A month passed...
After Minos returned to Dry City, his forces came back to how they had been before the first time the sovereign went to the Flaming Empire.
The local forces spread out across this state, returning to protect some of the outer areas that had been sidelined in this most recent period.
At the same time, Minos and his wives were back fighting Abe's mercenaries, slowly improving the Black Plain's position against these terrorists due to their recent advances.
But this was not enough to change much about Minos and Abe's conflict.
So when the reinforcements from the Gray Clouds Sect finally began to arrive in this state, the local forces celebrated. But, simultaneously, the enemies felt the times getting more hostile.