The Rise of the Black Plain

When he heard his wife's warning, Minos signaled for everyone to sit down, and he stood up, intending to begin his speech.

After he did this, the people in the area sat up and began to pay attention to him, even though many were against all of this.

For now, he would only speak, and he really had the right to do so. So even Minos' opponents fell silent to hear what he had to say.

Meanwhile, more people were arriving at this place. Still, when they noticed the situation, they held back, trying to understand it amidst their surprise.

Minos then began to make his speech.

"Well, Vogel representatives, as many of you already know, the empire has just won its fight against Abe Vogel's terrorist group." He said as he looked from one side of the area to the other. "Hours ago, a Spiritual Church Cardinal confirmed Abe's death and the likely departure of the enemy Spiritual Sage from our territory."

"Because of this, I announce to you the end of the conflicts and the beginning of a new era for all of us."

'New era? What is he talking about?' The former Assembly President thought to himself, considering that only a conflict was ending.

That was not worthy of marking the beginning or the end of an era for the empire or any territory.

Many people in the surroundings thought about that as well but continued to pay attention to Minos' words.

"For now, we are weak within the Central Continent and Spiritual World. But soon, my government will bring opportunities rarely seen in the area and establish the Black Plain Army as a prominent continental force."

"It will only be a matter of time before our original soldiers become Spiritual Saints. At the same time, the high-level members of the Gray Clouds Sect will advance toward a new stage."

"Those who stand by my side will surely enjoy those opportunities, directly or indirectly." Minos gestured to that stunned audience.

Even the representatives who had already committed to voting favorably for Minos could not help but doubt him after his words. After all, he had just talked about advancement to the 9th stage!

That was not something trivial!

Even the Flaming Empire, which was better than Vogel, had only produced a Spiritual Sage after Harold had ventured into the Flowers Kingdom.

On the other hand, Vogel was poorer than Harold's state and had barely managed to nurture 2 level 77 Spiritual Saints before the fall of the Vogel family.

Considering such things, Minos' words impressed, positively or negatively, many people there!

"How is he going to accomplish that?" Someone whispered to one of his colleagues sitting next to him.

"I don't know, something like that is not simple... He's probably bluffing."

"But..."

"But he's said similar things before and ended up keeping his promises." Another person argued in a whispering tone.

"You can't trust Minos. He's too slippery and always trying to benefit. So maybe he is just trying to fool us after he has built up such a track record."

"But we can't ignore his record..."

As some elders talked among themselves, Minos continued. "Now, with the end of that conflict, peace around the region, and decreased tensions with the Flaming Empire, we can focus on ourselves. And with that, the Bank of the Black Plain will begin to distribute resources to the affected areas, and we will begin to develop the empire again."

The Bank of the Black Plain was no longer just an economic power in the northern region. This institution already had enough resources to even move some less prestigious noble families from Vogel and other states in the area.

Knowing this, Minos intended to use such an institution to attract more people to his side.

"With the financial power we currently have, we can help our most capable and willing allies of the empire with resources essential to their development."

"With the return of peace, things never before seen in Vogel and other states in the area will become possible within the empire!"

"To begin, we will direct 100 million medium-grade crystals to help the powers of Vogel recover from these difficult times and promote their strengths for the sake of the empire."

Gulp!

'100 million?' Some elders there swallowed their saliva after those words.

This amount was more significant than the total revenue of several smaller noble families in this area, even considering years of hard work.

As several of these organizations were represented in the Assembly, many individuals were interested in that.

'Bastard!'

'He's trying to buy off the representatives of the smaller families in front of all of us!' The woman next to the former leader of the Assembly thought as she clenched her fists.

Even by the local standard, 100 million medium-grade crystals were a lot. That was worth about a billion low-grade crystals, enough to create several large cities from scratch on the Black Plain.

Considering the amount's relevance, everyone there knew that this was a blatant bribe on Minos' part.

But Minos had no problem with that and continued. "But beyond that, there will be opportunities for explorations of new lands and resources for those who stand by our side."

"That's for our allies. Those who decide to move against the empire's progress will naturally fall behind." He became more serious, looking at his opponents in the area.

"They won't have any opportunities and will eventually find themselves outnumbered by their fellow neighbors."

"That is the fate of those who go against progress!"

"Tsk!"

"What nonsense!" One of the elders from one of the strongest families in Vogel got up from his seat and walked out of that place, finding it rather presumptuous of Minos to speak such things.

It was true that Minos now had the Gray Clouds Sect, but even with that, it would be long before the Black Plain forces reached the level needed to cause all that.

Even more, it would take a long time for Minos to be able to 'produce' Spiritual Saints native to the northern region. Consequently, it would take a while for him to cause trouble for them without being limited by the Edwardstone family.

Knowing this, he and others there were not bearing Minos' words and soon stood up so as not to continue under the current 'torture.'

But as much as some were angry, others were delighted.

Not only was this an excellent opportunity for several people and organizations, but it was also a way for some powers to put more fire into the local succession dispute.

Some powers had an advantage over others, so it was natural that the weaker ones in the dispute would like problems that brought opportunities to them.

Minos noticed the place becoming more agitated and said. "In any case, whoever is willing to develop, I accept you with open doors. The empire will transform your lives."

"As for those moving away, I wish you good luck. The future alone and isolated may not be as good as you imagine." He saw those people turning to him and looking at him hatefully but did nothing, maintaining his posture.

"With that, I propose a vote..."