"Brangara!" Yarsha Zahara screamed in a fluster upon seeing Brangara's figure vanish from the peak of the Zahara Kingdom's palace. A red hue highlighted her face as she focused on the meteors approaching her Kingdom.
Prana burst out of her body and transformed into shockwaves, expertly controlled as her figure turned into a flicker of white and grabbed the bodies of Grehha and Yennda. She then jumped through a window and skipped to the roof of the palace, gathering Prana to her throat before unleashing a powerful roar.
"Activate!"
Prana rippled out of her location as immediately in response, the roofs of every single house in the Kingdom flew out, carried by a wind each. A pause later, they flew towards the meteors, bombarding the meteor strike.
Smoke gushed out of the chimneys of the houses and condensed into clouds that spread across the Kingdom at an altitude of 300 metres, forming a barrier. The fragments generated by the collision of the ceilings into the meteors slammed into the smoke barrier and became trapped there.
The blackish smoke thickened as the number of bombarding fragments increased in number. Intense heat from the burning fragments increased the kinetic energy within the smoke, beginning to disperse it.
But in response, Yarsha Zahara simply drew out more smoke from the chimneys.
Satellite!
It was the Primary Nature of an Enrino, her favourite Nature. After all, it worked perfectly in sync with her Primary Nature of Incident Nature Reflection. As long as she held a Satellite in her hand, Yarsha Zahara was capable of turning any Nature that she gained control of into a Satellite.
The Nature of Satellite worked by infusing Prana into any product produced by the Enrino's body. The result was an item camouflaged as part of its body, one that protected it against enemies even without conscious input.
The Satellite held the Enrino's will, able to function based on it. The Enrino only had to replenish the Satellite's Prana from time to time to ensure it functioned without issues.
Any Nature that Yarsha Zahara gains possession of through Incident Nature Reflection becomes a part of her being—her Human Avatar.
Generally, she would discharge it immediately after, for carrying the effects of a Nature for long only served to tire her out both mentally and physically. But that was where the Minor Treasure of Lunchbox came. It served to store the effects of Natures, which was where Yarsha Zahara stored the Natures that she gained possession of.
It was the perfect Minor Treasure she could ask for, so much so that the greater the number of the Minor Treasures of Lunchbox she had, the stronger she became. And no matter the case, Yarsha Zahara stored two Natures—Satellite, and Comet—in her Lunchbox.
As they were physical items, until the Prana infused in their being was consumed, they could serve as a Satellite and Comet respectively. And until they were effective, Yarsha Zahara could apply her power on the Natures she obtains and turn them into Satellites and Comets.
After Brangara became the Celestial Boar, he captured a bunch of Enrinos and Enrans for her use, stored safely in the Zahara Kingdom's treasury. She even had a Tangible Nature of Enrino in her Lunchbox.
It was a matter of when their enemies would target her Kingdom. So, Yarsha Zahara was busy with preparations, having installed all sorts of Satellites and Comets across the Zahara Kingdom. She modified them through Yennda's Natures and made them in such a way that they could be supplied with Prana by anyone.
These Satellites and Comets were biological and hadn't even taken action yet. The ceiling used to be a regular material that had been a part of the houses for years.
After Brangara returned from the Dralh Sea, he used Subtle Terrain Domination on the ceilings and turned them into Spirit Weapons that he could control. Immediately after that, Yarsha Zahara touched them with her kite-shaped Spirit Weapon and gained possession of them.
She then absorbed the effects of Satellite and turned the ceilings into Satellite, preparing them to defend against meteor strikes unleashed by the Royal Zinger. She had faced the power of Inala's throws and knew how devastating they were.
The Royal Zinger could huddle itself hundreds of kilometres away and hurl projectiles at her home. Without teleportation, it was impossible to cover this distance and engage in a fight with the Royal Zinger to stop the throws.
Hence, it was of tantamount importance that there existed defensive measures in place to protect her home against such an unreasonable attack. To prevent the ceilings from targeting anything that approached them from the sky and prematurely revealing themselves, Yarsha Zahara created a key to activate them.
It was a Skill that would unleash a pulse of Prana, which would activate the ceilings. She gave the Key to a select few across the Kingdom and positioned them strategically. This way, the Zahara Kingdom would be able to protect itself even without her involvement.
Also, with the Key, the Satellites—ceilings—didn't have to stay active all the time and cause a severe drain of Prana. Once they enter an inactive state, they'll exist for a long time, spanning decades or even centuries. Their lifespan depended on the material and construction quality of the ceilings.
With these defensive arrangements, Yarsha Zahara didn't have to worry too much about the people. Promptly upon seeing the meteor strike, the people began to evacuate in an orderly manner, heading towards the bunkers that she had created in advance.
'The defensive measures should last until the end of the meteor strike.' Yarsha Zahara calculated as she observed a line of meteors heading towards the Zahara Kingdom, focusing on the arc and speed made by them as she judged immediately, 'Three minutes!'
She focused on the meteors that were still gaining altitude before their eventual descent to the Zahara Kingdom. 'What does the enemy hope to gain in three minutes?'
"And…" She noticed the figure of the Empyrean Tusk standing over the horizon. Her eyes darted towards the duo of Grehha and Yennda and noticed their petrified expression upon staring at the Empyrean Tusk, 'Considering their expressions and husband's reaction, the identity of that Empyrean Tusk is crystal clear.'
"That's Gannala, right?" She muttered, clicking her tongue upon feeling an increased resistance from the duo, "It's no use trying to commit suicide. I'm not giving you any leeway to head to Gannala's rescue."
"Irrespective of what the enemy has planned, they'll die to my husband. None of you has an idea of how strong he has become…" Words were caught in her throat as her gaze focused on a lone Parute tree that had appeared in the exclusive zone containing the Wean Clan's second generation.
Five-sixths of the pregnant women had given birth already and the remaining were on track to go through delivery in the upcoming days. The ninety wives, ten husbands, 80 babies, and the hundred nannies had joined Brana and his siblings to evacuate in an orderly fashion.
And having appeared en route to their evacuation path was this Parute Tree. In order to not miss the signs of an intruder, Yarsha Zahara had been obsessing over the safety and security of her Kingdom, especially this place with the Wean Clan's future.
She knew every single detail related to the place by heart. The Parute Tree had appeared all of a sudden. It hadn't been there the last time she inspected the place, which was a couple hours ago.
'Though Parute Trees pop up naturally like that in places with a high concentration of living beings, it's better to take precaution.' Thinking of Blola, she grabbed Grehha and Yennda to leap from the palace. Shockwaves of Prana turned her figure blurry as she blazed through the distance and appeared before Brana, "Go through another path…"
She spontaneously unleashed an Eddy Blade at the Parute Tree that popped up right before her son. She had just hacked it when another Parute Tree appeared, this time in the midst of the group led by Brana, "Shit!"
"Bingo!" As the crowd parted away from the Parute Tree in a hurry, a satisfied voice resounded. It jiggled once and morphed into the figure of Blola who stared at Yarsha Zahara gloomily, "We could have played around a bit more, you know?"
Bone vapour spread across the place rapidly as Grehha punched Blola after activating his Secondary Nature of Internal Inertial Gravity. A resounding boom reverberated from the punch as his fist impacted a branch that jutted out of the ground.
Bone vapour solidified into a dome and trapped Blola inside. It rapidly spread into the ground, intending to form a sphere, similar to how Inala had trapped Blola in the past.
Grehha made eye contact with Blola and smiled upon seeing the latter's confidence, 'Okay, let's see what you have in store for us, Gannala.'
Yarsha Zahara was controlling Grehha. She intended to use a Mystic Path to deal with another Mystic Path. That way, she could focus on using her strength to protect her children and grandchildren.
"Let's get you all to safety first." Yarsha Zahara brought out the golden feline that she stole from Boul Brimgan. As it was a Minor Treasure, she fused it into Brana's body, allowing it to protect him for the time being.
With its speed, it could protect them all without issues. And its range was more than enough to take care of the entire group. The golden feline could move about in a radius of 1.8 kilometres from Brana.
"Go!" Yarsha Zahara shouted, only to stop Brana in his tracks upon seeing another Parute Tree pop up near them. She spun once and used an Eddy Blade to hack it into pieces, commanding Grehha to return, watching the latter sprint to her while holding a beaten-up branch.
"He's a tricky guy!" Grehha grunted as he threw the branch towards Yennda.
Yennda used his Natures to transform the branch into fission beings, greenish-brown humanoid entities with thorns on their back like a porcupine. Their steps were wobbly, but contained on their back was enough tension. Once released, the thorns would shoot out like bullets to harm their enemies.
As they were created through the branch of a Transcendent Eater, they were significantly strong. Moreover, they were influenced by the Transcendent Eater's Prana present in the branch. The fission beings formed a perimeter around the group, intending to protect them.
But right as they formed a protective encirclement, branches jutted out of the ground, formed carnivorous mouths, and gobbled them up. The branches retreated into the ground. Followed by a surge in Prana, the effects of Yennda's Natures were neutralised.
A Parute Tree grew in their midst once again, throwing the group in disarray. A wiggle later, it transformed into Blola who wore a cheerful smile, "You can't afford to kill me."
Yarsha Zahara stood before him, unfazed by his tactics. But that wasn't the case for the rest, who began to become terrified of Parute Trees instinctively. Now, they'll think twice about approaching a Parute Fruit, not to mention a Parute Tree, fearing it would form a carnivorous mouth and devour them.
A flash of Prana later, Yarsha Zahara severed his body, only to see a Parute Tree jut out of the ground twenty metres away. It wriggled as Blola walked out, having appeared beside a terrified Penma.
He stared at her and smiled, his grin widening as the latter fainted in fright, "Wherever there's a Parute Tree, know that I'm watching you."