"Sweet, sweet land!" Maroppa complained as she rolled around on the soft soil, "I was going mad there!"
The ship creaked in response to her words, sporting large cracks where parts had fallen off, revealing the interiors. When seen closely, one would notice patchwork done on the walls of the room, sealing the place with the crack.
There were hundreds of such cracks and an equal number of sealed rooms, smeared by blood and sporting mutated blimps hanging on the ceiling, dripping droplets of blood that wriggled from time to time.
"Ugh! I never want to travel through it ever again."
"How did our ancestors journey through it a couple millennia ago?"
"Even with our ship that had been boosted by Sumatra Gold, we came close to death dozens of times."
Commenting in exhaustion, a group of tall, ivory-haired women jumped down from the ship, their landing soft, hardly producing any sound.
Taking in the lead was Vhalla, her face bloody. Her expression was fierce, emitting bloodlust as she walked away from the ship calmly, her eyes unable to adjust to the bright surroundings. She extended her hand and pointed fingers at her eyes, accelerating them a moment later.
Followed by a soft, puncturing sound, she extracted her eyes and regrew a new pair of eyes. Vhalla stared at her extracted eyeballs, noticing the nerves on them dancing faintly, on the verge of sprouting tendrils like serpents, intending to attack her.
"Off you go!" Followed by a snort, she threw the pair of eyes into the Sandy-Grey Void. She then inspected her body, extracting any infected body parts before chucking them into the Sandy-Grey Void.
In a matter of minutes, she was clean, following which her Prana circulated through her body, gradually erasing any lingering presence. The current her was strong, significantly stronger than before. After all, not only did she have three Natures, but she had also entered the 2-Life Stage, experiencing a monumental surge in power.
Rhanalla approached her after cleaning herself in a similar manner, asking as she glanced at Maroppa, "We completed the journey with minimal damage thanks to her."
As she spoke, the ship crumbled into dust, breaking down into grey sand. The Sumatra Gold used in it was also destroyed in the process, having taken the brunt of influence unleashed by the Transcendents fighting in the Node.
"Phew!" Raaha wiped his sweat and flexed his muscles, triple-checking to ensure he was perfectly alright. He then stared at the Empyrean Tusks that had gathered before him, "What's the status of your respective Settlements?"
"No issues on my side." Vhalla was the first to answer, stating as she observed her biomes, "I have ensured to prevent any external influence from reaching my biomes. So, none of my Mammoth Clansman are affected."
"It's the same for me too," Rhanalla spoke next as the second Empyrean Tusk. One after another, the Empyrean Tusks explained their status.
"Thirty of my Mammoth Clansmen have been affected." The twentieth Empyrean Tusk commented with a somewhat saddened tone.
"I've faced a big loss." The ninetieth Empyrean Tusk spoke, "Two thousand of my Mammoth Clansmen on my side."
As they spoke in order, the attention of everyone fell on the 103rd Empyrean Tusk, the weakest of their kind. After the merger, there were a total of 106 Empyrean Tusks, with Gannala and Harrala being the 105th and 106th Empyrean Tusks respectively.
After Brangara killed one more Empyrean Tusk, the rankings of every one were reduced by one. And with the two Mystic Path inheritors remaining behind, the 103rd Empyrean Tusk, though mature, was the weakest.
She was also gaining age, having less than a century before she ran out of lifespan. Her expression was the darkest as she said after a moment of hesitation, "Half…"
"What?" Raaha was stunned by the answer, "You've lost half?"
"Yes," The 103rd Empyrean Tusk nodded. Originally, a Mammoth Clan Settlement had a population of forty thousand. After their resource collection abilities increased, Raaha increased the limit to fifty thousand, as they could now support this larger population.
So, half of that was a whopping twenty-five thousand Mammoth Clansmen. They formed the largest chunk of distorted flesh covering the inner walls of the ship. Every time one of them became affected, the 103rd Empyrean Tusk spat them out, following which the Empyrean Tusks joined hands to swiftly destroy the infected creatures.
"How are you feeling now?" Raaha approached the 103rd Empyrean Tusk and inspected her, concluding after a couple of minutes, "There are no lingering infections in you anymore. You're clean."
"Thank you." The 103rd Empyrean Tusk let out a sigh, aware that she would have to spend a greater time recovering from this, especially since she needed to prepare her successor. She then stared at her surroundings, noticing a walled Kingdom situated approximately twenty kilometres away, "What is this place?"
"Manu Enclave, the first Enclave of Sumatra, a region ruled by Free Humans from its inception." Orakha's voice resounded as he walked towards them, carrying a Mystic Eater that he had sent in the direction of the closest Free Human Kingdom, "But for some reason, the entire Kingdom is empty. They seemed to have evacuated two days ago."
"Was something the issue?" Vhalla asked in worry, "If something serious is happening here that forced a Free Human Kingdom to evacuate, we need to exercise caution."
"Say, Orakha." Raaha stared at the man in question and asked, "Do these Free Human Kingdoms have anyone with Gold Grade strength?"
"On average, there's at least four to five." Orakha nodded, "And a stronger Kingdom might have more than a dozen. I can't say anything with assurance since I've only scouted the place for a few minutes."
"Alright," Raaha nodded as he commanded the Empyrean Tusks, "Let's proceed with caution while investigating this place. If possible, we should integrate ourselves with the Free Human society here."
"Yes," Vhalla and the rest nodded as they all took out an Inhibition Needle and stabbed it into their foreheads. The Inhibition Needle fused with their skull and spread its effects to the rest of their skeleton once they activated Mystic Bone Art.
Soon, the Pranic Beast presence emanating from everyone changed, now resembling that of a Free Human. Inhibition Needle was Inala's idea. However, Maroppa was the one who made them. Hence, in order to ensure they could hide without issues, she revealed this secret of hers.
Raaha immediately changed their route, entering the Red-Draft River where they hunted Millingers, capturing enough for Maroppa, Raaha, and all the Empyrean Tusks. They even stockpiled a couple dozen more for emergencies, for Millingers were only present in the Red-Draft River.
The Red-Draft River's path didn't approach any of the Enclaves. And since they intended to hide in an Enclave, they had to hunt extra Millingers. This was one of the causes that delayed their planned escape.
However, now that they had arrived at the Manu Enclave, they were content.
Secondary Nature—Kinesis Lantern Deity!
Vhalla activated her Secondary Nature, transforming into a figure of ivory, appearing no different from the Human Avatar form used by Free Humans. It was a Nature derived from the Brimgan Royals and hence had the same characteristics. And similar to them, her height increased by a metre for every addition of the body in the Life Stage.
Tertiary Nature—Cultivator!
It was what allowed them to assume such a form that mimicked a Free Human's Human Avatar. Without it, an Empyrean Tusk could only activate its Secondary Nature while in Pranic Beast form, which transformed its body into a humanoid counterpart, reaching a height surpassing a kilometre.
While in human form, an Empyrean Tusk could only use a Storage Lantern as a Spirit Weapon through the Secondary Nature of Kinesis Lantern Deity. But thanks to the Tertiary Nature, they were all able to gain such forms.
Vhalla tapped her body, hearing the same knocking sounds produced when struck on the tusk of an Empyrean Tusk, the hardest material on Sumatra. 'This alone is enough to endure the attacks of a Free Human with Gold Grade strength. I won't even need to use Internal Inertial Gravity during a fight.'
"Phew!" She exhaled softly, spitting out bone fragments. They revolved around her before gradually outlining her body, forming a layer.
Primary Nature—Satellite!
A good number of Mammoth Clansmen had fused with an Enrino, wielding the Primary Nature of Satellite. Complementing their usage of Mystic Bone Art and forming their Pranic Beast bodies using tusk bone powder, the item they created using Satellite was pretty much a part of the Empyrean Tusk's exoskeleton.
Vhalla watched as the thousands of Satellites layer her body, following which she deactivated her Secondary Nature. The Satellites still covered her body, but using Mystic Bone Art, she caused them to sink into her flesh and condensed a layer of skin over them.
This way, the Satellites were protecting her human body but weren't visible to anyone else. And as they were basically created using her tusk bone powder, she could control them as she pleased, allowing her to walk around as if normal.
Best of all, these Satellites allowed her to assume a powerful battle state in human form that was similar to her Empyrean Tusk form, giving her the confidence to face the strongest foe in this region without issues.
"Ready?" Raaha asked as he watched all the Empyrean Tusks follow Vhalla's example and layer Satellites under their skin. Thanks to the Boutique Lizard eggs given by Inala, plus the eggs of Enrinos, all Empyrean Tusks had one Mammoth Clansman who could turn into a Boutique Lizard.
And the egg they could produce in their Pranic Beast form was that of an Enrino.
"One minute," Vhalla said as she condensed a storage lantern through her Secondary Nature. It was a one-storey storage lantern with a volume of 8400 cubic metres. The space was a cube with sides spanning a length of 20 metres.
Taking in a deep breath, Vhalla activated her Secondary Nature once again, consuming some of the tusk bone powder in her reserves and erected a second floor. Every few seconds, she added a new floor, stopping at the end upon reaching the tenth floor.
'That is pretty much the limit, huh?' She thought while observing the ten-storey storage lantern. While that was the limit, it was only for the storage lantern itself. There was no limit to the number of storage lanterns she could create.
"I don't want to spit out anything from my biomes during a crisis. Better to exercise caution." She said and began to stuff Prana Bombs, Comets, Elixirs, medicines, and a bunch of other items on each floor. She stared at the other Empyrean Tusks and commanded them, "Do the same. We won't be using anything apart from our storage lanterns to fight here, if necessary."
"Only that way can we blend in with everyone and act as Free Humans." She reminded everyone, "It's not enough to just emit the presence of a Free Human. We must also act like one, alright?"
While Vhalla discussed with the Empyrean Tusks, Orakha retracted the Mystic Eater under his sleeve and approached Maroppa, chuckling upon seeing her remain sprawled on the ground, "Do you hate the Sandy-Grey Void so much? Didn't your race originate from there?"
"I hate it." Maroppa snorted, "My race belonged to the Sandy-Grey Void, yes. But the region we lived in was within Sumatra's sphere of influence. The one we faced out there isn't the home my ancestors came from. It has the damning presence of countless Transcendents."
"Isn't that why Raaha couldn't talk to the Mammoth Ancestor?" She said, for a moment grunting upon uttering the name of one she hated the most.
Sumatra's barrier only protected the continent. The moment the Mammoth Clan entered the Sandy-Grey Void, Raaha could communicate with the Mammoth Ancestor. At any other time, this wouldn't have been an issue.
Even the group that left the Sumatra Continent a couple millennia ago constantly maintained contact with Mahira Tusk as they journeyed across the Sandy-Grey Void. However, the difference now was the Transcendents in conflict, which caused their presence—carried by vestiges of their Transcendent Prana—to chaotically linger across the place, interfering with the line of communication.
That was why even though they could communicate, Raaha was unable to hear a single, ungarbled word.
"It is, but that's not our concern for the time being." Orakha said as he extended his hand, grabbing Maroppa gently, "We have no intention of leaving Sumatra, so the Mammoth Ancestor's assistance is unnecessary. And Manu Enclave is so far away that Brangara would run out of lifespan by the time he can travel to this place."
His eyes darted towards his surroundings, stating to Raaha, "We only need to stay away from the rivers, Chief. We'll then be safe from the prying eyes of Sumatra's Transcendent Eater…"
He hadn't even finished his sentence when dozens of Mystic Eaters burst out of his back and expanded to forms dozens of times their original sizes, baring their fangs as they turned into plasma and lashed onto the various projectiles heading their way.
"What the fuck?" Orakha turned around in alarm and stared in the direction of the Sandy-Grey Void, "What was that?"
He then stared at the projectiles that were gradually melting under the heat transmitted into them upon contact by the Mystic Eaters, recognising them, "These are…fragments of an Empyrean Tusk's tusk?"
His eyes widened in slow motion as Orakha made eye contact with Vhalla and hurriedly pushed Maroppa behind him. Raaha stealthily flickered to his side and stood on his guard while all the Empyrean Tusks filed into a group, simultaneously glaring in the direction of the Sandy-Grey Void nervously.
And then, it hit them, a wave of fear all too familiar, and all too dreadful. In accordance with it, a humanoid figure riding a golden feline crossed the border and set foot on the Manu Enclave.
"He…hehe!" The figure stared in the direction of Raaha and eyed all the Empyrean Tusks, "Good, everyone's here."
Her eyes then fell upon Orakha, "It has been a while, hasn't it?"
"My dear orange!"