The Rise of the Black Plain

Upon hearing the soldier's comment, the man who had asked the previous question opened his mouth in shock, surprised by what he had heard. "Are there no unemployed people here?" He wondered.

After all, except in those small communities, where small families survived by bartering, every city would have its share of unemployed. And this was even more significant in the north of the Central Continent, which lacked abundant resources...

Therefore, not only the man who had asked the question but also other former captives who were in that carriage had shown signs of disbelief.

The soldier then smiled and said. "Hehe, you will realize this in a short time."

"Lord, even people like us? We're not talented, and we're at low levels for our respective ages, I'm afraid…." He was just exposing his thoughts when he was interrupted.

"Don't worry. There are many areas that ordinary people can work. For example, agriculture and the construction sector employ many inhabitants of our city." The soldier began to speak with pride at the same time as he controlled the carriage.

"In fact, many people here work in these two areas simultaneously, and they even manage to make more than 100 crystals a month!"

"What?" The people standing there exclaimed simultaneously.

Such an amount of low-grade crystals was not small, even for the most talented cultivators and subordinates from wealthy families! But for them, ordinary people who didn't have high expectations, that was the amount that generally, when things went well, they got after working for 6 to 12 months!

"I'm telling the truth." The soldier said with a slight smile on his face. He liked to see how people always reacted the same way when they found out about it. "My parents are doing this recently. My father works as a farmer in the morning and as a bricklayer in the afternoon."

"As for my mother, she is also in agriculture. However, her second job is not in construction, but as a gardener in the city."

"Incredible! Are there more options?" Another person asked.

"Yea! There is the option of becoming one of the city's janitors, people who clean and collect garbage from public streets. There are administrative jobs in the government, hunting spiritual beasts, jobs related to the many stores here, etc. There are many possibilities."

The soldier then remembered something and said. "More recently, I heard that they are planning to open a mercenary guild in town."

"Mercenaries? But isn't the army of this place strong enough?" A woman asked, remembering the strength Minos' soldiers had previously demonstrated. "Do they still need more power?" She wondered.

"You are misjudging the mercenary profession. There are not only warriors among these groups. Many mercenaries are just explorers, scout groups, perform certain common services, etc. I believe that the focus of this guild will be on that." He completed it.

"Oh? This is interesting..."

...

And finally, after a few minutes crossing the city, the group arrived in front of the local government mansion.

The more than 20 carriages stopped in front of that place when the group began to disperse little by little.

Minos had already given the orders on how these former captives should be allocated. So, the soldiers who had accompanied him on this trip quickly began to escort this numerous group of former slaves.

They would go through a background check first, but nothing too complex. After that, it was just a simple survey to know the personal data of each one of them and finally, create the identifications of these people.

There was no way to check this information, as these people could be from different parts of the north of the Central Continent. But it didn't matter if they told the truth or not. This identification only served to know where people came from, how they arrived in the city, age, names, etc.

Information to register each of these people as citizens of the Dry City.

As these individuals had just been freed from slavery and consequently had no crystals, Minos would exempt them from the first annual tax. Despite being only a crystal, it could take them several days to get this income, preventing them from using certain services in the city.

On the other hand, for Minos, the number of crystals these people had to pay was insignificant. Therefore, it would not make sense for him to be so petty, charging this fee and thus disrupting the stay of these people.

...

Anyway, while the soldiers took care of these bureaucratic immigration matters, Minos and the two women who had accompanied him on this trip had already entered that mansion.

The young Stuart led the group while Abby and Eda walked behind them. Every step Minos took was light and smooth, as if he were pretty relaxed right now.

And as he walked ahead of the two, the blue-haired girl was watching Minos intently, as if she were sizing him up. Abby's pupils followed this young man's body movements in front of her, while her face was expressionless.

'He hasn't commented on our kiss since we left that hotel... So, why doesn't he tell me anything? Is he ignoring what I've done to make me think about it?" She wondered, trying to understand Minos' game.

'Even when we stopped to rest a few hours ago, he still didn't say anything to me... Maybe I should ask Eda for some tips?' At the thought, she blushed as she shook her head. 'No, definitely not. That would be very embarrassing! If she knew what Minos tried to do to seduce me...'

At the same time, as Abby was thinking about many things related to Minos, the group finally arrived at the office of the young sovereign.

Contrary to what usually happened, when he arrived at this place, Mia's secretary was not around at the reception of the young Stuart's office. And seeing that, Minos didn't mind too much, as this woman had always had many responsibilities as his secretary, so she must be doing something important for the Dry City.

Finally, when they entered that office, Dillian, who was there, soon saw the three of them, immediately getting up from the armchair to receive them.

"Young master, how was the mission? Did we manage to save Sergeant Peter?" He asked anxiously, right after greeting Minos' group.

"Hmm, we freed him and a few other people who the Chambers family enslaved." Minos went straight to the point, at the same time, where he was sprawled on the couch there as if he was pretty tired.

"Chambers? This family again?" The butler questioned as a dark expression formed on his face. "It looks like this will be an inevitable enemy..."

"Hmm, when they find out I didn't go to the Flaming Empire, they'll certainly start looking for me. Even if they can't relate me to what happened at that base, it shouldn't be long before they get to me."

At this point, the experienced Eda joined the conversation and gave her opinion on the matter. "But I think young Minos shouldn't worry too much about it right now. It must be a few years old before they find the Dry City."

The butler then readily agreed, nodding his head. "Truth. At worst, they shouldn't find this out in less than two years. We haven't exposed ourselves yet, and few clues can bring them to this place. So, even though they know the young master didn't go to the sects of the empire, they would still have to look for you all over the northern region."

"I know. Anyway, I'm going to stay in the Dry City for 1 to 2 months, and then I'll have to go to the Kingdom of the Waves." Minos changed the subject, remembering something important.

"Why is that, young master?"

"My spiritual weapon was destroyed. I'm afraid it won't be easy just ordering such an item. Anyway, other issues need to be resolved there as well. It's about time we got some Blue-grade spiritual techniques for support professions..."

He then started talking about his plans for this future trip to the Kingdom of the Waves, the best place in this region to find what he was looking for.

This realm could be considered the highest level in this northern region of the Central Continent, where the best arrays masters and specialists in most professions could be found!