Another two and a half years passed, bringing new members of the Stuart family into the world!
After this long period of peace over the northern region of the Central Continent, new blessings were falling upon this state through the imperial family.
After Minos advanced to level 82, almost at the same time Gloria had reached level 81, the second princess of the Black Plain Empire, daughter of Minos and Isabella, was born!
By now, little Lily Stuart had completed her first year of life and could already walk and speak a few words.
At this age, she had followed the birth of her twin brothers days ago when Ruth finally gave birth to her first children.
The boy she and Minos had named Rowan Stuart, while the girl had earned the name Hollie Stuart.
Both were mere newborns and didn't know where they had been born and currently just slept, suckled, shat, and pissed themselves.
Luckily Minos, Ruth, and Isabella had plenty of help from their large family!
...
In the Black Plain imperial palace, babies' sounds and smells reached almost every corner of the imperial family's residence.
This place that had once witnessed dirty things and sounds that little ones should never hear had now become home to three new children.
Sarah and Kendrick didn't spend much time at home anymore, but with the births of their new siblings, they were both there more often, helping to keep the house full.
There were also Angelica, Patience, Oswald, Ruth's parents, Isabella's mother, Maisie, and several women close to the top of the Imperial family.
At this moment, they were all gathered in the large living room of this residence while Ruth was feeding Hollie, and Rowan was in Maisie's arms, playing with his grandmother's breasts.
Hollie had brown hair like her father's, but her eyes were black like Ruth's. Her skin was white, but her chubbiness made her look a bit pudgy.
Rowan was quite different from his sister, having a much slimmer body, black hair, and brown eyes, but a nose that seemed to be the replica of Minos', in a smaller version, of course.
Meanwhile, little Lily was alone in a small fenced area, where several of her toys were in the surroundings, where she walked and sometimes crawled.
Lily seemed to have inherited all of her father's looks and didn't look much like Isabella, except for being a girl.
But her hair and eyes were like Minos', as well as some facial contours resembled his more than Isabella's.
She looked like a little female version of Minos!
"Papa! Papa!" Lily said as she saw her old man sitting in an armchair next to her area, raising her little hands up to go into his arms.
Minos quickly picked her up and placed her on his lap, running one of his hands over the little head of this girl.
"Ah, the family is getting bigger and bigger..." Ivy commented as she looked around the area, feeling overjoyed for the Stuart family.
Maisie agreed with her friend as she rocked little Rowan, standing next to Angelica and Ruth's mother, both looking at the little one in her arms.
Kendrick was watching his siblings next to his girlfriend, a young woman from the Vogel area, who he had gotten to know over the past few months after reaching level 50.
"Kendrick, aren't you happy? Your father is raising a big family." That young blonde, level 55, commented in one of her boyfriend's ears, feeling like carrying her own children.
Kendrick smiled bitterly upon hearing this, knowing that this 17-year-old was thinking something different, despite talking about Minos and the rest of the family.
Kendrick was no fool! She was clearly telling him that they could have a large family too!
"Yes, I'm delighted..." He murmured but had no interest in having children in the short term.
He was too young and had too many things he wanted to do before having children!
In another corner of that room, Sarah, still a pure young woman but already at level 69, was thinking more or less the same way as her brother.
She wanted to have children in the future to contribute to the family. Still, in the short term, all that was on her mind was to get stronger and finally get enough to have more freedom.
Before raising her own family, she wanted to get out from under her father's wing and finally explore the northern region of the Central Continent without the many restrictions on her.
Meanwhile, the happiest one there after the two new mothers of this family was Oswald, who saw his family's future there.
For someone like him who had only had two daughters, seeing Minos reach his 5th descendant was a magnificent thing for this man.
Many heirs meant a greater chance for the family to maintain its power over time, something very important for any organization in this world.
At the same time, given the difficulty in creating families with many direct descendants of the same person, these five children were a sign from heaven of how blessed Minos was.
Because of this, several people there felt as if he would beat any odds in front of him, no matter how unfavorable they were!
Abby and Gloria were watching these children as they smiled contentedly, happy that Ruth and Isabella had finally joined them as mothers of Minos' children.
But amid this family moment, with the women in the area talking a lot, suddenly, a level 89 man, one of the 4 strongest Sages in the empire, appeared at the entrance of that residence, drawing Minos' attention.
'Your Majesty, I bring important news.' That hybrid coming from the Divine Continent years ago beside Minos said so in his mental communication with his leader.
'What is it?' Minos asked as he continued to hold Lily without disturbing the various people chatting and laughing in that room.
'High-level spatial distortions have just been reported arising to the center-east of the Flaming Empire.' That man communicated in an anxious tone. 'It seems the portals to the Ancient Dragon Spatial Kingdom are opening, Your Majesty. In a year or two, the portals should be stable enough for groups to pass through them and enter this lost sanctuary!'
'Oh?' Minos' eyes widened significantly as he finally saw a sign to leave Dry City after years of not leaving this area protected by the local defensive dome.
...
