The Rise of the Black Plain

About three weeks after leaving the Armhands' headquarters, the group of five companions was finally in the Magma Barrens!

At this moment, Minos was leading his group, walking slowly through this scorching area where they had five different missions to complete.

As they walked slowly through the desolate and unforgiving terrain, dominated by an ever-changing volcanic landscape, they talked about what they had to do there.

In this region, dotted with active and inactive volcanoes, with rivers of incandescent lava meandering through the terrain, and fields of solidified volcanic rock forming a maze of rough and jagged formations, they had their primary and secondary objectives in the area.

On the one hand, they had to complete the missions given to them by their superiors in the guild. On the other hand, they had to deal with the enemies they were sure would attack them.

"What should we do first? We're not going to split up, are we?" Otis asked as he looked at Minos.

They had talked a lot about how to deal with the possible assassins that would come after them during the mission in the Magma Barrens. But they hadn't talked much about the punishment missions they would have to carry out.

Looking at the atmosphere, thick with sulfuric fumes, hard to breathe, and with visibility reduced by clouds of steam and ash, Minos said. "The enemy must act sooner or later. They're probably waiting for us with traps or ambushes in the places where we have to do our jobs. There's nothing for us to do but confront them and solve these missions, so let's move forward together in the quest to complete each of our missions."

Their missions should be accomplished individually. But how could anyone say that they wouldn't be done individually? The group would travel together to deal with potential enemies, but each person would carry out his or her part of the mission alone.

This had already been agreed upon, so Minos' words were nothing new to anyone there.

"Let's go after Otis' target before we finish our other missions." Minos decided, feeling that this was the best course of action for them.

"Wouldn't it be better if we went after the Fire Essence that I'm supposed to collect?" Ruth asked her husband. "It will be quicker and easier for us to find it."

"It is certainly easier to find a fixed target. But just because the Fire Essence is probably fixed, the trap that Jembei's group might have set for us in this area will be more difficult to deal with. Let's deal with the fugitive that Otis has to hunt down first." Minos said without looking away from the path they were on.

Ahead of them, a bubbling lava river that led to a lava lake a few dozen kilometers away was the best route for them at the moment.

Near the banks of the bubbling river, there were none of the many geysers in the area that would erupt from time to time with their constant unpredictability, spewing steam and boiling water capable of injuring even high-ranking Sovereigns.

This was no ordinary area. In addition to the extreme phenomena of the area, there were also native creatures capable of using their affinity for flames and high temperatures to pressure groups like Minos'. A fugitive like the one Otis was supposedly hunting wouldn't risk a geyser field. He probably followed the riverbank at some point on his journey. Minos thought to himself in the silence of his companions as his eyes turned completely white.

Seeing Minos testing the future paths ahead of them, the others continued to move cautiously, mindful of their surroundings and ready to fight if necessary.

Ruth saw some lizard-like monsters with red and gold scales glowing in the intense heat of the area not far from where they were passing.

But these creatures weren't interested in her, or at least they didn't seem compelled to attack her without a reason.

She wasn't going to move to annoy the quiet and distant ones either, so she just watched them as they casually spat lava at each other.

"We're not far from your destination, Otis. Prepare yourself for a level 109 opponent. Can you handle someone like that?" Minos asked, as his eyes returned to their usual color.

"Of course, Your Majesty. With your presence here, I certainly have my methods to defeat the fugitive." The large robot replied confidently, having already read the guild's report on the fugitive he was to hunt.

The fugitive in question was a former guild member who had betrayed his own group and escaped from the guild's forces, and was marked for death!

On the way to this fugitive, they would see many other creatures native to the area, such as a lava phoenix, a magma worm, and an obsidian colossus.

Each of these creatures had its own magnificent characteristics, all of them adapted to the characteristics of this scorching region, which had a huge crater at its center with multiple lava flows converging, which was the center of the region's geothermal energy.

However, the location of the fire essence that Ruth needed to collect was not where the fugitive from Armhands was hiding.

About 80 kilometers south of the center of the Magma Barrens, Minos and his group would come close to the hiding place of an alien who didn't expect to be visited today!

...

While cultivating in a cave where the temperature of the area was lower, a four-meter tall, two-legged, four-armed, monkey-headed being was meditating when suddenly the sound of one of its formations went off.

He opened his eyes inside the cave, illuminated by the countless scorching veins of the magma rocks in the area.

'Enemies?' His head tilted slightly upward, from where he could feel 5 auras weaker than his own landing above the mountain where he was hiding.

At first, he sensed the cultivation of those five and thought they were no threat. But when he noticed the Flashdrain parasites of those strange creatures, and a shiver ran down his spine, he immediately stood up.

"Zaltran, surrender to me or I'll rip you out of that cave you're hiding in!" Otis raised his voice as he landed on a flat rock in this rocky area of the Magma Barrens. Meanwhile, Minos was ready to help his companion when he noticed one of the two level 107 humans in the group looking at the top of the rocky area.

'Your Majesty, I feel we are close to my destination. Coincidentally, my destination and Otis' destination seem to be very close to each other.'

'Excellent. Wait until we resolve the Zaltran situation and we'll get to your destination.' Minos communicated, feeling a sense of foreboding about the near future.

He said nothing to his companions, but secretly took the precautions for something very close to them!