"I'm perfectly sober," Zakzak replied and wiped his face, "Wittral is the one who asked me to relay this piece of news."
"I never thought that child would also do drugs," The old man wiped his forehead in worry, "These days, even our Deity likes to fool around."
"No, he's pretty much immune to mere drugs. But wait," The old man muttered, scratching his ear, "Maybe he created a new drug that's capable of affecting an Empyrean Snapper? That is a possibility…"
"Leader!" Zakzak raised his voice and brought the old man to his senses, "Wittral received this information from a Brimgan Empire's Free Human woman that he had rescued. He sent me here in hopes of confirming this news as soon as possible."
"If the Boar King truly is weakened, this is the best time to exact revenge for the death of two of our Deities!"
The old man observed Zakzak's fierce expression and sighed, "Ah, the joys of youth."
"To be so naïve, but brimming with energy."
"Settlement Leader," Zakzak raised his voice, "What do you say? Do we strike?"
"Forget it," The old man waved his hand, "Even if the Boar King's killed twice, nothing changes. He probably has more than twenty Internal Inertial Gravity and two Subtle Terrain Dominance. Worst comes to worst, he'll activate them all and annihilate all threats."
"He obviously doesn't have enough Prana to activate such strong Natures in the bulk," Zakzak argued, "At most, he can activate two Internal Inertial Gravity before his Prana consumption spikes to dangerous levels. He'll dry up in a matter of minutes."
"Ah, the voice of the ignorant!" The old man sang, "If only I was as foolish as you back in the day,"
"The Cooter Clan would have died."
"Leader!" Zakzak roared, "Please stop messing around and send a team to confirm the news."
"Have you heard of the Empyrean Boar King's growth speed?" The old man suddenly spoke, his voice a tad serious.
"I don't," Zakzak shook his head, "Is that supposed to mean something?"
"Ten percent," The old man said, "That's how much his body grows when he consumes an Empyrean Snapper."
"Empyrean Boars have the fastest growth rate. In two days since they are birthed, they become capable enough to hunt large numbers of Iron Grade Pranic Beasts." The old man said, "Their only problem is their Primary Nature, which causes too many Natures to accumulate in their bodies, resulting in multiple tugs-of-war due to the influence of the Natures."
"Their mind shatters as a result." The old man said, "Because of that, Empyrean Boars are damn weak. But how long do you think an Empyrean Boar needs to reach maturity?"
"I…don't know," Zakzak shook his head.
"Depending on their eating habits, the slowest is two years while the fastest is eight years." The old man's eyes glinted in fear, "Do you understand now?"
"That's the fastest maturity date among Gold Grade Pranic Beasts, creatures that can easily live for a millennium and beyond."
"If the Empyrean Boars were that great, why haven't they taken over Sumatra Continent by now?" Zakzak snorted, "They are a race that went extinct."
"Empyrean Boars are victims of their Primary Nature. They don't have the sentience to overcome it. But that's not the point." The old man shrugged with slumped shoulders, "The maturity period for an Empyrean Tusk is close to a century. It's similar to an Empyrean Snapper."
"Wittral is currently twenty-three years old. He would reach his peak strength when he's close to a hundred years old." The old man said, "He'll have 8400 Prana then. Currently, he has around 2000 Prana. But,"
The old man stated solemnly, "An Empyrean Boar in his place would have reached maturity decades ago, possessing its maximum capacity of 3602 Prana."
"At its fastest, an Empyrean Boar can surpass Wittral's growth in two years." The old man stared at Zakzak in disdain, "Do you understand now?"
"The Boar King is the ultimate figure of the Empyrean Boar race. He's the Empyrean Boar King." The old man expressed evident fear, "If he wants to, he can build a body within a decade. He only needs to voraciously consume resources for that, which isn't an issue for him."
"With his strength, who dares stop him?"
"Then why has he remained at the 3-Life Stage for so long?" Zakzak argued, "It has been two millennia since the Boar King appeared. If he's so terrifying, he should have reached the 10-Life Stage many centuries ago. But he didn't. So your words make no sense."
"Influence," The old man said, "That's the reason."
"He has more than twenty Internal Inertial Gravity," He continued, "So, the Boar King has to constantly endure their influence. If he gives in, he'll be influenced into believing he's an Empyrean Tusk."
"The greater the number of bodies he builds, the stronger this influence gets. With the hive mind nature of Empyrean Tusks, these twenty-plus Internal Inertial Gravity would synergise with each other across his multiple bodies and unleash an influence vastly more potent than the twenty of them combined produce." He concluded, "Hence after he grows a little, the Boar King spends most of his time meditating to overcome this influence."
"He stopped at the 3-Life Stage because by then, he had enough strength to roam Sumatra freely. Since he was actively hunting Empyrean Tusks, he had to spend more time meditating to calm their influence." The old man sighed, "Had he been at the 4-Life Stage, the influence would have taken control over his mind already."
"That's why he's controlling his growth." The old man shook his head, "Otherwise, he can easily reach the 10-Life Stage in a century."
"Okay, I get that his growth speed is horrifying. But, this is a Mystic Grade Pranic Beast we're talking about." Zakzak argued, "The resources he needs to grow aren't easy to come across. Even if he swallows millions of Iron Grade Pranic Beasts daily, he still wouldn't get enough quality nutrients to satisfy his growth."
"That's why I'm calling you an idiot," The old man grumbled, "He obviously knows it. And do you know where he can obtain high-quality nutrients that are perfect for his growth?"
"Empyrean Tusks! Empyrean Snappers!" He shouted, "Consuming an Empyrean Snapper gives him enough nutrients to grow his body by ten percent. And consuming an Empyrean Tusk grows his body by a whopping fifteen to twenty percent. You understand now?"
"Threaten his life, and he'll be forced to grow stronger. And when that happens, he'll actively hunt us!" He roared by the end.
"Anyway…" The old man waved his hand, "The younger generation simply doesn't know how terrifying the Boar King can be. Even if the news of him dying twice is the truth, let's not confirm it. If that happens, our Clan will get strange ideas and think they can oppose him."
"Bow our heads and continue to progress forward," The old man said, "That's the motto the Cooter Clan needs to abide by."
"I understand," Zakzak exhaled hot mist, "All that explanation was just a means of expressing your cowardice, right?"
"You! Dumbass! Is your head an egg?" The old man lost his composure. "Don't you ever dream about heading to the Dieng Canyon. I won't allow anyone to head there!"
"Wittral also told me to relay another message, in the event of your refusal." Zakzak said, "If the Cooter Clan wishes to remain a turtle in their oasis, he'll personally head out."
"NO! He can't!" The old man got up in a hurry, screaming as he rushed out, "He's our future! He can't risk his life like that!"
