The next day, after a hot night at a local inn, Minos and Emlyn made their way back to the mercenary guild building they had passed the day before.
Upon arrival, they were immediately directed to a room in the private area of the building where only authorized personnel could enter.
When they got there, they met a group of 8 people who were interested in the service they wanted to hire. Of those 8, 5 were level 89 Sages, 2 were level 90 Demigods, and 1 was level 91.
The guild had only been able to convince 5 Sages out of the 6 Minos had asked for the day before.
Seeing this, Minos didn't mind having one less Sage. This group was strong enough for the journey he had in mind.
"Are you the contractors for this service?" One of the two level 90 Demigods asked, already knowing the level and appearance of his contractors.
Minos looked at this level 90 woman, young, wearing armor the same color as her brown hair, tall and slender. He smiled and said. "Yes, that's us. The one beside me is Emlyn, and I'm Minos Stuart.
As I told the person who took care of us the day before, I will pay your fees once a week. I'll make the first payment as soon as we leave this city, and I'll keep paying in advance until one or all of you give up accompanying me."
"Oh?" The level 91 Demigod looked at Minos with narrowed eyes and asked. "Does that mean you plan to hire us indefinitely? What exactly are your goals?"
"For now, I intend to gather allies and mercenaries to face a problem in my state." Minos knew how important it was for these men to know who he was and where they were going, so he immediately spoke the truth. "I am from the Central Continent, leader of the Black Plain Empire.
I'm currently expanding my state's naval operations across the Ancestral Sea. But near my state is the dangerous North Sea, so we need men to help us guard the areas where my men are building outposts.
Once these outposts are completed, the mission will be over.
He obviously didn't want to tell the whole truth because it was too shocking. But in a way, that was the purpose of these men: to go to the border of the North Sea and help the group keep an eye on the area. Beyond that point, Minos knew that only witnesses interested in risking themselves with him would go on.
"Now I'm on a journey in search of brave and strong people who are willing to accept what I offer in exchange for their strength.
I am now in the Marine Empire, but next, I will travel to the Continent of Beasts, where I intend to visit the tribes of the Phoenix and the Nine-tailed Fox. After that, I'll go to the Divine Continent before returning to my state to prepare for the end of this mission."
Everyone listened to Minos seriously, knowing how dangerous the North Sea was.
They didn't care that Minos was a ruler, nor did they care about the Black Plain Empire. Besides the North Sea, nothing else mattered.
But there was one positive point in everything Minos had said. Despite the danger of the North Sea, they could tell that this guy didn't intend to take on established organizations on any of these continents with the strength of this group.
Not having to provoke large organizations was a sign that at least they wouldn't have to deal with future revenge from Minos' enemies.
Minos watched these people in silence and added. "But don't worry about following me. The last and most dangerous part of this mission will take years. In the meantime, you can abandon this mission at any time.
The opposite is also true. If one of you wants to go all the way, I'll even open up opportunities for you to bring more people you trust over to our side, and I'll even give you cultivation opportunities."
"That all sounds very good."
"Yes, young Minos is truly generous."
Some of the Sages commented among themselves, seeing that they could gain a lot from this mission despite the danger of the North Sea. Until they reached the North Sea, they could live for years receiving Minos' generous rewards and still give up before reaching that place.
The level 91 Demigod looked seriously into Minos' eyes and asked. "Your Majesty, how are your forces at the moment? Why do you need the help of mercenaries? Doesn't your state have enough capable people to do that?"
Minos replied sincerely. "Currently, I only have one level 90 Demigod in my army. So the help of allies and mercenaries like you can make a big difference."
"That's not bad." The level 90 woman, the only one in the group, commented. "But let's leave that for the future. Since Your Majesty isn't seeking a firm commitment, we can discuss it later. However, what is your short-term goal in the Marine Empire?"
This was the most important point for this group, so everyone was paying attention to Minos and Emlyn.
He replied. "I have no intention of fighting here if that's what you're worried about. We would only fight if we were attacked first. But my goal is peaceful, so that's unlikely to happen."
"What do you want?"
"I want to contact a relevant member of the Sea Folk. I want to form an alliance with at least one high-ranking Sage of that race and have him accompany me to my state. If possible, I want to visit some of the native tribes in the area and try the same thing.
After that, I intend to travel to my companion's continent."
They looked at the nine-tailed fox next to Minos and thought his goals weren't that complicated.
Trying to make deals wasn't usually dangerous.
The Sea Folk had about 100,000 members, but even though most of the strongest were directly related to the imperial family, it wasn't that difficult to make contact with a level 89 Sage. There were a few thousand people of that level. Some of these mercenaries knew such individuals themselves.
Since this was not a dangerous short-term mission for the rewards they would receive, the group immediately agreed to follow Minos for the time being.
Whether they would follow him to the end would be decided in the future. But for now, these were easy crystals for them, and none of them gave up on making a deal with him.
After a few minutes, they left the guild, already paid for their first week's services, with one of them leading the group into the interior of this great island, where he knew he could lead his contractors to members of the Sea Folk!
Thus began Minos' journey through this domain!
