775 I Warned You
"Do you need another orb?"
Hearing Inala's question, Zaihaya shook her head, stating respectfully as she bowed, "No, the one you've bestowed upon us will last us another four years even with the current rate of consumption."
"I had summoned you to show you the Influenced Region of Armoury." She said, sweating slightly in response, for only now did she feel like she had taken the summon for granted.
Even if they had a different relationship, with her being one of the first Zingers that Inala had ever created, it didn't mean she could summon him as and when she pleased, especially before the others. The Royal Zinger was the Quip Clan's Deity, after all.
'Did I offend him?' She thought in worry, her figure trembling slightly in response, afraid of being rebuked by Inala. However, whatever she was worried about never happened.
Instead, Inala didn't seem the least bothered about being summoned here. After all, it was his decision whether or not to appear here. The Major Treasure of Flight had severe restrictions, but whether or not to use its power was something only he could decide.
So, it's not like he was forced to appear wherever anyone assumed a state of flight. Rather, the moment they assumed it, he would know their location. But that's it. Whether to appear next to them or not was at his sole discretion.
"Alright, keep up with the good work, then. Summon me when the Prana in your orb is at half capacity." Inala nodded and assumed flight, stating before he exited the Cloud Ship as he stared at Zaihaya, "Have we managed to create a logistic line to the Kalahatra Desert?"
"Not yet," Zaihaya shook her head.
"I'll tell Kenzar to focus on this with priority. Coordinate with him to develop the logistics." He then left a bunch of Biome Bombs for their use and flew out, "These Spirit Weapons are our best bet to ensure the Free Humans align stronger with us."
"Gather as many as you can." Inala commanded, "Kenzar will bring in the resources necessary for Armoury to make more Spirit Weapons."
All the Quip Clansmen in the Cloud Ship bowed in response as Inala flew overhead and calmly stared at the Influenced Region of Armoury, watching it steadily target the Cloud Ship, 'Indeed, it's not like a living being but is just operating on a set of laws.'
'Its hail of Spirit Weapons had worked on eliminating every opponent it faced until now, but Zaihaya runs counter to its power.' He thought. The Red-Draft River wasn't anywhere close to the Kalahatra Desert, so no Millinger had ever set foot on the desert.
It was why Armoury remained the absolute predator of this region. Otherwise, a legion of Millingers was enough to severely exhaust its reserve of Spirit Weapons and even rain artillery strikes upon it.
But that was life. Many races from faraway locations would have become absolute predators in other regions. But as they were too far away from each other, such a thing never happened.
Millingers were just one of the many powerful Gold Grade Pranic Beasts in the Red-Draft River. Similarly, there were Pranic Beasts like the Slump Lizards living in the Angan River, that when introduced into the Red-Draft River, would absolutely collapse its ecosystem.
Slump Lizards had insane fertility rates, due to which they would overpopulate in a massive environment such as the Red-Draft River, which by breadth alone was akin to a sea.
Slump Lizards would consume all the moss varieties abundant in the Red-Draft River beyond their recovery capacity, forcing other predators to deal with them.
However, as a group, Slump Lizards were extremely powerful, capable of disorienting even the strongest of creatures. As a result, there would be large schools of Slump Lizards that would consume every available moss, and cause the extinction of existing Pranic Beast races that consumed moss.
17:45
Even though a powerful Pranic Beast could consume a Slump Lizard, there was also the taste factor involved. Slump Lizards weren't in the least considered tasty by a majority of the Pranic Beast races. Even the ones at the Angan River had been modified by the Carcass Snail to ensure they could satisfy the palate of the Ganrimb Kingdom's Free Humans.
If the Slump Lizards weren't hunted early on to keep their numbers in check, they'd overpopulate the place. 'And since their meat isn't preferred, other races won't hunt them enough. And by the time they realise what is happening, it might be too late.'
'It's not necessary for a powerful Pranic Beast to disrupt the ecosystem. Weaker Pranic Beasts can prove to be the most damaging.' He thought. Slump Lizards were an example and Phells were another example.
Bludders, Ewworms, Shifting Ants, Zingers, etc. could all become an invasive species when introduced into other regions.
It was the same on Earth too. But on Sumatra, there were even more variables that factored into the ecology of a place, "I…wish to explore more and witness all such sights."
His heart thumped in longing as Inala observed faint sand swirls hundreds of kilometres away. These sand swirls were like flat disks vertically propped up on the desert surface, creating picturesque scenes.
Some of the sand swirls formed discs that reached a height of ten kilometres, absolutely gigantic. Just the sight alone caught him in a trance. Only when he felt another summons did he break out of his reverie, sighing melancholily, "Reality is shit!"
His dream had been to explore Sumatra. Every day when he was on Earth, reading Sumatra Chronicles, he longed to be able to explore it one day. And now, his build as the Royal Zinger allowed him to freely explore and take in the sights of this Continent's grandeur.
However, the reality was different. The endlessly growing Celestial Boar loomed overhead as an invincible threat. As long as Brangara was alive, Inala could never explore Sumatra.
'I can run away, if I want to. With my current power, I can escape beyond his reach.' He thought. However, that scenario would always keep him on edge, making him tense as to when the Celestial Boar might pop up to devour him.
Eventually, worries would engulf him, preventing him from enjoying the sights of Sumatra. It was no different from his current state of self where he couldn't relish the sights and instead had to focus on his plans, schemes, and everything else.
'Only when my mind is free and relaxed can I truly enjoy life on Sumatra.' He was frustrated, because subconsciously, even through survival, he had always been seeking out a build that allowed him to one day freely explore Sumatra without risk to himself.
It was why he had been gung-ho about becoming a Zinger. Its powers being perfect for dealing with Brangara was just an excuse. He could have chosen other builds too.
But his subconscious desire made him focus on this the most, causing him to assume that only a Zinger build was mentally suited to his character. If killing Brangara had been his sole goal, he would have focused on some other Pranic Beast.
Even Mud Vipers would have been a better candidate, as it was a race prone to mutation, which was precisely why Grehha had targeted them.
And now, even though Inala had the perfect build to roam Sumatra freely across the skies, the only existence with the authority to do so, he was forced to focus on dealing with the Celestial Boar.
"Dammit!" His figure vanished from the Kalahatra Desert, appearing at the Brimgan Empire's Palace to stare at the figures of Virala and Boul Brimgan.
His expression was calm and collected, showing no traces of his prior outburst as he nodded, "I'll be done in a day."
"Just hurry it, man." Virala groaned as he slumped on a sofa, playing around with his Mystic Human Stamp, "I can't wait to cripple that bastard."
"Just pray he doesn't consume your Minor Treasure," Inala snorted, "Did you forget that he's a Major Treasure? It implies his power system operates at a level beyond ours."
"Isn't that why I'm being patient here?" Virala rolled his eyes, "Just hurry and extract whatever you can out of him."
"It takes time." Inala ignored Virala following that, too irritated to care about someone happy to irritate the fuck out of his existence. He then stared at Boul Brimgan to ask, "How's your preparation coming along?"
"I'm ready," Boul Brimgan nodded calmly, "I have organised my powers and have strengthened myself to however much I could through the Influenced Region of Golden Deity."
"Are you not planning to use the Major Treasure of Deity?" Inala asked in surprise upon inspecting Boul Brimgan's presence, no longer sensing the Major Treasure of Deity in him.
"It's not necessary anymore," Boul Brimgan smiled as a golden flicker flashed through his eyes, "I've already gained the necessary benefits from it. And now, I've placed it back in the Golden Deity, so that it can continue building its Influenced Region."
'I need to get a Major Treasure for the Mystic Humans too.' Virala thought in envy, aware by now that Inala had a Major Treasure other than Attribute. In contrast, the Mystic Humans only had one Minor Treasure.
Eventually, there would come a time when they would have multiple Minor Treasures, as the refining effect granted by his Minor Treasure of Mystic Human Stamp sought to elevate the tools of all Mystic Human's Gold Ewworm form into a Minor Treasure.
The tools were made using Tratham and would eventually become a Minor Treasure. But it'll take time. With their build, once the tool becomes a Minor Treasure, it can be fused to their body, allowing them to condense a new tool at the tail end of their Ewworm forms once again.
That's how Virala gained a tool of Tratham despite having the Mystic Human Stamp. In theory, they could create an infinite supply of Minor Treasures. However, the reality was different.
Virala could refine the Minor Treasure of Mystic Human Stamp by taking advantage of a series of opportunities, especially Mystic Kinesis Art. But that couldn't be used for Tratham. Hence, the process of turning it into a Minor Treasure was awfully slow, even for Virala, since it was entirely reliant on the refinement effect of his Mystic Human Stamp.
'I should focus on accelerating that process while consuming the Celestial Boar's flesh.' Virala thought as he gazed at Inala, 'This is the only way I can keep up with this guy's growth.'
More than everything, he was aware of how powerful the Celestial Boar had become. Even though it seemed like Inala, Virala, and Resha were casually beating up Brangara, their mental states had taken a blow, understanding that with the Celestial Boar's growth rate, the difference in their strength at the Fourth Major Disaster would mirror the First Major Disaster.
Even their endgame builds would become too weak before an endgame Celestial Boar. 'And there's a good chance Brangara has consumed the Mammoth Clan. Considering how he hasn't returned even after we had provoked him, there's a solid chance he's trying to birth Empyrean Tusks to consume.'
"What does his memories say?" Virala asked after a few hours of silence, "What was the main body's plan?"
"It's as we had feared." Inala sighed as he shook his head, "A 2-Life Stage Brangara set out alongside Yarsha Zahara, armed with a Minor Treasure that could serve as a bank for Natures. They were precisely aware of the Mammoth Clan's path through the Sandy-Grey Void, the route they were taking, and the route Yarsha Zahara had to take to catch up to them on time."
He gritted his teeth, grunting in anger, "It seems Sumatra's Transcendent Eater guided them throughout the journey."
"That bitch!" Virala cursed in response and slammed the floor next to him, cracking it in response.
'I see, so Sumatra Continent is blocking out all contact with the Transcendents, since it dislikes their interference in our matters. But the moment we enter the Sandy-Grey Void, we can contact them, though the chances are negligible due to the invasion by the Transcendents from other Continents.' Inala thought as he simultaneously accessed Yamahara's memories, 'So, that was why he was strangely passive throughout the whole ordeal, despite his powers.'
'I would like to make plans regarding it, but that's beyond the current me.' He sighed and stared at the ceiling, 'I'll figure it out if I survive the Celestial Boar.'
He then stared at Boul Brimgan, asking after a moment's hesitation, "Do you mind revealing to me your Tertiary Nature?"
'How did this guy figure it out?' Boul Brimgan was surprised by the question.
"I have a Minor Treasure that achieves a similar effect. It's why I can guess the functions of the Major Treasure of Deity." Inala smiled wryly and asked, "I believe we don't have enough time to hide our secrets. Otherwise, I would have never revealed my abilities to the two of you."
"Alright, I'll show it to you." Boul Brimgan nodded and activated his Primary Nature to grow into a 12-metre-tall golden giant.
Primary Nature—Kinesis Deity!
His Rutham Human Avatar pulsed with power as ten golden felines appeared beside him, purring softly as they behaved lifelike despite being inanimate existences.
Secondary Nature—Minor Treasure!
Minor Treasure—Kinesis Feline!
"You…need to move back a little." Boul Brimgan said as he stared at the seated figure of Virala nearby.
"I can even tank a full-powered punch from the Celestial Boar." Virala waved casually, "Just do what you have to do."
"Don't complain that I didn't warn you." Boul Brimgan then looked at Inala to explain, "The path of a Brimgan Royal is sequential in terms of gaining a Nature. The final puzzle is the Major Treasure, which grants in me this Tertiary Nature."
As he spoke, the golden felines fused into his Human Avatar as his figure disappeared. In response, Virala found himself sent flying out of the palace, sporting an evident dent in his chest.
"Fucker…you attacked me!" Virala cursed as he found himself sent flying many kilometres out.