The Rise of the Black Plain

Abby's parents then fell silent for a moment as they looked at each other meaningfully. 

The desire to create his state was not an uncommon dream in this northern region of the Central Continent.

There was a certain glamour in doing so, in becoming the king, in being the most influential and powerful person in a state. And of course, there were all those already known advantages of having such a position.

Consequently, several families and people who had already fought for this dream in this region were known to Abby's parents, individuals, and organizations that were remembered by history as losers...

At least that had been the case for the last 100,000 years or so of history, that part of the history of this region that was known to the great local noble families.

However, even if all cases failed, Eliot and Nicole did not think that Minos would fail in the same way as those powers. That was because, if there was any part of this region that was no one's wish, then that could only be the Black Plain!

As such, they thought that it would not be so difficult for the Black Plain to gain its independence...

But of course, they didn't know precisely how that place currently was. And without knowing about the high spiritual concentration food plantations, these two had no reason to think that King Brown would make things difficult for Minos.

However, even if Minos gained independence from the Black Plain, that would not mean that he would be in an equal position with the other states in the region. 

After all, the Black Plain did not have a large population, and upon becoming independent, it would immediately become the smallest state in area in this part of the Central Continent.

On the other hand, Minos' forces, as much as they were probably already stronger than a low-level noble family, a little below a medium-sized one, were still not significant at all. In fact, even if his forces were already as strong as a royal family, this would still not be enough for them to sit at the table of the mighty ones.

That was because even in such a case, the Black Plain would lack something fundamental.

The vassals!

The Brown family was indeed mighty. But what made them fearsome was that they had 20 noble families as their vassals!

And each royal family in this region had a number of vassals close to this amount. Hence, the Black Plain would probably be the weakest state in the area after it became independent, and this would affect Minos much more than he thought.

As long as the Black Plain was part of the Brown Kingdom, the royal family definitely wouldn't be silent if an outside force tried to invade it. Precisely because of this, it was interesting to be part of a kingdom.

To have the protection of a higher power so that smaller ones, as in the example of groups of pirates, bandits, etc., wouldn't act so openly, destroying, plundering, in other words, disrupting order.

Consequently, the very fact of being part of a kingdom would make it a safer and more attractive place for future citizens. But if Minos achieved independence, he would have none of this.

That was a problem!

And Eliot and Nicole recognized that even if Minos were extremely fortunate, it would be a long time before he could enjoy the benefits of being king. As such, at this point, the two did not find this path that the young Stuart wanted to take interesting.

Even more so because Abby would be by his side...

"Young Minos, I am not sure if it is a good idea to do this. I know there are advantages to having the freedom to take any action, but there are also disadvantages. Sometimes we seek so much for this thing called freedom, but when we achieve it, usually what we get is a lot of responsibilities..." Eliot said calmly.

"Yes... And often, we don't even think about those responsibilities when we desire such freedom. Sometimes we wouldn't even be willing to run after that if we knew about such a thing beforehand..." Nicole firmly said as she looked into Minos' brown eyes.

What Abby's parents were talking about made sense. But in young Stuart's case, he had no choice.

It wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to be a king or emperor. The problem was that he would be targeted by the royal families of this region, in particular House Brown, sooner or later. After all, he had something precious on his hands.

And as no one would allow a junior, who hadn't even reached the top of regional power, to have the right to take something as valuable as the current Black Plain. Hence, war was inevitable!

Someone would have the right to rule the Black Plain, but only after each side showed its fangs and fought a high-level battle would such a ruler be decided.

Would it be Minos? Would it be King Brown? Or would it be some other power?

It didn't matter. Only after blood rivers flowed and someone managed to defend the Black Plain against all potential enemies could some organization claim its sovereignty.

Anyway, Minos knew this, but for now, he wasn't going to say how valuable his land was to these people. And so he just thanked Abby's parents for their advice and went on with the conversation.

"Thanks for the warning, father-in-law, mother-in-law, but I will continue with my previous plans."

"Sigh... All right, let's put that aside." Eliot said while he had a defeated expression on his face. He then asked. "But regardless, what do you have to offer the family? I doubt the elders will take your request seriously without some promise or guarantee on your part."

Minos nodded and said. "Yes, I have some things to offer. But that will depend on how much you would act on my behalf."

"Let's say you guys do nothing, i.e., neither attack me nor help me. Then all I can offer is a place at the table when the Black Plain becomes influential."

Minos was offering a lot, even more so considering that the other party would not have to do anything. After all, a place at the table meant that such a power would have a status similar to allies, who would have an easier time negotiating future agreements and gaining benefits.

That is, they would be one step ahead of powers that had never tried to contact the Black Plain, and they would be two steps ahead of enemy powers. In other words, this was an extraordinarily advantageous position!

As for why Minos was leaving this possibility to the Miller family, well, that was for two reasons. First, because he would have one less enemy, something perfect for his forces, and second because this was Abby's home.

Upon hearing this, Abby's parents realized that this was indeed somewhat relevant, but it also seemed somewhat fragile. That is, they didn't know whether the Black Plain would have a promising future...

Thus, there was no way for them to be sure whether such a deal would benefit the Miller family.

And even if this were something 'no cost,' signing agreements like the one Minos wanted would always limit the parties involved. Because if they found out in the future that they could gain more by standing against the Black Plain, that would be rather tragic for them...

Certain decisions could not be reversed, and naturally, the 'no cost' would quickly turn into a 'let the opportunity pass'...

"But if you commit to being more active, I can give you greater benefits. For example, suppose you would ally yourselves with me. In that case, in less than ten years, I can make your Miller family become the most powerful organization in the Brown Kingdom!" Minos confidently said as he opened his arms and smiled.

After he said this, those two Spiritual Kings in front of him and his girlfriends frowned and stared at Minos. They both looked as if they had been struck by lightning, standing completely still, silent, just staring at him with shocked expressions.

Gulp!

"Young Minos, did you say what I think I heard? Are you serious?" Eliot asked after thinking about it for a moment.

....