Managing a large population was easier said than done, especially in terms of food. If they were to seek refuge, the food requirements would be astronomical. No matter how much was saved up, the reserves would be drained through rapidly.
Upon arriving at that conclusion, the Carcass Snail gave the order to its Mollusc Tribe, causing the Tribesmen to commit suicide by killing each other. It only spared the most evolved boy and girl, for they were the fruits of its efforts.
As long as they were alive, it could recreate the Mollusc Tribe to full strength in a couple of decades. They’ll be superior to the existing Mollusc Tribe, so the Carcass Snail wasn’t even concerned by their deaths.
The sole intention behind its actions was to conserve resources. Feeding two Tribesmen was nothing in comparison.
The Carcass Snail intended to hole itself within the dome, having created it for such a use in the first place. But it wasn’t a mobile creature and hence could only move slowly. And while it did so, it began to close up the entrance, masking it to resemble the surroundings, concealing its location perfectly.
By now, the Carcass Snail had noticed Inala’s presence, since he wasn’t exactly subtle about it. But it didn’t attack him and only stared at him warily upon sensing his strength.
The Carcass Snail had reached maturity, so it was terrifyingly strong. In comparison, Inala was still in the initial phase of the Body Stage. But, he possessed three Natures. That elevated the sense of danger he exuded to terrifying levels, which was what made it nervous.
Even though it had the confidence to kill him, it would lose too much in response. Injuries, depletion of Prana, traces of battle, and worst of all, destruction of its hiding place. If it left too many traces, then its location would be discovered by whatever it wishes to hide from.
Hence, the Carcass Snail didn’t dare make a move, only hoping for Inala to take his leave.
“The three of you stay here.” Inala allocated three Empyrean Zinger Scouts to keep watch over the place and returned to the surface, now even more nervous.
If the Carcass Snail could move like a normal Pranic Beast, it would have vacated the place already. Its body language was screaming that intention.
He had a bad feeling as Inala quickly made his way to the Rockatrice’s location, observing the same situation there too. All Rooster Tribesmen except two had been killed. These two were brought to the lake at the top of the tallest mountain and placed inside a cave.
After closing the entrance with a boulder, the Rockatrice retreated deeper into the lake, erasing all traces of its existence.
Moreover, even the formless pressure exerted by the walls forming its settlement vanished. The Rockatrice retracted its power, causing the walls around its settlement to simply resemble a natural mountain range.
Its actions caused the Empyrean Zingers to be in a state of fluster. Upon his arrival, the Empyrean Zinger Queen landed on his head in her miniature form, allowing him to access her memories and understand everything the Rockatrice had done.
“Get ready to leave this place.” Inala informed the Empyrean Zinger Queen, “Collate all your accumulations and pack up. We’re leaving tonight.”
He then headed to the Pearl Tribe which was controlled by the Rooted Clam and the Guardian Tribe controlled by the Boutique Lizard. The situation was the same in both places.
The Boutique Lizard was an Expert Silver Grade Pranic Beast, the strongest of the five.
Primary Nature—Pranic Beast Registry!
Through this power, the Boutique Lizard was capable of birthing other races, as long as it held their genetic data. Even though its powers were limited to Iron Grade Pranic Beasts, unable to control the Pranic Beasts it birthed, it was in the Mammoth Clan’s list of the most sought-after Pranic Beast egg.
But as it was an incredibly rare Pranic Beast, the Mammoth Clan had yet to find one. It was why Inala intended to originally leave after two years. By his calculations, all five Silver Grade Pranic Beasts in the region would have laid their eggs by then.
He would steal them and make his way to the Brimgan Empire. Moreover, the Empyrean Zinger Queen would have matured enough by then to create her own Ravaged Tribe. With his help, the success rate would have been higher.
All Slump Lizard eggs were created by the Boutique Lizard. It was the driving force behind this region’s power balance, creating the external threat necessary for the five Ravaged Tribes to grow.
But now, even it was hiding itself, having stopped the creation of Slump Lizard eggs. It dumped whatever it created into the river and retreated deep into a volcanic mountain to find its Tribe.
However, unlike the rest, it didn’t stop with sparing only two of its Tribesmen. Rather, it carried a couple dozen of them on its back and sprinted towards the Sandy-Grey Void. The rest of the Tribe were simply abandoned in their home, not informed of anything. 𝗈𝗏𝑙xt.𝗇et
Unaware, they continued about with their daily lives, only wondering where the Boutique Lizard was heading with a small group of Tribesmen.
The Boutique Lizard was only incapable of moving while laying its eggs. Otherwise, it was a decently agile creature.
Inala trailed after it by turning his body lighter, making long leaps to easily keep up with its sprint. He hid behind a boulder upon arriving close to the Sandy-Grey Void, watching the Boutique Lizard make faint purrs at the border.
Slowly, an opening appeared in the Sandy-Grey Void, revealing an island patch that spanned a hundred metres in area. It was a normal-looking piece of land, created exclusively for the Boutique Lizard that landed there and slumped, closing its eyes to begin its hibernation.
A large shell revealed itself from the grey sand. It was the Mudropper. It opened its mouth and sucked in the Guardian Tribesmen. It then stared at the Boutique Lizard as the two seemed to trust each other a lot, conversing primitively.
The Mudropper retreated into the grey sand and reached a depth of hundred metres, leading into an underground dome where its Ropper Tribe lived. It allowed the Guardian Tribesmen to seek refuge there.
No Pranic Beast would dare enter the Sandy-Grey Void. Therefore, the Mudropper was the only Pranic Beast that wasn’t in a state of fluster. It even provided refuge for the Boutique Lizard and its most promising Guardian Tribesmen.
Encased by a Prana Bomb, Inala sent four Empyrean Zinger Scouts to this shelter, intending to keep watch over their actions. This was the first time he saw the Mudropper, for it was always elusive in nature.
Now that he had seen the actions of all five Silver Grade Pranic Beasts that have been scheming in this region, he decided. Since all of them unanimously decided to flee, he had more than enough confirmation. Based on the sense of urgency they displayed, he predicted the Minor Crisis to strike within a week.
‘It’s best to flee. Or in the worst-case scenario, I can take refuge within the Sandy-Grey Void like before.’ Thinking as such, Inala tasked the Empyrean Zingers to make the construct while he returned to Ellora City, intending to inform Asaeya.
But the moment he entered the city, a scout alerted him, causing his complexion to ashen. He hurried home and entered it, staring at the figure of Asaeya seated in the living room. Sitting before her was Gudora, having made an appearance as if he instinctively felt Inala’s desire to flee.
“You’re here, Master Inala,” Gudora spoke, his eyes no longer carefree like before. Now, they expressed his resolve, to see through things decisively.
