The Rise of the Black Plain

While Ford was talking with his mother, Troy had finally found where his father was, near where subordinates and vassals of House Cromwell were in this large camp.

This place was full of specialists who had seen the fight of Troy and Minos years ago. Because of this, the moment he appeared in that place, many of them immediately recognized such a regional prodigy.

"Young Troy, it seems that you have adapted well to the Flaming Empire!"

"Hehehe, level 52 at only 24, very good, very good indeed!"

"At this rate, the Newman family will meet the same fate as House Red!" One more, among many, commented on Troy's apparent success in the sect he had been accepted into.

Troy's progress had been exceptional!

Even though he had all the disadvantages of being from this part of the continent and living in a place of great competition, Troy had already reached level 52 in such a short time.

Therefore, seeing someone with such a bright future appearing before them, several of those Spiritual Kings could not help but admire him.

But as Troy walked through that area while waving to some acquaintances, people he had met before his departure for the empire, it did not take long for him to reach his father.

Upon meeting that General of the Cromwell Kingdom's royal guard, Troy immediately greeted his father, happy to see that such a person was okay, despite everything.

"It's good to see you well!" General Newman commented to his son as he patted one of his hands on Troy's back.

"Are you all right, father? Aren't you going back for King Cromwell's funeral?" Troy asked about that.

The Newman family was a noble house of the Cromwell Kingdom, one that had been created directly by a subordinate of the Cromwell family.

There were two ways for noble families to arise. One was through royal families and the other via noble families.

The advantage of the first was that not only were the founders generally wealthier, but their new organizations would already have territory right away. As for the second, this would take much longer to happen since this new power would need to go through a series of procedures to be recognized by the state.

In any case, Troy's family was in the first category. Because of this, even though they were not so traditional in the region, they were pretty powerful.

Despite being as powerful as a regionally high-level noble family, Troy's family had some members who remained in the House Cromwell, as was the case with his father.

Because of this characteristic of his father, this young man thought that General Newman should be present at King Cromwell's funeral, even if a war were going on here.

Hearing his son, General Newman shook his head negatively. "I am fine, but unfortunately, I will not be able to attend His Majesty's funeral, nor even the rising of the new king."

"The threat from that Minos is truly unprecedented. If we leave our positions, the enemy forces will act decisively."

"After that, we may not have the opportunity to stand against them and seek justice for what happened to His Majesty." He said, regretting that he could not attend such an important event.

The situation on the Black Plain was indeed delicate, and taking out experts from this place would be like gifting the enemy with the privilege of time.

However, this would be irrational as what the enemy wanted most at the moment was just that, more time!

After all, the leading members of Dry City's allied forces had higher cultivation speeds than the strongest members of the Counter-Revolutionary Army. Consequently, the longer this war went on, the greater were the chances of success for Minos' rebellion!

So, instead of diminishing their actions by allowing people on the Black Plain to leave from this place, this enemy group of Minos had to increase their numbers and frequency of attacks.

Only then would they be able to take over the entire territory of the Black Plain, eventually strangling the economic power of Minos. Therefore, stopping the constant leveling up of the members of his forces!

And upon understanding such a thing, Troy realized his mistake and just closed his fists in frustration.

He had come to the northern part of the Central Continent to stay with his family for a few weeks. At the same time, he was curious to know what Minos had done during this period, especially to see the difference between the two now.

Troy was a very competitive person, so he had never accepted the draw with Minos. 

For him, that had not been a draw but a defeat. After all, Minos was at a much lower level than him at that time!

And because he thought so, before discovering Minos' entire situation, he wanted to spar with this young man. He was interested in this, even though he could have distanced himself even further from such an opponent.

Minos had decided to stay in this region on his own, so if he, Troy, had become stronger than young Stuart, it had no connection with him. 

He did not think it would be unfair to fight against young Stuart even in such a situation.

But upon discovering this whole situation and learning how strong Minos had become in this poor region, Troy feels humiliated as if all his efforts had been meaningless.

Minos had not only overcome the difference in levels between them, but he had also become even more impressive!

So, this young man was lamenting in his heart, wondering about the world's justice and how Minos had done such an absurd thing.

'That son of a bitch!'

'He had it all planned from the beginning, knowing he wouldn't be affected by staying in this region...'

'But how did the bastard do it?'

Anyway, noticing his son's reaction, General Newman soon understood what was going on in Troy's mind. 

"Troy, you are an adult now, and you can decide your life the way you want to. And I'm sure you already have the experience necessary to understand certain things, or you wouldn't have been so successful in the empire..."

"But even so, I must tell you not to get involved in this matter and avoid contacting that brat."

"He is extremely dangerous for people below level 58... And even considering your Silver-grade techniques, the difference is still too much for you to risk..."

"And even if he doesn't do anything directly against you, he is very clever and full of tricks."

"He might find some way to use the Spiritual Church to achieve his independence!"

The Spiritual Church was not from that region and, as such, was not on the side of the regional leaders. That is, the local members of that organization did have interests related to those powers, but that was not a policy of the church itself.

In this way, the church did not care who led the northern region of the Central Continent. If someone broke their rules, they would act, even if it meant helping an insurgent, such as a rebel like Minos.

After all, keeping their image intact by punishing those who disobeyed them was far more important than the fate of some lower-middle-level organization!

Hence General Newman's advice.

"I understand, father..." Then, after his father finished speaking, Troy said, "I will be careful not to provoke him if we meet."

"In any case, how do you intend to deal with him? Is there some kind of strategy? Attempting peace agreements?" The young man asked shortly after that.

"Well, for the moment, we are not thinking about peace, as the rebels need to be fought vigorously..."

"As for our plans, some regional leaders who had previously stayed in their territories were already moving. Some of them are coming here, while others are going to the church branch in the Kingdom of the Waves."

"We need some kind of support or guarantee from that organization, or we might not be able to overcome this catastrophe!" 

...

Three days later...

While the high-level Spiritual Kings of this region were heading to the Black Plain or that branch of the Spiritual Church, a woman with red hair and a face with soft angles was arriving in the vicinity of Dry City.

She was dressed exquisitely, in beautiful light green clothes, well-fitted to her well-developed body, making her even more remarkable.

But she had a solemn expression on her face, which did not match her delicate beauty.

'Ruth... Is that why you asked me to come here?' Kara asked herself in a worried way, trying to understand if that person was truly helping her or if there was something more to it all...