"Hmmm…" Grehha stared into the depths of the darkness as his figure—enveloped by an Empyrean Incubator—continued to sink.
His Tertiary Nature of Empyrean Incubator was very versatile in nature. He could store any organic substance in it and ensure it doesn't get damaged, rot, or oxidised. Whether it be food or a Pranic Beast egg, his Empyrean Incubator can preserve them all.
Moreover, he could also use it as a shield, relying on this protective bubble to defend himself. Not only was it capable of blocking all traces, but with some tweaking and some layering of Empyrean Incubators that reflect light at an overall angle of 360 degrees, he could even make it optically invisible.
He was currently using that to safely descend through the waters of the Red-Draft River. The density necessary to sink deep and the robustness to withstand the increasing water pressure was provided by his Secondary Nature of Internal Inertial Gravity.
He arrived at a stop before a Centinger nest, staring at a dozen female Centingers remaining guard. The male Centinger that had mated with them all was currently patrolling their perimeter, intimidating any Pranic Beast that sneakily tried to target their eggs.
The female Centingers collectively protected all the eggs laid by their colony, having a shared responsibility. They didn't even bother with who among them laid which egg. They had a collective unity in this case, since all born Centingers would become part of their colony and would move together as one unit.
Grehha stopped at a distance two hundred metres away from the nest, still hidden from view. Moreover, he remained right beyond the range of their sensory Prana range, which was the same as the maximum Spirit Weapon range for all mature Pranic Beasts and peak Body Stage cultivators—180 metres.
There was still faint luminescence at his current depth, allowing him to perceive the eggs that had been laid, turning excited upon seeing a certain egg there, 'That's a Millinger egg.'
Upon hatching, that egg would birth a Millinger. Centingers had fully mapped out the path for their mutation into a Millinger. Hence, it wasn't shocking for a colony with only Centingers to lay a Millinger egg.
That was how most Millinger colonies came into existence. Upon seeing the Millinger egg, Grehha began to take action.
Mutated Expert Silver Grade Pranic Beast—Empyrean Viper!
Stage 1—Throat!
Grehha's throat transformed into that of an Empyrean Viper, becoming fit to use its ability without trouble.
Primary Nature—Spirit Bone!
A Mud Viper could spit a Mudball that would harden upon impact and trap the target. Spirit Bone was exactly that but made out of bone instead of mud. Moreover, unlike the clay form that a Mud Ball was launched, Spirit Bone could be launched in solid, liquid, and even vapour form.
Grehha emitted it in vapour form, causing it to dissolve into the river water. He cleverly positioned himself upstream and observed the Spirit Bone vapour head towards the nest of the Centingers like a cloud.
At the same time, he condensed an Empyrean Incubator and filled it with the power of Internal Inertial Gravity, sending it in a certain direction. He moved in the opposite direction and remained ready.
The Empyrean Incubator began to build up pressure until its walls were unable to endure. Due to the superior internal pressure, the size of the Empyrean Incubator continued to increase, all while it remained visually invisible, positioned right beyond the sensory range of the Centinger colony's Prana detection methods.
When the Empyrean Incubator ballooned to twenty times its size, the walls ripped apart, resulting in a powerful shockwave, followed by a spike in Prana emission.
The Centingers became alert in response and directed their attention towards the source of the disturbance. All they saw was an undercurrent generated like a shockwave. Right on time, the Spirit Bone vapour dispersed across the place and solidified into large bone spikes, dense as they were infused with the power of Internal Inertial Gravity.
Carried by the river currents, they charged towards the nest, targeting the eggs. The Centingers screeched in alarm and moved before the eggs to form a wall with their bodies. They then unleashed a volley of artillery strikes, destroying all the spikes.
But they couldn't relax, as Grehha had dispersed a lot of Spirit Bone vapour upstream. As it travelled downstream and came in range, the vapour condensed into bone spikes, resulting in a continuous downpour towards the nest, keeping the Centingers busy.
Grehha was now downstream, positioned right behind the Centingers. He sent an Empyrean Incubator floating forward, controlling it like his Spirit Weapon, subtle in its approach.
It soon entered the sensory range of the Centingers but wasn't registered in their senses, simply because they couldn't focus on their detection means and instead were using all their Prana to unleash artillery strikes.
The bone spikes were so numerous that for the time being, only when all Centingers in the colony unleashed an artillery strike was it possible to counter them. Grehha had unleashed it after calculation.
Well, it wasn't as if he himself calculated how many spikes were unleashed in a Centinger's artillery strike. It was present in the data given to everyone by Raaha. The one who verified it first was Yennda, having endured the artillery strike with his face and confirmed the numbers.
Grehha simply made plans accordingly and kept them engaged. As his Empyrean Incubator was pretty much an egg itself, it wasn't registered as a threat in the senses of the Centingers even if they managed to notice it. Besides, it was only at the edge of their range and floated aimlessly in the region, carried by the undercurrents.
Suddenly, a massive boulder headed their way, weighing many tonnes, and covered by a small layer of bone. Upon seeing it, the Centingers became restless as they pooled their strength together and exerted themselves. A stream of spikes slammed into the boulder, gradually chipping it away.
Now, they no longer had the attention span to focus on the eggs, creating a few seconds of window. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Empyrean Incubator rapidly closed the distance and swallowed all the eggs.
It was a bubble, so all it needed to do was press itself on the eggs and cause the latter to enter it. the effects of Internal Inertial Gravity filled its interior, ensuring the eggs weren't harmed as the Empyrean Incubator did its thing and kept them safe.
With a tug from his psychokinesis, the Empyrean Incubator flew towards Grehha. He quickly brought the eggs within the Empyrean Incubator covering him and then reduced the density within.
As a result, due to the effects of buoyancy, the Empyrean Incubator accelerated towards the river's surface. Grehha then ran like a hamster in its wheel, using his muscular force to rotate the Empyrean Incubator once it reached the surface and remained like a boat.
The Empyrean Incubator rotated and sped forward as a result, allowing Grehha to reach the shore. He could have arrived faster if he used his psychokinesis to rotate the Empyrean Incubator, but Grehha was almost spent with the earlier attack. Hence, he saved the remaining Prana to ensure the eggs were kept safe in the Empyrean Incubator.
Carrying his large haul, Grehha sprinted towards the Mammoth Clan, sensing Prana broil from the Red-Draft River as Centingers surfaced one after another, managing to detect his existence.
They rushed at him, realising that he was the thief who stole their eggs.
"Save me!" Grehha shouted as he rushed past an Empyrean Tusk, making his way to the tent.
The eyes of the Empyrean Tusk shot open at his shout as it stared at the large number of Centinger eggs in Grehha's possession. Upon noticing a Millinger egg there, it displayed unconcealed pride.
A vortex formed as air was sucked into its trunk. The Empyrean Tusk then pointed it at the rushing Centingers, for a moment observing the artillery strike they had launched. Without batting an eye, it exhaled casually, unleashing a tornado.
The Centinger colony was sent flying for dozens of kilometres and plopped into the Red-Draft River, their conditions unknown. But judging by the large pools of blood reaching the surface shortly after, majority of them died to the attack.
After the attack, the Empyrean Tusk closed its eyes and resumed its nap.