The Rise of the Black Plain

After another year's journey, Minos' party arrived near Examire, with the six members of the Armhands seeing the city again after decades away from this place.

As for the eight who had never been there before, they took a deep breath as they looked at the place and its floating districts, seeing their new home for decades or centuries to come.

Without further ado, they followed the path Minos had already taken several times, entering the city and going directly to the place where they could advance into the interior of the Armhands' headquarters.

Arriving at the area where there was an instant transport elevator to the floating island hundreds of meters above this place, Minos quickly identified himself as an internal member of the guild who had been out for decades.

...

"Minos Stuart?" The man standing at the post on the surface of Examire asked as he looked at Minos and the large group behind him. "Weren't you dead?"

Minos closed his eyes and laughed bitterly. "No. Do you think it's because of the sacrifice of the Flashdrain parasite? I had some problems on my journey, but I survived." "So that's what happened? All right, I'll let you in, but I warn you, you're going to have problems. Someone high up has marked you as dead. As soon as you enter the city, fix it right away," said this mid-level Sovereign before making way for Minos and his staff.

Minos wasn't surprised and thanked the man before he and his companions entered the elevator.

A few moments later, they all felt space distorting and their bodies changing position, quickly arriving at that headquarters island hundreds of meters above Examire.

When they reached that spot and saw the mountain there, the eight members of the group who weren't part of Examire felt a pressure on their bodies, with someone nearby acting against them.

"Who are you?" The guard in the area asked.

Today was not the selection day. As much as Armhands recruited new members all the time, most of the time this place passed without witnessing events like the day Minos and his group first came to the guild.

Minos spotted the level 106 Sovereign in the area and greeted him. "Officer, my name is Minos Stuart. I'm a Junior Officer in the guild, as are five of my companions. We are returning from a trip, and these eight have accepted our invitation to join the guild."

"Oh? You invited them?" The man shifted his position, having recognized Minos.

As much as recent rumors said Minos had died, this guy wouldn't cause any problems for the man in front of him. He knew Minos' appearance well because of how famous Law Enforcer Stuart used to be. With this guy at level 105, his power should be impressive today.

The alien didn't make the situation difficult and asked. "If that's the case, do you agree to take the guild entrance test?" "Of course." Minos smiled as he shook his head in the affirmative.

"In that case, accompany me. I'll alert the department and we'll take your entrance test right away." The level 106 man said as he motioned for Minos' eight companions to follow him.

"Take care of them for me, officer. In the meantime, I'll take care of my situation within the guild." Minos said as he narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at the man.

"It's time for me to resume my position as a Law enforcer."

The man looked at Minos silently and said nothing. He understood he couldn't neglect these eight people or he would get into trouble with Law Enforcer Stuart.

'It looks like there's going to be some trouble in the guild...' he thought to himself as he left with Kendrick's group.

Minos and his five companions signaled to the others not to worry before heading into the guild's interior.

Once they crossed the mountain and saw the area surrounding the guild's headquarters, they introduced themselves again and could enter the fenced area after showing their identities.

Under the watchful eyes of the guards stationed at the entrance post, they made their way into the city.

...

Upon entering the outer area of the city, Minos and his companions encountered no problems, nor did they see any acquaintances there.

Most of their acquaintances were currently internal members, which meant they were more likely to be active in the inner city or even outside the headquarters.

Even if there were any internal members doing activities in the outer city, they were probably busy and wouldn't see the group of six coming.

Entering the internal area without a problem, they soon found the building responsible for updating the status of guild members who had gone on missions or reported temporary departures.

Once inside, however, Minos and his companions saw some of their old acquaintances, both allies and rivals, looking at them with wide, surprised eyes.

"Minos!" said one of Law Enforcer Stuart's enemies, as he formed an ugly expression on his face.

"Ash." Minos remembered the guy's name, surprised this individual had reached level 109 while he was out of the guild. "You seem to be stronger than before." Minos approached the individual before shaking one of Ash's hands.

When Ash felt Minos' handshake, he frowned, feeling the immense strength of this guy who everyone thought had died.

"You've moved on a few times in the last few decades, huh? Any luck finding treasure? It's unusual for someone to advance 6 levels in just under 9 decades." Ash said, trying to hide the pained expression on his face.

'What kind of fucking power is that? How can he suppress me so much?' the individual asked himself as he looked into Minos' eyes.

"That's none of your business, Ash. You should take care of your own business." Minos let go of the alien's hand before greeting a few people he had brought into the guild, or who had been part of his faction.

"Anyway, I'm back, guys. I'll talk to you later. For now, I'm here to alert my superiors." With those words, one of the members in charge of that post soon appeared to greet Minos and his five companions and lead them to a private room where they could talk about their situation.