Days later...
The entire empire was still discussing what Minos had done in the Brown area days ago.
More than 200 million of the empire's citizens had watched as the emperor judged and executed more than 2 million traitors to the nation before ordering the expulsion of the same number of families from his territory.
Of the 5% of the state's population that had witnessed the event across the state, more than half of the inhabitants of the Black Plain Empire were aware of everything that had happened.
The day after Minos' deeds, all anyone talked about was the punishment the emperor had meted out to the group of rebels who had tried to surrender to the aliens.
Many people were a little afraid because many had done nothing but express their desire not to join the war. But the part of the state's population that had lived in the region the longest and knew the most about Minos' history, who had followed him since the War of Independence, saw things differently.
Minos was not a leader who ruled only to be admired and supported by his people. He had a clear interest and would do anything to achieve his goals.
He didn't create opportunities for his people out of compassion. He did it to strengthen his state and increase his chances of gaining more power with the army and, more recently, with alien technologies.
In the past, he had exterminated families, expelled people from his state, and punished those who broke the rules he created.
So when the news of what he had done came, at least 1.5 billion inhabitants were not so surprised by the massacre of the rebels, as they had treated it as just another of Minos' moves.
But another part of the state had been in the Black Plain Empire for less time, having arrived there after the war in the south had begun when things were relatively stable in the north of the continent.
These people had heard the stories of Minos' past exploits, but they had never lived through the terrible experiences.
Faced with the first great moment of uncertainty, many couldn't help but fear the future and wonder if they were on the right path.
But when the first news of the event was published a few days after Minos' deeds, the discussions around the state would reach new heights!
...
In a tavern in the capital of the End's area, one of the most developed areas after the core of the empire...
Several sheets of newspapers lay on the tavern's floor, and there was a lot of noise in this place where people normally came to eat, drink, and relax among friends.
On one side of the tavern, some people were talking in low voices with worried expressions, while on the other side, the customers were loudly talking while drinking.
One of the loudspeakers said. "The empire must kill these bastards! Aliens come to the Spiritual World, and a bunch of cowards want to surrender? They want to get in our way because they're afraid to fight? Fuck them!"
"Yes! If anyone from our state wants to side with the aliens, then let them leave our land and find a place to wait out the invasion! But we don't have to live with those bastards or accept their opinions!"
"I won't accept an enemy that sees my children as food or slaves to dictate things in the world! If we have to live in misery, I'd rather fight to the death! His Majesty is more clear than ever. His decision couldn't have been better!" A local man said aloud, his face shaking.
He had seen the war of Minos and the rest of the northern region decades ago and then seen the benefits of being on the side of Emperor Stuart. He had suffered before, but by siding with his former enemy, he had grown up, stopped being a Spiritual King, and then reached the end of the 7th stage!
He now dreamed of advancing to the 8th stage, something he had never dreamed of before the rise of Minos.
But these opportunities didn't come for free. First, he had lost a lot in the War of Independence, and then he had to learn to live by Minos' rules.
The price was that he had to forget the past, accept the enemy, and even work for him.
Was it worth it? Of course, it was!
But now he couldn't help but feel irritated when he saw that there were people who had never lost anything or given anything in return but thought they couldn't be accused by His Majesty Minos Stuart.
How could he see these people muttering about it and remain silent?
To him, these people were ungrateful for the opportunities they had been given, foolish for thinking that everything in the world should be fair, and ultimately cowardly for not seeing that the current situation was one of life and death.
By now, more than half the continent was aware that an alien invasion was planned to take place in a few decades, something that would bring a war of world proportions to this planet.
The enemy was coming to this world to gather resources, not to make friends. It would exterminate everyone in its path, as it didn't need the local people to work for it.
All this had been revealed in the latest newspapers, which Minos had used to convince his people to work even harder for the empire and to justify his actions of days before.
Knowing this, Minos' supporters could not remain silent!
Meanwhile, those who were afraid couldn't help but comment on the situation's absurdity.
"What are we going to do? These people are fanatics! At least half of the population is willing to die in this absurd battle that the newspapers are talking about." A person who had been in the empire for less than 10 years said to the group of 5 people sitting around two tables.
"I didn't expect there would be people who would side with His Majesty after this." A woman said quietly. "Not only were 2 million people unjustly killed that day. More than 8 million people were expelled from the empire for being related to the dead.
Do you believe that? Innocent people were punished simply for having blood ties to the so-called 'traitors.'" She said as she looked wide-eyed at her tablemates.
"The situation on the ground is really complicated. His Majesty seems to have control over a large part of the population, even though he has acted so cruelly." Another said with a sigh, not knowing what to do.
