The Rise of the Black Plain

With giant dragon claws flying toward them and no way to escape, Minos' allies looked from side to side and prepared to act.

The tunnel they were in was huge, big enough for 9th-stage dragons to pass through. There was enough room for all of them to activate their Soul Avatars.

The strongest of the group took the lead, raising their defenses against their weaker companions to prevent the worst from happening.

The surprise attack of the trap in that area was not weak, but it was not threatening to the Demigods or Minos.

So, these three acted quickly for the good of their group.

Minos activated the Spatial Sword, and several ghost blades emerged from the vacuum of space, heading toward the dragon claws flying toward the people there.

Forrest and his companion were not left behind and soon destroyed many of those razor-sharp claws with their attacks, helping to reduce the number of attacks that were about to hit Minos' people.

But Gloria, Ruth, Isabella, Abby, and Harold did not stand still. They joined the other 9th-stage members of their group and combined their defenses, preparing for the claws that their 3 strongest people would not destroy.

With this action, in the blink of an eye, several layers of defenses appeared in front of this group, with the strongest defenses in front and the weakest behind, with the purpose of absorbing the enemy projectiles' power.

Ruth's defensive ability was not the kind that could be used to protect others, so she did not join the group. Instead, she prepared her attacks, sending bursts of destructive lightning at the projectiles heading toward her group.

When one of the few projectiles that made it past Minos' group and the two Demigods hit the group's defenses, the first barriers suffered and were easily destroyed.

But with each layer of defenses destroyed, these and other attacks weakened, reducing their speed and destructive power.

When one of them broke through all the defensive layers, Gloria appeared in front of the level 89 Sage of Forrest's group, placing her two forearms in front of her body as if they were a shield.

Then inscriptions appeared on her body, causing the dragon claw to glow for a moment before turning to ash.

Gloria felt the protection Minos had left on her body increase the amount of spiritual energy she had at her disposal and immediately attacked with great force.

Seraphim's Wings!

She slammed her six wings down on her avatar's back, causing dozens of feathers to break free from her projection and fly away against other projectiles flying toward the group.

Swooish!

Meanwhile, Isabella and Abby struggled to raise the destroyed barriers.

Seeing this, Minos grinned, enjoying seeing all his women show some of their abilities after so many years of not seeing them fight for their lives.

They did not display powers much greater than those of a talented, well-armed, and well-trained person of their level. But they were not there to make a difference for their group. On the contrary, they were there because he wanted to help them become even stronger with the help of what they could get in this space.

It wasn't their individual strength that caught Minos' attention, but their resilience in coming together to fight attacks much stronger than their own level, but also their will to persevere and become stronger.

He knew that not everyone could be like him!

'It looks like the years of training together are paying off, doesn't it?' He glanced at them before noticing one of the last dragon claws flying swiftly toward him.

Minos clenched his fists and did not hesitate. He activated the Indestructible Body and struck at it with force, causing space to collapse in front of his fist until it hit its target.

The collision of the two attacks caused an outburst, and the entire dragon claw exploded, leaving no trace as it was completely destroyed by the chaotic power of Minos' fists.

Seeing that no more claws were flying toward his people, Minos didn't hesitate and merged two of his techniques, creating a black hole.

The people in Forrest's group saw this for the first time. They felt the terror of Emperor Stuart's ability, which could even threaten the lives of level 92 cultivators.

Minos threw the thing in the direction of where a large stone wheel had blocked the path ahead, clearing the way for his party without delay or difficulty.

Forrest realized how powerful Minos' rare fusion ability was, which was very different from what he had heard about it.

"This is quite an impressive power." He praised Minos but soon moved with the rest of the group behind the brown-haired fellow.

Minos quickly extinguished the black hole with his abilities, knowing that if he detonated a black hole bomb in this place, his entire group would probably perish.

With a clear path ahead of them, they soon came to the entrance of one of the many underground chambers in the area.

From a distance, they could see a deep green, with several roots on the ground, and the smell of wet earth that came from such an area.

"A plantation?" Isabella asked as she realized what was in front of her.

"Dragons have bizarre ways for us humans," Forrest commented. "Among them, they grow a kind of herb that only grows in the dark. They usually use this herb to make drinks for some of their ceremonies.

If these plants are that kind of herb, some of us might have a chance to use it to temper our bodies and increase our understanding of flame-related techniques."

"Oh?" Harold was interested in this, as his entire cultivation base was flame-related.

He was not the emperor of the Flaming Empire for nothing!

As a descendant of the ruling family of such a region, his techniques had a lot to do with FLAME things!

Isabella had already learned some techniques from Minos. However, her cultivation base and, more importantly, her innate ability were closely related to flames.

So when she heard that, she smiled, imagining that she could be the first of the group to win something in this place!

Minos said nothing and led the group into the place, knowing there might be more traps.

Before they celebrated, they had to ensure they could use these things!

...