When they arrived at Payton Temple, Minos, and Gloria were no longer accompanied by the rest of the Stuart family.
Ruth, Isabella, and Abby stayed behind with the Edwardstone family, waiting to find out what this unexpected conversation with the former favorite to become Supreme Pontiff of the Spiritual Church was all about.
Husband and wife arrived in the living room, where Forrest was already sitting in an armchair waiting for them, curious about what this was all about.
Forrest and his faction had been demonstrating a more 'gentle' stance towards the Black Plain Empire since the time before Maximillian's return. But after the outbreak of war between this level 99 Demigod and Vico, they had been one of the Church factions to ally with Gloria's group.
But even though they were factional allies, both sides had never been close and had merely made promises to each other and created possibilities for one side to favor the other.
This was the first time Minos and Gloria had seen Forrest, so they had no idea what this was about or whether it was related to their faction alliance.
As they sat down in front of that level 93 man, the two stood silently watching him, waiting for what Forrest had to tell them.
While Minos and Gloria watched him, Forrest kept an eye on Emperor Stuart, seeing how well the leader of the Black Plain had grown over the years.
'He's already close to level 83. His strength has certainly surpassed the 9th stage level, and he can be compared to low-level Demigods.' Forrest analyzed Minos in silence while remembering things he had discussed with his master before Duncan's seclusion began.
'The Black Plain Empire is doing well, from what I hear... He and his state should continue to grow stronger in the coming years, perhaps decades.' His eyes narrowed. 'It is time for me to follow what my master has told me.'
Forrest then said, "Minos Stuart, I will come straight to the point. I am here because I hope to ally my group with yours on a deeper level.
I will not hide my differences with Maximillian Flamen, the person you freed. I disagree with what he is doing, and I see myself in opposition to him. So you need to know that if you move forward alongside my group, you will be seen as opposing him one day."
Minos and Gloria knew that there were groups in the Church who were not participating in the war, not by Maximillian's choice, but by their own decision.
Most of these men not getting involved in the war were members of the Supreme Pontiff's faction, the only one that could withstand Maximillian's pressures.
As for the others, they were low-level groups who would not make much difference in the war.
Hearing that, neither was surprised, but both readily noted how sincere that man was.
"But Minos, even though Maximillian has made promises to you and you are not being harmed for now, that doesn't mean it will always be like this.
Maximillian wants to dominate the entire continent, so if he wins the war, he will look to the northern region and try to diminish your powers sooner or later." He gestured as he spoke. "At that time, the risks to your empire, and especially you, will be enormous.
Therefore, I propose you think carefully about Maximillian. Allying with me may bring you trouble, but not doing so may be much worse!"
Minos agreed with Forrest's analysis of the continental situation and asked, "What exactly do you want from me?"
Seeing that Minos was interested in hearing more, Forrest changed his expression slightly, seeing he was not totally against his ideas. "First of all, I would like to ally myself with your group within the Ancient Dragon Spatial Kingdom.
One of my faction's groups will be entering that region of space, so I would like us to team up to collect resources and obtain inheritances to strengthen us."
As human experts left inheritances to younger generations, beasts did the same.
As much as there were great differences in terms of the characteristics of beasts and humans, the inheritance of one could be beneficial to the other.
Obviously, a human would better use the inheritance left by another human, and beasts would get the best benefits from the inheritance of other beasts. But in a place with so many competitors for resources, anything that improved one's strength would be desired by all.
In the Ancient Dragon Spatial Kingdom, there were several heirlooms from ancient dragons, things that could immensely help Spiritual Sages like the members of Minos' group.
But even low-level Demigods could benefit from it, so even Forrest was interested in entering that region of space.
"Few of us will be able to leave the continent to take advantage of this opportunity, but we will still join a group of 5, counting me. There will be 2 Demigods and 3 peak Sages in my group."
"I can ally my group with yours during the event. But what about after?" Minos asked.
Forrest answered him. "Afterwards, we won't act much. As long as the war lasts, I intend to keep my group silent, maintaining our positions and continuing what we have already done in recent years.
Then it won't be evident that you favor us since you won't have to do much in the short term. But we will need to act together when the war is over, whether Maximillian wins or not."
Forrest was working on the assumption of Maximillian's victory, but he did not rule out the second alternative.
If Vico won the war, it would mean that the Church would be greatly weakened, and it would be time more than ever for everyone involved with the organization to rally around one leader to rebuild it.
The Black Plain Empire could already be a high-level state by the time the war was over, so in case of the Church's defeat, it would be relevant for its restructuring.
On the other hand, in case Maximillian emerged as the victor of the confrontation with the western region, the importance of Minos and the Black Plain would be even greater.
With the continent dominated by Maximillian, only the next targets of this Demigod could rise up against him.
For Supreme Pontiff Duncan's faction, Minos and his state were their light at the end of the tunnel. Besides having the chance to grow in the coming years of war and the fact that Minos had plenty of room to develop, he was a natural opponent for Maximillian due to his track record as leader of the Black Plain.
Allying his faction with Minos' was crucial for Forrest if he intended to continue opposing Maximillian!
"At that time, we would need everything: financial support, men to structure our allied forces, and actions to secure our autonomies from him.
We would have to resist him until one of us reached level 99, or he became a God!"
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