After traversing space for a few minutes, Minos finally went through his wormhole, arriving at a beach in the northern part of the Western Empire.
Upon arriving at that place and ensuring that the spatial cracks created by his movement could not be traced, he immediately checked his surroundings, noting where he was.
That place had a beautiful beach that stretched as far as the eye could reach, which was even more beautiful on this sunny day, with its emerald green waters.
Coconut palms and tropical trees could be seen on the opposite side of the water, where forests stretched for tens of square kilometers near where Minos had arrived. But from there, he could see a gray patch in the distance, where the first human city in his path was.
Other than that, this place was subtly richer in spiritual energy than Veora Kingdom. After a survey, Minos realized that the beings in the surrounding area were also, on average, stronger.
But having arrived in this state in an area of low population density, Minos didn't run into trouble right away, relying somewhat on the luck that he didn't reach the middle of a battle after using his special abilities.
However, that had nothing to do with luck. Minos had not shortened his journey that much by using the previous wormhole. He had just crossed the border using it without having to identify himself or be noticed by the beings stationed in that area. Because of the short distance he had jumped, he wisely chose where to arrive without risking too much.
His spatial senses were even better than those in the middle of the 9th stage, so he had chosen a good place to arrive.
In any case, finding himself on that beach, Minos wasted no time admiring the view or swimming in the sea. Instead, he immediately started walking the path from the sand to that city, dozens of kilometers ahead.
'The state's capital is on this side of the empire, so I must avoid going too far west.' He pondered as he had the map of that empire in his mind. 'Even if old Grant is in that city, I'll leave it to visit him in the future when I'm stronger and not tackling something so urgent.
At the moment, I'll focus on getting to that city, buy a minimally capable boat, and leave for the Ancestral Sea without further ado.'
As Minos ran, some beings in the surrounding area noticed his presence. But since he wasn't using the full potential of his movement technique, using just enough to move as fast as someone at level 77, Emperor Stuart didn't draw much attention.
The beings above the 9th stage simply ignored him, while those below the 8th didn't even look at him for fear of attracting trouble.
But those high-level beings in the 8th stage, mainly humans in the surroundings, paid more attention to Minos, seeing this stranger running along the sand of the beach.
It was unusual for humans to travel this way, running alone on beaches!
Even humans capable of going long distances alone usually used beasts or carriages to travel. So seeing that red-headed, overweight man running in a place generally used for leisure, some couldn't help but look at him with interest.
'What is this fat man doing?' A guard from one of the fortresses near that beach looked at Minos.
But since Emperor Stuart was not approaching his post, he merely continued to watch this redhead's lard swaying as he ran.
On the other hand, a group of people camping on a patch of land ahead of Minos soon began to pay attention to him, watching him approach them.
"Elders, there is a level 77 man coming toward us. What should we do?" One of the young men on the outskirts asked in that camp to the level 79 man in charge of his group.
That was a group of disciples from a local sect who were taking a test nearby. As such, upon seeing someone very close to them, one of the group's guards, who had only Spiritual Saints as the strongest there, became nervous about that red-haired man approaching them.
The elder looked at the disciples at the 7th stage in the surrounding area doing their tests and said. "Intercept him. If he is not a problem, direct him away from the camp."
"Yes, elder!" Several men at similar or higher levels than Minos flew over to where he was while some disciples were distracted from their affairs to look at Minos.
Minos noticed the movement of the people in front of him and also noticed that camp, which belonged to a sect he knew the name of.
'Elemental Sect, uh? That must be the sect Luke Nash is part of...' Minos looked at the symbols on the armor of the men and women approaching him.
After a few moments, one of them asked him. "Traveler, where are you going? What are your intentions in approaching our group?"
"Approaching your group? You misunderstand, friend. I come from Veora Kingdom and don't know the area well. I'm just following the path to the city ahead." Minos pointed in the direction of the urban spot in the distance.
"And why are you not with your mount?" A woman questioned, acting defensively and suspiciously as it was not uncommon for members of Eastern Empire forces to attack groups of local forces individually.
The Eastern and Western Empires were old enemies who were always estranged. The situation was so tense that there was a large battlefield between the borders of this state, where both sides tested their strength.
If one side proved weaker than usual, the other would begin a period of intensifying its actions, seeking the even more noticeable weakening of its enemy.
These states had officially been at war for over 10,000 years since when Vico Travisani first showed himself, throwing the situation out of balance for his state.
Before him, the Eastern Empire was a territory with its customs and area separate from the Western Empire. But it was constantly suffering from interference from the empire that Minos was currently in.
The goal of the local imperial family was to slowly dominate that state's population through this manipulation. However, with the rise of Vico, this had been made impossible, and the attempt to dominate one party over the other had become more violent, generating the war that has lasted until the present day.
Besides the battlefield of these two forces, terrorist attacks were taking place all over the territory of these two, a reason for the concern of the people in the camp of the Elemental Sect.
Minos then answered those people's doubts. "I just prefer to travel alone, friends from the Western Empire. Anyway, if you are bothered by that, I don't mind being directed to that city by you or to a place where I can get there quickly.
If you don't want me around, that will put me away from you quickly."
Those people watched him warily before one of them approached Minos and suggested something.
...
