The Rise of the Black Plain

As Minos thought about the problems coming closer and closer to him, those three individuals leading this expedition finally saw what was happening.

Upon leaving their former location, they immediately saw dozens of their guards fighting desperate battles against an enemy group.

That group consisted of less than half of the numbers sent here by the Gill family. Moreover, each of those people wore the same type of uniform, indicating that they were part of another organization.

Finally, these three men wasted no time and soon discovered the forces on the enemy side. They were mere cultivators at the 5th stage and lower levels than many Gill family guards in this temporary camp!

"Who are these people?" Russ exclaimed in anger, analyzing what was going on as well as the strengths of those opponents.

He couldn't help but be angry at being attacked, mainly because the Gill side seemed to be at a disadvantage!

'That's truly weird... Did another regional power find out about the Dry City before we did?' Winston pondered this at the same time as he tried to probe the surroundings. 'Looks like the strongest one here is only at level 49...'

He then looked in the direction of some of the guards who were already unconscious at this point. He realized that there was no casualty among his party. "Strange..."

"They're not attacking us with the intent to kill." He commented in a low voice to those two nobles beside him.

Hearing this, Russ readily recognized the same thing. He then said. "Winston, help our guards while I deal with that level 49." After that, he started running towards Minos.

However, after watching Minos for a few breaths with his eyes and mouth wide open, Lionel suddenly said something in a weak tone. "That... That..."

"That's Minos Stuart!" He said while shaking with shock. 'How could this brat have reached level 49 in such a short time?' He asked himself, still very scared.

Upon hearing this, those other two people who were about to step forward to resolve this situation stopped their movements and looked at Lionel in surprise.

Russ then asked. "Are you sure? That young man is too strong to be that person!"

"That doesn't make sense. How could he get close to the 6th stage in such a short time? Hell, even the talented youths of the Flaming Empire couldn't do it!" Winston added, looking at Lionel and hoping this man would recognize his mistake.

But such a thing never happened. "Elder Russ, Mr. Winston, I'm sure. That person is the son of Albert Stuart!" He said as he clenched his fists tightly.

With such confirmation, it was not long before those two understood what had to be done. They immediately looked at each other and nodded their heads.

There was no need for words to be said. Their eyes alone communicated the intention they both had in dealing with Minos.

Such a thing would not only end this battle that was taking place in this camp, but it would also solve the problem of the Gill family's invasion of the Dry City. With that, they couldn't miss this excellent opportunity to deal with Minos so quickly!

...

Meanwhile, Mendy watched the whole situation from afar, trying to stay far enough away from that Spiritual King of the Gill family.

And as she was a little stronger than that person, this young woman had a stronger spiritual sense, which allowed her to feel the energetic fluctuations of people at greater distances from her. Hence, even though that Spiritual King couldn't notice her here, this young woman was following all the fight of those soldiers and guards.

Because of this, she was currently pleasantly surprised to find that the Black Plain Army soldiers actually managed to fight very well collectively and against higher-level opponents.

She could see from a distance that each level 44 soldier could display a fighting proficiency equivalent to cultivators with level 47 and Blue-grade techniques!

Hence, she knew that it could only mean that these people all had entire sets of Black-grade techniques, something that confirmed some information she'd heard earlier.

She still had doubts about the integrity of that, but right now, those doubts couldn't remain in this young woman's mind. After all, she knew perfectly well that so many different individuals could not show a fighting proficiency above their level without it being related to the quality of the techniques!

That could even happen for different reasons if it were specific cases of some people with unusual abilities. But with so many people showing the same proficiency, there was no way this could be a coincidence.

Only the quality of the techniques could explain such a thing!

As a result, she was convinced of it. But, she could see that, despite being much stronger than ordinary people, these soldiers still made mistakes typical of those who are still mastering the early phases of their techniques.

'It seems these people truly weren't warriors before they joined Minos' army...' Mendy thought about it as she watched two level 44 soldiers defeat one level 48 enemy.

One of those soldiers acted as a shield, while the other was continually attacking the enemy until that person received a blow to his back and fell facedown on the ground.

Seeing this, Mendy was even more impressed. 'He is turning ordinary citizens into high-level warriors... And all of this in less than five years since his arrival in this place!'

When thinking about it, Mendy realized that she had underestimated the potential of this place, as she had ignored this and other factors. For example, the current population was practically stagnant, and from what she had heard locally, only a few new families arrived in the Dry City weekly.

But even with a stagnant population and less than 200,000 inhabitants, this city had still managed to build an army of about 10,000 soldiers. That was not small for such a small population, so this young woman couldn't help but think about what would happen if the Black Plain had a chance to receive more people...

Gulp!

She swallowed her saliva as she thought about it until she realized that the two strongest people in that enemy group had approached Minos.

'Let's see what you do, Minos!'

...

At the same time as Minos' 50 soldiers battled the Gill family guards, Winston and Russ approached Minos, both running around the young man's sides.

The two were running at full speed and already prepared to attack Minos with everything they had!

Neither of them wanted Minos to die, as it would be interesting if he became a hostage. But since he had leveled up so quickly and even developed the Dry City, they couldn't help but think that young Stuart would be stronger than an ordinary level 49 cultivator!

In fact, they were sure that this young man must have had Black-grade techniques, something that would make him practically as strong as them!

Winston was a little stronger than Russ, even considering the distinct quality techniques they both used. However, such a thing was by a small margin, and certainly, one could not kill the other in just one blow if they had been fighting each other with everything.

So, neither of them thought Minos would die from this attack. However, this was still a quick way for both of them to wound the leader of this place with just one move and then use him as a hostage for the sake of the Gill family!

"Brat, don't try to resist. That will be better for you!" Russ yelled at Minos just before he was just one meter away from his target.

"Fall for me!" Winston muttered as he threw a mighty punch toward Minos' face.

Pow!

Almost instantly, as they said these things, their attacks finally took shape.

First, one of Winston's fists turned utterly black as it came toward Minos' young face.

Second, on the opposite side of Winston's attack, red flames flew towards the young man's chest, ready to burn him badly!

Sssss!

However, while those two men sent by the Gill family gave their all, Minos just watched them, not making any abrupt movements.

He just activated his defensive technique and remained in that same spot, still with an annoyed expression on his face, due to the problem that this family had exposed to him.

Puff!

"Keep calm. Today I won't fight...."