The Rise of the Black Plain

As Minos' group traveled to the Black Plain, four men conversed near a table in one of the rooms on the top floor of the Black Market of Hadia.

These four people looked worried, given the bulging veins on their foreheads and necks. At the same time, each of them had a sharp glance in their eyes that could frighten ordinary people.

One of them was sitting with his elbows on his knees as he crossed his hands over his nose. He was dressed in a black silk suit and was the quietest of this group of men.

As for the other three, each was seated in a different armchair, which sat at the four corners of the table, all of them very well dressed and actively conversing.

These were the four local managers of this branch of the Black Market, the people who managed and protected this place.

Anyway, at that moment, one of them finally said something crucial. "As Willian reported, Mr. Curtis's property was attacked and destroyed a few nights ago. Unfortunately, not a single survivor has been found to help us with the investigation..."

At this point, Willian, the man who had previously done business with Del, finally took his turn and said. "Cough, that night I went to that location as soon as we got the notices from our subordinates, but there wasn't any trace left in that area."

"The slaves fled or were taken by the invaders, and all the people who were in that place are reported missing. Therefore, we are considering that most, if not all, are dead."

And as soon as he finished speaking, the other man, besides the one who was silently watching the three, said. "Boss Russell, what are we going to do? Mr. Curtis will not accept something like, 'there were no clues.' He will certainly demand an answer when he finds out the news."

Hearing this question, the man who was still silent and with his hands clasped in front of his face then closed his eyes for a moment and thought to himself. 'As a member of the Scourges of the Devil, that guy won't take an attack on one of his properties lightly...'

And finally, after a few seconds of silence in that room, Russell opened his eyes and looked at the three around him. "Mr. Curtis is one of the senior partners in the Black Market, and he is a level 55, Spiritual King."

The three men then continued to listen, at the same time, to what sounds of swallowing could be heard there.

Of the four managers, Russell was the only one close to the 6th stage of cultivation. The other three were respectively at levels 45, 46, and 47.

Because of that, for any of them, who were so far beyond level 50, Curtis' strength was unparalleled, something they could perhaps only dream of having!

Thus, they simultaneously had a feeling of awe and respect for the person who had had his property invaded a few days ago by the group of Minos.

Russell then continued. "We are going to do an exhaustive search. First, let's find out who left town that day, considering only those from the 5th stage of the cultivation. As there was a low-level grade-2 defensive array in that place, there are only two hypotheses about the strength of this group."

"One was that they were too numerous, and so they managed to destroy the barrier that protected Mr. Curtis's property. The other was that there was a Spiritual King in the group."

"So, I want you to see these two possibilities and then keep going after these people. Most likely, they must have left town soon after the incident, so look for information about the groups that left town at that time."

"See if anyone has been asking questions in the days before the attack that might lead to that establishment…" Russell then continued to give his orders as to how they should investigate this matter.

This was an unusual incident to happen and had hit the interests of someone powerful.

Finally, as members of the Black Market, an organization financed by the Scourges of the Devil, these managers of this branch could not take this matter lightly.

Even if they weren't responsible for the security of that place, they still had to help stop threats in case something happened. But unfortunately for them, when they arrived at that property on the south side of the city, Minos and his group had already left...

Then, now they could only try to figure out who was responsible for it, so Curtis could have the necessary information to go after this matter.

This man was among that organization's ten strongest assassins. Hence, he couldn't be challenged that way. He was a person who took threats to his organizations very seriously as he had many enemies who wanted him dead.

In this case, even an attack on a property of minor importance to him could mean a risk to his investments and his own life.

Because of this, these four local managers of the Hadia's Black Market were worried about what had happened and that they had no leads at the moment.

On the day of the attack, all the pirates and bandits in that place, including the guards who protected the establishment, had all been killed. As for the survivors, apart from the group of Minos, only the captives of that place were left.

However, Minos had followed with his mission to rescue Peter, and the captives of that place had fled that region, already being hundreds of kilometers away from that place, right now.

Each of them knew how dirty and dangerous the city of Hadia was, plus that this property was not as simple as it looked. It wasn't unusual for guards of lower ranks to talk a little too much about their bosses as if they were showing off for working for such people.

And because of that, all those women knew very well about the strength of the owner of that place. So, they had run without looking back, leaving Hadia with no intention of returning!

Anyway, all this made the investigation work of those men difficult, but there was nothing to do. Or they discovered something, or they could lose positions within the Black Market.

Even if their lives were not at risk, as the people who led this organization were not rash to killing their own subordinates in the heat of the moment, these four men could still lose influence.

Every organization had its own hierarchy, and to some degree, there was the possibility of advancing through the ranks through good contacts. Thus, having good morale and not disappointing those superior to them would make these people have better chances and resources.

But the opposite could destroy the selfish dreams that each of them had...

...

Simultaneously, a few hundred kilometers from the location of the Chambers family's base, which had been attacked previously, a group of three spiritual flying beasts flew toward that location.

Each of them looked like giant winged lizards, with greenish scales and about ten feet tall. In addition to the exotic appearance, there were prominent star symbols on their heads, marked directly on their scales.

This was the group that had left the Chambers family's headquarters and was heading towards the base attacked by Minos to escort the young master Kevin...

The patriarch of that family had prioritized this mission and had dispatched three Spiritual Kings at level 52, along with a few other subordinates, who would take care of other matters there.

Not only was Kevin, the son of the patriarch of the family, but he had also done a commendable service by managing to buy the Spring of Life!

Such an item was essential to any power in the region, which certainly had at least one among their elders who needed such a resource.

Battles were widespread in the Spiritual World, so any power that had existed for thousands of years, like the Chambers, would have people who need such a resource.

And specifically speaking, one of the elders in this family, the former patriarch, was still alive but was at the end of his life due to the lack of vitality in his body.

Even though he was a level 57, Spiritual King, that man had at most a few more decades to die, despite being only 952-years-old.

But everything would be different for him if the Spring of Life returned with Kevin. He could live a few hundred more years and help make the Chambers family even stronger!

For all that, Kevin's father had sent such power, allied with the only three flying beasts of the family!