The Rise of the Black Plain

While Mortimer was dealing with his affairs relevant to his advancement to the next stage, the imperial family in Payton was concerned about the situation in the Flaming Empire.

After years since the end of the war between the Gray Clouds Sect and the Saints Killing Sect, the Edwardstone family had never been more on alert about the situation of its state than it was now.

The absence of the Emperor weakened the state. And two of the eight most important local organizations were weakened.

At the same time, the enemies to the north were still at about the same strength as before these problems arose, looking in the direction of the empire with an arrogance rarely seen.

The once common fear of the empire was no longer seen as much by those three kingdoms. But, at the same time, this imperial family also had to worry about Minos.

Sometimes he acted as an ally, standing by Isabella's side and not reneging on his agreements with Harold. But other times, his attitudes seemed dangerous to the long-term integrity of the empire, something that made the elders in the imperial family thinks the worst.

As such, this family that had changed little in the last 20 months had worries about worries and were operating to the best of their ability not to lose the reins of the situation.

They remembered Minos' warning regarding Mortimer's plans all too well, so they were concerned about what this man would do next and whether he would succeed in his advance.

...

At the imperial palace in Payton, the supreme elder of the Edwardstone family was at this very moment with some subordinates, dealing with matters concerning the upcoming meeting of local leaders.

Like many powers of this world, this family held meetings between the leaders of vassal organizations every few decades to learn more about their state's situation.

Not only the number of experts, the flow of crystals, and resources, mattered to an imperial family. The emperor or state leader having the chance to talk to their vassals and allies to understand their motivations and current condition was also important.

Considering the times they lived in, these people from Isabella's family were more than ever interested in this meeting scheduled to take place in a few weeks.

"How is the situation of the leaders of the eight sects? Will they come to the meeting?" The supreme elder and current ruler of the empire asked a high-level Spiritual Saint standing in front of him.

That person looked thoughtfully at the old man sitting in front of him and said. "Supreme elder, Minos Stuart will most likely come. Now that he has taken over all of Oswald's duties, we don't expect him to miss such an important meeting."

"Hmm..." The old supreme elder nodded and muttered to himself. "But it's a shame that Oswald did that... Luckily he is still serving us and will try to intervene with those women on behalf of His Majesty."

'I hope he succeeds!'

That standing individual continued. "As for Mortimer, we do not know his whereabouts, nor do we have any relevant information about his presence at this meeting."

Mortimer was in a protected location, where only his sect knew and had access. Because of this, even the spies of the imperial family could not find this man.

In fact, if they had, they probably would have already eliminated this individual who was undeniably a danger to this family's sovereignty over the empire!

If Mortimer reached level 80, he would become the strongest in the state and would be strong enough to eliminate the main supporters of the Edwardstone family. If that happened, it would be a matter of time before that sect dominated the entire empire.

The imperial family wanted to avoid this at all costs. Still, unfortunately, they had no information regarding the location of this man.

As for the other members of the Saints Killing Sect, they could do nothing against these individuals. Besides having their own rules that would hinder them in the future if they used everything at their disposal, they knew that this sect did not negotiate and would rather let one of their own dies than lose something to an opponent.

As it was the sect master himself that they wanted, even if they devastated that organization, they would not get anything of relevance.

The only thing that mattered was Mortimer's location. Since they did not have that, nothing else mattered.

On the other hand, if they acted against the remaining elders of that organization, the empire would lose even more of its experts. The result of this would not be good either since the enemies to the north could dare to act at any moment!

As such, upon hearing that information, the supreme elder could not help but form an ugly expression on his face. 'That wretch! I hope he fails in his attempts and ends up dying!'

'That would be the best outcome for everyone.'

'But if he succeeds...'

Gulp!

"Very well, inform our men and main vassals of this situation. I want them to be prepared to act against Mortimer if he turns against the family." This elder said, making the other expert anxious, imagining the problematic situation they would have to face if the worst happened.

...

While these two were talking in the supreme elder's office, Isabella was dealing with minor matters in her father's work area.

Just as had happened with Minos, this woman would gradually have her responsibilities increased within the imperial family until she could assume her father's position. Until then, the supreme elder would be in charge of the main decisions while still being the local regent.

But amid her responsibilities, she was thinking about the things she talked about with Minos from time to time.

'It won't be long before he reaches the 8th stage. When that happens, it will only be a matter of a few months before he leaves for the Flowers Kingdom to resolve my father's situation.' She thought about this as she looked out the side window of her office.

Isabella did not like the idea of Minos taking risks with those women. But she feared much more for her father's life since she greatly trusted her man's abilities.

If even her father, who was not as talented as Minos, had managed to 'pass' the challenge of those women, then Isabella trusted that Emperor Stuart had a good chance of doing the same.

In this case, she judged that his attitude in getting involved in this problem would be the best for everyone and was looking forward to her father's return.

On the other hand, she had only seen him twice, the last time over six months ago, due to her and Minos' circumstances over the past two years. As such, this woman was eager to be with him again and fulfill her womanly wishes.

Unfortunately for her, she had not yet been able to get pregnant. But since she knew that he would undergo a Physique evolution soon, she was already imagining getting pregnant after their reunion.

'If luck is in my favor, in a few years, everything will be fine!'

'My father will be back, I will have a child with Minos, and the situation around my state will be resolved...' She closed her eyes and sighed before turning her attention back to organizing the meeting that would take place in a few weeks.