The Rise of the Black Plain

Quickly days passed, and the pirate ship of Del's group had already traveled almost all the way to the Cromwell Kingdom.

In the days that had passed, the group of more than 400 captives had endured the same conditions at the beginning of this trip. The intense heat made them feel sick most of the time, and even at night, it had almost no effect on diminishing that effect.

There wasn't much variation in temperature in maritime regions after all.

Allied to this, being in the dark most of the time on this trip had made many of them lose track of the temporal and even space. Even though some of them knew they were going to the Cromwell Kingdom, they had no idea where in the world they were.

And as for the temporal sensation they had, it was just absurd. For many of them, this had been an endless hell, and they wouldn't find it strange if it had been years since the start of the trip...

Perhaps not eating or drinking water most of the time also contributed to this disorientation. After all, each day, their bodies seemed to age a few more years, leaving them more and more unrecognizable.

But of course, some still had a sense of time and space, knowing they were in the vicinity of Cromwell Kingdom and near the end of this journey by ship.

This was the case with the young Peter, Joey, and that woman from before. These three had exceptional mental strength, which enabled them to get through this trial without losing their clarity.

As to why that was, well, each of them had their reasons to go on living, maybe revenge, maybe get something back, or someone.

Anyway, this woman in question was called Barbara. In the days that had passed, she was the person closest to where Peter and Joey were, and she was also one of the few people who had her lucidity in good shape.

Because of this, they had naturally come together and exchanged some basic information. With that, Peter had discovered that Barbara was at level 43, having a Black talent just like he had.

She was 31-years-old and a subordinate of a medium-sized noble family in the Kingdom of the End. However, from what Peter had heard from her, the family she belonged, had been decimated several months ago, which was why she was here today.

Unlike other northern parts of the Central Continent, the Kingdom of the End did not allow slavery within its territories. As a result, the winning side of that conflict had sold the survivors to pirates like Del, taking some advantage of their lives.

A slave wasn't overly valuable in these regions. However, someone from the 5th stage of cultivation and with a Black talent, like Barbara, could still yield a few tens of thousands of low-grade crystals.

After all, these slaves could 'produce' future subordinates for the noble families who bought them!

That was no small thing. Every person with Black talent had a high chance of reaching stage 6 of cultivation, Spiritual King. And as everybody already knows, this was precisely the band of power in which the regional leaders were!

Even if a Spiritual King were a subordinate of a family, not a member, he could still gain his own territory, a chance to start his own family, and perhaps one day become the ancestor of an influential power in this region!

Therefore, every person with Black talent had great potential in this part of the continent, and regional slave families highly valued captives with this characteristic.

Anyway, the trip was about to end, but not before some casualties...

This was a very degrading trip physically and mentally. As a result, not all people could withstand critical and increasingly desperate situations like these, losing the strength to continue resisting.

And that's what happened. Of the more than 400 people, 26 had died from the conditions of the trip, whether from dehydration or malnutrition.

Not everyone there had just been kidnapped, as was the case with the young Peter. Some slaves had been living in this situation for more than a year, and naturally, people like that were more vulnerable...

As for the young nobleman who had been mutilated, who Joey had shown Peter, he was still alive. His owner had paid these pirates to keep him alive and ensure that he lived as long as possible in this state.

This was part of the punishment he was receiving...

Other than that, there were no more casualties or attempted escapes. There was no way these people could run away at this time or even where to run. So, the trip was very smooth for the pirates led by Del.

...

It was night in the Cromwell Kingdom, and some scattered lights could be seen on the horizon of the northwest coast of the kingdom.

On one side was the regional sea of the Cromwell Kingdom, while on the other was a medium-sized city, with many commercial and residential buildings.

A part of the city was very well built, with many new and newly constructed buildings, which made the town very pleasant to look at.

However, about a quarter of the city was quite rustic in style, with old, abandoned buildings closer to the coastal region of that urban region.

If someone came to this place from above, one would surely see the brutal contrast between a place that looked developed and clean and one that looked retrograde, old and dirty.

Anyway, this place was hectic, but what truly caught attention was the number of ships docked in the local port. There were several docks at different points, piers, and various docking places for vessels and boats of different sizes.

And if someone looked closely, one would see that more than 100 ships stopped in those places right now.

Many ships looked aged, full of battle marks, shoddy repairs, rust, and many other marks present on more 'humble' boats.

But there were also a few very well-maintained, clean ships that could even be considered luxurious.

And this was normal for this city. This was the city where the Black Barket of the Cromwell Kingdom was, the city of Hadria, which lay in the northwest of the kingdom, just a few hundred miles from Farmland.

The city of Hadria had a strong economy, which was directly related to the presence of the Black Market and the proximity to farmland.

But, in addition, more than 400 thousand inhabitants were living in this city, which generated its own local economic dynamic.

Obviously, there were all kinds of services available in Hadria, as thousands of nobles passed through here annually.

The Black Market sold many things besides captives to these noble families. Of course, slavery was the flagship of this organization. Still, one could find information, relics, spiritual techniques, arrays, spiritual beasts, and more, all stolen by bandits and pirates who sold these items in this organization.

And, in general, nobles were very fond of obtaining resources 'recovered' by those criminals, sometimes even buying items from rival families. Of course, it wasn't exciting when one of these nobles saw one of his family's items in places like these, but that didn't happen very often...

Families that got involved with the Black Market usually didn't suffer much from the action of bandits and pirates. After all, they used to be robust and violent organizations.

Anyway, many people from all over the Cromwell Kingdom visited the city of Hadria annually, making this place develop even though it was so close to the well-developed Farmland.

And after a while, one of the lights that could be seen in the distance on the horizon of Hadia was getting closer and closer to the port region of this city.

Finally, a black ship with a large flag on the mast with a red triangle symbol could be seen.

This was the ship on which Del and his pirate group traveled with the captives they had transported from the nameless city in the Kingdom of the Waves to here, the city of Hadia.

And as the pirate ship approached one of the docks at the tremendous local port, Del was already at the bow of the ship, looking out over the city in front of him with a smile on his face.

He was pleased to be in this place. This was his home, where the group led by Del lived when they weren't sailing in the north of the Central Continent.

But not only that, after several months of traveling and kidnapping many people, he could finally get a good amount of crystals, which would allow him to enjoy a few weeks in this place.

Del then looked at the aging part of the city, which could be seen from where they stood.

"Hahaha, as soon as we get here, I'm going to Dirce's Brothel. Do you two want to go with me? I think that old devil must have added other little girls this time we were gone." He said perversely while talking to his two associates, who had participated in Peter's kidnapping.

"Kekeke, But of course, boss Del. These little whores we've had fun with these past months aren't enough for us." One of them responded strangely.

After that, the ship quickly docked at the local port, and the three compasses promptly proceeded to the interior of the city of Hadia while the other pirates took care of the ship.