The Rise of the Black Plain

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Brown Kingdom...

In this city, as in each of the capitals of this northern region of the Central Continent, a particular building in the middle of the town had a very distinctive shape.

This place was a glamorous temple, where people crowded around it to observe it at all times of the day.

There was no fence or wall of any kind, just a temple surrounded by verdant lawns. Moreover, that building was filled with glass on the sides, from which any viewer could see from afar the movement of people on the sides of this building.

And like any branch of the Spiritual Church, most of the people coming and going there wore the typical costumes of different colors.

There were many white and blue cloaks there, but now and then, someone wearing purple cloaks would pass from one side to the other while being followed by some individuals wearing blue cloaks.

But while this branch of the Spiritual Church responsible for the affairs of this organization in the Brown Kingdom was functioning normally, inside this temple, some of the Spiritual Kings were in a meeting, in a large hall.

In this place, there was a large 'U' shaped table in the center of the hall, where 13 chairs were distributed at similar distances from each other.

But now, only five individuals wearing purple cloaks were there, sitting on five of those thirteen chairs, while some people dressed in blue cloaks were standing next to these people.

"... And after that, the Snow Kingdom's royal family dispatched some individuals towards the Cromwell Kingdom, where they intend to capture the mastermind of the assassin who tortured and killed the second prince." One of these Spiritual Kings finished reading this information that the church branch in that state had sent to them.

Upon hearing such a thing, those other Spiritual Kings were silent for a moment before finally the second strongest one there, level 57, said the following. "So, the royal family already knows the identity of the culprit for this crime?"

The same person from before then shook his head in denial and said. "No. But a few months ago, the Snow family received an anonymous tip... And although they didn't have 100% confidence in it, after investigating its information for months, they found that there were only facts there."

"Because of this, the crown prince decided to take a chance, sending one of his followers to head towards the Chambers family to interrogate the person supposedly responsible for this."

Upon hearing this, those four men, all above level 55, frowned, forming expressions of concern on their faces.

"That's terrible!"

"Yes... If the Cromwell family finds out that the Snows are trying to act against one of their vassals, that won't be good at all!"

"I just hope that doesn't cross the line... If it's just talking, then our region can still save itself from a clash between kings." A level 56 individual said this firmly while his long white beard trembled.

"Otherwise..."

And as one of them went to say something, the same individual who had read that information spoke again. "I don't think it's going to be something friendly..."

"Despite the second prince's distinct personality, the crown prince always considered him a great friend and loved him. And he even had a fit of rage when he found out the way his younger brother had died."

"So, I don't think that will develop well."

"That's right... I heard that the crown prince had trained his brother, despite that poor young man's disinterest in fighting."

"Well, let's hope that this individual sent by the crown prince will be discreet and handle this situation without drawing attention."

"Let's ask our brothers in the Cromwell Kingdom to guard this information. Otherwise, the situation in our region may become irreversible!" The leader of this branch of the church said this while having his eyes closed, with a thoughtful countenance on his face.

'Over 200,000 years and no major war has happened in our region.... But all of a sudden, everyone is starting to prepare for times of war.'

'What's wrong with these people?'

'Have we just been unlucky enough to have so many bloodthirsty individuals in one generation? Or is there something else?' This old Bishop wondered, trying to understand the flames of war that were becoming more and more noticeable in this region.

Local conflicts were already happening in two states, while three other states were facing tensions, which could at any moment start more local clashes.

The only kingdom that seemed somewhat stable was the Kingdom of the End, where 'only' one noble family was exterminated a few years ago...

However, with this information they had just heard, these men couldn't help but fear that the situation would evolve into a major regional war!

And a widespread confrontation throughout the region would be everything they didn't want to have to face!

After all, the Spiritual Church lived off taxes and the genies generated by the local populations. And as much as these branches in the northern region were not so relevant to this organization, they still depended on results to have opportunities!

As such, in times of war, when geniuses would die, local powers would decrease tax payments, these branches, or rather these Bishops, would suffer the most.

'But what can we do? If they want to kill themselves, we have no option but to wait for the branch in the Flaming Empire to do something...' This individual thought briefly.

The branches of the Spiritual Church were highly respected regionally, and together, they formed one of the most powerful organizations in this part of the continent. However, that didn't mean they would have enough strength to stop a regional war!

After all, if one were to add up all the forces of the Spiritual Church in this region, they would have something like 80,000 Spiritual Generals and 60 Spiritual Kings. And that made them the strongest in terms of numbers in this region.

But if two or more royal families decided to fight, their numbers would already exceed those of the church branches in this region...

Hence, they had little power to stop two top-level organizations in the region from facing each other if they so chose.

Therefore, to prevent any widespread war in the region, they would depend on the branch's actions responsible for this region, the church post in the Flaming Empire!

As his fellow Purple-cloaked fellows expressed their opinions regarding this matter, the leader of this post then said. "We will continue to inform the branch in the Kingdom of the Waves about this matter. I hope they will pass on our concerns to our superiors in the Flaming Empire..."

"But in the meantime, let's try to appease the crown prince of the Snow Kingdom so that he doesn't overreact in his actions. And we'll keep an eye on the Cromwell family. If they find out something, we'll depend on our brothers in that state to try to resolve this problem as peacefully as possible."

"Hmm, that's the only option..."

"Yes, I hope things don't get out of hand."

At the same time, several comments were made where those Blue-cloaked in that place had completely dark faces, worried about the future.

'Damn! Why did this happen right in my generation?'

'If this isn't resolved peacefully, I may never get the chance to go to the branch in the Empire...'

And soon, a few minutes passed and those people started talking about other subjects, some of them lighter than the previous one, which gave them hope and made them smile...

"... With this, the Black Plain no longer seems to be a barren place and can generate income to the point of turning that place into a self-sustaining region, able to flourish little by little." A level 55 Spiritual King said this as he finished talking about what he had discovered through one of his contacts within the Brown family.

"Oh? The Black Plain has changed that much?"

"That's amazing!"

"Finally, a good omen for our region!" One of them said hopefully, smiling.

"Haha, I never expected that one day in my life I would have to discuss such a matter..." The Bishop who had reported such news said, grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe we should open a small parish in Dry City...."