The Rise of the Black Plain

The three spiritual flying beasts descended from the skies, and their respective speeds were gradually decreasing. Thus, the group of people traveling on them gained a better view of the base's strange situation.

They could all see that the front gate of that place was completely open, not even a guard around as if someone had forgotten to do his job.

But that wasn't all. No, anyone who got close enough to that place should feel the spiritual fluctuations coming from the defensive array at that base.

And by the distance they were at this very moment, at least the three Spiritual Kings who were in the group should already feel the effects of the defensive barrier in that place.

However, they felt nothing, even probing their surroundings several times, as they found out if they had made a mistake.

"There is something wrong here. Why is the defensive array not working? And why isn't anyone at the entrance to that base?" One of the three said aloud, as his beast was the first to land beside that place.

And upon hearing this, the other two Spiritual Kings said nothing, as they had the same questions in their minds. 'It can't be... Has... Has the base been invaded?'

"Impossible! From the information we received from young master Kevin, those pursuing him were all members of powers farther from this place than ours. So, how can their reinforcements get here before us?"

"The only power nearby is Farmland. But that place has been our ally for over a thousand years. They wouldn't break it for a mere Spring of Life!" Another of them commented, as they quickly entered that place, to see what had happened.

As they did this, they soon saw the terrain where the battle had taken place. There were several upturned terrain marks, partially destroyed buildings, and something that was making them shiver down their spines.

There was a big black and gray stain on the floor, between the entrance gate of that place and the main building. It looked like the ashes of 'something' on a large scale that had been cremated there, along with the burned soil and structures.

The wind passed through there, amid the sepulchral silence that these people were making at this moment, lifting the human ashes into the air and throwing them at the observers.

"That… Don't tell me…" One of the guards accompanying this group of Spiritual Kings took two steps back, wondering whose ashes were.

"Shit!" Finally, the individual who led this group muttered this under his breath as he came to the conclusion that made the most sense here. 'Kevin is probably dead, and the Spring of Life is lost!

At that point, one of them had already tried to find signs of life in that place, but unfortunately, nothing was left. There was no one, not even a single body left behind.

"As far as we know, the young master is probably dead, as is everyone else who was here." A tall, muscular man who looked like a mountain said this, while his face expressed an angry look.

In an invasion such as the one that occurred in this location, leaving survivors would be almost unthinkable, even more so if the person knew the Chambers family.  So, this Spiritual King didn't think that Kevin had been kidnapped or anything like that.

However, another Spiritual King, who looked somewhat effeminate, with his face made up and his blond hair hanging in the air, suddenly disagreed with his partner. "Maybe, maybe not, Ray. The young master may have managed to getaway. Jamie certainly wouldn't allow Kevin to stay in this place while one or more Spiritual Kings invaded."

And at that moment, the leader of this team was crouched near the ash-filled place. As he ran his hand across the floor, he then looked at the other two men and said. "Chase is right, Roy. But if Kevin hasn't survived, we'll probably get a family crow in less than two days."

The means of communication used in this part of the Central Continent were spiritual crows, which were helpful creatures in delivering correspondence. They were much faster than other spiritual beasts, as they were small and had their attributes all adjusted to increase their speed.

But it wasn't like that everywhere. Spiritual arrays could also do something similar, like the monitoring array present at the Spiritual Tournament. These items could send images long-distance, shortening the contact time between two sides.

However, the families in the north of the Central Continent did not have the means to do this. It wasn't cheap to have more than one of these, just as it was costly to make such items work. Furthermore, these were grade-2 arrays, which required crystals with medium concentration to function.

Therefore, such items were costly for families in this region to have such a thing as a means of communication. And not only that, compared to the rest of the continent, this region was much smaller than the others, and the crows managed to fulfill their role well!

Finally, while the three men were talking, one of those guards who had come on this trip approached them and began to make a report. "Sirs, we searched the whole place and found nothing inside the buildings. Not even a single sheet of paper was left behind."

"What? Did they completely clean the place?" Roy asked with a worried face. This place was not an essential base for the family, but some communications still reached here...

"Looks like the invaders weren't just after the Spring of Life... Maybe they're members of some enemy power?" The blond man said to the other two, realizing that this situation was not that simple.

Chad, the leader of this escort mission, then frowned and said in a grave tone. "Hmm, looks like the person behind this invasion is very careful and wants to take a few steps ahead of us... This was not the work of those brats who were chasing Kevin!"

Kevin had already described those chasing him when he had sent the request for an escort to Chambers family's headquarters. So, these three knew that the Spring of Life's persecutors were not overly powerful people or that they could make serious decisions like these.

Even if they could get support from their families to get the Spring of Life, they probably wouldn't do things the way they did in this place.

Disputes over an item happened every day, but a massacre at a noble family base... That was a declaration of war!

None of those people would have the balls for it!

"Someone who hasn't chased young Kevin before must have arrived at this location after we received the young master's message. That must have been the cause of what happened here." Chad said as he reflected and saw the ashes spreading through his fingers.

Hearing that, Chase nodded in agreement. "You're probably right... So, what do we do next?"

Chad then got up from that spot and closed his eyes for a second, trying to process everything that had happened here. 'What a problem, we have several enemies, but few of them would attack us like this... I hope Kevin managed to escape. Otherwise, it will be two young geniuses killed in the same year...'

"Well, let's split up. We'll leave these guards in charge of this base, and we'll start investigating the matter nearby. This doesn't seem to have happened a long time ago, so we can still try to find those responsible for this."

He then looked at the tall, muscular man and said. "Roy, you will follow in the track of the people who chased Kevin and who have families located on the west side of this region. They must certainly know something about what happened here, so that's our best lead."

After that, Chad turned to the effeminate blond man and continued. "You, Chase, follow the rest of the people and who have families based in the region east of where we are. It shouldn't be hard to find their tracks unless, of course, they were killed..."

"As for me, I will go north from where we are. There is no strong power in this region. Still, perhaps the one responsible for this is fleeing to another state or even came from another kingdom!" He stopped talking for a moment as he sighed and felt like weights were being placed on his shoulder.

"I'll also stop by Farmland. If Kevin managed to escape and is still alive, then this is the closest place where he could find refuge."

"OK."

"Well, let's meet here in a week. If Kevin has been killed, the family will have already sent another investigative group by this time. Thus, we must be prepared to report any findings."

And quickly, the three climbed on their beasts, flying at low altitude and speed, checking the terrain adjacent to that base...