The Rise of the Black Plain

Upon feeling Minos' slap, Brooke immediately blushed in shame, stopping struggling as she was carried.

After that, the two arrived at the side of where Minos and his group previously stood, waiting for the battle that should not take long to start.

"Ahh!" She shouted in surprise shortly after being placed on the ground.

Brooke then stared at Minos' young face as she ran her hands through his curly brown hair, noticing his similarities to the person she was looking for.

"You..."

"Minos!" She said in shock, as the shame of having had part of her body touched went away, being replaced by surprise and then awe.

She had taken a risk in coming all this way to try to talk to Minos, to try to get him to change his mind about all this.

War was a horrible thing, and not only would her family be significantly damaged in all of this, but Minos would also have very significant losses.

Maybe even some of them could not be recovered!

Perhaps his life!

Moreover, if this continued, there might come a day when the two would have to be on opposite sides of the battlefield, which this young woman sincerely did not want.

That was why she had naively come all this way.

With that, considering that Brooke had already seen one of the enemy groups marching here, she could not help but feel fearful.

She was surprised that Minos was already strong, only a step away from reaching level 51, which was already much more substantial than her traveling companion. But in the group she had seen, King Brown was present!

With that, there was not much hope for Minos.

"It's good to see you, Broo..."

"Forget about it, Minos!"

"You guys have to give up this war of independence! The Brown family group is too strong, and you won't be able to stand the pressure!" She said in a hurry, without even observing her surroundings, where her mother was next to her.

She had barely observed her surroundings when Minos released her. All she had thought about at that moment when she was placed on the ground was looking at the person who had touched her in that shameless way.

After that, her other feelings had made her only pay attention to young Stuart.

So, she had barely paid attention to any of the faces around her.

As for Abby, this young woman was wearing protection around her head to cover her face and hair, the latter easily associated with members of the Miller family.

Therefore, even if Brooke had been paying attention to her surroundings, she still would not recognize this young woman standing right in front of her.

Anyway, after Brooke said those words, everyone in the surroundings strangely looked at her, as if they were looking at a child trying to get involved in the adults' problems.

Brooke did not seem to know anything about what was happening on the Black Plain nor about how far Minos had already gone.

'Does she think there's a way back for that?' Some there thought, considering that the Brown family would never agree to forget their losses. Even more so, assuming that they believed they could fight and defeat Minos' group.

On the other hand, Minos' group had good reasons to fight, besides the fact that the war itself could be considered a good opportunity for the Black Plain.

Not only could they absorb the wealth of their defeated enemies, but they also could get the prestige inherent in similar situations.

After a war of independence in this region, a territory recognized as a state would already be born as the strongest kingdom, with the highest regional prestige and morale!

On the other hand, a territory that ascends without great trials would undoubtedly be a state that would have to deal with many problems until it proved itself.

Which of the two ways was better?

It was hard to say, but since they were already in a war of no return, fighting the war to the end seemed the best!

Hence, everything Brooke was saying; her requests, seemed futile in the face of reality.

"I'm sorry, Brooke, we will not stop. On the contrary, we will fight until the Brown family acknowledges its defeat, surrenders to my organization." Minos said this as he looked eye to eye with his old friend from his spiritual academy days.

"Uh?"

"Brooke, this is no time, no place for you to talk nonsense!" Then, finally, this young woman's mother said something, lecturing her daughter. "You shouldn't even have come here, but since you did, be quiet and behave yourself!"

Upon hearing such a comment, such a tone of voice, Brooke suddenly turned to the side where Celeste was standing and looked at her incredulously.

"What?" After saying that, Brooke took two steps away from her mother, recognizing this person.

"You!"

"Why are you here?" She asked in a tone that carried anger, hard to miss.

And it was no different for the expression on this young woman's face.

Suddenly Brooke seemed to have seen the most disgusting thing in her life, something that was making her sick just looking at it, outraged at the presence of this person right here.

And for being a woman, Brooke could not help but notice the details and understand everything going on. 'This woman is wearing the uniform of those soldiers of Minos!'

"Brooke, now is not the time to..." Celeste was about to say something but was soon interrupted.

"You bitch!"

"I can't believe you're trying to steal everything that's mine!"

"First, it was my husband. Now you're standing next to my friend..."

"Don't tell me you want to distance him from me?" She said this, but soon her eyebrows rose in astonishment as a particular thought crossed her mind. "Don't tell me this is all your doings?"

"You want to play Minos against the kingdom, destroy our family... Is that it?" She asked as the veins in her neck trembled with her voice.

"What is she talking about?"

"Hey, are you understanding something?"

"No. I was just about to ask you the same..."

Several people close enough to that place to hear Brooke's voice began to wonder about this, not understanding what this young woman was talking about.

'And to think Lieutenant Celeste had such a story...'

'I guess everyone has their faults, after all!'

'Such drama!'

'I thought today was a day for killing and dying, but we had something to amuse us, haha...'

And while those people in the surrounding area were thinking about the discussion Brooke was already having with her mother, Minos and Abby watched this in silence.

'Looks like Brooke hasn't gotten over her hatred for her mother...' Abby thought to herself, worrying about this friend of hers.

On the other hand, Minos was more concerned about other things. 'Ahh, that will give me a headache.'

"Enough!" Finally, the young sovereign stepped forward and made those two shut up before Brooke jumped on Celeste and tried to hurt herself by provoking such a person.

"Brooke, since you have come all this way, I am sorry, but you will not be able to return to your family. So, from today on, you will stay in Dry City until we win the war."

"And since we don't have time to talk now, I feel I will have to seal your cultivation and have someone accompany you to my residence." Then, without waiting for that young woman's consent, he said this, already placing an array around her neck.

"Uh?" She stated in surprise as she realized that Minos had already placed something on her neck.

"Minos! This viper is tricking you!"

"No."

"Don't blame your mother for this, Brooke. I was planning this even before I invited her into my army."

"Anyway, get used to the idea of living with her since you will have to live in the same city as Celeste from now on."

"Finally, Brooke, I will ensure the safety of you and your fellow travelers." He said as he pointed to the Spiritual King from before and the beast near them. "But I do not promise the same for the people of your family on the battlefield."

"I hope we don't meet any of your relatives on the battlefield, but if it happens, know that we won't hold back just because you're here."

"After all, we are enemies!"