After six days...
After the departure of the high-level Spiritual Saints from the Blood Triangle Pirates group from Dry City, Minos brought the Spiritual Saints who came from the Gray Clouds Sect from the Spatial Kingdom.
These people would have to take on responsibilities in the Black Plain territory before entering the Spatial Kingdom's seclusion. Then since Minos would soon return to the Flaming Empire, they all had to be let out of that cultivation shrine.
With that done, Minos took the last few days to solve some minor problems in his state, which was growing its borders.
To this end, he had brought Gloria back to the mainland so that she could deal with the Church's affairs concerning the accession of those territories into his state.
Meanwhile, he visited Stone Island and the Kingdom of the Waves to observe the development of noble assemblies in those places and to see local progress.
All the states in the northern region were getting stronger with the advances of the Black Plain, and some even had level 67 cultivators in their ranks already.
But the numbers of Spiritual Emperors in these places were still low, and the cultivation speed of most of these individuals was not high.
What was really impressive was the number of Spiritual Kings throughout the northern region, which had multiplied by more than ten times in the last four years.
After visiting the northern region, Minos returned to Dry City, where he was receiving envoys from Vogel!
...
At the imperial palace in Dry City...
Minos was sitting beside a small artificial lake within his estate, eating some chestnuts next to Sarah, whom he had brought from the Spatial Kingdom, while Ruth and Abby were in seclusion.
In front of the two, more than a dozen people, all of them mid-level Spiritual Saints, were on their knees, respectfully declaring their allegiances to House Stuart.
Some did not have satisfied expressions on their faces, as was the case with the matriarch of House Guzman. But even people like her were willing to say every word to avoid the worst.
The Assembly had already decided with a huge majority that it should increase Minos' powers, recognize him as the legitimate sovereign of Vogel, and end the question of voting on his continuity as the leader.
So with this decision, it made no sense for the noble families in that area to continue to disagree with him, as this could result in punishment before long.
As such, those local leaders who had not yet sworn allegiance to Minos were now in Dry City to resolve this situation, making it clear to the emperor that he would have no more problems concerning this.
"... Your Majesty, House Guzman swears its eternal loyalty to House Stuart and is at your disposal to act on behalf of the state..."
"Your Majesty..."
Several of them declared their vows while Sarah watched them with her eyes wide open, with her father watching the fish in the lake beside them.
"You see, Sarah, these people have opposed me for years. But because I am stronger than them and am willing to act, they now pledge allegiance to me...
That is the way you should deal with subordinates in the future. If they show rebellious behavior, you should give them a reason to fear you." Minos said in a low voice to his daughter. "When they bend their knees and repent, you should guide them as best you judge, but without giving awards.
Those who need to be reminded that they need to respect us do not deserve unnecessary awards.
Only those who know their positions and support us without having to show our weapons deserve opportunities and awards."
Sarah shook her head as she paid attention to those people who were supposed to be of higher levels than her father but who had to obey him anyway.
Some of those individuals listened to Minos' words, feeling ashamed for being used as a negative example in the princess' education.
'At this rate, even with this little one, we won't be able to find someone to support us in the imperial family...' One of them thought quietly, mournful of their circumstances.
Unfortunately, there was nothing left for them to do!
Those more powerful families of Vogel had already received communication from the noble families of Blackrock about what Minos had done in that state. Because of this, with no more hope of having any relevant support against Emperor Stuart, they decided to surrender and at least move on in peace within the Black Plain Empire.
These individuals already knew of Mortimer's advance and potential problems for the Black Plain because of that man. But this would not help them at all, for the master of the Saints Killing Sect actually wanted to dominate them as much as Minos did.
However, Mortimer was ten times worse than Minos, not only for his level but for his record against the northern territories of the Flaming Empire.
Minos at least treated their family as part of his empire. Mortimer, on the other hand, would treat them like slaves!
Between the two of them, they preferred Minos leading them, and so, even considering the difficult situation of this sovereign, they were willing to bend their knees without any more future hopes.
So they would remain in front of Minos and Sarah for a few moments, serving as an example for the little princess' education, while they finished presenting themselves to the emperor.
Minos would eventually send these people out for his men to take care of making agreements and also to collect information.
From now on, Vogel would be less independent and would become more like the Brown and Cromwell areas, which did have their independence but followed larger orders coming from Dry City.
Anyway, with this change, the imperial family would soon have many more resources and territories to exploit, which would be used to strengthen the imperial family's ties against other states.
But Minos would not neglect Vogel. On the contrary, he had plans to strengthen this place, using it to stimulate the rest of his empire through synergies.
Meanwhile, from now on, he would have more than 600 Spiritual Saints at his disposal, something that previously he could only ask the Assembly to help him get the support of some of them.
Thus, the core of the Black Plain could grow much faster from now on!
...
In the days following the 'surrender' of the noble families of Vogel to Minos, envoys from Albano and Rosser arrived in Dry City to take up matters with the emperor.
They already knew of the officialization of Vogel's status in relation to the empire and wanted to demonstrate their partnership with House Stuart for the best outcome between their connections.
More agreements would come from the meetings that would follow after that, strengthening the relations of these two states with the Black Plain.
In the end, these two states would still make people available to help protect the borders of this state with their kingdoms, freeing up soldiers from Minos to protect other areas.
As the representatives of these states departed the empire's capital, a group from Blackrock arrived in Dry City with the crown prince among its members!
It was time for this other state to position itself!
