While most of the Minos troops were traveling south from where they were to the coast of Cromwell Kingdom, the other four members of the party were already returning to the Dry City.
They will deliver the information they had gathered thus far, so Minos could make his decisions.
Meanwhile, in a specific region of the Kingdom of the Waves, near the capital of this state, there was a great metropolis that was almost as brilliant as the Capital City, which Minos had gone through during the Spiritual Tournament.
In this region, in the noblest section of the city, there was a vast land surrounded by numerous towering trees, some of which reached 50 meters in height and that could hide everything that happens there from the rest of the city.
This was a place with lots of people, buildings of different styles, and a lawn with a significant symbol drawn, looking like a deer.
Anyway, at one point on this property, a half-naked woman was lying beside a large swimming pool with her back turned upside down. At the same time, her perky buttocks were exposed to the world as if it were a flawless work of art.
The only piece of clothing that covered her body was her red panties, tiny, to the point of only protecting her little sister, leaving everything else visible to whoever was there...
On the young woman's side, there was a small table with some drinks and the young woman's bra, while a man who didn't look more than 20-years-old stood beside that woman, rubbing his hands in a creamy substance.
"Mmm~"
He then quickly used his hands to rub that substance on the woman's back while massaging her smooth skin, making her produce some pleasant noises.
For a while, the man did this until he finally began to massage her perfect buttocks, occasionally running one of his fingers under her panties.
"Mmm~"
However, before the thing evolved to a new level, the woman regained her thoughts and got up from there, pulling away from the man's hands.
"Christian, I already said that I would not do this to you until my husband's death is avenged!" She said with a resolute look on her face.
It had been nearly a year since her husband's death, but no relevant information had been discovered. And like a good wife, this woman wanted revenge. After all, she loved him...
The man then lost the longing look he had on his face a moment ago and looked at this beautiful woman in front of him. "Misty, do you think I don't want to avenge my brother's death? Father is already doing everything he can to find out what happened. Still, little Tristram was murdered in the middle of a mountain! It is not easy, nor fast, to solve a crime with this characteristic!"
This was Tristram's older brother, Christian Reid, level 45, Black talent, 23-years-old.
As a 'good' older brother, Christian had decided to take care of his late brother's wife the moment he found out what had happened. In fact, he had weighed on it a little before, but fate happened to surprise him, leaving a young, beautiful, and 'needs' woman behind, a widow, in need of a friendly shoulder...
But Misty, despite never refusing Christian's advances as long as he didn't go overboard, seemed to have had feelings for Tristram and wanted revenge!
But unfortunately for Christian, it was challenging to unravel the mysteries behind what had happened at the Peak of the Fog. After all, at that time, there were only 18 people in that place, including Minos, Ruth, Oswald, and the two murdered individuals.
But although witnesses were not few, they were all difficult to access.
Minos and Ruth were the killers, so they obviously weren't going to go around spreading the word.
Oswald, the master of the Gray Cloud Sect, didn't give a damn what happened in the north of the Central Continent.
And as for the others, they were all members of noble families from different parts of this region. And even if one of them wanted to talk, it would still be tough to track them down, as there really wasn't much evidence left behind!
Because of all this, even though the Reid family struggled to avenge the death of one of their most talented members, they hadn't discovered much.
All they discovered was that at that time, the event that resulted in the young Tristram's death was a competition for Warrior-grade medicine.
But even though they got to that old man who sold the Rainbow Fruit information, no one had left any names behind...
And just with the appearance of the suspects, that wasn't enough for the Reid family to find those responsible.
Hell, even if they decided to kill everyone involved, they would still have to look for 16 people out of over 2 billion people!
Anyway, after hearing Christian's justification, Misty turned to him and then bit her full lips while using her right hand to feel her left nipple, using her remaining hand to rub her little sister, who was covered by the girl's tiny panties.
Seeing Misty's devilish form, Christian was dazzled for a moment, enjoying this beautiful image. Desire was building deep in his being, and he was eager to be able to touch his dead brother's woman.
This wasn't something new to him. No, even before Misty and Tristram's marriage, Christian had always had the fetish of taking this woman and fucking her wildly.
So, he couldn't wait to fulfill his every wish with her!
However, when Christian started to approach the seductive Misty, she threw a bucket of cold water at the young man's desire. "You want to fuck me, right? But that will never happen unless Tristram's death is avenged!"
She then took her right hand away from her little sister and passed it in front of Christian's nose, leaving right after that. "When this wish of mine is fulfilled, I will do whatever you want."
At the same time, Christian was inebriated by the fragrance he had felt from Misty's fingers, feeling a fiery glow deep within his being.
"Damn it. I have to solve this problem!" He thought about it as he stared at Misty's flawless body as she walked away from that spot.
...
While Christian had his ambition further motivating him, a few days had passed since Abby's arrival in the Dry City.
At this point, the immigration from the City of Waters had already started, and soon, the first batch of a thousand people coming from that place would finally be complete!
This was an essential fact for the territory of Minos, as before this period, in the six months that had passed previously, the number of people who moved to the Dry City had been minimal!
And this had created a labor shortage in the region, with many people working two, three, and even four jobs!
Of course, it wasn't bad for some people to have so many occupations, but that wasn't ideal for the city as a whole. Because of this, the massive arrival of new inhabitants would give vent to the stress caused by local growth, at least in the short term.
And meanwhile, Minos' guests, Abby and Eda, were very well accommodated here. They had already known the entire city and the services offered here, as well as getting used to the local rhythm.
It wasn't so bad for them to live around here. After all, there was already a cultivation room for visitors to the Minos mansion, which was equivalent to a 5th stage cultivation room, present in Cultivation Towers spread across the north of the Central Continent.
Anyway, in Abby's and Minos' free time, the two always ate together or went out to talk. They really got along great and were excellent friends.
But the young Stuart has made no progress with her at this time in his plans to 'evolve' their relationship. There were no feelings of love or passion between the two, but Minos felt he could have a colorful friendship with Abby.
And that would be really interesting for him. After all, Abby was charming, and she was someone he got along with and even felt he could trust.
However, the young girl from the Milles family seemed to be much more complicated than he had previously anticipated...
And as for Eda, well, she was getting along very well with the butler Dillian, just as they did at the time of those two youngsters' Spiritual Academy...
Anyway, nothing very relevant had happened since Abby and Eda had arrived in the Dry City. Just the usual thing about managing a growing territory.
...
On the west side of the Dry City wall, there was a chariot racing through the decrepit terrain in the unregenerated part of the common ground of the Black Plain.
The four Sergeants who had been ordered to return to the Dry City and report what they had learned about the young Peter's case were finally arriving back in Minos-controlled territory!
They had gone all the way from the southwest coast of the Kingdom of the Waves to the Dry City, stopping only to rest.
And finally, days after starting this urgent return, the group was about to enter the gates of the Dry City wall!