After Abby left those individuals in a helpless state, Minos asked all the questions in his heart, quickly having discovered what those pirates knew.
That indeed was the map the Blood Triangle Pirates were after, an item that was supposedly from over 2 million years ago. Such a thing was assumed to be in one of the ancient ruins of this region, where an ancient organization was formerly based.
However, the map had been lost in time due to numerous expeditions by people from this and other regions. Because of this, after directly searching the area for the map at the first moment, the group hired pirates and regional criminals to do the job for them.
The map could literally be anywhere, even traveling with poor individuals of little power. In this case, criminals and pirates, who usually dealt with robberies and murders of travelers, as well as hiding in the most unbelievable places in the region, were best suited for the job.
From then on, many regional outlaw groups had gained an additional purpose in their journeys, to find the lost item of that organization.
Regarding where it led, well, those pirates only knew that the map was important to the Blood Triangle Pirates and was from somewhere in the Evergreen Empire.
Besides that, they only knew how to identify that item since such a map was incomplete, and its other half emitted spiritual fluctuations similar to that of Minos.
Anyway, with this unhelpful information, Minos ended his business with those three individuals and ordered his subordinates to send them to the area of this prison responsible for executions.
"Well, at least we could confirm this map is their item of interest..." Abby commented to her man as she stood behind where he was sitting.
Minos nodded in agreement and said. "In any case, it wouldn't make any difference if we knew more for now. We're still too weak to get involved with that Evergreen Empire organization."
"But it's good to put that doubt out of my mind. Now at least I can prepare myself for the developments in this matter."
"Hmmm. What about our actions against the regional pirates? Won't that cause that organization to keep an eye on us?" She asked about that relevant point.
They were acting against the eyes and ears of that organization in that region. So, Abby soon pondered the problems that this could bring to them.
"For now, we are only fighting a portion of the regional pirates, and our actions are justifiable. After all, we are establishing our dominance over certain areas."
"Conflicts like these are normal, so I don't think people from that organization will see our actions as hostile to them..."
"But you're right. It's good to avoid overreacting in our actions." He looked into her eyes and then said what should be done. "Then, we will continue to act against pirates and criminals who enter the Black Plain or our territorial sea."
"But we will no longer pursue those who stay away from us."
"That should be enough to avoid suspicion and greater danger." He said before sighing deeply.
"Hmm, I'll give those orders to headquarters later." She nodded in agreement, finding Minos' plan appropriate for the situation.
After that, they headed back to their official business, with Abby going to army headquarters and Minos to the state government.
...
"Your Grace, we have just received a letter from the Carline family regarding Lieutenant Barbara." Joey said this after entering Minos' office, smiling at having received news from that woman.
"Oh? How did things turn out?"
"After going to the Kingdom of the End for her revenge, Barbara reached level 52 and soon after acted against the Hargraves family, having eliminated all the Spiritual Kings of that organization in one night."
"After that, she spent days hunting the surviving nobles before moving on to two other families who participated in the siege against House Schmidt years ago."
"I see..." Minos closed his eyes momentarily, imagining the battles that woman had faced to put an end to her vengeance. "So?"
"She collected the Schmidt family belongings looted by the three families she 'visited' in that period. Ultimately, she did not eliminate those last two families but extorted compensation from them for the tragedy of years ago."
"Now she is already on her way back to the Black Plain, bringing all those belongings she says she wants to donate to the army." Joey said with a satisfied look, happy for this outcome.
Of all Minos' subordinates, he was the most peaceful. But still, Joey understood the motivations behind Barbara's action. And so, the deaths of hundreds of people at her hands did not bother this man, who was happy to absorb the resources she was bringing in.
"Oh? Barbara is truly generous..." Minos laughed, pleased at that. "But what about the Carline family? Did they say anything in that letter?"
"Nothing significant, Your Grace. Just that we should no longer worry about former allies of the Scourges of the Devil in that state."
"I see. That's better..." After saying that, he moved his neck, making some noises, and thought of something, he should do in the next few days. "How are the preparations for the next military exercise? Have the personnel who will be standing by that day arrived in Dry City?"
"About that, Your Grace, we have almost everything ready. The level 59 siblings of the Stone family, some Stone Island patriarchs, and our high-ranking subordinates have already arrived in the Dry City to assist us."
"As for the soldiers, they are already prepared to train with Your Grace for the next two days."
"With that, the terrain 40 kilometers north is almost ready to host this event."
"Good. Let me know if there are any problems."
...
While Minos was settling his government affairs in Dry City, in one of the northernmost areas of the Flaming Empire, a meeting regarding him was being held.
In that place where there was a flying island, half a dozen people were gathered near one of that island's cliffs, each with deadly expressions on their faces.
While the strong winds there would make peak Spiritual Kings tremble with fear, people dressed in armors of different colors and designs were discussing their plans.
"As you know, more than 15 members of our sect were killed on the damn Black Plain, probably at the hands of the cursed Oswald's grandson." A purple-haired woman said this in a tone laden with murderous intent.
"Among them, half were people with no families to count, just disciples of our sect. However, the rest were members of our families!"
Hearing that, a bald man nodded and said. "Even my great-grandson was killed in this assassination mission!"
"Yes, our three families have lost loved ones or even important pillars for the future. So, we must do something about it to cleanse the honor of our houses and avenge those deaths!" Another woman there, one dressed in white bone armor, suggested.
"But how are we going to do that? Even before the recent change in the Spiritual Church, it would be difficult for a Spiritual Saint like us to go to that region without drawing attention..."
"The damn Gray Clouds Sect is watching us closely!"
"Hmm, I have an idea..." The purple-haired woman said while smiling devilishly. "It's too dangerous for Spiritual Saints to act. Even if we got our revenge, we would probably be killed days later."
"However, we can use the enemies of the empire to act. So even if those people are caught, our connection to the incident will be ignored."
"Oh?" Everyone else in that dangerous place made the same sound, interested in this idea.
The Flaming Empire bordered eight states, four of which were their enemies, those bordering the northern region of the Central Continent.
But this was not a coincidence. After all, the other states bordering this empire were all more substantial than it. In this case, there was no way that the Flaming Empire could stand against them and continue to exist!
In any case, the four states to the north of the Flaming Empire were its enemies and were allies against it. Individually speaking, they were a little weaker, but together they could fight.
So that woman wanted to use one of those enemies of the empire, using the brave people in those states, individuals who were capable of doing crazy things for resources or other things that Minos' enemies had.
"How long will it take them to solve this problem?" One of the people who had been silent until then asked.
"Well, the problem of it all is making our contacts without alerting the Gray Clouds Sect and the assassins getting into that region in secret."
"So, it might take us up to two years to get one of the assassins inside the Black Plain."
"That's not much... For me, let's do it this way."
"Yeah, two years is nothing!"
