The Rise of the Black Plain

The first rays of light could already be seen on the horizon when the group of more than 20 carriages finally stopped.

The 3rd stage, spirituals beasts, needed to stop to rest after the hundreds of kilometers they had covered, besides, of course, eating and drinking water.

At this stage, both spiritual beasts, and any other living being, had several limitations that were not so different from those of ordinary living beings. In fact, the big difference was the strength that individuals from such stage had, which was many times higher than that of normal individuals.

But sleeping, drinking water, eating, etc., were crucial activities for living beings at this stage of cultivation.

However, it wasn't just the spiritual beasts pulling the carriages that had to stop and rest for a while. The many people who were traveling in that group also needed to do the same.

More than half of the people there were cultivators of the 3rd and 4th stage of cultivation, the former slaves of that previous base. A part of them were those who served that place, while the rest were the captives that Kevin had bought at the auction that had taken place in Hadia.

A part of these people had decided to follow Minos' group, as they no longer had anywhere to go back to, as well as they weren't strong enough to take revenge... So, after talking to some of the Black Plain Army's soldiers, a small group of 15 slaves had decided to accompany young Stuart's group.

As for Minos' side, he had no problem taking these people into his territory. Each new resident of the Dry City received a simple array, an identification, that contained that person's registration information in the city.

This was used in various ways there.

For example, when leaving the territory protected by the wall, a person needed to show their identification so that the city's border had control over entrances and exits.

As for visitors, as was the case with people passing through the city, there was also a unique registration. But there weren't many people like that. Most of the people passing by were just the delivery fellows from the Cohen family store.

Other than that, people rarely visited Dry City. Even business with the Nash family was now entirely done on the base the army had established on the coast.

Anyway, because of all this, it was already relatively easy for Minos' forces to determine who enters and who leaves the city, maintaining a reasonable border control. Consequently, if any of these individuals attempted to leave Dry City territory to transport information to other locations, it would not be difficult to prevent them from doing so.

And even if there were an information leak, it would be easy to identify the person responsible through the city's registry!

So, Minos was happy to take these people with him, both the captives Kevin bought at Hadia's Black Market and those who served that Chambers' base.

But not only that, with the opportunities they would have in the Dry City unless they were stupid, none of them would want to spoil it or even return to slavery...

Anyway, a large part of the group that traveled with Minos was composed of weaker people who needed to stop and fulfill their biological needs more often. Furthermore, those who had been sold at the slave auction a few days ago had not yet recovered and needed a good rest.

And the group of Peter, Barbara, Robin, and Joey, also faced the same situation. Aside from the two women, who had had the opportunity to cultivate and recover a little before the Minos' invasion, the other two were pretty bad.

Peter and Joey had been tortured for a few days by the guards at that base, and they hadn't had any rest since they entered the captive's life... So, with that, even if the two had been released a few hours ago, both would still need to cultivate and rest.

Recovery wasn't something that happened quickly, and cultivating during a carriage trip isn't that interesting. To do this, cultivators need to be in a quiet place where they can calmly meditate.

Finally, Minos' soldiers also needed a short break. Although they were not as bad as the captives freed by Barbara during the invasion of that base, they still had a great fight, which made them give their all in that battle!

But even though they were higher-level cultivators than the captives and could ignore some needs longer, they also needed time to recover!

Finally, the group quickly got out of their respective carriages, near a pond, where there were dense woods on one side and the foot of a mountain on the other.

They weren't worried about whether or not the place was suitable for camping, as this was just a rest stop, and soon they would be back on the road.

...

The more than 20 carriages of Minos' group were stopped on a flat piece of land, where there were some mosses and small plants, not far from the lake in that place.

A group of over 60 people was sitting at different points near those carriages, while some fires could be seen here and there.

Some people were talking. Others were eating calmly and observing the natural landscape of that place, while some cultivated at the foot of the mountain, not far from the rest of the group.

Minos was beside his carriage, along with the two women who had accompanied him on this trip, as they ate spiritual fruits planted on the Black Plain.

On the other hand, the four former captives with Black talent were all together at this time, in another spot of that place, as they ate and drank.

At this point, Joey looked at Peter with an expression of curiosity when he finally asked. "Boy, where are we going? I can't imagine seeing the power that lies behind a monster like that lord who set us free!"

"That's right, Peter, you haven't said anything about this place since we left that base. Why don't you say something? We're already going there anyway. Sooner or later, we'll know!" The small-bodied, blond-haired young woman said as she glanced sideways at Peter.

On the other hand, Barbara said nothing about it, standing there watching them closely. She was curious, of course, but for now, she preferred just to observe the situation.

And then Peter observed them for a moment and smiled. "Can't talk until we get closer to there. But it's a great place for all of you." He then focused on the two women and continued. "I know you two are either uncertain or not even interested in joining the force to which I belong, but that place will surprise you."

"There are so many opportunities, things none of you can find, not even if you joined a royal family in our region!"

"Oh? You seem confident about it. Can you give us a reason for this?" Barbara finally said something right after hearing this exuberant statement from Peter.

Such a thing was not small. There weren't many powers that could compete with the royal families in this region. After all, these families were often among the oldest, having the most resources and the best talent among their ranks!

'Is the power behind that man one of those organizations that live in seclusion in the mountains?' Barbara wondered dubiously.

Such organizations existed, but they rarely showed up in public. Barbara had even known such a power in the north of the Central Continent before. Still, she knew these organizations weren't much better than the great regional noble families.

Consequently, she had questioned the young Peter!

And while the three of them paid attention towards him, Peter's lips slowly rose to form an arc when he said. "Those who manage to enter the army can learn Black-grade techniques!"

"You mean we can learn some techniques after completing missions, right?" Joey asked, trying to take the uncertainty out of his mind.

There was no way mere subordinates could learn techniques of this degree without even having contributed before! Hence, he couldn't help but think that Peter had made a mistake in his speech.

"No, as long as you're a soldier, it doesn't matter if you've already made contributions or not. You can learn any Black-grade technique from the headquarters library!"