"Man, you're getting annoying now." The Boar King said as he grabbed hold of the familiar figure at the entrance to Guna Caves, "Did you seriously plan to throw me into this place?"
"That was my plan, but it seems to have failed," The familiar figure smiled wryly, "Thankfully, I bought enough time once again…"
"Are you screwing with me?" The Boar King snorted and flicked the latter's forehead, "It has only been eighteen hours since then. Your Daily Checkpoint shouldn't be back up yet."
"As expected of you, big brother. You know your stuff. But," The familiar figure laughed as his eyes turned dull all of a sudden, "What makes you think this is my actual body?"
"I have been saying this from the start. This is merely a clone."
"What the fuck…" The Boar King cursed in response to see the familiar figure become a speck of grain once again. He was damn irritated now, growling in anger.
"This should be enough." The Boar King stared at the three specks of grains he had collected, with each weighing around eighty to ninety kilograms. Prana surged into it as he unleashed multiple waves of Prana Shock.
The three specks of grains began to spin on his palm before soon, there was an intense prickling sensation on his index finger, pointing him in a certain direction.
Boom! Kaboom!
A thunderstorm was approaching him; the Boar King clicked his tongue in irritation, "They are relentless."
He kicked the ground and leaped into the Dralh Sea, beginning to swim at his top speed to quickly reach Leh Island, where the source of the presence reacting to his ability was.
…
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" The Boar King asked, feeling that the woman before him seemed a bit familiar, 'I haven't been here in ages. It doesn't seem likely I know someone this young.'
He observed the three specks of dust in his possession, watching them point at the woman, 'That bastard is a woman?'
Actually, no matter how much Inala refined a different Prana signature, they could still be traced back to their roots. He wasn't sure if it was possible, but the Boar King had a plethora of abilities. Therefore, he took action with that thought in mind. And it seemed he was right on the money.
The Boar King actually figured out that the three Brangara puppets were Inala. It was why he managed to detect Inala's presence and arrived at Leh Island.
The two cups on the altar before Inala were his preparation in case the Boar King couldn't find Inala. There was one more preparation laid down on the shore of Leh Island. Preparing for as many variables increased the guarantee of success.
Thankfully, the Boar King's actions aligned with Inala's first method.
"P-Please spare me," Inala trembled in fear, stammering incoherently, "I…I don't know anything beyond what I told you about the Mudropper. W-Why have you kept me bound? I did everything you asked me to."
"Mudropper? You did everything I asked you to?" The Boar King tilted his head for a moment before realising what was up, 'This isn't the Empyrean Boar I was chasing.'
He stared at the altar of mud and focused on the two cups there. The first cup radiated an Empyrean Snapper's presence. The Boar King observed the bound figure of Wittral and understood what was happening, 'So, this is the one the Cooter Clan is searching for. His presence is slowly radiating out of this cup. It's not much, but since the Empyrean Snappers are right behind me, they would have sensed it by now.'
His attention then fell on the second cup, sensing the familiar figure's presence from it, 'Was this meant to lure me here?'
He observed it and diverted his gaze to Inala, "Tell me the truth. Why am I sensing your Prana signature from this?"
"I…made it," Inala screeched in despair, "Y-You told me to make it. Please, spare me. I can't put up with it anymore! I only wish to live!"
"Shut up for a second." The Boar King unleashed a tinge of his presence and observed the woman fall unconscious in response. He frowned and touched her, placing his index finger under her nostrils, 'There's a very faint trace of her presence from her exhales.'
He placed his hand on Inala's chest and seeped his Prana inside, failing to sense a Spirit Container, 'Her Spirit Container has been stolen.'
He let go of Inala and focused on Wittral, 'His Spirit Container too has been stolen.'
The Boar King finally focused on the Bone Slip placed next to the two cups. He accessed it and heard the familiar annoying voice in his mind.
[Do you love being fooled so much? Man, you're something else.]
'This fucker!' The Boar King felt a headache. But since he had too many questions, he decided to finish accessing all the information in the Bone Slip first before planning his next action.
[I told you twice that the one you're chasing is merely a clone. Why would I waste a Daily Checkpoint when my life isn't at risk? I'm not at the Dralh Sea anymore. Anyway, I feel bad taking advantage of you like this, so I'll explain myself…well, truth be told, you'll feel more like a fool when you hear this, haha! I merely want to make you experience being a fool.]
"This guy loves to talk." The Boar King commented and calmed his riling emotions, unwilling to be led on by a pipsqueak from his race.
[If you haven't figured it out already, the captive man before you is the Cooter Clan's first Empyrean Snapper born without defects. He's basically their hope for a brighter future. I captured him because his Spirit Container is very useful for my purpose.]
'I knew that already.' The Boar King clicked his tongue in annoyance, wondering when the familiar figure would get to the point.
[The woman is called Amita Brimgan. I found her in the Sanrey Plains when I came searching for the Mudropper. I was surprised to see a Free Human revering a Pranic Beast, especially the Mudropper. I don't know what all the Mudropper taught her, but it created a cultivation technique for her, using which she can steal and store various Prana in her body. It's similar to the Zingers but slightly more advanced, at the Silver Grade.]
The Boar King eyed Inala and the cup with the familiar figure's presence, alternating between the two as he basically figured out what had happened. The convo next basically confirmed his thoughts.
[I forced her to absorb my Prana and used her abilities to build the clones that confronted you. That's why they were batshit weak. If you were wondering if I wasted Internal Inertial Gravity to flee from you, knock some sense into your head. Why would I do something as wasteful as that? My Prana was simply emulating their effect. None of my clones has enough energy to continue functioning for more than a day.]
[Anyway, coming to the main point that I wanted to address. I'm on the verge of figuring out a concrete path to the Mystic Grade. The Spirit Containers of the two people before you, the Mudropper, and a bunch of creatures are necessary for that. I'm not strong enough to face the repercussions of my actions, so I'm shifting the blame to you. No one else on Sumatra has the balls to do what I do without being the Boar King. So everyone will accept you as the culprit.]
[By the way, the one that boned your ass in the Sanrey Plains was me. And now, let's see how you'll face the Cooter Clan. Whether you kill Wittral or return him to the Cooter Clan is up to you. Hopefully, I have bought enough time for them to catch up to you. Anyway, happy headaches!]
"Haaah!" The Boar King exhaled, absolutely irritated as he observed the layer of earth above him move up suddenly, following which, the heads of twenty-plus Empyrean Snappers peeked in. They had lifted the entire island to peek in and glare at the Boar King.