"Little Wittral, you've become brave."
Hearing the Boar King's words, Wittral retorted without any hesitation, "Why should I fear someone who can kill me with a single punch?"
The Boar King blinked and questioned reality for a moment. Following that, he felt Wittral made sense, "Well, I am indeed too strong for the likes of you to wrap your head around. Indeed, you make some sense."
"I'll feel a bit proud if the Cooter Clan labels you as their number one enemy. It means they aren't cowards. But I fear it won't happen." Wittral sighed and explained the reason for his request, "I have been replaced."
"Replaced?" The Boar King asked, "Is a new Empyrean Snapper being birthed?"
"Yes," Wittral nodded, "Before my parents die, they plan to birth my sibling, another Empyrean Snapper born without genetic defects. Based on what I heard, it's going well."
"So, even if you kill me, the Cooter Clan wouldn't come at you with the intent to kill, since my value has dropped now." Wittral sighed, "It's especially since the Clan thinks I haven't recovered my power."
"I just hope they realise their foolishness before I leave this place for good." He bowed in respect, "I want them to know that by focusing on long-term goals, they have lost sight of their immediate future."
"Basically, even if I put on a show of killing you, the Cooter Clan wouldn't annoy me in the future. That's what you want to say, right?" The Boar King asked.
"I'll simply be the third Empyrean Snapper you have killed, nothing more, nothing less." Wittral nodded.
"That's fine with me." The Boar King shrugged, "The Cooter Clan is too afraid to leave their water domain anyway. As a being on land, I won't have a headache due to them."
'And if I'm bored, I can enter a water domain and play around with them.' He grinned at the thought.
"Yes, that's why I made such a request to you." Wittral thanked, letting out a smile in relief.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Loud sounds came from the door as Taltal began to bombard it with attacks, launching a distress signal upon seeing the door remain sturdy.
'This doesn't make sense.' Taltal thought in worry as she condensed a gigantic fist of mist and attacked the door. The object that should have shattered into bits by her attack remained standing, sporting naught a dent.
At her distress signal, Cooter Clansmen began to gather one after another. In a matter of seconds, Geugeu arrived, standing on a thundercloud that he had created. He stared at the house and unleashed a bolt of lightning, poking in a hole to notice a thick Prana Bomb layer covering the insides.
Once the ceiling collapsed, he noticed the Boar King in the living room, having slung a bag on his shoulder. And held in his hand on either side were Amita Brimgan and Wittral respectively, struggling, launching weak attacks with their pitiful Prana reserves.
Their attacks were so weak that they failed to ruffle even the Boar King's hair as the latter calmly stared up and flashed a smile, "Idiots."
'Prana? Wittral has Prana!' Geugeu's attention fell on the weak attacks launched by Wittral. Though it was very weak, he judged that the quality of Subtle Terrain Domination used by Wittral—with respect to the expended Prana—was superior to before. 'He has grown stronger.'
His attitude towards Wittral took an instant shift, treating him as the top priority of the Cooter Clan once again, actually valuing him a tad higher than before. After all, Wittral was stronger now. Judging by what his Prana sense could feel, Wittral now had a Secondary Nature.
'He's not only recovered his strength but has Mutated!' Geugeu became excited as he jumped through the collapsed ceiling and landed a couple metres before the Boar King, cupping his fists in respect, "I greet the Boar King. Can I take custody of my people…"
"Puhahahaha!" The Boar King broke into laughter, unable to believe his ears, "You guys are a riot!"
'I simply wanted to do what Little Wittral had asked, but now I'm irritated.' The Boar King stared at Geugeu, 'Though I have mocked him, he would rather bow in submission than fight to retrieve the Empyrean Snapper that will become the strongest of its kind in the future. Such meekness is pathetic.'
"The Cooter Clan isn't fit to claim themselves on par with the Mammoth Clan." The Boar King snorted as intense ripples radiated out of him, destroying the house and everything in its wave. "No matter how weak they are, the Mammoth Clan always fights me with their lives on the line."
Astral Chart—Prana Shock X2!
Geugeu hurriedly erected a cloudy barrier and cushioned the blow, protecting the Cooter Clansmen that had gathered in the region. But a moment later, the shockwaves increased in number and intensity, sending everyone skidding farther away.
In the large area that had been opened up, standing amidst a cloud of dust was the Empyrean Boar King, in its Pranic Beast form. Casually thrown into its mouth were the resisting figures of Amita Brimgan and Wittral.
A chomp later, there was a mild splash of blood on the Empyrean Boar King's teeth. The Empyrean Snapper that had overcome all odds to recover from a state lacking a Spirit Container to gaining a Secondary Nature, the Cooter Clan's most promising Deity, was no more.
Wittral was dead, crushed under the Boar King's jaws and devoured.
Many Cooter Clan masters observed that Wittral had not only recovered his strength but also gained a Secondary Nature. They hadn't even finished processing the details of the bright future a Mutated Empyrean Snapper would bring when that line of thought had been brutally crushed by the Boar King.
Geugeu's expression collapsed, having switched from euphoria to despair. From when he learnt of Wittral's Mutation to seeing the latter die, only a few seconds had spanned. The contrast of emotional switch was too much, causing Geugeu to give in to rage.
"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOUUU!" Geugeu roared as lightning bolts rained down like a torrent, targeting the Boar King without mercy.
"Now we're talking!" The Boar King laughed in excitement, "A fight is fun only when you're desperate."
Astral Chart—Mud Ball X6!
The Empyrean Boar King opened its mouth and shot a hill-sized Mud Ball that received the rain of lightning, easily blocking them. Followed by a leap, the Empyrean Boar King landed in the Dralh Sea and began to swim, activating a couple of useful Natures it gained from the Pranic Beasts living there in the past few months.
Immediately in response, its figure shot forth in speed, swimming through the sea waters at a competent pace.
"Don't allow him to flee!" Geugeu roared in anger as all 38 Empyrean Snappers situated in the Abyss Ring made a move, completely ignoring the Phells that continued to invade from the Abyss Fall.
Even if the ecosystem of the Dralh Sea were to completely collapse as a result of the Phells, they didn't care for the moment, intending to exact revenge on the Boar King.
It was a consequence of their own choices, but they were too proud to admit it. Besides, the one who killed Wittral was the Boar King at the end of the day. Hence, they were justified in their revenge.
Even when Wittral was kidnapped originally, only 29 Empyrean Snappers made a move, leaving behind the bare minimum to keep the Abyss Fall under control. But now, they gave up everything and chased after the Boar King.
Lightning bolts rained down from the sky, targeting the Empyrean Boar King that evaded the attacks while shooting Mud Balls when it couldn't dodge on time.
A cyclone formed in the Dralh Sea, generated by the island-sized Empyrean Snappers, launching a hailstorm of fire by absorbing all the heat in the boiling water.
'This is…oil?' The Boar King thought upon seeing a murky black rain precede his location and cover the region. A moment later, his suspicion was confirmed when the Dralh Sea was set on fire by the subsequent hailstorm of fire.
It was indeed oil. Moreover, it didn't end at that as the Empyrean Snappers combined their powers to prematurely begin the Death Hour, causing the sea of flames to grow in response, turning the Dralh Sea into a body of fire.
Once the Empyrean Snappers left the Abyss Ring and chased after the Empyrean Boar King, surfacing out of the drainage channel connecting to the house where Inala and Wittral had stayed was a Prana Bomb, situated at a depth of four hundred metres.
It gradually surfaced as a bunch of holes appeared on its surface, sucking in a large volume of air. Following that, a gentle thrust was generated, causing the Prana Bomb to sail forward. Once it was far away from the Abyss Ring, the Prana Bomb morphed in shape to resemble a boat, revealing a couple dozen Empyrean Zingers in miniature forms, led by the Empyrean Zinger King.
They paddled the boat while keeping watch on their surroundings, ensuring they weren't spotted by the Cooter Clansmen.
Using the chaos created by the Boar King, they gradually arrived at Roit Island and slipped into the mine, taking refuge at a deep enough spot. There were fifteen thousand Free Humans on Roit Island, all of whom had been roped into the Quip Tribe.
Lacking Spirit Containers, they were living in an extreme state. The Empyrean Zinger King planned to take care of them and nurture them, so that one day, they would attain Clansmen status.
The first Empyrean Zinger King was at the Sanrey Plains, while the second one was at the Dralh Sea, both with the same intention, which was to develop their respective Quip Tribes.
The chase was relentless as the Empyrean Boar King rushed through a sea of flame and eventually arrived at the Guna Caves. "See you later, suckers!"
The Empyrean Boar King jumped deeper into the Guna Caves after insulting the group of Empyrean Snappers hot on its trail. Once it had fallen deep enough in a tunnel, it spat out the figures of Inala and Wittral. Reverting to human form, the Boar King grabbed them and commented in laughter, "That was fun."
"I want to go for round two now."
Volume 3: Cooter Clan Immortals—The End!
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