"Then," Upon hearing Inala's response, Shuwrak Zahara stared at DaraBuntara and nodded, "Thank you for your time. I'll summon you later when I need you here."
"Alright," DaraBuntara didn't have much of a say in the situation beyond that. He felt a Brully's power would be useful for them and brought Inala here. As to how the Wean Clan was using that power, that was something the higherups could sort out.
Once he left, Shuwrak Zahara's expression hardened as he observed Inala, "Now, tell me."
"Why were you lingering close to the Varahan Empire's border?"
Kaboom!
An overwhelming pressure pressed down on Inala, taking the latter by surprise, 'Damn! That's insane! This pressure is on par with Vhalla after she obtained her three Natures.'
The man before him was as strong as the strongest Empyrean Tusk, after the latter possessed three Natures. In contrast, Shuwrak Zahara only seemed to have two Natures. His cultivation too was at the 2-Life Stage, the same as Vhalla, who Inala was mentally comparing.
'Vhalla is an Empyrean Tusk. Her physical body alone can destroy most Gold Grade Pranic Beast. And once she uses her Natures strategically, she could rampage around even in the Brimgan Empire.' His body trembled as Inala felt a burst for survival, exciting him, 'This is it! That's why I made this my first stop!'
Had it been before the Mystic Seven were born, a Gold Grade Pranic Beasts wouldn't be in much danger as long as it was careful. At most, stepping upon a Mud Viper nest was one of the most dangerous.
However, things were dfferent now. So many changes had happened that Sumatra, as a whole, had gotten more dangerous. The Empyrean Boar King's Prana alone was enough to mutate an Iron Grade Pranic Beast.
Inala's Mammoth Clan male and Cooter Clan female build was also created thanks to it. Just a single Empyrean Boar King could bring about tremendous evolution. What about the more of its kind?
Empyrean Boar King, Mystic Ewworm, Royal Zinger, Celestial Boar, Empyrean Supreme, Transcendent Eater, Mystic Empyrean Tentacle, and finally, Brood Mother. So many Mystic Grade existences had been rampaging around, firring off all sorts of abilities.
And when they battled, their blood, flesh, and products of their Natures splashed onto all sorts of places. That sparked a series of evolutions in Pranic Beast races. Even if they hadn't progressed higher in the Grades, their forms, Natures, etc. became more complex, adapting to the growing power system of Sumatra Continent.
That's why, even with a Brully build, Inala judged that the current Sumatra Continent was dangerous enough to him. He'll die too soon with a Silver Grade build, especially once the Forest Boars invade every region.
However, he was confident that no pinnacle existence would appear before him. Virala was out of commission. The new Blola was extremely busy preparing for the Continental Invasion. Boul Brimgan was dying and would be busy preparing his successor. And Ruvva would be assisting him with everything.
Therefore, Inala had zero concerns about encountering a Mystic Grade existence. So, he wasn't prepared mentally to be subjected to such a powerful presence. Though it wasn't Mystic Grade, Shuwrak Zahara's presence was comparable to a Deity-Vhalla.
As he was ill-prepared to face, Inala's body felt the brunt of Shuwrak Zahara's presence and buckled promptly in response, "Keuk!"
"I'm sorry to do this, but I need to be sure before recruiting you into our fold." Shuwrak Zahara's apologetic voice resounded, but the pressure of his presence didn't let up in the slightest.
"..." His body trembled nonstop as Inala felt his Prana stagnate and refuse to circulate in his body. His nerves spasmed, even for his Brully senses where pain was never an issue, both physically and mentally. 'It's not just pressure. It feels like the pressure released by a Rockatrice's ability, but it's too strong and sharp. Moreover, I feel him strategically targeting my blood vessels and muscles related to movement.'
Splotch!
Suddenly, Inala used his right claw to dig into his chest and ripped out his heart and crushed it violently, causing it to splash across the place. It was one of his three hearts, so he didn't have an issue losing it.
As the blood splashed out, the force from the squash shattered the Spirit Container within, expunging all the Prana within it. The Prana mixed into the blood and exhibited Inala's presence, forming a curtain around him.
It allowed him reprieve, using which he cut off his left hand and twirled once, throwing the hammer at Shuwrak Zahara.
'It's fast!' Shuwrak Zahara thought but didn't budge from his spot, 'But it's a Spirit Weapon.'
A thought from him, and the Prana fuelling the Spirit Weapon's psychokinesis was cut off, causing it to lose the momentum driving it forward. Moreover, the Prana already infused into it knotted and exploded, destroying the Spirit Weapon into fragments.
Moreover, the explosion appeared at such an angle that it pushed the fragments to the side, ensuring they wouldn't reach Shuwrak Zahara.
But right as Shuwrak Zahara thought it was over, as his presence suppressed Inala once again, he shrieked in shock. Following right behind the Spirit Weapon was Inala's left hand, tracing the same path.
Moreover, they had only been spaced a metre apart. The first was propelled by psychokinesis while the second was through physical might. The blood splash, the explosion, and Inala getting suppressed promptly after erred Shuwrak Zahara's judgement, for his Prana detection means just spotted a large bump in the space before him, thanks to the blood and explosion.
With hardly any difference, Inala's left hand slammed into Shuwrak Zahara and produced a dull thud. It then slid to the ground, revealing a terrifying pair of mandibles covering Shuwrak Zahara, as if popped out of his body.
'Damn!' Shuwrak Zahara clicked his tongue and retracted his presence, watching Inala spontaneously get to a seated spot and grin with combative interest, 'As expected of a Brully.'
"I apologise, that was childish of me." Shuwrak Zahara sighed as the mandibles retreated into his body. "I simply intended to check if a Brully was truly gifted in the air of fighting as stated
in history."
"You wanted to know why I was at the border, right?" Inala spoke once his heart had regenerated. His remaining two Spirit Containers were slowly thinning, as their substance was being funnelled into the newly regenerated heart through the veins.
Similar to how a Free Human at the Spirit Stage built Spirit Containers in their cluster one
after another, a new Spirit Container was forming in the heart. In a matter of minutes, a new Spirit Container had formed, sporting no difference from the other two Spirit Containers.
While he observed his Spirit Container being regrown, Inala continued to speak, "While beating up a Silver Grade Pranic Beast, I came to find out about the battle between the Wean Clan and the Varahan Empire."
"So, I came here to join the fun."
"Why were you camping in a cave instead of rushing into the battlefield?" Shuwrak Zahara liked that Inala was answering his questions obediently and wanted to see how much he could learn through a conversation.
"I was preparing to fight." Inala pointed at his left hand that had regenerated by now, "This didn't feel suitable for this battlefield. So I wanted to turn it into a claw. I can then wield the Spirit Weapons of Free Humans to fight."
'I see, so that's why. Though the records barely have any detail, it's in line with a Brully's line of thought.' Thinking as such, Shuwrak Zahara asked, "Which side would you have joined?"
"Depends on my mood," Inala shrugged, "I would have just attacked whoever seemed capable of fighting me. And that would have been my side."
"...Alright," Shuwrak Zahara didn't ask much beyond that, "I apologise for trying to intimidate you. So, in apology, I'll give you..."
"Not needed," Inala shook his head, "You can attack me as many times as you need. I
welcome a fight."
"Well, if you still wanted to apologise," Inala let out a wide grin, "Attack me a few more times. That should be enough for me to figure out your Natures."
"Can every Brully do this?" His expression was serious as Shuwrak Zahara asked, feeling both interest and a compulsion to deal with the Pranic Beast before him.
"It's our race's gift." Inala nodded, "An probably needs to get hit once before it figures out all the details about the attacker's build."
"Truly a race born to fight," Shuwrak Zahara muttered and began to speak, "My Primary Nature of Refractive Inhibition allows me to twist and inhibit all actions of Prana within my Spirit Weapon range. I can exhibit the strongest power when I release my prana throughout my Spirit Weapon range radially from my body as the centre."
Seeing Inala listen with interest, he continued, "It's similar to a Millinger's Secondary
Nature, but I am also capable of precision attacks by making pockets of Prana laden with Refractive Inhibition as Spirit Weapons."
"No wonder I had difficulty circulating my Prana." Inala nodded, giving his analysis,
"However, it seems that your presence needs to make contact with me for your ability to take effect. Pranic Beasts with strong bodies can eject body fluids around them as cover and use the
chance to retaliate."
'That's scary! It figured out all that and retaliated the moment I used my ability.' Goosebumps formed on Shuwrak Zahara's arm that he covered with the sleeve of his shirt, 'Indeed, every Gold Grade Pranic Beast has powerful set of abilities, insight, intelligence, and
the brain power to keep up with everything.'
Without three brains working in sync, even Inala wouldn't have been able to figure out so
much information. He would have needed time and observation to make plans and retaliate.
But a Brully had exceptional senses and a processing power geared to be reactive in battles.
It was
race born to fight from birth to death with no rest in-between.
"This is my Secondary Nature." Shuwrak Zahara said as a Pranic Beast face exited his body and
glared at Inala, "Tangible Millinger. I can create and control the body of a Millinger in tangible form. Physically, it has around 80 percent the strength of a Millinger. The body is slightly weaker than the original, but it can fuse with the body."
"The number of Tangible Millingers I can create and control are dependent on my Life Stage
cultivation. Currently, at the 2-Life Stage, I have two of these." He continued, "My Tangible Millingers don't have a Nature, but I can rebuild them as many times as I need even if they
were to get destroyed. It's no different to regenerating a limb through Prana. If I have enough Prana, I can keep rebuilding them without limits."
'It's somewhat similar to Boul Brimgan's Kinesis Felines, but they have no resource requirement other than Prana. Since it's a Tangible Nature, it can fuse with the body, which is convenient.' Inala thought, 'It's what defended against my left hand.'
The one difference between the Tangible Millinger and Kinesis Feline was retention. When
operating beyond Shuwrak Zahara's Spirit Weapon range, a Tangible Millinger wouldn't have Pana supply. Similar to the Celestial Boar's Tangible Natures, they'll dissipate upon reaching that point.
Consuming food wouldn't help them, since they were Tangible Natures and relied on Prana
from the creator. And unlike the Celestial Boar's Tangible Natures, they cannot prolong their existence by fusing with a third party.
The Tangible Millinger could only absorb Shuwrak Zahara's Prana. If it fuses with any other
individual, it could only stay in their body but not absorb their Prana. That was only granted to Brangara's Tangible Natures due to Major Weapon characteristics from the Celestial Boar's Tertiary Nature of Major Treasure.
Moreover, all Tangible Millingers created by Shuwrak Zahara would die upon his death, unlike Kinesis Felines that remained behind, as they were Minor Treasures.
There were differences between the two, and upon learning about Tangible Millinger, Inala
liked the build, 'It's a fun power to use.'
He then stared at Shuwrak Zahara, 'This guy is wasted as a nanny of the Wean Clan. If he
popularises this build...'
He paused in thought, observed Shuwrak Zahara for a few seconds and asked, "The mineral
necessary for it can only be obtained from a Millinger, right?"
"But that's not it," He eyed Shuwrak Zahara and asked, "Do you need to refine it extensively
for it to not be commercially viable?"