"Huff…puff…" Orakha gasped for breath after he was revived a second time. He stared at the figure of Raaha standing before him and bowed in response, "I greet the Mammoth Clan Chief!"
"You know me?" It was Raaha's turn to be surprised, "I don't think we encountered each other before."
"Yes, that's true." Orakha subtly eyed the carnivorous tree beside him and motioned to talk farther away. As the carnivorous tree was in the process of developing a second fruit, Blola couldn't hear their exchange.
Raaha brought Orakha far away and erected an energy barrier around them, preventing details of their conversation from leaking out. He then stared at Orakha and motioned for the latter to speak, "Tell me what you know."
"Blola's Transcendent Eater isn't entirely on our side." Orakha said, "While I was being revived, I could access the information stored in the Transcendent Eater. The Mystic Tentacle, Renduldu couldn't entirely erase the Transcendent Eater's will. Therefore, the longer Blola remains transformed, the greater its growth. Eventually, it'll erase his mind and take over his body."
"Where's the proof of your claim?" Raaha asked.
"Please allow me to revive a couple dozen times." Orakha said, "By then, you'll be able to observe changes in Blola's mentality."
"Alright, go ahead." Saying so, Raaha extended his hand and pointed at Orakha, vaporising the latter instantly.
He then approached the Gold Grade Transcendent Eater and spoke, "Continue reviving Orakha."
"Alright," A reply came once the fruit belonging to Yennda finished forming. Soon, it hatched, revealing a confused Yennda.
"I…failed," Yennda muttered, disappointed, "Why did I even think otherwise?"
"Are you Yennda?" Raaha stared at the latter, observing him with a hint of disappointment, 'I felt interested in Orakha's presence. He's strong by mind to the extent I want to see what he's up to. But this Yennda guy is…lacklustre.'
During the merger, Raaha noticed a few things. First of all, was the Boar King's declaration towards Resha. Second, were the strange existences that resembled an Empyrean Tusk more than a Mammoth Clansman, despite being a Clansmen themselves.
The point of note here was the seven Death Row students from Gannala's Settlement. Having reached the pinnacle of cultivation as a Mammoth Clansman and having accessed the final segment of the Mystic Bone Art, belonging to the Transcendent Stage, Raaha was capable of conversing with all Empyrean Tusks.
Hence, when he discussed with them, he realised that the herd of 44 Empyrean Tusks was singlehandedly created by Gannala. That seemed impossible.
An Empyrean Tusk, throughout its life, was at most capable of giving birth twice. And this was only for the strongest among Empyrean Tusks. The weaker ones could only succeed once.
But Gannala gave birth to 43 Empyrean Tusks? Even though he wished to claim that it was a lie, the truth lay before him. Empyrean Tusks never lied. And since they all claimed the same story, he had no other choice but to believe it, concluding that Gannala was different from the rest.
And she was explicitly showing support to seven of her children, those with the Fragment Disease. Upon knowing that, Raaha became curious and began observing them.
It was then he saw the figure of Virala stealthily walking deeper into the Dieng Canyon while Resha followed him from behind. Just as he was curious about what they intended to do, he was surprised to see Resha trying to kill Virala.
'I can't have that.' Since he had yet to figure out the truth, he stopped Resha. Originally, had any other Mammoth Clansman done the same, he would have punished them severely.
But his curiosity took priority here, especially since the presence he felt from Resha and Virala was unlike anything he ever witnessed.
Resha exerted the presence of an Empyrean Tusk more than the Empyrean Tusks. Similarly, Virala exerted the presence of a Mammoth Clansman more than all the Mammoth Clansmen.
Grehha had the capability of nurturing an Empyrean Tusk baby, raising the success rate close to the maximum. This meant that any Mammoth Clansman with the Fragment Disease could birth an Empyrean Tusk successfully.
With his presence around, the success rate was a hundred percent.
Raaha didn't know much about Inala. However, the previous incident he observed caused him to have a stronger opinion of Inala.
Right as the merger started, baby Gannala's voice resounded amidst the herd, alerting all Empyrean Tusks. But the distance was too far to reach in a short time.
Despite that, they wished to move. After all, the herd was now strong enough to protect their newborn. But as they took action, they noticed the Boar King racing towards the source first.
Even if they wished to stop him, they couldn't, due to the vast distance between the two. And the Boar King's speed was superior to them.
From time to time, they heard baby Gannala's voice, one of pain. But suddenly, four days later, they realised what was up once the Boar King arrived before the voice.
The voice was a fake. The Empyrean Tusks were smarter than a human. They quickly figured out that Inala had set a trap for the Boar King and the latter had fallen prey to it.
It was the first time one of them played the Boar King like that, causing the Empyrean Tusk herd to break into a fit of laughter. Of course, the frequency of the sound produced by their laughter couldn't be felt by the Mammoth Clan.
Only Raaha could hear it, understanding that Inala too was something worth keeping an eye on. It made him curious about the rest of the Death Row students.
Moreover, at his level, he could see through all Mammoth Clansmen. If he wanted, he could access all information in their bodies as he did through a Bone Slip, for that was what a cultivator that had mastered the Mystic Bone Art could do.
It was also why Undrakha was able to extract all information out of Brangara back in the day—because Brangara was using the Mystic Bone Art.
When Blola approached Raaha in terror, even though he didn't exhibit it, Raaha was fuming, because he clearly sensed the presence of an Empyrean Tusk in Blola, not similar to the one he felt from Resha and Virala, but one gained from killing an Empyrean Tusk.
Blola gained the power of an Empyrean Tusk by killing it. And that Empyrean Tusk was the baby that was stolen from his herd.
But he had to control his anger, for none of the Empyrean Tusks did anything, even though they all could feel it too. It was why Raaha controlled himself and took on the task of observing Blola, and in response, Orakha and Yennda too, now that they had been revived.
'I haven't felt Inala's presence, so I cannot judge him. But from what I sensed, Orakha has the second strongest presence, right after Resha.' He then stared at the carnivorous tree and the saddened figure of Yennda near it, 'And these two have the weakest presence. They seem barely special and only thanks to whatever Gannala had done.'
As he thought, his expression subtly turned cold as he stared at the carnivorous tree, 'But no matter what, killing an Empyrean Tusk signs your death sentence. I'll be watching you, Blola.'
'You become even the slightest bit useless to the Clan, and I'll be the first to dispose you.'
Comments