The Rise of the Black Plain

Immediately after Minos activated his mental technique, the two young men running toward him stumbled on the ground, falling and rolling a few times until they finally stopped.

One of them was at level 50 and the other at level 52. Because both had lower spiritual power than Minos, they had utterly felt the effects of the Infinite Dream and had fallen into the illusion created by it.

Thus, as their minds fell into a realistic dream where they were facing young Stuart, their bodies had fallen on that ground in the real world, creating a funny scene for the soldiers in the surroundings.

As for Minos and the spiritual beast that had accompanied those two here, neither was laughing.

The beast was terrified, fearing it would be the next. As for Minos, he was not interested in wasting any more of his time with those two.

So, after seeing that the two were motionless on the ground, he sighed deeply and then looked at that big flying beast.

"You..."

That great bird then looked fearfully at Minos, lowering its great head to show its submission.

Minos then approached that great bird, seeing it shitting itself in fear of him.

He then ran his hands along the beast's long neck, noting that this was a good beast.

But he did not decide to steal the mount from those two. After all, such a thing might not belong to them, and even if it did, it would not be good to steal people from the empire. He then said. "Take these two and return to where you all came from."

Upon hearing this, that bird was reassured and promptly did what Minos commanded. "Yes, sir!"

So, within seconds of those two shouting in animation that they would fight Minos, that bird was already carrying the two on its rear.

'Now I can get back to my business...' Minos thought about it in satisfaction, already returning to Dry City.

...

Two days later...

After the previous encounter with Minos, Ford and Troy had been taken back by that bird to the camp from which they had departed.

But they had not recovered from the 'battle' they had had with Minos!

Instead, they had arrived unconscious at that place, and up to this present moment, both were in a deep sleep, slowly recovering from what Minos had done to them.

Physically, the two were fine. But mentally, Ford and Troy had suffered a blow that could not be recovered in such a short time.

That was not serious to the point that they were in danger of death or their powers were diminished, but they needed more time to recover.

When they had faced Minos, a single look from this young man had sent those two into an incredibly realistic dream, in which they had thought they had fought a high-level battle against him.

However, even though to them it seemed that they had had a chance in that unforgettable event, they had both lost and suffered dramatically from Minos' attacks!

And because mental attacks were more severe than physical injuries, the two had ended up in their current situation, unconscious. They were still suffering as if the fight against Minos would never end.

In any case, while the two were sweating amid their nightmares, their families had not done much after finding out what had happened to them.

They had, of course, used the doctors on duty at that camp, but they had not acted to avenge what Minos had done.

Not only because they both knew that those two were not in much danger, but because their situation was not so comfortable as to think of taking revenge on Minos.

As for Kara, she was already traveling through the Kingdom of the Waves, going towards her father, to pursue her agenda in favor of peace.

...

While Ford and Troy were recovering, Minos had not been idle in Dry City. After finishing his previous rest and cultivation, he had received good news from Peter.

After more than a year away, that group was finally about to arrive on the Black Plain, bringing all the new mounts of the local army!

And considering the relevance of such a thing and the risks associated with the arrival of that group, Minos was already moving across the Black Plain, heading toward his naval base.

There was a naval blockade around the Black Plain Army naval base, something that could only be overcome with battles. But, on the other hand, there were enemies on land all along the coast of this territory, groups that could easily be assembled for a confrontation.

So, Minos was heading for that area to help this group pass safely through the Black Plain!

But while making his journey westward, this young man was suddenly alerted by the Feathered Serpent serving as a mount for him. "Young Minos, I sense that something is wrong."

"What is it?" He asked immediately after hearing such a thing, not understanding what it could be since he was not feeling anything.

But that was to be expected. After all, as much as Minos was stronger than that level 54 beast, he did not have senses as sharp as those of beings of that race, especially considering that it was above his level.

And with that, he had been taken aback by that serpent's sudden warning!

It then said with a certain nervousness in its voice. "It seems that we have entered space under the influence of a spiritual confusion array!"

"I cannot assess the source of this, nor people in the vicinity. But there is something!"

Feathered Serpents could sense certain sensations through their unique ability, Spiritual Affinity.

And although they usually used that to perceive places or even people of good potential, beings of this race could perceive all kinds of interference related to spiritual energy.

So, even though it could not locate an array or even people in its surroundings, that beast was sure that there was something wrong in that place where it and Minos were flying.

Upon entering that space, that serpent had immediately felt a chill run through its body, strangely feeling as if it were falling into a trap under the observation of a hunter.

And with its confidence in that ability, it could not stop its movements and warn young Stuart.

"What should we do?" It asked in doubt, a little afraid to continue on its way.

Minos then frowned, finding this all very unusual. 'This is very strange...'

'Why didn't I feel anything? Is it something way beyond my level?' He wondered.

'Damn, don't tell me it's more people from that damn empire?' His eyes widened as he thought about that possibility. 'Won't those bastards give me peace?'

"Tsk!"

"Let's see what happens." So, he said to that serpent, preparing for any surprise attack.

"I don't know who's there, but if you're not capable of killing Spiritual Emperors, you'd better give up."

"How about that? I don't want to make my fame worse, with even more blood on my hands." He said seriously, looking from side to side intently.

Upon hearing this, a figure with long black hair, who was relatively close to Minos, but whom he could not see or feel, laughed at this.

But she did not immediately act as Minos had expected.

This beautiful woman that could easily be considered one of the most stunning by the regional standards, approached slowly, preparing to restrain him.

She was standing on top of a white eagle while her green dress swayed slowly because of the wind, making her feel good, even considering the heat of the nights at this time of the year in the Black Plain.

But as she did so, tiny golden threads were coming out of her fingers, as if they were continuations of her fingernails, going towards Minos' body.

'You are courageous to say such things to someone you can neither see nor feel...' She thought about it with a smile on her face, constantly manipulating a low-level grade-3 array, which was hindering those two senses.

And when she was finally almost touching Minos' back, she softly murmured to him as she prepared to use her mental technique on him. "Gotcha!"

...