Meanwhile, in the surroundings of the Dry City belt of cities...
A group of soldiers had just arrived beside a large plant floating above an artificial waterfall, with different colored flowers embellishing the area.
Such a plant was at level 68, being the main body of the plant organism that Minos had met years ago in Vogel.
At that time, he had agreed with it to bring only one branch of its body to the Black Plain, something that would grow there. But after that body had realized the increasing quality of the area, the plant took the opportunity to migrate there a year ago.
That had not been an easy process, but after she had learned that she could trust Minos, she had taught some Spiritual Saints from the Gray Clouds Sect the process of carrying her.
With that, her main body was transported to where she lived now, waiting for the spiritual development of this area.
The place where she lived in Vogel was similar to this one on the outskirts of Dry City. Thus, as this area was developing, unlike that place that had not improved for a long time, this plant had invested in coming to this place before other plants.
As for its branch that Minos had brought earlier, it was growing in another area of the Black Plain, helping this territory to guard a sensitive area of the empire core.
But such a place was far away from the current borders of that territory.
Anyway, as they came face to face with that being, one of the soldiers said. "We are here by order of His Imperial Majesty, Minos Stuart."
"Hmmm?" That creature 'observed' these humans with her spiritual senses and asked. "What does he want?"
"His Majesty orders you and your fellow species to spread branches over some remote areas of the empire. He wants you to help the local forces find a group of Spiritual Saints and Spiritual Emperors traveling through these areas and report back to us."
"What? How can he ask for that? That's too risky!" That being said, in her childish voice, finding it too dangerous to send her parts to remote places.
"It's an urgent situation..." One of the soldiers said this, demonstrating that it was time for her and her fellow species to help the Black Plain more.
After a few minutes of conversation and much reluctance, that young plant had no choice but to help Minos by giving some of her branches to those soldiers.
That was a risky move for her, but if Minos fell, she would take much greater risks since other humans might not be as friendly to her as this ruler.
She also promised to talk to her companions, whom she had convinced to migrate to this state in the recent past, to help more of them give up some branches of their bodies.
Meanwhile, the Black Plain Army soldiers would spread the branches of these creatures throughout the empire, a job that these beings could not do on their own.
...
A few hours later, Gavin had left Dry City and arrived at the place where the enemies had devoured Virtus.
Once there, he circled the area to check that no people were watching the surroundings, checking for the presence of people from his sect.
With his visual abilities, he could easily sense people within a few kilometers of him, so he did his job carefully to avoid getting caught.
After confirming that he was not being watched, he began investigating the place, looking for clues left behind by his enemies.
Investigating Spiritual Saints was not easy since these individuals could do several things that erased their tracks.
Therefore, people below this stage could hardly investigate a Spiritual Saint, which justified Minos sending this man to do such work.
But not only that. Gavin's visual ability was highly beneficial for investigative work as he could see things that ordinary cultivators could not.
His Eyes of Destruction were not only good for chaos, but they also had valuable features for tracking people. Minos knew this, and for this reason, he had risked letting this subject leave the dome of Dry City!
'It looks like they are heading towards the interior of the Black Plain...' Gavin noticed this after a while, frowning as he thought about the possibility behind such a move.
'Are they planning a full-scale attack on the main cities of the Black Plain?'
With this in mind, he continued his work in that area, slowly beginning to follow the few traces left by the enemies after they had departed the area.
But Gavin was not afraid to do this, to stay out of that safe place. Of course, he was afraid of being caught by the people of his sect. Still, the truth was that he enjoyed fighting and acting as a cultivator, traveling and overcoming adversity on his way.
So while doing this, despite doing his work carefully, he was not least unhappy to be doing this! But, on the contrary, he felt good!
And with his unique skills, even if the enemy was numerous or strong, he knew he could handle any situation and still escape in case of need.
'Let's see if I can find you before those plants...'
...
A few days later...
While the sentient plants of the Black Plain and Gavin were doing their investigative and observational work, battles continued to occur on the borders of this empire.
But along with the clashes against terrorists, Emperor Stuart's forces continued to strengthen within that territory with the help of the army's spiritual professionals.
For example, Regina, the chief poison master of this force, level 64, daily applied poison treatments to the strongest soldiers of this organization.
Due to people like her, alchemists, doctors, and people like old Grant, soldiers, and allies of Minos were advancing amidst the chaotic times in which they lived.
That was not enough to change their situation overnight. Still, these forces were becoming more resilient, fighting on an equal footing with the enemies that kept coming to their borders.
With each terrorist killed on the outskirts of the Black Plain, new enemies appeared from outside the region, as if the person behind all this was not feeling the losses.
Because of this, too, the Black Plain's stronger soldiers were contributing not only more enemy bodies to nourish spiritual roots but also 'fattening up' the third black hole of Minos.
In this way, the local forces were showing their strength. Not only that, they were demonstrating their main strength to the enemies and their powerful allies, who had not yet seen Minos dealing with threats of a similar level.
Many still thought that the wars and confrontations he had faced so far were minor, junior things. Hence, seeing him and his forces enduring the current difficulties, many were beginning to respect this young emperor.
In this way, Abe's terrorist group served as a grindstone for Minos' forces, making him more famous and influential through these constant challenges!
