The Rise of the Black Plain

Minos was doing what was necessary to win the war, whether that was on the battlefield or other fronts.

Previously he had already been sending people out of the Black Plain for such soldiers to facilitate some procedures once Ernest's group was available.

But these groups could not be numerous, as the Black Plain needed most of its soldiers in this place, defending the territory in the fight against the invaders.

And since there were not many influential specialists on Minos' side previously, this young ruler had not sent any Spiritual Kings or stronger groups on these missions.

However, now that the situation in terms of high-level experts was a little better, Minos felt confident in sending Ernest for such relevant work.

Ernest was already strong enough to fight the main targets of this mission, protect himself and help his group to come and go from the Black Plain. Besides, with the local soldiers' breakthroughs, or the increased number of allies in this city, all the conditions necessary for this Lieutenant to be sent on this mission had been met.

With this, Minos wanted this man to go to the peaceful part of the Brown Kingdom to create chaos there, generate tensions, and increase the nervousness of the enemy fighters on the Black Plain.

Minos did not like the idea of attacking those who did not attack him, but this was war, and he would do his best to cut his side's losses.

Consequently, the major financiers of the great families of this state, the experts who kept the peace in that area, and who were perhaps why these organizations were successful, were now targets of the Black Plain.

They would be killed or kidnapped to change the focus of the battle even in part, lessening the pressure on Dry City and creating opportunities for the allied army of the Black Plain!

That was what was behind Minos' decision to attack those not involved in the war!

Anyway, after explaining the goals of that mission to Ernest, it did not take long for the two to say goodbye.

...

While Minos was settling his war affairs, preparing for the confrontation that could occur at any moment, two young men who were known to this sovereign had just crossed the southern border of the Cromwell Kingdom.

Both were on top of a flying beast that looked like a seagull that was the size of a small single room. Meanwhile, the humans were wearing similar cloaks, which indicated that the two belonged to the same organization.

But the two were quite different from each other, with one of them having attractive straight red hair and the other having long black hair. Other than that, the first had a face with softer angles, while the other had a more 'sharp' appearance.

In any case, neither of the two would pass unnoticed anywhere in this region, even if they did not have refined appearances by regional standards. That's because both were already Spiritual Kings, despite the youth evident in their looks.

The black-haired one was at level 52, while the red-haired one was at level 50!

"We are finally in the northern region of the continent!" The red-haired young man said this with a satisfied smile as he inhaled the air in his surroundings as if he recognized his place.

On the other hand, the black-haired individual also looked satisfied, but he was not the type to express such things. So, he was merely observing this part of the Cromwell Kingdom, the place over the sovereignty of his family.

The two had just crossed into the southern neighbor of the Cromwell Kingdom, a high-level kingdom full of dangers and adventures impossible to survive on the level of these two.

Considering this, the satisfaction of the two for finally arriving here was much greater than that expected in people arriving in their homeland after coming from a richer and more well-developed place.

They had even used various means of special transportation to 'skip' the more dangerous areas of that state. Still, it was undeniable that having to stay even just a few days in that place had not been pleasant. Therefore, the relief they were feeling at this moment was genuinely great!

"I wonder what happened in the meantime that we were gone... Maybe something important happened?" The level 50 one asked as he looked at his traveling comrade.

"Who knows..."

"But I wonder what happened to that guy, uh, Minos..." The black-haired young man commented while he had a disappointed expression on his face. "It's been almost six years since the final of the Spiritual Tournament."

"I wonder what that fellow has been doing in this region..."

"Oh?"

"That's a good question..." The red-haired young man said in a low voice as he remembered when he had been by the side of his sister, Minos, and Ruth.

That was Ford Carline, Kara's older brother, an acquaintance of Minos from the time of the Spiritual Tournament.

As for the black-haired young man, he was none other than the other finalist of that competition, Troy Newman.

After that competition, these two moved on to the same sect in the Flaming Empire. And as they had many similarities, the two often kept in contact and even arranged to come to this region together, soon after reaching the 6th stage.

Troy was going to the area ruled by his family, which was precisely in this southern part of this state. As for Ford, he had a long journey ahead of him to reach the Kingdom of the End.

In any case, they both remembered Minos very well since his power had marked these two, who, even after several years in that empire, had never seen anything like such an individual!

And as one of the finalists, Troy, in particular, could not help but wonder about Minos' fate.

Had he been happy to stay in this region?

Was this enough for someone so promising?

Or did he realize what a big mistake he had made?

Troy had all these questions in his mind, and if possible, he wanted to answer each of them during the time he intended to be with his family in this territory.

Ford then said. "But the restrained way he was, I doubt we'll find any news about him."

"Minos is certainly living quietly around beauties!" He said before finally laughing.

"Maybe..."

"In any case, do you intend to return to your state directly? Or will you wait for your sister here in my family's territory?" Troy asked as he looked at the young man beside him.

"I am going directly to my state."

"I have already arranged with my sister for us to return together to the Flaming Empire. So, since it will still take her a few weeks to get here, I will go ahead."

"Oh?"

"All right, then."

"When we get to my city, I'll arrange to lend you a spiritual beast. Then, you can return it here later."

"Really? I thought people in your Newman family were more secure about their property..." Ford commented jokingly.

"Well, I know where you live, and I don't think people that rich need to steal."

"Hahahahaha."

The two laughed as they flew through that area, a green place with valleys stretching hundreds of square kilometers.

As the two followed their path, it was not long before they spotted a village in their path. That was the first human place that one might pass when entering this region of the Central Continent!

And as they landed in that place to rest and get something to eat, it was not long before the two passed in front of a mural, which had editions of the Night News and the Northern News on display.

'The Chaos of War!'

'An Invincible Leader?'

Those were the two headlines on display on that mural.

And having their attention drawn to that, it was not long before the two began to read such news, becoming more and more shocked by the revelations.

"What?" Troy said this with his eyes so open that they almost fell out of their sockets.

"That can't be! That must be some joke!" Ford said incredulously.