The canine Pranic Beast was injured, running about in the wilds while being chased by a group of Pranic Beasts. It fled in the direction of the scent that continued to draw it in the respective direction. No matter how injured it got, it continued to run.
Suddenly, when it sprinted through a grassy patch, its body collapsed into the ground, falling through a long tunnel that seemed to stretch for infinity. When the tunnel appeared, the Pranic Beasts chasing after the canine Pranic Beast screeched to a halt, howling in anger at losing their prey.
They dared not jump into the tunnel, for it seemed to be an invitation to death. As they lingered around in the area, the tunnel entrance closed up naturally. Soon, there were no traces of it left in the region.
Only an Empyrean Snapper would be able to detect that a Drifting Tunnel had existed here. In a similar fashion, many such Pranic Beasts selectively targeted by spies placed in the Zahara Kingdom found their way into these Drifting Tunnels and made their way to their respective destinations.
'It's going well.' Gannala said as she continued to activate and deactivate the tunnels as necessary.
The canine Pranic Beast continued to fall helplessly for close to two days, with its speed of descent controlled. The terminal velocity it had attained was a lot lower than what it could have attained if it free fell from a mountain on Sumatra.
Gannala had ensured that the friction generated by its fall didn't end up killing it during the journey. Thanks to her consideration, it reached the end of the tunnel and fell out, forming a small arc before it landed on the ground.
The gravity at this point was weak enough for its falling momentum to have almost been negated. As a result, the arc it made barely reached a height of three metres before it landed on the ground.
The canine Pranic Beast growled in pain. All its joints ached, and it was going made due to hunger. But all this did was to strengthen its desire for the meat sack, for it could smell that the meat sack was closer now, way closer.
Taking less than a few seconds to gather its bearings, the canine Pranic beast sprinted with all its might, travelling for less than an hour before it reached a vast grassland. The plains stretched for hundreds of kilometres.
And at a spot thirty metres deeper into the plains existed a massive valley with its breadth reaching twenty kilometres. The deepest point in the valley was situated at a depth of six kilometres.
The valley stretched for close to forty kilometres and became home to the Burac Kingdom. By now, the canine Pranic Beast was bleating in exhaustion, dragging its legs as it approached the entrance of the valley.
From its position on the plains, the valley seemed no different from a crack in the ground, as if parted due to a massive earthquake in the past. Pranic Beasts generally avoided this place, for there was a good chance they'd fall to their deaths.
However, the canine Pranic Beast limped its way into the entrance, for it smelled that the meat sack was close, almost within reach. Unfortunately for it, that was the end of its travel path as a spear pierced through its neck and bled it to its death.
"This isn't a Pranic Beast native to this region. Check its stomach first." A soldier who seemed to be the leader announced as a group of Free Humans rushed out of the valley and began to dissect the canine Pranic Beast's stomach.
Soon, they fished out the meat sack from within, one that was protecting a scroll in its centre. "Indeed, it's a message from our spy."
"I hope they stole a good cultivation technique this time." One of the soldiers muttered when he was smacked on the back of his head by the superior who yanked the scroll and unfurled it.
"Only officers are permitted to look into information brought by our spies." The officer said and read through the scroll, which was an announcement released by the Zahara King. As he read till the end, his face flushed red in excitement, "Opportunity! This is an opportunity of a lifetime!"
"Our Kingdom can turn its fate around with this!" Exclaiming in excitement, the officer left his duty and made a beeline to their palace.
The Burac Kingdom had been established 80 years ago when three nearby Kingdoms fell under a Pranic Beast invasion on the level of a Minor Crisis.
Even the Ganrimb Kingdom at the Sanrey Plains, able to develop freely without worries about Pranic Beast invasions failed to withstand a Minor Crisis. This was despite them having a foundation derived from the Brimgan Empire, possessing a large number of cultivators with Silver Grade strength, and even Fhoong Brimgan, a 6-Life Stage cultivator with Gold Grade strength.
He was a Prince from the Brimgan Empire, which meant that he was capable of killing a Gold Grade Pranic Beast in a one-on-one battle. But despite that, the Ganrimb Kingdom was wiped out.
The situation of the Kingdoms in the wild was worse. And the three Kingdoms caught in the wake of a Minor Crisis suffered disastrous losses. Unable to guard their large territories anymore after losing most of their battle strength, the refugees combined their might and fled the place.
Eventually, they settled at a place that was later named Burac Valley. For the past eight decades, the Burac Kingdom developed in the Burac Valley. They captured and reared cattle-type Pranic Beasts, using them to graze across the vast plains and lived on the by-products produced by them.
As the land within the valley was bedrock, no vegetation grew on it. Hence, the Burac Kingdom depended on these Pranic Beasts and developed cultivation techniques related to controlling them.
The method used by the spy on the canine Pranic Beast was one such ability. It was through these, the Free Humans of the Burac Kingdom controlled a few cattle-type Pranic Beasts each.
But the horrors from eight years ago were evident in their memories, especially the ones with Silver Grade strength who had lived through the troubled times. Hence, Burac Kingdom hoped to strengthen themselves by any means necessary to one day, turn their fate around.
Towards that, they dispatched spies to all Kingdoms and Empires they had knowledge of. The spies, those that survived the journey, would gather information from these Free Human Kingdoms and Empires and transmit it to the Burac Kingdom.
They experienced some success in the past couple of decades, which allowed them to increase the number of their Silver Grade cultivators to thirty, which was a sizeable amount for a weak Free Human Kingdom.
The palace was carved into the walls of the valley, leading into a large throne room adorned with luminescent grass that illuminated the place. In the plains surrounding them, a plethora of grass varieties grew, with some of them having luminescent properties.
These grasses were transplanted into the walls of the throne room to illuminate it. Pretty much every single dwelling in the Burac Kingdom was built into the wall of the valley. Hence, they depended on these grass varieties for illumination.
Currently, the officer was kneeling twenty metres away from the Burac King with bated breath. All people of importance stared at the officer's expectant look in puzzlement.
"This is…terrific!" The Burac King bellowed towards the end, in excitement, "If we succeed in this, our future is set!"
The Burac King stared at the various nobles in the throne room, "The Wean Clan is looking for suitors. They're currently at the Zahara Kingdom. If we succeed, we'll obtain support from the Boar King…no, the Celestial Boar!"
"Celestial Boar? What's that?" The nobles discussed in confusion.
"It seems the Boar King evolved to become an even higher existence." The Burac King analysed, "But, that doesn't matter. What's of utmost importance is that we have a chance to become relatives to this pinnacle existence, one who stands mountains above Deities."
"I hope the King reconsiders!" One of the nobles with the highest authority stood up to protest, "We're Free Humans. It's an insult to become tangled with Clansmen, especially when our talks with the Brimgan Empire are going well. It's not far before we're treated as a Satellite State to the grand Brimgan Empire!"
"Yes, if they were to know that we intend to become acquainted with the Wean Clan, the Brimgan Empire will annihilate us first." Another noble said.
"This is risky, Your Majesty!" A third noble protested.
"All of you make a valid point, but tell me one thing." The Burac Kingdom stared at all the protestors and asked, "Which is closer to us, the Brimgan Empire or the Varahan Enclave?"
His question shut up everyone, "It takes years to get here from the Brimgan Empire. Moreover, the journey is perilous. So, even if we become recognised as their Satellite State, the benefits that reach here will be a pitiful sum due to the sheer distance involved. Instead, it's better to become involved with the Wean Clan."
"With the Celestial Boar's protection, we'll be able to prosper faster!" The Burac King announced his decision, making the scribes write down his command, "Summon every able-bodied youth in our Kingdom! Gather everyone with a bit of talent or appearance. As long as at least one of our people succeeds, we'll have a peaceful future."
"Nobles!" The Burac King commanded all the nobles, "Empty all your coffers to create robust carriages that can take us to the Zahara Kingdom in three weeks. Leave behind only the minimum most cultivators necessary for our Kingdom's security. Send everyone else to escort our youths to the Zahara Kingdom!"
"I'll personally arrange for a diplomatic visit to the Zahara Kingdom!" The Burac King announced, "The Zahara King wouldn't be able to outright refuse our visit as he has to give me face."
"Now, hurry with the preparations!" He shouted in the end, "We're setting off in two days! Go! Go! Go! Get to work already!"
With that, the Burac Kingdom stirred in activity. Two days later, a large caravan headed in the direction of the Zahara Kingdom. Moreover, the Burac Kingdom wasn't alone in this endeavour.
Every single struggling Kingdom received the news and made preparations. Some of them received news through their spies while the others received the information from a mysterious individual with Gold Grade strength, given irrefutable proof.
'Good, that adds another Kingdom to the mix.' Gannala thought as she observed the caravan heading out of a Kingdom. With a thought, she exited the Nature Slot of the body she had been occupying and stored it in her stomach biome.
Following that, she found another suitable Pranic Beast, "Ok, this will work for my next disguise."
She entered the Pranic Beast's Secondary Nature slot, activated her Tertiary Nature of Cultivator to make the Pranic Beast assume human form, and through her Inhibition Needle, she made the individual exhibit the presence of a Free Human.
A little bit of control from her and the Free Human emitted Gold Grade presence, making the information coming out of the body hold significant weight to Free Human Kings. After all, the Free Human Kings only had Silver Grade strength.
A Free Human with Gold Grade strength was no different from a Brimgan Prince or Princess to them. With that, Gannala continued to instigate multiple Free Human Kingdoms to send a large volume of people to the Zahara Kingdom and protected them along the journey, ensuring that they all arrived at their destination safely.
'The greater the chaos, the easier it becomes for me to take action in the open.' Gannala thought as she rushed through the wilds and made a beeline towards another Free Human Kingdom.