Three days later, in the Vogel capital...
The Assembly of Vogel was bustling as usual this morning, with many representatives coming and going. At the same time, now and then, elders appeared there.
The representatives of the local organizations in this Assembly were relevant Spiritual Emperors from the local noble families, talented people, and potential future leaders of their houses. But from time to time, some Spiritual Saints would appear to watch over these individuals' actions and meet with other experts.
Besides being the seat of the local government, this place was very suitable for hosting meetings between leaders since it could be considered a neutral space for any powers. Thus, all kinds of negotiations took place there, and it was not uncommon to see even mid-level Spiritual Saints walking in the corridors of this place.
But not only were these individuals not uncommon there. Members of the Black Plain Army and officers of the empire also made their presence felt since Minos ruled with the Assembly.
One of these members of Minos' forces who was there practically every day was Elen Nash, currently at level 65.
And this woman was at this moment talking to the representatives of the Assembly, presenting the request made by their sovereign.
"... Thus, His Majesty expects that local forces will be sent to the vicinity of the border with Cromwell in less than two weeks. He intends to initiate at that time a massive, joint attack against Abe Vogel's terrorist forces..."
The more than 600 people in that place, sitting around stands similar to those in an amphitheater, heard this in silence. Still, many of them were already expressing their satisfaction at hearing this.
Abe's death would be the conclusion of the revenge of many people there!
On the other hand, as much as some favored it, others could not help but feel mixed feelings because they had to help Minos.
'Killing Abe would be wonderful, but that would not come without cost...'
'Minos wants to use our forces to share his losses.' One woman among many there thought about it, considering the implications of the Assembly helping him.
Everyone there wished the worst for Abe Vogel. But some of those who had a vested interest in removing Minos from the position of local leader could not help but admit that such a terrorist was no longer a problem for them. At the same time, Emperor Stuart was a headache and a hindrance to the power project of several of the organizations they represented.
As people who had a chance to follow their current leaders, they themselves could be harmed if Minos succeeded in his endeavors!
Therefore, some were opposed to actions that could benefit Minos!
'It would be better if Abe and his men lasted a little longer for them and the main Black Plain's forces to continue to wear themselves out.' A level 68 man thought to himself. 'As long as Abe eventually dies and those terrorists no longer implicate Vogel, everything will be fine.'
When Elen finished speaking, the president of the Assembly, someone opposed to Minos, took the floor and said. "I thank Miss Nash for her words, communicating His Majesty's interests."
"But I fear the Assembly will have to vote on the matter for us to decide how it should be treated. It may not be interesting for us to send our best experts into this conflict when we already have to worry about the Flaming Empire." He recalled that fact. "No matter how weakened they are now, that doesn't mean they are harmless!"
"Yes!" Someone shouted as he rose from his seat to defend a position contrary to the proposal presented by Elen. "We have our affairs to attend to, and it is His Majesty's duty to lead with that problem."
"Didn't he become master of an enemy sect to solve this? Then let him use the members of that organization to wipe out Abe's damned group!"
"Yes, he said he was doing that to solve the problem. So why does he now want to force us to act? Or was his move useless?" Someone questioned aloud.
"Tsk!"
A short, blond woman said. "We had to accept such a thing, but now we will still have to pay the price of war with our men? No way!"
Discussions spread throughout that vast place as those more favorable to Black Plain began to show their opinions.
"Nonsense!"
"Abe Vogel is a traitor to the fatherland. We were put in the current precarious situation by him, so we must participate in eliminating the wretch!"
A tall, strong man said. "I am disgusted by these people who now want to 'forget' what Abe did against all of us..."
"That bastard not only betrayed us, he also tried to eliminate us during the attacks on the Church headquarters in our city months ago! How can you ignore this? His Majesty is only asking for our help so that we can eliminate that worm more easily!"
The people there began to argue with each other, with many getting up from their armchairs to defend the side they preferred.
The president of the Assembly did nothing to stop the arguments, content for all this to continue since he preferred not to give Minos any time.
For him, the longer Minos had to fight Abe, the less powerful the Black Plain core would be at the end of this conflict with terrorists.
That would be best for the Assembly. It could keep its powers and eventually appoint a new leader for the state, someone who could be from his family, as were the plans of his elders.
'Worst case scenario, we will lose an ally but gain our freedom and power of choice.' He thought about it, imagining the resources currently being sent to the Black Plain going to his family.
'In the best case scenario, we can make a quantum leap while the Flaming Empire does not threaten us, and the area experiences the greatest peace in millennia!'
So while everyone was thinking about their interests, the occasion continued for hours. That happened until sometime late in the day, the vote deciding whether Elen's proposal would pass took place.
The result Minos would soon know!
...
Another week passed in the blink of an eye...
By now, most of Minos' men who were to participate in the full-scale attack against Abe were already in the vicinity of Vogel's borders with Cromwell.
More than 8 high-level Spiritual Saints, 25 mid-level, and 30 low-level ones were in the vicinity of the area, along with the more than 5 thousand high-level Spiritual Emperors guarding the surroundings.
Of these individuals, most were people originally part of the Gray Clouds Sect. Still, there were some Spiritual Saints and Spiritual Emperors from the Vogel area, people who had attended Minos' call.
But these people were not there because of a favorable position of the Assembly of Vogel in favor of Minos' plans against Abe!
As Minos was about to find out, the Assembly had voted against him!
As for these experts, they were people who hated Abe too much and had come on their own, even though their families had not ordered them to join Minos' forces!
...
