After Minos' threatening words, two days passed, and the meeting of local leaders continued until it finally ended this morning.
The meeting led by the Edwardstone family was marked by the division of the local powers into the Minos and Mortimer groups, with no declaration of war but a clear willingness that it could happen.
Those on Minos' side would certainly fight, while those on Mortimer's side would stay at their headquarters if anything happened.
That, of course, had not been said literally. But the sects and families on the Saints Killing Sect side would not turn their weapons on the powers of the imperial family.
They did not want to become traitors. They only planned to become omissive to their duties.
In any case, instead of this event having worked for its purpose, to create relations between the strongest sects in the empire and ensure the peace and security of the state, it had served for each party to firm up its positions.
Some powers were still uncertain as to what position to take, so even these had joined together and formed a group that did not want to get involved in anything that was about to happen.
Mortimer could kill them at any time with his manipulation skills. Still, Minos could hide in the Black Plain until he was as strong or stronger than Spiritual Sages. At that time, he would kill his opponent and eliminate those who stood in his way from this encounter.
Whatever the decision, those who made it would be at serious risk!
Thus, the event ended with the many local leaders leaving Payton without raising their weapons to each other but leaving behind a hard-to-bear tension.
Now the imperial family was officially in the greatest crisis of its existence!
...
At the imperial palace...
Minos was at this moment standing in front of Isabella and some elders, people favorable to him within that family.
Not everyone in House Edwardstone saw Minos in the same way as the supreme elder.
Some did not blame him for anything bad that happened to this family since bad things would really accompany people with a lot of talent or resources.
On the other hand, even if others disliked Minos, their rational sides outweighed their emotions, causing them to be in the favorable wing for him in the local imperial house.
Minos was only at level 70 and was already as strong as local leaders. On the other hand, the Gray Clouds Sect was rapidly getting stronger, which indicated that the Black Plain's strength would also improve at the same rate or perhaps even faster.
Considering this, it was to be expected that he would become much more powerful in a short time, individually and collectively.
At that time, they could reap the rewards of standing with him and supporting him while he was 'weak'!
That was the interest of some of the high-level elders, even disregarding the situation of the Flaming Empire with Mortimer's advance.
However, with that individual having reached level 80, now even those opposed to Minos were willing to cooperate with him minimally.
So while he was saying goodbye to Isabella, some were hanging around, worried about how long Emperor Stuart would spend away.
They were at great risk and could not help but fear for their own future!
Minos heard a question concerning this from one of the elders and answered them all. "Well, I have urgent business to attend to in Dry City, but in 2 weeks at most, I believe I can return here."
"All that?" Someone muttered, knowing that for a Spiritual Sage, it would only take a few days to eliminate all of them using his spatial manipulation skills.
That is, of course, considering that Mortimer would certainly cover his tracks during his actions and not attack his opponents head-on.
Being too open in his attacks could cause widespread fear throughout the empire, which would not help him at all. So even if he had the power to cause chaos, he would probably act cautiously, prolonging the time needed to master this state.
That was what the imperial family experts predicted, which was why these people feared Minos would not be around with his mass destruction weapons.
But Minos did not see things that way. "That's not much time. Mortimer needs more time to secure his position with the sects and families willing to side with him.
He won't act before then. If he did that, he would risk creating fear and distrust in his allies before he even has a solid alliance.
So he won't attack immediately to have a better time as the new emperor." He said, making those people swallow their saliva at the thought of Mortimer becoming the leader of this state.
Isabella was the one who hated that thought the most and clenched her fists, lamenting her father's absence. "Minos, can't you rescue my father soon? Mortimer would not be a match for him if he were here."
Minos looked at the red-haired woman hugging him and smiled bitterly. "Unfortunately, I can't.
It's not that I don't want to. I just can't go to the Flowers Kingdom and rescue him in time to stop Mortimer.
If I were to simply leave now, before I even reach that state, the Flaming Empire would already be under Mortimer's control."
Everyone in the surrounding area agreed with this, lamenting the timing in which everything was happening.
"We can only wait for Mortimer's threat to end for the sect master Stuart to save His Majesty..." A level 78 elder commented, feeling that his family would have to endure great trials before they could have their leader again.
Isabella understood Minos' motivations and sighed, hoping everything would be resolved as soon as possible.
So, after a few moments, Minos left for the Black Plain Empire via the teleportation ports between that state and his home.
As for Little Green, he had already sent that great beast to wait for him in that city since he would return in a short time.
Teleportation arrays carried volumes. So beasts of that individual's size could hardly be sent by those means of transport, which would either not hold them or would consume too many crystals to function properly.
Thus, that level 76 beast would take longer to get to know its new home!
...
While Minos was returning to the Black Plain Empire, Mortimer was already traveling through the Flaming Empire, searching for the alliances he needed.
It was not enough for him to talk for two days with some sect leaders for him to have the minimum necessary to act. He had to visit smaller sects and relevant families, who could make his life difficult if he acted by ignoring them.
So before he acted, he followed what Minos had already anticipated, ensuring a minimum of support before killing the sore spots of this state.
But he was not starting this journey without worries in his mind!
Because of Minos' warning about the sacrificial weapon in those four territories north of the Flaming Empire, this man now had to ensure that this state was strong when he was in power!
Suppose too many of the local experts fell for him to ascend the local throne. In that case, he could end up facilitating a victory for the enemies in an eventual war between states!
