The Rise of the Black Plain

"It's not a bad idea. You two can go to that town in my place and secretly check on things at the Black Star Academy." Lionel commented in a low voice while he had a thoughtful expression on his face.

'This might be a good idea to try and lure those two youths to my family's side once more!' He thought that with a smile on his face, already elaborating on what the next few weeks would be like...

'Ralf will be able to challenge them, and when they realize his tremendous cultivation speed, they will soon regret that choice to stay in the Dry City! And then, they will accompany Railan and his son back here!'

"There is no mistake! That is a great opportunity for me to get even more support in the family!" He muttered at the same time as he clenched both his fists in anticipation.

"Okay, I believe your plan is truly the best for us, so I'll give you and Ralf permission to leave for the Dry City!"

"Oh? Hehehe, I thought so." Railan exclaimed in satisfaction. "So, when and how should we act?"

Lionel then got up from where he was and went to a nearby table, taking a piece of paper from his spatial ring and then writing a few things down. "Resolve your local responsibilities and take my authorization to the administrative part of headquarters. After that, you can leave."

"Okay."

"After that, when you and your son arrive in the Dry City, I don't want you to go out trying to get attention because of Ralf's success. That can disturb us a lot, even if nothing happened there!"

"So, don't act rashly. Try to pretend you're just a person passing by on a trip, with no issues to resolve locally."

"Oh? Alright, we can do this!"

"Hmm, after that, contact the Black Star Academy and find out what has happened to the students there since we left that city more than four years ago." Lionel then handed that paper to Railan and a similar one to Ralf.

After that, he threw a medallion with the symbol of a 5-pointed black star to that middle-aged man. "Use this to represent me."

"They'll know by the time they see this that you're my representative."

He then looked at Ralf and said. "Finally, try to secretly find those two youths that studied with you, uh..."

"Lee and Alison?" Ralf completed Lionel's speech when he realized that this man didn't remember their names.

"That's right!"

"Talk to Lee and Alison and challenge them to a fight. Then, after you defeat them, I want you to try to attract the tow to our side, promising the same conditions you've already been receiving here."

"Okay, I know where they live, so it won't be hard to get that." Ralf readily agreed, at the same time, that he remembered the days of the spiritual academy.

'I wonder how everyone is? Have they even reached the 3rd stage of cultivation?'

And while Ralf thought about his old colleagues, Lionel finally completed his orders. "But remember to do this discreetly, as that young ruler may have people strong enough to stop you from leaving!"

"What? Sir, do you truly think that?" Railan changed his expression, realizing that his idea might not be as good as he thought...

"Don't worry. That brat is in no position to offend the Gill family!"

"So, in case something goes wrong, since you'll be like our envoy, I doubt they'll try anything severe."

"But even if they don't kill you, they can do other things if you openly disrespect them... So, you better not cause unnecessary problems."

And on hearing such a stern warning, father and son quickly agreed, saying the same thing simultaneously. "Yes, chief Lionel!"

"Great, now you guys can go. Try to resolve this as soon as possible."

Finally, after that final warning, father and son quickly left Lionel's residence, heading towards the place where they could deliver that man's order, freeing them for this journey.

Like many other noble organizations, the Gill family did not allow their subordinates to leave their jobs casually.

No, if something required them to leave their jobs, they would need permission from the person who brought them into the family or someone in charge of that.

In the case of Railan and Ralf, as both had been brought into the Gill family by Lionel, this man was one of the people capable of giving that kind of authorization to them.

That's because Lionel was one of the nobles of this medium-sized family, and even though he only had a modest Blue talent and wasn't strong, being only at level 43, this man still had a better status than a subordinate in this organization.

Precisely because of this, he had these privileges, such as managing a spiritual academy, bringing subordinates into the family, reaping its benefits, coming and going freely, etc.

That was not an uncommon occurrence in this region, as every noble power would have people like Lionel, who was less talented but could be very useful in regulating the secondary posts of these organizations.

After all, even less talented, at the end of the day, they were still much more valuable than subordinates, people outside the family, without significant connections. These were replaceable and often lacked the minimum education for more substantial jobs.

Anyway, that was the hierarchy of power within a noble organization, something that Railan and Ralf followed to the letter. And as such, after a few minutes, they had already entered that family's administrative building and delivered the order given by Lionel.

...

After leaving that building, father and son found that they would have to wait a few days for their authorization to be passed on to the guards outside the city. In addition, they would also have to wait until two spirit beasts became available for their journey to the Dry City.

And while they returned to their duties, the two talked about this subject, already planning their trip.

"Dad, do you think they will give us 3rd stage beasts? If we have to travel on 2nd stage ones, it will take us several weeks to go and come back..."

"Get ready for that!"

"This job is not that urgent. So, I don't think we'll be lucky enough to get high-ranking beasts."

"But if we leave in the next ten days, I believe we'll be back in less than three months."

Ralf then nodded and commented briefly. "Ahh, I wonder if the Dry City has improved in that period... Back then, that person seemed interested in our city."

"Hmph, it doesn't matter if he was interested! What can good intentions do?"

"Nothing!"

"Only the individual strength and the financial power of large organizations can change anything."

"But whoever has these two things and is sensible would never invest in the Black Plain!"

"That brat is just someone frustrated, with no other options, hahaha." Railan smiled, remembering how serious Minos had looked when he'd tried to convince him to stay in the Dry City.

"I heard that person had lost everything because of his father's death. He was a..." Ralf and his father then continued to talk about these and other popular topics at the Brown Kingdom until they finally separated.

...

While the Gill family's subordinates were preparing for their journey to the Dry City, a woman rode in a beast along a dirt path, secretly pursuing a specific caravan.

The group pursued by her consisted of three carriages that seemed to transport a whole family, having departed from a particular region of the Cromwell Kingdom, heading towards the north.

As for this woman, she was traveling calmly a few hundred meters away from that caravan, with costumes the same color as the terrain around her.

'Where are they going?' She wondered dubiously, trying to guess the fate of the people she was chasing. 'This is the sixth family with children who studied with me that left the City of Waters in recent months...'

"Why are they leaving that place so often?" The woman muttered as a strong wind passed by her, shaking her beautiful green hair...