A month passed in the blink of an eye...
After his brief stint in the crypt at the Walker family palace, Minos stayed in the capital of the Kingdom of the Waves for two days before finally making his way back to the Black Plain.
All the matters he and Abby had to settle on this trip had already been resolved, and with that, they only had it in mind to return to the Black Plain when they left Athela days ago.
They would eventually return to Athela a year after Abby reached level 60, as promised to that family. But considering she had just reached level 54 and the stage of development that the Black Plain was at, even she had put the matter of that inheritance behind her.
And with that, the two of them quietly traveled from north to south of the Kingdom of the Waves, having made a few stops on their way, but without much delay.
They were already months away from Dry City, and another group from the Flaming Empire had already passed through that place and caused chaos by searching for Minos.
They had found out about this in Athela. Still, since they were far away and everything had already been settled, the most they could do was to pick up the pace during these remaining weeks of travel.
In any case, the Black Plain had lost two high-level Spiritual Kings to eliminate four Spiritual Emperors.
That was bad news, but considering that this had been the first major battle the Black Plain had faced off against people of that level without Minos' presence, it had also been a significant victory!
Consequently, despite the two dead and several wounded, things on the Black Plain were still stable, and both Minos and Abby had not been disappointed or sorry.
It was a shame about those deaths, but the battlefield could be complicated, and even in the presence of Minos and Abby, those people could still have died anyway. However, what had happened was a testament to the development of this man's strength, something for the survivors to use to build their confidence and go even further!
In addition to these events on the Black Plain, Minos had reached level 55 two days ago, when they had left the Feathered Serpents' territory.
Virtus was still in the Spatial Kingdom, striving to reach the 7th stage, but even so, Minos had stopped by that place to give some commands to his allies.
But without wasting much time, he and Abby soon flew to Dry City, having arrived there only moments ago!
...
"Congratulations on reaching level 55, Your Grace! Master would be amazed to see you advancing so easily!" Dillian laughed as he said those words, happy to see that fellow he had helped to raise.
"Hmmm, you reaching level 57 was also superb. Congratulations, Dillian. We now have our first high-level grade-2 doctor!" Minos smiled back as he settled into the royal throne hall.
That was a special moment when the King and the future Queen returned from their crusade through the region. Hence, not only had they been welcomed with a celebration in Dry City, but also quickly came to this location where they could receive status updates.
And that was what they were doing in that hall, where Minos and Abby were seated on similar thrones while a dozen or so people were standing around.
Some of them were simply high-level soldiers, members of this state's newly created royal guard. But, for the moment, only four were there, and each was in one of the corners of that rectangular area.
Among them was Eduard, currently at level 56, and Mirya, who was at the same level as that former bodyguard of Elena.
On the other hand, a beautiful woman with black hair and a luxurious dress stood on one side of that hall, close to where Minos and Abby were.
She had a gracious smile on her face, a loving gaze so warm in the direction of that king that it would be hard for anyone there not to realize who she was.
Who else could she be but Ruth?
She stood in one corner of the place, observing everything without interfering in this formal event.
She had arrived in Dry City a few days ago, finally come to this place for good, with no further commitments to her past in the Flaming Empire.
With this, in addition to her cultivation that had already reached level 56, she was here to give herself to her man and finally help him deal with his worries.
But for now, she did not want to get in the way of that moment and was waiting on one side of that royal hall.
'Minos...'
In any case, seven other people were facing the steps to the royal throne, some of them kneeling in reverence and others standing.
Each of those on their knees wore the uniform of the Black Plain Army. In contrast, those standing wore formal clothes, typically worn by government agents.
Dillian was obviously one of them and was in his traditional black and white suit, standing next to the first step of those stairs.
After hearing Minos' compliment, Dillian felt very good since he had never imagined that one day he would reach the regional peak in his profession.
But in just a decade at his young master's side, he had grown so much!
It was something incredible for him!
The people there then congratulated Minos, followed by congratulating Abby's advancement during her months away.
Finally, after a few moments of greetings and laughter in that area decorated with various paintings made by Minos, they began to talk about more serious matters.
"Your Grace, much development has been done these past few months." Mia said this in a tone laden with happiness, while her oval belly hid from no one there that this level 48 woman was pregnant.
She and Peter were barely married and already expecting a child!
How lucky they were!
Abby, as well as Ruth, thought of something like this when they found out about it.
Mia then continued. "After months of hard work and constant arrivals of immigrants to Black Plain, we have finally reached the 1.1 million population mark, with four satellite cities to our capital and the New Maritime City."
Naval City-1 had been renamed after passing 200,000 inhabitants since it was not good to have a generic name like the previous one. And as many of the residents of that place were natives of the destroyed Maritime City, the local government had named that place after it.
"Currently, Dry City has more than 800,000 inhabitants, and we have already completed the construction of four neighborhoods outside the local defensive dome."
"As for the satellite cities of Dry City, they continue to develop faster and faster, and it shouldn't be long until the entire belt of cities is built as planned."
"Hmmm." Minos nodded in appreciation, confirming some of what he had seen upon arriving in his city.
The Dry City that was now being developed would have a slightly different shape than the previous one, which Minos had seen upon his arrival.
The new Dry City would be developed externally to the local defensive dome, where new inhabitants could live and move around without difficulty. But, on the other hand, the old area of this city, protected by the dome, would remain a security area, and the entry restrictions would increase considerably.
Not only would the primary services remain there, but only pre-war citizens or unique individuals would be able to live within this area from now on.
And as expected, Minos did not intend to extend his defensive dome into the surrounding area, something easily seen by anyone arriving in Dry City at this time.
"But we are dealing with what is necessary, and in the coming months, we will be able to welcome even more people than in this brief beginning."
"With the investments of the families allied and subordinate to our organizations before or during the war, the Bank of the Black Plain has managed to raise over 7 billion low-grade crystals in that period."
"Coupled with the increase in local production, our capacity to absorb migrants has greatly increased, Your Grace."
"Very good!"
"Now tell me about the numbers in our fields. When will we be able to expand our food supply beyond Stone Island?"
"By the way, how is the study to assess the price increase in our products?" Minos asked those people.
...
