A few days passed since the group of Minos had left the capital of Stone Island.
At this time, they were arriving in Portland, from where they could return to the continent.
Minos wanted to see if any of the alchemists and array masters with whom he had spoken previously would change their minds and decided to come with him. It would be perfect for the Black Plain if any of these specialists came with them.
Minos could pay a subsidy for these specialists, and then they could sell their products within the Dry City at a low price. That's because any pill or spiritual array would be costly for ordinary and weak people, as was most of the population under the territory of Minos.
The group then slowly entered the city of Portland, heading straight for the local Alchemy Guild. Of all the people Minos had spoken before, the most promising of them seemed to be the alchemist Davis.
After a while, the group finally arrived in front of a rectangular building, where they could sense a robust medicinal fragrance.
That was the Alchemy Guild of the city of Portland!
Minos immediately entered the building and went straight to the second floor, the place where high-level grade-1 alchemists did their business. He then looked for the alchemist Davis's bench, in the place where he had seen it before.
Soon, Minos saw the person he was looking for on a low-traffic bench.
"Alchemist Davis, it's good to see you again. Well, I'm here doing what I said earlier. And then? What did you decide?" The young Stuart said with a smile on his face.
The middle-aged man at the bench looked at Minos for a second while he tried to remember. Then he finally said. "Ah! So, it's you. I didn't think you were truly going to be here again."
He then continued. "Your offer was outstanding, but I don't know if I will be able to do business in the Dry City. Unfortunately, ordinary people don't have that many crystals to buy spiritual pills."
Minos understood Davis' doubts and then said. "You are right. Indeed, a common population, such as that of a city like the Dry City, could not buy pills, arrays, or spiritual weapons."
"And part of the inhabitants of my city, it will certainly take a long time before they can buy these items. But the soldiers in my army will be able to!" Minos said with a confident face.
"I will not go into details since you are not yet a member of my forces. But rest assured, the numbers of soldiers who can pay for the services of an alchemist like you are not small. I'm almost sure that you can do more business with them than you do here at the Alchemy Guild."
What Minos said was indeed not a lie. If we consider only the soldiers who are in the Corporal hierarchy, each of them receives 400 crystals per month. And with such a salary, if such a soldier saved for about four months, he would undoubtedly have enough crystals to buy a high-level grade-1 pill.
Of course, the same would not apply to arrays or spiritual weapons since these two types of items can be considered durable goods, which can be used several times. Therefore, they are naturally more expensive.
And for alchemists, most of their business was done from person to person, who usually bought only one or two pills at a time. Big purchases like the ones that Minos had done were sporadic. It was done only by those great nobles and members of wealthy families.
That way, if what Minos said to Davis was true, then it would be very advantageous for this middle-aged man to accept this deal. Davis thought for a while and then said. "I can go with you to your Dry City. If what you said is indeed true, I will see it with my own eyes. Then, just like that, I will be able to accept this offer."
Minos smiled and said. "Good! So, this works too. If you don't like how things are going in the Dry City, then I won't insist on this deal anymore."
After that, Minos and his group stayed at the Hotel Olson in Portland. They had to wait for the ship they had rented to be prepared for the travel. Minos also wanted to see other people with whom he had previously spoken. Perhaps some of them would accept to come with them as well.
…
One day passed quickly, and the group of Minos was already in a big boat, heading towards the continent, towards the Maritime City. For this trip, they would need almost two days of sailing.
As for the people Minos had contacted in Portland, besides Davis, no one else had agreed to come to the Black Plain.
…
Meanwhile, in a city in the border region of the Kingdom of the Waves with the Black Plain, there was a medium-sized mansion in the middle of that town.
In that place, a large number of men with grotesque expressions were scattered around that property.
That was the former seat of the local government of Cidade Amarela, the only city in this region bordering the Black Plain. It had about 70,000 inhabitants, and the local government had been replaced by criminals from that region for some time.
Unlike the Black Plain, this region had sufficient resources for some criminal groups to develop and control the surrounding areas. And because no noble families ruled the Yellow City, these criminal organizations banded together and kidnapped the regent who had been sent there, seizing local power for themselves.
Anyway, there was a large conference table in the middle of a large room. Several men were seated while they were actively talking.
At that moment, one of the men said it out loud. "Chief Gul, one of the merchants captured by my subordinates, seems to have seen something interesting in our region."
At that point, everyone in the room stopped their random conversations and concentrated on listening to what that man had to say.
He then laughed out loud and said. "Haha, we may have a big chance soon. When one of my men was torturing this trader, he opened his mouth about something he had seen not far from here."
"According to him, he saw a fox-like spiritual beast. But this beast was very different from normal foxes. It had five tails and also seemed to be pregnant!"
He then drank a large glass of alcohol and said. "I don't know what breed this beast is, but her cub can yield hundreds of thousands of low-grade crystals if we sell it in the kingdom's capital."
"Oh! Is there such a beast?" Someone asked amid the group's criminals.
"Hmm, we just have to look around. Since this fox was pregnant when that merchant saw her, I'm sure she will be in the same place for at least a few weeks."
"It must also be weakened. That is our chance. The worst that can happen is that the beast is not as valuable as we think. But I believe that it is worth trying." The man called chief Gul said out loud.
He was the leader of this bandit group, already at level 47!
As for why someone of that level was living in a place almost as poor as the Black Plain, well, that was because that man is a criminal wanted by one of the great families of the Kingdom of the Waves.
And he could not escape to other kingdoms, as these large families had relations throughout the northern region of the Central Continent. That way, he could only live a relatively safe life in almost abandoned places.
And unlike the Black Plain, where the Brown Kingdom still maintained a port city, there was no power belonging to large families of the Kingdom of the Waves in the region of the Yellow City.
That is because the Kingdom of the Waves had a large coastal territory and did not need a single point to do business with other regions.
Because of this, many years ago, Gul had created his group of bandits in this region that is close to the Black Plain. But the Yellow City was not as weak as the Dry City.
No, while in the city controlled by Minos, there were no natives above level 39, in the town commanded by Gul, it was not uncommon to find people with level 40 in the streets!
"Well, we are going to send two groups to track this fox. When it is found, you definitely cannot attack it. We will leave it up to me and some of the strongest in the group to resolve this." Gul said with a strange smile on his face.
"That's it!" Some of the men shouted as they listened to chief Gul's orders.
"As for the subject of these traders who came from outside the kingdom, it is better to reduce our actions for the time being. This can attract the attention of some families in the region..."
"Hmm."
Many of them agreed, making gestures with their heads.