Meanwhile, in the Eastern Empire...
Vico was on the border of his state meeting with Willow at this very moment.
Their states were working together to prepare for the unstable times ahead, acting to prevent themselves from the actions Maximillian was taking in the Evergreen Empire.
At this meeting, Vico and this woman arranged for joint training of their forces near the border with the Flaming Empire before the most important thing was finished being discussed.
At the end of this meeting of more than two hours, the one who was known as the strongest on the continent said to that woman. "What's with Henry Quinn? He and I have been mortal enemies for a long time, but I have never seen him so strange as recently...
He seems to have his mind elsewhere. He doesn't seem as focused on what we are about to face."
Willow heard that and sighed, setting her cup of tea aside.
She closed her eyes and said. "He is confident that the dangers of the North Sea will reach everyone on the continent. His lack of focus on our nearest problem is because he is dividing his attention between there and here."
"But that is nonsense. The catastrophe upon us will come from our weakening due to Maximillian. We'll be fine if we can avoid major attrition because of that man." Vico said, confident that there could not be something so terrible in that place.
He had never been to that maritime region as he had always been quite busy taking care of his state and the constant tensions with the Western Empire and the Spiritual Church.
But he felt that if he went to that place, nothing could threaten him.
Willow didn't believe Henry's theories either and said. "Yeah, but he believes that nonsense... Anyway, don't worry about him. I'm sure he'll be focused on fighting Maximillian when the time comes."
"Sigh... I hope so."
"Anyway, we should thank Duncan. I never thought an enemy would do so much for peace on the continent." This woman commented on the Supreme Pontiff, whom she had never been on good terms with due to the differences of opinion she and he had.
But at this crucial time for the continent's future, Duncan had shown his commitment to peace and not getting involved in a war that could weaken all sides considerably.
Maximillian and Duncan wanted a strong Church, but one had a much more offensive approach than the other. It was unacceptable for one of them to risk so much for just the western region, but the other was fully willing to take all the risks.
Vico had known Duncan for thousands of years, and both had fought each other a few times. So he said. "As much as he is a devotee of the Seraph, he has never had any bellicose thoughts. The current circumstances don't surprise me.
My only regret is that he is already at the end of his life and cannot do more in the short term."
"Hmm..." She agreed. 'He should go into seclusion soon.
Sigh, I doubt he will move on. Then soon he will die.'
"I never thought I would say that, but I will miss him." She smiled before standing up, intending to return to her capital since everything important had already been discussed.
Seeing this woman standing, Vico looked at her seriously momentarily and asked. "I hear that your state remains neutral concerning Minos Stuart and his little state... Why is that? Aren't you convinced that he has thrown us into this chaos?"
For Vico, the situation of Minos could not be ignored, even though he was weak and had not done what he had done for evil. He was an enemy who had unleashed a terrible enemy for them to deal with!
As such, he had to be punished and at least be excluded from the relations of these western region states in the short term!
Willow understood how Vico blamed Minos for releasing Maximillian but also how his heir fell under that man's control.
She stopped and looked at the horizon through the entrance of the tent they were in. "I have an agreement with Minos regarding the Continental Tournament and nothing more. For the moment, I see no reason to end that agreement. He may have done something terrible, but he can still help me achieve my goal in this competition.
In any case, my state and his are not helping each other at all."
"Continental Tournament?" Vico understood this woman's goal. After all, he also had this competition in mind.
He intended to place his bets on this event and compete with other bettors for the magnificent prize that should be given to the event winner.
"I hope it will be just that. It would be terrible if we were destabilized for one of us to relate to an enemy like him."
With those words, he left that place before Willow, leaving that woman thinking about his words.
"Sigh... Minos Stuart, I hope you'll give me some feedback. Otherwise, I'll have to teach you a lesson after this tournament!"
...
In the blink of an eye, another year had passed...
In the meantime, Ruth, Isabella, and Abby had advanced, reaching level 78. Meanwhile, Sarah had reached level 62 days ago, when she left the Spatial Kingdom, where her mother was still in seclusion to advance to level 80.
Gloria was still striving to get there, while Minos was no longer far from his long-awaited moment.
Meanwhile, as the core of that family grew stronger, the men of the Longus family investigating Minos gathered all the information they could have obtained that year.
They had discovered not a few things but enough for the previously confident men to become somewhat concerned.
Minos was already very strong at level 79, and with his advance closer and closer to the 9th stage, they had to worry about acting against him fast!
So when their deadline passed this day, that person immediately used the high-level communicator he had with him to ask his leader what to do.
He had already sent the information he and his men had collected, so the patriarch should already have a position.
"Patriarch, what shall we do? This person is by no means simple. He is strengthening quickly and will certainly come after us if we delay. By that time, we will have no alternatives against him."
A voice then came from that communicator. "I have made up my mind. Go to..."
