?425 Orakha and Inala Ally
"Ugh!"
"Keuk!"
"Gah!"
The raid teams from the Brimgan Empire screamed in burden as the Boar King's presence slammed into them. Most of them lost control of their Spirit Weapon, losing control of their Prana.
The Spirit Containers of the weaker ones cracked in response, causing them to lose too much Prana. The Brimgan Royalty hurriedly protected their people, cursing the Boar King as a wave of Pranic Beasts rushed at them.
During the chaos, none were able to pay attention to the spot where the Parute Tree King was. Large Prana Bombs appeared suddenly before shrinking as Inala swallowed them.
Everything that existed in the place, from the boulder Blola had taken root upon to the Prana Bomb Sphere, not to mention the soil whose nutrients Blola had sucked, everything was transferred into his stomach biome.
As long as he leaves any evidence behind, the Brimgan Empire would be able to trace them to him. The possibility existed. Hence, he was taking caution.
He was deep underground, using an Empyrean Zinger as a Spirit Weapon to peer outside and observe what was happening. By relying on its senses, he sent a string of Prana outside, making it grab onto and drag in all the Prana Bombs shot by the Empyrean Zingers that protected the Prana Bomb Sphere during his fight with Blola.
The Brimgan Prince that had targeted him before was busy fighting a Gold Grade Pranic Beast. As he was at the 3-Life Stage now, he was having a harder time.
"Did you kill Blola?" Suddenly, a voice resounded from behind him as Inala turned around in a hurry and almost punched the latter. "It's me."
Coiled around by a group of Mystic Eaters was the figure of Orakha, slowly revealing himself as he drilled into the cave Inala was at, "I had been waiting for an opportunity to make some Pranic Beasts attack him when I noticed your Zinger army. Is he dead?"
"Yes," Inala nodded, watching Orakha stare at him in surprise. "Is it that surprising?"
"Yeah," Orakha nodded, "Blola is freakily strong though."
"Aren't you stronger?" Inala stared at the latter while continuing to collect the stray Prana Bombs. His gaze was serious as he said, "I know your abilities clearly. You're able to kill him a tad faster than me."
"Not like I have the opportunity to do so." Orakha shook his head, "I'm under the Transcendent Eater's control. Had he realised I was in the vicinity, he could have commanded me to fight you."
"You would have been forced to fight the both of us in that case." Orakha smiled wryly.
"Isn't that why you retreated far away once you noticed my Zinger army?" Inala chuckled, "That's why I sealed Blola first in my Prana Bomb, so that he didn't have the chance to notice you."
"Do you want to erase all traces of your battle here?" Orakha asked next upon seeing what Inala was attempting. Seeing the latter nod, he offered assistance, "I can take care of it in a jiffy."
Saying so, he unleashed a bunch of Mystic Eaters that stealthily jutted out of the ground and gobbled up the Prana Bombs. As they digested the Prana Bombs, they gained a large quantity of Prana, using which they could multiply and strengthen themselves.
In a matter of seconds, all traces that Inala had left on the battlefield were gone.
"Argh!" Suddenly, a man at the rear of the raid team screamed as his figure vanished. In a fraction of a second, a Mystic Eater jutted out of the ground, gobbled him up, and retreated into the ground.
He wasn't alone as a bunch of others were gobbled up similarly. Even when those nearby attacked the Mystic Eaters, with the volume of Prana gained by devouring the Prana Bombs, they could easily repair themselves.
The Mystic Eaters coiled their bodies upon arriving underground and crushed the captured people into a paste. Soon, one of the Mystic Eaters entered the underground cave that Inala had created, spitting a bunch of Spirit Weapons before Orakha.
"Why did you target them suddenly?" Inala asked.
"They're my business competitors." Orakha smiled as he picked up the Spirit Weapons and observed them. A Mystic Eater jutted out of his body and devoured them all, assimilating the minerals into his Human Avatar. A couple seconds later, he spat most of them out, "They're mostly trash."
"So that was your main purpose." Inala nodded, "You want to monopolise the resource collection market."
"That is impossible, but I want to do everything to increase my share in the market." Orakha said, "I promised the Chief to earn enough to compensate a year's budget of the Mammoth Clan. There's still a lot left to reach that point."
"Let's return now." Inala said upon inspecting the place and ensuring that there wasn't anything left behind that the Brimgan Empire could use to narrow him down as the culprit, "Virala arrived here."
"Hmm…" Orakha nodded, not giving too much of a reaction.
"He can take refuge in the Nature Slots of others. That's his power." Inala said, noticing Orakha's shock, "Yeah, anyone other than us can become his victim. So, we need to be careful. But most of all,"
"Gannala only has two Natures."
"Shit!" Orakha shouted in shock, "What if he targets her?"
"Why are you still dallying about here?" He cursed in response.
"I can't leave any traces here, even if I'm in a hurry." Inala sighed as he spat out a group of Empyrean Zingers who began to drill a way forward, "Everything will be for naught once they discover me. Besides, Asaeya is there to protect Gannala. So, even though I'm in a hurry, I can't do anything reckless that will mess up my plans."
"You're also here," Inala said, "Your Mystic Eater should be able to sense Virala if he's hiding in the Nature Slot of someone."
"Are you sure my Mystic Eaters can detect him?" Orakha asked in confusion, as he didn't know what exactly was Virala capable of.
"Yes," Inala nodded as he threw a Bone Slip towards Orakha. He knew Orakha's capabilities best.
After accessing Blola's data, he could conclude that Orakha's Mystic Eater would be able to sense Virala even if he were hiding in someone's Nature slot, 'That's why I waited for him to approach me. Otherwise, even if I were to return and find Virala occupying Gannala's Nature Slot, I don't have any methods to wring him out.'
'But he does.' Inala flashed a smile towards Orakha. 'Not just his Mystic Eaters. His Human Avatar can selectively target Virala without harming Gannala in the slightest.'