The Rise of the Black Plain

After discussing the previous point, it did not take long for Minos to invite Lulu to his office so they could continue talking about this agreement between the kingdoms.

That had only been the beginning of the talks, and now that both parties had shown interest in continuing, they would discuss the details of this agreement.

"So, Your Majesty, how do you intend to receive these 50,000 Spiritual Kings?" Lulu asked as she sat face to face with Minos and his wives.

As for her companions on this trip, the two were standing behind her, silently watching everything.

"You can send 50 groups of a thousand people over the next 100 weeks. That will be enough for us." Minos replied. "Those people must be individuals never before connected to powers in your state."

"Not only that, I prefer those over the age of 600 and who have families to care for. Each of them will be able to bring up to 20 family members at first and may be allowed to bring all their family members in the future..."

"We will talk about that with those coming here."

Hearing these requirements, Lulu frowned, not understanding what Minos was getting at. "600 years old? Spiritual Kings at that age are not talented... Why do you want people like that? Isn't it better for me to find those under 100 years old?"

Abby smiled upon hearing that woman's doubt. "We are not looking for the strength or talent of these people. We are looking for people who can fill certain demands in our state and who can create new generations of local talent."

Minos did not want to bring in highly talented people from outside the region in such high quantities. Something like that would create an imbalance in the Black Plain and put the regional population at a significant disadvantage.

So he wanted older, i.e., less talented people among Albano's population, people without high expectations, able to help accelerate local development without putting the regional population in its shadow.

Not only that, even outside the northern region of the Central Continent, most people who reached the 6th stage usually had Black talent. Thus, this was a way to increase the number of people capable of generating new citizens with that talent.

There was also the issue of Spiritual Attraction and, finally, the need for these people to have more 'peaceful' profiles, that is, who the repressive forces could control.

"Hmmm," Ruth nodded and completed Abby's speech, "Also, even if they are not talented by your state's standards, here they will be. Also, many will advance to the next stage even considering their advanced ages. And for us, that's more than enough."

Hearing that, Lulu was not sure what Minos' goal was, but she thought it was not inconsistent that he wanted ordinary people. 'With this strength, he will be able to secure dominance of the region and still stay in power...'

'If the local rumors are true, then his army can easily handle a force like that. And if those people aren't greedy like those criminals, everything should be fine...'

After thinking for a while, she commented. "Fine, we'll attract Spiritual Kings by following your instructions. So, it won't be difficult."

"Good!" Minos smiled and then moved on to the next subject, something he was eager to get for the Black Plain. "The next thing I want to negotiate is the service of the members of the Giant Turtle tribe."

"What?" Lulu's bodyguard said in surprise.

The Giant Turtles were a special breed of beasts due to their size outside of common sense, beings with fantastic defensive abilities and high flying skills.

And they were native to the Albano region, being a race of beasts allied to the royal family of that state since the early days of such a kingdom.

Then, upon hearing from Minos about his desire regarding the Giant Turtles, that high-level Spiritual Emperor could not help but be surprised. Such beings only work with the West family. How could King Stuart covet them?

"Do you know about the Giant Turtles?" Lulu asked while her eyes narrowed.

"Sure. They are great at taking care of transport. A single beast like that at the 6th stage can travel hundreds of kilometers a day and still carry hundreds of humans on its back." He spoke, looking at Lulu.

"It's a real waste that one of them is only being used by three humans..."

Lulu closed her eyes as she heard Minos' criticism. "It's not just us. We also have a group of cooks and female employees in that house..."

"Still, it's a waste," Minos replied. "In any case, those beings are perfect for creating small headquarters in the skies of the Black Plain."

Gloria nodded in agreement. "It would be of great help to our soldiers if they could patrol the Black Plain with these beings."

Lulu turned her gaze to Minos and said. "It doesn't matter if you know about them. My mother won't agree to it. Do you want us to give up our spiritual beasts?"

"You don't get it. We just want to hire the service of these beasts..." Minos said while he had a smile on his face. "A dozen of them would already help us a lot. Do you think that's impossible?"

"Hire? And what would you give us in return?" She asked in a slightly more agitated tone, thinking Minos was exaggerating on this point.

"The 6th stage beasts that come to my territory will stay here for 100 years. In that time, we will invest in them and help them reach the 7th stage. That will be the payment. We will return stronger beasts to you."

"Oh? Are you serious? It's not easy to raise the level of these turtles. The amount of resources they need is proportional to their size." Lulu's secretary unconsciously said.

"I know..." Minos nodded in agreement.

He knew more about these beasts than the three people in front of him. But he thought it was worth making that investment since there were not many races of spiritual beasts with similar characteristics.

Since he wanted to continue strengthening the weak points of his state, this would be an essential way to increase the army's vigilance around at least the capital.

For example, he wanted to avoid surprises like the arrival of these people. But something like this could only be done if lookouts were in the Black Plain's skies.

Unfortunately, there were not so many beings capable of flying in the ranks of Minos' forces, and most of them could not waste their time doing this kind of service. So, the best way to resolve this issue would be to use something capable of suppressing this demand without harming the strongest individuals in his organization.

Since Minos had far more resources than these people thought, and the local spiritual root continued improving, he knew he could easily handle such an investment.

Lulu then responded. "That's very tempting, but I'll have to talk to my mother about it."

"OK. Then let's move on to the next item..."

They continued in that place for another hour and a half, talking about various resources that the Black Plain was interested in obtaining.

The state of Minos imported things from the Flaming Empire, but Albano was much closer to the Black Plain. In this case, King Stuart wasted no time in starting to attach more importance to imports from this neighbor of his, which could lower the costs.

So, he soon mentioned a hundred special seeds for everyday food production, as well as medicines, ores, and other essential materials.

But he did not talk about more valuable things like weapons, pills, and arrays. Not because the Black Plain did not need them, but because he wanted to develop most of these resources in his state, where more and more spiritual professionals were emerging.

Anyway, in this way, the initial negotiation of House Stuart and House West finally ended!

...