The Rise of the Black Plain

"Prince Charles had no casualties on his side. From what our informants reported, there was no case like that of the three Spiritual Kings of our side. As for the level 48 and 49 guards, although they had much tougher battles, they also managed to do better than ours."

Hearing this, Wilfred became even angrier as the veins in his forehead began to raise more and more. "How could this have happened? I thought we were setting an ambush for him!"

"So tell me, how could our ambush have turned out to be worse for our side? Those who should be in control of the fight!" Wilfred exclaimed in a fury, with droplets of saliva coming out of his mouth.

After hearing the prince's question, each of the men in this room looked around as if they were trying to get someone to blame.

What Wilfred was complaining about was genuinely a problematic point. After all, like those who prepared the ambush for the third prince, their group should have had the upper hand in the fight!

At the very least, they should have the means to escape without being hurt the most in the end!

However, the first prince's side did not have any advantage, even considering that they had prepared for that event, chosen the ambush site, and taken the necessary countermeasures...

"Prince, I don't want to sound like someone trying to avoid responsibility or making excuses, but it's undeniable that there was an error in the information regarding the third prince's protection." An old man who was sitting in the position furthest away from Wilfred said this sincerely.

"When the ambush was set up, we had information that his group would only have 5 Spiritual Kings in that situation. However, there were more people in the shadows..."

"And when we attacked them, instead of being the ones who surprised, we were the ones who were surprised!" The old man explained.

After he finished speaking, the other people in the room immediately started talking about it, agreeing with what this old man had said. "That's true. Our team only had 8 Spiritual Kings between levels 50 and 51. But their side had 10..."

"Hmm, the guards from the 5th stage of cultivation were also more numerous than ours." Another person said.

"Ahh, the situation had become untenable at the start of the attack. If I'm not mistaken, those people hiding in the shadows came from outside regional powers."

"True, I learned that the Allen family from Stone Island had sent one of their newly promoted Spiritual Kings here recently. But I never thought he was coming because of Prince Charles..."

Pa!

And before the conversation could go any further, Wilfred slapped his hand on that table again, still with a darkened face. "Who was responsible for this information? How did we not know of the arrival of such reinforcements?"

"We don't have a specific name, but prince, I don't think it's an issue on our side."

"Naturally, we are keeping an eye on the arrival of people from Stone Island, and we have learned that a large group of them have recently arrived in our state."

"But from what our informants discovered, this had nothing to do with the affairs of the competition for the throne..."

The meeting continued for a while longer until someone at that table finally smiled and said. "First Prince, despite all the bad news, I have something good to report!"

"Oh? What?" Wilfred asked as everyone else in the place looked at that subordinate in curiosity.

"Recently, the Stone Island Nash family stopped their conversations with Prince Charles. I have heard that the envoys of this family have been called back to headquarters and simply end the negotiations without explanation."

"This is great news…" And right after that man finished his speech, the whole room started talking about this subject.

"That's nice. We will recover as soon as possible, and I want another ambush prepared. But this time, I won't accept failures! Did you understand?"

...

While Prince Wilfred was plotting against his younger brother, another conversation related to that incident was taking place in the royal palace in the capital of the kingdom.

In one part of this palace, in a place full of plants and a small artificial lake, a man who looked to be in his middle age was sitting on a small wooden platform.

He was shirtless and behind him was a woman doing what appeared to be a massage on this man's back. And while this woman seemed to meet the objective of her massage, there was an old man with a long white beard sitting on a stone bench near the lake.

Finally, in front of the shirtless man were three people dressed in the same pattern, kneeling and looking at the floor.

"Your Highness, we weren't able to obtain concrete evidence from those responsible for the recent incident. But we're sure the third prince was attacked by one of his two older brothers." The strongest of the three said this in a calm tone while his body was completely still.

"Cough, ehh, hmm, I expected something like this…" King Walker weakly commented as he felt some relief by that woman's touches.

"If you're not sure about the culprit, then I can't do anything about it. It doesn't matter if Charles is the most talented. That is a contest for the throne. His siblings naturally have the right to try anything."

"As long as they don't get caught in the act, anything is acceptable." So, the elderly man on that bench calmly commented as he played with one of the rings in his hand.

"Ancestral!" The three men said this reflexively, noticing this person's presence there.

So far, they hadn't even realized it, even though that old man was right beside them!

As for this man's identity, he was the second strongest man in the Kingdom of the Waves, Emmett Walker, level 59, 1,398-years-old, the younger brother of the previous king.

This person was the reason the Kingdom of the Waves remained stable, even with its king in his final moments!

With such a man present, no one would have dangerous thoughts about the local royal family, as this organization would not be defenseless in the absence of its leader.

And this was one of the oldest people in the northern part of the Central Continent, someone who was at the absolute limit of the 6th stage of cultivation.

Even though he probably didn't have a chance of reaching level 60 due to the local spiritual poverty and his old age, he could still fight at his best for a few hundred years!

As a result, he was still highly respected and feared in this region!

"Cough, eh, let's see what happens next..."

"There will still be more than a year and a half for them to compete... But keep an eye on them for me. If any of them dare to act openly against each other..."

"Yes, your majesty!"

After saying that, the three men left that place, leaving only those three people there.

"Ahh, it's a shame I failed my promotion. Otherwise..."

Upon hearing this lamentable comment, the old man still sitting shook his head in denial and said. "Forget about it. It already happened. It won't do you any good to think about how it could have been."

"But our family could have made it..." He was saying but was suddenly interrupted by his uncle.

"Hmph, all your predecessors failed to do this. You were too hasty, William. You should have waited a few more decades. Then, at the very least, you would be better prepared, and your age would still not be a big issue for your advancement."

Emmett then shook his head with a disappointed expression and then muttered under his breath. "Because of your haste and arrogance, you shortened the centuries of life you had to just four years..."

"Ahh, forget it. You can enjoy your last days in this place with your women. Rest assured, I will take care of the kingdom." After saying that, that old man disappeared from that place, leaving only the king and that woman from before...