It's April now, the rainforest is at its wettest, and there have already been several heavy rains.
Rainwater drenched the scales of the Famu.
Famu awoke. The residual warmth of the Earth Vein Energy had not yet dissipated. The Dragon Bone Modification was proceeding day and night. Famu's body was asleep, but his spirit was utterly exhausted.
The Scepter fell into silence after Dragon Bone Transformation.
This was the best outcome the Scepter could offer. It had prepaid a huge amount of Earth Vein Energy for Famu's Dragon Bones, making even basic operations difficult to maintain. The Scepter System contained a wealth of Earth Vein Energy, almost twice the energy stored in Famu's Furnace Core. Thanks to the Scepter's supply, the Dragon Bone Modification project was successfully completed.
The result was beyond Famu's expectations, much better than he had imagined.
After the vertebrae throughout his body were modified, Famu was even able to escape the range of activity of snakes.
He possessed the movement patterns of a "dragon," with his vertebrae able to deform rapidly according to his thoughts. The vertebrae locked together to gain explosive power and stability. Most importantly, after the cross-section of the vertebrae expanded, the nervous system became densely distributed, allowing those bones and muscles to respond to Famu's movements more quickly.
When snakes move, their entire body, from the cervical vertebrae to the caudal vertebrae, has a highly uniform vertebral shape, and their ribs extend from the neck to the cloaca. Furthermore, their center of gravity is very low, always close to the ground. Even Typhon would find it difficult to achieve the same agile throat-locking ability as Famu on land, as this would require the lower body to propel the neck outwards.
Famu expanded his attack range and agility by using his dragon-transformed cervical vertebrae, and now his entire body's dragon-transformed vertebrae provide even more tricky attack angles.
These hundreds of vertebrae were divided into regions with distinct functions.
While the neck retains its original function, the torso provides support, allowing it to unleash speeds far exceeding those before the modification. Furthermore, if Famu were to use the side of its neck to strike other creatures, the combined force of its torso and neck would be enough to knock over a ten-meter-tall Dead Sun Armor on land.
The torso, as the core, has tight joints, which allows the spine to be supported even where there is no ground support, so as not to be crushed by the high density of muscles in Typhon body. At the same time, it can store and release power like a bow. Most importantly, the thick torso and spine make strangulation and biting difficult to achieve their purpose.
The tail also became thicker and more powerful, as the changes in the body made the tail root a power source, and now the long tail can also be used as an effective weapon.
Under the rain, the scales are smooth, and the vertebrae beneath the skin bulge, as if covered by a layer of armor. If these vertebrae continue to grow, they will form dense bone spurs on Famu's back.
Ripples spread across the Blackwater Swamp, Famu activated the Furnace Core, releasing the vibrational power outwards.
The vibrations will continue to travel all the way to the treetops on the swamp's edge.
Lucius's people are there, White-Faced Monkeys will be the first to relay the news of Famu's awakening to Lucius.
Just one day later, the rain stopped, and Lucius rode Headscar to Blackwater Swamp.
The first thing he saw was the Black Typhon coiled in the shallows, its back bulging, its body robust, and its face, already different from that of a snake, now possessed an even more bronze hue. Some incomprehensible changes had occurred to this black monarch.
"My lord," Lucius said, "I've learned something about the Lord of the Mara River."
Lucius was respectful and wary of many things, and even in private, he never addressed those of great stature by their first names.
"The messengers along the river all saw Muerjia of the Mara River leave along a tributary of the Mara River, heading east. He set off when the rainy season came and has not returned since. To the east of the Mara River is the Arensa Wetlands, so I went there with Colin," Lucius said.
"After the messenger who once managed that wetland disappeared, Lord Colin and I retraced the route along the messenger's coordinates and successfully contacted a Furnace-Core Creature. She was the queen of the white storks, and her strength seemed to be comparable to Lord Colin's. The queen warmly welcomed us and presented us with a giant toothed fish that she had caught from the river as a gift." Lucius hesitated for a moment.
Lucius's judgment was accurate. As a top predator, the Nightmare Leopard is only comparable to species like the Furnace Core Titan Feather-Crested Heron, except for Super Species.
Species like the white stork need to be at a higher biological level to barely compete; this is determined by their biological structure. The Furnace Core strength under the Scepter testing standard cannot be completely equated with actual combat power.
"But Lord Colin interpreted this as the white stork questioning the Nightmare Leopard's fishing abilities. He immediately leaped into the water and caught an Orbital Ridge Crocodile. The White Stork Empress, puzzled by Lord Colin's actions, mistook Colin behavior for the Nightmare Leopard's reward to the white stork colony. Overjoyed, she ventured deeper into the lake and caught an even larger toothed fish to repay Colin's kindness."
After listening, Famu, "So they're having a fish-catching competition?"
"Alas, Your Famu, you are unaware of this, but Lord Colin's Mud Language is truly awful, and the White Stork's voice is so high-pitched that he couldn't understand what the White Stork Empress was saying. By the time I had a chance to speak, one of them had flown into the sky, and the other had dived into the water, leaving no time for me to explain."
"What else?" Famu asked, curious about what other embarrassing things Colin would do next.
He fully understood the Intelligent Species' need for messengers; in this dull and wild rainforest, who wouldn't want to hear about interesting things happening elsewhere?
Regardless of where the prey is or where the danger comes from, the messenger's message is one of the few sources of pleasure for the Intelligent Species.
"His Excellency Colin caught a swamp crocodile, which drew cheers from the white stork flock. The White Stork Empress specially presented one of her feathers to Colin, signifying that the white stork flock fully recognized 'Speech-Bearing Colin.' Only then did I have the opportunity to reveal my purpose and to ask His Excellency Colin to translate the white storks' language."
"What did Colin say?" Famu pressed.
"Lord Colin didn't say anything. I made an agreement with Colin that the other Intelligent Species wouldn't think that a Mud Language speaks with Word-Bearer could be so inaccurate. So, I acted as Lord Colin's mouthpiece, Colin only needed to nod or shake his head," Lucius replied. "The effect was extraordinary. Unlike the Intelligent Species we first encountered, after Lord Colin shut up, the later Intelligent Species all felt that Speech-Bearing Colin, was unfathomable. His deep and wise leopard eyes seemed to be able to see through all lies and point straight to the heart."
The image of Colin's round eyes flashed through Famu's mind; they were quite intelligent, and he accepted the ideas of other Intelligent Species.
"We inquired with the White Stork Empress about the whereabouts of the Muerjia Mara River in the Mara, but she claimed to know nothing. However, the Queen then enthusiastically introduced us to the Great One of the Arensa Wetlands, who single-handedly killed the Swamp King and dealt with the Pollution Black Typhon." Lucius exclaimed in admiration, "That Great One must be you! I never imagined you possessed such great achievements beyond the Mara River!"
"But we didn't get any more useful information; the White Stork Empress said she'd only seen one Black Typhon during this rainy season."
"We also went to many places, traversing the entire Mara River basin, and even strayed into the territory of an adult female Typhon. Fortunately, she had just had a full meal and had no intention of hunting again."
Lucius heard a loud rustling sound as scales rubbed together; it was Famu. Black Typhon coiled up and gazed into the distance.
"That means Muerjia of the Mara River is really gone."
"Indeed," Lucius replied. "The messengers from all the Mara River have never seen the Bronze Lord return; they only know of her departure."
"All the messengers knew?"
"Almost all the messengers know this," Lucius nodded.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lucius noticed the atmosphere become very tense, an inexplicable pressure suddenly increased, his Furnace Core pounded wildly, and he felt a terrifying threat approaching.
The source of everything is Black Typhon.
Famu said, "Since all the messengers of the Mara River know that the lord is not in his home, Intelligent Species also know this, then what about the enemies of the Lord of Bronze, who are further away?"
Don't wait until the very end, before Famu has even used the Slough, and the Lord's Lands have already changed hands.