Previously, young Stuart was already considered by many in this region to be the strongest Spiritual King in this part of the Central Continent.
News about him and the tragedies that befell those who stood in his way were constantly reported in the major regional periodicals. And because of this kind of media, Minos had naturally become famous.
However, as much as it was generally agreed that he had power, a lot of power potential, and was also feared, few knew the extent of his powers.
The news was probably trustworthy. Most thought so. But was there no exaggeration?
Perhaps some individuals, perhaps Minos himself, were behind this information, improving his position in the mindset of the local population, perhaps thus scaring off his enemies.
On the other hand, the population itself used to alter certain news, changing an 'a' into a 'b.'
Such a thing could, in fact, be unintentional since once different people retold the same story, eventually, some facts could be subtly changed. And when applied to hundreds of thousands, you could have a myth, sometimes originating from pure collective hysteria.
And considering all this, many honestly did not know how terrible Minos was.
He was powerful, but was he so powerful as to face and even overcome a king?
Until recently, only those individuals at a high regional level, with good contacts, or people in good socio-economic positions, knew this.
But once the news of James Cromwell's death had been released, immediately the uncertainties surrounding Minos had disappeared.
Now the regional population knew that Minos had faced many Spiritual Kings that were at level 59, survived, and even caused the death of one of them!
That was impressive!
In hundreds of thousands of years of known history, nothing of the sort had ever been reported!
With that, many were already beginning to see the Black Plain in different ways.
Some were simply afraid of how far the ambition of a person with such power could go.
Would he march on a journey of conquest, causing chaos throughout the region and then changing everything?
Or perhaps he would bring calamity to the region when he eventually got a taste of power?
Maybe develop a hellish state, where the Black Plain would demand, and the rest of the region would have to obey?
There was much uncertainty in the most anxious minds, those with weak hearts.
But many respected Minos even more and merely saw him as the example of a successful cultivator, powerful enough to take what he wanted.
To them, the Black Plain would eventually be a kingdom led by a great leader, and many were already beginning their preparations to immigrate!
Obviously, these people were not crazy enough to travel the dangerous roads of the northern Central Continent just to get to a territory at war. But many of them were already preparing their savings for the day when Minos won the conflict.
For such people, Minos would win the war of independence sooner or later. So, the best thing to do was to prepare now so that in the future, they could immediately go to the Black Plain once this territory achieved peace.
But these were some of the impressions of ordinary society. The regional sovereigns, members of royal and noble families, were not happy about James' death.
They already knew that Minos could take on several regional peak experts. But doing so was quite different from being able to kill one of them!
As such, they were scared as never before in their lives!
...
House Snow's Royal Palace, Snow Kingdom...
After finding out everything that had recently happened on the Black Plain, King Snow was silent in his cultivation room.
He was sitting on a cushion on the floor of that place, dressed in a large silver robe, with his eyes closed but with an expression that showed what he was thinking.
And seeing this, the crown prince of this state, who had just read this information to his father, could not help but notice the contradiction they were experiencing.
Not long ago, this family was fighting against House Cromwell, having eliminated several people from the other side, but lost many more from their own.
But here they were, mourning the death of the leader of that organization against whom they had fought so recently.
Worse, he, like his father, felt sorry for what had happened to James.
That king had started the war between the two royal families, ignoring the existence of Minos at that time. But coincidentally, he had been the one most harmed by this action!
He fought, weakened his family in the war against the Snows, and then had to stop the war for fear of Minos. But then, he barely had a chance to fight this young man properly, and he had already been killed.
It was truly pitiful.
"Sigh..."
"We reap what we sow." King Snow said this in a low voice, mourning James' death but not glorifying the man just because such an individual had died.
King Snow considered James an enemy, a leader of an organization who had done something that the Snow family would not forget.
However, Adam Snow was a pragmatic man who understood that the now-deceased King Cromwell was needed in the war against Minos.
Therefore, he mourned that person's death, feeling that, unfortunately, the truths of life had appeared for them precisely at this delicate moment.
'Looks like I'll have to fight...' He thought about it contritely since he did not like the idea of leaving his state.
Particularly considering that members of the assassin's organization responsible for the humiliating death of one of his sons would also fight on his side.
"Learn from this, Ambrose." He looked at his son and advised. "On your path, now and then, you will have to deal with problems caused by the mistakes of others."
"And if you don't do something about it, it can even destroy you, even though you haven't done anything wrong!"
He then stood up and looked at the only window in that place. "I will have to go out to war now, and if..."
"If I die, call back all the family members and vassals and try to sign a peace agreement with the enemy!"
"Father..."
...
As King Snow prepared for the worst, King Carline was red with rage upon discovering that one of his women had been beaten by Minos.
He was obviously shocked and afraid of what had happened to James. Still, Minos having injured Linette and even put her at risk of death was far more troubling to this man.
Previously he had sent her to the battlefield, but that had happened for pure lack of alternatives. After all, there were only three people at level 59 in this state, one being Linette, another him, and finally, another of his wives.
But he could not leave his kingdom, and it was not good to send two of the strongest people from his family.
During the crisis caused by the Kain family, never had the other top-level Spiritual Kings, besides those of the Kingdom of the Waves itself, appear on the battlefield!
But Minos' case was so grim that they had had to send someone.
So, it had to be one of his wives, giving this man no option, which made him feel bad and fearful because of what had happened.
"The wretch is already beyond limits!" King Carline said this while his stress could be seen in his expression.
On the other hand, the black-haired woman next to him, his second wife, frowned as she looked at the newspaper in front of her in that royal office.
"How do we solve this?" She muttered, trying to find a way out of this nightmare, something she had never thought could happen to them.
And frankly, by staying in first place for so long, being the strongest, most prosperous, could make one think that hard-to-solve problems would no longer come their way.
The feeling of invincibility would grow, and such an individual would become more and more confident.
But sooner or later, the hard-to-handle stones would appear in one's path!
And that woman was feeling that right now, as she judged the 'mountain' that had suddenly fallen in front of her, something called Minos.
"The only thing left for us to do is appeal to the Spiritual Church!" King Carline said this, feeling that it was not worth putting the lives of all the level 59 Spiritual Kings in this region at risk.
They could fight together and win, he thought. But some would undoubtedly die...
Perhaps himself.
Considering this, since Minos had already become a threat capable of killing kings, then if there was a chance that the church could help them, that was the best option!
