After collecting the items from the Scourges of the Devil headquarters, Minos distributed a portion of them to the Snow Kingdom forces.
But this had not been anything significant to those people, only having been a consolation prize, or rather a 'medal' to the meritorious service they had participated in.
In addition to 25 million low-grade crystals, Minos gave King Snow all grade-1 items, as he was no longer interested in artifacts of that rank.
Grade-1 artifacts might even be helpful to the growing population of the Black Plain. Still, they would make little difference in the big picture. On the other hand, even though he was the regional leader and owed nothing to anyone, it was not good for him to give absolutely nothing to those people.
At the very least, their work needed to be recognized to some degree, even if many of them had participated in the previous battle of their own volition.
Thus, Minos had disposed of that small part of his earnings.
However, he had kept the essential part, which he was counting on at this very moment!
Sitting on Maida's back with Abby, that man with his woman on his lap continued to hold her waist firmly with one of his hands while the other was manipulating the enemy rings.
And soon, he was smiling, satisfied with the wealth he had accumulated on this little trip of his.
"The Scourges of the Devil assassins were truly rich." He commented in Abby's left ear, catching her attention.
"Oh? What did we get with those people?" She looked back.
"1.2 million medium-grade crystals and 521 million low-grade crystals..." He then counted all the gains the Black Plain had made that day, with many grade-2 and even some grade-3 artifacts.
Of all the items in those rings, other than the crystals that could pay for the construction of the Black Plain and the priceless grade-3 artifacts, the pills were the most interesting ones.
There were all grade-1 or grade-2 pills. And given their quantity, thousands of soldiers and even citizens in Dry City could benefit from them.
The soldiers could earn such things directly from the army and use them to become stronger. As for the population, the citizens of the Black Plain could buy some of these pills, generate cash for the government, and even become stronger.
It was perfect!
With that, Minos was happy with today's earnings.
And considering that he had finished getting rid of his father's enemies and eliminating the last resistance to him in this region, he felt truly accomplished.
Minos liked to fight. That was true. And when he fought, he could become brutal very fast. That was his fighting style. But he preferred peace. He preferred to be in Dry City ruling his territory, watching his organization and those closest to him getting more substantial.
That truly satisfied him!
Hence, now that he had reached this point, he could finally relax a little more, live his life and grow in peace for at least a few years.
The empire's enemies would keep coming to disturb him. He knew that. But with his strength getting more significant every day, this for him and the Black Plain would be nothing more than 'periodic training.'
With that, he was already imagining returning to Dry City beside Abby, having their wedding, and then living the life he had struggled to achieve!
And Abby felt this 'happiness' of his pressing against her body...
"Are you in the mood again, my love?" She smiled as she looked back, happy that she and Minos were finally 'alone.'
"Hehe, later, when we stop, let's have some fun."
"Oh? That sounds good..." She thought of something and laughed gracefully with her face flushed. "This rest of the trip will be like an early honeymoon."
"Hehehe, we can say that..."
...
While those two humans were traveling to the Kingdom of the End, three weeks passed.
In that period, Adam Snow had returned to his capital alongside the many Spiritual Kings who had participated in the extermination of the Scourges of the Devil.
After carrying out all of Minos' orders, that man wasted no time in spreading the word to the region that the Scourges of the Devil had finally met their end!
Such an organization had terrorized the region for hundreds of thousands of years and had been a complex variable to deal with, capable of frightening the most powerful in the region.
With the fear and respect that such power had instilled in the minds of the approximately 2 billion people, such news had been almost as significant or shocking as the Black Plain's independence.
The independence of the state of Minos was definitely much more important in terms of practical effects. But the symbolism of the end of that organization that had a history that blended with that of the region itself could not be ignored.
In fact, for many people around this northern part of the Central Continent, the end of the Scourges of the Devil represented much more than the rise of Minos.
That was the end of their enemies, the ones responsible for the cruelest and most shocking deaths in recent local history, the oldest enemy of this region!
With this, the happiness that had spread through the region after news of the end of that power was not small. In many places in this region, celebrations went on for almost a whole week.
Most of the regional organizations were happy about this because it represented the end of the threat of the Scourges of the Devil, and it ended the incomplete acts of revenge of many of these families.
At last, this was the final demonstration that the region needed to understand. There was no place here for enemies of the Black Plain!
...
While the region celebrated the recent news, the storyteller, Grant, whom Minos had invited into his forces during his time in the Kingdom of the End, was finally arriving in Dry City!
After meeting with him months ago, such a man had given Minos' offer much thought and followed the regional news.
After finding out on his own who Minos was, he had almost given up on that man's offer because someone from that region probably did not have what it took to help him.
But Grant changed his mind when the deadline given by Minos had ended, and his subordinates appeared in the town where such a person lived. He decided to go ahead with that proposition!
Even if Minos did not have a promising future, he was still the only one to believe in this fellow's ideas.
On the other hand, even if he did not have much potential, the now King Stuart was at least the most influential person in this region. As such, perhaps Grant could use this influence of Minos to achieve his goal of reporting his findings to his empire!
Thus, he had traveled for months alongside soldiers from the Black Plain Army, reaching his destination this afternoon!
With that, he was currently viewing the great defensive dome of Dry City about 10 kilometers away from the northern entrance to the wall, traveling in a carriage with the soldiers of Minos and his caretakers.
From there, he could see countless construction camps outside the local dome, where tens of thousands of people were working to develop that area.
Such an area under construction stretched from the sides of the dome to a few hundred meters from where that carriage was passing. This impressed Grant, as so much investment was being made in this place when the war had ended so recently.
'This place looks like it will double or triple in size in no time...' He thought about this as he continued to observe his surroundings, beginning to find the idea of living in this place attractive.
And thinking about it, he smiled and remembered his meeting with Minos, then called one of the soldiers there. "Hey, how long until your leader returns? What will I be doing here in that period?"
One of the soldiers in front of that carriage then said uncertainly. "I'm not sure. But probably in the next two months, Your Grace should be around."
"As for the rest, I don't know... I think you'd better talk to the butler Dillian."
...
