A few days later...
After waiting anxiously for Harold's visit, Minos had his wait ended when Emperor Edwardstone appeared in Dry City to begin the mission to search for the enemy.
When he appeared in Dry City through a wormhole, Harold wasted no time and soon had Minos accompany him, fearful that every second lost would mean higher risks for him.
He had set up some distractions and traps to fool the Flower Kingdom observers, who religiously watched his movements.
But there was no way he could be sure that his actions would delay or even prevent his opponents from finding out about his little trip.
Harold was afraid of being caught by a representative of the woman he had won a bet on in the past. Such a bet said that even if he won, he could not leave the Flaming Empire for an extended time. And if he failed to do so, he would have to marry that person capable of 'devouring' testicles with her innate reproductive ability.
Thus, right after catching Emperor Stuart, that Spiritual Sage departed from Dry City, using his powerful soul to search for traces of his target.
Spiritual Sages were such powerful individuals that small zones of spiritual convergence formed in their surroundings, enhancing the concentration of energy near them.
That was one of the characteristics that could deliver the location of a Spiritual Sage, in addition, of course, to spatial cracks and other signs left by the spatial manipulation that cultivators like this were capable of.
Through this, Harold began to fly around that central region of the Black Plain Empire, following in search of these signs to find the trail of the Spiritual Sage coming from the Eastern Empire!
Meanwhile, Minos was anxiously following this individual in anticipation of settling his affairs.
...
And Harold did not take long to find the adversary who had been hindering Minos' forces for months!
As Abe was in the vicinity of Dry City waiting to attack the Black Plain Empire capital when Minos left to fight in the Flaming Empire, the Spiritual Sage was nearby.
Thus, since the difference in cultivation between these two Spiritual Sages was not great for one to hide from the other, Harold soon noticed his opponent and began cautiously approaching such a person.
At the same time, Minos' enemy had already realized that this sovereign had found a way to track him down and was cautiously waiting to see what would happen.
It was not good to underestimate the other party. So since they were both on the same level, that individual from the Eastern Empire did not move to avoid a confrontation in this place.
He was not there for talks. But since the opponent had gotten that helper, he was not contrary to solving everything with dialogue and avoiding a battle that would hurt his plans anyway.
"Emperor Edwardstone... Are you now working for Minos Stuart?" When he saw his opponent's face, this protector of Abe asked aloud, causing Minos and Harold to be momentarily silent.
It was not difficult for this individual to identify Harold. After all, although this man from the Flaming Empire was only one Spiritual Sage among many in this great world, he was one of the few imperial sovereigns on the continent.
So for an individual passing by nearby, knowing how to identify this emperor was not such a complicated task.
He then asked. "What do you people want with me? Are you here to fight?"
Harold stopped flying over the surroundings and landed 100 meters away from the man, with Minos at his left side. "That is not the case, fellow. I am merely helping one of my neighbors a bit to establish new connections..."
"Is that so? The folks in the Flower Kingdom will be thrilled to find that you have been so willing to help others." That Spiritual Sage smiled, looking at Harold's face full of red hair, showing this person what he knew.
Harold grew more serious upon hearing this, clenching his fists in determination. "I don't want to fight. But if I have to, I won't hesitate."
"Oh, how scary..." That man said teasingly, but he actually showed no intention of fighting, the only reason Harold did not move after such words.
Minos then walked towards the level 80 opponent, a man who looked much younger than Harold, who was clearly more talented.
The two Spiritual Sages looked at him in silence, both thinking how fearless Minos was to act so comfortably between them. That was even more impressive, considering that such a young man was moving away from his ally and toward the enemy!
"Senior, I believe you know who I am, so I won't waste my time introducing myself," Minos said with a bit of respect for that figure. "I am here to understand what I may have done to attract the heavy hand of a Spiritual Sage... Or maybe I didn't do anything at all? Is it just my bad luck? I really wish I could work this out without having to keep being antagonized by the senior."
Harold stood watching the surroundings and that man, preparing to act in case such a person attacked or even someone from the Flower Kingdom showed up.
As for the man coming from the Eastern Empire, he looked at Minos in silence after those words, trying to conclude whether it would be worth it to say something to this young man.
He had nothing against Minos. On the contrary, this young man was just a means of using Abe to distract the Spiritual Church's attention while his organization was searching for an item of interest to them.
Then he said. "Emperor Stuart, I personally have nothing against you. In fact, I admire you very much. Someone of your level and with your current capabilities would certainly make a success in any state on the continent."
"That's admirable!"
"So the current situation is neither personal nor purposeful to affect you. It just is as it is, so much so that I did not act personally against you or your forces."
Harold was surprised to hear that since that expert did not seem to be lying, even though his actions hurt the Black Plain a lot. So he and Minos could not help but realize that there must be a reasonable justification for this.
Experts might be eccentric, but no one would do what that man was doing for so long just for fun without trying to act personally or cause chaos even once.
And from his words, one could tell he indeed had respect for this 67-level young man who had been performing so well nearby.
'He's probably onto something...' Harold pondered silently, thinking this was the better possibility of all.
That adversary was not a contractor of Abe's, or Minos would have already been attacked. But, on the other hand, such a person did not seem to be enjoying himself and still gave the impression of being worried about something.
Minos could not perceive this, given the difference in cultivation between the two parties, but Harold could see such a thing!
But even without Harold's perceptions, Minos knew more about the northern region than this emperor and asked as he narrowed his eyes. "Senior, are you after someone? Or something? Is that why you are doing this? To cover your tracks from an opponent?"
...
