After he finished showing the local leaders what he was capable of, Minos did not do much and deactivated his techniques and abilities.
Because of this, Iris escaped suffering at the hands of her subordinates, while those people realized how susceptible they still were, even at their levels.
And while they were embarrassed and apologized to the queen, they all felt reverence for Minos, noting that he could fight against such a large group of Spiritual Saints as he had claimed.
With that, Minos and those people descended from the local skies and returned to the royal palace, where they would soon begin discussing business matters.
He wanted to benefit from Vogel's resources and the isolation of the noble families in that territory. But on the other hand, these Albano leaders wanted no trouble with Minos and also liked the idea of getting deals more favorable to themselves.
Consequently, those who would lose powers in Vogel were the ones who would pay for the cost of these negotiations by Minos, while he and his allies would take advantage of the situation!
...
The other day...
While Minos was still in Albano, news of what had happened in Vogel had already spread throughout that area, even reaching Blackrock and the Flaming Empire.
In Rosser and Albano, those states' noble families were shocked to discover how Minos had defeated 150 Spiritual Saints, stealing the cultivations from part of them and 'crushing' them as if they were nothing.
At the same time, the royal families of these two kingdoms noted that what had happened in Vogel had been much worse than Minos had said or shown them.
After all, someone capable of stealing an opponent's cultivation, even temporarily, was a monster anywhere in this world!
But that only helped them confirm what they had already talked to Minos about and feel better about having sided with him since his first 'confrontation' with the Assembly months ago.
The most impressed of all had been those of the West family, who still had Minos in their capital but also saw that he could do much more than he had done in Vogel.
The Dark Sea was also terrible!
Meanwhile, in Blackrock, the royal family and their subordinates were completely taken aback by Minos' advance to the 8th stage and his victory over Vogel's forces.
Only the Flaming Empire reacted better to everything since they had more information about Minos' possible advance and his intentions towards Vogel.
...
In the capital of the Flaming Empire...
Isabella was vibrant this morning, pleased with Minos' success in reaching level 70 and probably raising the quality of his Physique.
She did not need anyone to inform her about this qualitative advancement of Minos since, with the skills he demonstrated in Vogel, she did not need to hear more to find out about such a thing.
Since he now had a level and physical quality more similar to hers, this red-haired woman could not help but be hopeful about her reunion with him, scheduled for a few weeks.
Because of her good mood, some of the high-level members of this state were not so concerned about Minos' advance and shocking display of power.
But even so, some high-level Spiritual Saints were somewhat concerned about the combat proficiency that Minos had achieved by just reaching level 70.
They were already at the end of this stage and could barely improve. But someone at level 70, like him, could easily raise a few levels in a few years, even in the empire.
So the news coming from Vogel was enough to put him in the ranks of local leaders, even disregarding his fusions and mass destruction weapon!
If he decided to use them, then even the imperial family could tremble in front of Minos!
Precisely because of this, the supreme elder of this family was having an emergency meeting with the upper echelon of this family.
...
"What can we do in case Minos turns against us? How much damage could he do with his current forces?" The supreme elder asked while he had an ugly expression on his face.
A level 78 man then said. "If he really can temporarily steal his opponent's cultivation, then I would say it would be a bloody fight, supreme elder."
"He would probably be able to kill many of the local leaders before he is seriously injured or his abilities lose effect."
The silence was present after those words, with everyone there feeling that this was not an exaggeration but a reality check.
All of them had already analyzed Minos' way of fighting during his final attacks against the Saints Killing Sect. Because of this, they knew very well that Emperor Stuart had many more ways to act than he had presented at Vogel.
Considering that all cultivator's abilities evolved as they improved in stage, these people knew that all those other characteristics of Minos had improved.
Because of this, he should be at least twice as bad as he had shown!
"Now we can only pray that he stays true to his words, rescues His Majesty, and doesn't abuse his powers." Someone commented. "If he desires blood in a conquest, we can do nothing to stop him..."
But then a woman said. "We have nothing to do. We had better accept that the sect master Stuart is already at the same level as us or higher... Then let's see the bright side in all of this."
"Bright side?" The supreme elder, who disliked Minos, asked as he looked strangely at that woman.
"Minos is stronger, so maybe he can help us deal with Mortimer when he gets out of control..."
"Oh?"
Everyone in that room opened their mouths in realization, noting that they could play one evil against the other and maybe get rid of two problems at once!
'If that happens, it will be the best of results...'
...
Meanwhile, in the capital of Blackrock...
The king of this state had just received the message from one of his greatest allies in Vogel and was already standing by his royal advisors.
Minos had done what they feared most, but not only that, he had gained a strength they found difficult to stop. So the mood was somber in the beautiful royal palace of this seaside city.
"Well, we can consider Minos to be at the same level of threat as Harold before the disappearance of this individual..." The king said aloud while having his fists clenched.
Just when he thought he could have more peaceful times ahead of his state with Harold's kidnapping, a threat as bad or even worse than that emperor's arose!
It really was bound to stress him out a bit!
He continued. "Then we can only trust that our allies will not make the mistake of favoring him. If we unite again, we may have a chance to keep him away, as we did with the Flaming Empire for thousands of years!"
'Is that so?' Some people there wondered, feeling that the situation was much worse than the king seemed to judge.
After all, if Minos was a threat at the same level as Harold, their problems were much deeper since the Flaming Empire was still an enemy of theirs!
In other words, they now had two colossi of the same level to threaten them!
