"Next time, you need to use Prana Stitch smartly. If you simply use Prison Bomb on me, I will easily break free. I had only used two units of Prana in that last exchange." Inala’s words stunned the Quip Clansmen, especially Wenka. Never in his life had he been countered so hard.
Even Shuwrak Zahara, with an ability that ran counter to him, could only manage the first couple of times. The successive exchanges were in Wenka’s favour, in terms of both damage and Prana consumption.
The Prison Bomb consumed 1000 units of Prana to create. When it unleashed its effect, Inala had only spent two units of Prana to break free. The sheer levels of difference in their Prana consumption were appalling.
In such a case, with a one-versus-five hundred ratio in Prana consumption, it would take a while for Wenka to consume all of Inala’s reserves, and there was a big risk here. He had to maintain all the Prison Bombs in an intangible state.
The moment it turns tangible, Inala would be able to disassemble and reassemble it into his Spirit Weapon, which allowed him to gain control over a Prison Bomb with minimal Prana expenditure.
A Brully’s senses were genuinely intuitive, allowing it to quickly grasp the functions of a certain build. This aspect was elevated to a perverse level in the hands of Inala, who not only boasted an innate analytical ability, but also possessed comprehensive knowledge of a variety of Natures, especially the Quip Clan’s Natures, as its creator.
"I will take it to heart." Wenka created a Prison Bomb and threw it at Inala, similarly encasing the latter in a sculpture.
Prana Stitch—Tangible Psychokinesis!
The moment the sculpture collapsed as dust, strings of Prana gushed out of the Prison Bomb and wrapped around Inala, tying down the latter for a second.
His hands turned to Rutham as Inala grabbed the strings of Prana and pulled with force, snapping them to break free. However, by the time he managed to break free from the strings, another layer of dust had formed on his body, turning him into a sculpture.
He no longer had enough free time to rush out of the confines of the Prison Bomb. "Thank you for the advice."
"Now, unless you use Millanir, you cannot break free from this setup." Wenka grinned, "Of course, unless you back away from your promise of not using anything more than Rutham and Billakin."
"I don’t need to." Inala simply chuckled in response and watched himself be turned into a sculpture. He didn’t resist in the slightest.
"What the...fuck?" Wenka cursed spontaneously, taking a whole three seconds to begin understanding what had just happened, "Dammit!"
"You’re caught up in his pace." Hunsar used a Zinger Shriek to communicate, "Take a breather."
Inala had been turned into a sculpture. However, he wasn’t constricted like the rest of his companions, as he had used a layer of blood to shield himself. Therefore, even though he didn’t escape from the confines of the Prison Bomb, he was now protected by the effects of Prison Bomb.
If any Quip Clansman were to attack him, they would have to first breach through the sculpture layer. Otherwise, they could never harm him.
The biggest weakness of the Prison Bomb, which hadn’t been a weakness until now, was the fact that it couldn’t be moved in its intangible state.
The intangible state was something Inala had created that allowed him to closely replicate the effects of Subtle Terrain Domination through Perfect Biome Domination. It was to allow a seamless mix of matter in and out of the Biome Bomb.
And all Gold Grade Quip Clan Primary Natures were modifications done to the Biome Bomb. Hence, they followed the same rules.
The Prison Bomb could condense strings of Prana and walk by itself, as long as it had a reserve of Prana to use. Similarly, it could also be moved around like a Spirit Weapon using psychokinesis. However, in both cases, the Prison Bomb had to be tangible.
Normally, it was never an issue, as Wenka would only control his Prison Bombs after the target was turned into a sculpture. But in the present scenario, that wasn’t possible.
Inala wasn’t trapped yet. And in this situation, the moment the Prison Bomb assumes a tangible state, Inala would target it with his Billakin.
Wenka’s application of Prana Stitch was indeed enough to prevent Inala from escaping. But now, the latter had no reason to escape. After all, the Prison Bomb itself became a safety bunker for him.
"Phew," Hunsar exhaled softly while standing at the back of the crowd of Zinger Aristocrats, ’This is pretty enlightening.’
’He’s completely playing with us.’ He thought, ’It’s like everything he does feels obvious. However, they exist in our blind spots. We weren’t even aware about these means to counter our abilities.’
And most of all, Inala only showcased the means a Brully can use to counter their build, armed only with the power of Rutham and Billakin. If he were to use Millanir and other minerals, it would be a lot harder to counter him.
Just the fact that he had a Panger’s Spirit Weapon was annoying enough. The attackers were the ones being countered thanks to it.
Inala didn’t take action and simply remained within the sculpture, permeating a strange silence in the region. After a minute’s consideration, Hunsar advised Wenka, "Retract your Prison Bombs and be ready to throw them again. Even though you cannot defeat him with them, you can still force him into a defensive through them."
"For the time being, you act as our defence. The moment any of us is about to be overwhelmed, throw your Prison Bombs to buy us some time." Hunsar laid out his plan, "In the meantime, I’ll go on the offensive."
In response, Homing Satellites made out of rock appeared before Inala, surrounding the latter.
"Layer them with stone armour." Hunsar said as Wenka wrapped a Prison Bomb over the Homing Satellites and coated them with a faint layer of hardened dirt. It was shaped like full-plate armour, ensuring it didn’t constrict the joints.
Now, Inala couldn’t use Billakin to destroy the Homing Satellite, since he would have to break the coating on it first. "I’ll leave it to you to repair the coating if it falls off."
Wenka could take care of it by keeping his Prison Bomb in an intangible state. He could just reclaim the Prison Bomb once the Homing Satellites take the fight with Inala elsewhere.
"What do I do?" Rhonya asked.
"He said he wouldn’t use a Spirit Weapon. That means we won’t have to worry about a Spirit Weapon flying around his Spirit Weapon range." Hunsar explained, "He’ll only be changing his hands into Billakin or Rutham."
"Then, I won’t have to use my Inhibition Bomb." Rhonya nodded, ’This is frustrating.’
Inala had clearly expressed the fact that they could all come at him with the intent to kill. And if they were to succeed, he wouldn’t hold it against them. Conversely, he wouldn’t kill any of them.
At least, if he were to treat them as an enemy, it would have been easier. Rhonya would have an easier time hunting Inala. However, the latter’s behaviour made her thoughts complex. ’He’s treating us as brats who need to be sheltered and taught with tender care.’
Genetically speaking, Rhonya hated the Brully Inala, because the latter prevented her Deity’s return. But logically speaking, she was starting to see things otherwise. ’However, this needs to be done.’
She sighed a little and then firmed her mind, ’The Continental Invasion will begin soon. There’s a lot to prepare. Even our Deity needs a lot of time to grow and become ready for the upcoming invasion.’
Even if the Royal Zinger could rely on its Silver Grade state to progress faster through the Life Stage, it still required a bit around three decades to mature a single body. Around three centuries were required to reach the 10-Life Stage.
Sumatra Continent was absurdly huge, so much so that even if an invasion were to happen somewhere, it would take dozens of thousands of years to cover the whole Continent. Ideally speaking, that would be the best case scenario, where the invasion occurs from a farther corner.
However, there were plenty of scouts from other Continents in the node where Sumatra’s Transcendent World existed. They had observed the start of the Third Major Disaster and had been watching the events on Sumatra until then.
They knew where the top forces of Sumatra were concentrated. The Brimgan Empire, Varahan Empire, Mammoth Clan, Cooter Clan, Quip Clan, Mystic Humans, and Ravaged Federation; they all existed within the scope of the Continent written in Sumatra Chronicles.
All manner of development sparked by the Mystic Seven was mostly enclosed within this part of Sumatra. The Quip Clan had only recently begun to expand outward. And it would take a long while before other forces begin attempting to stably obtain a Secondary Nature.
Therefore, as long as the region of Sumatra Chronicles was destroyed, the rest of Sumatra will fall naturally. And the Transcendent scouts knew the locations.
’They will invade from the Varahan and Gaja Enclaves.’ Rhonya thought in worry, ’And when they do, they will move in to get rid of their greatest threat.’
The First Calamity—Royal Zinger!
Whatever information the opposing forces had about the Royal Zinger, the pinnacle existences would be busy making preparations accordingly. There was a solid chance multiple Mystic Grade existences would appear.
And they would all gang up on the Royal Zinger, ’The only way to survive against it is to start preparing already.’
Tertiary Nature—Prana Stitch!
Prana Stitch—Tangible Psychokinesis!
Rhonya coiled four strings of Prana into a tougher rope and began to run towards the Prison Bomb right as Wenka turned it tangible and retracted it.
Right as the sculpture of Inala shattered, Rhonya was already before the latter, "My thoughts from before haven’t changed."
The rope lashed out like a whip, using its power of psychokinesis to latch onto Inala’s skin and rip it apart violently, "You’re unneeded on Sumatra."