"Empyrean Tusks squirm in fear the moment they sense my existence." The Boar King said as he clapped twice and destroyed another volley of sand serpents headed his way, "And when they retaliate, they use their everything right from the start, already resigned to their deaths."
"So, you guys do the same. It won't be fun otherwise." The Boar King landed on the sand and kicked off, breaking the sonic barrier to slam into the back of an Empyrean Snapper's neck, "Give your everything while being prepared to die."
"It's an insult to me otherwise."
Water, wind, and sand moved in from the surroundings, converging upon the Boar King in an effort to constrict him and crush him with sheer pressure. Various Spirit Pools on the Empyrean Snapper's back mountain flowed out and combined to become a volatile substance, resulting in a thunderous explosion.
The forming cocoon of water, sand, and air shattered from the explosion, revealing the Boar King's figure that sported a small scratch on his index finger. He stared at the injury and licked it once, watching it heal instantly, "That was a decent hit."
He stared at the face of the Empyrean Snapper that now expressed fear, commenting casually, "You must be one of the weaker ones among your kind. The two Empyrean Snappers that I hunted in the past were able to injure me even when I was at the 3-Life Stage."
Boom!
As he continued to comment, the head of an Empyrean Snapper, covered by a layer of hardened rock slammed into him like the tip of a whip, sending him flying for a kilometre.
"That's enough," A heavenly voice echoed throughout the region as an Empyrean Snapper swam out of the storm, hovering before the group of 28 Empyrean Snappers. Standing on its back while emitting the strongest presence among Cooter Clansmen, on a level superior to the Empyrean Snappers was the Cooter Clan Chief, Geugeu.
"You shouldn't bully the young…" He was just talking when the layer of stone covering the 1st Empyrean Snapper's head crumbled, stunning everyone.
"Hahaha!" The Boar King paddled through the water and observed a small crack in his ribs, grinning as he stared at Geugeu and the 1st Empyrean Snapper, "So, the strongest of the Cooter Clan has arrived. No wonder I felt that hit."
"We needn't fight if you return Wittral." Geugeu tried his best to stay calm, "Please know that the entire Cooter Clan will be forced to take action if he isn't returned."
"I don't have him." The Boar King shrugged, "I never had him."
"Is that so?" Geugeu closed his eyes as veins popped on his forehead. He tried his best to control his anger, for he was facing the strongest existence in Sumatra. But seeing the Boar King act ignorant pissed him off.
All Settlement Leaders had gotten their hands on the information where Wittral cried for help. After the old man learnt about it, he used the Water Slip Skill to make multiple copies of the information and fed it to everyone of importance, making them aware of the situation at hand.
Geugeu had seen Wittral's wounded state through the point of view recorded in the Water Slip. The Boar King there was seated on the sand dune in the same pose made by the Boar King now when the 28 Settlement Leaders came to face him.
There was blatant evidence in their possession. But for some reason, the Boar King denied everything.
'He's playing us for the fool!' Geugeu inhaled and exhaled with force, trying his best to rein in his impulse. After all, he couldn't see Wittral anywhere. Their goal was to bring Wittral back to safety and not duke it out with the Boar King.
'I shouldn't lose sight of our goal.' Geugeu thought as he watched the Boar King swim towards them faster, cupping his hands in respect, "If what you're saying is true, can you help us find him?"
"Is the Cooter Clan so useless that you can't even track your missing Deity?" The Boar King snorted in disdain, "Seems you guys are just useless."
"Enough!" Geugeu roared as a thundercloud formed behind him, rumbling for a moment before unleashing a thick bolt of lightning towards the Boar King, "You're going overboard!"
"Took you long enough to be ready for a battle." The Boar King grinned as twelve shockwave layers formed around him and deflected the bolt of lightning. He slapped the water surface and generated a tsunami that slammed into the Empyrean Snappers, for a moment forcing them to use their Primary Natures on defence.
Using the chance, he leapt past them, trailing right above their Spirit Weapon range, blasted a bunch of water serpents heading his way and landed on the desert island. Cracking his stiff neck, he grinned and charged at the Empyrean Snappers.
Merely by stacking twelve Iron Grade Natures, the Boar King didn't face any disadvantage in the fight. He did take a few hits from the stronger Empyrean Snappers, but the damage wasn't anything his Prana couldn't heal in a fraction of a second.
As they fought, the Empyrean Snappers began to unleash stronger attacks, gradually getting the Boar King excited, 'Why didn't I fight them before? This is very fun!'
Unlike against the Mammoth Clan where he was guided by hatred, his fight against the Cooter Clan was exhilarating. The Boar King didn't go in for the kill and simply beat up the Empyrean Snappers, beginning to laugh along the way.
Suddenly, there was a reaction from his Prana as a butterfly flew out of him and turned into a flash of light to head in a certain direction. After travelling for a hundred metres, it dissipated.
'So, you're that way.' The Boar King smirked and continued to fight. When he touched the familiar figure, he used an ability to record the latter's Prana signature.
And now, the Prana Shocks he was releasing repeatedly acted like a radar to echo through long distances, searching for the familiar figure's traces left behind by his Prana. When they came into contact with his traces, a response was relayed back to him, causing the ability to react and generate a butterfly that pointed in the respective direction.
This was why the Boar King loved to use Prana Shock, the Primary Nature of Shock Lizards. When stacked many times, they became extremely effective and versatile, allowing him to mesh different abilities in them for a variety of purposes.
In the direction pointed at by the butterfly, situated eighty kilometres away, hidden behind a rock on the shores of an island was another Brangara puppet. Upon feeling the mild waves generated by the Prana Shock, the bodies of the Empyrean Zingers within trembled in response as their Secondary Natures reacted.
The Brangara puppet took out a Sumatra Zinger, encased one of the Empyrean Zinger Scouts—within the puppet's lungs—in it and loaded it into the gun. Aiming at the sky, the puppet shot the Prana Bomb, causing it to reach an altitude of two kilometres.
The Prana Bomb shattered to reveal the Empyrean Zinger Scout that spread its wings wide and glided towards Roit Island, making a screech when it was in range.
[The Boar King has a means to detect the Brangara puppet. We fear he can locate you, Inala!]
"Ah, shit," Inala sighed as he put down his Spirit Weapons, taking a couple of seconds to calm down, 'As I feared, he has the means to narrow down my location. I can at most fool him with the Brangara puppet for two or three more times before he figures out the truth.'
"Party is over. We're bolting out of the Dralh Sea for the time being." Saying so, he began to pack everything. He then stared at the Empyrean Zinger Scout that had brought in the message and addressed it, "Buy time with the Brangara puppet."
He encased it in a Prana Bomb, loaded it in the Sumatra Canon and shot it back. For a moment, Inala stared at the Free Humans on Roit Island, clicking his tongue, 'What a waste!'
There were less than thirty people left with a Spirit Container. He couldn't make a clean sweep, but he dared not stay long enough to finish the work, 'At the first sign of risk, flee to refine plans for the future.'
A moment's hesitation would collapse everything he worked hard for. "We're running away, now!"