The Rise of the Black Plain

Three weeks later...

Outside of G City, from the belt of cities around Dry City...

In this place, a flying beast that looked like a giant turtle, with what looked like a house on its back, was surrounded by local soldiers.

In the vicinity of G City, that creature was creating a large shadow as it maintained its floating position and was observed with eyes of curiosity and strangeness by the people in the surrounding area.

"What is this creature?" Some tourists passing not far away were looking at that marvelous turtle, incredulous that there was such a massive living being in this world.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Black Plain Army were worried about the arrival of this being and could not help but sweat at such a presence.

'What the hell is it? How can it be so big? It even carries a house on its back!' One of the Spiritual Kings in the surrounding area was silent, a little fearful.

Spiritual beings depended not only on their level to determine their strength or capabilities. The level was obviously the most important, but size also made a big difference.

That was not significant for humans since the difference in size between beings of this race was not enough for the effects to show themselves. But creatures of the same level and different sizes always had distinct strengths, with the larger ones having the advantage.

Some creatures with exaggerated natural size could even challenge others of higher levels!

As such, seeing that creature that must have weighed at least a few hundred tons, the Spiritual Kings there could not help but fear the strength of this strange level 59 turtle!

If it went crazy and decided to attack the city, it would not take long before tens of thousands of people would die!

'But how did this creature get so close to Dry City? Don't tell me it came flying all over our territory at high altitudes?' One of the soldiers wondered.

That had been the case. The Black Plain already had many observation posts, but this state was still not considered big in terms of area. Because of that, it was not impossible to traverse much of it on high-level beasts without having to make stops.

Thus, the people behind this great tortoise had no difficulty getting close to this capital city.

Anyway, because of the surprising appearance of this giant creature, all the soldiers in the vicinity rushed to check the situation before they even realized the level of the people behind it.

"Calmly leave the house and identify yourselves!" A level 59 Spiritual King said this loudly while standing on the back of one of the many flying beasts of the army.

The turtle ignored the noises in the surroundings and continued with its eyes closed.

It was too strong to care about these people and was not there for trouble either. Hence, it remains silent.

But while the turtle did nothing, the door of the house above that creature opened before three people left its interior and then flew close to where the previous soldier was.

The man dressed in the armor of the Albano royal guard then said. "This is Your Highness, the second princess of Albano, Lulu West."

"Oh?" The soldiers in the surrounding area flying over winged beasts opened their mouths in surprise, shocked that someone from the royal family of that state had appeared in this place.

But sensing that there were no Spiritual Saints among them, with that man being only a level 69 Spiritual Emperor, Lulu, level 63, and the other woman, level 65, the soldiers there calmed down a bit.

Level 69 was too high for them but not for Maisie, who was still in Dry City. But, on the other hand, Gloria was also in the capital, so even if these people were crazy, they could not cause chaos in this place.

The leader of those soldiers then asked. "Princess Lulu, what do you want here? Unfortunately, we have not been given any information about the arrival of a royal entourage."

"Did you by any chance enter the Black Plain uninvited nor declare your intention to visit?"

The woman next to Lulu frowned as she saw that a mere Spiritual King had so much courage to question them like that, but she said nothing. Instead, she just looked at her leader in doubt.

Lulu found the situation interesting and then said. "I am sorry for my intrusion... But we recently learned of how promising King Stuart is. So, I decided to meet him."

"I am here to talk with your king and see if we have an affinity."

"Well then, order your spiritual beast to retreat and land..." He then specified what that turtle had to do for the army to take care of it properly.

"... Finally, you will have to wait for the order from the capital to move on, so settle in the outskirts. When we have news, we will let you know." He finished as he gestured for some soldiers to send the news to Minos.

After hearing that, Lulu asked his bodyguard to take care of all this, as he heard his secretary's question. "Your Highness, this treatment for our group is rude! I feel that these people are despising the whole West family!"

"You think so?" Lulu laughed.

It was really annoying to have to wait there in that ordinary place for orders to move on. Besides, this procedure made it look like they were dangerous criminals trying to usurp local power.

But she knew that she was in the 'house' of Minos and that she had to follow the local customs, not her own.

So, she just laughed at her misfortune while looking forward to meeting the local leader.

...

After more than an hour, Lulu and her team finally faced Minos in the royal throne hall of Dry City.

In that place, Minos sat on a throne with a red-haired woman dressed in a black blanket beside him, between his throne and Abby's. On the other side, Ruth was standing on Minos' left side, as was Gloria.

Seeing those four, Lulu frowned as she noticed that Gloria was an Archbishop of the Spiritual Church but still seemed to be standing beside Minos as a wife, not a member of that organization.

'Is that it?' She wondered as she remembered the situation of her state's sect that the Spiritual Church had wiped out.

"Are you Lulu West?" Minos asked as he looked into the eyes of that black-haired woman, who had a high-level beauty but lagged behind those of his wives.

Lulu focused her attention on Minos, seeing his handsome face that naturally put a smile on hers. 'This man seems to be the type who dominates his women...' She felt her instinct acting up.

But Lulu held back the desires she usually did not contain and said. "That's me, Your Majesty. I'm here to meet the person behind the Black Plain, who has revived this area that had long been dead."

"Oh? And what do you want after meeting me? As far as I know, your state is at least indirectly related to two recent problems in my region." Minos said. "Lulu West, are you here to apologize on behalf of your family for the actions of your vassals?"

Upon hearing such a question, the bodyguard of the second princess could no longer bear it and said. "Your Majesty, you should refer to the princess as Your Highness. She is not an ordinary person but the daughter of Queen West!"

"A..." He tried to step forward, but the several Spiritual Emperors there pointed their weapons at him.

"Behave yourself in the presence of Their Graces!" They said at the same time.

Minos then said to Lulu. "Control your minion. This is not a place for him to speak when he is not called upon."

Gulp!

That fellow swallowed his saliva in anger, but because of Lulu's signal, he returned behind her in silence.

"I'm sorry about that, Your Majesty. But you are right, one of our vassals has made a grave mistake, so naturally, I ask forgiveness for that."

"In return, I have brought some gifts to settle the situation and, who knows to initiate an amicable relationship between our families." She said as she gestured to her secretary.

...