The Rise of the Black Plain

After being 'invited' kindly by that elder, Minos could not help but accept such a thing with a smile on his face. Therefore, he and his wives walked after this person, heading towards House Coleman estate.

As they walked, the elder in question was telling them about the history of this family. "Minos, you must understand that our family is crucial to sect. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, our family and Houses Moss, Terry, and Vega created the Gray Clouds Sect..."

At some point in the past, the area of the Flaming Empire was composed of a collection of disorganized independent regions that lived in chaos with each other.

In a way, these areas were similar to the northern region, only without the existence of royal families to maintain order. Because of this, many powers had leadership powers in this place, each of which acted in their way, bringing instability to the lives of ordinary and influential people.

In a kingdom, for example, the King decides something, and the whole state follows. Of course, some individuals or organizations might contest it and even violate rules and decisions. But the vast majority would follow them, which created stability and predictability for citizens and powers.

Chaos was perfect for taking advantage of opportunities. Still, it also had dangers equal to or even more significant than the opportunities!

Since it was possible to grow in 'peace,' the majority preferred to avoid chaos. So, there were benefits to having businesses or living in a state with centralized power.

Obviously, there were alternatives to maintaining order in an area. Still, in a world where people had so much power in their hands, no other alternative was as viable as the centralization of power.

Because of this, the tendency in this world was the formation of families, organizations with blood ties or similar purposes, regulatory institutions, and so on.

So, at some time in the past, some families from these independent regions in the area of what was to become the Flaming Empire had come together in commercial and military alliances.

These alliances were very similar to the ones that Minos was making today. But back then, these were the first steps for these organizations to come closer and closer together and eventually form the sects that exist today.

But of course, none of this was without an encourage!

At one point in history, the Edwardstone family, one of the many that led areas of the independent regions, had achieved advancements through a 'golden generation' and also help from fate.

This family had one of the wealthiest areas of spiritual energy in the area that was to become the Empire and also managed to win disputes against powers that held precious possessions.

That provided the 'fuel' needed to nurture their 'golden generation,' which would eventually rise to power in a Conquest War that lasted thousands of years.

Amid this war, those families that already had alliances and depended on each other for survival decided to form sects to ensure their survival or victory in the war.

Those sects that stood against the future imperial family of the Flaming Empire were eventually annihilated. Meanwhile, those that stayed out of the war or made non-aggression agreements with House Edwardstone continued to exist for the most part.

That was the case with the eight prominent sects of this state, which, after the Conquest War ended, agreed to become vassals of that family.

That elder of House Coleman explained some of that history to Minos and those three women, two of whom already knew all that, while Abby had heard such things for the first time.

"In the end, the Vega family became extinct in the meantime due to a series of casualties during the early years of the Empire. So, today we only have three major families behind the sect, which control that organization's fate, such as the choice of leader." He said as they reached the area of the Coleman family.

Each big family behind this sect had their areas in this headquarters.

These places were not necessarily the homes of all their members but rather the command center, the teaching and training area for family members. So there were not many houses there, but notable buildings.

Minos and his wives saw this as they walked along and listened to that old man talking.

"In any case, as one of the three founding families remaining, House Coleman can be considered the strongest. It has been in charge of the sect more than half the time since the foundation." He proudly said before turning to Minos. "Then it is your responsibility as a descendant to continue that tradition and not let the other two families take the leadership position in this current dispute!"

If this sect were challenged by others or had a difficult time facing a calamity, the families behind this organization would waste no time arguing with each other and would do what was necessary to continue existing.

There was a selfish reason for noble families to 'give away' part of their independence by participating in a sect. That is, they had more power and received more benefits together, even if they had to accept rules that might not be so good for one or the other.

But during the 'peace,' they did not have to use everything they had to ensure their survival, so they disputed power internally.

That's why each of the three remaining founding families competed hard for the position of sect master and even battled for it!

As the Coleman family had been one of the strongest since primordial times, the proud members of this house did not want to lose their prestigious position to their sect 'brothers.'

Minos then internally laughed upon hearing the words of that elder. 'The one who would benefit the most from my hypothetical rise to the position of sect master would be the Black Plain, not the Coleman family... Why do these people think I will help them? There is no debt between us.'

As they walked along one side of the Coleman family command center, three well-dressed women were walking near them in a wooded area that separated this place from the other two families' areas.

The place in the sect where these three families were was the central hills of this area, separated by a triangle-shaped place full of plant life, with each of these organizations at the 'edges.'

Because of this, it was not unusual for someone to see people from other families walking in the vicinity of their headquarters, as this was a tranquil and beautiful recreation area.

But the women walking that way were not there by coincidence, and they soon identified Minos.

"Minos Stuart, the King of the Black Plain, protector of north and future ruler of Vogel... Is there a title I've forgotten?" The woman in the central position of this trio, blonde and tall, asked as she smiled and looked at that brown-haired young man, causing that Spiritual Saint to stop talking.

The other two at her side looked cautiously at the 'monster' from the stories they had heard in the past years, feeling strange that such a dangerous person looked like someone peaceful.

Minos and his wives looked toward these 8th stage women before listening to that old Spiritual Saint.

"Ivory..."