The Rise of the Black Plain
chapter-2761

In the blink of an eye, five years have passed!

This period was not at all eventful for the group of Armhands in Uzira. Minos and his people stayed the whole time inside their base.

But the group had grown a lot. Not only had Minos brought many resources from the True Celestial's inheritance, but he had also collected space storage items from enemies in the battles of years ago.

Many of the corpses of the Macabre Horde carried with them the items they had before their deaths. A few dozen of these items fell into Minos' hands, which supplied the group of Supremes living in seclusion at that secret outpost.

Tiolos advanced from level 118 to level 119 because of it, surpassing Minos' cultivation. Meanwhile, Abby and Gloria had reached level 116, with Ruth reaching level 117.

Cultivating at the 12th stage was only difficult if you didn't have the resources. But for individuals willing to risk a little of their foundations and enjoy the benefits of more power, it could be well worth doing.

Minos had done nothing like this in years because his cultivation base was far superior to that of his companions. He would have needed double or triple the resources to make the same progress as his companions. And this, unlike what happened with his wives, would destabilize his current cultivation base.

But even at level 118, Minos has improved his powers a little more, having improved the equivalent of almost 70 years of meditation in those years.

Having his breath working for him and having made use of Temporal Sands had helped him a lot!

Meanwhile, Abby had finally turned the last of her techniques into a skill, finalizing the requirement that Minos had raised for his group to set off in search of new advances in their missions!

...

On the morning of a new day, half the group was facing the area closest to the outside world in this underground area where their outpost was located.

Minos and those who would go with him to seek allies, resources, and information, were facing those who would stay behind to cultivate and look after the guild outpost.

"Tiolos, you're in charge of the group in my absence," Minos said to the man, whom he had turned into a guild member after they arrived at this place. "Take care of the group and avoid trouble. We'll be gone for a while, but we'll be back as soon as possible. The next time we leave, you'll come with me."

Tiolos readily agreed, while looking at Minos, Leger, Abby, Gloria and Ruth, and four Armhands Generals who would travel now.

"Rest assured. The base will be up and running when you return."

Minos nodded and turned around, activating the device that was switched off, but which, when turned on, would allow instant transportation between this location and the canyon.

His group disappeared, instantly reaching the deep area of the canyon where a small river ran through.

There was no sign of life nearby when the tool that had brought them there deactivated, disappearing completely after a few seconds.

Minos and his companions looked from one side of the area to the other, confirming that there was nothing that could have witnessed their movement.

Certain that they were alone and would not compromise the security of their base, they moved with Abby in the lead.

Abby had inherited the memories of the level 124 soul fragment regarding the travel experiences of that existence.

The beautiful blue-haired woman knew exactly where to go for the group to begin their search for information from Odibrand Redwound, but also to look for recruits for the guild.

Because they didn't want to risk too much at the start of this journey, Abby was guiding the group towards one area with the least control by the royal forces. The free cities of Eastern Mountain Range.

They were currently in the east of the continent, in the area where newcomers from Oqia arrived and had to overcome to get into the wealthier parts of Uzira. But the group's base was better located, being only 12 days' travel for a group like theirs away from the Eastern Mountain Range.

The Eastern Mountain Range divided the part of Uzira that was free of royal forces, where many of the tribes that supported the royal family to make life difficult for newcomers to the continent were located. On one side of the mountain range was the 'poor' side of Uzira with no advanced cities, and on the other was the rich side, where the sovereign family maintained greater control over almost everything.

Precisely in the Eastern Mountain Range was a group of free cities that were difficult to access, where the alien groups and individuals native to Oqia supposedly lived.

This area had natives of Uzira, individuals who had had problems with the royal family and their vassals, or even who didn't fit in with the rest of the continent.

According to what Abby had discussed with the group, this area had enough people for them to examine, and their chances of getting into trouble because they were aliens were practically zero.

This didn't mean that they wouldn't have problems traveling to this area. There were official and unofficial bounty hunters looking for foreigners on the outskirts of the free cities of the Eastern Mountain Range.

The head of any non-native of Uzira was worth good money, even to the Supremes.

There was a price list for foreigners. The higher the cultivation, the higher the price. Aliens were worth more, but even natives of Oqia had good prices on their heads.

One didn't even have to hunt to win prizes. Information that led to the destruction of invaders was also worth enough for Sovereigns to make a living out of snitching on invaders on the continent.

In short, the cities of the Eastern Mountain Range weren't that dangerous to be in, but until one got there, anything could happen. This was particularly true considering the region's relief configuration, which favored ambushes and points where one could observe tens and tens of thousands of square kilometers.

Fortunately, Abby knew exactly what kind of danger the area she was taking her group into was in and everyone was already prepared for a fight!