I'll Surpass The MC

Chapter 1082: Descending Lamp Steps

“Well…” For a moment, Orakha was taken aback by Gannala’s description, ’I smile like Renduldu?’

’Maybe it’s an influence on my expression after becoming aware of the knowledge given by Future Sight?’ He thought and then spoke, “This feels somewhat similar to the past.”

“Yeah,” Gannala nodded, “And then you cried when Inala caught up with you.”

“…Moving on,” Orakha scratched the side of his cheek, surveyed his surroundings and then asked, “I am intending to meet with Grehha next. If you’re done with it already,”

He stretched his hand towards Gannala, “I plan to return the Major Treasure of Arsenal to him.”

In response to his question, Gannala eyed Ruvva and communicated with her, ’Is he really Orakha?’

Ruvva subtly nodded as a show of confirmation. With her resistance to external effects, she couldn’t have been under any special power of sorts that would force her to obey someone.

Gannala had personally confirmed the strength of Ruvva’s resistance, ’Even Blola would struggle to keep her under his control.’

“Sure, I don’t mind doing that.” Gannala shrugged and then raised her hand towards Orakha, “However, you need to pay up.”

“What?” Orakha frowned in response, “I’m merely asking for the Mammoth Clan’s property to be returned. It’s for their future.”

“I am their future.” Gannala said without hesitation, oozing arrogance, “The only one who has the inheritance of every single Empyrean Tusk to date is me.”

“But you won’t be one anymore.” Orakha stared at Gannala’s eyes and noticed a powerful presence fluctuating there. He couldn’t see it immediately. But a few seconds later, he was able to notice the Indigo Mystic Path’s effects visible in her eyes.

“Exactly why I am okay to return it. However,” Gannala stood her ground, “I demand a price. After all, the moment I gained it, I contributed immensely to the growth of the Empyrean Tusks and the overall Clan too.”

“Think of myself as a bandit who has seized control of the Major Treasure of Arsenal.” Gannala smiled smugly, “And now, your only means to regain it is through trade, and trade alone.”

“Oh, really?” Orakha raised an eyebrow but didn’t retaliate. Instead, he turned around and whispered to Ruvva, “How strong is she currently?”

“Is Future Sight unable to give an answer?” Ruvva asked in surprise.

“It’s all over the place.” Orakha smiled wryly, “I don’t know what is happening here, most likely due to my lack of knowledge. Her strength…seems barely at the Gold Grade. She seems weaker than when I confronted her, at which time, she was a mere baby.”

“It’s definitely related to whatever she has been scheming here.” Orakha groaned a little, “I don’t intend to confront her, never did. But why is she so confident?”

“I’m sure she can sense my current strength, right?”

“Well, Gannala is…” Ruvva smiled wryly, “Significantly stronger than me. I fought her not too long ago, and she wiped the floor with me.”

“What about the current you?” Orakha asked, “You have become more versatile after your recent, crushing defeat.”

“Still the same,” Ruvva shook her head, “I don’t see myself defeating her anywhere in the near future.”

“I understand,” Orakha trailed his gaze upon Ruvva for a few seconds and then faced Gannala, shouting his answer, “What do you want?”

Next moment, his expression turned dark upon seeing Gannala trail her gaze to the Rirenal container hovering behind him, “You know what lies in there?”

“I am damn sure the presence I’m feeling from you is that of a Mystic Empyrean Tentacle. Plus, I can also feel a power extremely similar to Boul Brimgan emanating from you.” Gannala analysed and stared at the container in question, “And despite having such overwhelming power, you are carrying such a conspicuous object with you. It can only mean one thing,”

“Parute Viper.” She grinned, “Did you forget I’ve read all your memories?”

“You remind me of him,” Orakha thought of Inala and subconsciously raised his altitude to be beyond Gannala’s Spirit Weapon range. He then shrugged, “I don’t plan on giving it to you. Ask something else.”

“If you can’t,” He glared and pointed at the terrain, hinting at the collateral, “Then we’ll be forced to fight.”

“You’re a Mystic Tentacle, right?” Gannala casually asked, as if she had never requested the Parute Viper in the first place.

“Yes,” Orakha nodded, silently cursing himself, ’First rule of negotiations…ask for something exorbitant and then request something beyond the other party’s bottom line. There’s a solid chance it will be accepted.’

’Can’t believe I fell for something so basic. However,’ He glared at Gannala, ’I have only faced losses against this father-daughter duo. Let’s see how it goes.’

“Then, come with me.” Gannala clapped excitedly and raised her hands into the sky, “What are you waiting for?”

“Give me a ride, Uncle.”

Orakha frowned at her change in character but didn’t say anything else. He used a Rirenal platform to lift Gannala and brought her to the place she pointed at.

It was deep underground. A well had been constructed, spanning a kilometre in diameter and reaching a whopping depth of sixty kilometres. A line of steps descended through the well.

Each step was shaped like a lamp, with its centre having around a square metre in area. The depth was barely enough to dip a pair of feet to knee length. It was also tapered, so it was the deepest at its rear and shallowest towards the front.

The steps were arranged in a helical pattern, with each step positioned exactly 360 metres from the other. Gannala pointed at the steps and said, “I named them the Descending Lamp Steps.”

“Great name, right?” She stared at Orakha and then chirped, “Now, fill them with grey sand, please.”

“I meant with the rapidly expanding kind.”

“What?” Orakha blurted out in shock, “Wouldn’t that destroy this region…”

He stopped, for he realised what she was going for upon analysing exactly the volume of space present within each Descending Lamp Step. ’That’s exactly enough space for a Parute Tree to control.’

“You intend to create a Parute Tree farm.” He eyed her, frowning moments later, “But don’t you have a Mudropper body? This should be easy for you to achieve on your own.”

“I can create the grey sand,” Gannala nodded, “But I can’t create a fool-proof Parute Tree setup in this well. When I analyse it, issues always appear whenever someone tries to harvest the Parute Fruits.”

“I would have solved it eventually anyway,” She shrugged, “Just a matter of control and keeping the exact number of grey sand grains in each lamp to maintain balance with the respective Parute Fruit.”

“Also,” Gannala pointed at the sky, “Sumatra’s Transcendent Eater doesn’t like being used to farm Parute Fruits like this. In all my attempts, it goes all out in erasing the Sandy-Grey Voids.”

“I think I get what you want here,” Orakha said and stared into the well. In response, a string of Prana stretched out and touched a Descending Lamp Step. Its texture spontaneously transformed into the substance that formed Sumatra’s border.

Tertiary Nature—Thought Condensation!

In the centre, he poured in Grey Sand, without controlling its properties. The lamp’s properties remained immune to the Grey Sand.

However, the Grey Sand was extremely reactive. If even a single particle of it were to ever fly out and land anywhere else, it would create a rapidly expanding Sandy-Grey Void.

It seemed the well had been built at a spot connected to a vent at its bottom. For through the vent, a faint updraft moved through the well, barely enough to lift a few particles of grey sand.

Spontaneously in response, a Parute Tree appeared in the Descending Lamp Step and spread its roots throughout its depth. It fully suppressed the Grey Sand and was actively consuming it to generate Parute Fruits.

However, the updraft brushed past it. Then, the wind particles came into contact with the Grey Sand and were assimilated into the latter. This replenished the Grey Sand at the perfect speed, matching the Parute Tree’s consumption rate of the Grey Sand.

“Since the risk always exists, and the Grey Sand’s volume continues to build itself, the Parute Trees won’t vanish,” Gannala uttered.

’Seems you’ve already calculated everything to take perfect advantage of Sumatra’s Transcendent Eater.’ Orakha thought as he observed Gannala, ’You were only pressed on time to perfect the setup.’

“I’ll repeat it for the rest,” Orakha said and watched Parute Trees appear on the remaining Descending Lamp Steps. It barely took him a few minutes, thanks to his Spirit Weapon range reaching 180 metres.

He didn’t even have to descend into the well, and hence could casually observe everything from the top and calculate the entire setup using Future Sight.

“Good, this won’t fail unless even when an earthquake disrupts the arrangement.” Orakha turned around to face Gannala, “It seems you’ve built lots of mechanisms around it to ensure it doesn’t face any shocks even when a dozen of you rampage nearby.”

“I used my tusks for everything.” Gannala smiled wryly, “Even after I traded with the Cooter Clan, Mystic Humans, and even the Brimgan Empire, I’m still straight dead centre at bankruptcy daily.”

“What have you been selling?” Orakha wondered and stared at Ruvva, gasping in surprise, “Bodies for the Mystic Human Race?”

“Yeah,” Gannala nodded, “I sell them in Nature Weapon forms for ease of transport and storage. The Mystic Humans have been stockpiling them in excess.”

“Yes,” Ruvva confirmed it, “We already have satisfied a few centuries’ worth of demand.”

“Anyway, if you want to know more, ask her.” Gannala pointed at Ruvva. She then snapped her finger to produce a loud boom and stared at Orakha, “Let’s head to the previous location.”

“The Major Treasure of Arsenal is already waiting there.”

“Sure,” Orakha nodded and brought Gannala to the original spot, staring in shock upon seeing a familiar face, and being met with a bloody stench moments later, “L-Leader?”

“Been forever, huh?” The man in question licked his lips savagely, “I almost failed to recognise you, Orakha.”

“Has the Free Human Life been treating you well?” It was the last Settlement Leader of the Supreme Tusk Gannala, Bora Tusk.

Staring at him, Orakha felt confused, ’His presence…is at the Gold Grade.’

“What…” He glared at Gannala, “What have you been doing all along, Gannala?”