𝓞𝒱𝐞𝐥xt.𝗇𝓔t
“What do we do now?” An old man slumped on the ground, dazed, losing the will to live, “All hope is lost.”
“As long as you’re alive, hope exists.” Inala arrived before the old man and gave him a hand, allowing him to get up, “Some of the refugees I saved from the shelters are still making their way here. When they all come here, you’ll be forty thousand strong.”
“To repay my favour, I’ll ensure that you’re all strong enough to fend for yourself and rebuild Ganrimb Kingdom. This, I vow on my existence!” Inala exclaimed.
People were currently restless, lost, grieving their lost loved ones, and lost sight of their future. As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising if many of them simply committed suicide or simply starved out. Only the ones with a strong desire for survival would endure through this phase of suffering.
But Inala didn’t wish for anyone of them to survive, especially after the pains he went to bring them here, not to mention the various steps he had taken to keep their existence hidden from the Centingers.
Hence, his goal was to light the flames of hope under them. As long as that remained, the refugees would fight for their future.
‘First would be to fill their bellies.’ Many were starving, having been reliant on their limited rations all along. Even though there were grain reserves in the settlement, it was hard for them to use it on anything more than a simple congee.
After all, they didn’t know how long they had to take refuge here and had to ration the food reserves sparingly.
Inala approached a large boulder and lifted it, stunning everyone, for it spanned a size exceeding five metres. He seemed casual in doing so. Of course, his expression within the armour was twisted, reddened from the overexertion, having revved his Secondary Nature in full blast.
He was simply putting on a show for everyone, using this chance to distract them from their worries.
Boom!
He placed the boulder in the centre and successfully gathered the attention of all. He then punched it, creating a hole at the bottom side and a cylindrical hole in the centre, stunning the crowd at how he was able to create such a detailed hole with a single punch.
He had already carved it out beforehand and maintained the structure in a pristine state. And the moment he punched the boulder, he undid the Prana Bomb layers acting as the seams, causing the boulder to transform into a large cooking stove.
“Let’s work together!” He turned around and shouted at the people while pointing at a location where firewood had been gathered, “Bring some logs.”
Those logs were from the houses he had taken down. Before he brought in the refugees, Inala wiped the settlement clean of all traces of the Rooster Tribe. These logs were all that remained.
Everything else were placed in large Prana Bombs and shrunk in size for an Empyrean Zinger to store in its biome. It then caused a singularity in its body and shrunk itself to the size of a grain. This grain this time was larger, due to all the mass involved.
It lay somewhere in the settlement now.
Many refugees moved at his order, most of whom simply worked to forget all hopeless thoughts. Inala created a Prana Bomb platform around the stove, large enough for multiple people to stand on and work in the cooking process. It had become an open kitchen.
Of course, he actively ensured the platform didn’t absorb their Prana. Soon, a tantalising aroma filled the air, causing the stomachs of many to rumble in response.
“Let’s eat first,” Inala said and handed over a plate of food to the person that sported the most despairing expression.
“…Thank you.” The middle-aged man ate it and silently shed tears. The food wasn’t anything grand but was fulfilling, resembling a homecooked meal. The people that participated in the cooking process simply created the most common dish of Ellora City. So, it made everyone recall their destroyed home while eating it.
Even if they hadn’t witnessed the destruction firsthand, the moment the reserve soldiers were called for battle, they became aware of the worsening situation. The constantly rumbling in the city and the gradual crumbling of the shelter spoke volumes of the situation.
With nothing left to do in the shelter, all they could do was remain silent and hear everything that happened above ground. So, even if they didn’t wish to believe it, they had an idea already. It was why they left their shelters and followed Inala in the first place.
And the words of the crying kid basically confirmed their worst fears. Anyone that wanted a clear picture of Ellora City’s fate could approach the kid and confirm it for themselves.
Besides, Inala stated that anyone that wanted to personally confirm the state of their home could approach him. He would bring them there. Of course, no one approached him upon seeing the kid’s mental state.
Hearing about it was already hard enough to bear. Seeing it first hand would collapse them further. As everyone ate their meals, the sounds of their crying echoed in the settlement.
Inala didn’t say anything through the whole situation and silently offered them their meal. Nighttime approached soon, but since the entrance had already been firmly sealed by him, the Slump Lizards didn’t approach the settlement since they couldn’t discover any human activity within.
Usually, the footprints of the people that left the Rooster Tribe settlement during the day to fetch water from the Angan River was their cue. But after the Slump Lizards erased all traces one morning, there was no change to the surroundings.
They understood that there was none living in the settlement anymore. Moreover, due to the arrival of the Centingers, their habits were disturbed. A lot of factors added up to result in the current safety net that was the Rooster Tribe settlement.
It would take some time before the refugees made enough recovery to work towards their future. Inala didn’t plan to rush, since he wanted to stay here for some more time to complete his plans.
He arrived before the lake in the centre of the settlement and took a seat, calmly comprehending the data from the Rockatrice and the two highly evolved Rooster Tribesmen, prioritising his understanding regarding the process of creating a Ravaged Tribe.
For the next whole month, he remained in meditation, spending three hours daily with the refugees to warm them to their new lives. He gradually instilled in them hope and gave them purpose, something to look forward to daily.
The morning the next day, his eyes shot open as he heard a screech. Leaving behind the Empyrean Zinger King to look after the refugees, Inala rushed to Ellora City and peered into the pit, smiling upon seeing a shrivelled-up figure of Gudora, ‘He lasted this long.’
‘He finally lost consciousness.’ With that thought in mind, Inala leapt into the pit and grabbed Gudora, activating his Empyrean Extraction Prime Skill.