The Sandy-Grey Bomb was merely half the size of a fist. But it had been packed to the brim with grey sand after the space inside had been increased and stabilised by the Mudropper.
When it slammed into the Dralh Sea, it exploded, pouring out the grey sand that mixed into the Dralh Sea and consumed the latter.
Voraciously consuming all matter to expand without limits was the function of the grey sand. And in the Dralh Sea with large amounts of energy in the form of heat and billowing waves, the grey sand expanded rapidly.
Unlike the Sandy-Grey Void ring where the Mudropper purposefully controlled its potency and limited its danger, the one unleashed now possessed the actual power of the Sandy-Grey Void that bordered Sumatra Continent, in all its glory.
Dozens of metres of the Dralh Sea were rapidly transformed into grey sand as an island formed at the impact zone. It expanded radially, like a blot of ink on a piece of paper. And everywhere the grey sand crept, light and sound were swallowed while Prana was consumed. Left in its wake was the grey sand with a voracious appetite, spreading faster, creating a vicious cycle.
The sky above it turned dark, making it resemble the night, but one where light couldn’t survive. It was still, soundless, eerie to anyone there, for in absolute silence, they would be able to hear the sounds produced in their body to an alarming extent, nerve-wracking for all.
The grey sand began to expand towards the depths, converting more and more of the Dralh Sea as it soon reached the sea bed, beginning to consume and transform it into grey sand too. And once it reached this point, it became a stable landmass, one where living beings could tread upon.
Well, not that it was safe to do so, since the entirety of the Sandy-Grey Void was akin to a quicksand. So, it was a land of death for everyone.
But right as it began to expand horizontally, a large group of Empyrean Zinger Scouts flooded the area, carrying Sumatra Zingers each, loaded with compressed air. As a combined unit, they launched a burst of air, unleashing a fierce gale that sent large volumes of grey sand flying away.
Instead of expanding outward, the grey sand was redirected towards other vortices, ending up forming the sides of the octagon. This way, once the walls of the octagon finish forming, they will fully cut off the region within from the outside world.
This way, Wittral and the thousand-plus Cooter Clansmen accompanying him would be fully trapped within, alongside the Pranic Beasts. And as the liveable region within shrinks, they would have no other choice but to fight each other to compete for living space.
It was the best way to expend Wittral’s trump cards. As an Empyrean Snapper who was the first of its race to be born perfect without any genetic defects, the Cooter Clan would have invested a lot of effort into grooming him.
Similar to when Gannala was born as the Supreme Tusk, Wittral too would have received an inheritance from all Empyrean Snappers. That wasn’t all. As he was roaming the Dralh Sea with little protection, they would have armed him with Minor Treasures to protect his life.
Hence, he would have to be pushed to the brink of death before he uses these Minor Treasures. Only after his strength was truly exhausted would Inala have the opportunity to capture him. Otherwise, he would be putting everything at risk.
Swoosh!
Four Spirit Weapons rammed into the ship wall and drilled for a few minutes before poking in a small hole. Inala sent an Empyrean Zinger Scout outside through the hole and hovered it in the air using psychokinesis. By reading its memories, he observed the surroundings, staring at the blanket of night gradually forming a wall.
As the wall extended from both the vertices connecting it, extending around ten metres every second, the wall spanning a length of four kilometres finished forming under four minutes. It was crazy quick, and with Pranic Beasts swarming the ship, the Cooter Clansmen were unable to charge out even if they intended to abandon the ship.
With each side spanning a length of four kilometres, the Sandy-Grey Void Octagon encompassed an area of seventy-seven square kilometres. Most of the sea region here was filled with Pranic Beasts, with tens of thousands in the Iron Grade, a couple thousand in the Silver Grade, and three Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
As the area slowly shrunk, they were forced to head towards the centre.
A desperate Iron Grade Pranic Beast rushed into the Sandy-Grey Void and ran across the grey sand, taking advantage of its webbed legs to not sink. It could neither see nor hear its footsteps, but even though it was terrified, it knew that if it charged forth long enough, it would come out on the other side.
It ran and ran, covering more than a kilometre when suddenly, it collapsed, realising only now that its webbed feet were no more, consumed by the grey sand. Prana surged into its legs to regenerate its feet, but the majority of it was consumed by the grey sand.
The Iron Grade Pranic Beast let out a burst of strength to run forth for a couple hundred more metres before it was caught by the grey sand, beginning to slowly sink deeper. It struggled and barely broke free after using its Primary Nature.
But a few more metres forward, and it began to sink once again. This time, it no longer had enough strength to break free and was digested in a matter of seconds, only contributing to increasing the amount of grey sand in the region.
A small grey sand dune formed in the area, the only indicator of its existence.
If one could actually see in the region, they would notice many such sand dunes littered the place. Those who intended to charge out died within the Sandy-Grey Void. After all, the region expanded at a rate of ten metres every second.
No creature was capable enough to survive long enough to surpass it.
Right outside the Sandy-Grey Void Octagon, travelling on small Prana Bomb boats were groups of Empyrean Zinger Scouts. All Pranic Beasts in the vicinity fled away upon seeing the Sandy-Grey Void, making it safe for them to be out in the sea like this.
Two Empyrean Zinger Scouts used their psychokinesis to create a pair of propellers that rowed the boat forward. Another two Empyrean Zinger Scouts blew out powerful gusts of wind to give them the necessary thrust to accelerate from time to time.
They had to constantly keep moving, as the Sandy-Grey Void Octagon was also expanding outwards. The Empyrean Zinger Scouts were camping right outside its expanding borders to attack any creature that successfully managed to escape from the octagon.
They’ll attack the target and send it reeling back in. This was their task. There was one such boat every two hundred metres, keeping watch of the Sandy-Grey Void’s expansion. Thankfully until now, none managed to break out.
Within the Sandy-Grey Void Octagon, Inala finished his observation and retracted the Empyrean Zinger Scout, swallowing it to store it in his biome. He then took out a Prana Bomb containing the Boar King’s Prana and equipped it, using Mystic Bone Art to morph it into a chest armour.
This way, he could emit the Boar King’s presence from all over his body. He planned to integrate it into his Inhibition Needle in the future, but for the time being, this would suffice.
Hearing the sounds of slaughter coming from the deck, Inala began moving, intending to allow more Pranic Beasts into the ship’s interior, “I’ll make the situation even more chaotic.”