Noikatol Kingdom, a nomadic Kingdom set in the Petrichor Savannah, established by a group of criminals who fled a ruined Kingdom three centuries ago. They eventually formed a community and increased their numbers over time, reaching their current population of 22,000 people.
Resources in the Petrichor Savannah were scarce, with no location in it capable of sustaining a long population for an extended period of time. Hence, the Noikatol Kingdom changed locations frequently, similar to the Balghats.
The faeces, urine, and other forms of excreta they would leave at their prior location served as manure, resulting in the growth of new vegetation over time. It resulted in a harmonious cycle and prevented the desertification of the region.
The people in Noikatol Kingdom practiced a cultivation technique called Iron Endurance Art, which raised efficiency in their body's respiratory, circulatory, and parasympathetic nervous systems. It allowed them to enter a state of rest as quickly as possible, sweat as and when necessary to cool down their bodies, provide proper blood and airflow to the necessary body parts, etc.
Iron Endurance Art raised the overall stamina of the Noikatol Kingdom, which allowed them to travel for extended durations with minimal rest. This allowed them to keep up with their lifestyle and adapt to the environmental conditions of Petrichor Savannah.
When one cultivated the Iron Endurance Art, the only mineral at the Petrichor Savannah that they could use to build their Human Avatar was the Katol, a greenish brittle substance that resembled sand with black impurities.
It was weak to heat and could be ground to dust with a basic grinding process. Once turned into dust, the cultivators at Noikatol Kingdom used the process of winnowing to separate the impurities present in the Katol.
"Someone's there," One of the patrolling soldiers around a moving caravan of people that formed the Noikatol Kingdom shouted and pointed in the direction of a carriage slowly heading their way.
The soldier wore a helmet haphazardly created using the bone of a Balghat and had clothes created using its fur. It was a shoddy workmanship at best and had sustained extended wear and tear, barely able to hold itself in one piece.
Every soldier was the same as Noikatol Kingdom's strength was stretched thin, extremely thin in fact. Of the 22,000 people, only 34 were at the Body Stage. As the mineral they built their Human Avatars with was Katol, an Iron Grade mineral, their strength too was at the Iron Grade.
Hence, these 34 Body Stage cultivators were just too weak. But at the Petrichor Savannah, which only had Iron Grade Pranic Beasts, they were still relevant.
Standing at the peak of the Noikatol Kingdom's society were six Life Stage cultivators, with the King being the sole existence at the 3-Life Stage, their strongest cultivator.
The people of Noikatol Kingdom had minimal belongings. They only had whatever they could carry on their back. A tent, two sets of clothes, some utensils to cook, and finally, a small batch of spare rations. This was pretty much the general gear they had.
Some people carried unique pebbles or weirdly shaped horns as souvenirs, pretty much the only hobby they had other than surviving. Their diet consisted of milk from the female Balghats they protect and rear.
In gratitude for being protected, the Balghats offered them milk, using which they make many food products for consumption. Other than milk, they collected leaves, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and a variety of plant products that were available in the Petrichor Savannah.
Though they had adapted and were steadily raising their population over the years, having an influx of people would help them a lot, especially in terms of information and resources.
The only cultivation technique present in the Noikatol Kingdom was the Iron Endurance Art. Any external party they could save meant the addition of another cultivation technique to their arsenal. As a result, once a soldier spotted the incoming carriage, the King of Noikatol Kingdom, Tssrah Noikatol sent a team of soldiers to their rescue.
The team consisted of four Body Stage cultivators and over twenty Spirit Stage cultivators with decent fighting strength. They activated Iron Endurance Art and sprinted in the direction of the incoming carriage.
"Eight Ptattahs are surrounding the carriage!" One of the soldiers shouted as they habitually changed formations, now moving about in the shape of an arrow, with the four Body Stage cultivators taking the front.
Intermediate Iron Grade Pranic Beast—Ptattah!
With a Prana capacity of 490 and a lifespan of 80 years, they were one of the predators of the Petrichor Savannah. At their tallest, they barely reached a height of a metre, built like a hyena. The only difference was their front, which resembled an ankylosaur. Their head was shaped like a hammer, covered by a thick chitin armour, ladled with keratin bone protrusions.
Primary Nature—Accel Ram!
When activated, the original rusty-coloured skin glows a dark red, with shades of black. A gelatinous membrane forms on their head, non-Newtonian in nature. When met with force, its external surface hardens to its extreme while its internal surface remains soft.
This cushions the Ptattah's head as it rams into its target. Once Accel Ram is activated, the body temperature of the Ptattah increases beyond its operational level, spiking its running speed, able to accelerate up to a distance of twenty metres, following which it strikes dead on into its target.
Every activation uses up twenty units of Prana, making them extremely irritating to face for the natives of the Petrichor Savannah. A Pattah that had reached maturity could unleash its Primary Nature a whopping 24 times before it expends its Prana.
Such a staggering number of impacts could easily crush the skull of even a Balghat, their favourite prey.
Currently, eight such Ptattahs were targeting a carriage, ramming into it nonstop while the defenders were desperately trying to hold on to life. "Quick! Save them!"
"They're here!" Inala shouted upon spotting the approaching group of soldiers and activated his Skill of Piezo Resonance to obtain the surface-level thoughts of the Ptattahs. The information regarding the Ptattahs was relayed in the form of Zinger Shrieks, which Inala conveyed to Virala, "Left, right, puppet one's leg, puppet two's stomach…"
All surface-level thoughts of the Ptattahs were revealed to Inala, allowing his side to promptly defend themselves. He then noticed a Ptattah was about to destroy a puppet and opened his mouth, gathering Prana into his throat to unleash a packet of shockwaves.
Mystic Royal Art—Tangible Shock!
It was similar to a Tangible Piezo Slip but only carried packets of shockwaves. That made it easier and faster to activate the Skill. After all, unlike Tangible Piezo Slips that doubled down as Spirit Weapons, a Tangible Shock only travelled in a straight line at the speed of sound.
To unleash it, Inala only needed to shout, which made its activation almost instantaneous. Its power was also significant enough and could be scaled even to his actual body. Its strength grew with respect to the amount of Prana infused into his throat to generate the shockwaves.
By using three units of Prana, the Tangible Shock he unleashed travelled as a packet of shockwaves at the speed of sound and brushed past one of Virala's puppets and slammed into the face of a Ptattah, exploding its eyes in response.
Krughhh!
The Ptattah unleashed a painful grunt and fell to the ground. Immediately in response, one of Virala's puppets jumped on it and gathered Prana into its fist, accelerating the punch it sent into the target's face.
Boom! Boom!
Muffled noises boomed from the impacts as the puppet's fists rained down nonstop, pausing only when another Ptattah rammed into the puppet and sent it flying.
"Tch!" Virala grunted in annoyance and grabbed a Spirit Weapon in the shape of an arm. He threw it to Inala, "Throw it!"
"Alright!" Inala grabbed the hand and got into a throwing position, unleashing a rough grunt as he hurled it towards a Ptattah. Right as it left his hold, Virala's psychokinesis accelerated it further. The hand grabbed one of the hind legs of a Ptattah and yanked it to the side, causing it to tumble down right before it rammed into its target.
"Die, fucker!" Virala roared as his puppets ganged upon the Ptattah and hurled a series of kicks at it, all reinforced with psychokinesis. He observed the scene with a hardened gaze as his hand steadily inched into the bag slung on his back, 'Do I use it?'
He eyed Inala once and decided otherwise, 'No, it's better I save it than reveal it prematurely. I'm counting on it to beat this guy up the next time we fight.'
While he thought as such, his concentration slipped for a moment, causing one of the puppets in his control to stop moving. That moment of slip was enough for a Ptattah to ram into it and send the puppet crashing into the carriage.
"You, goddamn moron!" Inala cursed Virala as he jumped out of the carriage that crumbled. It had been battered enough times and was no longer able to tank any more hits.
Rolling on the ground once, Inala slammed multiple Tangible Shocks in the face of a Ptattah aiming at him. Once the latter was slowed down in its charge, he leapt once and latched onto its back, activating the Skill of Resonant Shock.
Krughhh!
The Ptattah's vertebrae shattered as shockwaves coursed through it at its natural frequency. It was unable to run anymore and plopped on all fours. Standing on its back was Inala, using his body weight to stress its skeleton further and unleashed a couple more Resonant Shocks.
"Attack!" The soldier at the Body Stage activated his Human Avatar, transforming into a green entity resembling a sand sculpture, appearing brittle at first glance. However, an instant later, it solidified into glass, raising its structural solidity.
With that, they managed to neutralise a third Ptattah, which was when the soldiers from Noikatol Kingdom arrived.
"Attack!" The soldier at the Body Stage activated his Human Avatar, transforming into a green entity resembling a sand sculpture, appearing brittle at first glance. However, an instant later, it solidified into glass, raising its structural solidity.
Primary Nature—Whip Exhaustion!
A portion of the mineral forming the Human Avatar flowed across the soldier's hand and condensed into a greenish whip reaching a length of twenty metres. It produced a crisp echo once he lashed a Ptattah with it.
Krughhh!
The Ptattah became visibly exhausted after the hit. As its movements became slower, its body was drenched with sweat, and its breathing laboured.
The Primary Nature of Whip Exhaustion targeted one's stamina. Upon every hit, a portion of the target's stamina gets shaved. This allowed the cultivator to engage in a battle of attrition with their target and succeed eventually.
Iron Endurance Art allowed them to sprint for longer durations while their Primary Nature of Whip Exhaustion reduced the endurance of their target.
The soldiers from Noikatol Kingdom followed this principle as they ran around their targets and kept whipping them until the latter collapsed in exhaustion. Following that, they would capture their target to feast upon later.
Though they were extremely weak, and the portion of stamina they could shave wasn't high, Whip Exhaustion could be stacked as every hit shaved off a portion of the target's stamina.
'I see, so that's why they have been recruited into the Varahan Empire's fold.' Inala thought, understanding Yarsha Zahara's reasoning, 'Once Brangara consumes one of these cultivators, he could focus on elevating the Tangible Nature into a Minor Treasure. It will allow him to face me, Resha, and Blola simultaneously.'
Blola had infinite stamina as long as his roots kept absorbing nutrients from the ground to generate Prana. Resha grew ginormous biomes that would supply him with Prana and allow him to battle for months or even years at a stretch. And finally, Inala could fight perpetually as long as he kept absorbing Prana and Lifeforce from his enemies.
Whip Exhaustion was just one of the many abilities that Brangara intended to stockpile and counter the Mystic Seven. As a result, the Varahan Empire extended an olive branch to the Noikatol Kingdom.
Without hesitation, Tssrah Noikatol accepted the offer to be absorbed into the Varahan Empire. Though he might be a King, the lifestyle he led was multiple times inferior to even the lowest citizen of the Varahan Empire.
So, there was nothing to hesitate.
Soon, with the help of the soldiers, the eight Ptattahs were killed, following which Inala approached the soldier in the lead, "I express my gratitude for your help, kind Sir."
"The pleasure's ours." The soldier cupped his fists in response and glanced at Inala, Virala and the ten bodyguards who sported varying injuries. His gaze returned to Inala, judging the latter to be the leader of the group based on his disposition and asked, "May I know your name?"
"Haha," Inala let out a mild chuckle in response and began to weave a story that he had prepared in advance, "I'm a small-time merchant from a ruined Kingdom."
"You can call me Binala." He then pointed at Virala, "This old man is Kvirala."