𝗈𝓋𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t

‘So that’s it?’ That level 80 expert wondered. ‘Could this be why we’re not even finding the sign of that map?’

He knew the story of the Goddess of Life and that woman’s notorious enemy, the God of Death. So after having heard that from Minos and the location of that woman’s heritage in the Kingdom of the Waves, this man believed the words of Emperor Stuart.

He might have distrusted the veracity of Minos’ words in other situations. But this old fellow knew the location of the Goddess of Life’s home, which was in the vicinity of that kingdom. As for the God of Death, this old expert had lived much of his life in the area, so this person knew there was truth in such a young man’s words.

With that, it made sense to consider the place of inheritance of these two experts to be nearby, even more so considering that the information of the two’s death was not known.

High-level experts rarely died in battle. So in many cases, one of these individuals was fine and then disappeared for years. They were already gone when their organizational members and subordinates looked for them.

Some did this to leave part of their inheritance behind. Others simply cultivated until they died, hoping to get a final breakthrough before the end.

Since the cause of death of those two was not known, this Spiritual Sage judged that such individuals might have left heritages before their catastrophe.

‘It could be that the map is in one of those heritages!’ He became hopeful about that possibility. ‘Inheritances from such individuals are quite difficult, and, naturally, some candidates would die trying to conquer them.’

‘Some individuals may have found that map and died within a secondary dimension created by a Demigod!’ He looked at Minos and said. “That’s a good hint. I didn’t expect there would still be remnants of this area’s glorious past in this region.”

“Are you sure you won’t be able to help me? If not, we won’t be able to go through with the deal you seek.”

Minos smiled in defeat. “Unfortunately, I would have to put in a lot of my time to search these ancient remnants. But Abe will not stop acting in the short term…”

“And even without your help, he already puts enough work into my forces.”

The Spiritual Sage did not insist, knowing that Minos was right, but also because his men could do this job.

They might not be as fast as a native of the region, but still, it was something he and his group could do something about.

‘I will visit that place in the Kingdom of the Waves capital… Maybe I can feel the remnants of the dimension that was there.’ He pondered as he sensed the young Stuart’s sadness.

“Emperor Stuart, you have somehow helped me. So I will give you a tip as a reward, even considering that we will still be on opposite sides of this conflict.” That figure spoke after a while.

“What?” Minos had not expected any of this, so he was surprised by the sudden generous offer from such an expert.

The man from the Eastern Empire said. “Be careful when you go to fight in the Flaming Empire. That’s all.”

After those words, he disappeared from the area, knowing that Abe would not act in the short term and that Minos was in no position to fight either.

Minos and Harold stood in that artificial forest in the central region of the Black Plain, with this young man thinking about what those words meant and Isabella’s father lamenting this failure.

He had taken a risk, but Minos had not gained any advantage!

That was a defeat for him!

But then Minos said. “Thank you very much for your help, Emperor Edwardstone. One day I will repay that debt.”

“Uh? You are not disappointed?”

Emperor Stuart said. “Yes and no. This person gave me a relevant tip, and now I see that I can’t do anything to stop him in the short term…”

‘Abe must be planning something against me when I go to act in the Flaming Empire…’ This man’s eyes sharpened as he understood his opponent’s hint.

After that, he said goodbye to Harold, and this man left in a hurry to return to Payton, where he did not intend to leave for a while to avoid trouble.

As for Minos, he returned to his headquarters, where his wives were waiting for him to hear the results of today’s meeting.

…

After a while, Minos was with his three wives, sitting on a large sofa, somewhat disappointed, after all.

“We can’t. The enemy Spiritual Sage won’t stop saving Abe in the short term.” He said to them.

“What happened?” Gloria asked, not truly surprised since it would be hard to solve this problem after just one conversation.

In fact, their expectations were not high for this meeting. On the contrary, they were using this as one of many alternatives to solve the problem called Abe. So there were only expectations that such a thing would at least disrupt the enemy.

But from the tone of Minos’ voice, the meeting with the Spiritual Sage in question would have no practical effect.

“They are in search of something that I cannot participate in the search for.” Minos said, without mentioning that it was the item in the Spatial Kingdom since he had promised not to talk about it with anyone else.

“Uh?” Ruth did not understand, but Minos soon explained. “In short, I can’t participate in the search. Otherwise, I would be forced to do something I don’t want to do. So I had to refuse to help that man’s organization find what he is searching for.”

“I couldn’t get a deal.”

“I see…” Abby lamented, but given the number of fronts they were acting on, losing a possibility was not the end of the world for them.

“You really couldn’t?” Gloria asked.

Minos shook his head, indicating that he really was unable to do anything about it. ‘If I signed a deal with that man, I would have to give the map to their group, giving away on a silver platter something so valuable that has been with me for years…’

With that, it did not take long for him to warn his wives about the danger that might be present during his upcoming trip to the Flaming Empire. “But I got a hint that Abe might try to act against us somehow during my next trip.”

“Is that so? And what will we do?” Abby questioned him.

“We can’t go to the Flaming Empire together with that threat. So I will also have to call all those coming from the Gray Clouds Sect and those three states that are enemies of the Edwardstone family to Dry City.”

“The enemy will probably try something against our capital during my absence.” He finished, feeling that as dangerous as it was going to be, the odds were in his favor.

He did not know how Abe would attack, but he could travel virtually to the battlefield without leaving a trace. So the enemy would have at most two days to act against him, even considering instant messages.

That way, Minos was already thinking about how to prepare his territory to be without him for that period!