Inala sat in the cave, holding an Empyrean Zinger's skull. He had used the Empyrean Extraction Prime Skill on an Empyrean Zinger and was currently employing the Mind Slip Prime Skill to access its information.
He was straight up devouring everything in it. After all, understanding an Empyrean Zinger's body was pivotal to his growth in the Body Stage. And what better way to do it than to inscribe all the data of an Empyrean Zinger into his mind?
Since it would be inscribed in his mind, Inala only needed to spend some time to comprehend them fully. Assisted by copious amounts of Lifeforce funnelling into his body through the biome in his stomach, Inala ensured his brain didn't explode from the information overload.
This was similar to the refining process used by many cultivation novel protagonists. By relying on powerful regeneration abilities, they would subject themselves to death-guaranteed situations, such as a poison bath.
The poison would try to destroy their body while their regeneration would keep them alive. Through repeated cycles of destruction and regeneration, their bodies would be reforged stronger and immune to the respective poison too.
It was a canon event!
Presently, Inala was experiencing the same. Of course, it didn't happen by chance like those protagonists. It was all through his voluntary initiative.
As he accessed the Empyrean Zinger's skull, a vast sea of information flooded his mind, causing his brain to break down. But before permanent damage was done to the organ, an exorbitant quantity of Lifeforce surged in the brain and healed it.
To avoid becoming a madman, since the brain was a sensitive organ, Inala overdosed himself with Lifeforce. Thereby, the regeneration rate exceeded the destruction rate.
Seated around him were four Empyrean Zingers, holding a Life Hand each. The moment Inala felt the Lifeforce supplied from his biome was lacking, he would activate the four Life Hands and steal lifeforce from the four Empyrean Zingers.
This was just a contingency measure, but it was there to ensure no mishaps would happen. If one had the brain to map out all the problematic variables beforehand, then it was only wise to prepare for them all.
Inala did have the presence of mind to think of everything.
He felt a mild headache as he absorbed large clusters from the Empyrean Zinger's skull. Since he was using the Mind Slip Prime Skill, everything was under his control. Only when he touched an information cluster did he absorb them into his mind.
So, he exercised active control over every step of the process.
While he was doing this, the Empyrean Zinger King was busy too. It sent the remaining Empyrean Zingers on an errand.
After heading to Ellora City, they were to keep watch on the situation there and alert Inala accordingly. Moreover, they were also tasked with digging a tunnel from a secluded location on the outskirts of Ellora City to the shelters within.
Seated next to the lake, the Empyrean Zinger King touched the female Centinger's skull and absorbed its information. Its job was to understand the Centingers better.
After all, next on the list was to hunt a Millinger at the Ganrimb Kingdom Capital. Before Inala could target them, a comprehensive understanding of them was necessary.
But of course, since he was busy understanding the data of an Empyrean Zinger, he left the task to the Empyrean Zinger King.
That way, as long as it was fully aware of the Centingers, he could access the information from its mind when necessary. The moment he faces a situation, the Empyrean Zinger King would think up a solution based on its understanding of the Centingers.
Inala only had to read its thoughts to know what was happening. This was the most efficient use of his immune system. This was also how the Empyrean Tusks navigated through Sumatra Continent, selectively absorbing the information collected by their respective Mammoth Clan.
A week passed in such a fashion.
Ellora City!
"Aargh!" Gudora roared as he unleashed copious amounts of Prana, releasing a crystal dust mist that crystallised a wounded Centinger. Four cultivators at the Life Stage bombarded attacks on the crystallised Centinger and shattered the crystal layer, revealing a vulnerable Centinger.
Its shell and exoskeleton had been crystallised. And once the brittle crystal layer was destroyed, it revealed the Centinger's squirming flesh underneath.
"It's vulnerable now! Attack!" Gudora shouted and condensed a crystal spear that he slammed into the soft flesh of the Centinger. Followed by a grunt, he revved the spear, making it drill into the Centinger's body, stopping once it shredded its brain.
The Centinger dropped dead as its blood gushed out like a wave, covering the city. Craters covered the city's surface, a result of the numerous artillery strikes. They were now filled with the blood of the Centingers as over half of them had died.
"Keuk!" Gudora winced in pain as he downed two bottles of medicine and swallowed a handful of Parute Fruits. His injuries were serious but he had to continue fighting.
The casualties among the soldiers were horrifying. Less than a tenth of the original twenty-thousand-plus soldiers were alive. This was not to mention the fact that twelve shelters had been decimated.
Each shelter housed around ten thousand people. Therefore, they had already lost sixty percent of their population.
With less than two thousand soldiers fighting nineteen Centingers, the situation was despairing. No one knew how many would be alive by the end of this fight as the shelters continued to be discovered and destroyed.
"Fear not and follow me!" Gudora shouted and unleashed a wide-scale attack, targeting five Centingers. He planned to face them all alone. And the moment he creates an opening, the other cultivators would target these Centingers.
At least, in this way, they could stall as many Centingers as possible while protecting the shelters.
But as war would have it, the people within the shelters were afraid, and nervous as the reserve soldiers were called upon to fight one after another.
And in one such shelter, after the reserve soldiers were called, the remaining eight thousand people were in terror. Cracks covered their shelter and it seemed it was just a matter of time before it collapsed.
There were a couple of injured people among them, part of the reserve force that had returned, on the brink of death.
"Many shelters have fallen. We are next!" One of them shouted as his eyes lost their light. The atmosphere was sombre. Everyone had no other choice but to brace themselves for death.
Rumble!
Suddenly, cracks accelerated along the sides of the shelter, terrifying the people who distanced themselves from it, staring in fear. Those with some level of strength held their Spirit Weapons, trembling as they stared at the cracking wall.
There was a loud rumble, following which the walls shattered, revealing a hole spanning three metres in diameter. A figure walked out, exhibiting an air of royalty, decked full of armour that exuded a dense stench of blood.
The extent of blood and grease covering it was an evident fact that he was a figure that had ground through the meat of Pranic Beasts in large numbers.
Staring at the terrified expressions of the people, the figure pointed at the tunnel and announced aloud, "I'll bring everyone to safety. Those that wish to live,"
"Follow me!"