Two months later...
While the Flaming Empire was trying to deal with Harold's situation, ten individuals were arriving at this very moment in Dry City.
The ten high-level Spiritual Saints that had been gathered in the Western Empire by Luke were finally arriving at their destination after weeks of travel.
That group had faced some problems on the way to this empire, but still, they arrived almost within the time frame that Luke had given to Minos.
In any case, the ten individuals, four level 77, four level 78, and two level 79, were on a grand level 73 beast as it slowly descended through the local skies.
This group had already been stopped by one of the flying turtles that the Black Plain Army had on the outskirts of Dry City to guard the aerial part of the capital. So even though they were unknown individuals in this state, of similar levels to their enemies, they were not facing any local resistance.
The opposite of this, several soldiers in smaller birds were escorting this group, heading towards a large beast landing and take-off area inside an army post.
While being led by local soldiers to their destination, these Spiritual Saints observed the surroundings, sensing that the northern Central Continent differed from what they had heard.
"This place doesn't look as bad as the rumors told." One of them said after sensing the concentration of spiritual energy in the surroundings of this capital city. "The spiritual energy here is not as dense as in the empire, but it is definitely enough to nurture low-level Spiritual Saints."
"Hmm, and seeing the buildings in the area and the clothing of the local citizens, you can tell that the people here are not poor..." Another of them, a black-haired woman, said as she observed that the standard of this place was very similar to their home of origin.
'Could it be that the local leader is copying our building styles?' One of them wondered.
But that was obviously not the case. Instead, Minos had replicated several buildings with models typically found in the Ancient Empire, a state of the past formed by the Eastern and Western Empires.
That had been one of the most powerful states in the Spiritual World, the only one in the Central Continent in all of history to reach a level similar to one of the Divine Continent's empires.
Unfortunately, such a place had ended right at its peak. It ended up subdividing into two great domains, which until the present times, had problems with each other.
In any case, Minos had brought some of where Henricus Longus had lived one of the best parts of his life to his state, making those individuals make such a mistake.
The strongest of the group then said. "This place looks pretty active and has a large population... This Minos Stuart guy has built something amazing here."
Some of them had invested their time in learning about the current news from the Black Plain and northern region. So they were aware of what these areas were like before Minos. Thus, some already had a certain respect for this young local expert.
As they talked and viewed Dry City with interest, they entered the core of the capital of this empire, where they soon encountered the strongest of the local forces.
In the blink of an eye, they were in the imperial throne hall, where Minos, Gavin, Gloria, Ruth, and Abby were already waiting for them.
"His Majesty the Emperor of the Black Plain, protector of the north, Minos Stuart!" Someone exclaimed, identifying the local sovereign to those ten individuals with abundant auras.
Most there had already been on the same battlefield as enemies as strong as these people. So hardly anyone would be impressed after feeling all those people there together.
But some, like weaker individuals not involved in the battles, had been left out of this hall, as they could not withstand the natural pressure of people at that level.
Individuals of all cultivation levels released parts of their auras, and even if they could suppress it, they usually would not do so on their first time in a place or with new people.
That was like a way for people in the Spiritual World to introduce themselves.
So only the strongest were there to welcome these people, which they easily realized considering the small number of individuals there.
"This one is called Jeremy Pauley. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty." One of the level 79 individuals, a 2 meters tall, muscular, tanned-skinned man, introduced himself.
Then each of those individuals from the Western Empire introduced themselves to Minos and the people there before one of them asked.
"Your Majesty, what exactly is our mission here?" A level 78 woman asked such a thing, which was very relevant to them.
Some of them had studied the recent problems on the Black Plain, particularly the terrorist attacks by Abe Vogel and his mercenaries. Hence, they had an idea of what they should do in this state.
Fight Abe.
But there were many ways to do something like that, and they did not know some details that might make them understand things they should not. So they were curious to hear it from the local leader.
Minos then got straight to the point. "I will soon leave my state to settle a conflict in the Flaming Empire. Because of this, I will be gone for a while, and the enemy will likely attack my city. So your job is to defend Dry City and the surrounding area in my absence."
"Oh?" Jeremy found this curious and asked. "So we're not here to kill Abe Vogel?"
"No. You wouldn't be able to." Minos said. "A Spiritual Sage is preventing my forces from killing him... Anyway, I already have plans for Abe Vogel, and as long as you protect Dry City, I will eventually deal with him on my own."
The people there were surprised to hear that there was a Spiritual Sage involved in all this, which was not known beyond the close social circle of the local leadership.
But they did not get nervous about it. Upon hearing they would not have to fight that expert and would only have to protect this place, they were reassured, feeling it was worthwhile to continue this mission.
The compensation was excellent, but it would not be worth it if it meant that they would have to take significant risks of death.
So Jeremy soon said. "Very well, I am willing to help Your Majesty if the terms of the mission are met."
The others nodded in agreement, feeling that fighting the Spiritual Saints from Abe's terrorist group would not be so dangerous for them.
Minos smiled in satisfaction upon hearing such words, soon afterward beginning to present some of the recent problems of his confrontation with Abe to these people.
It was not enough that these individuals were in Dry City for him to go to the Flaming Empire without significant concerns. These people needed to be updated on the local confrontations and experience some fighting.
Only after this would Minos feel confident to leave for the Flaming Empire and be able to focus on solving his sect's war!
