The Black Plain Army

Minos greeted Gryff with a smile as he entered his office. In fact, he already expected this person to come and hear the exact nature of his offer since the guy had shown a rather more intelligent behavior during their meeting in the Black Star Academy.

As for Ralf's father, there was no chance of him coming here due to his rash behavior. He was an irrational person who could not see the general situation before comparing what was better and making mistakes.

Minos then sat in his chair, indicating Gryff to do the same, "Sit here. Let's talk," Without further wasting time, he got straight to the point.

"I know you want to know what I can offer for your brother, which the Gill family cannot. So, here's the thing…"

Minos told Gryff precisely everything he had said to Alison's family, including the cultivation techniques and the salary that the young Lee would receive.

Minos also promised to welcome Gryff and Lee's younger sister, Ayn, to the mansion when she turns 10. And that he could also help Gryff reach level 69, as well as Alison's parents.

Just like Alison's parents, after hearing all of this, Gryff also was also skeptical, but when he saw the Silver-grade technique, he didn't suspect Minos anymore.

Finally, they came to an agreement, and young Lee would join the mansion when he turned 10.

After resolving this matter, Minos turned his attention to the future Black Plain Army. First, he planned to merge Dry City guards and his personal team, thus creating a new hierarchy that was based on the potential and levels of all the members of the army.

Minos then met with Commander Pyke and Dillian to start these proceedings.

"You already know that I want to start the Black Plain Army. And for that, I want to know what our strength is. Grandpa Dillian, what is the level of my personal guards?" Minos asked directly without wasting time.

Of course, Dillian didn't need much time to think about the power levels of their men.

"Of the ten guards, one is at level 33, one at 34, three at 35, two at 36, one at 37, and two at 38. All of them all have Blue talent."

"And yours?" Minos nodded and then looked at Commander Pyke.

"The city guard has 30 guards, including me; nine are at level 27, six at 28, five at 29, three at 31, four at 32, one at 33, one at 34, and one at 35. They all have Blue talent," Pyke answered.

"Hmm, it's not too bad for a start."

Hearing the lineup, Minos decided that he would establish the army in 6 months.

At that time, the hierarchy would follow the given order, Student lv 0-9, Recruit lv 10-19, Soldier lv 20-29, Corporal lv 30-39, Sergeant lv 40-49, Lieutenant lv 50-59, Captain lv 60-69, Major lv 70-79, Colonel lv 80-89 and General lv 90-99.

Each position would have a corresponding salary equivalent to its level, with a student earning 50 low-grade spiritual crystals and generals with 800 high-grade crystals. 

There would also be a minimum period of service at each position to reach the next rank, six months to become a Recruit from a Student and 25 years to become a General from a Colonel's rank.

After hearing the hierarchy that Minos wanted to follow, Dillian and Pyke had their faces completely turned white. The young man in front of them was already thinking of having Demigods in his ranks, in fact, for them even the thought of having Spiritual Emperors was quite overwhelming.

However, Minos didn't care about their reaction.

He believed that it was just a matter of time. In the next 30 years, after the spiritual root was completely restored and this region had a high density of spiritual energy, he was certain that there would be some Spiritual Emperors living here.

"In six months, I want all this change to be made. We will also need to construct a headquarters for the army. Once we have the first profit from the current crop, the construction must be started," Minos said, unfazed by their opinion. 

"In no more than a year, I want to increase the number of members in our forces. For the current one, we'll invest in low-level spiritual pills and medicines to help them increase their strength," Minos added.

The spiritual pills were compounds formed from the fusion of different ingredients, such as medicines, spiritual plants, blood and bones of beasts, etc. These pills could preserve and even increase the total spirituality contained in the ingredients and were used in various ways, their use ranged from curing diseases to even increasing the cultivation of the ones using them.

These Spiritual Pills were prepared by alchemists, they were also cultivators but were specialized in the production of such compounds. Similar to spiritual blacksmiths and array masters, they concentrated on techniques focused on their primary interests.

Pyke was thrilled to hear this news. Finally, life was going to be improved considerably for the Black Plain. And the fact that he was a part of this transformation made him even more excited.

"Grandpa Dillian, don't forget to look for information about alchemists too. We have to prepare well to proceed in the best way possible," Minos said with a smile on his face.

He was also very pleased with how things were going on, it had been not more than three weeks since he woke up, but he had already done so many things. 

"Hmm, I should get the basics on array masters and blacksmiths nearby in the next few days. I will try to bring all the information as soon as possible," Dillian nodded calmly.

After some more conversation, Dillian and Pyke left Minos alone in his office. Following that, a moment later, Mia entered the office carrying a stack of papers.

"Young master, I have already counted the average consumption data for corn, rice, and wheat," she smiled.

"Oh! And?"

"In the previous year, the consumption of those crops was 300, 150, and 200 tons per month, respectively. According to the current projection of planting done on the 3 hectares that have been modified, they could reach less than 2% of the domestic market for these three items," Mia pointed at the few papers and then continued with a small smug.

"I went ahead and have also discovered that there is also a great demand for spiritual fruits in the city. So, it can be another type of plantation that would generate great profits in the future."

"Hmm, thank you for your service, Mia," Minos replied with satisfaction. He was pleased by her work.

…

After finishing the day's affairs, Minos returned to the Spatial Kingdom to cultivate.

He was nearing level 9, and he predicted that within a week, he would finally reach level 10, the Transition stage!

When stepping up to this stage, some important changes would occur in the cultivator. First, the fleshly body would undergo a qualitative change till every cell of the body, releasing impurities and at the same time increasing the average vitality of the individual.

And along with that, the body would possess an energy equivalent to 10% of the spiritual energy that a cultivator would have at the initial level of that stage. For example, on becoming a Spiritual King, the cultivator's body would undergo a complete transformation, and even if he had his cultivation crippled, only with the strength of their physique, the cultivator would be able to defeat a level 35 individual who was using all of his cultivation.

That also meant that even if someone had his cultivation crippled, their vitality would remain unaffected as before, as this characteristic was exclusively related to the person's body.

However, this would only apply to those who had reached the Spiritual Beginner stage, as the amount of spiritual energy was just too low before this point. From the Body Foundation to the Transition stage, there would only be an increase in vitality.

And in addition to the physical changes, Minos could also add another technique to his arsenal now that he had reached this new stage!

…

Meanwhile, in one of the hotels in Dry City, a young blonde woman named Elen Nash, a Stone Island merchant, was leisurely enjoying her cup of tea on her porch.

She had been in town for over a week to see if the rumor regarding the new local sovereign 'CURING' the Black Plain was indeed true or not.

In these last days, she had also sent her guard, Eduard, to investigate the place where 200 people were working to see if any changes had occurred.

Some time passed, and the guard returned with a bright smile on his face. He said, "As expected from Mrs. Elen, you got it right again. The Black Plain appears to have been 'CURED.' At least, the region where those farmers work no longer has the same old problem. It looks like any arable land, like the many others I have seen."

"As expected. Well, now we must try to meet this sovereign, Minos. This city needs many things that Stone Island can offer," a grin appeared on her face as if she had found a treasure chest.

She knew that if she were to support the Black Plain now, then she would definitely have an important position in this place in the future. With that in mind, she asked the hotel servant to arrange a meeting with Minos.