“Kuukukugaaa!”
“Gukaaa!”
“Gaku…uuaaa!”
High-pitched shrieks resounded from Zinger Scouts, reverberating throughout the Dieng Canyon. Zingers could transmit entire speeches within a short screech. At the speed of sound, the message travelled throughout the region, amplified, and retransmitted by the scouts that heard it.
[62 Empyrean Tusks are rampaging. Tens of millions of our brethren are dead. We’ll lose control of the region if we don’t replenish our numbers.]
The message alarmed the Zinger community as messages kept reverberating throughout the Dieng Canyon, bringing in the news of the destruction committed by the rampaging Empyrean Tusk herd.
On a mountain reaching a height of five kilometres sat a Zinger Queen, eyes closed as she had just finished creating a batch of Zinger eggs. She grabbed a Prana Bomb, cracked the shell and drank the fluid within, replenishing some of her expended Prana.
Her surroundings were covered by heaps and heaps of Prana Bombs, more than she would ever need. It was a tax from the Zinger colonies.
Typically, a Zinger that was strong enough would establish its own colony on a mountain. Depending upon the surface area and resources on a mountain, the strength and size of the colony varied.
Bigger colonies were ruled by Zinger Commanders. And the largest of all colonies were under a Zinger King each.
The Zinger community relied upon the concept of self-sufficiency and individualism amongst colonies. Meaning, if a colony were to be annihilated, neighbouring colonies wouldn’t care. Instead, once the perpetrator disappears, they would fight to occupy the territory that had opened.
If a colony were to suffer a loss in their raid, resulting in a lot of their brethren getting killed, the leader would send an envoy to the core of the Dieng Canyon.
The envoy would fly with a large batch of Prana Bombs and deposit it on the Zinger Queen’s Mountain. These Prana Bombs were a tax.
The Zinger Queen would judge the tax and grant the envoy a certain number of eggs accordingly. The envoy would return to its colony with the eggs and carefully hatch it, building up their numbers once again.
This was the principle with which Zinger colonies functioned. As she received tax from pretty much every colony under her governance, the Zinger Queen lived a life of abundance.
Her mountain was located deepest in the Zinger Territory, protected by a royal guard consisting of dozens of Zinger Kings. The surrounding mountains too had the strongest of Zingers, mostly Zinger Commanders, serving as a buffer between any dangerous Pranic Beast and the Zinger Queen.
Spanning a head taller than a Zinger King, the queen was the biggest in their species. But her body wasn’t as robust as the king, for she wasn’t built to fight.
As the Zinger Queen finished the egg allocation to all her colonies, she heard the shouts being relayed by the Zinger Scouts from the colonies sequentially. The message eventually reached her, causing her to make a decision.
Even though she had a surplus of Prana Bombs to replenish her Prana, she had obvious limits. It took her time to digest the gains and convert it into Prana.
At least a hundred mountains had been destroyed by the Empyrean Tusk herd. If they don’t replenish their numbers quickly, some other Pranic Beast will take up territory in the void of power.
The three Zinger Queens didn’t have enough power to replenish their numbers in a short while.
“Kukaaa!” At the Zinger Queen’s shout, the scouts echoed her voice and transmitted it to other regions. Soon, two replies arrived in the same network, carrying a message from the remaining two Zinger Queens.
[Make a new Queen!]
Since all three queens accepted the decision, one of the Zinger Queens swallowed the fluid from dozens of Prana Bombs and condensed all that Prana, losing some of her lifeforce in the process as she created a Life Bomb.
She only needed Prana to create the regular Life Bombs. But to create one that would hatch a queen, she had to use her lifeforce too, not to mention consuming copious amounts of Prana.
The Zinger Queen aged by a few decades in response as she felt weak. She beckoned one of her royal guards and handed it the egg, communicating with it to target the second Empyrean Tusk herd moving about in the Dieng Canyon.
As the Zinger King transported the egg, it rallied up an army to serve as a distraction while the egg hatched. As long as the fourth Zinger Queen is born, they could replenish their numbers within a decade.
So, dying for her birth wasn’t an issue. With that goal in mind, the Zinger King entered Inala’s house and placed the egg in the living room, sighing in relief upon sensing the egg suck in large amounts of Gannala’s Prana and lifeforce.
To avoid the Mammoth Clansmen from noticing the egg, the Zinger King flew away and hid behind a large Baobab tree, shadowing Gannala from the side. The moment the Zinger Queen hatches, it would swoop in and carry her out.
It was accompanied by a group of Zinger Kings for the same purpose. They were there to defend against the Mammoth Clansmen.
Right after it placed the egg, the Zinger King let out a faint whistle, alerting its brethren as millions of Zingers jumped down from the cliffs and flew towards the herd.
80 Million! 𝐎𝓋𝗅xt.𝕔𝔬𝐦
That was the number of Zingers targeting the Empyrean Tusk herd. And only a small portion of them flew closer to the Empyrean Tusks to engage in close combat. As for the rest?
Primary Nature—Prana Bomb!
Millions of Prana Bombs simply rained down from the sky. An Empyrean Tusk stood at a height of 1.6 kilometres while the peak of the mountains ranged around two kilometres.
This meant there was more than enough altitude difference—400 metres—for the Zingers to glide over and remain beyond the 180-metre maximum range of Mammoth Clansmen elites. Only the masters could target the bodies of the Zingers, but even if they could do so, they made no difference.
The number of Zingers targeting the Empyrean Tusk herd was just that overwhelming.
“You…must be Asaeya.” Virala smiled casually and cupped his fists, “I heard a lot about you from your elder sister.”
“Is that so?” Asaeya snorted and brushed past Virala, entering the shuttle while accompanied by her bodyguards, a group of four elites at the peak of the Body Stage.
‘Judging by the security, it seems she’s obtained the Grim Knell.’ Virala made a judgement as his eyes curled up faintly, ‘Inala, that bastard. Just how did he make a nameless character obtain such power?’
“Well, shall we go?” He stared at Luttrena and smiled.
“Remember, this is merely a transaction,” Luttrena said coldly.
“I know.” Virala nodded as he eyed Ruvva’s frosty expression, ‘She’s not even hiding her killing intent now. As I thought, she must have succeeded in her scheme. Well, I’m waiting for it anyway. I can never get enough of making women dance to my tune.’
Seated within the shuttle, Asaeya glared at Virala’s back, ‘Something is about to happen. I can feel it. Just starting at him is making my skin prick. I need to consult about him with Inala. I don’t know his house address, but Mandu can relay my arrival as usual. Guess I’ll wait at his home until Inala arrives.’
The shuttle reached the 44th Settlement as Asaeya got out. She had just taken a step forward when one of her guards pulled her back, “What the…?”
Boom!
A Prana Bomb slammed into the ground before her, absorbing Gannala’s Prana. Asaeya’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the sky and paled in fright, watching the rain of Prana Bombs.
“Kurrraalllalala!” All 44 Empyrean Tusks trumpeted in alarm, alerting the Mammoth Clan of the approaching disaster.