exterminate the natives of that world hindered the transportation of resources across the continents.

Hundreds of millions of beasts and humans had died on the three continents of this world in the last 10 years, many of them not from direct attack, but from starvation.

Only the strongest cultivators could survive without food. Since most of the world had cultivated below the 6th stage, many people died from lack of food.

But even if it didn't have this problem, the Dry City couldn't resist the enemies when the entire continent fell into the hands of the Irpoll's monkeys.

With the enemies expanding their territory at a rate of 100 square kilometers per day, it wasn't wouldn't be long before the apes were within striking distance of the continent's largest remaining city.

Amid it all, Dillian was in the Imperial Palace, dealing with the current state's affairs.

Since the war had begun, he hadn't got involved in conflicts unless it was absolutely necessary. He continued to help the Stuart family run the empire, directing the imperial family's resources to where they were most needed and working with the army to keep the state on its feet.

Until about six years ago, Dillian's principal goal had been to expand the state's borders, increase the number of soldiers in the army, and lead the world to victory against the Mechanic Empire. But since then, his goal had been to preserve as much of what Minos had created as possible.

Today, he was at level 89, close to advancing to level 90. Unfortunately, he had no hope of advancing to the next stage before the worst happened.

But the old family doctor and butler didn't care. After losing his wife, Eda, years ago, the joy in his life had faded, and now he was just surviving. He wouldn't seek his own death, but dying wasn't exactly his greatest fear.

As long as he served, his only fear was the end of the Stuart family in Minos' absence. After all these years, he still believed that his sovereign was alive, and he was one of the few who held that hope.

For one more day, he would try to take this family as far as he could.

"Lee, Alison, it's good to see you well. What do you want today?" asked the old man with the now gray hair that showed not his vitality but his state of mind.

Looking at the Dillian sitting on the throne of Minos, Lee, currently at level 86, got right to the point. "More and more people are arriving in our territory, fleeing from the south. We need resources to build places to receive these people."

As the aliens advanced across the continent, the populations of the conquered territories fled north or west. These areas were already very saturated, and even with the death of many living beings over the years of war, there wasn't room in every place for all the remaining living beings on the continent.

Many beings died during the war. But before, most of these beings were spread over three continents. Nowadays, though their number was much smaller than 15 years ago, practically all the survivors were on the Central Continent. In particular, most of them were in the central area of the Black Plain Empire.

Cities controlled by nobles like Lee and Alison could not accommodate all those who migrated from the south to the north!

"Sigh! We're at our limit, Lee. I wish I could help you, but you're going to have to lead these people to set up camps outside of your town," Dillian said regretfully.

The time had passed when the Black Plain Empire had the resources to develop different parts of its territory. With the loss of men and territory, the state had stopped growing its crystal collection while maintaining its expenses.

More recently, the state had rapidly depleted its financial reserves, forcing the rationing of resources.

Lee understood the problem, but he had to try. "Isn't there something we can do together? Are these people going to freeze to death in ordinary shelters?"

As much as the worst of the Ice Age had passed, it could still kill the weakest.

"What I can do is suggest that your city create a foster care program. The strongest would leave their properties and temporarily make room for the weakest to come into the city. That might give you and us some time to solve the problem in other ways," Dillian suggested.

"Sigh! Thanks anyway," Lee lamented.

"Prepare your family, Lee. If you want to send them to the Spatial Kingdom, do it quickly," Dillian said in a somber tone.

Lee saw Dillian's deep look and felt the gravity of the situation.

As much as he was a nobleman and a renowned soldier of the empire, he didn't know everything that was happening in the North.

"I'll get ready. Thanks for the advice."