Varahan Empire!
A civil war was still progressing, with no end in sight. A plethora of problems plagued the Empire, which was now fraught with differences and disagreements, all of which resulted in bloody fights. In the capital city, Narkn, a tree stood with imposing grandeur, the tallest on
Sumatra.
It was the Varahan Palace, continuing to steadily grow without any signs of stopping for the time being. Seated on the throne was none other than Narkahamy, having just recently solidified his position as the Varahan Emperor.
However, there were still plenty of tasks left to accomplish before he could stabilise his rule. The topmost priority was to get rid of those who supported the previous regime.
"Give me a list," Narkahamy's voice resounded with a boom, oozing authority as he stared at the newly appointed ministers. All the Ministers had Gold Grade strength, sporting the same build as himself.
Primary Nature-Blessed Inheritance!
Secondary Nature-Voracious Nature!
Tertiary Nature-Vara Accum!
Everyone in the throne room had built their Human Avatars out of Vara he created. And following the same steps that he had trodden first, they obtained the remaining Natures to complete their build. Following that, they could slowly replace their original Vara with the Vara they produced.
Upon reaching this point, their cultivation journey could truly begin progressing at a rapid pace. In terms of growth, they outclassed every Free Human. Narkahamy only required two years to finish building a body.
That was thanks to his ingenuity and an endless desire for knowledge and experimentation. He constantly kept innovating upon his existing ideas to ensure that even after reaching a high stack in the Life Stage, he could still maintain his growth speed.
Moreover, with the four gifts he received from Amita Brimgan, there was nothing that could hold back his growth. The first gift was a Gold Biome Bomb that was fully under his control, with its terrain behaving as his Information Slip.
Narkahamy steadily filled it with his Vara and used it as an Information Slip, converting the Gold Biome Bomb into a library. This way, he could carry it on his being at all times, ensuring there was no information leak.
Second was a gun with the power to unleash a Tangible Piezo Slip, which would make the opponent enter a state of sleep. It was his trump card, meant to save his life. Thankfully, he always exercised caution and hence never had to resort to it.
Third was a suitcase, a Prana Stitch Suit that could weave his hair into a robust suit, which was something he always wore. To make the suit, he assumed his Empyrean Boar Transformation and used the hair of his Pranic Beast form to make the suit, guaranteeing its defensive capability.
But that was its power originally. Currently, Narkahamy's suit had been upgraded to a whole new level of defensive strength. And it was all thanks to his build.
State of Harmony-Blessed Influence!
Based on the arrangement of Natures in his Human Avatar, their influence could be combined to unleash stronger, complex effects. Blessed Influence was pretty overpowered thanks to the fact that the result of this power stemmed from the influence of the Natures.
Therefore, irrespective of how much he used them, the source Natures were never activated. Hence, upon accumulating them, Narkahamy never lost them, since he never activated them in the first place.
The sharply conserved the resources required by the Free Humans to grow stronger. They could minimise the number of Natures they used once they reached the point of having a Blessed Influence.
Even if a Free Human couldn't attain a State of Harmony, Narkahamy could bestow them with a Blessed Influence. Those at the Silver Grade could only handle a single Blessed Influence, but the Gold Grade Free Humans could handle many.
Depending on how many they handle and could unleash without being overwhelmed, their competence was judged. The ministers were selected based on those with Narkahamy's build who could maintain three Blessed Influences.
'None of them can unleash a State of Harmony, even though they have my perfect build. They're still dependent on me. What is still lacking in them?' Narkahamy thought as he observed a Minister get up in response to his statement.
"Your Majesty!" The one who stood up was a young man in his early thirties, one of the people who had followed Narkahamy since the beginning, when they were part of Talamas- the terrorist organisation.
Currently, he was the Minister of Civilian Warfare, in charge of internal defences and primarily deployed to regions of civil unrest. His growth speed wasn't fast, but even he had reached the 3-Life Stage and was on the verge of entering the 4-Life Stage.
Considering for how short a time he had been cultivating, especially with Gold Grade strength, his growth was terrifying anywhere beyond the Varahan Empire. Normally, if he had been anywhere else, he would have his head poised up, with his nose pointing at the sky through sheer arrogance.
He was almost at a level where he could kill a Gold Grade Pranic Beast in a one-on-one battle. It took a Brimgan Royal anywhere from a century to two before they could reach the same level of strength.
And as the Minister of Civilian Warfare, Mesupoh had killed quite a few Empyrean Boars. His battle strength and ruthlessness had garnered him a decent extent of infamy.
Even with such strength, he was extremely humble before Narkahamy, because even with the same build, the two weren't even in the same dimension of strength, 'Prodigy doesn't even begin to describe the full extent of his potential.'
'He's the sole individual to have received recognition from the Royal Zinger.' With an expression brimming with respect, Mesupoh only raised his head high enough to stare at Narkahamy's feet, "Most of the Wean Clan has been pushed into the Varahan Enclave. Unfortunately, they have managed to relocate a large number of Nests into the Enclave alongside their supporters."
"The Wean Clan only has their hold over three Cities that share proximity to the Varahan Enclave." He expressed humbly, "We've been trying our best, but have been unable to push any further."
"Even with forty Gold Grade Free Humans, you still couldn't overwhelm them?" Narkahamy's brows creased slightly as his presence oozed, instantly making every Minister in the throne room feel as if they were drowning at the bottom of the sea.
Even with the same build, they were getting suppressed to such an extent. In response to his body trembling under the pressure, Mesupoh's zealous admiration only intensified, 'Only after attaining Gold Grade strength can I even begin to comprehend His Majesty's overwhelming power!'
Eight years ago, every single one of them felt the incomparable fight that transpired between the Celestial Boar and the Royal Zinger. The sheer fluctuation they felt caused them to experience nightmares to this day, unable to understand how two living beings could be so... dominating.
Had the fight happened anywhere near their location, the Varahan Empire would have been
casually erased from the map. It was an evident truth. And upon being privy to the situation, Narkahamy had personally gathered a team of Ministers and visited the Kalahatra Desert.
From their hiding spot far away from the region, they witnessed the legendary battle firsthand. As ridiculous as the fight got, everything ended eventually as Forest Boars started to pour out.
There was no news of either the Celestial Boar or Royal Zinger post that fight. Eventually, everyone concluded that the two pinnacle existences had taken each other out. It was what gave Narkahamy the confidence to go all-out in gaining control over the Varahan Empire.
He never hid his gifts from the Royal Zinger, donning them on his being with flashiness. His royal robes was the Prana Stitch Suit, which gradually grew more and more grandeur as Narkahamy improved his Blessed Influence of Empyrean Boar Transformation, making it far better than the original.
The most prominent was the fourth gift, a walking stick that pretty much became a symbol of power. After all, the grip of the walking stick was an orb. A complete Bolt of Transcendence was contained within.
Every cultivator knew what a Bolt of Transcendence signified. It was a destructive power that
couldn't be controlled. But now, it was part of the Emperor's walking stick. It further cemented Narkahamy's position, proving to everyone that he was the sole individual on Sumatra Continent to ever be recognised as 'Talented' by the Royal Zinger.
"I'm ashamed to admit my incompetence, Your Majesty!" Mesupoh bowed with an
expression that sought forgiveness, "We had finalised the operation to fully drive the Wean
Clan out of our Empire. However, right as we initiated our plan, there was a drastic change in the Wean Clan."
"Did a Boar King appear?" Narkahamy analysed and asked promptly, his expression turning
serious.
"Yes," Mesupoh nodded, "The Boar King only used Shredded Lunge but succeeded in dismantling our entire operation."
"What was their stack?" Narkahamy asked next.
"Eight, Your Majesty." Mesupoh nodded, turning silent upon seeing the Varahan Emperor tap
the floor with his walking stick once.
'There's a Wean Clansman that hid himself enough and avoided the war until he reached the
8-Life Stage?' Narkahamy pondered calmly, 'His Astral Chart's stack capability is directly related to his Life Stage cultivation. Maybe he is hiding his cultivation further and decided only stacking Shredded Lunge eight times was enough.'
'Seems it was more than sufficient since Mesupoh has failed the operation he was most confident about.' After a few more seconds, Narkahamy declared his command upon learning of all the Pranic Beast Nests under the Wean Clan's control, "Since a Boar King has appeared,
it's just a matter of time before more of them appear in the Wean Clan. Reduce the pressure we're applying on the Wean Clan to a minimum."
"Only ensure they can't expand beyond the three Cities under their control." Stating as such, Narkahamy got up and waved his hand, "I now dismiss the court hearing."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" All the Ministers got up and bowed respectfully. Currently, there were
twenty of them, but more would be added in the future, as there were plenty of organisations active in the Varahan Empire.
Through a corridor maintained for his exclusive use, Narkahamy walked into a narrow room
first. It only spanned an area of 16 square metres, sporting a life-sized statue of Amita Brimgan inside.
"As you have claimed, I've now become the Varahan Emperor and cemented my position solidly enough." Getting on one knee, Narkahamy clasped his hands and prayed, "Please forgive me for not prostrating, since I have to maintain the dignity of an Emperor."
After the short speech, he got up and left the room, sealing the door shut. His face expressed no trace of emotions as he adjusted his clothes and continued walking through the corridor, slowing reaching his research laboratory to find the figure of YoriBuntara seated on a chair,
chained up.
"How does it feel?" Narkahamy asked as he approached YoriBuntara and observed the presence radiating off the latter, one that was significantly stronger than an Empyrean Boar.
"Your Blessed Influence of Empyrean Boar Transformation..." YoriBuntara was barely able to her shock, "It's slowly synchronising with my Primary Nature and is on the verge of
conceal
stacking upon each other."
"Good," Narkahamy grinned and patted her head, "Focus on it and maintain the Blessed
Influence. Once the stack succeeds, I'm confident you'll obtain Astral Chart."
"That'll turn you into a Boar King!"