The Rise of the Black Plain

While Minos was using the alternatives at his disposal to search for Blake Walker, Gloria had already arrived at the church headquarters in this region.

After some time from the moment she had said goodbye to 'Albert,' she had taken care of her personal affairs before finally heading towards the temple of the Spiritual Church. At this place, she should settle some bureaucratic matters concerning her position and deal with her primary purpose in coming to this region.

So, even though it was already early evening in Athela, Gloria had moved on towards her responsibilities, as she intended to settle her affairs here as soon as possible.

She could not advance the process concerning the funeral and royal succession. But, she could advance the other things at her will.

Because of this, she was already in the large central hall of that temple, where the Bishops of this post usually met to discuss the most critical matters!

...

In that grand hall, where there was a long 'U' shaped table, Gloria was in the leading position around this table, sitting in an armchair, from where she could see all the Bishops that were there.

Each of them wore the traditional purple cloak that their hierarchy in this institution allowed them. But, at the same time, the beautiful redhead that Minos had recently met was dressed in her black cloak.

And while the people in that place were quite anxious because this woman had finally arrived, one of them finished recounting some critical information to Gloria.

She had been traveling for more than 50 days. During that time, for the most part, she had been flying on her spiritual beast, away from any church outpost that could perhaps provide her with certain information.

And since only the crows of the church branch in the Flaming Empire had the mark of this Archbishop, there was no way for her to communicate directly with these people except through other local branches.

In this way, Gloria was unaware of several of the developments that had taken place in the region during that period, so she needed to be informed of the most important things.

"... And that was the most relevant thing that happened in the last two months, Archbishop." The senior Bishop of this post of the Spiritual Church finished talking about the problems in the region and the situation in the Black Plain.

"So, this young ruler Minos can already do so much damage, huh?" Gloria muttered this as she found the data regarding this person impressive.

During the past two or three months, Minos had not only fought against level 59 Spiritual Kings twice. But he had also successfully eliminated two of them and seriously injured a third.

Not only that, after these battles, he had wiped out a few tens of thousands of enemy Spiritual Generals around the Black Plain, significantly increasing his regional fame.

And finding out about some of this information, Gloria could not help but be impressed with how active and powerful Minos was.

'He would surely do very well in the Flaming Empire...' So, she believed it as she compared Minos's bloodlust with what it took to succeed in that state.

The Flaming Empire had its dangers, but it was also largely peaceful. That is, if one agreed to live like most people and not put oneself at unnecessary risk, such an individual would have little chance of being killed prematurely.

But less risk would also mean less potential, profitability, etc.

So, to be victorious in that place, one would have to put oneself in danger from time to time and fight against whoever stood in one's way, against the status quo, against the dominant power.

And thinking about these things, Gloria was curious as to why Minos had chosen to stay in this region, even though he had the option to travel safely to that state.

After all, since he was so willing to fight and take risks, would not it be better to do it in the empire, where the limits were much higher?

If only he were a peaceful person, she could understand Minos' irrational choice in wanting to stay in this region. But this was not the case!

So, she also felt a little puzzled about Minos.

She then laughed interestingly and said. "Well, if he becomes a king, maybe this region will leap to the next level..."

Hearing such a thing, most there shuddered in awe, fearing that their leader intended to favor the Black Plain.

"This..."

But Gloria was merely thinking aloud, showing these people a different 'view.'

"If this Minos wins the war and eventually reaches level 59, he will become strong enough to travel safely through some northern region neighboring kingdoms."

"That means he and his Black Plains will be able to access resources that the rest of the region normally can't." She finished rambling.

The Spiritual Church prohibited outside powers from influencing the northern region of the Central Continent. But there was no limitation on people from this region leaving here and going off on their own to grow or bring in wealth from outside.

Like, for example, someone could leave this region, spend a few years in the Flaming Empire working as a mercenary and then return with his riches.

There would be no problem from the church's point of view, and this person could quickly change his or her family's life.

The problem with this was that the dangers were extreme since this region's people were not strong. And consequently, the vast majority who had tried this in the past had not returned...

So, many did not even dare to do this and had to rely on imports of external resources, which were extremely expensive!

Because of this, thinking about the power that Minos might have in the future, Gloria had found fascinating the Black Plain's possibility if he won the war and ventured outside the region.

That could quickly raise the level of the Black Plain and, at some point, result in something positive for the entire region.

But upon hearing Gloria's words, all those old men had heard had been the potential for the Black Plain to dominate the entire region.

They understood that such a thing could have its advantages, but what good would such a thing do if they could not participate in it?

After all, their friends, who constantly paid them subsidies, were Minos' enemies, not that young man himself!

As for changing sides, they did not know if they could get as good deals with Minos as they had with the regional families. That's because, unlike those organizations, young Stuart, would not have to worry about the balance of local power!

That would be terrible for those old Bishops!

Gulp!

'We can't let that happen!' One of them determinedly thought while sweating in nervousness.

One of the strongest there then commented on what Gloria had just said. "That could be amazing, Archbishop..."

"It could be incredible if the devil Minos committed to peace and stability. But we don't know his true intentions, and perhaps that potential will result in a disaster for millions of innocent people."

"Yes, Bishop Basil is correct!" Another of them said in a firm tone.

"We can't trust a person with no track record. A 23-year-old who may not even have a good long-term strategy. That perhaps is using something artificial to generate short-term benefits."

"Someone who does whatever he wants. Blows up cities, kills kings..."

"Hell, I recently heard disturbing rumors about how he manipulates enemies!"

While hearing all this, Gloria watched those people, assessing how blunt their position against Minos was, even if this young man never directly harmed the church.

'These people are more concerned with their positions than with our institution...' Her eyes sharpened, but she said nothing to them. 'None of them will have a good future in the church!'

'Too bad I can't dismiss those people. Otherwise...' She imagined this, lamenting the fact that there were not many replacements for Bishops in this region.

In any case, it would not make much difference to her to leave these people of low potential in this place either. At most, they would slow down the development of the church in this region, which in itself was very limited.

And thinking of the few gains she might have if she made any drastic changes, she decided to keep it going to see what would happen next.

She then said. "Well, then tell me what you think will be best for the church and the region..."