The Rise of the Black Plain

It dawned in the Dry City, and at this moment, amidst the still calm flow of people in the streets, Minos was having breakfast in his mansion.

Besides him, three other people were in the dining room of the young Stuart's residence, around a table laden with delicacies. These, of course, were the two women from the Miller family and the old butler Dillian.

They didn't always have breakfast together, but that still happened occasionally. After all, like all of them living in the Dry City government mansion, they were already well used to seeing each other early in the morning.

The residential part of Minos' mansion was on the top floor of this building, with the sovereign's residence occupying almost half of that place. The remaining area was the butler's residence and some small apartments where visitors could stay.

Each of these locations was quite decent, well-furnished, with beautiful views of the city center. In addition, there were also some comfort options, such as swimming pools and small gardens.

Anyway, the group had just started eating breakfast when Abby felt something different about Minos and decided to probe him. 'Why do you look happier than usual?'

"Oh?" After that, the blue-haired young woman immediately understood the change in Minos.

He had achieved a breakthrough after months at level 42!

That was indeed something to be happy about!

"You've already passed me, huh?" She commented to Minos, who was on her left side this time.

Minos usually didn't sit at the end of the table unless it was a formal occasion or something like that. He didn't like that kind of etiquette, which made him feel distant from people.

"Oh? Has the young master advanced again?" Dillian commented with a smile as he ran a hand over his glorious mustache.

"This is truly fantastic. Congratulations, young Minos." Eda commented, nodding her head, showing her satisfaction with that fact.

Like many Minos' acquaintances, she did not formally call him on private occasions like this one. After all, Eda had known the ruler of the Black Plain since he was a child and had always called him that.

And it wasn't easy to change certain habits. For example, Minos himself used the word 'grandpa' to refer to Dillian, given the fact that this man had always been like a grandfather in young Stuart's eyes.

Anyway, after receiving the congratulations from the three, Minos smiled and responded. "Hehe, thank you. I managed to make that breakthrough last night."

"At this rate, you're going to leave me behind completely..." Abby commented in a low voice, feeling a little disappointed, even though she was happy for him.

Hearing this, Minos used one of his hands to squeeze her left thigh briefly, then said casually. "If you put in a little effort, getting a spot in the Elite Squad won't be difficult. At this time, your cultivation speed will increase a lot."

She then looked down from the table, seeing Minos touching her left thigh, and then thought to herself. 'It seems that this is the only way...'

Abby knew she could ask Minos to help her before this selection took place, but she would never talk about it. She didn't want to take advantage of the fact that the two of them got along well to gain undeserved favors.

Abby didn't want to appear like someone who slept with her boss to get perks!

She was getting involved with him even before she knew about the Silver-grade techniques that that army ad mentioned, even before learning more about Minos' capabilities.

When she started to get involved with him, to Abby, Minos was just another young man with talent and excellent options that could create his force. But she didn't think he was so capable before she met the headquarters of the local army.

Presently, knowing about that, she didn't want to confuse things between the two. The two were friends with some intimacy, but she was working in his organization. In this case, it would not be suitable for her to place orders or demands.

And more importantly, she wasn't that kind of person. She was bonding with him because she felt good to do it, not because it would create opportunities for her!

As her friend appeared indifferent about his suggestion, Minos continued massaging her when he finally said. "Mrs. Eda, I have a request to make. When Abby and I go to the Kingdom of the Waves, I want you to start fighting my soldiers."

Hearing this, Eda, who was eating and talking to Dillian, looked at Minos in surprise and asked. "Do you want me to train them? That could truly be a good idea."

Dillian then completed. "This is great, young master. Eda will be able to train them properly!"

"Hmm, but what I plan to do is a little different from what you are thinking." Minos declared at the same time as he felt Abby's hand on his, and she started to look at him, leaving the previous subject behind.

"What are you planning?" She asked.

"I am thinking of starting the military exercises of the Black Plain Army. We will have many problems in the future, and our soldiers must have as much unity in fighting as possible. At the same time, I want to prepare them to face even stronger enemies than what they are used to."

"Given that both my soldiers, as well as Mrs. Eda, are cultivating Black-grade cultivation techniques, that means that unless something happens, the two sides will always have a more or less stable difference in terms of power level." He said confidently.

In fact, even with the difference in talent rating between Eda and the soldiers, it still wouldn't be that significant at the moment. Such a difference would undoubtedly give this woman an advantage in cultivation. Still, it would only become more significant above the 6th stage of cultivation.

Before that, the difference in cultivation speeds due to talents would not be extreme.

Minos then continued. "I intend to have these soldiers fight you in groups with different numbers of individuals, considering their level. As Mrs. Eda is almost at level 49, ideally, those at level 43 would gather in groups of two soldiers. Those at level 42, in groups of three people. The ones at level 41, with four people, and the level 40 ones, five people in each group."

"With both sides fighting with everything they have, that should be enough, both for these soldiers to be stimulated and for Mrs. Eda." He finished speaking with a smile on his face as he looks Eda's face.

She looked pretty shocked this time. She understood where Minos was going with this since, given the cultivation forces, the numbers he had used would indeed be close in power together with hers.

However, even in groups extremely accustomed to fighting together, they would still be weaker than a single individual with that equivalent power. So, she was shocked to learn that Minos wanted to push his soldiers that hard.

As for her, even if she had a bit of an advantage, this would be a good challenge, one that could spur things on for her. At the very least, it would be better to do that than to cultivate without having the opportunity to fight real battles.

"So, that's what the young master wants… That seems like an excellent idea. With this, both sides will stimulate themselves, while this could also increase the affinity of soldiers who fight together."

That was an efficient way to use this woman's strength.

Previously, Minos could not do such training because the difference between him and the soldiers was simply too vast. There were not adequate soldiers before!

His techniques also made it very difficult for that to happen. But for Eda, she didn't have any technique that could steal her opponents' strength or restrict space...

She would have to fight traditionally and is, therefore, better suited for this kind of work.

But Minos also wanted to do his military exercise, with him fighting against the soldiers. Eda's case was just the starting point of this military exercise. The focus would be to use this to prepare the soldiers to fight Minos!

However, for this to work, the numbers would have to be much larger. At the very least, he would need to use at least half of his Sergeants so that both sides were pared!