The Rise of the Black Plain

It didn't take long, and Minos and Abby had already arrived in front of the Cohen family property in the northern part of Wilburg.

When they arrived at that place, the two could see a large area surrounded by metal fences containing the symbol of that family. And right behind that partition of the property with the sidewalk, there were many trees that looked a lot like pine trees, which covered the entire inner region of this place.

In fact, only from the main gate of this place could one get a glimpse of what was in that area, but even so, that wasn't much. When they arrived in front of the main entrance, they could see two watchtowers on the inside sides and a street forming a 'T,' made with small square stones, with many trees on the sides.

Such a place seemed quite reserved, and the entry of ordinary citizens was not allowed in that place.

That is because, despite the Cohen family being the local ruler, unlike what happened in the Dry City, in Wilburg, the public administration was separated from the main post of this organization.

Thus, the place where the common public would have to go to talk about matters relating to the local community was in a specific building in the center of the city. As for the forces of this family and the principal members, they lived and worked in the headquarters, this property that the couple was in front of, right now.

Minos then approached that entrance gate and spoke to one of the guards standing beside one of the watchtowers. "Hello, I would like to know where I can find Mr. Lance Cohen and Todd Cohen. Can you let me know?"

After hearing this, the guard that Minos had spoken to looked toward the street and watched the two youths standing by the gate for a moment. 'He's at level 44, and she's at level 43... Well, Mr. Todd is only at level 41, and he's just starting to develop his businesses, so these two are probably here for that.' He thought for a moment before deciding whether it was worth talking to these people.

Every day people came trying to get information about the nobles of the Cohen family, sometimes even a few youths trying to gain the attention of the beautiful women of this organization. Because of this, the guards of this family had already tired of having to expel this type of person from this place.

Consequently, the guards who stayed at the watchtowers at the main entrance of this family's headquarters took extra care to avoid situations like those...

He then walked from where he was to the side of the gate and said. "Mr. Lance isn't in town. He recently went out on business. As for Todd, I will have to see if he will receive you. So, what are your identities? And what is your purpose in meeting him?"

"We are here to do business, and as for our identities, this one next to me is Abby, and my name is Minos. Tell Todd I'm the person who made a deal with his grandfather about a year and a half ago."

Minos didn't want to specify their exact identities because this guy was just a subordinate of the Cohen family, who might not know about this organization's affairs with the Black Plain. And if he didn't know the current reality of this territory, then it was better to stay that way!

Even if the chances of this harming Minos' territory were small, he would not speak so openly about himself if there was no need. And the same was true for Abby.

There was no advantage for Minos to use the Miller family name, as he didn't need the help of that organization. Furthermore, the problems of being related to such power could outweigh the benefits. After all, all these large regional noble families had a long history, which could be good or bad in certain situations.

And Minos didn't want to be harmed by the affairs of others as much as he didn't want to owe anyone anything.

Anyway, after hearing what Minos had said, that guard soon left to resolve this matter, leaving the couple outside that property, waiting patiently.

...

As they waited for the guard to return, Abby suddenly remembered something and asked her mate. "Minos, you said you were going to try to buy a King-grade medicine. Do you think we'll get one from the alchemy guild that we'll go after this town?"

"Hmm, despite being a valuable item, there will certainly be options in that place. After all, the biggest alchemy guild is located in that city." He commented with a confident look.

Locating a King-grade medicine, like the Warrior-grade medicine he and Ruth got at the Peak of the Fog, would be difficult in this northern part of the Central Continent.

However, buying the fruit of one of these medicines would not be impossible!

After all, pills of medium-level grade-2 classification, and high-level grade-2 ones, were much more easily found in this region than spiritual weapons of the same category. Of course, nothing was so abundant that alchemists had stockpiles of pills like that, but there was enough for anyone who wanted to buy them.

And except for the breakout pill for the 7th stage of cultivation, which required at least an alchemist at level 59 to produce it, all other pills below the rank were found regionally.

And because the pills of these two classifications had minimum requirements of at least a King-grade medicine, this showed that it was not so difficult to obtain such a resource.

These things took only a thousand years to fully grow and mature, while regional families had already domesticated many of these medicines and had regular productions for thousands of years!

For all that, Minos felt that as long as he had the crystals, and he did, being able to trade such an item would only be a matter of time!

He had high hopes of solving his problem there because the region he and Abby would pass through after leaving the Cohen family territory was one of the best for alchemy.

It might not be easy for him to return to the Black Plain with this medicine already, as many alchemists were already placing orders regularly. But even if he had to wait for a year or two, it would still be worth it to him.

"We'll see what happens, but I think we'll be able to order one of them..." Minos commented as he saw the guard return from inside that property.

"Please accompany me to Todd's residence. He will welcome you soon." That man said that before finally opening the gate for Minos and Abby's entrance.

After that, it wasn't long before they had crossed more than half of that property and reached the spot where Todd was waiting for them.

...

Todd couldn't help but feel awe for Minos after seeing the young man he met during the Spiritual Tournament walking alongside a beautiful blue-haired woman.

'At the time I met him, Minos was at the same level as me... But now, he has completely passed me and is already at level 44!' The young man thought to himself as he felt the slight breeze lift his blond hair.

'What a monster! He didn't go to the Flaming Empire, but that didn't slow him down at all!'  Todd admired Minos internally at the same time he remembered where he'd seen Abby. 'It seems that he has not only raised his level... He is also very well accompanied!'

Todd had been ranked in the Spiritual Tournament rank and stayed to see the fights after his disqualification. Because of that, he had followed all the battles of the final phase, in which Abby had appeared on some occasions.

So, he could recognize this beautiful companion of Minos, who was not only beautiful but had also increased in strength at an alarming rate. 'She was only level 40 back then... Hah, Minos is truly rich!' He thought to himself as he felt excited to start doing business with this person.

After all, if Minos were so wealthy, being one of that person's few business associates would be very advantageous to someone like Todd. 'This is my opportunity for ascension!'

"Thank you, grandpa!" He muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes for a moment and was grateful to be given such an opportunity.