The Rise of the Black Plain

After being dropped off by their guide in the territory of the Flooded Dragons, Minos' party would travel through this maritime part of the South Sea for a few weeks without encountering any major problems.

Of course, their journey hadn't been so peaceful that the crew members hadn't had to use their skills. The most powerful environments in the Spiritual World were never peaceful.

Even if intelligent beings didn't cause problems for each other, spiritual phenomena could cause countless problems on one's journey.

At the bottom of the sea or on a floating island, anywhere rich in spiritual energy, one might encounter extreme natural phenomena that would require action from those close to the place where something like an exceptional storm or a massive earthquake occurred.

Minos' group had encountered some of these problems in the first few weeks after entering the Flooded Dragons' territory, but without too much difficulty, as his group was very well prepared.

Since most of the group were 10th-stage beings, surviving the natural phenomena of the Spiritual World wasn't much of a challenge.

In any case, as they began their journey through this area, some of the crew of this Sea Folk's ship learned more about the reality of the bottom of the Spiritual World's seas.

The area in which they were sailing bordered the Arctic Sea of the South Pole and the continental sea of the Continent of Beasts.

Due to its location, the vast territory of the Flooded Dragons had two distinct areas: the area closer to the arctic sea beings, which was less densely populated, and the area closer to the Continent of Beasts, the one most densely populated.

As much as that was the territory of the Flooded Dragons, many races of sea creatures lived in such a region, just as one would find in many territories of powerful sea beasts.

Like royal families on continents, these sea tribes were like rulers of their states, and inferior races served them within their domains, receiving lands and places to live in safety in exchange for their services and loyalty.

As they saw this and much more at the bottom of the sea, the group drew closer to their destination, the south of the Continent of Beasts.

...

That day, after weeks of traveling through the underwater world, Minos' party finally began to make its way back to the surface.

They had already gathered the necessary forces after leaving the Marine Empire. With six Fish People, two Krakens, and an Arctic Whale, all Demigods between level 90 and 91, the group was much stronger than Minos had expected they would be when they reached the motherland of Emlyn.

Not wanting to take any more risks or spend time searching for new crew members, the group had decided to return to the surface, where they could sail more calmly.

On the high seas, the surface was like forests on land, while the ocean floor was like large cities and their surrounding areas. In other words, they were places where it was easier to find services and powerful beings but also easier to get into trouble.

The surface was also dangerous, as beasts often used this area to fight their battles. But for a group with Minos' composition, it might be more interesting to travel on the surface now that they were no longer looking for new sea allies.

They could even do that if they wanted to, but it would take time they didn't want to lose, and it could also get them into trouble that had nothing to do with them. Also, the Fflooded Dragons were completely different from the Continent of Beasts' dragons and some of the creatures the group had attracted so far.

Flooded Dragons were much more peaceful than one might think, given the name dragon. They were creatures that usually didn't want any trouble with other races, and there was neutrality between their cousins on the Continent of Beasts and the strongest tribe on the seas.

Aware of this, Minos was calm as he returned to the surface, certain that he wouldn't be able to accomplish much at the bottom of the sea for the price he might have to pay.

His party passed through the dark zone of the sea again, where they saw another place without powerful beings.

Unable to do anything about it, the group simply continued their journey until they finally returned to the surface, where they saw the blue sky again after weeks of traveling in the underwater world.

Breathing the air out of the water again, Minos smiled and let out a long sigh, feeling the repressions he had felt before fade away.

The group's land creatures felt the same way, while the sea creatures began to feel the opposite.

However, the discomfort one would feel outside of their natural environment was not enough to be considered a problem. A human of Minos' level could easily live at the bottom of the sea for years without any problems. But upon returning to the surface, such a person would definitely feel less restricted. The opposite was true for beasts when they came to the surface.

"What should we do now, Minos? Sail directly to the Continent of Beasts?" Asked one of the three Sea Folk on the boat when they returned to the surface.

"Yes, we have nothing else to do at sea for now. Let's go to the territory of the Nine-Tailed Foxes." Minos said while Emlyn felt anticipation.

It would take them another two months to reach the coast of the continent she had left decades ago. But that was an extremely short time for her, who hadn't seen her tribe for so long.

While she was thinking about this, the level 91 woman from the Sea Folk said. "We just have to be careful about the clashes between the dragons and the sky whales. We'll probably see something related to the clashes between these two tribes."

"Yes. We'll change our route a bit if necessary to avoid possible clashes between these tribes." Minos agreed that they might have this problem later on their journey.

But for him, these clashes would affect them in the same way if they were sailing on the ocean floor. So he wasn't so worried about being back on the surface and just wanted to get to the continent of Emlyn to visit the two tribes he had made good contact with within the Ancient Dragon Spatial Kingdom.

"Anyway, let's get on with it. Some members of my family should arrive on that continent in a few weeks to join our group." Minos said, planning the moment when he would bring his wives to his side when he arrived on that continent.

"Okay."

With that, they made their way to their destination, sailing with ease as soon as they left the underwater world.