After 8 more days of traveling through the underwater world, Minos' group finally reached the most advanced point his army had built on the border between the North Sea and the Ancestral Sea.
Arriving in this area, Minos' party could see a relatively small underwater base that could hold a maximum of 100 individuals at a time.
The place looked like a floating box between the surface and the dark part of the sea, an observation post.
Arriving near this place, Minos' group noticed the presence of powerful Sages and even some Demigods in this advanced place.
In terms of danger, this was the most extreme outpost in the entire empire, where the chances of trouble were very high.
Given its proximity to the beginning of the North Sea territory, which was less than a week away by sailing northeast, this place would be one of the first to suffer if the existence in that most dangerous sea in the world began to advance their territories.
As such, the place Minos' party was about to pass was a high-ranking post of the Black Plain Army, where some of the empire's strongest men were sent to watch over the area.
Upon arrival, Minos saw the shark he had defeated several years ago, which had been involved in the construction of the Black Plain Empire's sea region from the very beginning.
That shark, which was previously at level 84, had greatly increased its level and reached level 88 with all the support it had received from Minos.
Seeing this individual and some members of the Longus family, Minos smiled at them as he saw a small group of them coming towards him.
"Your Majesty, are you finally going to that terrible place?" The level 88 shark asked as it looked at Minos, feeling impressed by the powerful level 87 presence of its sovereign.
Back then, Minos was already so strong when he was only level 79... But now, his power had grown exponentially, and this sea beast could no longer fathom its leader's limits.
"Yes, it's time to understand what's in this damned sea," Minos said as he saw the two level 90 Demigods of that rank also coming to greet him.
"Good luck on your journey, Your Majesty." These men said simultaneously, feeling their hair stand on end as they looked north.
"This place is hazardous. Be careful, Your Majesty." A level 89 Sage declared as he saw Minos' group's power but still felt strange about it all.
The North Sea was so terrible that the mere thought of someone traveling to that place scared some of these people.
Unlike those who lived far away from the North Sea and didn't really understand the risks involved, these beings were very close to the most dangerous area in the world and could feel some bad feelings about this place.
"We will take it. At worst, we have a black hole on our side. There's nothing extremer in this world than that." Minos said confidently, knowing his fusion could help him deal with the dangers ahead.
The rest of his group watched these men, beasts, and women of such rank, looking at them apprehensively and naturally feeling a little strange.
As much as they knew how dangerous the journey ahead was, they had thought about it until now and prepared for what would happen based on the experiences of others while they were far from the North Sea.
But now they were about to enter the most dangerous area in the world, and when they saw the people who lived nearby, they couldn't help but feel different.
This was especially true for the Sages and humans in the group, especially the mercenaries in Minos' crew.
"We can't give up now..." One of them muttered with a green smile as he watched the rest of Minos' army fall further and further behind as their ship advanced.
Minos felt the tension rise in his ship and said. "Position yourselves around the ship and start circulating your defensive tactics. We're not in the North Sea yet, but let's start the security protocols."
Over the past few decades, Minos' government had gathered much information about the North Sea, using survivors' accounts, analysis from high-level organizations, and the help of seers.
Thanks to the efforts of Minos' group over many years, he held a map with reports of what could happen if he entered the North Sea along the route he was following.
Based on this data, he and his people had already developed defensive methods to use when sailing through this area and made predictions about what they might encounter deeper in the sea.
As far as he and his people knew, the strange phenomena that usually befell crews thrown into the North Sea by storms occurred in a sea lane near the borders of this territory.
Beyond that strip, Minos' group had no way of knowing what might happen. Still, they were more than 80% certain that a group traveling to the North Sea would encounter special phenomena in the first few thousand kilometers of areas they entered.
Consequently, his group traveling now would be in danger of encountering extreme phenomena soon!
"The area we'll be traveling through for the next 30 days is the most problematic in terms of 'natural' phenomena. Storms of all kinds are quite common in this area and are usually the cause of 95% of crews lost in the North Sea.
So be prepared. If we're on the defensive from the moment we enter this sea, we'll have a better chance of surviving the first part of our journey".
At Minos' words, all of the slightly frightened individuals took a deeper breath as they remembered the information and training that the government of the Black Plain Empire had given them over the past few years.
Quickly, 40 of the more than 50 crew members moved to sit in lotus positions in different parts of the ship, immediately circulating their energies, ready to protect themselves and the ship.
Only Minos, Ruth, Grant, some of the Sea Folk, and the Sages of the group didn't join this defensive formation.
The one who controlled the ship then asked. "What should we find after this first area? Have your seers found anything?"
Minos replied, the many members of his group paying attention to his voice. "We are not sure. But we hope that we won't have to deal with atmospheric and marine phenomena after these days of travel.
Towards the center of the North Sea, there should be a cluster of small islands, and if our theories are correct, that's where we should find our enemies.
If we reach this part of the journey, it's unlikely that we'll have to deal with strange phenomena capable of harming even Demigods. However, we will have powerful enemies, so the journey's difficulty won't decrease as we progress."
Some swallowed their saliva as they stood in silence, feeling what they had only glimpsed for several years.
'To the hell with it! I've lived long enough! Now I'm going to enjoy one last adventure. If I survive, I'll retire!' One of the Demigods thought to himself as he took his position at the ship's bow.
Thus, the group would cross the boundary between the Ancestral Sea and the North Sea, and in a few days, they would finally enter the most famous and dangerous sea in the Spiritual World.
Up to this point in their journey, nothing unusual had happened. However, as soon as they entered the North Sea, the group would encounter the classic stormy areas of that region.
Less than 12 hours after entering the North Sea, they would face the first challenges in a part of that sea covered in fog and gray clouds!
