EU: Chapter 046 | Group Meetings And Group Investigations

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“Haah…gah…argh…” Nancho gasped for breath. Sweat dripped on his Ogre-skin armour, turning soot-black as they condensed across singe marks on its surface. His breathing grew haggard, his eyes threatening to close shut in exhaustion as he wearily gazed at the series of stone pillars that littered the ground before him.

He had been fighting nonstop. However, including him, there were only ten officers. In contrast, there were 15 Level 2 Ogres, not to mention around 200 Level 1 Ogres.

He and his group of officers had done their best. However, they had long since depleted their stamina.

Psst!

Nancho used the Spell of Torch, which was the easiest to use and consumed the least amount of stamina. The flames were weaker than a candle flame and were also similar in size. Nancho no longer had the physical and mental capacity to create a bigger flame.

His knees buckled under his weight as he plopped to the ground, watching Ogres reveal themselves from within the stone pillars, one after another. “Does it make sense for Ogres to use kiting tactics?”

“We have simply learnt it from the Humans.” Taruk-Tuk carried a stone hammer and slowly approached Nancho. He then raised it high up and glared at the kneeling figure before him, “Any last words?”

“His Majesty will slaughter the lot of you…” Nancho watched with a resigned look as the hammer descended upon his face. However, the intended impact didn’t arrive.

“Wha…” Taruk-Tuk stared in shock as a sharp, molten cut was all that was left in the middle of his shaft. The hammer head had been vaporised. Faster than he could reach, a laser beam had targeted him.

Taruk-Tuk lifted his head and stared at a floating boulder in the sky, in the shape of a long column. This column reached a length of hundred metres, and cross-section wise, it resembled Taruk-Tuk in shape.

The Warden had unleashed a laser beam to kill Taruk-Tuk when the latter was about to slaughter Nancho. He didn’t wasn’t Nancho to be killed. After all, Nancho was by far the most experienced in facing the Ogres.

Irrespective of how many Ogres targeted the Ogre Gate, he maintained its defences steadily. Losing someone like that would be a hard blow to the Elven Prison’s defences. And hence, the Warden had to personally intervene.

Of course, he couldn’t fly to the location, since he was busy facing two Level 3 Ogres and a Level 2 Wyvern. Hence, he had targeted Taruk-Tuk with a laser beam.

It would have killed Taruk-Tuk. But his mother, Nual-Mak, responded promptly, creating the rock column in her son’s shape. This way, the portion of the laser that was intended to strike her son only melted through the rock column.

Only the excess part struck the target, which happened to be the stone hammer Taruk-Tuk was wielding.

“How dare you target my son? Are you embarrassed about the incompetence of your soldiers and feel the need to personally intervene in a fight between kids?” Nual-Mak’s voice thundered across the skies, filled with mockery.

“If you don’t want me to target your brat, then try to keep me busy!” Came the Warden’s shout. A laser beam arced through the skies and revolved around Nancho and the other officers, protecting them.

The laser beam was thin, but it was enough to keep the Level 2 Ogres at bay.

“Quick, focus on your recovery.” Saying so, Nancho took out his Healing Potion and drank the last few droplets remaining in it.

“Yes,” Rachad and the rest of the officers did the same. They didn’t have enough Healing Potions to recover. At most, they could fight for a couple more minutes with some strength.

“Urgh!” Suddenly, Rachad felt a chill as he retracted his leg and stared at a patch of grass beneath his leg. There was nothing amiss as he prodded the patch. However, when he stared at his hands, he noticed that goosebumps had formed on his skin, ‘What the heck was that?’

“Did you feel something?” Suddenly, Nancho expressed the eeriness he felt. He too felt goosebumps and stared at Rachad and the others.

“I did,” Rachad nodded.

“I’m not feeling anything amiss.” Most of the officers responded as such.

Underground, at a depth of twenty metres, crawling through a wooden shaft was Pinaka. He had extended his index finger through the ground and touched the feet of the ten officers. They wore leather shoes, which were no different to butter for Pinaka.

He poked through it with his index finger and touched the feet. Once he retracted the finger, the hole in the shoe closed shut as if it had never been there in the first place. He tried to prevent the latter’s foot from generating any sensory response to the stimulus.

Of the ten officers, only three felt something. Even though they didn’t feel his touch, their battle-hardened instincts told them something was amiss. Thankfully, they were unaware of his existence, and hence, after mulling over the strangeness for a few seconds, they returned to the situation at hand, which was to survive against the Ogres.

They could flee, if they wanted to. However, the Warden had given them orders to kill the Level 2 Ogres. Hence, Nancho was busy racking his head, trying to come up with a solution.

In the meantime, Pinaka cut off the extended index finger and turned it into manure. As he slowly slithered back, he filled the wooden shaft, turning it into a solid block of wood. Since it was deep underground, it wouldn’t be discovered. Moreover, it would eventually decompose, thereby erasing all traces.

A few minutes later, Pinaka exited the ground at a spot over two hundred metres from the battle location. His exit was within a large-trunked tree. From there, he surveyed the situation and gazed up at the sky, observing the Warden had his attention on the place, ‘I can’t take the risk.’

Hence, another wood shaft began to form deep underground. A root penetrated through the tough earth and expanded into a hollow shaft, through which Pinaka crawled.

[Spell: Wood Ski]

He didn’t have to move his limbs and could simply slide forward. That allowed him to make the wood shaft as narrow as possible. As he moved through the hollow shaft, he filled the space behind him with wood.

“Haah!” Pinaka gasped for breath and stretched a root to the surface, creating a path for air inflow. It wasn’t a necessity, as even without sunlight, Pinaka could create grass that performed photosynthesis for a few seconds before wilting. This would provide him with the necessary oxygen.

But the biggest issue was that he felt claustrophobic. It was why, from time to time, he created pathways to the surface to take a breather. Once he had gathered his bearings, he closed up the pathway and continued his way underground.

After travelling in this fashion for close to four kilometres, Pinaka returned to the surface. He was pretty deep in the T’Hara Forest now, with a thick foliage shielding him from the Warden’s eyes.

Just a few hundred metres into the forest would have given him the necessary cover. But just in case, he exercised utmost caution.

He had observed the Warden in action and actually witnessed the latter’s youthful form leaving the battlefield for a minute, only to return for the fight shortly after. He had a decent grasp of the Warden’s abilities now.

He wanted to watch longer, but the fight was gradually growing more and more intense. He couldn’t remain a spectator without risking his life, and hence decided it was the perfect time to bolt.

But before he did that, he touched the bodies of the ten officers. Now, he could make clones of them, which would come in use.

These officers were either in charge of a Gate or a prison. Pinaka could interrogate them to gain a deeper understanding of the Elven Prison. After all, he would eventually return to the place to free up the Elves.

These ten officers would provide him with all the intel necessary to do so. They would also help Pinaka understand Human society better.

“Let’s go,” He said to a Pinaka clone with authority and climbed on its back. The clone began to ski towards the spot where he had stashed his gains.

For a moment, Pinaka turned around and stared at the World Tree, his expression serious, “Soon, I will make the Elves reclaim this place. And once I do…”

His tone turned chilly, “You better uphold your end of the deal.”

Returning home and also being granted a wish atop that; Pinaka looked forward to it. ‘Once I finish digesting all 80 World Tree Fruits, I will have gained enough strength to truly begin scheming against the Warden.’

Soon, he arrived at the spot thirty kilometres away from the Elven Prison, where his bag of goods was stored. “Did anything happen?”

“There are many animals in this forest.” One of the hundred clones stationed at the location said and pointed to his bleeding arm, “This is a region where Tigers prowl.”

The clone then pointed at two clones that lay dead, “They were bitten by a viper.”

Of the hundred clones, there were six casualties and around fourteen injured. A few seconds of thought later, Pinaka decided to move ahead as an army. Even though the group of clones were equipped with bows and arrows, they hadn’t managed to kill the tiger that attacked them.

This went true for the viper and other creatures that had ambushed them.

Pinaka didn’t have to worry about being killed, since whether it be a tiger or any other creature, they would fail to even scratch him. Thanks to his authority over lifeforms, he could simply gain control of the body of any creature that touched him.

He maintained the army because it was better to remain cautious. Moreover, Pinaka took out a World Tree Fruit from his reserve and encased it in a belt made using a mixture of Vivitri and Apatra. He wore the belt.

Now, even if something beyond his expectations were to happen, he could spontaneously consume the World Tree Fruit. That would protect him for a while, allowing him to survive.

“I think this is a good enough spot.” Pinaka said upon arriving at a sparsely populated part of the forest. He gave two Control Factor to a clone and made it scout the place.

Once it was deemed safe, the army of clones began to set up camp. Tree houses were built, alongside a small wooden wall for protection from animals, insects and the like. Sentries were posted on watch along the wall.

And the clone with two Control Factors was constantly outside the settlement using the Spell of Wood Ski. This Pinaka clone would take action the moment something amiss happens.

Once the clone became tired, it would create a new clone and transfer the authority to it. This way, there was a constant surveillance system, akin to a satellite that kept the army of Pinaka clones safe.

After the setup was complete, Pinaka gathered a small group of clones within the living room of the wooden house, “Now, we need to discuss our next step of action.”

“Where do we go next?” Pinaka asked.

“We should refrain from going anywhere near the Human Kingdom.” One of the clones stated as it stared at Pinaka, “Only once you’re able to keep a Human’s nervous system in your body and wield their authority over Fire can you safely enter the Human Kingdom.”

“Before we rule out the Ogres too,” Another clone offered its advice, “We need information.”

In unison, the clones stared at Pinaka, who created the grain prison’s enslaved Ogre, “We’ll begin interrogating it for information about the Ogre Kingdom.”

He melted the Ogre’s limbs, preventing it from escaping or harming him. After a moment of thought, Pinaka also created the Dwarf, Dolonoquiem.

“Eh?” The Dwarf looked around in confusion before glaring in anger, “Root munchers…all of you. What is happening?”

He habitually tried to create a metal axe and then stared at his palms, “Why can’t I wield my authority?”

“What have you done?” He glared at one of the clones.

“You’re a clone.” Pinaka said, “You have all your memories until the moment we shook hands, which is when I copied your information through my authority.”

“Now,” He uttered as his clones grabbed the Dwarf and bound him, “You’ll be answering our questions.”

Authors Notes: Gangnea Daily Article 46: The clones (of other living beings) appear with the memories until the moment they are copied into Pinaka’s authority to recreate them. This is the moment he touches their body.

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