"We lost more than I can recognize..." Gloria replied as she flew with her husband to Abby and Ruth. "But Mirya is dead." She said since she had seen from afar when the enemy blow had sliced that woman.
Upon hearing that, Minos stopped, and his expression became still, with him looking at his wife's face as if asking if this was serious.
She then said, knowing that Mirya was an important companion to Minos. "A high-level Spiritual Saint under the restrictions created by her group became desperate to help our level 78 opponent. In doing so, he managed to free himself from the restraints holding him down and killed most of our men and allies in that group."
"That's how she was killed."
Minos heard this, feeling terrible that one of the people close to him had perished, even more so considering his relationship with that woman.
Mirya was one of the women Minos had known the longest and had had many experiences with her over the years. So to find out that this person he had been with days ago had suddenly died was extraordinarily shocking and heavy for him.
"Damn it!"
"How did that happen?" He clenched his fists in anger, feeling it was his fault.
Minos did not love Mirya, as he loved his wives. But he had a particular affection for that woman and others with whom he often connected.
In that way, losing Mirya was not like losing an ordinary soldier but like losing an important family member!
"It's not your fault, darling!" Gloria hugged him while also feeling bad. "The enemy has been terrorizing our forces. He wants to destroy our way of life and make us doubt our paths. But we are doing our best!"
Minos knew this and remained silent, feeling the warmth of his wife's body as he mourned Mirya's demise.
But that would not be his only loss of the day. Soon after meeting with Ruth and Abby, Minos heard from these women about Viola, Angela, and other soldiers he had recruited over the years. Unfortunately, several of them had died on this terrible day, and their deaths had already been reported to Dillian and these women.
So they told the most famous names they knew to Minos, giving him a flood of bad news.
After finding out about all their losses, Minos fell into a state of contemplation, trying to process everything that had happened.
'Damn, so many people died!' He tried to understand how his plan had failed. Even mid-level Spiritual Emperors had perished when they fought in formations that were supposed to give their enemies a lot of trouble.
'Did I risk too much?' He wondered as he looked up at the orange sky of Dry City on this lousy late afternoon.
But Minos knew that he would get the support of the Gray Clouds Sect in the short term, or he would have to put up with Abe's offenses for a few years.
But putting up with that guy's terrorist attacks for years would be terrible for local development, considering the threats from higher-level forces that might look down on this place in the future.
As one became stronger and wealthier, it was only natural that others of the same or similar status would begin to watch them. And with that would come dangers and tests, things that served to tell outside forces whether that place was to be taken or respected.
If right now the Black Plain Empire was prevented from developing at its best pace, perhaps that state would not be prepared for the challenges of the future!
That was what bothered Minos, so he could not help but conclude that he needed to continue with his strategy of bringing the forces of the Grey Clouds Sect to the Black Plain.
'I only lack one more battle in that state, and I will be able to make the main attack on the enemy headquarters.' He concluded such a thing as he considered the black holes he had already developed in that area in a conflict between the Saints Killing Sect and the Gray Clouds Sect.
'The damned Abe probably won't be able to act against me for a few weeks after today. So I have to make that last attack, preferably in the next few days, so as not to risk another day like this.' He clenched his fists, imagining when he could eliminate his enemy.
Thus, that day of battles ended in Dry City, with the main survivors returning to the interior of this great capital city. At the same time, low-level soldiers began to clean up the affected areas.
The citizens in the safe areas were also cleared to return to the streets, many heading out into the affected areas to see the destruction wrought by the previous conflict.
After this day, they would return to their daily activities, participating in the local economic life, repairing what was destroyed, and trying to overcome possible losses.
As for those killed in battle, they would soon have their funeral, with the deserved honors of someone who died fighting.
Death was everyone's final destination, a sad reality for those who were left behind and would never see certain people again.
But dying in battle was war's thankless prize, the way to immortalize oneself in the annals of a state's history.
Many of the survivors of this conflict would eventually be
forgotten, but people like Mirya and Viola will long be remembered!
That was the way of living to honor their warriors, as Minos and his family would do with those who gave their lives for the future of the Black Plain Empire.
Anyway, with the retreat of all involved, it did not take long for the local leadership to discover what losses they had to overcome on this day of attack!
...
While Minos was being updated on the numbers and identities of the dead for Abe Vogel's terrorists, Elen Nash's cousin, Luke Nash, level 62, was living in the Western Empire.
But as someone his age, who was not relevant in his sect, this fellow occasionally went on missions as a mercenary in this state, something that had once again led him to one of these guilds on this day.
But upon entering the building of one of the guilds that he knew best in the city where the Elemental Sect was, this fellow faced a somewhat unusual situation.
When looking at the mission mural in the central hall of this place, this blond man from Stone Island found several posters about the same kind of mission. One mission that was demanding for high-level Spiritual Emperors and Spiritual Saints of any level.
But what caught his attention was not the demands of this mission but the fact that it was supposed to be done far away from the empire, in the northern region of the Central Continent!
'Whose mission will this be? Is it Minos' thing?' Luke wondered, remembering that his family was deeply connected to this fellow from the Black Plain.
Since he had not received news from his home in ages, he was curious and decided to ask for help.
"Senior Holt? Hello? Are you there?" He said into his short-range instant communication array.
After a few seconds, a voice came from the device in Luke's hands. "What is it, Luke? Is something wrong?"
"Sort of. I want help communicating with my family in the northern region..."
