The Rise of the Black Plain

At this time, the day was sunny in the Dry City, around 30º Celsius (86ºF), with winds that came and went, alleviating the thermal sensation of people passing through the city's streets.

And even though it was much warmer than usual, the movement in Minos town was quite hectic, as it had been since this place began to receive investments from the young Stuart.

Many people in the city had at least two jobs, so a large part of the population spent little time at home, with nothing to do.

Because of this, the approximately 130 thousand local inhabitants spent most of the day in the vicinity of the Dry City, generating an unusual vivacity for a small place like this one.

And while the ordinary population of this town went about their daily business, Minos was in his office in the mansion in the center of the city.

He was sitting in the armchair behind a large table as he looked at the three people in front of him.

In addition to the butler Dillian, who was present at this place, there was a man and a woman, both middle-aged, seated on the opposite side of Minos' table.

The man looked ordinary and had an unflattering outfit that would certainly allow him to blend in with the Dry City crowd.

As for the woman, despite her unremarkable beauty, she still had a sense of nobility, not only because of the gray silk dress she wore but also because of the way she carried herself.

Anyway, these two were working together on the construction of a new building in the Dry City. The man was the head of the group of masons that would develop the building, while the woman was the designer responsible for the project.

At Elen's request, this lady came from Stone Island to develop public buildings in the Dry City. She had been living in this location for almost four months and had already participated in several local projects.

At this moment, Dillian, who was sitting in a chair next to those two people, suddenly said. "Miss Judy, how is the development of the Dry City Tower going?"

"So far, I've prepared about 50% of the project, but I still need two more months to finish it. This is extensive work, which needs a lot of planning time." She responded without showing any change in her composure.

The building Dillian was talking about was a construction needed to house a set of defensive arrays in the Dry City. However, for this type of array, it was not enough to just put it into operation. No, defensive arrays needed to have a support structure so that they could act!

Therefore, there was a need to build a tower in the middle of the protected area and several other parts within the limits that the arrays would work.

Only with that, this type of spiritual item could work correctly.

And precisely because of all these requirements, there was a need for a design to planning this type of building.

Right after she spoke, Minos nodded, saying. "Well, there's no rush for now. We still don't have all the crystals to buy this defensive array... Anyway, Mr. Randall, after the project is ready, how long will it take for this tower to be built?"

"Two years, young master. Even if we increase the workforce offered in the city, this deadline should not change. There are many parts of the construction of this tower, which need to be done little by little for the structure to be functional." He said while scratching his black beard.

"Hmm, two years is good enough."

And in fact, two years was not a long time for the Dry City to gain protection. After all, the protective array set, like the one the young Stuart wanted to buy, cost 40 million low-grade spiritual crystals!

Because of this price, considering Dry City's operating costs, it would take some time before Minos' forces could afford that cost at once!

Time passed, and the group chatted about various other topics when Dillian finally asked about something that interested him. "Eh, to finish, I want to know how the hos..."

However, as he was speaking, Secretary Mia rushed into the room, making Dillian stop talking before he even finished his question.

She then ran to Minos' side and said in a low voice. "Young Master, 4 of the 20 Sergeants, who went out to investigate the kidnapping of Sergeant Peter, are outside the room, waiting to report their findings to you."

Hearing this, Minos frowned, realizing why Mia seemed so agitated when she walked into his office. He then said. "Ehh, Miss Judy, Mr. Randall, let's finish talking about this another time. Sorry, but I'll have to deal with another matter now."

"Haha, no problem, young master, we are at your disposal." Randall replied, quickly getting up and saying goodbye to the group.

As for that lady of noble attitude, she too quickly left Minos's office, soon after saying goodbye politely.

Dillian then asked in curiosity as he looked at Mia. "What happened?"

But instead of saying something, Minos himself intervened. "Mia, have them come here." He then looked at Dillian and said, at the same time, that the secretary would leave that place. "Grandpa Dillian looks like we'll have some news from Peter."

"Oh? That's nice! Our forces cannot lose a young talent like him."

And it wasn't long before the four men who had returned to the Dry City, after weeks of investigation, entered that place.

Immediately, they greeted Minos and Dillian as they stood opposite the young Stuart's table.

Minos then said. "One of you, tell me what happened."

Hearing this, the man who appeared to be the oldest of the group took a step forward and then began to speak. "Young master, after we left the Dry City, just over a month ago..."

That man then began to report everything that had happened since their group had left the Dry City. He talked about the fight's location, where Peter had killed two pirates and was eventually kidnapped.

Obviously, the soldier talked about the tattoo on the arm left by one of the pirates, which was precisely the same as the symbol Emlyn had described to Minos.

'These pirates again?' He thought about it right after hearing such information. But Minos did not interrupt that Sergeant's speech and continued to listen to the report.

And not long after, that man had finally talked about the most recent events, which had taken place in the vicinity of that seaside town, route of pirates and bandits in the region.

"So, Peter was taken to the Cromwell Kingdom, huh?"

"Yes, young master. According to the man we interrogated, that group went to the Cromwell Kingdom Black Market, which is on the northwest coast of that place." The soldier confirmed it.

"Ahh, what a disgrace to Peter!" Dillian finally said something, regretting what might have happened to Peter in the meantime.

Who knows what Peter had already been through... As a slave, most likely, he was being beaten daily, eating the pirates' food scraps, and living in degrading conditions...

That's, of course, if he hadn't already been sold. If that were the case, then his situation could be even more dangerous.

While life in captivity on slave ships was hard, at least there was a guarantee that they would live for tomorrow. After all, a dead slave was of no value to those pirates!

However, after being sold, there was no guarantee of survival. A captive could either be killed on the same day they were bought, if he got unlucky with his buyer, as he could live for decades if he were lucky...

Who knows if it would be lucky, some would undoubtedly prefer to be dead...

After hearing everything that soldier had to report, Minos had a severe expression on his face as he thought about what he should do next. 'If I send a group to the Cromwell Kingdom, the force wouldn't be an issue unless a Spiritual King was involved... But any decision they'd have to have my approval...'

'Although I have passed on many ideas to these soldiers, through the army's geopolitics classes, I doubt that they would act against large noble families, without my ordering... In this case, I just have to go along on this rescue mission!'

'Besides, if a Spiritual King gets involved, with me there, the party can still fight and win…' He said nothing for a full minute as he counted on his fingers and thought about what he should do.

With Minos' current strength and also the possibility for Emlyn to help him unless someone above level 54 showed up, he and the fox could combine forces to deal with individuals below that level!

Therefore, Minos thought that going with his soldiers was the best alternative, aiming to increase the mission's success rate and lessen the possibility of losses by the Black Plain Army.

He then finally said. "Okay, let's form a group to go on a rescue mission. I will command them, and we will be out in a week."