"Shit!" Inala cursed in anger as he stared at the bunch of keys in his possession, "It took us three hours to gather them."
Eight keys leading to Compartment 9-k and twenty keys leading to the adjacent compartments, their luck was abysmal. Even though Inala wanted to gather the remaining two keys that would lead into Compartment 9-k, he noticed the positions of the respective Attributed Creatures, each of which was situated at a corner.
They would have to target the first in the same manner as before, wait for the route to open up again and target the second. The paths had narrower internals, with them having to change multiple paths along the way, similar to trains changing tracks to avoid the rainfall.
The worst part was that the path opened for the first Attributed Creature five minutes later, while it took a freaking forty minutes to form one for the second. Spending half the time in the Tenth Layer was pure foolishness. After all, there were fifteen other entrances.
"Let's hurry," Inala said and led the group into Compartment 9-K. When they passed through the gate, the Attributed Region sensed them. Those with the keys to Compartment 9-K were naturally granted hydrophobic characteristics at the gate leading into it.
Anyone who tries to enter it without the key would be dissolved instantly.
Even with six Empyrean Tusks assisting him, it still took time. Having a bigger group would only consume more time, since they would have to fight for more keys. Six Empyrean Tusks was the minimum amount Inala felt necessary to efficiently dispatch the Attributed Creatures.
"I almost forgot about it." Before he entered the gate leading to Compartment 9-K, Inala took out three Mutated Empyrean Zingers from his stomach biome and then brought out bags of his blood.
The three Empyrean Zingers stored the blood in their stomach biome and split off. Two of them carried the keys leading to 10-J and 10-L respectively. Soon, once a path opened up, they entered the respective Compartments, waiting for the group of Empyrean Tusks there to enter the Ninth Layer.
As for the Empyrean Zinger left behind in Compartment 10-K, it rushed through a path and unleashed a geyser of blood, emptying its stomach biome. Inala's blood drizzled onto the floor and was absorbed by the latter.
In a matter of seconds, using the Prana residue in the blood, new Attributed Creatures resembling Inala were birthed. They had his characteristics and instincts. These Attributed Creatures would give a harder time to whoever enters Compartment 10-K next.
In a matter of minutes, new Attributed Creatures were created, ones more dangerous than the grasshopper-like Attributed Creatures that Inala's group had faced.
While the Attributed Region was developing, it absorbed Prana from creatures that fell into its boundary by mistake and died. This was then used to create the Attributed Creatures.
These Attributed Creatures were the primary cause behind the deaths of more than half the Mammoth Clan.
All Empyrean Tusks carried his blood, intending to spill it into the Compartments they were in after getting enough keys to enter a deeper Layer. It would hold back others for a longer time.
As Inala had extensively prepared for the Attributed Region, the Attributed Creatures created out of him would be deadlier in the region. They would cause countless wounds to the beings entering the Attributed Region, and as a result cause more Attributed Creatures to form.
Eventually, the Attributed Region would become a terrifying land of death, filled with enough Attributed Creatures that even the Boar King would refrain from entering it. That had happened in the Sumatra Chronicles, which is why the Brimgan Empire failed to take advantage of it.
Now, Inala was simply accelerating it. His actions would make exiting the Attributed Region hell, but by then, he would have evolved, able to wield superior powers. That wasn't all. They had a contingency plan for one path, which would be their path of exit.
…
'Enough time has passed.' Blola thought while in the form of a Parute Tree. He observed his surroundings for a moment before assuming his Transcendent Eater form.
"What the…?"
"Does this make sense?"
"Don't dawdle! Suppress it!"
The Free Humans in the vicinity expressed varying responses to the situation. But as this was in the centre of a company based around Raiding the regions surrounding the Brimgan Empire, all the cultivators had ample fighting experience.
Less than a second later since Blola had assumed his Transcendent Eater form, hundreds of Spirit Weapons flew his way, injuring him tremendously. But, that did nothing as his injuries healed at terrifying rates.
"In this blessed land, I am invincible!" Blola felt strength surge through his being as his roots dug deeper into the ground, sucking in minerals bursting out of the Southern Vein. In this region, he would never face a shortage of resources, capable of regenerating his body without limits.
Carnivorous mouths lashed about, destroying the building he was within, forcing the fighting cultivators to flee in response. The large building blocks crumbled into dust under the thrashing of his stalks. And once they became soil, they turned into nutrients for his growth.
Mystic Bone Art—Overgrowth!
His Transcendent Eater form began to expand in size, building more stems, stalks, leaves, and carnivorous mouths. Soon enough, it became massive enough for everyone in the respective city to observe.
Boom!
Blola's height reached three hundred metres, stopping there for it was the limit that he could control for the time being. The original Transcendent Eater could grow big enough to resemble the moon and was capable of destroying Sumatra Continent overnight.
Hence, even though his Transcendent Eater was a watered-
down version, it was still an Expert Gold Grade Pranic Beast, capable of a level of destruction on the level of an Empyrean Tusk but with superior vitality.
"What the fuck is this?"
"Who knows? It's attacking us! So shut up and attack it with everything you got!" The Raid Teams in the vicinity scrambled in a fluster, unable to counter Blola.
They had never heard about the existence of a Transcendent Eater. Hence, they didn't know what to do against it, forget being able to counter it.
Swoosh!
One of the Transcendent Eater's branches lashed about horizontally, sending all buildings in its way flying. Dust clouds were raised as many people died. The Free Humans were forced to protect the people and rescue those severed injured.
Those who dared fight him were unable to damage him fast enough. Even if they were to cut off branches, all damage healed.
There was no head counterpart for the Transcendent Eater. If even a piece of root was alive, by absorbing nutrients, it could regrow to full size in a matter of seconds. Hence, it was impossible to kill Blola.
Once he unleashed a rain of attacks to force the attackers into a defensive position, Blola reverted to his human form and rushed through the dust cloud, making a beeline towards the closest entrance into the Attributed Region.
A few months in advance, a tunnel formed underground his position at the company. The other body of Blola walked there. Even though they were away from each other, they were within 180 metres of each other, allowing the minds of the two to become connected.
Through that, the current body of Blola became aware of everything that had happened. The Empyrean Tusks were actively participating in the race for the Attribute. Hence, whatever plans he had could only be dropped.
Otherwise, Raaha would begin suppressing him even more fiercely. Since the Major Treasure of Attribute wasn't entirely useful for his goal, Blola didn't resist Raaha's orders. Hence, he began to make his way towards the entrance.
The crowd that had barricaded the region obviously stopped him. In response, Blola assumed his Transcendent Eater form once again, raining chaos on the region. Whenever chance presented itself, he reverted to human form and moved closer.
Eventually, he managed to assume Transcendent Eater form right next to the entrance, preventing anyone else from approaching the place. His mission was to continue guarding the entrance, for it would be used by the group of Empyrean Tusks to exit the Attributed Region.
At the same time, he felt Yennda's death, beginning to revive him already. Yennda would be another insurance to protect this entrance.
If anyone on the level of Bronsk Brimgan were to arrive, Blola could simply chuck Yennda towards the latter. It would force the Brimgan Empire powerhouses to focus on treating themselves, buying enough time for Blola to revive Yennda once again.
He would keep repeating it until the Empyrean Tusks arrived at Compartment 10-A, the entrance to which he was guarding at present.
Once he had taken position, Blola's body flinched upon feeling his mind become connected to his other body. A hundred metres underground, there formed a tunnel in which Blola was accompanied by Raaha and the rest.
They were there to receive the Empyrean Tusks who would enter the tunnel under Blola's cover. Besides, using this mental connection between the two bodies of Blola, Raaha and the rest were able to learn of the situation above ground in real-time.
Mammoth Clansmen were performing the same all across the Empire, subtly spying on the situation by taking advantage of their mental connection at the Life Stage. And seated next to their bodies underground were Mammoth Clansmen that had fused with the egg of a Zinger.
Their purpose was to transmit all the information through shrieks, capture and retransmitted by Mammoth Clansmen—
with Zinger powers—seated at regular intervals until the information reached Raaha.
A group of Mammoth Clansmen with the power of a Zinger accompanied his group of Empyrean Tusks, constantly relaying all sorts of information to the Mammoth Clan Chief through Bone Slips.
As a result, even though he was in a secluded location underground, Raaha was aware of everything happening in the Brimgan Empire. Basically, the Mammoth Clan had completely infiltrated this Free Human utopia.
