The Rise of the Black Plain

Hours later...

After dawn in Athela, the population of this regional capital awoke to a day that was supposed to be a day of farewells to King William Walker.

On this day in question, all commerce in this city had dawned closed, with many people leaving their homes to participate in the royal procession.

It was a holiday in the capital of the Kingdom of the Waves, and many could not miss the opportunity to have a peaceful day, which, yes, would be a farewell, but which could also mark the beginning of a new era.

It was terrible for the ordinary population when a powerful specialist died. After all, in a world where power was everything, specialists like William practically maintained the weaker ones' quality and standard of living.

But even so, there were ways to protect oneself from difficult times like the present, and not everyone bothered to be led by 'A' or 'B.' So, many people had left their homes just after dawn with the intention of enjoying this day off they had ahead of them.

The Black Plain problem was real, but it was still something that was happening tens of thousands of kilometers away...

Would everyone be equally fearful of a conflict occurring so far away from them?

Hard to say. Like the coachman who had worked for Minos and Gloria before, some people would be nervous, pressed by the current instability. But there were always those less concerned about matters like this.

And it was part of these people who had taken to the local streets with calm expressions on their faces.

However, such a thing did not last long!

...

After arriving in the center of Athela, a group of friends, three men and two women, all of them very young, came across images that they did not expect to see there.

They expected to arrive at a place where thousands of people would peacefully gather, probably eating and drinking hot food while waiting for the royal ceremony to begin. But all they had found there was chaos, panic, and fear.

Not because losing the local sovereign was enough to generate such a phenomenon. After all, as bad as it would be to lose a level 59 cultivator, it was already common knowledge that William would not live long.

And as sad as death itself was, in the case of people suffering, losing their minimal quality of life, such a fate was often a relief to everyone.

It was definitely not as terrible as premature, accidental, perhaps sudden death.

No, the problem here was not William but something else that those youths had not yet discovered!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Boom!

"Arrest the damned thing!"

"Come on! Let's go! Grab as much as you can!"

"Ahhhh! Get out of the way, or we'll kill him!"

Several shouts sounded in the surroundings as sounds of battles raged amidst the chaotic crowd around.

Many citizens looked completely insane, fighting against each other or even participating in collective fights against the royal guards.

Simultaneously, stores were being looted while panic spread among the newcomers, who, like those five youths, did not understand what was happening.

At the same time, royal guards attacked some of the out-of-control citizens, but they struggled to control the riot due to the differences in numbers.

Every moment more people arrived in that area to join William's procession. Still, while many fled, several others joined the confusion, creating an exponential effect in that area.

And at that instant, when the five youths had arrived there, the chaos had already spiraled out of control, with the violence of all kinds happening in broad daylight!

"What the hell is going on?" One of the women asked in fear, feeling that none of it made sense.

'What is wrong with these people? Why are they rioting?' She wondered as she took cover in one of the alleys in that area.

"Damn it!"

"Something very troublesome must have happened!" One of the young men said this as he felt drops of sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Looks like we won't have a funeral today!"

"But why all this?"

And while they were protecting themselves from that madness in the outskirts of that central area of Athela, an old man who was running away from there heard the conversation of those youths and warned them. "Brats, run away as fast as you can!"

"Last night, the commander of the Black Plain Army came in person to our city and exterminated the Walker family leadership!"

"What?"

"How is that possible?" The youths asked simultaneously, feeling that this was absurd.

But that old man did not care about their questioning. Instead, he shouted at them, continuing his escape route while carrying some spiritual arrays in large cloth bags... "Rumors are going around the city that the Black Plain Army will invade us in the next few hours!"

"Take your families away!"

And as the old man from before disappeared into the crowd with his newly acquired items, the five youths finally understood the madness they were witnessing.

It made no sense to get out of control because of a few deaths. But if those deaths were of the city leaders and the risk of invasion was lurking, this was the tipping point for many there.

Some would try to distance themselves from this place for a while, hoping that the local instabilities would subside. However, for those who had nothing to lose, the moment when the existence of the ultimate power, the one who holds power, was threatened, this was their opportunity!

Suppose they could become enslaved or at least be dominated by invaders. Then, why not take the opportunity to make some profit while taking advantage of the instability of the current ruler?

Upon finding out about the deaths of the Walker family leaders and about what happened to Emmett and Charles' mother, many in this city already considered that the Kingdom of the Waves would not last much longer.

So, many were planning their escape from this city, a place that the enemy force would try to dominate for pure symbolism.

In this way, thefts had quickly spread throughout this great metropolis.

Such a thing had happened so fast that it had evolved into fights between citizens disputing stolen resources and royal guards' futile attempts to appease the surroundings within minutes.

But such a thing was futile.

The royal guards were lost in this situation, not knowing how to deal with the threat of invasion, being as fearful as the inhabitants. But, many people had already convinced themselves that stealing some resources and fleeing to the mountains was the best thing to do at this point.

Because of all this, because of the opportunistic organizations acting behind the curtains, it was not long before that big city became a pressure cooker, ready to explode into a major social upheaval!

"Ahhhhhh!"

"Drop it! I swear I'll kill anyone who gets in my way!"

"If you have the ability to do so, then just do it, you fucking cuckold!"

"Ahhhh! You're dead, dwarf!"

Boom!

Puff!

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...

Boom!

Swooish!

Sounds of battles continued to reverberate through the streets of Athela, reaching even the most confined corners of the royal palace.

But while many people were trying to figure out what to do at this difficult time, Blake and Wilfred were 'sleeping' in a large room in the hospital wing of this place.

There, some of the most substantial surviving Spiritual Kings from the previous night's slaughter were on guard in case something strange happened.

They still wanted to understand what happened at King William's residence, something that only those two and perhaps Blake's four companions could answer. But the most important thing now was to protect them and perhaps make sure they woke up as soon as possible.

Therefore, these people were sitting at different points in that hospital room. At the same time, only the doctor in charge of the king's health was allowed to enter there.

But to their surprise, their wait would not last as long as they had assumed!

At that moment, Blake's eyes moved from side to side, while his body movements slowly became more like those of someone about to wake up!

Upon realizing this, one of those men stood up from his chair, looking hopefully at Blake. "The second prince is waking up!" He commented to the others, alerting the doctor standing there.

And in that instant, Blake's eyes finally opened, revealing a look of concern and fear.

"Minos..." He said in a low voice, trying to find the person who had terrified him even in his nightmares.

...