The Rise of the Black Plain

With Artaud dead, Minos collected his enemy's body and belongings.

Checking where he was and what was around him, Minos found no major problems that would require his quick action to flee the area.

Exhausted and with some wounds that hadn't completely healed yet, he needed to cultivate as soon as possible.

But first, he had to leave the area, leaving the site of the battle of peak 11th stage beings behind without hesitation.

Unfortunately, the black hole and the detonation of that region of space, along with the sacrifices of the six level 112 Sovereigns, had destroyed the bodies and belongings of the three level 114 cultivators who were Artaud's allies. Otherwise, Minos would have collected them before leaving.

But without lamenting the spilled milk, Minos moved on to find a safe place to rest.

Soon dozens of kilometers away from that place, reaching an area far enough from his battle stage to be sure that no one there had noticed his 'show.'

Once he found a fairly secluded cave, at a point where he was sure no creature traveling or exploring the area would approach, he set up traps and prepared to cultivate.

'I'll stay here for a few days until I'm ready to begin my mission. Now that Artaud is dead, I'll have some peace.' Minos thought to himself after he had already checked the contents of Artaud's spatial device.

Minos didn't know how Artaud had amassed so many resources in just a few months, since the man must have spent most of that time in a hiding place. But the alien had with him this time a vast wealth even for Sovereigns at level 114.

The contents of his inventory today were not as good as the one he had left for Minos earlier, but it would still make many peak Sovereigns jealous.

Minos assumed Artaud would use it to pay for the three mercenaries, but he was still curious about the origin of these sums.

In any case, it wasn't something that would change his life, and he couldn't find out now. Therefore, Minos only had himself in mind.

As for these resources, of course, they would help his faction as soon as he returned to Armhands!

...

In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed for Minos since Artaud's murder.

Minos had already recovered and left his previous position, having made two more stops on Lost Soul Trail, continuing his cultivation in search of higher levels while traveling to the point of his mission.

Fortunately, he had encountered no problems on his first journey along Lost Soul Trail. He had managed to avoid problems with the help of his divination ability.

By Minos' reckoning, he should now be between 7 and 12 days from the point where the enemy portal he was supposed to destroy was located.

After another stop this afternoon, he continued on his way through this extreme mountainous area of central Zocarro, where even powerful individuals like himself would find it difficult to move.

For this reason, a portal in this area could be quite devastating to groups that needed to use this road!

But Minos went ahead anyway, feeling how he could push his own strength towards his goal just by running through this area.

Even though this was a dangerous mission for Junior Officers, he was calm. This mission shouldn't be any more difficult than dealing with Artaud and three level 114 mercenaries. As such, he was relaxed and confident he could handle any adversity along the way.

... Minos continued his journey for another 10 days, slowing down his speed and becoming more cautious.

Based on the guild's expectations and his own analysis, Minos knew he was close to the enemy portal, which he could reach at any moment.

Now he was walking along a difficult stone path, where several sharp hills surrounded the horizon, with almost no vegetation in sight.

The narrow terrain, only wide enough for a wagon to pass at a time, and the proximity of a gorge, would make the heart of an unprepared person flutter.

The area's strong winds, capable of blowing bodies off the ground if one wasn't careful, also sent shivers down the spines of people unprepared for the challenges of the area. These winds came out of nowhere, surprising even people like Minos.

But he used his ability to predict the future to his advantage, keeping steadily on the path that led to the top of one mountain in the area, the only route available to anyone who needed or wanted to use the Lost Soul Trail.

But for groups like Minos' guild, using Lost Soul Trail was a necessity. Considering the areas within the Lost Soul region that were rich in various types of special resources—areas that could only be reached by using that path—the guild couldn't give up on this journey or the mission at hand.

Knowing this, Minos would soon be nearing the top of the mountain he had been climbing for the past few minutes.

When he finally had a certain feeling, he stopped moving and focused his Bright Eyes forward to where a spatial distortion lay.

'This is the portal.'

Minos noticed this construction of high-level, difficult to build even for powerful cultivators.

Only Supremes with special characteristics in Zocarro could create portals like it without spending many years of their lives on such projects!

For Sovereigns like Minos, such a thing was almost impossible, and usually required a lot of time and many men working together.

But Firestone Mines had invested a lot in the construction of this portal, making it difficult for other forces to pass through this area of the Lost Soul Trail, but also taking advantage of this opportunity to make better use of the Lost Soul region.

Because of this, Minos would soon see others who, like him, were there to sabotage Firestone Mines' plans for the area!

As he approached the portal, he saw three groups lurking around, each plotting against the portal and the Firestone Mines men in the area.

'It seems the Missions Hall has misclassified this mission. This is much more difficult than a Junior Officer can solve.' Minos noticed the cultivation of the Firestone Mines members, as well as the spiritual stability of that portal, which was the size of a four-story building, in the highest area of that hill.