The Rise of the Black Plain

"Your Majesty, Grant of the Western Empire has just arrived in Dry City. He requests passage to the capital core to speak with Your Majesty!" The man who rushed into the imperial throne hall shouted this as everyone looked at him.

"Grant?" Abby asked as she remembered that man who had been by their side for years and even the Royal Instructor when the Black Plain was just a kingdom.

Minos frowned as he heard that, finding it unexpected that this man who had been living under house arrest in the Western Empire would come to visit him like this.

'Emperor Quinn released him to come here? Why would he do that?'

But he didn't invest much in those thoughts and ordered. "Bring Grant to me immediately."

With those words, some imperial guards in the surrounding area departed from there with the man who had brought this news.

Meanwhile, Lizzie, currently at level 58, said to the End area personnel in the surrounding area. "This meeting is adjourned. Please arrange another time to review His Majesty and continue with your reports."

Abby ignored the movements in the surroundings and approached Minos. "I wonder what that's about? Surely Emperor Quinn is involved."

"Yes, but I don't think that's a threat or anything. He wouldn't risk considering Maximillian's position." Minos replied, not knowing what that might be about.

He and Abby would continue talking to each other for some time until the imperial guards would return to Grant's side and another Spiritual Saint from the Western Empire.

As Grant entered that hall that he had long since not visited, he smiled nostalgically, seeing things that had changed considerably but others that were still the same as their time.

But as he looked at Minos and Abby, he couldn't help but sigh, seeing how strong these local leaders had become.

He had been the highest-ranking person on the Black Plain for a long time. He was crippled, but even so, he had been the only Spiritual Saint in this area for many years.

But now, this city was full of such people, and Minos was already at level 78, near the 9th stage, much higher than Grant had ever reached.

"Your Majesty, it is good to see you again." He said as he smiled at Minos sincerely. "You really have been cultivating fast, haha. I didn't expect you to be at the end of the 8th stage already."

Minos stood up and walked to Grant's side, smiling, before clapping his hands on this man's shoulders. "It's good to see you again too. I heard you were stuck in the Western Empire, so I was planning to visit you in the future... I just didn't expect that you would suddenly appear here."

Grant then said. "Well, that actually happened for a while. His Majesty and others superior to me judged that I was insane, so they decided to limit my liberties so that I wouldn't injure myself on my own.

Anyway, now everyone knows I wasn't crazy, so I was released and sent here."

Grant showed his companion and said. "That's the elder Vince. He who brought me safely here."

"It is a pleasure to meet Your Majesty." That man made a gesture of greeting as Minos looked at him.

Minos shook his head, acknowledging that person's presence. But he would soon turn his attention to Grant. "So your superiors believe your theories? Is that why you are here?"

"Hmm, His Majesty began investigating the North Sea after his encounter with Vico and Willow a few months ago. He associated the catastrophe that will come after the instability in the Central Continent with what we believe is in the north..." That man said in a solemn tone.

"After some investigations and disappearances, His Majesty is more confident that something is wrong in that area. But the other leaders of the Central Continent are not worried about it at the moment and do not believe his theories.

That's why he gave me the mission to come here."

Abby then asked. "What does Henry Quinn want from my state? If even he can't do anything to convince the rest of the continent about the problems to the north, what can we do? We don't have the same resources as you."

That man next to Grant answered the empress. "Your Majesty, it's not that we can't do anything. It's that we are unable to do our best.

With the tensions south of the continent, the strongest in our state cannot casually go out to investigate the North Sea.

So only Spiritual Sages and a few low-level Demigods have been sent to that place to investigate for the time being.

So us not having accomplished much doesn't mean that you won't be able to."

Grant nodded and said to Minos. "His Majesty believes there is something in the North Sea, but without hard evidence, he will not get support from the rest of the continent. So he seeks Your Majesty's help in getting that evidence."

"So Henry Quinn wants me to go to the North Sea?" Minos asked while his eyes narrowed. "I am not able to do that at present.

That would be tantamount to suicide."

Grant's traveling companion said. "Not now. But in the future.

The Western Empire and the rest of the Western region will probably go through a long period when their leaders cannot get involved with problems other than conflict with the Southern region.

So all His Majesty asks is that you from the Black Plain investigate and get evidence before the inevitable conflict between these regions ends.

If you can do that, you will have the support of the Quinn family and the Western Empire to solve this problem and other things."

Grant looked seriously at Minos, expecting that this man would not decline this request.

Minos and the rest of the people in that area were silent, pondering this.

'A war between West and South would take anywhere from a few years to a few decades to resolve if things go fast... So I'd probably be a strong enough Spiritual Sage by then to go to that place at some point in the meantime.'

"Sigh, I'd have to do it anyway, so I promise to try something. I'm already strengthening my strength and starting movements for it. But it will take a few years for me to get everything ready."

Grant and that man sighed at that answer.

"That's good enough..."