Deep in the Akalai Mountains, late at night.
The mountain air was humid, and the clouds were blown away by the wind, revealing the moon and starry sky behind them.
A beam of moonlight pierced through the branches and fell on Famu's head, his pale eyes reflecting the light and glowing faintly in the dim corner.
After the Pygmy Marmoset finished talking, the three brothers fell asleep leaning against each other.
Only then did Famu's heartbeat begin to appear slowly.
Tonight, he saw a side of the rainforest that was different from its wildness.
Rainforest Messenger.
They are responsible for spreading messages in the rainforest. They can be of any species, but most are intelligent primates and birds that are good at long-distance travel. In the isolated rainforest, these creatures are often the only way to get news from distant places.
Rainforest Messengers share and exchange messages with each other; the flow of messages is their very lifeblood.
That's why they're so expensive.
Furnace-Core Creature will voluntarily offer shelter to Rainforest Messengers in order to gain their friendship. Very few Intelligent Species will harm Rainforest Messengers; harming these creatures is never a wise move. Messengers control the flow of information, and the retaliation for harming a messenger will be exceptionally fierce.
Messengers are weak creatures who depend on other powerful Furnace-Core Creatures for survival.
The Furnace-Core Creatures need the messenger's message, so they provide assistance to the messenger.
This also forms part of the rainforest law: the weaker the creature, the more it relies on the strong for protection; the stronger the creature, the more it relies on the weak to understand the world.
However, Typhons rejected this rule, isolating themselves from Rainforest Messengers and trusting their priests more. This resulted in Typhon individuals living in seclusion and having very little communication with each other.
Xing Rui was completely unaware of the existence of the Rainforest Messenger; the lords and priests of Typhon had blocked the flow of Rainforest Messengers.
It was only today that Famu realized that such a sophisticated information network existed in the cracks of the competition among super species.
Damn it.
In the primeval rainforest, the value of information far exceeds the price you pay for it.
Moreover, there should be quite a few Rainforest Messengers. At least from the conversation between the three Pygmy Marmosets, we can tell that there are traces of Rainforest Messengers in other places as well, which is within their range of activity.
The Intelligent Species that Famu knew of were extremely rare and difficult to be born.
That's so strange.
It's not just the Intelligent Species like the Rainforest Messenger that gave birth to this, but also their rigorous and orderly system. It sounds like they even have a boss named "Chichio" managing this territory.
Previously, Famu had considered leaving one to ask some questions, but now he has changed his mind.
He needs Rainforest Messengers, but definitely not those three. They disregard even the rules of messengers; how can they be expected to be loyal?
Exploit them, and then cultivate loyal messengers.
In the darkness, Famu began to crawl around the Sacred Land Tree, its scales gently rubbing against the ground, but the sound was drowned out by the mountain wind, Pygmy Marmosets slept soundly.
"Kether, search for the presence of Furnace-Core Creature in the vicinity, and re-search using the standards of Rainforest Messengers, including all species that might have simple interactions with the messenger species," he said.
The Rainforest Messenger's Furnace Core doesn't boost strength, but it grants the messenger the ability to communicate simply with other races, similar to how Famu understands the syllables of the White-Faced Monkey or the rhythmic calls of the Nightmare Leopard. These can all become sources of information for the messenger; in short, it's a language talent.
Famu is about to make his move.
Before this, he was wary of any spies or messengers lurking in the shadows.
"Received, Your Jiuxun." The Scepter replied.
Functionality unlocked, Earth Vein Energy dissipates, and the Scepter System operates at full capacity.
One red dot after another lit up in Famu's eyes.
Most of them were monkeys, with some birds as well.
The Pygmy Marmosets, fast asleep, had no idea that a Black Typhon had circled their territory several times. Its black scales, reflecting the moonlight and covered in mud, swept through the bushes. Famu had killed and devoured every animal that could see the Sacred Land Tree and had a simple cry, ensuring that nothing went wrong.
The surroundings became unusually quiet.
For ordinary organisms, nothing has changed here.
But for the Rainforest Messengers, if they are still conscious, they will find that all channels for transmitting messages, centered on the Sacred Land Tree, have been severed. In the vast information network belonging to the Rainforest Messengers, this place has lost contact with other places and has fallen alone into darkness.
What's in the darkness?
Black Typhon, a topic of conversation among the Pygmy Marmosets.
Arlen felt the tree vibrating.
"An earthquake?" He scratched his head in confusion.
Earthquakes are usually preceded by terrifying signs; if there is no animal activity in the mountains, it cannot be an earthquake.
He glanced down instinctively and was instantly terrified!
Lundetil above!
Typhon was climbing up the Sacred Land Tree, and when Arlen looked down, his eyes met Typhon's pale eyes. At that moment, Arlen felt as if his blood had frozen, and his body trembled!
Even the Furnace Core couldn't change the Pygmy Marmoset's instincts; it cowered in fear even before the Nightmare Leopard, let alone the ultimate ruler of the rainforest.
Arlen shuddered, startling his two brothers awake.
They grumbled in dissatisfaction, feeling that Arlen had disturbed their sweet dreams.
Arlen patted their shoulders repeatedly and pointed to the area under the tree. It was the darkest time of night, and the area under the tree was pitch black. One of the Pygmy Marmosets rubbed its eyes and looked in the direction Arlen was pointing. After just one glance, it jumped up in fright and let out a sharp cry.
Even the nest of Pygmy Marmoset isn't as big Typhon's head!
"A fully grown Typhon! A fully grown Typhon! Are you kidding me!" he screamed in alarm.
"Hurry up!" the most composed Pygmy Marmoset whispered, and he even went to the nest to wake Arlen's wife and children.
"Typhon won't have time to devour us all. Split up, and some will survive to tell the other messengers!" he said to all the Pygmy Marmosets present.
Arlen glanced down.
The Sacred Land Tree could not withstand Typhon's power, and its trunk was breaking.
"This guy..." another Pygmy Marmoset was still screaming, recognizing Famu, "He's that Black Typhon, Black Typhon!"
"What?" Arlen didn't react.
"It's the Black Typhon that killed the Dead Sun Armor Ross!" the Pygmy Marmoset shrieked.
"Damn it, why would such a tyrant target this place? Let's go, let's go! Don't think too much, so what Typhon? He can't devour our entire family!" The most composed one kicked Arlen, then grabbed the guy who was screaming and was about to throw him onto the adjacent Ke Tree. This guy had come from this side to attend the family gathering at the Sacred Land Tree, and he was familiar with the terrain in that direction.
There's still time, he thought.
The Sacred Land Tree is an extremely old pine tree with a very sturdy trunk that can still hold up for a while.
No, it's too late. From Arlen's perspective, he could see Typhon moving. Typhon had spread out its body, and its scales were rubbing against each other, making a deafening roar.
"Buzz--!"
It is the Child of the Earth Furnace Core!
A deep tremor swept through the area, and the messengers clutched their heads in pain, feeling as if their chests were about to explode.
Arlen's children, who were still growing, had their lungs shattered by the shockwave, followed by ruptured blood vessels. The little Pygmy Marmosets collapsed limply and fell from the treetops. Arlen's wife, Lisa, cried out the names of her children in anguish.
The corpses seemed to have fallen into an endless abyss.
But what was even more deadly was that Arlen saw flames rising in the abyss, and his eyes were illuminated by the flames.
The entire Sacred Land Tree was set ablaze, breaking and falling amidst the raging flames, its Black Typhon form dancing in the firelight.