State of Harmony—Deity Summon!
The moment he activated it, Kenka Echo found himself in his mindspace, watching clusters of data surround him and bore into his body. It was information related to the Royal Zinger, which began to layer over his body.
Deity Summon created a prison using Kenka’s lifetime accumulation to form a container. In that container, Prana would be stitched to resemble the makeup of the Royal Zinger’s Primary Nature.
Accel Hurl’s only contribution here was to bombard his form with the Royal Zinger data at a faster pace. Of course, if not for it, Kenka’s body, mind, and soul would give out before the container was completed.
Once completed, the container would then summon the Royal Zinger Inala’s soul, allowing the Quip Clan’s Deity—the Royal Zinger—to make an appearance. Kenka Echo’s accumulations determined how long the container can withhold the Royal Zinger’s power.
Until the container existed, the Royal Zinger could move about on Sumatra. And during this process, Kenka would have become one with his Deity, a short duration of absolute bliss at the end of endless pain.
Pain! Pain! Unimaginable Pain!
The data forming the Royal Zinger was a overwhelming sum. It contained Inala’s Earth experience, his Mammoth Clan self, Cooter Clan self, the data of the four Races that birthed the four Gold Grade Variants, the Zinger Race’s data, the data of the Minor Treasure of Tangible Psychokinesis, the Brimgan Ancestor’s accumulations, and everything the Quip Clan had accumulated since its inception.
Kenka Echo had to withstand all this data and suffer through it. Once activated, his State of Harmony would never fail, since it was to create a container that could imprison the Royal Zinger’s soul for a short while.
However, in that time frame, the respective Zinger Prince would have to experience hell. If Kenka Echo had unleashed this at the 10-Life Stage, he would have significantly better endurance. The result would also last longer.
But due to the situation at hand, he had to prematurely unleash it. ’But...it’s a necessity. To ensure Sumatra continues to develop and prepare for the Continental Invasion, there should never be a War that cripples our foundation!’
However, the moment the container began to form, the data clusters stopped and instead condensed into a pair of eyes at the edge of the mind space. A mere glance at the closed eyes was enough for Kenka to shout, "My Deity!"
A silhouette of Inala began to form behind the eyes, but suddenly, a grey tower slammed into it and blocked the face from forming.
Cracks formed on it, but the grey tower pulsed with a stronger presence and dissipated the forming life. It then vanished, causing Kenka to gawk in shock at his mind space for an instant before he returned to reality.
His figure continued to fall through the sky as Kenka’s eyes shot open with a bloody fury, affected by the sheer pain he had endured. Spontaneously, for an instant, he instinctively perceived the source of the grey tower that had blocked his Deity’s soul.
His eyes fell upon the Blurry that had fainted. And then, Kenka opened his mouth, for the first time in his life unleashing a roar erupting with absolute fury.
KKKKRIEKKKK!
There was a vapour cone, followed by a fountain of blood as Kenka’s throat exploded, releasing a powerful shockwave at the speed of sound. It was a Zinger Shriek, carrying with it everything he felt at the moment and caused it to resound in the minds of every single Quip Clansmen in the region and further beyond.
Kenka lost consciousness after the roar. As his figure free-fell towards the ground, four Zinger Aristocrats glided at maximum speeds, wrapped strings of Prana around him, and curved into the sky.
They hurriedly carried him away, releasing constant shrieks as one after another, Quip Clansmen began to head towards the region, expressions incensed, bordering insanity. And their target was the Brully, one who seemed to have sealed their Deity’s return, a blasphemy of the highest order.
’Did it fail?’ Danhral thought as he watched Kenka being carried away. He slowly raised his hand and patted his chest, calming his heart that was sprinting like it was on drugs, ’That...was terrifying!’
"Was that...?" Standing on Danhral’s shoulder, Nancral wiped the cold sweat drenching his body to ask, "Was it...?"
"Yeah, I’m afraid so." Danhral confirmed the suspicions that ever Empyrean Snapper was feeling at the moment, "That was definitely the Royal Zinger’s presence."
"Does everyone get a clear picture now?" After a moment, he whispered, "That’s an existence standing at the pinnacle. And I heard the Celestial Boar’s presence is many times stronger than the Royal Zinger’s. It’s why our brethren at the Dralh Sea were helplessly eaten."
"If we don’t have a pinnacle existence, we’ll always be regarded as a gourmet meal. So, when he arrives, follow his every word like your lives depend upon it." Danhral expressed solemnly, "Wally is our future, and he alone will lead the Cooter Clan forward. If he tells us to charge, we charge. If he tells us to sit, we sit."
"There will be no opposition," He expressed strongly, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes!" All the Empyrean Snappers accepted without hesitation. Even if for a moment, the Royal Zinger’s presence was unleashed. And the sheer horror of it was enough for them all to make up their minds.
’Good! This was a worthwhile trip then!’ Danhral was relieved internally upon seeing the expressions of all the Empyrean Snappers, ’Now, we’ll all give our everything for a unified cause and focus our sights on the Mystic Grade alone.’
’You were right, Gannala.’ He thought. When they were all given the Tertiary Nature of Cultivator by Gannala, she had approached Danhral, telling him to head towards the Varahan Empire if the Empyrean Snappers wanted to vent.
Gannala knew Blola was alive and was preparing for the Continental War. That meant under his will, the 82 Boar Kings and even Barla would take action, since the Varahan Empire and the Wean Clan were a necessity to face the Continental Invaders.
The moment Barla reveals the presence of the Empyrean Boar King, the Empyrean Snappers will redirect all their destructive energy towards the Cooter Clan’s development in a constructive way. It was a necessity for their future growth.
At that time, Danhral didn’t understand why Gannala told him this instead of the others. But now, he could grasp her intentions, ’She knew my growth would be the fastest and I would become the 1st Empyrean Snapper. Indeed the daughter of the smartest individual on Sumatra. She grasped my development even before I had an iota of idea.’
"We will resume!" Danhral said as his Empyrean Mist Deity condensed another lava spear. In the meantime, the Empyrean Snappers fluttered across his body, pulled up minerals from the soil, and filled in new Spirit Pools in his reservoir.
"Die!" With a grunt, he threw the lava spear and dispersed it when it was in the air, causing droplets of lava to rain down on the fleeing army, eliciting horrified screams. Once the lava rained, a thin, metallic spear was left behind.
It stabbed into the ground far away and began to disperse, creating a cloud of metal in its surroundings. It was an Iron Grade mineral present in the region, in excess amounts, with the property to create, store, and discharge lightning.
Of course, as an Iron Grade mineral, its power was too weak for the Varahan Empire’s standards. And hence, it was never mined, which meant even close to the surface, vast quantities of it were available, amongst hundreds of other Iron Grade minerals.
This was merely suited to the present situation, which was why the Empyrean Snappers extracted it. The spear dispersed into a metal cloud in a matter of seconds, appearing along the retreat path of the army. It had happened too fast, and hence, a good portion of the army was unable to redirect itself fast enough.
"Cough! Argh!" The Wean Clansmen grunted as the metallic dust splashed over them.
"What is this dust?" The Free Humans coughed as they inhaled the dust, flailing helplessly as their vision was blocked. Some of them used Prana Shock to create shockwaves and push away the dush cloud, some dispersed the wind blades of Shredded Lunge, etc.
Those with the means tried to create a breathing space. Some managed to do it fast enough while the others simply reacted a beat slower. And that sealed their fate as lightning bolts rained down from the sky.
The moment the bolt touched the metallic cloud, it dispersed rapidly across it, splitting into thousands of smaller sparks. The sparks slammed into the army, eliciting pained cries.
There wasn’t just one or two lightning strikes. The serpentine head of Danhral hovered within the thundercloud and used Subtle Terrain Domination to keep strengthening it. There were constant roars of thunder as lightning struck the metallic cloud a few times...many times...hundreds of times.
"Argghh!" Every little spark numbed and seared their bodies little by little as one after another, the Free Humans and Wean Clansmen were pushed closer and closer to death.
"I’ll increase its intensity..." Danhral paused all of a sudden and stopped targeting the army. Suddenly, from the depths of his being, fear rose. This wasn’t like the overwhelming pressure emanated by the Royal Zinger that sought to terrorise them.
Instead, it was a display of hunger, a hunger that treated them as prey, ’I know this presence!’
"That’s...No!"
"Impossible!"
"This shouldn’t exist!"
One after another, colour drained from the faces of the Empyrean Snappers. Even if they were significantly stronger than their past version, with greater versatility and pretty much no weakness, there was no longer logic in their minds. Reasoning took a comfort vacation as fear announced its casual stay.
"Even if you are way stronger, only those who saw you fight know about it. But that’s not necessary here, Barla." Casually swimming in his pool far away was Blola, letting out an amused chuckle, "History is always a reminder, and in the minds of these long-lived creatures, this is the existence they fear the most."
Mystic Bone Art—Virala!
It was a casual Skill created by Virala in the past, which served to change the bone structure of the target he hid within and made them resemble him in appearance. With the usage of the Nature of Bloody Affection, he could make the target have his presence too.
After Gannala gained his data and lived with the Mammoth Clan for a short while, she taught it to all the Empyrean Tusks. Blola gained this Skill back then, which was then inherited by the new Blola, including all the information necessary to modify the Skill.
Blola had a few Decaleeches lying around, so things were very simple. He simply applied the Skill on Barla and made her appear before the Empyrean Snappers in the appearance of someone, "You know...sometimes, name itself is power. And when you wear the appearance of the individual bearing that name,"
Blola expressed solemnly as he enjoyed watching the Empyrean Snappers lose their wits and become nothing more than terrified prey, "You become the manifestation of that power."
Mystic Bone Art—Brangara!