The Rise of the Black Plain

Upon arriving at the guild, Minos and Emlyn soon found several groups of mercenaries or contractors waiting for jobs in the area.

There were people of various races, humans, land and sea beasts, and even other types of beings that existed in the Spiritual World.

Most were at the 7th stage, but there were also 8th and 9th-stage individuals in the common area, which everyone could enter when they entered this guild.

Customers could hire mercenaries there by going directly to the group they were interested in, or they could pay a ‘small’ fee to the guild and have that organization refer them to names that fit their needs.

Minos didn’t know anyone there and didn’t have access to the strongest ones. So he and Emlyn went to the guild’s reception desk to ask for a referral.

“Good morning. How can I help you?” A human at the rectangular reception desk, surrounded by a beautiful counter, asked with a smile.

Even though Minos and Emlyn were not the strongest in the world with their levels 83 and 80 of cultivation, with this cultivation, they would be treated well anywhere in the Spiritual World. 9th-stage cultivators were experts even on the Divine Continent.

Upon hearing this, Minos came straight to the point. “I want to hire some men for a mission that will start in the Marine Empire but end outside of it. The mission’s duration is indefinite, and I will pay the men willing to join my group weekly.

I’m looking for level 89 Sages and low-level Demigods.”

When the receptionist of the strongest guild in the city heard what Minos was looking for, he wrote down the information, but his face suddenly changed when he heard the strength of the people this customer was looking for.

‘Demigods?’ He looked at Minos as he stopped writing down what he wanted as if to ask if this person hadn’t made a mistake.

But seeing the look on Minos’ face, the attendant realized that this strange customer hadn’t made a mistake.

“Are you serious?” He asked.

The problem here wasn’t that this attendant underestimated Minos and Emlyn. The problem was that Sage men like them would hardly have problems of this magnitude to solve. At the same time, the people who were able to hire such a professional were usually extremely complicated. 

Maybe it wasn’t in this guild’s interest to provide services to someone who could put a target on their back!

And even if Minos wasn’t such a problem, could he afford it? 

The man who attended them didn’t want to underestimate anyone. Still, normally, people who could pay for Demigods usually had their own 10th-stage cultivators.

“The daily rate for our available Demigods is between 30 and 50 high-grade crystals.” 

It might not seem like much, but a single level 90 Demigod would cost 900 high-grade crystals per month, equivalent to 9 million low-grade crystals. That was the equivalent of more than 100 million low-grade crystals annually, enough to build a city from scratch!

Few people could afford to pay this fee. Even princes of high-level states usually received only a few hundred high-level crystals per month.

Only kings and emperors of the Spiritual World could hire such people without feeling the weight in their pockets!

“This price seems fair to me,” Minos said with a smile.

But he was astonished. The amount these mercenaries charged per month of service was higher than what the men in his army would earn in salary by the time they reached the 10th stage.

In the Black Plain Army, 10th-stage soldiers could receive 800 high-grade crystals every month after their promotion. However, this amount could be increased depending on the role of certain people.

For example, a Demigod who only stood guard at a post was unlikely to receive a bonus on their salary. However, the commander of an army operation could receive bonuses that could double their monthly income.

Even so, in the future, most of the Demigods in this organization would only receive 800 crystals per month. Seeing that these mercenaries wanted even more than that, Minos couldn’t help but be interested.

Normally, Demigods who worked for someone other than themselves would earn between 400 and 700 crystals per month.

This was the case for the Demigods of the Longus family before they were destroyed.

The man was surprised, but seeing that this customer didn’t seem impressed, he quickly finished searching the guild’s system.

“If that’s the case, we have 39 names that match your search. Of those high-level Sages and the low-level Demigods, 22 can start new missions now.” He said as he read what was on the screen of the array he was manipulating.

“16 of them are level 89 Sages, 4 are level 90 Demigods, and 2 are level 91. Exactly how many men does the senior want? I can inform them of the service opportunity, and tomorrow morning, those interested will be here to meet you.” He looked Minos in the eye. 

“I want 6 Sages, 2 level 90 Demigods, and 1 level 91. That will be enough for me for now.” Minos said, thinking that with this strength, he would attract the attention of some relevant members of the Sea Folk if he tried to approach one of them.

At the same time, with this number of mercenaries, his chances of getting one of them to follow him to the Black Plain Empire and the North Sea would be better than if he hired only one or two men.

“Six Sages and three Demigods… That will cost you 230 high-grade crystals per day, equivalent to 6,900 crystals per month. All right, we’ll add a 5% fee on top of the monthly contract price for our men.

So that will be 345 high-grade crystals.”

Minos immediately paid what he owed and placed a small bag of crystals in front of the man.

After receiving the service payment, the guild official concluded the transaction and handed Minos a card.

“Thank you for doing business with the Tremblehands Guild. You can come back tomorrow to see the results. However, we cannot guarantee that these men will be able to complete the mission you’re interested in.𝒐𝗏𝑙xt.𝑐𝔬𝑀

The guild simply refers our clients to the mercenaries who are most compatible with them. If both sides want to do business, that’s up to them and has nothing to do with the guild.

Minos already knew how this worked, as his guild in the Dry City operated the same way.

With the item in hand, he and Emlyn set out to find a place to stay while they waited for the next day.