No matter in which direction the Boar King moved, from time to time, the way in which he turned pointed directly towards Virala. Depending on the habitats, the Boar King generally had to circle around mountains, avoid fragile ecologies that would be destroyed under his presence, etc.
As a result, he couldn't travel in a straight line. But as his goal was Virala, no matter how much he meandered, all his turns were towards Virala.
"I need to confirm something." Virala said, grabbed Blola and ran at his top speed, using an Empyrean Tusk's strength to travel long distances in a short while, constantly keeping track of the fear to confirm, "Indeed, he's aiming for us."
"Stay here for a second." Virala dropped Blola and ran ten kilometres away, thinking as he noticed the changes, 'He's particularly coming for me. Why? Did I mess up somewhere? No, I haven't left the Mammoth Clan before this. There's no way I did anything to trigger the Boar King. Then, there's just one reason.'
"Either it's Orakha or Inala." Virala muttered, his gaze serious as he made guesses, "What should be the motive? To stop my growth? But trying to lure in the Boar King for such a case is too risky."
'Who is that desperate to get rid of me?' Virala frowned. Even Resha wasn't desperate in that regard. After all, the latter had the power to get rid of him easily. So it wasn't an issue he would bother the Boar King with, for that was crazy.
'There's only one guy who's as crazy as me to do this. And he has the motives to do so.' Virala sighed, 'Inala, that fucker. He's planning something huge, possibly through Ganala, since she's the Supreme Tusk's successor. Did he pin the blame on me? That seems likely.'
Orakha didn't have a strong enough motive to take such risks. Besides, though Orakha was a risk-taker, he wasn't a lunatic to dare mess with the Boar King. Among the reincarnates, only two had the guts to do thatInala and Virala.
"He's coming for you." Virala lied once he returned to where Blola stood, "I think he discovered the shit you pulled in Ennoudu Plains."
"Seriously? Why now?" Blola screamed in worry, "That was so long ago!"
"Inala probably leaked it." Virala commented, "The Chief commanded Orakha to bring some Empyrean Tusk bone powder to Inala. The two would have met regarding that. As long as Gannala touches Orakha, she can read his memories. That may be how Inala learnt of your actions and used it to his advantage."
"Shit!" Blola cursed, "It's all because of Orakha. He's a fucking snitch! He should have kept whatever he learnt from the Transcendent Eater to himself."
"What do we do now, Virala?" Blola was flustered, "If the Boar King swallows me, he'll obtain the Transcendent Eater's Nature. It'll be impossible to kill him after that. Worst comes to worst, the Transcendent Eater's Nature would overpower his Astral Chart, devour him, and use that as fuel to sprout. Our Continent is doomed if that happens."
"Relax." Virala stated casually, "I can handle this. Get inside me. I'll take care of you."
Virala took on his Empyrean Tusk form, becoming as massive as a mountain as his trunk unleashed a strong suction force, sucking in Blola along with the surrounding vegetation. Once the latter was safe in his stomach biome, Virala reverted to his human form.
'One day, I would love to have the Transcendent Eater's Nature, but I probably don't have the strength to handle that power. It's alright, I have plenty of time.' Virala thought casually as he began to sprint, coming to a stop upon finding an Iron Grade Pranic Beast.
He swapped the Gold Nature Weapon of Artillery with the Gold Nature Weapon of Leech, becoming ready as he stored the rest of his Nature Weapons in his stomach biome. He reverted his Storage Lanterns to their original size so that the space inside them would vanish, following which he swallowed them too.
Virala then leapt towards the Iron Grade Pranic Beast and took on his Nature Weapon form, seeping into its body once he came into contact with it. He took up its Secondary Nature slot without issues and observed, 'Alright, there's no issues in taking up this form even with a living being in my stomach. As expected of a Mystic Grade Nature. It's absurdly broken.'
As long as Blola doesn't try attacking his stomach biome, Virala won't have issues maintaining his Nature Weapon form.
Once he fully settled in the Secondary Nature slot, he exerted influence upon the Iron Grade Pranic Beast, causing it to begin moving as he desired. Through the Nature Weapon of Leech, he used the Decaleech's power to keep the latter stealthy.
The only way to detect this Iron Grade Pranic Beast was through sight. Its body odour was erased while its footsteps were absolutely silent. When it walked, its body moved in such a way it didn't exert any weight on the ground.
This was thanks to the effects of Internal Inertial Gravity. Hence, without exerting any presence, the Iron Grade Pranic Beast left no traces as it continued to run along the banks of the Red-Draft River.
Two hours later, Virala was a tad relieved, 'Alright, this works. I don't know what means the Boar King is using to detect me, but thankfully, my stealth abilities are superior.'
The Decaleech's ability to remain absolutely stealthy, not being registered even in Prana detection means, the Empyrean Tusk's ability to make the body as light as a feather and leave behind no physical evidence, and finally, Virala hiding in the Secondary Nature slot of an Iron Grade Pranic Beast.
This was a stealth spanning multiple layers, ensuring even the best detection methods would no longer be able to detect traces of him. And indeed, it was effective as the Boar King lost sight of Virala's position.
Through Internal Inertial Gravity, Virala noticed the Boar King come to a halt, unable to detect his position anymore. 'Perfect!'
'But, he might detect my position the moment I come out.' Virala thought in response, 'And if I were to reveal my position, he'll connect the dots from my previous spot and determine that I'm heading to the Brimgan Empire. It would be catastrophic if the Boar King were to head there. All my plans would get disrupted in that scenario.'
'Alright, we're hiding until the Boar King goes away.' Virala thought and influenced the Iron Grade Pranic Beast to dig a hole and bury itself, hiding in the spot. The Boar King had to actively use his detection means to locate Virala.
He didn't believe that the Boar King would try to constantly keep that active, for such a potent ability that could track someone thousands of kilometres away should be heavily taxing on Prana. It was a matter of time before the Boar King became exhausted and needed some rest.
Virala will move in that time period. 'Now, I need to calculate that. From here, everything's guesswork.'
He frowned, trying to think of a realistic way in which he could determine the Boar King's actions, through which he could find out when it was safe to move and when it was better to remain hidden.
The Iron Grade Pranic Beast he found was the easiest to influence, but that also meant it was too fragile. He couldn't use it to travel all the way to the Brimgan Empire, 'I need a stronger Iron Grade Pranic Beast.'
After waiting for a few days, the Iron Grade Pranic Beast began to move when the coast was clear. Soon, it reached the Brask Channel, coming across the Guna Caves that spanned from it, alongside the Dralh Sea, and further beyond, occupying an expansive region.
'Found it!' Virala became excited upon staring at a mature Bludder. A moment later, he felt greedy upon seeing a Bludder in action, 'Oh my! If it's this powerful even at Iron Grade, wouldn't it be terrifying at the Silver or even the Gold Grade?'
'Guess I need to stockpile some Nature Weapons.' Followed by a grin, he caused the Iron Grade Pranic Beast to approach a Bludder that was feasting upon its prey.