Gradually, time passed, and the dark of the night had already covered the entire horizon, leaving not a single trace of daylight that could be seen a few minutes ago.
Simultaneously, in the old area of Hadia, many whale oil lamps were already burning, illuminating the narrow streets of that place, each 50 meters apart.
And while the smoke from those lamps was stinking the air in that part of the city, the movement in the streets through that region was already diminishing, with fewer and fewer criminals and bandits coming and going.
The sounds of conversations typical of places like this had also migrated from the previously busy streets to a few places, where there were more significant gatherings of people.
And amid this change in local dynamics, which took place between day and night, inside that establishment where Del and company were, a group of pirates was talking and drinking beside a fire.
They laughed as if they had no worries, while some looked a bit beside themselves, with red eyes and dilated pupils...
"Ah, Revon, your pirate group was fortunate to find that item, ehh, what was the name?" One of Del's cronies asked as he looked at a short, muscular man.
"Spring of Life. Hehehe, luckily, our group found that sunken elven ship." The man replied, at the same time, holding a large glass of drink.
"But, tell me something..." While simultaneously, the two continued to talk, the sounds of other groups talking, occasional screams of pain coming from the places where those beds were sounded across the land, creating a strange symphony of sounds.
...
However, amidst the drunkenness and amusement of those many men who were there, on the outskirts of the great wall that surrounded them, the group of Minos was already lurking, preparing to invade.
They all wore black clothes that hid their appearance, cloaks covering their bodies and heads, while leather masks hid their faces, leaving only their eyes visible.
And despite having been ready to act for some time, Minos's group hadn't made any moves so far.
This happened for two reasons. First, they were waiting for the movement on the street to slow down. Second, a low-level grade-2 defensive array was being used to defend the inner territory from random invasion at that location.
For the first reason, Minos and the company could act at any time. But concerning the second, unless they destroyed that array, it would not be possible to enter that place.
After all, this was a property where criminals and pirates could indulge their desires, leaving them vulnerable. This way, those owners of this place wouldn't risk their business because their customers were killed when they were helpless!
And considering this possibility, that place that the group of Minos was about to invade had already invested in a low-level grade-2 defensive array, which could prevent the entry of individuals below level 50!
Only someone with equivalent strength beyond this level could break the array and invade that place. But that wasn't all. A small group of Spiritual Generals still guarding that property within the array's space of influence.
They were there to protect the place and avoid conflicts between customers, who usually had very volatile personalities...
Because of all this, Minos's group hadn't taken any action yet, as when they started, they would have to go all the way.
But the young Stuart liked to be in control of the situation. He wanted the battle to begin at best possible time for them. Only then would they take action that would surely alert those guards and result in the inevitable confrontation.
Also, if they broke the array before the surrounding fully dark, it would be easier for outside forces to get involved in this event, which could harm the interests of the Black Plain Army.
But of the two conditions that were missing, one was already complete, which was the arrival of night and the decrease in the circulation of passersby near that place. As for the other, to the misfortune of the people inside that establishment, Minos could break that array.
Due to the quality of the young Stuart's techniques, united with the energy boost that his innate ability provided, Minos had strength equivalent to an ordinary level 50 cultivator!
Of course, he had to struggle for a few minutes to get it, but that wouldn't be too much of a problem. From what the group of soldiers had discovered, there was no Spiritual King in that place, the strongest being only at level 46.
Thus, even if Minos had to work hard to break the defensive array of this establishment, he wouldn't have to worry about fighting all these enemies.
Minos' group was powerful, and they were all very well equipped, either with good quality spiritual techniques or spiritual artifacts.
And as soon as he felt ready to begin, Minos nodded to the soldiers standing next to him, indicating that it was time to start.
Beside him were Abby and Eda, who, upon seeing Minos's move, soon prepared themselves, along with the soldiers. Even if they weren't going to fight, they had to pay attention to their surroundings and be ready to defend themselves at any time.
After all, just because Minos had decided they wouldn't fight doesn't mean the enemy side couldn't attack them!
The group of nearly 60 people then moved a little away from the boundaries of that place, giving Minos room to act.
The young Stuart intended to use his support technique, Devourer Art, allied with the Spatial Sword, to destroy that array.
Because of this, the group of people that accompanied him had to distance themselves a little from that place so that they didn't have their respective energies sucked by the technique of Minos.
He then withdrew his low-level grade-2 sword from his spatial ring, positioning himself in front of the entrance of that place, when he finally began to circulate his energy to attack!
...
Meanwhile, inside that property, three guards were talking near the entrance/exit while watching the surroundings.
"Then he said: Dude. The doctor said you're going to die..."
But suddenly, while one of them was telling a joke, something strange started to happen, drawing the attention of the three men, who still had smiles on their faces due to what they were listening to early.
And when they saw this, soon another person appeared in that place and said, while looking at the sky. "What the fuck is this?"
What they were seeing was strange to these people. Suddenly a black circumference had appeared on top of that property, diminishing the natural luminosity coming from the starry sky.
There was also a black mist around that circumference, which also seemed to spin and make a sharp noise.
Zum!
And shortly after the appearance of that circumference in the sky, almost as a counter-response, the defensive array of that place activated a shield around the walls, which looked like a thin layer of a blue liquid, which glowed and seemed to be very resistant.
"Someone is attacking us!" At this point, one of them finally shouted this with all his breath after seeing that the defensive array was already acting.
"Shit! What's happening? Why are they attacking us?" Another of them asked as he hurried to a room off the entrance to that property.
Ding!
Ding!
Shortly after that, a sound of bells began to ring in that place, indicating to everyone who was there that an external enemy was targeting them.
And at that moment, almost simultaneously with the alarm that the man before had triggered, several blades of energy cut the air outside that place, heading towards different points of that barrier.
Swooish!
Swooish!
Puff!
The attacks sent by Minos collided with the blue barrier, releasing a muffled sound as the young Stuart continued to draw energy from that array, using that power to create even more sword attacks.
Swooish!
And while inside that establishment, many people were getting ready to fight. Others were just confused, finding it all very strange.
Outside, there was a group of almost 60 people positioned at different points around there, ready to enter as soon as Minos destroyed the defensive barrier.
They were in this formation so that individuals who were on the limits of that property would not flee, making the work of these soldiers more difficult.
Thus, by the time the young Stuart had started attacking the defensive barrier, all 56 Sergeants were ready to act, without delay and without leaving room for escape.
And as for Minos, he was in front of the entrance gate of that place, making vertical and diagonal gestures with his sword while creating several blades of energy every few seconds.
Swooish!
Puff!
'Ehh, it looks like it will take another 2 minutes...' The young Stuart thought to himself, feeling the strength of the defensive array gradually diminishing, at the same time that part of this energy was converted for him to use to attack it.