The Rise of the Black Plain

Upon hearing Liam Gill's warning, everyone there knew that he was saying something sensible. But only Todd had entirely agreed with patriarch Gill.

That was because, although everyone there preferred more peaceful options for the Black Plain, except for the Gill family and Todd, the rest there understood much more of the Black Plain's potential.

For example, the Miller family members knew that Minos had Spiritual Kings who possessed complete sets of Silver-grade techniques. So, the army's offensive power was far greater than it would appear on the surface.

On the other hand, every ordinary soldier in the Black Plain Army possessed complete sets of Black-grade techniques, something only found among nobles in this region.

On the other hand, these people who were already allies of Minos had a more precise idea regarding the dimension of the organization behind this city.

They had already been around for a few months and had noticed many soldiers coming and going from this place.

So, unlike the Gill family members who knew little about the army numbers and the existence of the Silver-grade techniques, these people from House Miller were much more relaxed about the local future.

Not only that, while the Gills had been around as Minos' subordinates for only a few weeks, the Millers were allies of this young man and knew about others of his alliances.

They knew that Minos had contracts with the Hayes and Stokes families of the Cromwell Kingdom and the Nash family of Stone Island. Besides, he had a deal to be signed with House Cohen of the Kingdom of the Waves, and there was also his relationship with the Feathered Serpents.

On the other hand, a portion of the Stone Island noble family had already signed non-aggression agreements with Minos' organization, including the royal family of that place!

In this way, the Counter-Revolutionary Statute would no longer be as grim as it might have been with previous revolutionaries.

At the very least, Minos would not have to face enemies from all sides and could still have some allies, something that had not happened in the past with his predecessors!

For all that, despite their fear about the consequences of Minos' goal, these people were not as fearful as the patriarch Gill.

They were annoyed that they hadn't found out about this earlier so that they could arrange certain things with Minos and take their actions. 

It would be good if they could delay this conflict further, if more of their members could learn the techniques that Minos had at his disposal, etc. Attitudes that would make them more confident of surviving or even decisions that could lessen the chances of an all-out confrontation.

But they were already aware that something like that would probably happen sooner or later. So, they were not so much focused on the existence of the Counter-Revolutionary Statute, but on other problems!

Anyway, hearing Liam Gill's comment, Todd nodded in agreement, looking at that man and then at Minos. 

'That's truly a surprise... I didn't consider he had that kind of goal!' Todd reflected on the fact that Minos wanted independence at all costs.

He knew that confrontations were going to happen and that his family would have to act in some way to help the Dry City forces. But he didn't expect that such a thing would be so gruesome!

Fighting a few noble families was different from fighting an entire region!

Minos then responded to Liam's request, "Don't worry, we'll be able to handle it."

"The so-called Counter-Revolutionary Statute is not used easily. It is only triggered after a royal family has tried to act on its own for a while and failed to suppress the opposing side."

"Otherwise, moving so many experts at once would be too expensive and dangerous for all these organizations to deal with possibly small enemies."

"After all, organizations like the Scourges of the Devil won't stop functioning just because regional states are fighting an enemy..."

In fact, the noble families and royalty were not the only regional organizations. Because of this, displacing the crucial members of these families could be very dangerous...

So, if there were no great need for that, the royal families themselves would refuse to send help not to risk their experts and territories.

Hence, unless a state faced a real threat of a rebel group gaining independence, hardly any reinforcements would come through such an alternative.

Of course, some occasional reinforcements might arrive from close families. But this would not be as significant as what had happened the first time such a statute had been used, 180,000 years ago, against the Kain family.

"But still... If we count just the Brown Kingdom, that's over 300 Spiritual Kings directly or indirectly related to the royal family!" Liam voiced his fears again while trying to convince Minos that this idea was terrible. 

"Even taking out the numbers of our two families!" He said, pointing to the Miller family members there and himself.

"Hmm, I'm not saying it's going to be easy... But don't compare my strengths with the regional organizations. Remember what happened to your family?"

"How many Spiritual Kings were used to dominate yours?" Minos dryly asked as he touched Liam's 'wound' without caring about this man's feelings.

Liam then replied in disgust. "Only you."

Todd opened his eyes in disbelief upon hearing such a thing as he realized that Minos had probably fought and defeated this level 56 Spiritual King!

'Impressive!'

'It's not for nothing that he plans such daring things!'

'I had expected him to be stronger than ordinary level 50 Spiritual Kings, but not to that extent...' Todd thought to himself as he finally managed to calm his heart and realize that the deal with Minos was still the best for his family.

Todd's eyes then brightened as he again saw the light at the end of the tunnel... 'In that case, it won't take long before he becomes the strongest in the region!'

Minos then spoke again, still looking in the direction of Liam and the Gill family supreme elder. "That's right..."

"Plus, even if my soldiers are not as efficient as me, each of my Spiritual Kings is much stronger at their level than the region experts."

"On the other hand, the advancement speed of my soldiers is much faster than that of the members of the regional noble families... Take the case of Dillian. He was only a level 45 Spiritual General when we came to Dry City."

"But in just over five years, he's already at level 53!"

Hearing this, all those people couldn't help but feel envious of Dillian. None of them, except for Ruth, had achieved such a good cultivation speed.

And since Dillian was much younger than those Spiritual Kings from the Gill and Miller families, he would have a much more dazzling future ahead of him!

"That..." Liam tried to say something, but his comment got stuck on his tongue. 'It's just as expected by us... The local opportunities are amazing!' So, he thought, remembering that their reasons for coming here were not false, even though Minos had tricked them.

"Anyway, it will be a tough time at the beginning of the war. Still, with each passing month, my forces will grow in power, and before the statute is used, we will have the bare minimum to deal with the consequences of it."

"And if you want to increase your chances of survival, accept the local reality, learn to follow the army's orders, and maybe your chances will increase." Minos said as he looked steadily at that patriarch.

There were several reasons why the regional noble families did not develop as quickly as his army. But among those reasons was the issue involving the distribution of techniques.

How could such a family have many Spiritual Kings if most of its Black talent members had to cultivate with Blue-grade techniques?

It was tough to achieve that in such an impoverished region...

Therefore, powers like the Gill family were very limited due to this kind of action and many others, of course.

"I will not force you to distribute your Black-grade techniques among your subordinates, but I advise you to do such a thing..."

"I also advise you to donate all your Blue-grade techniques to the local library... That may help you much more than you realize in your local integration." Minos said, smiling at that fellow.

"But, of course, those things are up to you, not me."

"Anyway, since we are already here, let me update you all on some of my plans...."