The Rise of the Black Plain

Two weeks later, Minos and his five fellow Junior Officers had finally completed the last of the punishment missions and the ones that had accumulated during their absence from the guild while traveling to and from the Spiritual World.

Now that everything was settled, they could return to their optional missions and, in Minos's case, begin the mandatory missions for the next few years in preparation for his next journey.

The journey to the Seraphim World shouldn't be as long as the journey to the Spiritual World. Nevertheless, Minos wanted to prepare himself and intended to start doing mandatory missions in advance soon.

But first, he wanted to accumulate enough merit points to quickly advance to the rank of Intermediate Officer, the same goal as his five fellow Junior Officers.

...

"So you're going on the Lost Soul Trail?" Rhett asked as he joined Minos in one of the high-end restaurants in the guild's inner area.

Besides Rhett and Minos, Abby, Ruth and Otis were also present for today's important conversation.

Minos had just explained that he was leaving on a mission to destroy a portal created by an enemy force of Armhands on one of the main roads the guild used to access one of their mining sites.

The Lost Soul Trail was an ancient road in the central region of Oqia, used by many creatures and organizations. Recently, however, a rising force in the central region had dared to build a portal at one of the road's critical points, making it difficult to transport minerals from the Armhands through the region.

Given the difficulty of the mission, Minos could gain more than half of the merit points he needed for his Intermediate Officer promotion exam on a single trip!

"This mission wouldn't take long to pay off so many merit points. So I'm going to take a little risk on a maximum level mission for a Junior Officer. Don't worry, I'm confident that I can handle it in no time. I'll be back in the guild in two months at the most." Minos said in a confident tone, looking forward to completing this mission and the problems he might encounter along the way.

"Are you really ready to deal with Artaud? Our comrades who fought him have already recovered. The enemy has probably recovered as well and should prepare for you." Abby said and stared at her husband.

Sender and the others had recovered after months of cultivation in seclusion to deal with the negative effects of the Flashdrain sacrifice. These five were already returning to missions and cultivation in pursuit of their advancement to the next levels, a clear sign of the imminent danger to Minos.

"I know, but I'm prepared." Minos looked into his wife's blue eyes, making her feel more confident despite the uncertainty in her heart.

Despite the many mandatory and punitive missions Minos had completed outside of headquarters over the past few months, he had yet to test the Hydra Amulet against level 114 cultivators. The strongest of his enemies in those months was a native of Zocarro, with a peak cultivation of level 113.

Minos could defeat him after some effort, but this experience wasn't enough to tell him his limits, as there was a considerable difference between level 113 and 114.

Besides, Minos was about to set out on the Lost Soul Trail alone, a completely unique situation from the one he had faced Artaud in.

But Minos was confident. Having already seen Artaud's powers in action and having an idea of how strong a level 114 Sovereign was, he felt that even though he wasn't at a point where he would find the confrontation easy; he had ways to defend himself and hurt the enemy.

"I will summon some of the strongest corpses we have here in case he comes my way. That will give me what I need to deal with Artaud and whoever he takes to find me."

"Sigh! Despite the risks, we must continue. While Minos goes to the Lost Soul Trail, the rest of us must take the opportunity to go on external missions as well." Ruth said as she looked at Otis, suggesting the five of them who got into trouble because of Jembei should act at the same time.

"I agree." Rhett looked at Ruth and Otis. "All eyes will be on Minos when he leaves for the Lost Soul Trail. It would be better for the five of you to seize the moment and earn merit points with outside missions. That might be the way for you to ascend to my hierarchical position within the guild.

Minos shook his head in agreement as he looked at Otis. "Do that. Be prepared to leave the guild in no more than two nights and return in no more than two months. I leave tomorrow morning."

Otis nodded and understood what he had to do.

Minos looked at Abby and said. "The rest of you, keep working hard. A lot of heads will roll in the next few years. There will be many opportunities for you to move up in the guild. Just keep collecting your merit points, and when the time comes, you'll all be able to become in-house members."

With these words, their meeting that night ended, and Minos left this restoration with his wives, heading home to spend one last night with the three women in his life before embarking on another dangerous journey outside the guild.

The next morning, he would set out alone from the floating island of Armhands to continue his plan to reach the Lost Soul Trail, specifically the location of the enemy portal he would need to destroy!

As soon as he left the headquarters, the men of the Jade Chainsaws would spread the news of Minos' movement and send the message to Artaud, who was already ready to pursue Minos as soon as his target moved out of Examire!

After receiving the information he had been waiting for days, Artaud and three cronies would head towards the Lost Soul Trail, flying alongside level 114 mercenaries!

'Wait a little longer, Minos. We'll meet again soon! You'll be dead by then!' Artaud thought to himself, imagining the surprise his enemy would have when confronted with a group of four Peak Sovereigns.

He hadn't taken his investments for this revenge lightly. Now it was all or nothing for Artaud!