The Rise of the Black Plain

"Is that true? Did the Vogel family attack a group from our organization?"

"How can that be? That's pure madness!"

"But are those rings really from the people who attacked you? What guarantee we have that these IDs were not planted to harm the Vogel family?" Someone deeply connected to that family questioned aloud.

Upon hearing that, the strongest Spiritual Saints there looked at Minos since this was a possibility.

He then said. "Well, it doesn't matter. My wife is an Archbishop of the Church, and that Spiritual Saint attacked her. That's enough for us to start an investigation against the Vogel family."

"In addition to those rings, she will be able to describe the enemies' faces and confirm that they were indeed the owners of those rings, thus confirming the Vogel family's involvement in an assassination attempt against members of the Church. That will be enough to get the people of Iron Hearts moving toward this city."

The people there again swallowed their saliva, this time after hearing the name of that ancient order responsible for the punishments of this organization.

"That..."

"Isn't that a bit much? You want to exterminate an entire family because of three people?" One of the defenders of the Vogel family there said in a worried tone.

Minos then coldly said. "It's not just those three people. I am sure the one who gave the order for this situation and sent the Spiritual Saints to the Black Plain was the Crown Prince, Abe Vogel."

"In that way, considering the rules of the Church, yes, such a family deserves extermination."

"The prince?"

"How is that possible?"

"Still, I think that's a bit much... We should talk to the royal family before we do something drastic."

They exchanged a few words with each other, worried about what would happen to the kingdom if one of the Iron Hearts groups came to work in this place.

It was not a simple situation. This kingdom was part of the alliance of states against the Flaming Empire, and its collapse could spell disaster for billions of people.

Not only that, Vogel's economy and defense would be in tatters if the royal family were destroyed, creating a civil war or invasion war by other states.

One way or another, the end of the Vogel family could mean the end of these people's stability and the end of the peace of tens of millions in this state!

Hence the worries of these people!

Minos then commented to them. "When I was controlling the black hole earlier, the prince was along with your group. But when I had finished, he was already far away... What do you think he was doing?"

The people there realized that, in fact, Abe was close to King Vogel until the moment before Minos appeared, and then such a prince disappeared soon after.

"Are you saying he's running away?"

"Hmm, he ordered everything and knew that my group was investigating him. So when he saw me, he immediately decided to escape." Minos nodded, trying to convince these people of what needed to be done.

"But..."

When someone else there wanted to question him, this masked man lost his patience and said. "You see, right now, Abe Vogel is on the run, with the royal family possibly having already received his warning. So, there are two alternatives here. Either they will flee or try to stop us from leaking the information."

"So make up your minds now. Are you going to become traitors to the Church and not do what you must? Or will you pass the message to headquarters asking for a group of Iron Hearts?"

Minos had no access to communication from that place to Church headquarters, and even Gloria would have a hard time doing that since that was not her station. Hence, he depended on these people to inform the Church headquarters about the problem.

On the other hand, he felt that the longer they stayed there, the more members of the royal family would flee, making eliminating them difficult. Thus, he did not want to wait for these people to debate the issue further because of their weak resolve to follow the Church's rules.

The leader of this post then sighed and said. "All right, we'll pass on the message to headquarters to send out an investigation group. But this will destroy the entire kingdom. Are you aware of that?"

She knew Minos' suspicion was enough for an investigation since Gloria had her life threatened and was a high-ranking member. Therefore, she could not stand in the way of King Stuart's plans. But she was concerned about the citizens of this state, which would soon be in chaos.

Minos then said. "Let's blame the genocidal Abe, the destroyer of peace and his own family. But..."

"But if the Church wants, there is an alternative salvation for this state." He suggested, as he walked over and looked at the garden he was in, with his back to those people.

"Alternative?" Someone asked.

"The Church has never had to eliminate a royal family before, so this will be the first case in history. That way, to avoid the chaos of such an action, the Church can use this justification to temporarily take over power from this state and help choose a new sovereign." He suggested, thinking of something fantastic. "That will guarantee peace in the short term."

The people there agreed with his comment, but one questioned him. "But eventually, the result would be the same. No family in this state compares to the royal house. So how will they escape the terror of war when we return the state to a local family?"

Minos turned and smiled from under his mask. "This place unjustly attacked the Black Plain. Therefore, I believe the Stuart family has the right to participate in the power struggle."

The people there were shocked at Minos' suggestion, but he continued. "If the royal house of the Black Plain wins the contest, the neighboring kingdoms will not covet Vogel, and the Flaming Empire will not start a war against the three remaining states."

"What?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Someone asked, trying to understand Minos' craziness.

Talking about the Black Plain right now was absurd, even considering the connection of that place to the current problem. But even if we left that aside, how could the Black Plain avoid any trouble?

That place was much weaker than the weakest noble family in Vogel... How could such an organization prevent a war?

Minos then said. "If the Black Plain's King becomes the sovereign of this state, Vogel will automatically have a leader with a connection to the Flaming Empire through the Gray Clouds Sect."

"Not only that, this King is an outer member of the Spiritual Church, which means that his influence alone might be more valuable than the power of the Vogel family, enough to keep the peace!"

"What?"

"I didn't know that..."

The Church had many outer members. So Minos talking about it did not reveal his identity or integrity in suggesting such a thing...

And since he was already there, trying to move the hearts of these people, Minos had not been able to pass up the opportunity to get a chance at dominating this place.

He was not strong enough right now, but the Church would have to dominate this state for some time until the decision of the new royal family was decided. Hence, he had put himself between the options!

And with that, the people there soon fell into their thoughts, while someone had already left to notify the Church headquarters!

...