Three weeks after Mortimer's first attack against the imperial family forces...
After Minos' recommendations, the supreme elder of the Edwardstone family had difficulty understanding his plans but agreed to follow them with many reservations.
In this way, the headquarters of the imperial house of this state had called back its main men to the capital while it had sent its space stabilization devices to the outposts.
Not all outposts had received these arrays, but the most relevant ones were protected from Mortimer showing up and destroying them.
At the same time, unprotected outposts had lost all their essential personnel and were now running only with people below level 70, those who were taking care of the state administration.
The high-level elders of the Gray Clouds Sect in the Flaming Empire and the Black Plain Empire had also moved to Payton in these days, following Minos' plans.
Not only that, the sects and families that were in agreement with the imperial family's intentions had sent high-level elders to this city as well, but without sending all their leaders, of course.
They had to protect their territories while helping their sovereigns!
Thus, the capital of the Flaming Empire had changed quite a bit in terms of the number of experts locally during the past few weeks.
Because of that or not, Mortimer had not yet visited this place, even though he and his group had begun their movements through the shadows.
A few more imperial family experts had been dead around this state before reaching the capital or the posts which received the space stabilization arrays.
At the same time, members of the Gray Clouds Sect had been attacked on their travels, while some noble families and even sects had stopped their communication with the rightful sovereigns of this state.
In other words, the situation had worsened, and now this state was in the midst of a silent war between Mortimer and Minos!
...
In the capital of the Flaming Empire...
Minos was at this moment standing next to Ruth, whom he had just brought from the Spatial Kingdom alongside Gloria.
After months of seclusion in the Stuart family's cultivation sanctuary, Ruth finally broke through the 7th stage barrier and reached level 70!
She had advanced to this stage days ago. Still, only two days ago, Minos had discovered such great news when he decided to go to the Spatial Kingdom for the first time since arriving in Payton.
As such, she had already learned her 8th technique, a Golden-grade one, just like Minos' and Gloria's.
As for Abby, she was not far from her breakthrough, but she was still in the Spatial Kingdom cultivating.
Anyway, they were now together with Isabella at the residence of this woman, who was quite worried due to the current circumstances of her family.
"Minos, what can we do now? More than 20 specialists from my family have been killed in the last few days. Now Mortimer's target will probably be over the imperial palace..." Isabella said while in a fetal position on her bed.
Ruth and Gloria looked at that level 73 woman and felt slightly sorry for her.
Minos also felt something similar and said. "Your family will suffer a little more until it's all over, Bella. It is inevitable. But when he attacks this city, you will lose more than you think you risk.
That will make the situation a little better."
Isabella understood that and remained silent, fearful of the possibility of Mortimer targeting her life and her mother's during the attack that everyone in this place expected to happen soon.
Unfortunately for her, she didn't know the same things Ruth and Gloria did and were in the dark about Minos' abilities.
So unlike the princess, the two wives of Minos were calm about this situation.
To them, this was just another battle they would face on their way, as it had happened countless times before.
"Don't worry, Isabella. Everything will be all right. Mortimer is a monster but doesn't know what awaits him in this city." Ruth commented, consoling that woman, who, although more experienced than she and Gloria, had experienced few such situations in the past.
"That's right," Gloria said. "Don't overthink. We wouldn't be here if Minos couldn't handle the situation."
"Is that true?" She looked at Minos.
"Hmm, well, it's not a lie. I can't protect everyone, but I don't think Mortimer is hard to take on. After all, I forced a Spiritual Sage to run away even before...
Now this newly advanced Spiritual Sage might lose a lot of what he has if he underestimates me."
With those words, Minos reassured that woman.
At the same time, the high-level Spiritual Sages in the surrounding area listened to his words, believing or doubting those words.
Some felt this was just to reassure the cowardly princess, who had never experienced war. But others genuinely believed that Minos had something up his sleeve to use against Mortimer.
That was mainly the case with the high-level elders of the Gray Clouds Sect but also with the leader of the Holy Sect, who was also there.
'Looks like we'll have quite a battle in this place...
Sigh!
I hope I survive to witness the rise of Mortimer or the take-off of Minos and the Black Plain.' That level 79 individual thought to himself as he sat on the ground, not far from the many high-level Spiritual Saints there.
They were there to protect the core of that family and fight in the war about to happen!
...
Meanwhile, Mortimer was in the vicinity of one of the big cities of this state, dominated by imperial forces.
He was preparing to continue his attacks in this place and kill some more high-level Spiritual Saints of the Edwardstone family.
However, upon arriving there, he faced a protected outpost surrounded by high-level grade-3 arrays.
He tried to open a spatial crack within that protected area, but the spatial stabilization arrays prevented him from thriving.
'Uh? This again?' He wondered as discontent expressed itself on his face.
This was already the third location he had passed protected with these arrays, something he did not expect to find in many outposts of his enemies' forces.
Then as he noticed the pattern, he wondered what it meant. 'Are they using all their arrays of this type in their most important posts?
But they shouldn't have many of those arrays!
I've been investigating them for a long time! It's impossible that they have so many to protect the headquarters and all the relevant posts...' He was thinking about that when an idea popped into his mind.
'Could it be...'
"Could they be protecting some posts and concentrating their experts in those places?''
Unfortunately, he couldn't see through the defenses of that place without first destroying some of the arrays in his way.
Since it would be too much trouble for him to do that, and it would show him to the entire empire as too violent a person, he decided to pursue a less problematic alternative.
"I will see all the ranks of that damned family. I will certainly identify their weaknesses, and a means to attack them!" After muttering this, he disappeared from that area.
