Capítulo 4: Black Plain

After traveling for three days through the western region of the Brown Kingdom in the twelve carriages, Minos Stuart and his subordinates were now just over a day away from their destination.

Inside the most elegant carriage, there was a middle-aged man and a teenager actively talking.

They were, of course, Minos and the butler, Dillian.

The young Stuart was trying to understand the general situation of the place before they reached the Black Plain. They were talking about the broader issues such as the average strength of the region, the kingdoms that were close to the border, and other relevant information that could bring a better understanding of the reality of that region to its young sovereign.

However, they did not have the most accurate data on local problems as the region was governed by a regent appointed by the king himself. And as a result, they would only be able to obtain the necessary information once they assumed control over the local command, which could only be accomplished after reaching the main city on the Black Plain, the Dry City.

"Grandpa Dillian, what are the trade options in the Black Plain?"

Minos asked after giving it a thought.

A forced smile appeared on the middle-aged butler's face as he stated.

"The Black Plain isn't expected to export almost anything nowadays, there is no agricultural production, and as for mining, the region consumes whatever little it has to offer. Also, with the current spiritual concentration of the region, the production of spiritual crystals must be scarce. As for imports, the region relies on a few businesses mainly for food.

Therefore, the Cromwell Kingdom, which is located to the south of the Brown Kingdom should be the largest food supplier in the Black Plain region, since this region borders the kingdom," continued Dillian.

"The Cromwell Kingdom also has prosperous agriculture that helps in supplying some neighboring regions, including ours. They are also the main trading partners for Stone Island, which lies northwest of where we are going," Dillian added.

"The Stone Island is critical for all the coastal kingdoms in this region. The reason is that the island's economy is quite prosperous due to the abundant mineral reserves of that area and also the high caliber of its spiritual blacksmiths," Dillian explained further.

"But despite having an excellent economy, they can hardly produce any food in their territory and the place is, therefore, completely dependent on other kingdoms for supplying their food demand. That is the reason why the Cromwell Kingdom is its primary partner.

As for Black Plain, it doesn't have much of a contact with the Stone Island since there isn't a great demand for spiritual equipment in its territory.

To the north of Black Plain is the largest kingdom in the territory that borders the Brown Kingdom, the Kingdom of Waves. This kingdom has many activities due to its large territory, and so it is very active in the regional economy.

As for the Kingdom of Waves having contacts with the Black Plain, I have no information about that."

"So, Grandpa Dillian, what is the main activity of the Black Plain?" asked Minos trying to get a hang of all the information about the Black Plain and the other regions near its vicinity.

The middle-aged butler replied with an uncertain face. "As far as I know, the region's sovereign must earn resources mainly through taxes from the residents. If there are other activities, I don't know."

Although the Black Plain region was considered as the region with the smallest population in the entire Brown Kingdom, it still had about 50,000 inhabitants.

Most of these people didn't have extraordinary talent, usually, it was common to find White or Blue talent, and thus, for them, staying in a region like this was the best.

This was because, rather than taking risks and living in an environment housing individuals that were 10,000 times stronger than you, it is preferable to live in an environment where even the strongest individuals were only a few tiers above you.

It was nothing but a matter of limitations.

Therefore, the population mainly resided in Dry City, and this demanded some services to be provided by the kingdom. That was also why the local sovereign could collect taxes from citizens on the grounds that they would need the money collected to provide the primary conditions for living in that place.

The Black Plain also did not have to transfer a part of the tax to the kingdom as a tribute as well, the reason was that the region had very little revenue, and if it still had to send its few spiritual crystals to the king, then there would be no profit left for the development of the region itself. In fact, the situation was bad enough that no nobleman wanted to come to this place either.

Such was the situation of the place that was dependent as nobody wanted this burden on themselves!

As for the current regent, he was just a public agent who had received the king's order to administer the region for the duration while the sovereign was absent. But even he was not happy to be sent to a sterile place like such for six whole years!

Hell, his cultivation would only be delayed if this continued!

"When I was at the Spiritual Academy, the teachers said that the average strength of the surrounding kingdoms was at 4th stage, while the strongest specialists were at the 6th stage, Spiritual King. Is there anything else, Grandpa Dillian?" Minos asked after remembering.

"Hmm, you are right. In kingdoms like such, the sovereign and some ancestors are generally around the level of 58 and 59, which is already considered as the strongest in the region. These elders are generally over 500 years old, and some even border around 1,000 years. But despite having more than 1,600 years of life expectancy as a Spiritual King, they have little chance of being able to reach the next stage without thinking of leaving their kingdoms for decades or even more than a century.

This is because the spiritual energy of this region is well dispersed and also less, and those most talented families left this place thousands of years ago.

As you may have heard, talent is often passed on from the parents to their children through genes. And as such, the talent of the average individual in the north of the Central Continent has waned over time, only a few thousand with Black talent remain nowadays. As for Silver talent, it must be very few, and such people leave this region quickly, sometimes even before they are 'discovered' by any power in these areas.

Since talent is necessary to avoid bottlenecks in cultivation that appear when reaching the cusps of reaching a higher stage, the leaders of the region are mostly stuck at the final levels of the Spiritual King.

This happens either because they have Black talent, which makes it possible to cultivate without bottlenecks until the 5th stage, and with having only a 50% chance of reaching the 6th, yet still less of being able to reach the 7th.

Without any powerful external resources or a higher level of spiritual density, these experts cannot ignore these bottlenecks in their cultivation.

Therefore, in these parts of the Central Continent, hardly any sovereign will have the cultivation of a Spiritual Emperor. And leaving their kingdoms is very alarming for their families and themselves."

Dillian shook his head and then continued.

"As for the Black Plain, since it's a low-level spiritual region, the strongest ones here must be at level 39, Spiritual Warriors. Of course, unless there are external forces sent from other regions.

Anyway, even if I am not specialized in fighting, since I am at level 45, the safety of the young master should not be a problem for me, and there should be no greater threats than that," Dillian looked very serious.

When Minos heard Dillian's words, he thought of the Golden-grade cultivation technique which he had picked up from the Spatial Kingdom, especially for Dillian. However, he decided to wait until they reached the Black Plain and deliver the technique to him.

He knew that he would undoubtedly have to explain where this technique came from, and he did not want to do that now.

Soon, the carriages stopped for them to rest. The sun was already setting on the horizon, and they were still a distance away from Dry City. If they continued to travel, they would arrive at their destination at dawn. They decided to wait until the next day and improvised a camp near the road.

Although Minos hardly had some time to cultivate in these last three days, he still managed to reach level 2. And since the differences between the initial levels were minimal, no one noticed this advancement in the strength of the young Stuart, and he didn't try to expose it either.

Night fell, and the following day Minos would arrive at his new home, where he had planned to develop his forces. And with the knowledge inherited from the God Henricus Longus, Minos was aware of several ways that he could use to strengthen a region. All he needed was to investigate the situation of the Black Plain to finalize his planning.

He had already decided to transform this new home of his into a kingdom of his own, creating a powerful force enough to compete even with the greatest empires in this world!

...

Hours passed in their journey, and finally, the young Stuart finally saw Dry City in the distance. It was a place that lived up to its name, with an utterly arid environment and little to no trees that could be seen throughout the city.

"DRY!!"

That was the only word that came into their minds as they looked at the city not far away.

It was a small city, with many typical houses and some commerce located in the central region. There was also an average mansion that stood right in the middle of the city, which was the seat of the local government and also Minos' future home.

The streets had a good movement, with several people passing by and few carriages.

In fact, besides those of the Minos's group, there were only two other carriages in the whole city. And though some people could be seen on their spiritual beasts, they were low-level ones.

At that moment, Minos and his group arrived at the mansion in the middle of the city after taking a look around on their way.

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Capítulo 5: Passing the Command

When Minos stepped out of the carriage, he noticed a group of guards stationed in a line outside the mansion's entrance gate. This estate was not as expensive as his previous residence in the kingdom's capital, but it was still situated in a good surrounding.

The building itself had two stories in addition to the ground floor, its white color made it rather easy to blend in with the surroundings not attracting much of an attention. And apart from that, the mansion was very similar to the city it was in, arid and modest.

There was not a single plant in sight to adorn the mansion, just a vacant area before the building surrounded by a tall fence and a big gate.

And soon after Minos stepped out, a slightly overweight, middle-aged man with disheveled white hair, unshaven and dressed in a white robe, approached the gate where the guards stood observing the situation.

In fact, during these past two days, most of the officers on duty in Dry City had been preparing for the arrival of their sovereign. After all, after six years, they were going to finally meet their sovereign!

However, many didn't really care about the change of leadership, since there was not a lot to do in this region, given all the various problems. For them, the new commander was just a person with another name who would be issuing orders.

But there were a few who were concerned. After all, even if they couldn't improve, these people, at least, wanted to maintain their current status. But the thought of regressing...it was rather unsettling.

Consequently, a few were also concerned whether this sovereign could handle the local matters, as he didn't have any prior experience, and to make matters worse, as far as they had heard, he had not even started cultivating yet. So, he might as well be good for nothing!

Meanwhile, the slightly overweight man introduced himself to Minos, "Welcome to Dry City, my name is Nelson Skinner, and I've been overseeing the Black Plain region for the past six years, by King Brown's orders. I was instructed to wait for the sovereign's arrival and then hand over the control of the region to him."

Giving a polite look, he then continued.

"Please accompany me to my old office. I'll show you the most important things there." After hearing this, Minos and Dillian followed the regent Skinner into the mansion.

Walking into his office, the regent asked the two to sit.

"Young master Stuart, after I received the news of your recovery, I have made all the necessary arrangements to facilitate the change of command and also made sure that all-important information is passed on to you today."

...

After a few hours of conversation, Nelson Skinner finally left the mansion with a wide smile on his face.

He could finally get out of this place!

He just couldn't even wait another minute to leave. In fact, since dawn, all his belongings were already adequately packed, and his carriage was ready to go at any given moment. So, as soon as he left the mansion, he departed without even taking a look back at the place he had been working for these years, hoping that he would never have to return.

...

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Minos met with Mia, 27 years old, level 23, with a Blue talent. She was the secretary who had been working for the regent during the previous period and the leader of Dry City guard.

Mia had a beauty that can be considered standard. Even so, she was pleasing to the eyes, especially with her well-pronounced curves.

The guard commander, Pyke, was 53 years old, level 35, and had Blue talent. He was over 1.9 meters tall, with sharp eyes and a medium scar on the right side of his face.

Both of them were born and raised in the Black Plain region. Mia started working for the local government five years ago, while Pyke had already worked as the guard under the three regents sent by the king in the past 25 years, making him a person who knew this region the most and also someone who could surely help the young Stuart a lot.

After meeting them and other members of the local administration, Minos stayed in his new office discussing the information they had received with Dillian.

During that time, they obtained some relevant data regarding the reality of the Black Plain region.

For example, the current Dry City had about 30,000 inhabitants, and with an annual tax of 1 low-level spiritual crystal, there was an income of about 30,000 crystals per year.

In addition, the crystal mines in this region produced an amount of about 24,000 low-grade crystals, but the government was left with only 25% of the total, as workers and other costs demanded the rest of the amount.

Thus, the region yielded about 36,000 low-grade crystals per year.

However, it also costs 12,000 crystals a year to maintain the 30 guards and city management officials, generating a profit of just 24,000 crystals.

Moreover, in the city's current safe box, there were only 1,000 crystals!

Undoubtedly, the former regent had taken everything else, as the tax collection had taken place a few days ago. Because of this, the safe box should be complete at the moment of Minos' arrival...

With this amount, the government could only function for one month!

Minos also discovered that the region of the Black Plain had about 200,000 km² of area, and despite being a plain that could almost entirely be prepared for planting, it was completely sterile and was not suitable for agriculture.

There was also a lake at the eastern end of the region that supplied water to the area. Although There were some rivers as well, they did not draw much attention until now. They were only used in conjunction with the coast to obtain fish, which was traded within Dry City, but this did not constitute a large volume of business. It was an activity done solely to ensure the survival of the fishermen's families.

Mining was also practiced in the territory, but only a small amount of crystals were involved and was not worth worrying about.

Finally, Minos asked Dillian a question with a serious face. "Grandpa Dillian, how many crystals have we left off from what my father left behind?"

"Young master, after spending some in the past six years and the recent move, there are about 30,000 low-grade and 500 medium-grade crystals left."

Minos sighed and then said, "Although it's not much, it's enough to get started... I want to survey the land around the city and also create a group of people to help me with agriculture. I think I have a way to improve the soil, but before that, I need to confirm if I'm sure.

I also want the crystals to collect information about array masters. I want to buy a large array and place it around the city to increase the concentration of spiritual energy. However, for now, I only need the information since we won't be able to afford such a service right now.

Along with that, I also want information about spiritual blacksmiths. I want to know exactly who and where to look when we have enough crystals."

The arrays in question were special formations that could convert the natural spiritual energy into other forms of energy and then concentrate the spiritual energy in some areas, also create protected regions, etc.

Although this world did not develop technologies, the people here could still have a comfortable lifestyle if they had enough crystals. For example, there were simpler arrays that emitted light, while there were others that were used to release heat and many other forms that could facilitate daily life in this place.

Regarding the array masters, they were individuals who focused on cultivating specific techniques mainly related to the arrays.

Generally, array masters were not warriors, as they did not cultivate attack, defense, and any movement techniques. Instead, they focused most of their maximum ten techniques on supporting the arrays.

Nonetheless, they were still very influential throughout the Spiritual World.

As for blacksmiths, they were almost the same as array masters, with the only difference being that they specialized in techniques that aided them in the production of spiritual equipment.

However, Dillian was extremely shocked by what he had just heard from his young master. "Way to improve? Young master, I want to trust you, but I don't think this land could be improved."

Suddenly understanding that his words could be considered rude he quickly added further.

"Young master, in fact, there is a reason why this place is called the Black Plain. This is related to the fact that in this environment, for a long time, any plant that would be planted here will slowly die and turn completely black before finally turning to dust.

Many experts have tried to solve this problem as well, but they all ended up failing miserably," Dillian added.

Minos knew that unless he stated his reason and how he was going to do as he had planned, Dillian would have a hard time believing him and thus decided that it was time to tell Dillian about his inheritance. "Grandpa Dillian, actually there is a reason for me to say that.

Six years ago after I lost my father and almost died, I was also given a great opportunity. I was recognized by the God Henricus Longus and received his inheritance.

With that, I acquired a lot of knowledge and also a special place left by him with many items that can help us now and even in the future. In fact, my unconsciousness these six years was also related to receiving this inheritance." After saying this with an honest expression, Minos threw a golden scroll in Dillian's direction.

Dillian then glanced at the golden scroll thrown in at him when he suddenly thought. "This is... uhh... it…it can't be!!!"