Decodus Trees reached a height of 400 metres. They were infamous for their robust vitality, capable of creating a sustainable ecosystem of their own.
The forest they formed was the home to the Mud Vipers, with every Mud Viper Nest having around a million Mud Vipers. As omnivorous beings, the Mud Vipers primarily sustained themselves through the produce generated by these trees.
Reddish, with traces of yellow amidst saps of green, the bark trailed across the tree trunks like a cluster of coiled serpents, their indentations creating unique, interlocking patterns, an exclusive feature of this species.
These barks were rumoured to have an encoded map of the entire Sumatra Continent. Of course, it was just a rumour. It hadn't been verified by any Human or Pranic Beast.
"Decodus Tree?" Yarsha Zahara stared at the pile of bark before her, "Will they do the job?"
"Yes," Brangara nodded, "Approximately fifteen of them can produce enough food to sustain an Empyrean Boar's needs. Combine them with the Yoked Wyrms and we'll never face a food shortage."
"And if anything else is necessary," He pointed at the door farther away, "Just use Yennda's power to mutate it to suit your needs. From what I observed, it works the best on trees."
"Indeed, I can modify them for a variety of purposes." Yarsha Zahara nodded, "We only need nutrient-rich soil for these trees to grow. With the Yoked Wyrms, that won't be an issue."
The Yoked Wyrms consumed the soil and generated poop that fertilised it, making it easier for trees to grow in abundance. The combination of the Decodus Trees and the Yoked Wyrms ensured dense vegetation for all the food requirements of the Wean Clan.
"What about the cultivation technique?" Brangara stared at Yarsha Zahara, "Is it ready?"
"Yes," Nodding in response, Yarsha Zahara took out an Information Slip and gave it to Brangara, "I've created it in such a way the Free Humans using it can treat the tusks of Empyrean Boars as the mineral to build their Human Avatars with. This is mostly copied from the functions of Mystic Bone Art with some changes that I added in for our purpose."
Gold Inheritance Art!
This will serve as the foundation of the Varahan Empire, becoming the most sought-after technique in the region. Yarsha Zahara created it with only one function in mind—Voracious Nature.
When the Wean Clansmen activate their Primary Natures to transform into Empyrean Boars, their Secondary Nature of Voracious Nature will come into effect, allowing them to stockpile the Natures of all creatures they consume.
Considering the appetite of the Empyrean Boars, they'll be accumulating dozens of Natures in a single sitting or even more, depending on their meal. Instead of wasting both Prana and Natures by using up the excess Natures, they could instead give it to the Free Humans who cultivation the Gold Inheritance Art.
By treating the tusks of the Empyrean Boars as a mineral, these Free Humans would build their Human Avatars. These tusks were decently tough, almost Gold Grade in quality. As their Human Avatars were literally made out of an Empyrean Boar's body part, they were able to store Natures in it through the effects of Voracious Nature.
Thereby, all the excess Natures in the possession of the Empyrean Boars could be dumped on these Free Humans, who will make use of them for a variety of purposes. Yarsha Zahara intended to set up a monetary system literally revolving around Natures, with the Natures of the Yoked Wyrms serving as the foundational unit of currency.
It was the Nature of a Beginner Iron Grade Pranic Beast and was available in the millions. The survival tactic used by the Yoked Wyrms was to literally birth more of their kind than their predators could consume.
If not kept in check, they could destroy the ecosystem. Hence, using them as the unit of currency was perfect. They'll never run out. And considering the appetite of the Empyrean Boars, tens of thousands would be consumed per meal, which implied the accumulation of an equal number of Natures.
Primary Nature—Bio-Synthesis!
Equipped with the Nature of the Yoked Wyrms, the Free Humans would never have to worry about food. Moreover, they could rely upon it to consume the tusks of the Empyrean Boars and build their Human Avatars faster.
So as a currency, it held genuine value. Moreover, the Free Humans who had built their Human Avatar with these tusks were also able to send and receive Natures from each other. Basically, they weaponised the usage of Natures.
With this, the Varahan Empire gained a massive advantage. First of all, no Nature was out of their grasp. If they found any Nature that caught their fancy, they would capture the living being and feed it to the Empyrean Boars, following which they'll inherit the respective Nature.
Therefore, the Varahan Empire was able to prepare against all sorts of dangers. A Pranic Beast invasion? Sure, it wasn't an issue. They could send Raid Teams to capture a group of the Pranic Beasts and gain their Natures through the Empyrean Boars.
This way, they'll have a complete understanding of the Natures, using which they could make perfect countermeasures and destroy anyone who dares target their Empire.
Moreover, this was Yarsha Zahara's way of protecting the Wean Clan too. After all, Free Humans would pledge allegiance to the Empyrean Boar whom they relied upon for being supplied with the mineral to build their Human Avatars with and also Natures to use.
They didn't have to worship Empyrean Boars as Deities like the Mammoth or Cooter Clan, but even while maintaining the way of Free Humans, their reliance on Empyrean Boars surpassed the Mammoth Clan's reliance on Empyrean Tusks and the Cooter Clan's reliance on Empyrean Snappers.
Thanks to this, if any of her enemies intended to get close to an Empyrean Boar, they'd have to first waddle through a sea of Free Humans.
Through this relationship, the Varahan Empire could recruit Free Humans endlessly and grow without limits. After all, the maturity time of Empyrean Boars was two years. The Wean Clansmen would take anywhere from two to eight years to reach maturity.
Basically, the Wean Clan operated at a scale where every decade became a new generation. So, their numbers would balloon rapidly. Best of all, Vara—the name given to the mineral generated from the Empyrean Boar's tusk—was considered a peak Silver Grade mineral.
So, everyone building a Human Avatar out of Vara had Silver Grade strength. This was Yarsha Zahara's ultimate goal. The average strength of the Varahan Empire was at the Silver Grade while the rulers—the Wean Clansmen—had Gold Grade strength.
Thanks to the accumulation of the Yoked Wyrms's Nature of Bio-Synthesis, the Varahan Empire Free Humans were able to build their Human Avatars faster. The two worked harmoniously to result in an Empire that could endlessly grow stronger and expand in power.
The Varahan Enclave will serve as a safe place for the Empyrean Boars to live and grow until they attain maturity. Following that, they'd enter the Varahan Empire to take up position and recruit a large batch of Free Humans as their followers.
The node of resources that Brangara found was situated 3542 kilometres from the entrance to the Varahan Enclave. And it was on this node that Brangara and Yarsha Zahara intended to build the capital of the Varahan Empire. Basically, from there to the Varahan Enclave will all be part of the Varahan Empire, encompassing a territory superior to the Brimgan Empire.
To get to the Varahan Enclave, one would need to go through the Varahan Empire. Therefore, the core of the Wean Clan would remain absolutely safe, protected by the Sandy-Grey Void on all sides and with the sole entrance guarded by an Empire.
"It seems our sons have to work hard," Brangara grinned.
"Indeed," Yarsha Zahara nodded, stating with a resolute expression, "Before the Third Major Disaster begins, we'll have to finish the creation of the Varahan Empire."
"What about the current generation of Free Humans?" Brangara asked next, "We can't simply abandon them, right? It'll be disastrous if they don't have to grow in strength."
"Actually, it's possible to cleanly destroy their Human Avatars." Yarsha Zahara said, "They'll fall to the Spirit Stage and only have one unit of Prana. Basically, they'd be starting from a clean slate."
"I see," Brangara nodded, "Since they'll be obtaining strength at the pinnacle of the Silver Grade, even those Kings would be happy to transition, even if it meant they'd have to cultivate from scratch."
"That's what it means to be a part of a Kingdom." Yarsha Zahara sighed, "They don't have a future to look forward to. Hence, they'll be happy to fully assimilate into the functioning society of an Empire."
"The Brimgan Empire relies on this to draw in ambitious Free Humans from the entire region their influence expands to. That's how they remain so powerful to date."
"I understand," Brangara nodded before asking, "Does the Gold Inheritance Art have the capacity to create complex Spirit Weapons like the Brimgan Empire's cultivation techniques?"
"No," Yarsha Zahara sighed, "It's not compatible with our purpose. But fear not, we'll create our own means of transportation."
"Oh?" Brangara stared at her in surprise, "What do you have in mind?"
"I drew inspiration from what you experienced at the Dralh Sea. The untapped potential of the Cooter Clan's methods will be exercised by me." She grinned, "Once the Wean Selection ends, I want you to make a trip to the Guna Caves and capture as many of the three Pranic Beast Races native there as possible."
"You plan to create a nest?" Brangara quickly figured out her plan, muttering in realisation, "Indeed, Iron Grade Pranic Beasts they might be, but their Natures are one of the best, especially when used in large numbers. With our means, we can take advantage of their characteristics."
"Yes," Yarsha Zahara nodded, "And since they are Iron Grade Pranic Beasts, increasing their population is very easy. We'll be able to harvest enough of their Natures to support our upcoming Empire's needs."