The thrust unleashed by the pair of lungs forming the rocket was pretty much a forceful expulsion of air. All Empyrean Tusks did the same using their trunks. It wasn’t anything special.
If Inala repeated the same now, the vehicle would only move on the ground. There didn’t seem a restriction on the technology itself, at least one applied through Natures—as Inala had done here.
Maybe there was a restriction on technology created solely from scratch that didn’t conform to the power system of Sumatra. It would be wise to be careful in that regard.
Since the only variable that turned the ground-bound vehicle into an aircraft was the pair of wings, only that was erased through cause and effect. Even when Inala flew a second time, only the wings were targeted.
Of course, since the source of that mysterious cause and effect wasn’t a power but an entity, Inala didn’t dare repeat the experiment another time. What if that entity were to become pissed at him and decides to erase him too?
He didn’t wish to go out like that. Hence, Inala restrained himself. Moreover, he made a mental note to never use this thrust option while he finishes developing his Empyrean Zinger body in the future.
The moment his figure accelerates in the sky, he might be erased. And even if he intended to use the thrusters, it should only be for an instant to give him a burst in momentum. Since his figure would immediately begin decelerating, no matter how minimal the deceleration value was, he would only be considered a projectile that had been shot in the air.
That was the way to avoid being erased by this mysterious entity that forbade flight.
After feeding the rocket a bunch of filled Prana Bombs, Inala refined the front of the giant Prana Bomb into a wedge shape. Ten minutes later, once the lungs were full, he got inside the vehicle and activated them, causing them to unleash a powerful thrust.
The vehicle shot forth on the ground, almost flipping upward due to the vehicle’s aerodynamics. He hurriedly raised the vehicle’s density, causing it to stably remain on the ground, maintaining enough traction.
The wedge severed through the horde of Slump Lizards as it sped forward. Moreover, their Primary Nature kept the vehicle grounded. Otherwise, with the powerful thrust being unleashed at the back, the vehicle would have been flying around all over the place like a deflating balloon.
The journey that had taken him hours was traversed within thirty minutes. The vehicle crashed into the walls surrounding the Rooster Tribe’s settlement and came to an abrupt halt.
Inala got out and noticed the sky beginning to brighten. He quickly scaled up the wall and approached his cave, watching the giant Prana Bomb filled with cracks. Had he been a few minutes late, things would have turned troublesome. 𝑂𝒱𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t
Inala pulled the giant Prana Bomb out of the cave and enclosed it with the biggest Prana Bomb he could create, one spanning a radius of ten metres. He dumped all the Prana Bombs and Life Bombs—that he had accumulated until now—into it.
Asaeya was relieved at his arrival. She was then stunned by the truckload of Life Bombs, wondering what Inala had done to accumulate such a staggering number. Mixed among the pile was a Bone Slip as Asaeya accessed it, hearing Inala’s thoughts.
[There are enough resources to probably last you a week even if baby Gannala consumes more than usual. Stay here and take care of her. We are within range. So, I’m scheming to outwit the Boar King. I have a solid plan, so don’t worry. In the meantime, look through the Bone Slip and formulate a plan for our stay at Ellora Trade City.]
All the information he had collected from Ellora City, including the maps was left to Asaeya. Even though he had recorded everything in the Bone Slip, Inala didn’t have time to understand the information and make plans accordingly.
Hence, he left it to her. ‘She’s smarter than me in such things.’
It was more efficient to play to their strengths. Inala was pretty good at scheming. But, he drew a blank in terms of economics and politics. Therefore, it was best to leave it to his disciple who excelled at such things.
The biggest Prana Bomb remained stuck to the mountain slope as there wasn’t enough time to dig a cave large enough for it. Besides, that was unnecessary and would only hinder his plan.
“I’ll outwit you perfectly, Boar King,” Inala muttered, focused as he entered the cave and used three Spirit Weapons to drill through the cave. Once he drilled to the limit of his range, he dropped his three Empyrean Zinger Scouts in them, one per hole.
The scouts refined a Spirit Weapon of their own and continued the drilling process, proceeding through a route that he had informed them. They could communicate through the Zinger tongue, so it was easy to transmit vast streams of information through a shout.
While they drilled a hole, Inala collected the dust in a large container and transported it away. He dumped the contents in the river, making repeated trips.
By afternoon, he was unable to move anymore, suffering from the side effects of using the Prana Blood Skill. He had used it for four hours in total. And until now, he forcefully prolonged its side effects.
“Grrr!” He rolled on the ground in pain, but when the Empyrean Zinger Scouts approached him in worry, he growled and told them to continue with their work.
It was midnight by the time he recovered a little. Originally, he required a few days at the very least to fully recover, but due to the lack of time, he activated the Prana Blood Skill once again, using it to amass a large quantity of Prana Bombs and Life Bombs.
Using the vehicle, he made repeated trips to the border to select the most optimal location. Upon return, he harvested Prana, and Lifeforce from the Slump Lizards.
Using the shells of his Prana and Life Bombs, he created a thick layer in the cave. Following that, he sneaked into Ellora City, stole some more money from Safara and used it to purchase paint. Using that, he painted the cave, taking a lot of time until the finish was natural.
Now, despite the surface being bone, its colour and texture were no different from the natural cave before. The three tunnels were narrow, only spanning a width of two centimetres. They travelled all the way underground, below the mountain, stopping only at a depth of 400 metres from the surface.
From their starting point in the cave, the tunnels spanned a height of a kilometre. And at their bottom, Inala left a Life Bomb each.
Following that, he poured the fluids of a Life Bomb throughout the tunnel until they were filled. With that, their entrance was closed up. The fluid was in direct contact with the bone floor of the cave, acting like an electrical wire for Prana and Lifeforce transfer.
A week had passed by now as Inala approached the biggest Prana Bomb, making eye contact with Asaeya who motioned that baby Gannala was asleep. He touched the biggest Prana Bomb and watched it crack before shattering.
It was time to lure the Boar King into the trap.