"Wait!"
Right as Geugeu turned around, intending to signal the Cooter Clan to retreat, Boul Brimgan's voice caused his body to freeze up. An expression of fury clouded his face before he recovered his cool and faced the latter, "What?"
"It's not impossible for the Cooter Clan to reap benefits from the Attributed Region." Boul Brimgan said, smiling subtly upon seeing the expressions of 37 Cooter Clan Settlement Leaders brighten in response, "The Brimgan Empire is willing to trade for the resources mined from the Attributed Region."
"What do you seek in return?" Geugeu asked, clenching his fists until his nails dug into his palm.
"The Cooter Clan's speciality, medicines!" Boul Brimgan said and performed a gentle greeting, "If you're interested, let's discuss the specifics. We can use this chance to transform our enmity into friendship."
"Chief!" A Settlement Leader approached Geugeu in a hurry, his expression slightly desperate, "This is our way out. We have no other choice."
He was afraid, just like the rest of the Cooter Clan Settlement Leaders, afraid to face an onslaught from millions of Free Humans.
Unlike the Mammoth Clan who experienced death at every corner due to their nomadic lifestyle, the Cooter Clan marked their territories and lived in it contently. As a result, the number of deaths they faced was minimal as compared to the Mammoth Clan, which made them comparatively less hardened in the face of hardship.
Since a way out existed, they were grateful to choose it. After all, the Cooter Clan was developing slowly but steadily, having grown to a powerful extent.
Basically, they had too much to lose in the face of war, which was why they acted like the event of the Boar King killing two of their Deities never happened, sealing it in their minds as a topic forbidden to discuss.
Even Geugeu reflected the Cooter Clan's desire. It was why he let go of all intentions of fighting Brangara after the latter became the Celestial Boar.
As long as the Cooter Clan lived with their heads tucked low, Wally would eventually attain Mystic Grade status. Until then, they wanted to conserve their strength as much as possible. Doing anything might only trigger their opponents.
Instead, they could bury their feelings and live suppressed lives until their path to the Mystic Grade was realised.
"Please, Chief!"
"Accept the Brimgan Emperor's offer, Chief."
"This is for our future, Chief!"
"Please endure this humiliation, Chief! We beg you!"
Hearing the pleas of all the Settlement Leaders irritated Geugeu to the extreme. He was about to rebuke them all when the head of the 1st Empyrean Snapper turned and faced him, making eye contact, communicating its intention through the expression of its eyes.
'When did…my Clan devolve into a bunch of cowards?' Geugeu controlled his urge to cry, feeling powerless for some reason. He then turned around to stare at the figure of the Brimgan Guardian that was being refined to become stronger, 'It wasn't long before she came to the Dralh Sea as a helpless maiden. So, not only was she not eaten by the Boar King but managed to survive and become strong enough to face him head-on.'
Geugeu observed the Royal Zinger's face, 'Someone with nothing achieved our Clan's long-standing desire with no backing or support. In contrast, even with the entire Cooter Clan at my disposal, my strength remains stagnant.'
In the past, Geugeu was comfortable with being the third strongest existence on Sumatra, following the Boar King and Raaha. Even though Brandal Brimgan was growing stronger with time, closing the gap between third and fourth place, Geugeu wasn't pressured.
After all, he calculated that by the time Brandal Brimgan inched close to his level of strength, his lifespan would have run out. So, his status as the third strongest in Sumatra was stable. He was content with it, since he had no reason to exercise this power.
But now, the rankings have been updated. The Royal Zinger was currently the second strongest, followed by Raaha and Boul Brimgan.
Boul Brimgan appeared from out of nowhere and surpassed him. And considering his growth rate, it was just a matter of time before Boul Brimgan surpassed Raaha. It would take him less than a decade to do so, even by Geugeu's conservative estimates.
Considering the hidden wealth under the Brimgan Empire's disposal, especially the knowledge that had been accumulated across various eras, Boul Brimgan's growth speed might accelerate further.
Geugeu felt outdated as new powerhouses began to appear one after another, contending his spot. During his fight against the Boar King in the Attributed Region, Geugeu observed many terrifying experts who possessed limitless potential.
Resha, the madman who dared to kill two of Brangara's children and was still alive. Orakha, a terrifying powerhouse with a Human Avatar that could never be grasped. Whenever he assumed Human Avatar form, he was terror incarnate, resembling the eclipse.
And then there was Yarsha Zahara, absolutely shattering his common sense, for she was building a Human Avatar literally out of Sumatra Gold. To date, the Cooter Clan barely had a few pieces, which they stored in the safety of their Major Treasure.
But this terrifying woman was using it as a mineral. Her potential long since surpassed the logic of Sumatra. All these were future terrors that Geugeu personally witnessed. There might be even more of them hiding out here, in the vast expanse of the Sumatra Continent.
'Mystic Grade! We have to attain it, no matter the cost!' Geugeu raised his hand to shut up the Settlement Leaders. He then stared at Boul Brimgan to bow faintly, accepting the offer, 'Otherwise, the Cooter Clan will fade out of relevance!'
'The future is changing rapidly!'
Geugeu and Boul Brimgan entered a ship in the sky and discussed for a few hours, following which Geugeu returned, his expression complex.
"Let's return." He then pointed at the large track in the ground the Empyrean Snappers had created during their approach to the Brimgan Empire, "We'll be widening and deepening it while returning to the Dralh Sea. This will become a trade route that connects the Brimgan Empire and the Cooter Clan."
The Cooter-Brimgan Trade Agreement!
Through it, resources would be exchanged between the two regions for the mutual benefit of the respective forces. It was the first time in history that the Cooter Clan accepted to trade with a foreign force.
It was all thanks to Boul Brimgan's political acumen.
As the Cooter Clan made their return, standing atop a hill far away to observe the proceedings between the two forces was Orakha. While he observed them, his Mystic Eaters were busy bringing out resources he had gained from the Brimgan Empire.
"There's a lot." He sighed upon seeing the sheer volume of resources he was bringing out. It wasn't just the wealth amassed by his and Maroppa's companies. Orakha took advantage of the chaos in the Brimgan Empire to break into all the treasuries in the crater-filled region.
As the people living there had already died, with the help of his Mystic Eaters, he eventually managed to discover several treasuries. And now, he was busy transporting them out.
A merchant profited the most in a disaster. Orakha stuck to the principle, amassing a windfall to an extent even he couldn't have expected. 'This isn't just a year's worth of the Mammoth Clan's budget. Twenty…thirty?'
He couldn't yet tally the sum. While one of his bodies was transporting the resources out of the Brimgan Empire, the other body had revived next to Ruvva, informing Gannala of everything she needed to know.
Hence, she was bringing the Mammoth Clan to his location to receive all the wealth he had amassed.
"If there's a title reserved for the best thief of Sumatra, you're the undisputed winner." A Mystic Ewworm jutted out of the ground behind him, alerting Orakha, "Why are you surprised?"
"Your daughter is currently in Gannala's stomach biome. She already knows about our deal." Orakha said in a hurry, "So I cannot bring her here."
"That's alright," Virala waved his hand casually, "I'm not bothered with that fact, since Ruvva is a baby now. She needs breast milk, and I obviously don't have that."
"What are you planning?" Orakha became alarmed upon seeing the chill manner in which Virala took the information, as if he wasn't concerned about Ruvva, 'With the obsessiveness he displayed before, there's no way in hell he's leaving his daughter in the hands of someone else.'
"Isn't my other body with Gannala?" As if he'd read Orakha's thoughts, Virala grinned, "Considering her character, Gannala would use my body to take care of Ruvva. With her abilities, she would have brainwashed my body into a puppet that exists to cater to Gannala's wishes."
"And thanks to the Mystic Path connection, even Ruvva would accept my second body as her real dad." He concluded, "This allows the Mammoth Clan to nurture the Violet Mystic Path inheritor into someone similar to Renduldu, as the Mammoth Clan's pet."
'Damn, he's right.' Orakha became nervous to hear Virala's analysis, 'I couldn't figure out the entirety of Gannala's plans but Virala laid out everything in a matter of seconds. He's equally as terrifying as Inala.'
"Why have you come here if you had no business with me?" Orakha glared at Virala.
"Did you forget you left this on me?" Virala pointed at his chest, "Extract your Minor Treasure from my body."
"That…" Orakha hesitated, for doing so would mean he no longer had any way to detect Virala's actions and keep the latter in check, 'The moment he broke free of the Mammoth Clan's influence, he had a child with Yarsha Zahara. He's a volatile variable.'
"You see…" Virala pointed at the resources Orakha was collecting with a smile, "You want to bring this to the Mammoth Clan, right?"
"You have no other choice then." Virala laughed, "My patience isn't exactly limitless, Orakha."
It was a threat. If Orakha didn't wish to extract the Minor Treasure from Virala, he could easily escape by committing suicide. But if he were to do that, all the resources he had accumulated would fall into Virala's hands.
'No, he doesn't have the capability to take advantage of these resources.' Orakha's mind whirred in response as his body exploded spontaneously. Forget the resources, he must never extract the Minor Treasure from Virala.
If the latter is unchecked, he'd balloon into a terrifying opponent for even the Mammoth Clan. Anyone else, and Orakha could judge their actions. But Virala was an exception to the rule, a wildcard that does whatever the fuck he wanted without caring about the consequences.
It became further reinforced now after he became a Mystic Human. Without any influences to worry about, he was a free man, able to hide himself after wreaking havoc in any area he pleased. Hence, Orakha judged the priority of the situation and committed suicide, 'I can gather resources whenever I want, but I'll never get another opportunity to keep Virala in check.'
"Hmm, smart." Virala nodded at the spontaneity with which Orakha committed suicide, "So you want to play the long game, huh?"
"Too bad, there's consequences for it." He muttered as his tail flashed out in the blink of an eye, accelerated through psychokinesis. A stamp made contact with the body of a Mystic Eater and ejected all data from it.
In a fraction of a second, a Mystic Eater was dealt with as Virala's stamp flickered nonstop, leaving behind Mystic Eater bodies no different from a vegetable. Using a Spirit Container cluster, he absorbed the tangible data and consumed them, "Without you, the strength of your Mystic Eater plummets, Orakha."
"So, I'll be consuming their data and more."