The Rise of the Black Plain

Mia leaned beside Minos' desk and then placed some papers there, communicating the necessary information to her boss.

This woman had improved a lot in the past months, and now she was at level 40!

She looked as good as ever and was full of energy to work and continue her Dry City management activities. And, as her cultivation progressed, she was learning more and more from Minos about this young man's management style so that she could better represent him in the future.

As a result, this woman already had many other responsibilities locally in addition to being the sovereign's secretary.

Anyway, after informing Minos about the visit of a soldier from the headquarters, this woman had returned to her place of work while old Joey entered that office.

Joey hadn't joined the Spatial Kingdom soldiers, as he hadn't even tried to sign up for the Elite Squad selection that had taken place over a year ago. Because of that, and because this man had no intention of becoming a full-time warrior, he hadn't had the same opportunities as Peter, Robin, and Barbara.

But this old man had still made it to level 44 and had considerably increased his status in the army over the past time. That's because this man was the most experienced in the entire Black Plain, and many people highly valued the wisdom that someone over 400 years of age could have..

Because of this, his position as an administrative soldier had risen. Nowadays, he spends a good deal of his time at headquarters rather than the borders of the Dry City, helping with management and solving the many problems that usually occur.

"Here, Mr. Joey." Minos pointed to the old soldier in front of him, indicating one of the chairs that faced this young man's desk.

"Thank you, young master... Ahh, it's boiling today, huh?" Joey briefly commented as he sat comfortably.

And after exchanging a few words about the climate, Joey quickly started talking about his purpose for coming here. "Young master, we've just finished collecting last month's army data."

"Oh?"

"At our most recent count, we hit about 9,500 soldiers…" He then proceeded to quote the numbers of soldiers at each of the cultivation levels.

The number of soldiers had grown a lot since the end of that selection after the rescue of Peter. That's because, in that past time, two other competitions had taken place in the Dry City to increase the number of local soldiers.

And, of course, the number of soldiers had come close to the 10,000 marks.

Finally, by the army's most recent count, the number of soldiers in each hierarchy was now as follows: Students, just over 500 individuals, Recruits, about 1,900 Soldiers, 3,500, Corporals, less than 2,200, Sergeants, 1,400 and finally there were currently 5 Lieutenants, including Dillian and Emlyn.

But even if there were some Lieutenants, Spiritual Kings, their numbers were not significant. The most important thing was how many Sergeants there were in the current Black Plain Army!

Of the more than 1,400 soldiers, most of them were between levels 41 and 42. However, there were a few hundred Sergeants at level 43, dozens at level 44, and some at level 45. Above that, only those soldiers related to the Elite Squad had managed to surpass that level.

And with such strength, they should be able to handle even a level 56 Spiritual King when fighting together, even without the assistance of Minos or the local Spiritual Kings!

And that was a very remarkable achievement for this organization!

'We're still a little below the power level of a small noble family, but I believe that in the next few months, when I leveled up to the 6th stage, this will be overcome...' So, Minos thought to himself, after hearing the entire update about current army numbers, which Joey had told him about.

Small noble families usually had around five Spiritual Kings, which Minos had already conquered in his forces. However, these cultivators were of higher levels than those in this young man's army.

Also, the number of cultivators from the 5th stage in these powers was much greater than in the Black Plain Army!

Therefore, Minos felt that the total strength of the Black Plain Army was still a step below this type of organization, even considering the difference in the quality of the techniques.

"Well, these numbers are in line with our plan." Minos said to Joey as he scratched his chin and then changed the subject. "Mr. Joey, start making preparations for the next military exercise..."

"Uh, this should happen after I reach level 49, in 4 months at most."

"Hehehe, young master, this time how many soldiers will participate in this event?" He asked with a friendly smile as he remembered recent events. 'A few months ago, it was 400 soldiers, but in the last military exercise, the young master fought more than 500 soldiers from the 5th stage...'

Minos had set the dates for the military exercises to take place right after he had leveled up. And in the time that had passed since the first event of this nature, this sovereign had already fought his soldiers on four occasions!

He had defeated his soldiers at all times after extremely balanced battles, with both sides suffering greatly.

But that wasn't weird. That's because these soldiers had to regularly fight Eda, Elena, Ernest, Eduard, or Abby. These people performed the 'normal military exercises,' which prepared the soldiers to face Minos.

Consequently, all soldiers above the 5th stage in Minos' forces had greatly improved their understanding of battles, as well as improved their teamwork!

As a result, the difficulty imposed by the group of soldiers in the fights against Minos had increased considerably.

But even so, this young man still needed to increase the number of opponents with each new event of this type. After all, he was the most talented person in this place, with the most remarkable combat proficiency and the best cultivation speed.

So, if he didn't increase the number of opponents in each of these tests, instead of maintaining a certain balance in the fights, which was ideal, things would get easier and easier for him.

"I will fight 700 opponents next time," Minos replied without caring too much about it.

"OK, young master..." Joey replied as he made a note on one of the papers he had to fill out to return to headquarters.

Minos then relaxed in his chair and asked the old soldier in front of him with an anxious expression on his face. "Changing the subject, do you have any news from Humbert? I sent him four months ago to the Kingdom of the Waves to get my King-grade medicine. Did you get any messages from him?"

Hearing this, this Sergeant quickly moved his gaze from the paper he was taking notes on and then smiled at Minos. "Yes, young master. That was one of the information I had to bring…" He then handed a small letter, the size of a hand, to the young man on the other side of that table there.

"As the young master can read in this letter sent by Humbert, he has already collected the King-grade medicine from the Lillian family farm."

"Hmmm." Minos made a long sound of appreciation as he read that letter.

'I just collected the young master's medicine in the Lillian family. And considering the delivery time of this letter from where I am to the Dry City, I believe I will get there in another two months.'

'Hmm, that's great!' Minos cheered internally, taking a weight off his shoulder.

This young man was concerned that the Lillian family might delay the delivery of this first medicine. But since he had now received the information that Humbert, level 45, had already collected it, the young ruler of the Black Plain could be carefree.

With that man's strength and considering he was using a 4th stage beast to travel unless he was very unlucky, Minos could have his medicine within that time!

"Good! Good!" He exclaimed for a moment and then looked at Joey and tried to calm down. "Hehe, sorry..."

"But Mr. Joey, speaking of good news, how is Alina's development going? Is she..."