The Rise of the Black Plain

While smiling at Peter, Minos suddenly noticed that the young man sitting in front of him had a change in expression as his face turned severe. He observed him for a moment before asking, "If you want to say something, just say it."

"About that..." Peter took a deep breath and continued, "Actually, I wanted to talk about why I wasn't taken in by any of the noble families in the Kingdom of Waves..."

"Oh?" Minos exclaimed in surprise. He had known Peter for more than two months, but this young man had never shared that part of his past before.

In fact, Minos even felt a hint of curiosity to know about it. After all, which families in the northern region of the Central Continent were not in search of talented young people like Peter?

However, he had refrained from asking anything about it. Everyone had their own affairs, and it wasn't Minos' right to pry about any matter that had nothing to do with him.

If Peter wanted to speak up, he could decide that by himself!

"Well, it all started when I was still in the spiritual academy. Back then, I had a very close friend. However, everything changed when we underwent our talent tests…" Peter paused for a moment as he clenched his right fist tightly, making a few bone-cracking sounds.

He then continued, "We both had Black talent and were soon approached by the large noble families who wanted to support us, but unfortunately, a certain person also appeared that day." Peter said, his voice wavering slightly.

He continued further after letting out a sigh, "That person was one of the princes of the Kingdom of Waves, Charles Walker. Although he is the youngest of the three princes, he can be considered the most talented among them. And because of this, since his early years of cultivation, he always received everything he desired in the kingdom..."

"And at this point, he wanted us to go to his side. He was seeking to enhance his power, so bringing two youths with Black talent on his side seemed like a pretty good idea. And so, we both joined his side. However, it didn't last for long–at most two years..." Peter said in a calm voice while closing his eyes and remembering what had happened.

"That was when Ava started to manifest her feminine characteristics... She was getting more and more beautiful with each passing day and could even be considered a rare beauty in a few upcoming years. And it was during this point that the prince fell in love with her..."

"The prince, being four years older than us, had already had his 'amorous' experiences at that time. And when he noticed that Ava was blossoming into a graceful young woman, he wanted her to stay by his side. So that when she turned 15 and became an adult, he could finally get what he desired..."

In the Spiritual World, human beings reached maturity at the age of 15 years. By this time, they would already be considered as adults by most people and would have their own responsibilities.

"It was at this point that the problems truly began. I and Ava had become great friends, and the prince couldn't tolerate any other man around her," Peter stopped for a moment before continuing. "As far as I know, Ava didn't have that kind of feeling for me, but because of the prince's excessive jealousy, he believed that there was something more between us.

So, he started to think of me as an obstacle in his path."

"And like many spoiled young people in this world, he already considered the person he was in love with as his wife... But to secure Ava's dowry, he, at the same time, had to get rid of me, his biggest 'competitor,' while also avoiding being hated by her. With that, he devised a scheme against me.

He found an excuse to expel me from the royal family while prohibiting any other power from the Kingdom of Waves from accepting me either."

"Not just that, he had also threatened to kill my entire family if I ever tried to contact Ava again... It was after that incident that I met the old man who taught me some techniques," Peter finished speaking while closely scrutinizing Minos. He wanted to know if this would be a problem for the young Stuart.

After all, who was the young Charles? A prince with a strong chance of ascending the throne to become a king!

As a result, enmity with a potential future king would be very dangerous, especially for someone Minos whom Peter had just met. Peter admired the young Stuart for his incredible skill in fighting with those of higher level and was very 'cool' for giving up the chance to go to join an empire.

However, he didn't believe that Minos did this because he didn't want the help of an empire. On the contrary, he assumed that the young Stuart simply wanted to live in peace while ruling his own territory.

Minos had an excellent proficiency in fighting and by the time he reached the Spiritual King stage, he would probably be one of the strongest people in the northern part of the Central Continent. With this strength, Minos could easily continue to dominate this place for a long time without worrying about the dangers that he might have had to face after going to an empire.

Peter then added calmly, "This could pose a problem for the Black Plain since I came here..."

Minos smiled. "Well, it's good to know, but it won't make any difference to me whether he remains a prince or becomes a king. As for problems, this guy is insignificant, considering my current enemies..."

Every day, Minos had to worry about strengthening his forces because sooner or later, he would have to deal with the Silva family and potentially even the entire Brown Kingdom.

It was only a matter of time before news of events in the Black Plain started to spread. At that time, fighting a war would become inevitable.

Minos was not the type of person who worked hard just so that someone else could reap his rewards!

And for this reason, he had been counting on a widespread war for dominance over the Black Plain since the inception of his plans.

Hell, even other kingdoms in the region might want a slice of his territory!

After all, until recently, the lands of the Black Plain were thrown back and forth within the Brown Kingdom, with no one wanting this place. Thus, invading this place could be an attractive idea for the two neighboring kingdoms...

Regardless of that, Minos had to deal with the imminent danger of dozens of Spiritual Kings. Consequently, someone like the third prince of the Kingdom of Waves did not enter his eyes in the slightest.

After hearing Minos' response, Peter was taken aback. He did not think that this young man before him had worse enemies than his own!

'Did Minos irritate some noble families halfway to the Cromwell Kingdom?' Peter thought to himself, he then recalled how the young Stuart had mercilessly killed Leroy. 'Maybe he's talking about the Chambers family? But their power is no greater than the royal family of the Kingdom of Waves...'

"You don't need to worry about that. You can travel and bring your family here. And it won't be long before you can get rid of this guy yourself, hehehe," Minos said, chuckling.

After that, the two bid farewell, Peter intended to leave that very day, as the trip to his city would take almost two months just to reach it!

The Kingdom of Waves was the largest state in the area in the entire northern region of the Central Continent, and Peter's hometown was situated almost at the north edge of that place. So, the sooner he left, the better it would be for his family.

...

A few days had passed in the Black Plain, and today the wall surrounding the Dry City was finally completed!

The wall surrounded the city's entire area, concealing much of the land behind its 15-meter-high walls. Within this wall, there were four checkpoints where the soldiers of the Black Plain Army would regulate the entry and exit of people and goods from and into the town.

At the top of the wall, there was also an ample area where the soldiers could patrol the surroundings of the city. This was something that was very necessary to be done since some invaders could try to breach the city through different points of this great wall!

Anyway, with the completion of this project, Minos, Butler Dillian, and several other names in charge of the city came to attend the inauguration of this wall.

During the opening ceremony, not only were the residents celebrating this great achievement for the city, but Minos' subordinates were also very happy to learn that Butler Dillian had ascended up to level 48!

This was great news for all of them since Butler Dillian was now very close to becoming a Spiritual King. Such an accomplishment would be a remarkable milestone for any territory since this demonstrated the city's power in this part of the continent.

...

While the people in Dry City celebrated and rejoiced at the conclusion of the construction of the city's wall, the three investigators of the Silva family had already returned to Maritime City!

"You two, let's rest for a day before leaving tomorrow. Hopefully, we will get to Dry City in two more days..." the woman who was leading the group said with a smile on her face.