Weaponisation—Dance of Annihilation!
'Damn Pranic Beast!' The moment she sensed a Brully running towards her, Gannala spontaneously targeted the latter, using her fleeing situation to behave like she lost her balance and performed a set of moves. However, a second later, there was a visible change in her expression, 'It's not working?'
As long as the target had one Nature, Dance of Annihilation was guaranteed to work, unless it was defended against. For a moment Gannala stared at the sky, 'The Empyrean Boar Aurora isn't strong enough yet to interfere with my ability.'
The Dance of Annihilation releases a wave of her Prana and influences the target, applying Weaponisation's function on their body. The influence satisfies the condition of fooling the target's Prana into dropping its resistance. The moment this is completed, the target is turned into a Nature Weapon.
If the target had only one Nature, it was like they had a single form of influence on them. Dance of Annihilation prepares one to counter it and fool the target's Prana. However, if the target had more than one Nature, then a complex influence equation too effect.
Depending on the various ways the two Natures influenced the body, which varied in real-time according to the target's physical and mental state, not to mention when the respective Natures were activated or deactivated. Plus, when their Prana intended to resist, it would look for a solution to do so, thinking for one.
Simply carrying different levels of the two Natures' influence and constantly changing their percentages was enough to resist the effects of Dance of Annihilation. This was similar to how the white blood cells of the body resist a microbial invader.
As a result, it was impossible to turn any being with more than one Nature into a Nature Weapon. Free Humans with a Vara Human Avatar and Wean Clansmen came under this rule. Even if they only had one Nature, they were usually carrying more Natures in their Human Avatar or body in the respective case.
To capture either, Gannala would have to first exhaust all their stored Natures. And then, when the target only has a Primary Nature, they would become susceptible to the effects of Weaponisation.
Also, as Weaponisation works on influencing the target, her Dance of Annihilation wouldn't work in a region with the Empyrean Boar Aurora, as the latter was readily influencing every living being under its region of effect.
Weaponisation could still take effect, but she would have to manually satisfy the conditions, and had to be within Spirit Weapon range of the target to do so. And the process would be interrupted if the Empyrean Boar Aurora manages to touch the target for even a moment, prompting her to start from scratch once again, as the target's Prana was removed of the influence she had stacked in it.
After Narkahamy's actions, a new Empyrean Boar Aurora began to form in the sky, but its potency hadn't yet reached a level where her Dance of Annihilation was rendered useless. Therefore, Gannala was surprised to see a Brully, not a Bhirully, remain unaffected, 'That makes no sense.'
'Definitely not a Mammoth Clansmen or a Mystic Human. It's clearly the presence of a Pranic Beast.' She thought for a moment and judged that the situation was risky. Without any hesitation, a tunnel appeared beneath her and closed spontaneously after as she fell into it.
Mystic Grade Nature Weapon—Drifting Tunnel!
'Ah…I was hasty.' Inala arrived at a stop, understanding that he couldn't catch up to Gannala. He was the one who gave her that Nature Weapon, after stealing it from Virala. 'But considering her character, she'll be loitering around the place, and pretty definitely watching me.'
'Though, the speed at which she fired off that Dance of Annihilation was spontaneous. It's quicker than what her Prana circulation rates could satisfy, even after using the Prana Blood Skill. This is after she has equipped herself in the Nature slot of another, which further restricts her output capacity.' Inala thought in pride, 'She has maintained the same speed that she would have in her Empyrean Tusk form.'
'She has been working tirelessly to improve herself, huh?' Inala grinned as he returned to the librarian group, watching Loya observe him with stark curiosity, "I was meeting up with a friend."
"Your friend could disappear into thin air…" Loya muttered, pausing for a couple of seconds before eyeing Inala to ask, "Who are you exactly, Leukeu?"
"What exactly were you doing during the Varahan Challenge? Your arms were…" It frowned, observed Inala, thought of their surroundings for a moment and then continued the rest of the conversation using the Vara Slip Skill.
[Are you truly a Pranic Beast? Your thoughts, experiences, and most of all, your sheer capability truly outclass even a Bhirully, not to mention a Brully your age.]
"Oh?" Inala raised an eyebrow in interest.
[Have you encountered a Bhirully before? I never thought one existed on Sumatra.]
"Please answer my question first." The Panger, Loya asked with a respectful tone. "Otherwise, forget this conversation ever happened."
'I had a feeling this Panger had some chunky secrets. Seems I was right.' Inala nodded without hesitation, paying no heed to the chaos around them as he answered.
[I am indeed a Pranic Beast. However, I'm different from the rest of my kind, for I possess a Secondary Nature without mutating into a Bhirully. I gained inspiration after making a deal with Shuwrak Zahara and used the product of that deal to derive a Secondary Nature for myself.]
'So that's why they seemed closer.' Loya was stunned as it stared at Inala, 'I never knew Shuwrak Zahara was the type to make deals. I felt like I was conversing with a rigid wall whenever I talked to him. How did Leukeu manage to get so close to such a guy, and so quickly at that?'
"How did you manage to do that?" Loya asked next, surprised to see Inala break into a chuckle.
"How many times have you conversed with Silver Grade Pranic Beasts?" Inala made a fist and bumped into Loya lightly upon seeing the latter shook its head, "Try it in the future. They usually understand Human societies better. Or if you have the capability, converse with Iron Grade Pranic Beasts Races that actively collide with the Free Humans."
"They have the best understanding." Inala wasn't lying here. In fact, Iron Grade Races truly understood most societies the best, whether it were Free Human Kingdoms, Ravaged Tribes, and even Clans.
The Zinger Race was the best example. Native to the Ding Canyon, they frequently interacted with many groups, including Pranic Beasts. And hence, to steal Prana better from the travellers entering their homes, they strategized and struck at the most fatal spots.
Even consider the First Major Disaster, for example. Their goal was to birth a Zinger Queen. And hence, they specifically chose the 44th Empyrean Tusk to place the egg on, at a spot right above the root of the tail, which was the most protected and abandoned location.
The tail of the Empyrean Tusk couldn't reach the spot and no Mammoth Clansmen ever had to guard that place since every spot around it could be slapped by the tail. Also, the 44th Empyrean Tusk was old enough that even if it died suddenly, it wouldn't be surprising. Therefore, the Zinger Race wouldn't have to face the full-blown wrath of 43 Empyrean Tusks.
They couldn't have accomplished all this without a complete understanding of the Mammoth Clan. That wasn't all. They didn't simply pick that time to birth a Zinger Queen by coincidence.
The Mammoth Clan had a 100-year path. Meaning, they entered the Dieng Canyon once a century. Every time they passed through the region, the various Zinger colonies noted down the ages of all Empyrean Tusks, charting a suitable target.
After various information gathering, they had selected the 44th Empyrean Tusk. They succeeded in Sumatra Chronicles and birthed a powerful Zinger Queen who had zero genetic defects, since she was born through the lifeforce of the Supreme Tusk.
Only thanks to the knowledge from Sumatra Chronicles did Inala know where to find the Zinger Queen's egg. Rest was history.
Even as Iron Grade Pranic Beasts, the Zingers were pretty competent, which was why Inala chose to make it his build. Zingers weren't alone in this. Many Iron Grade Pranic Beast races had such competence.
Shock Lizards, a Mammoth Clan favourite and also Brangara's most favoured, also did the same. They lived in gas between various Pranic Beast territories. If they didn't understand the situation on all sides and played it to their benefit, they'd be annihilated. And hence, they were pretty damn good at perceiving the functioning of a society.
"If you can't talk to them, figure out where they store such information and steal it." Inala grinned, "As long as you understand their means of communication, you can decipher everything they have gathered over the generations. It's a perfect history book with all the information necessary to destroy the recorded party, since the recordings are done on the enemy."
"I see," Loya expressed its understanding, "I never thought of it from that perspective, since there is no Iron Grade Race near my home."
"Well, on the other side of the Brimgan Empire from your home, there's the Enrino Race." Inala raised an eyebrow, speaking upon seeing Loya's eyes widening in shock, "They have a pretty solid understanding of the Brimgan Empire's society too."
'The Mammoth Clan took advantage of it when we hid underneath that forest.' He thought. A group of Mammoth Clansmen fused with an Enrino Egg, which allowed them to steal the secrets of the Enrino Race better.
After all, a couple of talented Mammoth Clansmen were fed High-Grade Elixirs, allowing them to smoothly build a good majority of their body. Inala's data on the Enrino Race only made the process easier.
These Mammoth Clansmen stole the stored data from the Enrino Race, which the Mammoth Clan took advantage of during their subsequent hunt of the Brimgan Royalty. That's how they managed to hunt 100 Brimgan Royals, for they knew exactly when and where to strike.
Moreover, they targeted the Brimgan Royals who were only at the Body Stage, from branch families, without much hope for progress.
"That has been an enlightening conversation." Loya expressed its gratitude and sighed, eyeing Inala in the eye to state solemnly.
[One of my ancestors infiltrated the Brimgan Empire in order to steal some of their secrets. Considering how long this Empire stood, our ancestors knew for a damn fact that the Brimgan Empire's secrets were enough to elevate the strength of our race to a whole new level. And so, my ancestor infiltrated the Empire and actually succeeded.]
"The Brimgan Empire swiftly raided us to destroy all shreds of evidence and slaughtered most of our kind. However," Loya patted its chest, "Our Ancestor knew they'll be killed, including everyone who knew the information and hence sealed it in an unhatched egg of our kind. That's how the stolen information was retained."
The Panger Race was a serious threat to the Brimgan Empire, however, their existence also ensured the Brimgan Empire didn't have to guard against a significant region during invasions, as the Panger Race disliked anyone entering their territory.
They were treated as a necessary threat, which was why both sides usually came to a truce even when things repeatedly escalated between them.
[The Brimgan Empire, since its inception, has been rearing the Brully Race and employing them into some, bizarre trump card they intended to activate only when the Empire's existence was in a crisis.]
'I heard rumours about their trump cards, but even when I visited their palace as a Royal Zinger many times, I couldn't find anything.' Inala frowned, 'They have extensive libraries with an untold amount of information, which I purchased some of. But even Boul Brimgan didn't seem to have much of an idea about the Brully Race.'
"Are you sure?" Inala eyed Loya.
"I can bet my life on it. I had sneaked around the place myself to confirm it." Loya nodded, its subsequent words triggering Inala so much that he lost composure.
[My ancestor couldn't figure out what the trump card did other than to leave behind four words; Spirit Smith, Prana Circuit.]
'Fuck!' Inala knew what they were, but even he couldn't picture exactly what the Brimgan Empire had been screwing around with since their inception, 'There was nothing related to this in the Brimgan Founder's memories.'
'No, he may have erased them, if he judged that hiding such information, even from himself was necessary. That is in line with his personality.' Inala thought.
[Any idea as to where they have stored the Brully Race, and that Bhirully you came across?]
[It's located not in the Brimgan Empire, but under their satellite force, the Rumtara Kingdom!]