As Minos traveled to the capital of the Flaming Empire, recent news had reached beyond the borders of this state to the northern and southern regions of this continent.
In the Flowers Kingdom, Harold had just heard about the news of his state from one of his captors while waiting for the moment to breed.
He had arrived in the capital of this kingdom some time ago. Still, nothing had happened so far since the woman assigned to him was in seclusion, preparing to breed.
With that, he had since been living in a cell in the local jail, where his captors occasionally visited him.
"Looks like your investment in this Minos Stuart was a mistake, comrade." A bald, fat man said this as he looked at the red-headed man in a deplorable state inside that cell. "You took a chance on him, and now he's destroying your state, haha."
"I wonder if he hadn't planned all this?"
Harold heard this, but while he did not doubt that Minos had gone against his rules, he also could not think of this person having done all this to benefit himself and harm him.
He remembered as if it were yesterday the way Minos had talked with him and shown his great debt after the situation involving the Spiritual Sage of the Eastern Empire.
At the same time, he had agreements with Minos that prevented Emperor Stuart from purposely harming him.
So this man did not get carried away with that eunuch's comments and pondered the matter from a different perspective. 'This incident of the Saints Killing Sect doesn't sound like Minos... Something happened, leading the situation to get out of his control.'
The eunuch saw Harold was not angry and made a strange expression. 'Do you still think you will be rescued? Why would Minos come to rescue you now that he's already done all this? I bet your family will act against him and make you and him enemies, even if you don't want them to."
"That's not for you to worry about..." He said in a rather weak tone but full of conviction.
"Tsk!"
...
At the same time, in the royal palace of the Flowers Kingdom...
The queen had heard the same story as Harold and was somewhat impressed but uncertain of what would happen next.
"That doesn't make much sense..." She commented to her First Eunuch. "That attack was out of proportion. It's strange."
"Yes, I believe it was an accident, not something purposeful, Your Majesty." That bald man, a Spiritual Demigod, agreed with her.
"But that could cause several problems for our plans... That is, will Minos still risk himself for Harold's freedom after that? Will it be worth it for us to give him and this man more time?" She questioned, feeling at a crossroads.
"In any case, Your Majesty, no one will be able to save Harold if we so desire." The eunuch said, full of confidence in his words. "Then we should wait for this young man to at least reach the 8th stage. It will make no difference to us if that red-headed guy's ceremony is delayed by a few years."
"You are right."
...
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Black Plain Empire...
The Spiritual Sage, whom Harold and Minos met early on, had also heard about what happened in the Saints Killing Sect.
'Impressive...'
'It seems that he will soon make my job difficult.' This fellow pondered as he watched the capital of the Black Plain, where Minos' ten mercenaries were still stationed, without having done much in the past few weeks.
"My time is running out... I'd better try one more time." He disappeared from the area, going in search once again for areas with possible ancestor heritages in this region.
...
On the other hand, in Dry City, the command of the local forces was celebrating the news coming from the Flaming Empire.
After working on the current mission for so long, Minos had finally managed to drive the Saints Killing Sect against a 'wall' and reach a point of no return. Now, that organization had to surrender, which meant Emperor Stuart's forces would receive the appropriate reinforcements!
'It looks like he made it...' Ivory thought about this as she stood in the local imperial throne hall, smiling after hearing Dillian's statement.
Other Minos' allied forces members were also celebrating the news, particularly those from the Vogel area.
After all, with the catastrophe of the Saints Killing Sect, the Flaming Empire had become weaker overnight!
This incident was beneficial not only for them but also for Albano, Blackrock, and Rosser, those allies of Minos who had just recently been fearing a war with that state.
Lulu, who was in this place alongside several other powerful people, smiled in satisfaction, feeling that times were changing in their favor.
'Soon, we won't have to depend so much on Minos anymore, and we'll be able to live quietly again!' She celebrated as she looked for people interested in partying later with her.
"Hello, Captain Eduard..." She approached this soldier of the Black Plain Army with a seductive smile.
...
While the northern region mainly was celebrating the achievements of Minos alongside Albano, Vogel, Rosser, and Blackrock, the incidents of the Flaming Empire came to the attention of the headquarters of the Spiritual Church.
In the capital of the Evergreen Empire, some of the high-ranking Cardinals, i.e., Spiritual Demigods, were commenting on the matter. They felt that they would soon be able to resolve something that had been bothering them for a period.
"It looks like this young emperor is really active, haha." One of those experts sitting around a fireplace said this. "Fighting two conflicts simultaneously, and he still managed to reach such a position..."
"That's really impressive!"
Months ago, Minos joined the conflict against the Saints Killing Sect while facing Abe in the northern region. His situation was somewhat of a race, to say the least.
But now, he had extricated himself from the war of the two sects in the Flaming Empire. He had no Harold to hinder him and could finally focus his attention on Abe.
Considering how much better the current scenario was compared to the previous one, this man considered that soon Emperor Stuart would force the Eastern Empire's Spiritual Sage to act!
When that happened, the Church could finally act without being hampered by the agreements it had with that empire!
"He is a very helpful fellow, although he is still fragile." One of those individuals, level 93, responsible for overseeing the area of the Flaming Empire, Vogel, Rosser, Albano, Blackrock, and the northern region, said.
He was already looking forward to the day when he could meet Minos!
"If he comes to our post one day, I will welcome him with open doors. He's kind of not a bad external member!"
...
Two weeks later...
At the headquarters of the Saints Killing Sect, the mood was as depressing as ever, with the members of this organization being discouraged about how things were going.
They had been humiliated by the peace agreements with the Gray Clouds Sect and had lost many people.
But in the midst of this, Mortimer was preparing for the great moment when he would receive Gavin's eyes!
...
