The Rise of the Black Plain

Minos would travel alone for the next few weeks, heading for the Lost Soul Trail.

The Lost Soul Trail was no small road. It was over 50,000 kilometers long, and even if you could reach it, it would take you a long time to travel it.

After two weeks of traveling, Minos arrived at the halfway point of his journey, near the entrance to the Lost Soul Trail, where he would have to be especially careful as he moved forward.

Accustomed to the dangers of this world and the methods of his enemies within the guild, Minos was prepared for possible attacks as soon as he entered the Lost Soul Trail.

Before that, he thought it unlikely that any old enemy would give him any trouble. There were many ways for him to get to Lost Soul Trail, while there weren't many options once you entered that famous road.

If Artaud had already recovered and united enemies to deal with Minos, then the young human would discover this as he began his journey through this place where he had a mission to complete!

After stopping at a stream today and observing the lush nature of this patch of forest, Minos continued on his way, feeling a mixture of worry and satisfaction.

The warrior side of his heart, eager to face the enemy, made him smile at the horizon. But his rational side couldn't help but make him cautious as he moved towards the start of the road that was only four days away from him today.

'It's time for the truth.' He thought as he flew between the treetops of this forest. 'As long as I return victorious, my faction will grow faster and without so many dangers in the coming years before my journey.'

...

Five days later, Artaud and his three companions on this mission stood in the middle of a mountainous area of the Lost Soul Trail, where they were sure Minos would have to pass.

At that moment, just after the dawn of a new day, Artaud was sitting behind a large rock from which someone in his position would have a privileged view and someone outside would have difficulty analyzing the surrounding terrain.

From there, Artaud looked up at the pink sky of this part of Zocarro, his fists clenched as he intently studied the area ahead, where his target would come from.

He didn't want to wait for Minos to finish the mission to destroy the enemy portal a few days ahead. As much as this could be an opportunity for him and his mercenaries, it could also be a way for the enemy to protect himself and deal with them.

Artaud was all too aware of how slippery Minos could be!

He wouldn't risk Minos turning those behind the portal against them and escaping again!

Artaud preferred to act directly against Minos, in a place where there were no potential allies for the enemy to use to his advantage!

'Where are you, you damned human? I want to show you all the hate you've made me feel these past few months!' he thought to himself, his eyes shaking with rage.

Meanwhile, the three level 114 mercenaries were on the area, keeping an eye out for potential trouble, but also looking for signs of Minos' approach.

From what their contractor had told them, the enemy wasn't that strong, but he had complicated abilities, could predict the future, could temporarily become stronger without side effects, and could quickly summon an army to his side.

Someone like that was frightening, even to people as strong as them!

Aware of Minos' summoning abilities and the fact he had left Armhands alone meant nothing, the three of them solemnly stood in position to deal with the human as soon as they spotted him.

This area of the Lost Soul Trail was special. With a gravity five times stronger and peaks over 30 kilometers high, there weren't many routes that could be taken through this area, even by flying.

In addition to the characteristics that would make it extremely difficult to fly through the area, the rugged terrain didn't help the groups traveling through the area. Apart from the road that these four level 114 sovereigns were observing, there were no other paths to take within the Lost Soul Path.

From this fact came the group's certainty that sooner or later they would encounter the level 105 human who was so terrifying that Artaud paid these three to fight alongside him.

After a few more hours of standing in the same place they had been for two days, one of the mercenaries spotted the shadow of someone similar to the one Artaud had described to them.

"Boss, I think the enemy is coming towards us." The man said as he spotted what he thought was Minos, about 11 kilometers ahead of them.

Artaud stood up immediately upon hearing this and quickly checked to see if this was indeed his target.

When he saw it was indeed Minos, a smile broke out on his face, his aura changing as his heart beat faster.

"We have to act. Let's attack him immediately. If he has time to summon his minions, we could be in trouble. They know what he's been doing the last few months." Artaud said as he prepared for the battle that was about to take place in this mountainous area.

The three of them already knew how formidable Minos was and didn't hesitate to follow the wishes of their employer. With all of them ready, they moved against their target, traveling along the beginning of the Lost Soul Trail toward the middle of this very long road.

Moving their energies and activating their attacks without even considering an exchange of comments between their group and the enemy, they attacked Minos.

The moment he felt the attacks forming in the air, Minos shed the neutral expression on his face as he narrowed his eyes, and six level 112 corpses emerged from their shadows while his cultivation reached the peak of level 108.

As a seer, there was no way that Minos could not have known that he would be attacked there today. Having previously summoned his allies to use in this battle, he was more prepared for this clash than Artaud would have liked.

"You have run long enough, Artaud. Time for you to pay with your life for plotting against me!" Minos said, to the surprise of the three mercenaries who moved with his vital points in their sights.