Situated 140 kilometres from the route leading into the Varahan Enclave was Binkn, one of the four megacities of the Varahan Empire. Of the four megacities, the largest was the capital, Narkn. The remaining three were situated close to the Varahan Enclave and were currently under the Wean Clan's control.
With a population reaching over four million, Binkn was under seize. Soldiers-Silver Grade Free Humans-stood beyond the city wall, forming a bank of force. They carried large shields, those that weighed twice their weight.
A projectile flew from over the wall when a soldier raised the heavy shield and grunted, activating his Vara Human Avatar form. His Prana surged into the shield and created a forcefield, raising its defensive strength. The effect mimicked the Nature of Prana Shock but with stabilisation effects.
Nature-Prana Shock x18!
Nature-Aerodynamic Stabilityx4!
Prana Shock was obtained from Shock Lizards and Aerodynamic Stability from Zincuars. Both were Iron Grade Natures, and hence could be harvested in large numbers to be equipped on the entire army.
Right as the projectile slammed into the shield, winds stabilised the shield upon impact as all the accumulated power of Prana Shock was discharged from the point of contact, obliterating the projectile.
Blessed Influence-Shock Wall!
The influence generated by a combination between 18 Natures of Prana Shock and 4 Natures of Aerodynamic Stability resulted in the Blessed Influence of Shock Wall. It could gather the power of Prana Shock into a Spirit Weapon and discharge it when something comes into contact with it, from the point of contact.
That raised the overall defensive capability. The shield bearers could only rely on Shock Wall. That was the only ability they could unleash, since their Vara Human Avatar only had the 22 Natures necessary to unleash the Blessed Influence of Shock Wall.
If any other Nature were to be added into the Human Avatar, its influence would destroy the function of Shock Wall. Similarly, if one of the Natures were to be used, then similarly, Shock Wall cannot be unleashed.
Had they moved about individual, despite the defensive strength achievable through Shock Wall, the soldiers would have been killed easily due to a lack of versatility. However, in a large scale war, this was perfect.
There was a row of shield bearers before large, tank-like objects. It had the base of a rectangle, mounted on spiked wheels-with the spikes fitted with a suspension system to facilitate terrain movement.
Atop the base was a large cylinder, with a hole at the bottom and at the top, the overall structure resembling a periscope in terms of external design. The top end faced the wall while the bottom end faced away from it, in the direction of the Varahan Empire's army.
The base alone occupied an area of 32 square metres, surrounded by four soldiers. Their hands were on the periscope, seeping Prana inside constantly. A group of eight soldiers pushed the mobile object.
Spirit Weapon-Shot Pult!
A large-built man at the 2-Life Stage donning heavy armour sauntered towards the mobile unit with heavy steps. His arm alone was thicker than the thighs of other soldiers. His Prana wasn't as impressive as his physique indicated. He was panting, about to faint.
His lips were parched, his expression exhausted. Followed by a grunt, Prana surged into his hand and condensed a chitin shell oozing with a corrosive power.
Nature-Bone-Melting Artilleryx2!
Nature-Satellitex8!
The large-built man's Silver Grade Vara Human Avatar had a total of 10 Natures, with two of them being Silver Grade Natures originating from a Centinger while the Iron Grade Natures originated from an Enrino.
Blessed Influence-Destructive Shell!
It spanned a length of a metre, shaped like a bullet with aerodynamic flaps on its trailing edge. The large-built man inserted it into the hole at the bottom of the periscope structure- the Shot Pult.
Within the cylindrical structure of the Shot Pult was a double helix, with Drifting Tunnel built into it. The gravitational path in one moved upward while the other helix had a downward path of gravity. Both the helixes were connected towards the ends.
Upon being loaded, the Destructive Shell moved through the tunnel and looped through the double helix dozens of times, accelerating in a matter of seconds until it attained terminal velocity. The four people standing around the Shot Pult were in charge of maintaining the strength of the Drifting Tunnel within the double helix.
And right as the Destructive Shell attained terminal velocity, the skin of all four prickled as they poured in their Prana and caused a vent to open at the top of the periscope that faced the
wall.
A thunderous boom resounded as a vapour cone formed right after the Destructive Shell was launched out of the Shot Pult. The shell weighed 120 kilograms, and with that sheer weight, it slammed into the city wall and exploded from the force of the impact.
A corrosive force spread from the point of impact and melted a crater into the wall. One after another, Destructive Shells were launched onto the wall, damaging it rapidly. Some were launched beyond the wall, eliciting screams from the city.
Most of the populace part of Binkn were Free Humans loyal to the Wean Clan. They were
mostly part of the older generation that had survived a tough life in the wilds, part of small, struggling Human Kingdoms. They never forgot their roots and decided to stick with their saviours.
A total of 200 Shot Pults stood amidst the Varahan Empire's army, resulting in an endless bombardment. The shield bearers stood their ground and protected the Shot Pults from the Wean Clan's retaliation.
A team of forty soldiers began to charge towards the wall after breaching a hole into it. However, right as they got closer, a figure landed upon them and crushed them into mush upon assuming their Empyrean Boar form.
Snort!
The Empyrean Boar's fur stood on end and grew rapidly, almost turning into a cocoon. And then, it was launched into the sky, turning into dozens of nets that landed on a large number of soldiers and shrunk rapidly upon contact.
It turned into a yarn, crushing most of the soldiers into paste from the pressure. Every net captured at least one soldier while some even captured three. The latter ones died spontaneously due to a lack of space after getting crushed.
Among the former, even the survivors couldn't fight for the time being, sustaining serious injuries.
The Empyrean Boar had used over a dozen Natures of Wool Expansion in the attack. It hit its hooves into the ground and moved in the blink of an eye, jumping right into the centre of the human army. And the moment it landed, fierce wind blades burst out of its position and
decimated through a large number.
Nature-Shredded Lunge!
Many Empyrean Boars jumped into the human army one after another as soldiers from Binkn City rushed out in large numbers, intending to out swarm the invaders.
Blessed Influence-Manoeuvre!
Blessed Influence-Ring Blade!
Blessed Influence-Empyrean Boar!
Right as the Empyrean Boars rampaged through the human army, using the defensive strength of their bodies to tank attacks and focus only on offence, a group of Gold Grade Free Humans charged at the Wean Clansmen and also assumed Empyrean Boar forms.
Boom!
As the two sides came into contact, the Wean Clansmen were sent skidding away, turning out weaker than their Free Human counterparts.
"How long do you bastards intend to desecrate our appearance?" A Wean Clansman roared amidst a mixture of anger and sadness, "You gained that appearance by swallowing my
brethren!"
"Are you sure?" The one charging at the Wean Clansman was Mesupoh, his expression one of ridicule as he rammed into the Wean Clansman without the usage of any other abilities, "We're both at the 3- Stage, but your Empyrean Boar form is significantly weaker than
mine."
"Surrender! The Wean Clan's a thing of the past! His Majesty will grant you asylum." With a thicker hide and slightly longer legs, Mesupoh's Empyrean Boar form had been modified to be
better than the original.
It was what allowed him to steadily hunt Wean Clansmen one after another.
"Bastard!" Even though the Wean Clansman was terrified at the strength disparity, he had a
larger number of Natures stored in his body. Followed by a grunt, he rushed at Mesupoh and engaged in a series of bloody exchanges.
Blessed Influence-Ring Blade!
A group of soldiers steadily rushed into the city through the breach in the wall. A ring of Prana
revolved around them, expanding and contracting when necessary to sever their foes. The group divided themselves into smaller teams as they created a collective coil of Ring Blades that doubled down as both offence and defence.
Their slaughter began in full scale, lasting for an exact three minutes before the Boar King
made an appearance. "You...DAMN BASTARDS!"
His presence expanded outward and drowned the free humans, restricting their activity. He
had been fighting in another megacity and had to rush to Binkn City in a hurry upon hearing news of the war switching to this place.
"Retreat!" Mesupoh announced as he retracted the Ring Blade that had half-wedged itself
into the stomach of an Empyrean Boar. With his command, the army began to retreat.
"Huff...haah!" A Wean Clansman clutched the socket of his bleeding right arm, his steps staggering as he skipped and stumbled through the thicket of trees beyond the border of the Varahan Empire. During the war, he planned to flank the enemy, fell victim to am ambush and was now being chased relentlessly by a team of pursuers.
Thump! Clang!
THUMP!
As the Wean Clansman continued to run through the forest, he flinched upon hearing metallic
clangs echo about in the place.
"He's close. There are traces of his blood here!" Hearing faint shouts from behind, the Wean Clansman looked around in fluster.
'I might be caught at this rate. I don't have the strength left to continue fleeing.' Even if he were to consume something, by the time he could digest the food, the enemies would have caught up to him, since he would be leaving evident traces during consumption.
'I can only risk it then!' He thought and rushed in the direction of the metallic clangs, 'This
place was supposed to have been cleared of all Pranic Beasts long ago when the Wean Clan was in charge of the Empire. I can only pray some powerful predator made this its lair.'
It was foolish to expect a miracle, but that was his only option at the moment. The metallic
clangs resounded rhythmically, with power, growing in intensity as the Wean Clansman used all his strength to rush in the respective direction.
It was a hill, covered by densely growing patch of shrubs and trees alike. A curtain of vines
blocked the entrance that reached a height of 16 metres. Upon seeing the height, hope lit up in the Wean Clansman's heart as he dashed inside, breaking to a halt promptly upon staring at a humanoid giant hammering a piece of metal.
"A human...no, this size can only be a Pranic Beast..." The Wean Clansman muttered, flinching upon seeing the hammering stop as a pair of glowing eyes focused upon him in the dark. Suddenly, an overbearing voice resounded in his ears, causing his knees to grow weak for some unknown reason.
"Why have you intruded my lair, child?"