"This is the worst-case scenario." Hidden next to the ruins of a broken monolith, Rhanalla's body trembled in fright. Originally, the Boar King only terrified her. Every time he was in range, her Primary Nature screamed at her to flee far away from him.
But once he became the Celestial Boar, Rhanalla felt through her Primary Nature one thing: Don't even think about facing him!
This was why every single Empyrean Tusk in the Attributed Region was warning the rest to run away, for they could instinctively feel that the Boar King was becoming more and more terrifying.
It had been a mere two thousand years since the appearance of the Boar King. But in that short duration, the Empyrean Tusks living on Sumatra had evolved to instinctively fear him. This fear existed so that they wouldn't be foolish in trying to face him and instead would flee the moment they sensed him.
Even after Rhanalla obtained the Secondary Nature of Kinesis Lantern Deity, one that allowed her to transform her Empyrean Tusk form into a humanoid version with greater defense, offense, and mobility, she had zero confidence in facing the Boar King. This was fear originating from the genetic level.
Hence, even though she could have joined the fight, considering how she was already in Layer 1, Rhanalla refrained from doing so, considering her job to be done the moment she watched Inala enter the centre of the Attributed Region.
'He's leaving.' She suppressed her presence to the limit and peeked from behind the broken monolith to stare at the figure of Brangara entering a flight of stairs to leave the Attributed Region. Only then could she relax.
A few seconds later, she exited her hiding position and observed the rest of the Empyrean Tusks reveal themselves one after another, following which they rushed towards her.
"Why? Why has he grown even more scary?" Trulla cried in fright, "Let's run away!"
"We don't occupy much space in our human forms. Let's take this chance to leave Sumatra." Wrunnala wasn't joking around, her expression staunch, "This is no longer a place where we can survive."
"Don't move!" Followed by a cold shout, a golden feline appeared behind Rhanalla. One after another, six golden flashes condensed to form golden felines that surrounded the group of Empyrean Tusks.
Standing far away was the figure of Boul Brimgan, his expression fierce as he stared at the group, "Reveal your identities…"
"Retract your felines." Raaha grabbed Boul Brimgan's hand, clenching hard, "They are my people."
"This isn't the time to be fighting each other."
"Empyrean Tusks?" Boul Brimgan frowned as he detected the presence of the group of women standing a few kilometres away from him. He glared at Raaha, "Were you behind the disappearance of a hundred of my Kingdom's Royals?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Raaha said as Prana began to emanate from his body, "Why don't we calm down first? We need to figure out a way to face the Boar King."
"Face him? How?" Geugeu was seated on the floor, pretty exhausted, "Even when he was ill-prepared to face us, we failed to kill him. And now, he's evolved to become an absolute existence. Even if he remains at the Body Stage, we're no longer his opponents."
"My Cooter Clan doesn't wish to be annihilated needlessly. If necessary, we'll submit to the Boar King's rule." Geugeu raised his hands in surrender, "There…is no other choice."
"Coward!" Both Raaha and Boul Brimgan cursed simultaneously, following which they glared at each other.
"I'm facing reality, unlike grandeurs of delusion the both of you harbour." Geugeu glared in response as Prana flared out of his body, ready to fight.
As the trio glared at each other, the ceiling collapsed. Once the Attributed Region began to collapse, the layer of earth above it fractured and started to cave in. It was because when the Bolts of Transcendence slammed into the Attributed Region, they first poked through the layer of earth above it.
As a result, the landmass in the region was riddled with holes, which caused cracks to form once the pillars—the walls of the Attributed Region—propping them up collapsed. And now, large pieces of earth began to fall.
It was unknown if the Attributed Region would ever recover. Considering it was made from water, there was a possibility it would regain its function in the future. But at present, there was no hope, for Brangara consumed a good portion of the Attribute's influence in it. Inala too had done the same, albeit the portion he consumed was smaller than Brangara.
'Time to leave!' Raaha thought as his figure flickered to evade a massive block of earth that collapsed upon his area. He used it as a chance to flee, communicating with the Empyrean Tusks along the way as the group made their escape.
"Boul!" Harla Brimgan shouted in sadness as she approached him, hugging him as she shed tears.
"Mother! What happened?" Boul Brimgan asked in alarm, having never seen his mother in such a pitiful state.
"Your father…is dead." Harla Brimgan wheezed in sadness, barely managing to gather enough strength to utter, "The Boar King killed him."
"I see," Boul Brimgan said as he patted her back and stared at the group that joined with her once the walls of the Attributed Region began collapsing. "Let's leave first."
The Attributed Creatures streamed towards the centre, instinctively moving to clutter in one place. As they moved, the dense water originating from the collapsed walls followed them.
The group erected a wave of influence resembling the Attribute, using which they drew the dense water along with them and gathered in the centre, erecting a dome first. They intended to condense a smaller Attributed Region first and keep it functional.
Following that, they would gradually recover the rest of the region over time, drawing in water from all across the region, for the Attributed Region was situated in a location where multiple channels of water streamed in.
'We have suffered disastrous losses this time.' Boul Brimgan thought as he led his group of Free Humans to the surface, using the stairs of Path K to arrive at the entrance that had formed next to Varahan Mansion.
A nauseous stench of burning blood and melting corpses slammed into his olfactory senses as Boul Brimgan stared around, observing that everywhere his gaze was cast upon, only death greeted him.
His expression was placid, but his eyes were beet red, as blood had rushed to the spot at a greater concentration than usual.
"Son…" Harla Brimgan called out to him, only to see Boul Brimgan not react to her voice. Instead, he walked along the street, slow in his pace, moving about like a normal guy without any trace of power. He took in the scenes of devastation, etching everything in his mind.
"As long as I am alive, I'll never forget this." He muttered as the Raid Team led by Bronsk Brimgan landed behind him. Slowly, Boul Brimgan turned around to stare at the group, "Tell the historians to note this event in great detail."
"Today is a historic day in which we Royals have grandly failed in our role. We're the pinnacle of incompetence."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Bronsk Brimgan kneeled in response, his emotions in a state of upheaval as reports of the death toll reached him.
34 million!
That was the death toll of the Brimgan Empire from the moment the Major Treasure of Attribute revealed itself. Even now, more and more Brimgan Empire's people were dying. After all, Pranic Beasts from the surrounding regions continued to invade the Empire whose defences were at an all-time low.
Brimgan Royals formed the pinnacle of their defensive force, being the threat that deterred the Gold Grade Pranic Beasts in the Brimgan Empire's surroundings. The Mammoth Clan killed more than a hundred of them, creating a vacuum of power.
Adding to that was Brandal Brimgan's death, a powerhouse whose mere presence thwarted even the strongest of Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
Virala in his Empyrean Tusk form failed to do anything against such an opponent. That was the proof of his strength. And now, that powerhouse was no more.
The vacuum of power left in the wake of his untimely death was tremendous. Had Brandal Brimgan been alive, the Brimgan Empire wouldn't have been devastated to such an extent. The Raid Team would have been more effective against the Boar King, since the core of their attack strategy revolved around Brandal Brimgan's abilities.
The Brimgan Empire's population was around 140 million. 24 percent of that died in the Second Major Disaster, with close to twenty percent killed by the Boar King alone.
"Mother, I'll be taking complete control of the Empire." Boul Brimgan said, his tone full of authority as he stared at the lava-
covered land filled with craters that stretched for kilometres without an end, "I'm changing Free Humans at a fundamental level."
"What will you be doing?" Harla Brimgan asked, expressing her resolve, "Whatever you plan to do, you have my full cooperation."
"Thank you, mother." Boul Brimgan said as he condensed a ship and carried everyone towards the palace, "I'm visiting our library. It's time we use everything at our disposal and not limit ourselves to records from recent times."
"Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Natures, Cultivation techniques, minerals, plus Minor Treasures." He muttered, "We're going to publicise our knowledge reserve and strengthen everyone at the foundational level."
"Moreover," Boul Brimgan glared at the entrance to the Attributed Region, "There are many Minor Treasures and valuable minerals inside. Since every other force has left, we can take our time farming them all."
"It's time the Brimgan Empire started to exert its foundation." Veins popped all over his face as he proclaimed, "I'll continue to grow stronger, using everything at my disposal. From these recent events, I've realised that there's plenty of room for growth for me. This isn't the end of my strength. I can grow stronger, and faster. I'll gain strength faster than everyone. And one day, once I become strong enough, I'll challenge the Boar King."
"And kill him!" His words boomed across the place as he made a beeline towards the Golden Giant, "Every single existence that dared to harm my home will pay the price for their arrogance!"
He stopped at the palace and addressed the distressed citizens mourning the loss of their beloved, "Effective henceforth, the Brimgan Empire will enter a state of war and will continue to fight until all our enemies,"
His voice increased in pitch to form a bellow that reverberated across the Brimgan Empire, amplified through the Major Treasure of Deity, "Are annihilated!"