"You're here, Master Inala." Gudora lifted his head and calmly stared at Inala, "Where were you all along?"
"I have been waiting here since morning."
"I…" Inala shot a glance at Asaeya, quickly noticing that one of the Prana Bombs embedded in her bracelet was missing. That wasn't supposed to happen, but through his attention to detail, he noticed a small, almost invisible to the naked eye wood splinter next to her feet.
Based on the location, it was apparent that it was a result of the Prana Bomb being forcibly yanked out from her bracelet. And despite her trying to hide it, Inala had been with her for three years. He had a great understanding of this disciple of his.
Asaeya was being forced to act nonchalantly. And she was being threatened to do so. There was only one thing that she could be threatened with.
Since Gudora wasn't emitting his Prana, Inala could take action. He extended a stream of Prana from his feet and seeped it into the ground, making contact with a node in the tunnel network situated twenty metres deep.
He made contact with the Empyrean Zinger Scout seated there, using it to understand all information that was being exchanged in the tunnel network. From there, he obtained a scene of Hanya seated in the adjacent room, calmly eyeing Erwahllu. But anyone could understand that she was keeping an eye on baby Gannala who was in Erwahllu's embrace.
'They have threatened Asaeya with baby Gannala. That's why she's unable to do anything.' Technically, she could use her Prana to steal all the senses of Gudora and Hanya. Through that, she could retaliate and make her escape.
But she hadn't done that, for she wasn't privy to the entire picture. Hence, she didn't wish to act hasty and wait for Inala. Moreover, even if she stole their senses, things would go wrong if either Gudora or Hanya were to split their bodies. And in the fraction of a second it'll take her to steal the senses of all the new bodies that appeared, Hanya's attack would reach baby Gannala.
Hanya was strong enough that her attacks could one-shot baby Gannala. Empyrean Tusk she might be, but baby Gannala had no combat experience. She also hadn't tapped into the combat experience archives part of her inheritance.
She was merely three years old. And if she were to sustain an injury that wounded her potential, then everything they sacrificed for would go up in flames. The Mammoth Clansmen of the 44th Settlement that were waiting for baby Gannala would despair when after two decades of patience, all they received was a wounded Empyrean Tusk that couldn't even perform its usual functions.
If a battle were to erupt, they had too much to lose. Hence, Asaeya dared not act.
In two seconds, Inala had the full picture. He bowed during that duration, using his respectful actions to comprehend the situation, speaking, "I had gone out for a bit."
"And your reason being?" Gudora asked, his words lacking the respect he showed the previous day.
'He knows, huh?' It would be a mockery of his intelligence if Inala hadn't figured it out yet. Gudora had discovered their identity of being Mammoth Clansmen. 'Then, I need to change the way I approach the situation. It seems a fight is inevitable. That means my approach should be in regards to exerting dominance.'
"I heard some rumours," Inala said and made eye contact with Gudora, not displaying the slightest hint of weakness. This wasn't the time to remain humble, "About tomorrow's meeting, I mean."
"So, I went out to check."
"You heard some rumours?" Gudora neither affirmed nor denied. Instead, he calmly took out a spherical crystal from his pocket and placed it on the table, "Through this, I mean?"
"What is that?" Inala asked. But in truth, he knew, 'It seems my slipup alarmed him.'
It wouldn't be a lie to say Inala didn't get slightly cocky after the three years. After all, he had a lot of means to do the things he pleased and wielded enough power to make his dreams a reality. Hence, even though he was cautious, he made a mistake.
No matter the level of caution he exercised, sending Empyrean Zinger Scouts after an 8-Life Stage cultivator was too risky. And the spherical crystal before him contained the body of one of the scouts that had committed suicide, despite being invisible to the naked eye.
Gudora had no idea of what it was or what had actually happened. His goal was to probe here. Staring at Inala, he raised an eyebrow, "It seems you don't have a full grasp of the situation…"
"Oh, I do." Inala cut off Gudora mid-sentence, stating, "Your wife is holding my daughter hostage. So, let me ask you this."
He stepped closer to Gudora and sported a bright smile while his eyes were unreasonably calm, "It seems you don't have a full grasp of the situation."
"Are all Mammoth Clansmen this arrogant?" Gudora's expression turned chilly, "You are forgetting something."
"Your Clan isn't here." He raised his index finger and tapped once, turning the chair he was seated upon into crystal dust, "In my territory, I alone can act arrogant."
"Not you."
"You can either state your objective for coming here despite knowing my identity," Since the opponent expressed his hostility, Inala didn't hold back any longer, "Or I can prove the reason for my arrogance."
"You dare?" Gudora grunted, unleashing torrential waves of Prana that billowed out of his body like a volcanic eruption. His energy burst was a signal for Hanya to take action as she clenched her hand into a fist and punched forth, aiming for baby Gannala.
But suddenly, dozens of Prana Bombs appeared between the two, acting like a shield. The Prana Bombs shattered from the impact, but not before absorbing a good amount of her Prana.
The liquid that flowed out of the broken Prana Bombs was filled with the Prana stolen from her. Baby Gannala opened her mouth and sucked in the fluid, burping in satisfaction, "Now that's some quality meal."
Swoosh! Swo-Swo-Swoosh!
Dozens of Empyrean Zingers in miniature forms revolved around baby Gannala in a protective embrace. Each held a Prana Bomb, ready to retaliate. If so many were to slam into Hanya, she would be drained of all Prana.
Bang!
A loud thunderclap resounded in the living room as the walls shattered. Gudora held his hands in a cross before his chest, having transformed them into crystals. There was a small dent on one of them as a Prana Bomb spun rapidly.
The impact had sent Gudora reeling back for a dozen metres, causing him to break through the walls in the living room and the rooms past it.
Mystic Bone Art—Prana Blood!
The Prana Bomb's rotation speed was deadly as even though Gudora's power intended to crystallise it, as the Prana Bomb rapidly absorbed all the Prana within the power, it wasn't getting crystallised yet.
Before he arrived, Inala prepared a little, since he was alerted by the scouts in advance of the situation. He took out the Sumatra Zinger and slung it around his hip, making the nozzle pointed forward.
Since such a weapon didn't exist in Sumatra, Gudora didn't seem bothered by it. That was why he couldn't react on time when the Sumatra Zinger shot the Prana Bomb at him, causing him to be sent reeling away.
Arriving at a stop, he grunted, causing the Prana Bomb to crystallise before it shattered into dust. The Prana Bomb had absorbed sixty Prana in that short interval. And since he had destroyed it, that all went to waste.
Inala's goal with the shot was only to buy time to prepare. Empyrean Zingers flew out of the vents in his house in large numbers, surrounding Inala who glared at Gudora, "You see now?"
"There's a reason I'm arrogant."