Four Kilometres away from the mountain, Virala peeked out in his Mystic Ewworm form and observed the peak of the mountain behave like a fluid as Brangara crawled out.
His expression brimmed with frustration, having failed to capture Gannala. But other than that, it also shone with excitement, 'What has that fucker become enlightened about now?'
Virala observed for a mere three seconds before retreating deeper into the ground, unwilling to fuck around and find out. If there was one capability that he had polished, it was about sensing danger to his being. And now, he was feeling that sense of danger steadily climbing up.
He was no longer as confident as a few minutes ago when he was fighting Brangara in hand-to-hand combat. 'His growth potential is insane. The more we fight him prematurely with limited preparations, the more we fuel his growth.'
"Alas, this time was mandatory. Can't have two of us permanently become their lackeys, can we?" He muttered as he slithered deeper underground and surfaced at a spot ten kilometres away to gently peek at the mountain, observing a faint dot sliding down its sides to run in the direction of the Zahara Kingdom.
"Hopefully, such situations don't crop up too many times before the Fourth Major Disaster. I might run out of expendable cards to reveal eventually." He let out a mild sigh before breaking into laughter, "Still, I achieved most of my objectives with the Mammoth Clan using this situation to my advantage."
"Now, I should seriously focus on my development." His gaze was serious as he retreated into the ground and moved stealthily until he could surface at a safe spot and run in his human form.
One last time, he turned around to stare in the direction of the Zahara Kingdom, shook his head, and resumed his pace.
Sprinting across the fields, observing the traces he had left behind was Brangara, the grumpiness of failing to kill Gannala vanishing swiftly as he focused on the gains at hand. A stone slab acted as a surfboard as Brangara rowed across the region, treating the soil as water.
He assumed the human form of his Empyrean Snapper Tangible Nature, achieving stellar control over Subtle Terrain Domination as his speed increased further. 'Now I know why I have failed at destroying my enemies time and again. I'm like a toddler wielding a sword in terms of these abilities while my enemies are well-trained teenagers.'
'I need to seriously focus on training. Otherwise, when those guys arrive as adults in their prime after mastering their powers, I'll lose.' He finalised his thoughts. Until twenty-four years ago, he never had to use much of his power as the Empyrean Boar King.
He was an unmatched existence that stood at the pinnacle without leaving any room for contestation. So, Brangara never had to train like an average Free Human. But now, the situation was forcing him to get to the basics and hone his abilities like a below-average Free Human desperate for power.
One-on-one, he didn't fear anyone, 'Even with a single body, I ripped apart the 2-Life Stage Transcendent Eater in a mere ten seconds. Even if it takes root in the Brimgan Empire, I only need a few minutes to repeat the same. And if we're at a similar level in the Life Stage, I'll finish the fight even quicker.'
One-on-one, he didn't consider anyone his opponent, even the Royal Zinger. But if brute force alone could solve everything, he wouldn't have suffered defeat so many times, and especially witness the death of two of his beloved daughters.
Moreover, the dynamics of the Mystic Seven were pretty complicated at the moment. They were still in a contest of resources, fighting and allying as they deemed fit for the occasion. But during the Fourth Major Disaster, they wouldn't have any reason to fight each other.
No, they'll all be at their endgame builds, united as a singular force against him. The Mystic Seven would be jumping him exclusively. It was this notion that terrified him.
Each of the Mystic Seven had varying characteristics and levels of competency, but they were all capable of schemes. At the end of the day, despite his overwhelming powers, Brangara was one man.
Yarsha Zahara too was a Mystic Grade existence, but it was unsure if she could even attain the peak of the Body Stage by then. The Mystic Seven would be well advanced through the Life Stage or in the worst-case scenario, every single one of them would be at the 10-Life Stage.
In a one-on-one fight, he destroyed the Transcendent Eater in ten seconds. But when Gannala, Virala, Orakha, and Blola grouped up, he failed to kill any of them. Ignoring Gannala, he had only faced a team of three Mystic Paths.
And even then, he was forced to use two Natures of Subtle Terrain Domination to keep up with them. Then, it needn't be said about the resulting fight between him and the Mystic Seven during the Fourth Major Disaster.
'Both Resha and Inala are nowhere to be found. I have no means to figure out what they are up to.' Though he couldn't find them, Brangara knew very well that they were rapidly accumulating strength, preparing schemes, and gearing up counters against him.
Once he allowed Gannala to give him the slip, Brangara lost the initiative. Now, his only guarantee of coming across the Mystic Seven was during the Third Major Disaster. "It's a necessity for Yarsha."
Even if Yarsha Zahara continues to grow in strength, Brangara would be unable to rely upon her in his fight against the Mystic Seven. She would be busy fighting against competently powerful individuals such as Gannala, Raaha, Boul Brimgan, Harla Brimgan, and however many pinnacle enemies the Wean Clan makes in the future.
"The only way to overcome this situation is to create beneficial variables myself. I need to act upon my ideas immediately." He concluded by the time he arrived at the Zahara Kingdom.
He entered the Kingdom and observed the extent of damage, seeing soldiers use their Spirit Weapons to scrape off the layer of bone covering the houses and streets. This layer was unleashed by the Bone Vipers.
He turned his head and found a pile of Bone Vipers, focusing on them to see cuts formed by claws, 'So, the kitty cleaned up everything.'
By kitty, he meant the kinesis feline that Yarsha Zahara had stolen from Boul Brimgan, 'If only she could make it hers, then I'll be more assured in leaving things to her.'
"Your Majesty!" The soldiers stomped aloud and saluted upon seeing him.
"Continue with your work," Brangara waved his hand and leapt away from the place, allowing the soldiers to relax and work on the cleanup.
He noticed Bunakin Vara along the way and landed before the latter, "What's the extent of the damage?"
"We have plenty of destroyed buildings. But other than that, not a single individual was killed. We have thousands injured, but no fatalities." Bunakin Vara promptly kneeled and spoke with the utmost respect he could muster.
"No casualties?" He was stunned for a moment before chuckling, "Is that a flex?"
'So, these bastards have become confident enough to make a mockery of me without killing anyone, huh?' He was happy that none of his people, and especially his family was harmed. However, he felt a shameful slap to his ego that Gannala had been confident enough of her scheme that she rescued Grehha and Yennda without harming a single one of his people.
Had there been casualties, it would have made sense. His side was strong enough that they couldn't afford to pull their punches. But, a perfect sweep meant that Gannala, and by extension, the Mystic Seven considered his Kingdom's people a joke.
'I'm capable enough to enter your home, save my people, and create enough chaos while being perfectly in control of everything. Whether I want to kill or spare someone depends on my mood. I'm capable of all.' Brangara gritted his teeth, 'Is that what you wanted to convey to me, Gannala?'
Presence was emitted as the two bodies synchronised the accumulated influence on their being, as he could unleash his presence on all Tangible Natures stored in Astral World. So, Brangara was capable of finetuning the changes until both the bodies were in sync.
It took him less than ten minutes to make the correction as he took a few steps forward. Once the two bodies were Spirit Weapon range of each other, one of them vanished, stacking atop the other.
2-Life Stage!
"This wouldn't have been possible as the Empyrean Boar King." He muttered. The Celestial Boar was basically the Empyrean Boar King without the negative aspects. It also had some added advantages atop that.
Once his stacked pair of bodies were in harmony with each other, he entered the palace and stared at the second-
generation Wean Clansmen and their respective parents, nannies, etc.
"You're not hurt, right?" He approached a pregnant Barla and asked with concern, "How's the condition of the baby?"
"There are no issues for the time being. But I consumed a weird substance released by the Transcendent Eater." Barla expressed her anxiousness, "Mother is currently researching about it."
"Stay strong, my daughter. We'll solve any problems without issues." Brangara hugged her and patted her lightly, "I have the means to do so."
"Okay," Her expression visibly relaxed as Barla developed a peaceful grin.
Brangara entered the laboratory, only to see a beaker fly his way, followed by an enraged Yarsha Zahara's shout, "I told you guys to not disturb me!"
"It's me." Brangara caught the beaker and observed a murky green substance coated on its insides.
"Did you…catch Gannala?" Yarsha Zahara asked, sporting some hope upon seeing his light-hearted expression.
"Nope, she's slippery." He shook his head and approached her, glancing at the apparatus before her, "So, what was the substance fed to our kids?"
"It's a Parute King Fruit extract, supposedly. But its potency is too high." Yarsha Zahara expressed her worry, "It's stronger than a High-Grade Elixir."
"Then, isn't it a good thing?" Brangara said, "I checked upon Barla's condition just now. She has grown further as compared to a few hours ago."
"But what if there's some hidden effect?" Yarsha Zahara grunted, "If it's supposed to take effect just like what Yennda placed on our children at the Brimgan Empire, we wouldn't be able to save them. Blola doesn't pull his punches like Yennda does."
"Share with me all the details from the incident," Brangara said and grabbed the Information Slip Yarsha Zahara gave him, one recording the entire fight from the start of the meteor strike to Brangara's return.
He observed the substance secreted by the Transcendent Eater and focused on the latter for a few minutes before giving his verdict, "You needn't worry. Its intended purpose is to act as a superior High-Grade Elixir. The Transcendent Eater is incapable of producing toxins or any damaging products. This substance was clearly secreted by it, so it's safe for consumption."
"How…are you sure?" Yarsha Zahara frowned, "And what exactly was that substance?"
"Well, think of the substance as a diluted version of Parute Fruits that Transcendents consume." Brangara smiled, "To us, it'll be a powerful lure, nothing more, nothing less."
He then snapped his finger and caused the Minor Treasure Tangible Nature of Bloody Affection to appear beside him, "I absorbed a lot of the Transcendent Eater's blood through this guy. I managed to gather some information from it, which is how I know what that substance is."
"Phew!" Yarsha Zahara let go of her hold over a test tube and slumped on a nearby chair, "I was stressed with worries! Thank goodness!"
"Which brings me to something I want to do with you." Brangara said and approached Yarsha Zahara, gently grabbing her hands while sporting a smile, "I gained enlightenment about something."
"Though they're also your children, I think you'll have a happier time having a Free Human child." Brangara closed in on her, "What do you say? The child will be similar to the Royal Guard but superior in every single way."
"You won't have to shoulder all the burden of managing the Varahan Empire alone. I can guarantee you that they'll take off half your workload and truly enrich the Wean Clan, to an extent surpassing the both of us." He said, staring at her expectantly, inching his face to her for a kiss, "So…"
"It seems you've finally done justice to that Mystic Grade brain of yours. About damn time!" Yarsha grabbed his face hard and swooped in for a kiss, almost gobbling up the latter as she became more enthusiastic than him at doing the deed.