The whole atmosphere of the confrontation between the turtles and their demands to the Iron Salamander changed the moment Lady made her argument.
It seemed Lapidus easily accepted Lady's argument anyway since it had been intimidated by the prospect of Sphyrna Pikeake advancing.
Lapidus was no fool. It was common for the region's Beast King to slaughter rival species closest to advancing to its stage of power.
The only reason it had left magical beasts like Lapidus, the Frog Queen, alive was the concern that they would work together in desperation if it tried to hunt them down.
Sphyrna Pikeake was an incredibly vigilant predator who never attempted something if it did not have a complete advantage. This is one of the reasons Tara was alive and the main reason there had been a standstill between the rival Magical Beasts and the Pikeake in the region.
Nonetheless, the Sphyrna Pikeake has held the highest potential among the Magical Beasts in this region for years.
It was the strongest, with the purest bloodline, and was expected to make the next step eventually.
Only the Magical Beasts' pride and general refusal of the thought of ever allying with a rival species has kept them from making schemes against it.
None of the Magical Beasts trusts the other; each one wants the title of 'Beast King' for themselves; such a dynamic has given the Sphyrna Pikeake the time it needed to advance to a level that makes it practically unbeatable in this region.
And once it does, would the Sphyrna Pikeake allow the chance for a similar situation ever to occur again?
Would the Sphyrna Pikeake allow its rival species to have their own Qi Gathering 7 alpha?
It would never happen, and the ones with the purer bloodlines, like the Frog Queen and Lapidus, who were clear outliers among their species in terms of strength and potential, would be the first the Sphyrna Pikeake would hunt down.
And Lady perfectly grasped the trepidation of Lapidus's fear of the Sphyrna Pikeake.
The large turtle's original intentions are nowhere to be seen, as he is seen talking to Claw and Lady with interest in taking the Sphyrna Pikeake down for good.
'Those Toads from the bogs have already proposed such a plan? And there are more of them, a legion of frogs too, led by something far more cunning than the stupid Toad if they proposed such a thing to you. Mmm.' Seeing a gigantic Turtle debating with similar large Salamanders was still something the logical side of her brain found difficult to accept, even now.
If Lapidus were brought back to Earth, it would be declared the return of a long-extinct species. The giant turtle appeared even bigger than the Archelon ischyros, the largest turtle species Earth has ever discovered and long believed to be extinct. With its bulk, Lapidus was over twenty five feet long and must have weighed over fifteen tonnes, so it was far bigger than even the scientist's largest estimates on the Archelon.
He made Claw and Lady, who Tara long estimated to be over fifteen feet long by how large they looked to the surroundings, seem small.
However, Tara admitted that due to the freaky disproportionate sizes of most things in this world, they could be even larger or smaller, depending on other factors. She knew there mustn't be that big of a difference with how Claw refers to humans as 'tiny two-legged beasts' that pack a punch for their size.
Lady continued her argument to Lapidus, who was still hesitating despite being mostly convinced.
'That's right. The Frog Queen has already proposed a means to not only get rid of your problem but, if successful, will provide far more benefits to you than a measly singular spiritual tree could do. Not to mention, with what the Frog Queen revealed to Claw, not only is the Toad King involved, but they have many stronger ones just below our level. We are highly likely to succeed in defeating the Beast King and the Pikeake, and if you're not with us when we do, you will receive nothing. Moreover, if we fail without you, well, you will soon follow us anyways because it means the Sphyrna Pikeake's chance of advancing to that next step will now be multitudes higher.' Lady said, and this time, Tara was confident if this couldn't convince the giant turtle, then nothing would.
Fortunately, Lapidus finally relented. Tara thought he fit the stereotype of a slow, steady and cautious turtle.
'Alright, we agree. I will gather my bale and join you when the time comes. One of my kin will stay here and come to us when you need us.' Lapidus might be slow and deliberating when it comes to agreeing to something; however, now that it has decided to support them, it showed no hesitation in fully supporting their efforts.
Tara already preferred the prospect of allying with the turtles to the frogs, as Lapidus came across as far more straightforward than the slippery, venomous Frog Queen, who was far harder to read.
After agreeing to the alliance, Lapidus and the turtles left as quickly as they arrived. Lapidus needed to prepare the rest of his kin to move out on a large scale.
Lady and Claw seemed delighted at the turtles' joining them.
It seemed even they were wary of the Frog Queen, unsure if the Frogs and Toads were any better than the Pikeake they joined to defeat.
Involving a neutral third group who were strong enough to make even the Frog Queen wary made it far more difficult for a betrayal to happen.
Now that they have something agreed upon with Lapidus and the Snapping-Turtrakes, they are as prepared as they could be in the short time frame they had.
Lady decided to speak to her about it, saying, 'All we need to do is wait for the Frog Queen to send a member of her army to inform us it is time to move. From now on, it could come anytime in the next few hours, so I advise you to rest and await them. There is little time to go out and find something useful.'
Lady's recommendation surprised Tara. She had been moving nonstop since arriving in this world, always eager to improve as fast as possible. Maybe it was finally time to rest and reflect for a few hours.
Though her need for sleep had reduced significantly since becoming a Magical Beast, she was unsure if her inhuman nature or newfound cultivation allowed her to operate like this. It might even be a mixture of both, yet all she knew was her need for sleep was far lower than when she was human.
Claw took the time to acknowledge her and support Lady's statement, 'Take some time to rest, youngling. We will be in for a very tough fight. If you thought the Sphyrna Pikeake was tough before, you have not seen that monster go all out. It is a cautious hunter who left before, not out of fear or unconfidence in winning but out of being unwilling to give up any advantages when it knew it was on the brink of advancement. Though we are moving on its territory, it will not ignore that. It will give everything it has to slaughter every last one of us. You will see that the Beast King title does not go to a beast undeserving; it has slaughtered legions of challengers like this before and will want to use us to set another example.'
Tara agreed with them since it would also allow her to check her status and this new 'skills' section.
Like where she had eaten the fruits prior, Tara had been advised to go to a quiet place where she would remain undisturbed until they were ready to leave.
There, she curled up and began to look over her status before she would have a quick rest.
Though she did not feel a deep need for sleep, she thought being as sharp and refreshed as possible for the final confrontation with the Pikeake would be beneficial.
When she reviewed her status sheet, she could not believe how quickly she had grown.
[Name: Tara
Species: Iron Salamander
Level: 5 {232/12500 EXP to Lvl 6}
Cultivation: Qi Gathering 5
Species Traits: Regeneration {4}, Iron Bones {5}, Iron Skin and Tendons {5}
Mutations: Poison Secretion {5}, Metal Manipulation {2}, Ice Qi Resistance {2}, Poison Qi Resistance {3}
Skills: Qi Manipulation {1}]
Tara was pleased with her progress and found it addictive to see the increments brought about by her improvements. It made the life-threatening encounter with the Devilflies feel worth it.
However, she was interested in the recently introduced skills sections and tried selecting her only skill {Qi Manipulation} and found a tab followed by a description popping up.
[Qi Manipulation {1}: The beginning skill of any would-be cultivator, better manipulation of Qi brings about less wastage of Qi and more efficiency when utilising skills and abilities that involve Qi. Note: The skill was gained from you actively manipulating a bloodline trait, and the following levels will come with more difficulty.]
Tara saw the description and even a note from the system that informed her that her means of acquiring the skill made it more difficult to progress further.
It seemed similar to how Lady explained it to her: A bloodline ability like hers made her progress quickly in the beginning when manipulating Qi, especially elemental attributed Qi, but it often made the user rely too heavily on it, and users with bloodline abilities found it more challenging to acquire advanced Qi manipulation skills due to their heavy reliance on their bloodline ability.
Tara would likely get a better explanation from Lady herself, who spent periods of her long life accompanying human cultivators. She would know far more, as her system wasn't particularly forthcoming regarding information.
Either way, she decided to rest like Lady and Claw recommended since there was no way she would even come close to meeting her new steep-level requirements in a few hours. She needed to be at her best when meeting the Pikeake, and going out now would be foolhardy and might heavily weaken her for the confrontation against the Pikeake.
Upon closing her eyes, Tara surprised herself at how quickly she fell into a deep slumber.
As she opened her eyes, Tara did not know how long she slept as she heard the urgings of two familiar Salamanders.
Lady spoke to her the moment she opened her eyes as she said, 'It seemed you had a good rest? The Frog Queen army has arrived; they want us to leave now, and let's say they are awful surprised and irritated about the Turtle's involvement.'
Tara found her mind responding slowly to the comment. Claw seemed more aware than Lady as he said, 'Ah, give the youngling some time to wake properly. A lot has happened in the hours you slept.'
'Hours?' Tara thought questionably. She slept for far longer than she felt she did.
Though if she was being honest, she felt great. Her mood was soon dampened by Lady continuing from where she left off.
'The Turtle Lapidus had ordered to stay here, who had remained until now to call for him when needed, has left to retrieve him not long ago. The Turtles will meet us when we gather with the rest of the Frog Queen and the Toad King's army. Hopefully, they can arrive in time; the Frogs the Queen sent are pressing for us to leave urgently and do not seem pleased with us involving another.' Lady said as she brought Tara up to date with what had happened.
The Frogs seemed unsatisfied with the additional uncontrollable element, representing Lapidus and the turtles.
Tara grew even more wary about the Frog Queen's plans after the Sphyrna Pikeake was dealt with.
Getting up, she knew Lady and Claw could not delay the Frogs much further and said as much since they had been using her as an excuse for a while.
Fortunately, at this time, movements were heard outside their cavern. The Turtles were reasonably nearby and did not have much distance to cover. Lapidus seemed prepared, and as promised, it gathered most Snapping-Turtrakes.
It seemed the Salamanders and Turtles were going all out on this one, not even bothering to guard their spiritual tree. Both fully utilised the ripe fruits on the trees and intended to retrieve them if any Magical Beasts decided to take advantage and occupy their dens as they left.
Lapidus, Claw, and Lady knew the only way they could beat the Pikeake was to approach them with their full potential. This was the main reason for Lapidus's initial reluctance, yet in the end, it knew it had to risk everything to take out the Beast King that threatened its existence.
Claw and Lady mentioned that Lapidus was one of the few Magical Beasts that would consider taking down the Pikeake, which made it a threat since it held absolute control over its kin, which not all alphas could do since there usually many competing individuals of similar strength.
Many Magical Beasts that posed a threat to the Pikeake were mindless and aggressive like the Devilflies and, though threatening, were not a concern to the Pikeake, who boasted formidable strength that a singular species in the region could not beat.
This gathering might be the only Magical Beasts considering such an arrangement in the entire region.
And that made them the biggest threat to the Beast King's continued rule.
Leaving the cavern, Tara, Claw, and Lady were greeted by the sight of a herd of Iron Salamanders, which was more numerous than the eye could see.
Tara felt the numbers were even more absurd, with the underwater cave system completely emptied of Salamanders.
If she had to predict the number of Salamanders, Tara would have to estimate it was in the hundreds, nearing a thousand.
And joining them was Lapidus, who had recently arrived at the crestfallen, irritated looks from a particularly agitated group of frogs, giving Lapidus and the turtles the stink eye.
The Snapping-Turtrakes who accompanied it was a group of over a hundred strong. And though far less numerous than the Iron Salamanders, they were far stronger on average, with each of the turtles being Qi Gathering 4 or above.
Tara discovered another four Snapping-Turtrakes, similar to Lapidus in the Qi Gathering 6, including the one she had seen before who had eaten that Eel in one gulp.
Tara subconsciously measured the distance between them and realised the thing could likely reach her from here. Though slightly bigger than Lady and Claw, with a length of over sixteen feet, the beast's neck can elongate just as long as its shell, reaching a similar distance to its length.
Though noticeably weaker and smaller than Lapidus, they were still powerful and were likely of a similar level to Claw and Lady.
It made Tara realise the sheer difference a bloodline could make if Lapidus were this much stronger despite being of the same species and cultivation stage.
The Frog Queen messenger seemed incensed at the unplanned ally but did not dare show these feelings to Lapidus in their conversation.
The Frog seemed quick to accept the titanic turtle's involvement, even if it meant disappointing its Queen.
With everyone present, it was time to reunite with the Frog Queen.
Next, they had a Beast King to kill.