The Slump Lizards seemed unable to control their hunger, devouring the Shell Moss to their limit. And once they did so, they were at the beck and call of the Carcass Snail, hence charging across the surface.
An Empyrean Zinger Scout kept watch over the river, observing everything in detail. It didn't have night vision and hence couldn't see things clearly. But it could still rely upon other senses to get a feel for things happening at the moment.
The Empyrean Zinger Scout within the dome approached the Carcass Snail's shell and determined a spot undetectable to the people, watching from there.
The moment the Carcass Snail unleashed the streams of Shell Moss and instigated the Slump Lizards, the people within the dome grunted as their bodies began to change.
A shell began to protrude out of their backs while a mucous membrane covered their face, allowing them to breathe underwater at such depths. The shells had no other function other than to serve as a deformity, making the people struggle.
Ravaged Tribe—Mollusc Tribe!
The Mollusc Tribe seemed significantly less evolved than the Rooster Tribe as they weren't even able to handle their transformation properly. Of course, since they intended to proceed in the aquatic evolution route that was against their original nature, the challenges were steeper.
The Mollusc Tribe approached the Carcass Snail's shell and touched it, gradually seeping into it like it was jelly. The bodies of each Mollusc Tribesman were carried in such a way throughout the Carcass Snail's body and brought to its front before the Pranic Beast spit them out.
The Mollusc Tribesmen swam towards the river bed and began to mop the floor with their tridents, creating streamlined patterns. They were careful with their actions, having enough expertise.
One Mollusc Tribesman did the same when his trident's tip hit something hard. Like a shovel, he carefully dug out the object, watching sand slip through the gaps in the trident, revealing a fist-sized egg.
It was a Slump Lizard egg. The Mollusc Tribesman secured the egg in the shell on his back, continuing to sweep the river bed. Every few minutes, he found an egg.
Placed on his shell was a luminescent crystal that illuminated his immediate vicinity. The range seemed to be three metres, beyond which the light wasn't bright enough for his eyes to make out anything.
The Mollusc Tribesmen moved as a group, staying within two metres of each other to keep the region continually lit.
Suddenly, right as he dug out another egg, the Mollusc Tribesman lost his balance and fell hard on the river bed, sustaining bruises in response. He got up in a hurry and thrust out with his trident, skewering a Slump Lizard.
As their eggs were being stolen, the Slump Lizards retaliated, targeting the Mollusc Tribesmen. Waves and waves of them charged at the Mollusc Tribesmen, resulting in a bloody battle breaking out between the two sides.
The strange thing here was that despite their superior numbers, none of the slump Lizards targeted the Carcass Snail. Rather, they treated it as an ally.
The Primary Nature of Shell Moss affected those who consumed it. They would be gradually brainwashed to develop a repulsion towards harming the Carcass Snail. And the greater the quantity of Shell Moss they consumed, the stronger the repulsion.
If this is kept up for a while, the consumers of the Shell Moss would naturally begin treating the Carcass Snail as an ally. That was what happened to the Slump Lizards, for their primary diet was the Shell Moss that existed in large quantities throughout the river.
Moreover, the Shell Moss also dissolved into the river water, affecting any being that drank the water.
After some time, the Empyrean Zinger Scout planted a Prana Bomb on the Carcass Snail's shell, observing its opaque body tremble in response. But as it couldn't move, it was helpless.
By the time it notified the Mollusc Tribesmen about feeling pain at one location on its shell, the Empyrean Zinger Scout finished consuming the Prana Bomb as it reverted to its miniature form and climbed onto the ceiling in the dome.
For the rest of the night, it observed the fight between the Mollusc Tribe and the Slump Lizards. When dawn approached, the Mollusc Tribesmen entered the Carcass Snail's mouth and were transported into the dome.
Immediately after that, they stored the harvested eggs and reverted to their human forms, collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. The Tribesmen in charge of other duties arrived to their assistance and helped them settle into their sleeping quarters.
The Mollusc Tribesmen lived an even more simplistic life than the Rooster Tribe. All they did was fight and gather eggs for consumption. They did nothing else. Very rarely, a Mollusc Tribesman was sent to the surface to harvest tree sap from a cactus.
The Empyrean Zinger Scout stealthily approached the door and used its jaws to chew open a tiny door. It could only be accessed in its miniature form as it arrived outside and climbed to the top of the cactus.
It leapt into the air and glided towards another cactus. Following that, it climbed to its peak and jumped once again, repeating the process of traveling from one cactus to another.
Soon, it entered the forest and used the trees to glide around, eventually making its way to the Rooster Tribe's settlement. The Empyrean Zinger Scout's body expanded, reaching a size of thirty centimetres as it began to climb up the mountain faster.
Secondary Nature—Internal inertial Gravity!
Its body was strengthened, allowing it to flicker across the slope and arrive before Inala. It reverted to its miniature form once again, landed on his head, and began to sleep.
Accessing its memories, Inala understood what the Carcass Snail was up to, having a better idea of the scheme in place. He then iterated the information to Asaeya who used her Spirit Weapons to draw a map of the region on a slate of bone, jotting down the details.
"You said the Slump Lizards spread radially?" She asked while making the map.
"Pretty much," Inala nodded.
"Was there any difference in their population density?" She asked next.
"Now that you mention it," Inala recalled the imagery seen by the second Empyrean Zinger Scout, saying, "There were streams with more than the usual number of Slump Lizards. One of these streams approached this settlement."
"Can you point me their direction?" Asaeya asked as she drew the lines, making the density pattern exhibited by the Slump Lizards.
By now, she had carved a realistic model of the entire region's terrain based on the imagery Inala fed her through a Bone Slip.
Staring at the bone slate that spanned an area of four metres, Inala pointed in the direction with the densest stream of Slump Lizards, "I'll send my scouts this way next."
"I think that's where the human Kingdom is located."
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