The Rise of the Black Plain

After Mia entered the office and warned Minos about the visit of those soldiers, the person who was talking to the local ruler about the crystal mines soon left that office, returning to his duties.

With that, Minos didn't take long to ask Mia to send those soldiers into his office.

Quickly two people in uniforms of different types entered that office and sat down opposite Minos.

One of them dressed as a traditional army soldier. At the same time, the other wore a uniform similar to those worn by municipal police officers.

Obviously, this was the person in the army in charge of the Municipal Police, someone who administered this organization, protected and dealt with the affairs of the local prison.

Anyway, after sitting down, Minos soon asked what the problem was.

"Young master, last night we arrested a couple outside the wall. They are the reason for our visit.." Shortly after hearing that young man's question, the woman who had led the soldiers in that siege said this to Minos.

"Oh?"

"At that moment, one of the sentinels at the observation tower at the north exit of the wall had seen two people quickly approaching our post from a distance."

"And after that, as soon as they came within range of our spiritual senses, we realized that one of them was at level 43 and the other at level 54!"

"A Spiritual King, huh? You did very well! Then I'll release some merit points for the soldiers involved." Minos commented with a satisfied smile on his face.

Hearing this, that woman who had led Celeste and Neal's capture couldn't help but be happy about it and show a slight smile at the corners of her lips.

She was just doing her job, but knowing she could be rewarded double for her efforts was a powerful incentive!

And Minos was not ignorant of this...

"And after we realized that, we quickly started running towards them, especially after noticing that they looked uncertain, almost as if they were reconsidering going back where they came from..." She then explained the whole situation that had happened the night before, leaving no detail from outside this report.

And after hearing all this, Minos nodded in appreciation for the service of these soldiers and then rose from his chair and said. "Well, where are they? I want to see this Spiritual King right away!"

"By the way, what did you find out about their identities?"

When Minos touched this point, the soldier in charge of the prison soon told his team's findings concerning this matter. "We interrogated those two all night, separately and in front of Sergeant Truman, who can tell whether someone is telling the truth or not."

"And with that, we discovered the identities of those two. The woman at level 54 is called Celeste Parkinson, and her young escort is called…" He started to speak but was suddenly interrupted by Minos.

"Neal Ryan, am I right?" Minos asked with a smile on his face, recognizing the name of the mother of his old friend from the spiritual academy times, Brooke Parkinson.

"That's right, young master. Do you know them?"

"Hmm, I know Neal. As for this woman, I've only heard her name through a few stories..."

"I hope we weren't unfair to the young master's acquaintances…." That soldier said this apologetically, feeling a little vulnerable at the moment. 'I'm glad something worse didn't happen!'

The other person who was there was also surprised by this development and felt a little insecure at this point. That's because at no time did the couple mention the name Minos.

Consequently, they had not discovered a prior relationship between that young man and the local ruler.

'Ahh, if I'd known that, I wouldn't have allowed those two to sleep in an ordinary cell…' He lamented inwardly.

However, contrary to what these two people were thinking, Minos smiled and commented in support of the attitude that women in prison had done earlier. "Don't worry about it. Even if you guys had killed them both, it would just be your job."

"No matter who it is, anyone who endangers the Black Plain must be punished by death. If they had chosen to fight, that would have been their problem!"

"It's very kind of us to give them a chance to surrender!"

And upon hearing this, despite having felt a certain shiver on their skin, these two people had left their previous thoughts behind.

'The young master is very focused on his goals! He doesn't even treat his old acquaintances differently!'  That woman thought that in awe.

It was not uncommon for nobles to treat their friends more beneficially and patiently, while for the rest of the people, they were utterly relentless.

But Minos didn't seem to have that defect or quality for some...

Finally, the group headed towards the local prison, where the couple was incarcerated in the Dry City.

...

When they arrived at the police building, the two soldiers who accompanied the sovereign wasted no time and soon showed him the way to where Celeste and Neal were.

The police headquarters was a great place, almost the same size as the army's headquarters, so it wouldn't be difficult for someone not used to this construction to get lost in this place.

And soon, the group reached the basement of that building, where there was a giant prison, capable of holding up to two thousand people!

This place was divided into five levels, starting with the zone for 'smoother' sentences and weaker people, going to the area for the worst offenders and stronger ones, on the deepest floor.

And it was right there that the group went, where the soldiers had placed those two people.

In theory, they should put them on separate floors, as Neal's cultivation strength was much weaker than Celeste's. However, as the prison was practically empty and there was not a large police force at the moment, the officers had placed them on the same level.

Anyway, and after descending the stairs of that prison to the last level, Minos could finally see a large area with many black cells from a distance. At the same time, in two of them, one in front of the others, two people were sitting on the floor.

One was a young man who, despite being different, had similar features to those of the spiritual academy days, with his short black hair and thin nose. And the other was a mature woman with brown hair and a voluptuous body, someone Minos didn't know.

"You two can leave us alone." Minos said to the two people accompanying him as he continued to walk towards where those two were standing.

"Yes, young master."

After that, he quickly reached the point where those two people seemed to be meditating, with eyes closed, in silence.

Neither of them was cultivated, of course.

After all, these cells were specially made to seal the spiritual energy in their interiors.

And for this, in prison, there wasn't much to do... In addition to conversations, they could only look at each other. But  talking might not be the most appropriate thing to do in a place where you are being watched...

So, the two of them had stayed that way most of the time, after the end of their interrogations that had taken place between last night and early morning today.

"I didn't expect you to flee to my territory..." Minos commented out loud, in a mocking tone to these two people.

And upon hearing this, the adulterous couple soon opened their eyes, with different thoughts in mind.

Celeste didn't know Minos before, so all she had thought when she saw the figure of the brown-haired young man outside that place was to meet the mysterious leader of this town.

Such a person was not simple. After all, the change that had taken place in this city was huge, something impossible to do for the regional powers. So, she was intrigued to meet this person after hearing the end of Minos' sentence.

'He is so young! How strong should this person be?' She thought to herself, unable to comprehend Minos' level because of that cell.

On the other hand, Neal was completely open-mouthed right now, realizing that this great leader was nothing more, nothing less than an old acquaintance...