The Rise of the Black Plain

Regional headquarters of the Spiritual Church in the Kingdom of the Waves...

After more than a year since the start of the conflicts on the Black Plain, the members of the Spiritual Church in this region had done many things behind the curtains while they were almost going out of their minds from so much anger.

After all, for an organization that cherished good dividends generated in times of stability, such as financial profit and new 'seeds,' a war of regional proportions was the worst thing that could happen.

Even more so for the, shall we say, less honest members of this organization, those individuals who needed their 'friends' to have stability for 'everyone' to be okay.

Because of this, many of the regional leaders of this branch of the Spiritual Church were very anxious about the development of the war, lamenting their losses, stressing themselves more and more with Minos.

But not only do they have to stress about the catastrophic results that the regional organizations had been having in that territory so far. While acting behind the curtains, they had encountered a series of bureaucracies and difficulties in solving the local problem.

The people of this main branch of the church in this region had made several reports, communiqués, requests for help to the branch in the Flaming Empire responsible for this region. However, as much as they felt that their situation was enough for interventions to be approved, so far, they had only failed, receiving repeated noes.

They wanted someone from the empire to come here and deal with Minos, but the branch in that state had no interest in getting involved in the matter. For them, unless the church representatives in the northern part of this continent had proof that an outside force had nurtured young Stuart, they would not get directly involved.

That is because if they, for example, sent someone to deal with Minos, in the future, this action could turn against the organization itself. That is, who would guarantee that the church would not do the same to others in the future, perhaps using the same excuse used for the young Stuart situation?

The requests were then denied to ensure that the regional experts did not fear them for the wrong reasons, potentially diminishing the 'attractiveness' of the church in the region.

The Spiritual Church was undoubtedly an organization that took advantage of its privileged position. However, unlike the parasite that leads to the host's death, this organization knew how to live in harmony with its hosts...

Because of this, they were not as authoritative as they could be, not even interfering in situations that could only harm them on a small scale.

And that was the church's view on this matter.

A war of independence in a breakaway part of the Brown Kingdom, which put the whole region in danger, was frankly something that could affect individuals high up in the empire.

However, a war of independence could not last long, especially considering that almost the entire region was already involved!

At most, such a thing would last a few years, less than a decade for sure!

And that was a period that the church could wait without feeling too much of the adverse effects of regional destabilization in this part of the Central Continent.

Consequently, considering the long-term problems that interventions could bring, the Spiritual Church preferred to wait, hoping for the natural resolution of the conflict.

But of course, that was the view of the highest-ranking individuals in the Flaming Empire, those who did not suffer from local economic pressure...

The local Bishops, on the other hand, thought differently. Their pockets were becoming empty without new 'revenues,' and their potentials were also being diminished.

After all, cultivating fast was the only way to rise from positions in the Spiritual Church.

With this, these men kept trying as they could, using different justifications each time they communicated with their supervisors.

...

"Archbishop, please look at our situation."

"The Spiritual Church is a symbol of peace in the Spiritual World, an institution that brings security to its faithful, symbolizing hope and light."

"But in these tough times, this time when 2 billion people in our region are fearful about their local future, we have done virtually nothing!" A Bishop dressed in the typical purple cloak of those church members at the 6th stage said this while looking at a screen that had the image of a man wearing a black cloak.

Such an individual was a Spiritual Emperor, someone with whom that Bishop was communicating through a telecommunication array, classified as low-level grade-3 one.

This array was the only one of its kind in the region, one that used high-grade crystals to operate efficiently, something that justified the infrequent use of items of this category in this area where there were no high-level crystal mines.

But in such complicated times, the local Bishops utilized some of the high-level crystals in reserve in that post to use such an item.

Anyway, that Bishop then continued his firm request for help. "Archbishop, now that freak has killed one of our regional leaders, King Cromwell!"

"What else will that monster have to do for the branch in the empire to help us? Maybe he'll have to kill all the Spiritual Kings in the region?"

Hearing all this, that black-cloaked man, who appeared to be much younger than the Bishop on the other side of the screen, was unmoved, with no change in his expression.

He then said. "Bishop Alan, if you can't get proof that this young man violated our rules for the northern region, the church will never send anyone on an assassination mission."

"We believe that this is a local problem and should be solved by the people of the northern region itself."

Upon hearing this, such a person clenched his hands in anger, feeling frustrated. "Are you truly not going to do anything? I heard that the mother of the northern region supervisor, <anno data-annotation-id="45f824b7-f40f-a0f7-a3b2-f537cb4b4c85">Archbishop </anno>Gloria Frost, was from our region."

"Will she truly do nothing for her mother's land, even when kings are perishing?" Bishop asked, citing the only person who could give the order for such a thing.

Gloria Frost, level 64, was officially the Archbishop of the Spiritual Church of the northern region of the Central Continent.

However, as the region was weak and it was not interesting to have a representative stronger than the regional leaders, that woman works directly from the capital of the Flaming Empire.

But being away from that place or not, she was the leader of those Bishops of the Minos region.

Consequently, such a Bishop could only appeal to her since this other church representative did not seem willing to budge at all.

"Archbishop Gloria, as you know, is already going to your region, so I can't tell what she thinks about it, considering this new information." That Archbishop remarked, remembering that such a woman had already left the Flaming Empire to resolve the fate of the Kingdom of the Waves.

King Walker was on his last moments, and as the representative of the Spiritual Church of this region, that woman had to be around to attend the royal funeral and subsequent coronation of the crown prince.

Therefore, she was already traveling.

"But previously, she was unwilling to act or give favorable orders for certain interventions in this region..."

"In any case, when she arrives in your kingdom, you will be able to talk to her about it. But one way or another, the church itself will not act, regardless of her position."

"But if you want a tip from me, just endure with the local instability until everything calms down."

"This young man will not target any of you, and eventually, the region will return to its peace when one side wins the conflict or some peace agreement is signed." That person said this without much concern, looking at that Bishop still with the same expression as before.

"Tsk!"

"Anything else?" The Archbishop asked.

"No, Archbishop, that was all." Such a Bishop replied promptly, already preparing to shut down that costly spiritual communication array.

He had a lot to say, but the other side did not want to hear opinions. Because of that, it made no sense for this Bishop to keep spending the precious high-grade crystals, something useful for other kinds of emergencies.

'I hope Archbishop Gloria Frost's mother has taught her about our region and the local traditions, or I fear the worst will happen...' He thought about this with closed eyes, praying that such a mother had been merciful to have done this good deed.

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="45f824b7-f40f-a0f7-a3b2-f537cb4b4c85">I think the word 'Archbishop' is probably designated for men, but in the novel, since this is a title for a fictional organization, I will use that word as a title for women as well. Think of it as the same as saying that a woman is a Spiritual King. It's just a title.</li></ol></annotations>",