The Rise of the Black Plain

As the midday sun warmed the lifeless terrain of the Black Plain, three people atop a great eagle were approaching the Dry City from the north side of the wall.

Of these three, two women were there, one of her with purple hair and first-rate beauty and the other with white eyes and a slender body, traveling seated behind a tall, muscular man.

These, of course, were Eduard, Regina, and this woman's bodyguard, who had traveled quickly from Allamanda to the Dry City.

After carefully leaving that city, this trio had hurriedly traveled with White towards the central mountains of the Kingdom of the Waves, where they had baffled the people who typically chased this poison master.

Such individuals were quite persistent in their pursuits. Still, given the conditions favorable to Regina's escape, it hadn't been long before they had gotten over this challenging part of the journey.

After that, the group traveled without further ado for the rest of the trip until they finally got close enough to the Dry City to be able to see this place from the altitude at which they traveled.

"So, this is the position of the organization behind you?" Regina's bodyguard asked Eduard as she looked toward the Dry City dome, which at the moment looked like just a tiny ball in the middle of desert terrain.

Eduard had never told these two that they were coming to the Dry City on the way here. After all, it wouldn't be interesting if they found out about this and then decided to go back to Allamanda...

These people were experienced enough to know the stories regarding such territory, so they would definitely not believe that Eduard's promises could be true if he came from such a place!

And they didn't find it strange that he didn't tell them the location of such territory. That is because this was a prevalent practice of the hidden organizations in the northern region of the Central Continent.

Only a few dozen people outside of these organizations knew about their locations across the region. So neither of them had asked questions concerning this matter.

But when they got close enough to the Dry City, Eduard had finally told them that this was the place.

He then answered the question from Angela, level 54, Regina's bodyguard. "Yes, this is the location of the territory of the force I represent."

Regina then frowned and looked at that dome with interest. 'By location, this must be the Black Plain...'

'But I didn't know there was a place like this in this region. How long have they been here? Perhaps this organization has been around for a long time?' She pondered dubiously, trying to make sense of the situation.

She knew the name of the Dry City, but she genuinely didn't know how to locate this city without the help of a map. That's because she had never visited such a place, despite having heard stories from the region's poorest town.

So, Regina naturally hadn't thought that this place she was seeing could be the Dry City.

Anyway, while these two women had several questions on their minds, White didn't take long, and soon its altitude was getting lower. At the same time, its speed was closer to ideal for landings.

They were only a few kilometers away from the northernmost outpost on the wall when those two women felt the strong fluctuations emitted by the arrays of the Dry City defense tower.

"Unbelievable! An entire city protected by such arrays!" Angela commented in awe, as she already saw some of the buildings in that city through the dome and some plantations on the east side of the town.

"Looks like you guys truly don't mind wasting your crystals, hehe. Is this all just to keep you isolated from the world?" Regina asked as she had a smile on her face.

"You are very perceptive, Ms. Regina."

...

After some time, Eduard's group passed the northern entrance to the wall and headed towards the interior of the Dry City.

In doing so, they had made the soldiers of that post they had passed completely stupefied!

After all, such individuals had never seen a person as powerful as Regina!

Some people in the Black Plain Army had known Minos' mother, Maisie, a Spiritual Emperor. However, that had been nearly five years ago, at a time when in this town, only Dillian was able to feel this woman's cultivation.

So, although some soldiers had seen that woman before, none of them knew of her strength. Hence, Regina was the first such strong cultivator they had ever met.

And, of course, they had been slack-jawed due to this woman's level and first-rate beauty. But not only that, they knew that Eduard would not bring such a person without such an act being a positive thing for the army.

Therefore, after admiring Regina, they had all been deeply moved and anxious for the future of the Black Plain!

Their little town was growing by leaps and bounds, and finally, the mighty ones were starting to appear in this place!

That was a good thing for them, who had already established themselves around here, so they couldn't help but be pleased about it.

...

Anyway, quickly, that group passed through the busy streets of the Dry City, with some curious eyes watching them all the time.

But that didn't slow them down, and in just about 10 minutes, they had arrived at the local government mansion.

The two traveling companions of Eduard had not been very impressed with this town since neither of them thought that this was the Dry City. But, on the other hand, considering the defensive arrays of this place, the wealth and quality of life found inside this dome did not attract attention.

It was just what one would expect to find in a place with so many investments...

Besides, there was no way either of them could know about local services just from the city's appearance. Hence, even though they had done several spiritual probes to understand a little better about this place, this was far from enough for these two to assume things about this place.

They were aware of the strength this place supposedly had, and naturally, neither of them underestimated this city, even if they hadn't felt spiritual fluctuations strong enough to impress them.

And while they were considering various possibilities, Mia allowed these people to enter young Stuart's office soon after a while.

...

Upon entering the office of young Stuart, Regina and Angela followed behind Eduard until both saw Minos sitting in an armchair behind a table.

"You... You are that young man from before!" Regina said in surprise as she had two fingers touching her lips, forming a beautiful sight to behold.

"Hehe, it's me, Ms. Regina. It looks like you haven't forgotten about a humble customer like me…" Minos commented in satisfaction.

He was very pleased with Eduard's success in bringing these two here. After all, that would help him a lot!

After hearing Minos' confirmation, not only Regina but Angela was also open-mouthed, shocked by this young man's level.

This woman had seen Minos when he and Abby had passed through Regina's property. Because of this, Angela also knew that Minos was only at level 43 at that time!

Consequently, both Regina and she had been positively surprised by this young man's cultivation.

"Looks like this place truly has its secrets..." So the two of them thought as they watched Minos firmly.

"And you are?" Young Stuart asked, looking in Angela's direction.

"Nice to meet you..."

After greeting each other briefly, Minos invited those two women to sit down and then gave his permission for Eduard to go to headquarters.

This man had his own business to take care of before Minos sent him back to the Spatial Kingdom, plus the fact that this ruler would not send him there right now...

And after Eduard left that office, Minos sat in an armchair across from where Regina and Angela were and said. "Welcome to my city. I hope you live comfortably here in the future."

"But no small talk. Let's talk about what matters...."