Three months had passed...
In the blink of an eye, the hell caused by Abe in the Black Plain Empire continued to haunt the area's populations, proving to be a situation that would endure and less something temporary.
There were no significant changes in the period, only a development regarding the scale of the conflict on both sides.
Minos' forces had previously gotten important reinforcements from the Vogel area and the Gray Clouds Sect. But Abe's side was not simple and had continued to get merits by attacking with their 'blow and run' strategy, but also with more mercenaries.
It was not easy to bring many mercenaries from the Western Empire into the area of the Black Plain Empire. There was a great distance between these states, many dangers along the way, and conflicts between the Church and high-level powers. So there was a limit to how much Abe could bring to the Black Plain in one go without drawing unnecessary attention.
The Church and the side funding Abe's terrorist attacks were not the only high-level powers that existed on this continent!
Many others would kill at the slightest sign of trouble in their vicinity!
Because of this, Abe did not defeat Minos, nor would he do so with a large number of mercenaries.
But he had managed to subtly raise the numbers of men on his side, which had justified the development of his terrorist attacks on the Black Plain after this period of attacks.
On the other hand, Minos had not achieved much development for his state in this period, apart from the strengthening of his soldiers.
The soldiers, subordinates, and allies of the Black Plain had been fighting for this state and achieving new merits while improving their collective and individual prowess.
Due to the constant challenges, naturally, the cultivation speed of even 7th-stage soldiers was not bad, with some of them achieving breakthroughs in this period.
But just as important as these advances of the 7th and especially 6th stage soldiers had been the advance Minos had days ago.
With this, he had increased his strength further, having reached level 67 and officially entered the last part of the 7th cultivation stage!
This level increase was not significant because he could now fight stronger people. He could even do that, having increased his natural limit of opponents from level 72 to 73. But since the difference between levels only grew with the stage, one would be at, that was not the most important thing. The crucial thing for Minos was his black hole.
With the fusion of his techniques growing since that time, only by advancing in level would Minos be able to manipulate such a thing.
So his advancement had been important for that, for him to more easily control his weapon up his sleeve against the terrorists in Abe's group!
But he had not been the only one to improve. No, Gloria also had a breakthrough in this period, reaching level 71!
Because of this woman's advancement, the local forces gained much more. At the 8th stage, she could have a much bigger bonus in battle than her husband, who was only a 7th-stage cultivator.
The bonus in question was nothing more, nothing less than the difference between having good quality techniques or not. Since Minos and Gloria had complete sets of Golden-grade techniques, their strengths were far beyond those who used techniques with low efficiency.
But since energy levels differed significantly at higher cultivation levels, the bonus of having good techniques was naturally better for higher-level people.
There was a big difference in energy levels between the two of them. So, this simple breakthrough put Gloria in an entirely different position!
Now she could fight medium and, in some cases, even high-level Spiritual Saints!
And so, a light at the end of the tunnel was beginning to appear for the current Black Plain.
...
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. To have reached the final part of the 7th stage is very important!"
"Hehe, at this current pace, it won't be long before Her Majesty reaches the 8th stage, just like the Matriarch!"
"Soon, Her Majesty Abby will also achieve a breakthrough, and the Stuart family will continue to advance towards the 8th stage!"
"Of course. After all, she is my daughter!" A blue-haired man said this in his group while several important people in the Black Plain filled the imperial throne hall.
In one of the highlights of that place, Ruth was receiving the congratulations of her many subjects, happy that she had advanced to level 67 the day before.
She was happy for her advancement, but for the first time since she had met Minos, he had surpassed her in cultivation!
'From here on out, I imagine I'll have to watch him slowly distancing himself from me...' She sighed in her heart, seeing what she had feared finally happened.
Like Gloria and Abby, Ruth wanted to be by Minos' side no matter what. But like the others, she knew the day would come when their husband would overtake them all.
But as much as they knew it, seeing that moment coming was not easy as it meant that they would no longer be able to be with him in the major battles ahead.
Because of this, Ruth clenched her fists amid this moment as she smiled and received the congratulations of the many Spiritual Emperors there.
Not everyone needed to be at the front of the war. Or rather, most of Minos' experts were in the vicinity of Dry City, so some of them coming to this city to congratulate Queen Miles was not strange or dangerous.
"Your Imperial Majesty, with the Stuart family's increase in power, can we expect a change in the present situation?" One of the leaders of noble families in the Black Plain asked amidst the many conversations in the area.
Several people then made silence after this question, as this was an essential subject to everyone there.
Minos heard this and kept swinging one of his legs while little Sarah was on his lap, wearing a beautiful pink and white dress with a tiara of roses on her little head full of red hair.
Sarah was already over two years old, so she could run around or even jump. But she always preferred to be with her father, so she was quietly on his lap right now.
He then said. "Probably not. The enemy has been cautious in the last few months, and even when he doesn't, there is a Spiritual Sage ready to rescue him in case of dire need."
"Then it will be difficult for me to promise you anything when my family members have advanced only one level."
The people in the throne hall sighed upon hearing the emperor's sincerity as well as the bad news.
The empire was failing to develop due to the constant attacks by terrorists on strategic points necessary for local development.
Hence, not knowing when the present situation would end was something quite negative for everyone there.
"Well, that is at least until my family members get another breakthrough. When that happens, maybe things will change a bit..."
