"Let's leave."
Raaha's declaration slammed into their minds like a boulder, hammering in them the reality that Sumatra Continent was no longer safe for their survival. The Mammoth Clan had been pushed to the brink of extinction by a single Empyrean Boar King.
And now, the Wean Clan was spawning Boar Kings like they were a bargain sale. Even if the Boar Kings were only at the Gold Grade, it was an undeniable fact that they possessed Astral Chart, the source of all terror.
Through Bunakin Vara, Orakha had been keeping tabs on the Varahan Empire. Back when they spied on the Zahara Kingdom, Orakha joined hands with Virala to target Bunakin Vara.
Through the Mystic Human Stamp, Virala removed the relevant memories from Bunakin Vara, ensuring the latter didn't remember being targeted by the duo. Orakha then used a combination of his Tertiary and Primary Natures to modify his Human Avatar, creating a safe space to store the Minor Treasure of Orakha's Checkpoint within.
This safe space was created to avoid the detection means of both Brangara and Yarsha Zahara. Thereby, Orakha was able to steadily spy upon them.
He could sense the emotions of the target fused with his Minor Treasure. That allowed him to have an inkling as to what was happening. Once a day, the Minor Treasure of Orakha's Checkpoint would vanish, replaced by a new one.
Having been improving his Human Avatar through Sumatra Gold, gradually increasing its functions, Orakha became capable of reviving his Minor Treasure of Orakha Checkpoint anywhere one of the pieces existed.
Through this, he would revive a piece into Bunakin Vara's Human Avatar and then retract the one fused there originally. Upon recovering the Minor Treasure, he would absorb the data absorbed by it through Bunakin Vara's Human Avatar.
This allowed him to observe everything that Bunakin Vara had observed through his eyes, ears, nose, etc.
As the leader of the Royal Guard, Bunakin Vara had the most contact with Yarsha Zahara. Hence, he was the best to use as a spy. Unfortunately, Orakha couldn't do anything beyond that.
Once Yarsha Zahara was pregnant with Yamahara, Brangara bestowed a Tangible Nature of Empyrean Snapper to all the Royal Guards. They positioned themselves in such a way that Yarsha Zahara was within the Spirit Weapon range of all of them.
The moment Orakha tries to target Yamahara, they'd all activate Subtle Terrain Domination. And once he took action, whatever he had created on Bunakin Vara would be revealed. Hence, Orakha could only resort to spying on them.
Through Bunakin Vara, he'd be up to date regarding everything the Varahan Empire was doing. That had been his plan. But Yamahara was an existence beyond his calculations. He was able to sense the Minor Treasure of Orakha's Checkpoint within Bunakin Vara's Human Avatar and even had the means to safely extract it without harming the latter.
Since his plan had been discovered, Orakha wanted to unleash a last-ditch effort and kill Yamahara. However, Brangara and Yarsha Zahara had seen his revivals before and hence acted promptly, throwing the Minor Treasure of Orakha's Checkpoint farther away from Yamahara.
Brangara's Subtle Terrain Domination and Yarsha'a Prana Shields protected everyone from harm against Orakha's explosion, rendering his last-ditched effort useless.
As he had already reclaimed his Minor Treasure, he gained the information stored in it, understanding what Yamahara was doing. Armed with the knowledge, depression was all he experienced, feeling that they had already lost this race.
Even if the Mystic Seven were to spontaneously join hands and jump the Varahan Empire, by the time they arrive at their destination, at least four Boar Kings would be there to greet them. This was besides the terrifying Celestial Boar and Yarsha Zahara.
The Mystic Seven would be defeated!
Everyone at the Mammoth Clan had the same thought, their expressions dreary. Vhalla got up weakly and sighed, staring at Raaha to ask, "How do we leave Sumatra? There is no response from the Mammoth Ancestor yet."
"We'll have to use the old route." Raaha's expression darkened. The old route was something the Mammoth Clan had compiled after many millennia of accumulation. It indeed led to another route, as confirmed by the Mammoth Ancestor.
However, it stretched into the Sandy-Grey Void from the Varahan Enclave, home to the Wean Clan. That was the problem. In an effort to avoid the problem, they would have to enter the lion's den.
"You can leave from the Gaja Enclave." Gannala spoke with a somewhat calmer tone than the rest as she pointed at the silent Maroppa leaning on the cave wall at the corner, "She can lead us to the outskirts of the Varahan Enclave through the Sandy-Grey Void. Once we reach the old route, we can proceed through our journey."
"You?" Raaha focused on Gannala's choice of words, "Are you not coming with us?"
"I'm staying behind." Gannala expressed herself firmly, "I am terrified, but I cannot leave Sumatra."
She stared at Vhalla, "The Mammoth Treasury cannot leave Sumatra Continent. It's our foundation, so someone must stay behind to take care of it. With my Tertiary Nature, I can stay on the run for the rest of my life. Even Brangara won't be able to catch up to me at my full speed."
"No, you're our future." Raaha denied her intentions, "You're the sole Empyrean Tusk who can accept the inheritances from all Empyrean Tusks. Without you, the Mammoth Clan has no future."
"We had no future from the moment we decided to flee." Gannala snorted, "And I'm not recklessly saying this."
She pointed at Harrala, "She'll be able to enter the Mystic Grade in the future. So, we'll have a future even if we enter another Continent. There's Grehha's daughter too."
"Resha, Blola, and Orakha have yet to have children. That's three more Mystic Paths." She argued, "That's more than enough foundation to behind a new life on another Continent. Without the threat of Brangara, you'll have an easier time surviving."
"Besides, Chief." Gannala eyed Vhalla, "Will you abandon the Mammoth Treasury?"
The Mammoth Treasury will remain on Sumatra Continent. The Mammoth Clan had tried many methods two millennia ago, but failed to bring it beyond the borders of the Continent. That was why the stronger tribe had to leave it behind.
And it's not as if Gannala was confident of killing Brangara or anything. No, she was equally terrified of the news. However, she didn't despair, feeling that there was still enough hope to fight for her survival.
If nothing works, she could simply flee for the rest of her life. Upon equipping herself onto the Nature slot of an Empyrean Zinger—with the Secondary Nature of Internal Inertial Gravity
—in her possession, she could flee at terrifying speeds.
Hence, as long as she had a fighting chance, Gannala intended to give her all. Besides, she could use this situation to demand possession of the Mammoth Treasury. So, that worked in her favour too.
As long as she was alive, the Mammoth Clan could be rebuilt from scratch. Her predecessor had already achieved it once. She had the perfect blueprint to follow and succeed.
'With the Mammoth Treasury in my possession, I can become the Supreme Tusk.' She thought. In the Mammoth Clan, the strength distribution was lopsided. Pretty much everyone strong other than Raaha was a part of her immune system.
So, she wasn't losing too much strength if the rest of the Mammoth Clan left. It was a pity the Empyrean Tusks were leaving, but as an Empyrean Tusk herself, Gannala intended to preserve the Mammoth Clan to her utmost possibility.
"As the Mammoth Clan Chief, preserving the Mammoth Clan's strength is my responsibility." Raaha sighed as he stared at Gannala, "If you wish to stay behind, I won't force you otherwise. You can take care of the Mammoth Treasury until the day a stronger Mammoth Clan returns to Sumatra."
"You're indeed the most capable of fleeing from Brangara."
Raaha then stared at Vhalla, "Please begin the transfer process of the Mammoth Treasury."
"…Alright." Vhalla nodded and approached Gannala, "It'll be a bit painful at the start but please bear with me while your brain turns into a biome."
"Okay," Gannala nodded with a serious expression, watching as a stream of light entered her from Vhalla, beginning the transfer process.
Only the Empyrean Tusk possessing the Mammoth Treasure could form a biome in its brain. As the transfer began, the biome in Vhalla's brain turned unstable. Everything of value, including the Mammoth Elders was sucked into the Mammoth Treasury, confined in its space until the transfer was completed.
Harrala watched the transfer with a saddened expression and focused on her wrist, 'Dad, what should I do? I want to protect Gannala, but at the same time, I'm terrified of facing Brangara. I'm not special like her. I'm average even amongst the Empyrean Tusks.'
In response to her question, a translucent blob popped on her wrist and took on the face of Yennda. He stared into her eyes and retreated into her wrist. His thoughts resounded in her mind space immediately after.
[Do whatever you'll regret the least. I'll support you with all my strength. You're already stronger than all Gold Grade Pranic Beasts. We can work together to figure out a way to strengthen you further. What do you say?]
Harrala was silent, making her thoughts from Yennda as she felt conflicted, 'I want to flee from this place, but based on the records, the Mammoth Clan branch from two millennia ago supposedly travelled for more than a century before reaching another Continent.'
'If I do that…' She stared at her wrist, 'Dad only has Iron Grade strength. He'd die before we reached another continent. He'd already depressed enough as is. If he has to spend the remainder of his life in the Sandy-Grey Void…No! I want him to smile…with me…for however little possible.'
She smiled wryly, in peace upon arriving at a conclusion, 'I don't mind dying if I could experience a happy family time at least once.'
She removed the mental blocks in her mind space, allowing her to communicate with Yennda, 'Dad, I want to stay! Are you okay with it?'
[Of course!]
With a firmed gaze, Harrala approached Gannala and patted her on the shoulder, nodding resolutely.
Gannala's eyes widened in shock in response as she blurted out, "No, it's too risky!"
"That's alright," Harrala smiled, "I'm too weak to make the trip. I might hold back the rest. So, I'll stay behind and help you."
"Besides, you need someone to talk to. Otherwise, it'll get lonely."
"Harrala…" Gannala trailed off, her voice slightly emotional, "I'll keep you safe, I promise."
The two women hugged each other, controlling their trembling bodies, aware that they were plunging themselves into absolute hell, all for a fighting chance of a liveable future.
The atmosphere was sombre as all the Empyrean Tusks stared at the faces of each other, conflicted. Their youngest was brave enough to face danger while here they were, preparing to flee.
However, even if they wanted to stay, they couldn't. The sense of fear they felt overwhelmed them, preventing them from harnessing even a tenth of their power when facing Brangara. That was their greatest issue.
Otherwise, the addition of their Secondary Nature of Kinesis Lantern Deity made them walking, talking natural disasters. In terms of battle strength, they were stronger than the Wean Clan's Boar Kings.
The problem was the instinct of fear engraved into their genetics as a result of Brangara's actions. That rendered them weak. Empyrean Boars were nothing to them, but Boar Kings triggered their sense of fear. If not for that, they would have tried to stay behind and fight for a future.
Only Gannala and Harrala, as a consequence of being influenced by their Mystic Paths, were able to endure and overcome their instinctual fear.
"It's done." A weak voice resounded from Vhalla as blood dripped from all the orifices on her face. She wiped them and collapsed to the floor, gasping in exhaustion while staring at Gannala, "You now hold the Mammoth Clan's foundation, Gannala."
"The Mammoth Treasury is yours."