“It went well until now,” Inala muttered as he wiped his cold sweat and encased Wittral in a Prana Bomb coffin. Only after he made damn sure of Wittral being unable to generate any Prana was he relieved.
By now, the Cooter Clansmen puppets finished taking care of all survivors, making rounds for a cleanup before they broke out of their respective puppets. Following that, they entered his biome, bringing Wittral with them.
They would ensure he remained unconscious until Inala could get back to Wittral for the original purpose he had come here.
Now, in the silent Sandy-Grey Void, unable to see anything, Inala remained still as a statue, returning to his relatively safer spot to hang from a ten-metre-tall pole.
While waiting in the silence, he thought of his subsequent plans, ‘Things proceeded without hiccups until now since I made enough preparations. But it’ll get messier after this.’
He had used eight Sandy-Grey Bombs to ensure Wittral was captured without any issues. Of course, originally, Wittral would have survived with strength to spare. Inala intended to face him one-on-one in armed combat following that.
That was how his plan went. But to end the battle early, Wittral controlled the grey sand and as a result, voraciously consumed all their reserve of medicine. He did manage to save more people than what Inala had calculated, but in response, also ended up overexerting himself to the point of losing consciousness.
Using eight Sandy-Grey Bombs to capture the person who was pivotal to the growth of both Gannala and himself was worth it. The day Inala thought of creating the Quip Tribe was when he had changed his original plan in regards to getting the Attribute.
The more he comprehended the data of the Mudropper, the clearer he could conceptualise his plan. By now, he had a solid idea to proceed forward. Currently, he had only figured out a way to allow Gannala to obtain the Tertiary Nature of Cultivator through Wittral.
As for his plan, there was still a bit of stuff left to do. A couple of variables remained, which had to be sorted first. Hence, until he finishes everything, Wittral will be kept safe in his biome.
With the data of Brangara surviving in the Sandy-Grey Void, with the data of the previous Gannala treading through it while returning to Sumatra Continent, and with the data of the Mudropper, Inala had enough confidence to succeed while within the Sandy-Grey Void.
A day later, it would disappear, leaving behind a mere desert that may or may not be swallowed up by the Dralh Sea. His advantage would disappear, forcing him to move while remaining in hiding.
Since Wittral vanished, the Cooter Clan would be busy searching for him. The Boar King too was making his way to the Dralh Sea. The quality of variables was too ginormous for Inala to control and navigate through without risks.
Hence, he braced himself. There was a very solid possibility he could lose his life if he were in the least careless.
He spent the remaining time understanding the Mudropper’s data more. The greater his comprehension, the clearer his path of development would get, until his accumulations result in a qualitative change by the time he obtains the Attribute.
By that point, he truly would have obtained the primary abilities that allowed him to contest against the Boar King at endgame. For that, he needs to work harder to take advantage of the factors at play around him.
Soon, a day was up as the night sky above the Sandy-Grey Void began to clear up. The grey sand too lost its effect, becoming no different than regular, desert sand. Right as this happened, Inala began to sprint in the direction of Leh Island, kicking up to top gear immediately.
As it was merely desert sand, he crossed it in a matter of minutes, letting out multiple shrieks along the way. Soon, replies arrived from the Empyrean Zinger Scouts that were in Gannala’s care. Hearing the information, he rerouted himself and arrived at an island where Gannala had killed the Cooter Clansmen in charge of the place.
“Dad! You returned!” Gannala shouted in joy and leaped into his embrace.
“Good, you’re uninjured,” Inala said upon inspecting her condition.
“I did everything you wanted me to,” Asaeya said as she too leapt into his embrace, “Did I do well?”
“You did,” Inala nodded, “But the real thing is just starting.”
“We need to pin the blame on the Boar King and ensure there’s irreversible hatred between him and the Cooter Clan.”
“Rest a little, Dad.” Gannala said and brought out the Sumatra Ship, “I’ll bring us to Fral Island first.”
“Okay, maintain top speed.” Saying so, Inala jumped into the Sumatra Ship, sat in a corner, and fell asleep immediately. He had been maintaining a state of intense stress for pretty long. And it would only get more intense later.
More than two thousand Empyrean Zinger Scouts spread across the roof of the Sumatra Ship in miniature forms, controlling their Prana Bombs like Spirit Containers to attack any Pranic Beast that dared come close.
They were using this opportunity to restock upon their dwindling Prana Bomb supply, for Inala had splurged through them in the past few days while refining the Mystic Mist Elixirs.
It took them half a day to arrive at Fral Island as Inala leaped out and rushed through the island, masking his presence while covering his body with Empyrean Zinger Scouts.
There were muffled screams following that as the Cooter Clansmen on the island were subjugated. Once all their Prana was absorbed, Inala chucked their unconscious bodies into the Dralh Sea for the Pranic Beasts to feast upon.
He then released two Cooter Clansmen puppets that entered the mine and rounded up a hundred Free Humans, escorting them out. Creeping upon them from behind were Empyrean Zinger Scouts in miniature forms who used their Prana Hands to instantly knock them all unconscious.
“Okay, let’s get to work.” Saying so, Inala created a bunch of Prana Bombs and morphed their shape to create an operating table. He then placed the body of the closest Free Human on it and removed their clothes.
Stage 1—Jaw!
An Empyrean Zinger Scout applied general anaesthesia to the Free Human. Once it took effect, using the sharp edges of his index finger, Inala made an incision on the Free Human’s chest, causing blood to spurt out in response.
Four Spirit Weapons moved delicately through the cut and revealed the Free Human’s beating heart. After retracting one of them, Inala surged a stream of Prana into the heart, causing it to tremble violently once he located the Spirit Container within it.
He observed its condition, ‘Good. Though not compatible, since he’s a Free Human, using the Mystic Mist Art still added some Cooter Clan’s influence on his Spirit Container.’
“Okay, feed him,” Inala said as an Empyrean Zinger Scout opened the Free Human’s mouth and poured in a bunch of Elixirs.
Mystic Mist Art—Prana Domination!
Mystic Mist Art—Elixir Condensation!
An Empyrean Zinger Scout took charge of each process, rapidly losing their Prana in response while they artificially caused the Free Human’s body to efficiently digest the Elixir and rapidly build Spirit Containers.
It was damn unstable, capable of shattering with the slightest emotional fluctuation due to the abilities used. But it was enough as long as they remained for a few seconds, as by then, his purpose would be achieved.
100 Spirit Containers formed in the Free Human’s heart as Inala activated a bunch of Skills to make it seem as if the Free Human was controlling them, causing the 100 Spirit Containers to fuse into a unified whole.
Right as it happened, Prana surged out of Inala and poured into the Free Human’s heart as one of his latest, peak abilities was activated.
Prime Skill—Spirit Container Harvest!