"We found that the enemy forces in that city are concentrated in two groups.

"

"The first of them is the group of soldiers from the Royal Family of the Brown Kingdom, who are people led by the ruler of that city. The second group is that of representatives of the state's noble families, who use that city to transport their items and do business.

"

"Hmmm.

" Young Stuart made a sound and continued to hear this man's report unsurprised by this piece of information.

Minos had anticipated such a situation because, despite being geographically on the Black Plain, that city was still the only place in the kingdom with a port, from which the resources transported by sea arrived and departed.

Consequently, the passage of values through that location was not small, and most local authorities could not ignore the potential that such a location would have. That ranged from the usual administration of orders from these families to even the possibility of getting to know other noble powers and coming to terms with people passing through that city!

After all, people of great importance usually moved from one state to another to sign Soul Contracts because these things required the presence of both parties in one place.

Therefore, as that was the only seaport in this kingdom, it would not be uncommon for influential people to pass through there when they were coming from Stone Island to here..

Other than that, other variables made transition points very important, which also attracted the noble powers to these places.

Anyway, Joey then continued his speech.

"Of these two groups, although the representatives of the noble families are less numerous, they are definitely the most difficult to deal with, as they usually meet people from outside the Maritime City.

"

"As for their numbers, they are less than 100 individuals, and almost all of them are at the 5th stage of cultivation, without a single Spiritual King in the group.

"

"Hmm, that's to be expected, as these people are only there to organize the negotiations and operations of the families behind them.

" Minos commented as he snapped his fingers.

'These people will be problematic, as they will be able to see the changes brought about by my replacements... But on the other hand, I can't risk replacing these people because the chance for someone from one of the noble families to pass through that place is too big...' He thought about it as he tried to solve this problem.

He thought that replacing royal guards had great potential to succeed because such people would certainly be numerous, and nobles with relevance wouldn't be able to distinguish them!

That's because the guards who were sent to that city were replaced from time to time, and another guard would occasionally replace someone who some nobleman might know.

With that, his plan was quite viable for these people.

But concerning these representatives and a little bit for the ruler of that place, well, things would get complicated!

Anyway, while he had these thoughts in mind, Minos continued to hear Joey's voice.

"As for the group of royal guards, this is around a thousand people.

"

"Of these, more than half of them are already in the 5th stage of cultivation, while the rest of the guards are in the 4th stage. Finally, there is a level 52, Spiritual King, in the Maritime City.

"

'Hmm, this number isn't big…' Minos reflected as he ran his fingers over his eyebrows.

Indeed, a thousand royal guards was a small number, but that wasn't strange at all. That is, one couldn't forget that that city was on the Black Plain and was just a coastal border post where resources could come and go.

Obviously, this was important and necessary for the kingdom to function perfectly. But it was not something indispensable, and if something happened, the state would have alternatives.

That is, such a location couldn't compare with the cities around a royal capital, such as those cities in the region ruled by royalty in the Kingdom of the Waves. An area where there were tens of thousands of guards stationed.

Only places like this, indispensable for the continuation of a royal family, would have such protection!

That's because a sea attack would be improbable in the north of the Central Continent, where the strongest families didn't have what it takes to tame marine beasts. Therefore, any invasion or attack would depend a lot on continental regions. In other words, it would be difficult to happen in locations close to the coast.

Moreover, even if something happened, the losses could be avoided by building other sites and sending in new soldiers...

Of course, this would not be ideal, as it was much more advantageous and profitable to continue using the same place as always, the Maritime City. But such a place was not the Brown family's priority, so that organization only sent the necessary power to delimit the territory.

But such a thing would be enough, as anyone in this region would know that attacking a city protected by royalty would be like attacking the royal family itself. In other words, there would be retaliation sooner or later, regardless of the size of the problems caused!

Thus, despite not being large, the force stationed in that city was enough to solve almost all the problems that such a location might have to face. Except, of course, in the case of this young sovereign, who was already counting on the local royal family as his enemy...

After considering this subject for a while, Minos finally said something.

"Well, let's do as agreed... You can give the order to begin the preparation of soldiers with equal power to the individuals in this group of royal guards. I want this to be done as soon as possible, and the start of kidnappings begin within a month at most.

"

"As for the part of this Spiritual King and the noble family representatives, for now, let's leave that for a second moment. Then, when we kidnap some of these groups of guards, we will be able to understand better who has contact with whom and what will be the best solution.

"

"All right, young master!

"

After all that, Joey wrote down a few things until he finally said goodbye to Minos and Ruth and ran to headquarters to deal with this matter.

That was an essential service for local forces and needed to be done with surgical precision. That's why this old man was very interested in studying the situation as much as possible and using the time in his favor to work out the best solution to the problem with the management team!

...

After Joey left that office, Ruth, who had heard all that, sitting comfortably in an armchair in that office, got up from her place and sat in front of where Minos was.

"So, are you getting ready to act? Don't you think it's too early for that?

" She asked doubtfully, with a worried expression on her face.

Hearing such a question, young Stuart shook his head from side to side and said seriously.

"Any action has the potential to generate threats. The very fact that I cultivate, or rather, that I breathe is already a threat to those who see me as an enemy, even though I haven't done anything to them.

"

"And thinking about it, either one accepts himself as a mediocre being, who doesn't try to stand out and stays below average, or someone seeks the path to power and becomes the target of many.

"

"Both paths are full of dangers, one more than the other in certain situations... But while the first is characterized by the impotence of not deciding one's destiny, the second is the one in which there is more control. And I prefer such a thing.

"

"I will attack the Maritime City to increase my forces further and create a chance for me to defend myself more decisively in the future.

"

He then closed his eyes for a moment.

"Whether this is early or not, I don't know. But since I'm the weaker party, I believe I have to use every advantage that exists...

"

"Including attacking first!

"