The Rise of the Black Plain

Waking up from his sleep, Blake looked from one side of that hospital room to the other, completely disoriented.

The last thing he remembered was being in the tunnel of that house from before when young Stuart was threatening him. 

And finding himself in a completely different place, this young man could not help but feel strange, trying to recognize this place and the people in the surroundings.

While doing so, his eyes were almost closed due to the brightness of the surroundings, which made him feel uncomfortable during the brief time his eyes needed to adjust themselves.

"Minos..." He muttered this, reminding himself of the responsibilities he would have to take on.

But as Blake tried to understand his surroundings, remembering his conversation with Minos, those individuals guarding that area came to him, eager to hear more from this young man.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, are you all right?"

"Your Highness, tell us what happens..."

"Calm down!"

"Let me check on him first..." The doctor on duty said this as he nodded to those royal guards, indicating for them to move away from Blake.

That doctor then pushed those individuals aside and focused all his attention on Blake. "Your Highness, how are you feeling?"

Hearing these comments in his surroundings, Blake looked at his family doctor, already more or less understanding what was going on. He then asked to confirm his thoughts. "Where are we?"

"We are in the royal palace, Your Highness." The doctor promptly replied as he circulated one of his techniques to check Blake's condition.

Gulp!

"How did I get here? Did any of you find my group?" He asked this, already assuming that the worst had already happened and Minos had probably managed to do what he had promised earlier.

But upon hearing Blake's questions, those men were far more concerned than this young man, as they assumed that this prince was the one who would answer their questions!

After all, they had met Blake where the killing of Minos had taken place...

"Your Highness doesn't know?" One of those individuals asked this in a surprised tone, in a way already giving Blake an answer.

'So I was brought here by Minos...' That prince pondered this, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. 

He then brought one of his hands to his hair and asked in a worried tone. "Minos invaded this place?"

"Yes..." All those people answered simultaneously, each of those voices charged with unmistakable feelings. 

"He..."

Gulp!

Blake then took a deep breath, gathering the courage to ask the last remaining question for him to find out if Minos had done what he had promised to do. "And what happened to our ancestor?"

"Your Highness..."

"The ancestor is no longer among us."

After those words were spoken, the looks of regret on those people's faces returned, completely hiding the satisfaction that Blake was finally waking up from his previous state.

"Tsk!"

Blake then turned his face sideways while his two hands were resting above his eyes, feeling his head beginning to boil, besides the growing sense of fear in his heart.

Blake already knew that Minos would probably do everything he had promised. In addition to regional news reports of such a person being able to kill peak Spiritual Kings, Blake had seen in person young Stuart destroying a barrier created by a medium-level grade-2 defensive array!

Not only that, Minos had done such a thing with ease!

And that in itself already showed that the power of the ruler of the Black Plain was enough for him to accomplish all those previous promises.

However, like any human, Blake hoped that the possibility most likely would not happen. Of course, it was futile to think that way most of the time, but it was hard not to root for the 0.01% chance that might favor him.

And so, he was mournful right now, feeling for the loss of the old ancestor.

"Tell me everything that happened." He said this after a few moments in silence.

And it did not take long for those individuals to tell him everything they knew, putting aside their questions. That's because Blake was the best candidate to take over the position left by Charles.

Answering the questions regarding the previous incident was of paramount importance to this organization. But since Blake did not know much about the incident, those royal guards could only help this new royal heir understand the recent events.

After that, they could try to understand a little more about how Blake had been brought to this place, his relationship with Minos, etc.

And with that, soon that prince started formulating a plan in his mind, something to pave his way toward the deal he had accepted.

He did not have much time, so he needed to act quickly. Otherwise, it would not be long before he joined Emmett and many of those who had been killed by the terror called Minos.

'First, I will secure my position as king so that no one will try to stop my first orders...' He thought about it as he listened to those people.

Blake was the most promising candidate for the local throne after Charles was disabled and captured by the enemy. However, even if the local royal succession gave advantages to the direct descendants of the monarchs, one of the many other members of the royalty could ascend to that position!

Many of them respected tradition, but some would only wait for specific indications to question the validity of a given designation.

And knowing this, Blake was already planning to avoid giving orders until he was recognized as the king!

And even though this might delay a little the withdrawal of this state's troops from the Black Plain, this young man knew that with the fall of the regent, the path to this state leadership was practically clear for him!

So, he soon settled down, thinking of the most efficient way to ensure his mother's survival by carrying out Minos' demands!

'After I sit on the throne, I will give the order!'

...

One week later...

After only a few days since the tragedy of the Walker family, the entire northern region of the Central Continent was shocked by such an event!

It had all happened very quickly, so suddenly that virtually everyone involved in the Black Plain's war of independence had been taken by surprise by such a catastrophe.

Everyone thought that Minos was in Dry City, perhaps preparing for new level advancement, something already expected, considering this young man's recent past.

However, while the war went on, as usual, the prominent regional periodicals had brought the information about what Minos had done in the Walker family palace!

And such a thing had terrified the entire region. Many had finally realized that they could be affected by the war despite being tens of thousands of kilometers away from the battlefields.

Previously, many organizations dealt with the consequences of the war. Still, most of their members were at peace in their respective headquarters. And this brought a certain sense of security to many of these people, something that made many orders easier.

After all, it was easier to tell a soldier to go to the battlefield and die for the greater good while you stayed at home, living quietly as usual...

Would leaders flirt with war if they were the first to have to go to the battlefield?

Hard to say, but certainly, many people in this region had lost sleep over the news concerning what Minos had just done.

Were they safe?

From what they had just discovered, no one was safe in the region, and young Stuart could appear at the gates of other organizations at any moment!

Because of this, a general fear had spread through the region after the Walker family tragedy was made public.

And not only had the headquarters of the regional organizations been shocked by such information but so had the command of the Counter-Revolutionary Army at war on the Black Plain.

The information that Minos was not in that territory seemed very good to them, one undeniably good opportunity. However, if he were not there, he would be somewhere else...

Who would be next?

Was he heading back to the Black Plain? Or maybe he was looking for a new target?

These thoughts alone had been enough to stop any good feelings Thomas Brown's allies might have had about Minos not being in that area.

And so, the various regional organizations were already preparing for their next steps!