The next day, after a noisy breakfast with many people at his residence, Minos and his group made their way to the stadium for the tournament's opening using a special carriage with several arrays.
That was not the only carriage that departed from the royal palace. There were several of them in this convoy, half in front and the rest behind Minos' carriage. Then, they followed a unique path, watched by the citizens.
First, they passed through the core of Dry City, where most of the people there had connections with the army and were already used to seeing the local leaders. But in a second moment, when this set of vehicles left the area protected by the defensive dome, they immediately ran into crowds on the sidewalks where they passed.
The entire path that was to be used by the king's carriage had already been marked out the night before, so thousands of people had gathered around these streets since sunrise.
Many there were tourists there who came from different parts of the region and newly-migrated citizens who had never had the opportunity to see the most outstanding local leaders, particularly Minos.
Hell, most of these people had never seen Spiritual Emperors in their lives, let alone the infamous regional dictator!
Hence, as expected on a day like this, crowds were standing between the east exit of the dome and the stadium where the Black Plain Tournament would have its opening.
And even though they almost did not get to see some of the most influential people in this convoy, the tourists and new citizens waiting for their passage had not been disappointed.
"Look at that. Two Spiritual Emperors are driving the royal carriage!" Someone excitedly said, looking with eyes shining in admiration at Eduard and Mirya.
On the other hand, someone did not fail to observe in the direction of Dillian's carriage. "Not only that, there are five Spiritual Emperors in the Divine Doctor's carriage!"
"Impressive!"
"So, that's the power of the Black Plain?" A young woman beside her younger brother said this reflexively, her eyes wide open as her hands trembled.
"I didn't expect that there were so many experts here..." An old Spiritual King watching the area from the middle of the crowd swallowed his saliva in recognition of the local power.
Someone then shouted euphorically. "Look, the queen is waving in our direction!"
At that instant, the windows of Minos' carriage had their curtains open, giving a view of the four people traveling there. So, when Abby waved in the direction of some children, immediately many people there paid attention to her direction, waving and shouting her name.
Meanwhile, many soldiers from the Black Plain Army were stationed every 50 meters in the path of the royal convoy, facing away from the street, watching the crowd there.
Apart from them, each carriage had at least one Spiritual Emperor escorting it, practically forming a military parade for the public to see some of the Black Plain's might.
But those 7th stage experts were people that the regional forces already knew about their advances or had a high probability that they had already broken through.
It was no secret that even high-level Spiritual Kings from the Stone Island families had advanced to the 7th stage, so no one would doubt Minos' soldiers had similar or better achievements.
The Black Plain's War of Independence had made many of Minos' soldiers and subordinates famous throughout the region, so there was no way to keep these people's advancements a secret.
Because of this, Minos was not trying to hide the advances of the people already famous for their remarkable power before these four years.
Seeing this, one of the elders from a regional family who had come to accompany the tournament looked in the direction of Minos' carriage and frowned. "Are they trying to hide the level of the core royalty?"
"Is that because they have already advanced? Or because they want to hide that they haven't advanced yet?" This person said in a low voice, drawing the attention of another elder of his family who was also standing there.
"Hard to say. Both things are possible. Hiding your cards up your sleeve is a basic strategy. But making enemies think you are stronger than you are is also a useful thing..." That other old man commented casually.
"Anyway, it seems that the rumors are true. Archbishop Frost is in Dry City."
"That will lessen any chance of an outside power attacking this place..." The first old man to speak said in a depressed tone.
They were from the Cromwell Kingdom and naturally had contracts that prevented them from acting against this place. But that did not prevent them from hoping that some outside force, such as the invaders from Albano, would deal with Minos.
Consequently, these survivors of Minos' punishments to the organizations of the Cromwell Kingdom could not help but lament Gloria's presence in this city.
On the other hand, a Spiritual General, a native of this region, who was there as a tourist coming from the Cromwell Kingdom, observed Gloria with an ugly expression on his face. 'I have to inform the boss as soon as possible!'
'His group definitely can't come to Dry City, or it will have the whole Spiritual Church after it!' He remembered the Spiritual Saint who had hired him to come to this place.
...
Inside Minos' carriage, Gloria was observing the surroundings with interest on her face.
"It's awe-inspiring the number of people in the surrounding area just to see this carriage!" She looked at Minos. "Looks like you three are famous around the area, huh?"
Ruth laughed upon hearing that. "I guess just the two of them."
"I wasn't here during the war, so I doubt they're here for me."
"Of course, they know you, dear. How could they not wish to see a bit of my beautiful wife?" Minos played with her waist, laughing.
Ruth shook her head negatively and said. "No. These people are watching for the most feared person in the region, you, darling. The others are watching for the region's most loved and kindest person, Abby."
Minos and Abby were like a demon and angel couple in the minds of many people in this region.
Everyone knew how noble and protective the queen had been during the war, having eliminated few people, but saved countless lives with her defensive capabilities. On the other hand, not much needed to be said about the king's fame. Having eliminated almost all the Spiritual Kings of the Brown Kingdom by itself showed who he was.
Thus, many wanted to see the monstrous tyrant and his angelic wife, someone from this region, originally a noble of the great Miller family.
Gloria nodded in agreement and said in a teasing tone. "Even I, an Archbishop of the Spiritual Church, is not as famous as the sweet and gentle Abby..."
"Little do they know how their heroine is obsessed with her husband and loses her reason when it comes to him..."
"Tsk!"
"Look who's talking..." Abby commented, with her eyes closed. "Do you think I don't see the looks you give Elena, Mirya, and other 'friends' of Minos?"
The conversation stopped there, with Gloria ignoring Abby for the rest of the trip and Minos smiling at the situation.
Then, they arrived at the stadium for the opening of the Black Plain Tournament, quickly making their way toward the royal area.
...
After a few moments, Minos came to a large place, from which several balcony-like areas could be seen on one side.
There, in the central part of it, was a place with creative decoration, several sofas for people to sit and talk, and tables with food and drinks.
Precisely in this place, some authorized visitors were already waiting for Minos' entourage.
"Elen, level 60 looks good on you." Minos hugged the blonde woman who was among the people waiting for him.
Smelling Minos' scent, she blushed a little, remembering the many experiences she had already had with him. "Perhaps we can meet this week to talk about my advancement..." She suggested. "I have many questions regarding my new features. Perhaps some training with you is what I need."
Understanding this, Minos smiled. "Yes, I definitely need to train you and assess your situation... By the way, have you been doing that with Elena? I guess she must be pretty excited, huh?"
She nodded at him. "Yes, after reaching level 59 and seeing me advancing, she is eager to advance to the next stage. Maybe we can get together for a special 'dinner' when that happens? What do you think?"
"Perfect. You can arrange it with Lizzie later." He winked at her as his wives greeted the other experts there.
Among them were Elen's father, Elena's father, the leaders of Minos' vassal families, and some people from Stone Island, such as Lorelei Stone.
Minos lifted a glass of wine and used a fork to touch this crystal item. "Well, since you are here, let me say a few important words to you..."
