The Rise of the Black Plain

Shortly after that, the two carriages headed towards the area surrounded by the great wall. The whole group then saw the city lights from afar.

Currently, the Dry City was very bright and no longer had whale oil lamps!

All streets and avenues in the city now had lighting arrays, making nightlife in the town safe and with quality.

Before, the inhabitants of this city had to endure the smell of whale oil, the adverse effects of smoke, and poor lighting. After all, it was not possible to compare the illumination of this archaic method with the illumination provided by the spiritual arrays.

Finally, the city was very well lit today and could be seen from a distance for those who had just entered the perimeter protected by the wall.

"Huh?" The old coachman was even more surprised to see this. Despite not having passed through this city in a long time, the memory of a Spiritual General was excellent. And he knew that this town was not good at all...

"Ahh, times are changing... Even a place like this receives investments now..." The old man thought as he was dazzled to see the silhouette of the new Dry City.

At the same time, Peter's family was watching the town lights from inside the carriage, surprised by the city's appearance. As a family from the north of the Kingdom of the Waves, they knew nothing about the Dry City, except that it was on the Black Plain, an abandoned place in the north of the Central Continent.

So, it was to be expected that this was not very good... But from what they were seeing, it looked like a pretty decent city. After all, there were no small towns like this one, so well lit!

"It looks like Peter found a good place for us..." Wade commented in a low voice, letting out a sigh of regret.

And it wasn't long before the group entered the city.

Even though it was already night, the movement was good. Some groups were coming and going from the central region of the city. In fact, many stores were specializing in food and were fully crowded with people.

It was a place that seemed to be flourishing, and one could even see the happiness in the eyes of these inhabitants that they saw on the streets.

Finally, the carriages passed in front of some public buildings, which had several lines outside.

"Our! I didn't think that a small place like this would have so much movement!" The old coachman exclaimed in a low voice.

He also wanted to know why so many queues in the buildings they had passed, one of them were even a library. Still, he did not understand that it was not normal for people to queue up to go to the library...

...

While Peter's family group was looking for a place to stay in Dry City, Minos was in his office solving some problems before finishing another day of work.

Although he was not a disorganized person, his working hours were quite irregular. He usually worked between training sessions.

A cultivator always had to take a few breaks, so he left to do his job as a leader at those times. Sometimes he works at night, sometimes only in the morning or in the afternoon.

At this time, Minos was in his office receiving weekly reports from some government members.

Four people stood in front of his table, talking about different subjects.

"Young master, in the past few days, many farmers have managed to level up to the next stage. That means that they will be able to have a better performance at work, alleviating our lack of workforce a little."

"Oh? That's nice!"

Then, someone else took a turn and said. "The physical test array of the Preparatory Academy of the Dry City is no longer matching the demand. There are many children in the town now. The array is already old and needs constant maintenance."

"I recommend that we buy new arrays of a higher classification. Ours can only measure children's talent, failing to ascertain the degree of the physique."

"Hmm, I had forgotten about that... Well, secretary Mia makes contact with the Cohen and Nash families. Next, we will study what our best option is, and we will buy three low-level grade-2 physical test arrays in the coming months."

Upon hearing this, secretary Mia, who was also in the room, wrote this down on paper, waving to Minos. "OK."

After talking for a while, an old man in the group finally took a turn and said. "Young master, the city arena can now be opened at any time."

"Haha, it was time! Okay, spread the information around the city. We will open it in 2 days." Minos then looked at a representative of the Black Plain Army and said. "Gather some men for the arena's opening match."

"We will do a small one-day tournament for the people of the city. We will also give a thousand low-grade crystals to the winner. Make this clear to them."

"Hehe, all right, young master."

And while they were talking about these and other matters, Sergeant Humbert suddenly came into the room and said. "Young master, I'm sorry to interrupt the meeting, but we have a problem with one of our Sergeants." He had a concerned look when he said that.

Upon seeing this, Minos and everyone in the room was intrigued by this. He then said. "Well, that's it for today. Sergeant Humbert and Pyke stay in the room. The others can leave."

"Yes, young master." The two responded promptly.

Pyke was already at the meeting, and he was one of the army leaders, in which case, he had to be involved in this matter as well. As for the others, although it didn't hurt to let them know about one thing or another, that was not their responsibility.

And right after that, everyone present at the previous meeting left the room, leaving only Minos and the two soldiers. He then asked with a solemn look, paying attention to Humbert. "And then? What happened?"

Pyke was also curious. When he left headquarters a few hours ago, nothing unusual had happened. And that was the first time he heard that there was a problem with one of the soldiers. 'Did enemies appear again?' He questioned himself doubtfully, looking carefully at Humbert.

"Well, something happened to Sergeant Peter during his vacation." Humbert went straight to the point. He sighed for a moment and then continued. "His family arrived in the city tonight, but they reported that they were ambushed during their trip here, and Sergeant Peter stayed behind to allow them to escape."

"After that, they don't know what might have happened."

Hearing this, both Minos and Pyke frowned, surprised by the news. That was the first time one of the soldiers had been attacked, and Peter was one of the most talented soldiers.

That being the case, there could be more problems behind it...

'Was it that prince of the Kingdom of the Waves?' This question appeared in Minos' mind. But he soon put that aside, asking. "But is he alive?"

"Yes, I checked in the headquarters' soul room. His soul signal is still working."

The Black Plain Army had purchased these items a few months ago. It wasn't exactly a premium item, but it was still expensive for a place like Dry City, which needed to solve many problems.

However, knowing the condition of his soldiers was of supreme importance to any force. So, Dillian had ordered some of these items so that, at least, the highest-ranking soldiers would have their vital status stored in the army headquarters.

"Oh? That is good to hear!" Pyke said as he relaxed a little.

Peter was a youth with a Black talent in the Spiritual General stage, so he was important to the Black Plain. After all, he could reach level 50 in a few years!

Peter would probably be the first soldier from Minos to reach that level, thus becoming the leader of these men in the future. Because of this, Pyke was very concerned about losing someone so important to the young Stuart's plans!

As for Dillian, he was not a warrior, so he certainly would not be an army leader in the future. Of course, he still had great importance in the vision of Pyke and the entire Dry City government, but his role was more administrative.

Finally, Minos said with a determined look. "Prepare a group of 20 Sergeants and go out and investigate what happened. When we find out, don't act immediately. Instead, keep watching the situation and send someone to report it to me."

He then got up from his chair and looked at the window of his office, tensing his fist firmly while saying in a cold voice that could even give goosebumps to the others. "Whoever it is, whoever messes with one of mine, will be completely obliterated, no matter how long it takes or wherever you are!"

Minos was even a peaceful person, but he understood that in the Spiritual World, to be respected, it was also important to be feared.

If he didn't show the consequences of messing with one of the soldiers in his army, problems like that could constantly happen.

So, little by little, he wanted to build an image of a vengeful organization, which would chase retribution for any situation like this!