The Rise of the Black Plain

Outside the walls that protected the Dry City, there was a range on the west side where the terrain was a little higher on the sides, forming a region with a slope, which descended towards the town and rose towards the coast.

At this point, hundreds of areas were blooming, full of different kinds of crops. There were mango, apple, pear, wheat, soybean, and various other products neatly divided.

Each different plantation had its area, with varying proportions of planted land. Some products had a higher demand, such as wheat, so they received a more significant amount of hectares.

As for other options, such as apple, watermelon, pear, grape, etc., these, despite being valued, did not have a large market for a significant investment to be made. Moreover, such options were naturally more expensive since they required more maturation time in the Spiritual World.

Consequently, with higher prices, these products sold less!

But there was a little bit of everything there in that place.

As for a reason for that, well, it was for the good of the population of the Dry City. Minos did not want his citizens to buy food items from abroad. So, his town was producing these necessary but low-demand things, like the herbs and spices used in everyday cooking.

However, given the small local population, the area set aside for these plantations represented only a tiny fraction of the total. Most of the cultivated land in the Dry City was destined for export items, everyday items, and in high demand on Stone Island.

And in the middle of the agricultural fields, some warehouses could be seen at different points, where farmers came and went from time to time. In addition, carriages specifically prepared to carry the local produce passed along small soil paths.

When a crop was harvested, the items were stored locally for some time. Then, after all the harvest was done, the part that would go to the Nash family followed in convoy to the coast of the Black Plain, where the army base was located.

At this moment, several farmers were coming and going from that farming land, which could only be visible from the sky or for who comes from the east, from the interior of the Dry City. And despite being the weekend, there were obviously people working in agriculture and all sectors.

After all, a city could not stop, even if its citizens rested once a week.

Obviously, at these times of the week, public and private services worked on a shift schedule. Therefore, one group rested first while the other worked, alternating this the next day.

Anyway, these farmers generally wore very similar clothes, which consisted of a set of white clothes, with relatively large hats. Other than that, there were also items that each of these individuals used in their services.

However, among these farmers, some individuals were somewhat more rustic, holding weapons of the most varied types. But, in general, what could be seen most around here were the war hammers.

After all, these distinguished people in this place were part of the local hunter groups, who protected the agricultural fields from the spiritual beasts of the region.

And for fighting beasts, the best weapons were those closest to hammers. That is because, given the physical strength that beings of this type would generally have, swords and similar weapons would be at a disadvantage.

The sword, for example, is a type of weapon suitable for fighting other humans, as its weight and shape facilitated its movement as if it were an extension of the arm. However, weapons like this would not have the proper weight, preferable to attacking living beings with massive bodies, such as spiritual beasts.

In this case, the best weapons were items like war hammers, which had considerable weights, a flat side for crushing, and a sharp tip for piercing the beasts' bodies.

The weight of this type of item made handling more difficult. Still, the attack power was much higher, producing more considerable damage.

Also, another type of weapon often seen among hunters was the bow and arrow. The advantage of this weapon was obvious, keeping your distance from the enemy and attacking him safely at his vital points!

Anyway, these hunters were around here doing their jobs as usual. But this had not been an organization made by Minos and the local government, or anything like that. No, these hunters had naturally started to gather at this location, given the number of beasts that had been showing up around here.

The natural beasts of the Black Plain looked for food and constantly traveled, given the poverty of the local vegetation. So, sooner or later, whole bands of beasts would find out about the Dry City plantations and migrate here.

And such a situation had turned these harvest fields into a great hot spot for hunting spiritual beasts!

Just what had created the current situation for these hunters. Working around here had made the job so much easier, as they wouldn't have to travel for days, sometimes hundreds of miles, to find a decent beast.

Only by being stationed beside the local plantations, day and night, could these hunters get their livelihoods.

There were attacks at different times of the day. Still, generally, this was worse during the nights, given the more intense activity of the local beasts at that time of day.

And with the passage of time and the growth of the arable area, more and more beasts appeared, an increase more significant than the number of hunters...

Henceforth, it was not difficult to imagine the current problem of the hunters, which had led the local government to advance the development of the local mercenary guild!

...

And amid a pleasant early morning in this agricultural field, two hunters patrolled the crops while carrying their weapons either in their hands or on their backs.

These men wore leather clothes, reddish as if it were a piece of earth and with a rustic style, as if they had been made by themselves.

Both had tanned skin and black hair. And as they walked around, they talked about the latest subject among hunters.

"Ahh, last night, a group of 24 beasts attacked the far north side of the harvest field. Tatum, did you know that?" One of them asked.

"Hmm, my brother was there at the time. He told me everything that happened."

"Oh? Was it as bad as they're saying?"

Tatum then nodded and said. "It was a group of Red-eyed Hyenas. You must know how fierce these beasts are. They can even kill a Diamond Monkey when they fight in a group."

Red-eyed Hyenas are a spiritual beast found among the Cromwell Kingdom, Brown Kingdom, and the Kingdom of the Waves. Each of these specimens is about one meter tall, has bodies covered in black and white fur, and eyes completely red. These beasts could reach the 5th stage of cultivation.

The Diamond Monkey breed is a beast lineage found between the Brown Kingdom, Kingdom of the Waves, and the Snow Kingdom. Each of these individuals could reach the 6th stage of cultivation and had extremely massive bodies, with the strongest reaching 4 meters in height.

However, a group of Red-eyed Hyenas had the uncanny ability to increase in strength when fighting together. That justified their ability to fight those mighty Diamond Monkeys.

Hearing his companion, the man who had initiated the conversation earlier nodded and continued to listen to Tatum's speech.

"It was a tough fight. Luckily there were more hunters and a few soldiers at the time, but it was still a disaster. Old Aiken lost one of his arms in that event, and Dalton and Blake died. My brother also didn't get along very well and was seriously injured."

"This is truly a disgrace. I didn't know these two who passed away, but old Aiken helped me in the beginning. It's a shame that something like that happened."

Tatum agreed with his comrade. Old Aiken was one of the most experienced hunters in town and had taught many young men the art of hunting. Including Tutam himself. He then remembered something and said. "But there is this good news I heard a few hours ago."

"Oh? And what is this?"

Tutam then replied. "I heard that today the local mercenary guild would open, which the government had promised. That can help us solve our problem."

"Ah... True, I had forgotten about such a thing."

"Hmm, when I came here earlier, I heard that chief Edison has already placed our ad there. So, I believe that it won't take long for our problem to be resolved..."