The Rise of the Black Plain

Gloria then asked. "Let's assume that Maximillian wins the war. How would we resist him? What exactly is the strength of your group, Cardinal?"

Forrest looked at Gloria and was sincere. "Apart from the Supreme Pontiff, we have 15 Demigods in our faction, 3 of them high level, the strongest level 98. The rest are evenly distributed between medium and low level."

Minos frowned and looked at Forrest more closely. "How many of them are really true to your ideals? What is the chance that one of them will give up their ideals to not suffer at the hands of elder Maximillian?"

Forrest understood Minos' concern and said, "We all firmly believe that Maximillian's rise is not good for the Church or the continent."

Forrest's group did not blame Minos for Maximillian's return. At the time, this young man was only a Spiritual Saint, and his situation was quite difficult, so his mistake of releasing that person did not necessarily make him an enemy of this group.

With that in mind, Forrest thought he could bring Minos over to his group's side and didn't consider him a potential enemy.

"Hmm, I doubt that's true, but let's work with that number," Minos said. "How would we resist him? Maximillian is pretty strong. I've seen him kill a high-level Demigod like it was nothing."

"He is indeed a monster." Forrest nodded in agreement. "But he is not unstoppable. Until he becomes a God, Maximillian can be stopped by another level 99 Demigods.

Then, we will depend on the advancement of our high-level elders but also on the growth of your state, Minos. If you can become a Demigod before the war ends, the dark defensive domes of your state can be our defenses against Maximillian.

We will resist him in the northern region, and when we become stronger, we will counterattack."

Forrest was very talented. His plan depended on the forces of Minos and the group created by Duncan, but he had as the main hope in his plans himself.

He believed that one day, he would reach the same level as his master and be able to fight Maximillian head-on. At that time, he would solve the Church's problems if his master did not return successfully from absorbing Divine-grade medicine.

If Duncan were successful, then he and his people would only need to endure Maximillian until the Supreme Pontiff returned!

Gloria and Minos understood Forrest's plans. He basically wanted to create resistance and hide as Emperor Stuart had done in the Flowers Kingdom. If one day they got stronger, they would act.

Gloria then questioned the opposite. "What if Vico wins the war? What would our situation look like?"

Minos nodded and said, "You must know that Vico wants my head, right? Will you support me in this? I doubt I'll be strong enough to defend myself against Emperor Travisani by the time the war is over."

Forrest looked at Minos and said, "If Vico wins, the Church will probably have lost many of its high-level personnel and will also lose part of its domains.

I believe it would be impossible for the Western region to eliminate us or even absorb all of our territories in the event of victory. In that case, they would probably have to limit their actions for a while, as they would also have had considerable losses in the war.

But if Vico, still in his weakest moment, decided to act against you, we would, of course, intervene. The Black Plain will be very important to us whether in victory or defeat, so obviously, we will not allow it to fall to the Eastern Empire."

That was enough for Minos and Gloria. As soon as they heard Forrest, they looked at each other positively, judging that that would be good enough for now.

Minos said, "I can agree to proceed with this arrangement between us. But I have two conditions that need to be met."

"What are they?" Forrest questioned seriously.

"First, I will not simply support your faction to lead the Church or anything like that. If we are going to be allies, I would like us to have the same level of internal power in the Church.

There won't be someone in the position of Supreme Pontiff of the Church on our side, even in the event of the Church's defeat by Vico. We will only be able to choose a new leader for the Church 100 years after the end of the war and the beginning of our activities."

"I can agree with that," Forrest said, not caring that he couldn't lead their group for only 100 years.

"Second, I want your group to send protectors to my empire in case of need. No, in fact, if I send a request for help for your group to send men, you must do so without question or evaluation to say whether or not it is worth it.

If I need high-level Demigods one day, you should send someone like that unless there is no one available."

"Oh?" Forrest immediately thought that this request from Minos was to protect him from Vico in case of victory of the western region. 'That's reasonable. Vico really hates him a lot and will try everything to get revenge in the future...'

But Minos' purpose was not that. He was more concerned about the North Sea and the speed of sending reinforcements from his allies.

He didn't want the Church's bureaucracy to delay the sending of men, so he wanted to ensure that at least Forrest's group would be obliged to send men immediately once he asked for them.

"OK, if you need high-level Demigods and the group has someone like that available, we'll do as you say. We'll make no inquiries and simply send them to you as soon as we have the request in hand."

With those words from Forrest, Minos and Duncan's disciple reached an important agreement!

For the next few days, they would remain in Payton waiting for the opening of the Ancient Dragon Spatial Kingdom, but also for the movement of a medium-level grade-4 spiritual judge.

But before long, they would sign Soul Contracts signing their agreement, something necessary since Minos could not impose his Divine Seal on people much stronger than him.

With that done, both sides agreed to enter the Ancient Dragon Spatial Kingdom together on the second day after the stabilization of the portals to that region of space.

Thus, 3 weeks would pass in the blink of an eye, and finally, the portals of that Spatial Kingdom were stabilized for entry into it!

After so many months of preparation, it was time for the Stuart family to start another adventure!