"This…" Celeste tried to say something, feeling quite vulnerable right now. 'Indeed, I won't be able to protect Neal!'
And she couldn't help but feel bad about this situation. After all, if she didn't care for Neal's well-being, then she might as well have left him long ago when her husband was pursuing them.
This woman's husband certainly wouldn't give up on his revenge on her. However, if he could get his hands on Neal first, then Celeste might have had an easier time for her escape!
But even though she knew it, this woman had continued to protect this young partner of hers, traveling together all these years.
So, the idea of leaving him in this place and trying her luck running away from here didn't seem to be an interesting thing for her at the moment. Such a thing would appear as if she has made a tireless effort, just so that all of a sudden, she throws away everything she's fought for and achieved...
As for feelings, well, she had some of them for this young man, things that would make this woman wish he continued to exist.. But for someone as experienced as she was, Celeste knew how fleeting these things could be.
She had loved her husband in the past. But even so, she had slept with many other men during their centuries of marriage, until finally sleeping with her own daughter's husband...
So, she wouldn't bother to act sentimentally at that moment. But, on the contrary, only the rational side governed this mature woman's thoughts. 'There are a lot of people, and they seem very confident...'
'They might have some weapons up their sleeves that could harm me a lot...'
'After all, if the power behind this place can pay for something like that… ' She thought to herself at the same time as she looked to the side of the wall and then to those soldiers around her.
'The risk is too great, and I would certainly lose a lot, regardless of whether I can run away from this place or not!' So, she concluded when her eyes finally met Neal's.
She then muttered something that only she and her beast could hear. "There's no point in discarding someone I've been investing for so long when there are so many risks involved..."
"You said the alternative is prison. How do I know we won't be killed anyway? And why would you arrest someone? Apparently, you want to hide this place…" She started to speak, looking directly at the woman leading the group of soldiers.
And hearing these questions, that Sergeant soon began to give answers. "First, you won't have any guarantees since the only thing we have is our word. Second, we're going to arrest you because we can. Otherwise, we'd just attack you without warning."
It would be impossible for someone of Celeste's level to escape from within this barrier, so Dry City could afford to confine its enemies safely.
And that was genuinely ideal. After all, dead enemies could draw investigators to the Black Plain, which had the potential to create trouble...
But if these people were only arrested locally, it would be impossible for organizations in the north of the Central Continent to find out where they were!
Besides, since soul signals wouldn't change just because of imprisonment, regional powers probably wouldn't notice the disappearance of subordinates or family members in the short term.
Hence, currently, Minos had already established imprisonment as the preferable punishment for people with the potential to harm the Black Plain and who came from outside that place.
And this thing had been happening that way since the construction of the local prison and the inauguration of the Municipal Police, which were the minimum services for this to work.
However, with the addition of the recently completed barrier, this situation became even more ideal.
Anyway, upon hearing the words of that Sergeant, the couple on top of that beast looked at each other in dismay, as if they were sorry to come to this place. But they soon agreed to the conditions on the other side, after talking to each other for a while.
'Well, at the very least, it will be quite difficult for Devid to find us in this place. But, even if that happened, it would be impossible for him to break through such barriers…' Celeste thought to herself, remembering her husband and realizing that such a decision was not all bad.
...
Quickly the adulterous couple had their respective cultivations sealed by necklaces around their necks and were directed to the local prison, where they would have their past analyzed.
Neither of them had remembered to try to ask if Minos was in charge of this place, as that would be stupid!
Such a thought could not pass through their minds after they had seen that dome and the way each of the soldiers acted.
The soldiers were confident, full of pride, and showed no hesitation when enemies so much more powerful than they stood in front of them.
In fact, none of them respected all that much the standard Spiritual Kings, who were often found in this region.
Of course, they respected this stage of cultivation, as they genuinely wanted to get there. But the soldiers understood that they could handle people of Celeste's level, even at their current powers!
Hence, the couple could not think that a young man who had been in a coma until recently could have connections with this place.
That would be absurd!
Finally, while they were being accommodated in the local prison, Celeste's beast had been taken to the same spot where Ebba was staying.
Abby's big beast had already reached the 5th stage of cultivation at this point and was an excellent companion to put this newcomer on the line!
...
Several hours quickly passed, and at this moment, it had already dawned in the Dry City.
The town was already back to the usual bustle of the day. Many services were already working, including the local administration, in the official part of the local government mansion.
There, Minos had already arrived at his office.
He had a great morning with Abby, followed by breakfast with Dillian and Eda and then greeting his secretary Mia before entering his office. Finally, Minos had his first conversation with government officials today, receiving some relevant updates, not long after starting his shift.
"Young Master, in recent months, the production of low-grade crystals in the local mines have increased a lot." A middle-aged man said this, smiling and making some gestures with his hands. "Considering our current projections, we've recently achieved the mining of 2 million low-grade crystals per year!"
"Oh? That is great!" Minos said in celebration.
This value could be small if we consider the number of crystals in circulation in the current Dry City. However, it was a considerable increase in the numbers of locally mined crystals!
Mainly because this would only increase further in the future, as the local spiritual root recovers.
The man then spoke again, with an almost euphoric look on his face. "And most importantly, young master. We recently managed to mine medium-grade crystals for the first time in this region!"
"It was a small amount, and we won't be able to mine more than a thousand medium-grade crystals per year." Says the soldier. "Still, it's a fantastic record that has never been broken!"
"Hehehe, this is better than I expected…" So, they continue to talk about this matter, with that man updating the young sovereign on all the relevant numbers regarding the local mining of spiritual crystals.
This field had constantly been developing, and of the little more than 20 workers who mined the crystals in this region before Minos arrived here, there were currently more than 2,000 of them!
Minos wanted to use that field of local development as a foundation for his local financial future, so he wouldn't have to rely on regional banks for medium-grade crystals.
Anyway, the conversation was being very productive. Still, in the middle of this meeting, Mia interrupted them due to the arrival of some army soldiers, who had urgent matters to talk to the local sovereign.
