"I looked away for an instant when the baby disappeared. I swear I'm not lying!" A woman trembled in fear as she was held the neck up by an angry Virala.
"I gave you one job!" He grunted as a tail jutted out of his back and stabbed the stamp growing on its end on the forehead of the woman, causing her to spasm erratically before tangible data appeared around her.
Virala used a Spirit Container cluster to absorb the data and swallowed it, processing the information within it in a matter of seconds, 'There are no traces in her memories!'
The woman had only looked away for an instant before Ruvva disappeared from her vision. Only one could do that, someone with his old set of abilities and armed with the Mystic Nature Weapon of Tunnel, "Gannala!"
Transforming into a Mystic Ewworm, Virala plunged into the ground and drilled multiple paths underneath the house, soon noticing a faint trace that could only be left behind by the Nature Weapon of Tunnel.
'No, the traces are even more minimal than what I could use. Does she also have the power of Subtle Terrain Domination?' Virala was stunned upon confirming that it was Gannala who had stolen his daughter. 'She's making great strides using my power.'
"But you've committed a mistake by taking something that's mine." His eyes glinted in anger as Virala left the place after absorbing all the information in the mind space of the people living in the region, able to further collate his observations through their memories.
As he travelled, Virala stumbled upon an underground tunnel layered by Mystic Eaers in the hundreds of thousands, littering the place.
A Mystic Eater coiled itself to form a circle by biting upon the end of its tail. Two more Mystic Eaters traversed its centre, like a spoke. The stomach sections coiled around a box, keeping it stable since the two Mystic Eaters forming the spokes were positioned perpendicularly to each other.
The Mystic Eater assuming the shape of a wheel rolled forward, traversing across the tunnel. From time to time, the tails of the Mystic Eaters layering the tunnel slammed into it, giving it momentum.
Thousands of wheels rolled through the tunnel. This was the method Orakha was using to rapidly transport a large volume of goods out of the Brimgan Empire, 'This must be the wealth he had promised Raaha to accumulate in the Brimgan Empire.
Currently at the border of the Brimgan Empire, at the collapsed section of the Lotus Range, the Brimgan Empire and Cooter Clansmen were in a standoff. Representing both sides were Boul Brimgan and Geugeu respectively.
"The Attributed Region is situated within the Brimgan Empire's territory. So, leave!" Boul Brimgan announced the 38 Empyrean Snapper who glared at him from their delta formation.
"All I'm asking for is a share of resources present in the Attributed Region." Geugeu snorted at Boul Brimgan's arrogant tone, "The current Brimgan Empire doesn't have the means to hog the Attributed Region for itself."
"Who says otherwise?" Boul Brimgan said from his vantage point on the peak of an intact section of the Lotus Range, glaring at the head of the 1st Empyrean Tusk that elongated to ensure Geugeu stood at an altitude slightly higher than Boul Brimgan.
It was a display of power and authority, intending to intimidate the Brimgan Empire.
'There's a lot of valuable minerals that I've seen along the way, not to mention more than a dozen Minor Treasure. No way I'm allowing the Brimgan Empire to profit alone.' Geugeu thought. This was his current objective, which was why he waited until the Empyrean Snappers arrived at the scene.
"Let's see…" Boul Brimgan coldly surveyed the Settlement Leaders of every single Settlement, "Mere Silver Grade strength and you retards dare face my Empire?"
He then glared at Geugeu, "You're the sole individual with Gold Grade strength at the Cooter Clan. I've seen your capabilities when you've faced the Boar King."
"You're not my match, Cooter Clan Chief."
"How dare you disrespect our Chief like that?" One of the Settlement Leaders bellowed in anger, only to shut up instantly at the release of Boul Brimgan's presence.
When he chased after Brangara, Boul Brimgan had just fused with the Major Treasure of Deity. So, he wasn't yet able to harness the entirety of its power. but the longer time passed, the faster he was able to raise his strength.
Had the current him faced the Boar King at the Attributed Region, he would have been able to hold back the latter long enough for Inala to kill the other body. And then, they could have easily ganged up on the remaining body to put an end to him for good.
In contrast, Geugeu's strength remained the same. Hence, he was no longer Boul Brimgan's match.
"Mother, are the Minor Treasures ready?" Boul Brimgan used an Information Slip to communicate with Harla Brimgan.
"There are two Minor Treasures compatible with your strength. But if you remain patient, we'll be able to equip you with all 20 Minor Treasures that are in the Golden Giant." Harla Brimgan replied in a hurry.
"Unless necessary, don't disturb them. A delicate formation has been installed there, so I don't wish to interfere with the arrangement." Boul Brimgan finished the conversation, "Begin transporting the two Minor Treasures first. They should be enough for me to face Geugeu and a bunch of Empyrean Snappers."
"The Empyrean Snappers might survive, but the rest of the Cooter Clan will be annihilated in a matter of hours." Boul Brimgan announced, "If you're happy to be wiped out, step forward. I'll be happy to oblige."
"But if you're hesitant," He unleashed a voracious amount of presence that slammed into the Cooter Clan, making it hard for the Cooter Clansmen to breathe, "Run away. I'll at least allow you to flee with your dignity intact."
"Hmph!" Geugeu grunted in anger as a thunderstorm began to build in the region, "That eye has returned. So without being able to fly, the Brimgan Empire cannot concentrate its power fast enough."
"Did you forget something?" Boul Brimgan grinned as in response to his words, massive ships took flight, hovering at an altitude of three kilometres from the ground. Large armies armed with crossbows took position and aimed at the Cooter Clan, "We, the Brimgan Empire as professionals when it comes to ranged warfare."
Brimgan Royals stood on the ground and used psychokinesis to lift the ships high up in the air. Since it was through psychokinesis and not flight, the Influenced Region of Hidden Eye didn't consider their actions as flight, since the range of the ships' movement was limited to the Spirit Weapon range of the Brimgan Royals controlling them.
With an altitude of three kilometres, as long as the soldiers shoot arrows, gravity would take care of the rest and cause the arrows to impact the ground with enough momentum that even Empyrean Snappers would be forced to remain on the defensive.
Following that, it would be a mere contest of endurance. Who will last longer? The Spirit Pools on the backs of the Empyrean Snappers that allowed them to keep fighting for long? Or was the blessed land capable of pumping out resources to create arrows nonstop?
The answer easily leaned in the Brimgan Empire's favour. Besides, with the number of deaths they had experienced, the soldiers were brimming with bloodlust, unable to rest until they shred apart the bodies of every single damn Pranic Beast that dared target the Brimgan Empire.
And that wasn't all. Boul Brimgan had another tactic to employ and deter the Cooter Clan. Slowly, a massive shadow loomed at the entrance of the Brimgan Empire, taking the position of the collapsed region.
It was the statue of a being that reached a height of 1152 metres, an existence that stood at the pinnacle of Sumatra.
The Brimgan Guardian—Royal Zinger!
"Impossible!" Geugeu exclaimed in shock, "How is a Pranic Beast your guardian?"
"She did live at the Cooter Clan in the past. Don't you remember her name?" Boul Brimgan chuckled.
"Amita…Brimgan?" Geugeu gritted his teeth, realising that the situation became more and more hopeless the longer he remained here. Forget targeting the Brimgan Empire, his Cooter Clansmen were losing morale.
Making a Mystic Grade Pranic Beast their enemy would result in a hopeless situation. To date, the death of two Empyrean Snappers under the hands of the Boar King haunted them. And that happened merely because the Boar King fancied a couple Natures of Subtle Terrain Domination.
What if he targeted the Cooter Clan in the same way he targeted the Mammoth Clan? What if the one targeting them was the Royal Zinger?
The scene of the Boar King rapidly aging while facing the Royal Zinger, an existence that could tank the strongest of his punches. Geugeu shuddered in fear, 'A single one of those punches is enough to kill an Empyrean Snapper. The Royal Zinger tanked thousands of such punches and emerged victorious in that fight.'
"Four hours!" Boul Brimgan announced his ultimatum, pressuring the Cooter Clan further, "If you're not out of my sight by then, I'll consider it to be a war between the Cooter Clan and the Free Human Race!"
Free Human Race!
Boul Brimgan's choice of words thundered across the minds of all Cooter Clansmen. The Brimgan Empire was a Free Human utopia, one of the strongest Empires on Sumatra and one with an existence that casually dated the Cooter Clan's entire existence.
In terms of history, the Cooter Clan was a baby in the fact of the experienced Ancestor that remained strong for a significant time, so significant, even they couldn't pinpoint how many eras the Brimgan Empire stood tall.
Obviously, every single Free Human Kingdom in the vicinity behaved as satellite states of the Brimgan Empire. A command from the Brimgan Empire, and all these Human Kingdoms would spontaneously declare the Cooter Clan as their enemies.
In Sumatra Chronicles, Brandal Brimgan announced a hitlist on the Mammoth Clan, reducing their status from a grand merchant force the Human Kingdoms shuddered at the thought of to a pitiful target that became the punching bag of every single Free Human from the Kingdoms based around the Mammoth Clan's Hundred-Year Path.
If the Cooter Clan were to be labelled as enemies of the Free Human race, then irrespective of how strong they were, they'll eventually kneel under the relentless assault of millions of Free Humans who wished to get into the good books of the Brimgan Empire and obtain support for their respective Kingdoms.
And if Boul Brimgan were to personally make the trip, at least a couple of Empires too would take action. If a Free Human force on the level of an Empire takes action, then Geugeu's life would become no different than a punching bag.
After all, Empires had at least a few Free Humans with Gold Grade strength.
"I…" His eyes were red as Geugeu accepted his defeat, "The Cooter Clan will take their leave."