"I know," The Skep replied. Its body continued to move as its tentacles paddled, occasionally shaping into a hexa-helix that rotated like a fan. Soon, it arrived in its previous spot, emitting faint radiation accompanied by soundwaves that rippled the waters.

Seeing its arrival, the other Skeps decreased their intensity of attacks, making way for it. This clearly expressed their hierarchy; the largest Skep was their leader. Soon, they engaged in a flurry of discussions, conversing back and forth, with the Skeps unwilling to part with the Tier 6 Skep.

As they were engaged in conversation, the leader Skep said a word to Rhachis Ancestor Strongest; in response to it, he made his presence known, unleashing a tinge of his aura. At the next moment, the conversation died down.

The Skeps finally realised the threat mingling among them. As they were wary, Rhachis Ancestor Strongest spoke in leisure, pointing at the leader Skep, "When this war ends, if you manage to reach its level, humanity will support you. You will obtain enough strength to resist Parasite after that. Currently, only your leader is qualified."

He turned silent after that. The leader Skep immediately sought to convince the others. They possessed intelligence on par with Tier 3 human Espers, so they quickly came to a conclusion. They retreated to the sides, making way for Rhachis Ancestor Strongest.

The Skeps had a single goal, to be free from Rhachis Ancestor Parasite's influence. That was why they continuously evolved their bodies until they created a path where they could gain strength without the Frenzy Parasites.

Once they achieved this objective, they wished to prevent Rhachis Ancestor Parasite from influencing their matters. After all, there were still some Skeps that fell into its grasp, turning into Frenzy Beasts. It was an ever-ensuing battle, a battle that would never end until they either surrendered to Rhachis Ancestor Parasite or killed him.

But, killing Rhachis Ancestor Parasite was easier said than done. The strongest race in the world, humans were still unable to achieve it, not to mention them. The Skeps were capable of creating massive armies easily but, their foe was capable of the same.

When it needed, all the Frenzy Beasts in the world will stand on its side. Even with an all-out war, the Skeps didn't have the confidence of emerging victorious. After all, they didn't have peak level existences on their side except their leader. But, even their leader didn't have the guarantee of winning against a Frenzy Beast Ancestor, not to mention Rhachis Ancestor Parasite who stood at the peak of their power scale.

'They'll probably be the first ones to jump at me if my strength proves lacking.' Rhachis Ancestor Strongest thought, smiling. He slowly moved towards the Tier 6 Skep, keeping track of its diminishing aura.

The Tier 6 Skep was alarmed at his presence, its danger signals going full throttle. Sensing the threat, it forcefully tried to activate its Tier 5 Skill, no longer paying heed to the injury it would sustain as a result.

'It would be best to keep my Unranked Skill a secret before them.' Before the Tier 6 Skep managed to activate its Tier 5 Skill, Rhachis Ancestor Strongest smiled, unleashing a wave of aura. At the next instant, the surrounding water was pushed out by 200 metres, forming a vacuum in their region.

This vacuum perfectly encapsulated him and the Tier 6 Skep, pushing all the Skeps away. The Skeps trembled at the might of his aura, his presence powerful enough to push the water for such distance despite the depth they were at.

Moreover, they also noticed the rigid structure of the vacuum sphere and its stable form that was unrelenting under the water pressure. The Tier 6 Skep was affected, its body shuddering, on the verge of collapse under his aura. Without giving it a chance to try anything, he overlaid his aura with another effect.

Aura Personification—Nullity!

For an instant, the Tier 6 Skep was unable to think, no longer cognitive of itself. In that instant, Rhachis Ancestor Strongest pierced its body, arrived at a certain spot and yanked out its fused organ. His hands radiated a green glow, emitting a ray of light on it.

The fused organ struggled, resisting as must as it could. But, it was already in a weakened state from the breakthrough. Moreover, after the breakthrough to Tier 6, it had already become one with the host, affected by the aura personification of Nullity, unable to plan a course of resistance.

Rhachis Ancestor Strongest felt some difficulty, using both the hands, even resorting to emitting the green radiance from his entire body.

Trait of Wonder!

Unfortunately, it was only at Tier 5 level, requiring Rhachis Ancestor Strongest to exert greater power. But, considering their power difference, it soon took effect. The fused organ wriggled, detaching itself from all bodily connections, beginning to morph. Ten seconds later, it transformed into a bluish-white marble sphere.

Tier 6 Relic!

Rhachis Ancestor Strongest created a box to store the bluish-white marble sphere. His stomach muscles wriggled, opening to create a vacant space. He placed the box there, watching his muscles cover it, soon turning normal.

'Thankfully, the Trait allows me to condense the Relic until it becomes thumb-sized. The Trait of Wonder; Jyovic Bone outdid himself with this creation. Even mother cannot help but praise him whenever she uses this Trait. This Trait alone elevated humanity's strength to another level.' He then dug through its body, arriving before another place.

There existed a crystal before him, possessing a lot of cracks that were mending themselves, bluish-white in colour, the size of his fist. Seeing it, Rhachis Ancestor Strongest couldn't help but inhale a sharp breath of air. The quality of energy stored in the Heart Crystal was slightly superior to a human Transformer but, the quantity was on a whole other dimension.

A human Transformer's Heart Crystal was the size of a rice grain. Even for Frenzy Beast Transformers, despite their humongous body sizes, their Heart Crystals were the same size. It was a biological limit brought about by their Wisdom/Frenzy Parasites.

The Parasites, both Wisdom and Frenzy gave them access to tremendous power but, they also had certain limitations in place. The size of the Heart Crystal was one of them. To this day, they were unable to figure out the root cause. Their research didn't bore any results.

But, as a species that constantly evolved by consuming the genetics of every marine creature to have ever existed, and also having consumed significant genetics of land-based creatures, the Skeps seemed to have found a way to surpass this limit.

Even though the energy quality was barely superior to a human Transformer, the size meant the quantity it could store was humongous. After an estimate, Rhachis Ancestor Strongest couldn't help but sigh, 'It has twice the energy in my Heart Crystal.'

This was the case when its body hadn't even stepped into the Tier 6 level. Even then it was this terrifying. Once it healed its Heart Crystal and began the Nurturing process, the energy it would come to possess would achieve another leap. Moreover, the other Skeps weren't any different; the Tier 6 Skep didn't obtain any advantages over the Skeps due to the Frenzy Parasite. So, all the Skeps possessed such frightening energy levels.

Rhachis Ancestor Strongest dared not imagine the level the leader Skep would reach once it finished digesting the box he had gifted. Using the same manner he employed for the Relic, Rhachis Ancestor Strongest stored the Heart Crystal in his body.

'Thankfully, I already laid the necessary groundwork within that leader Skep.' He smiled and retreated, exiting the Tier 6 Skep's body.

Blocked by the vacuum sphere, the region filled with his aura, and the Tier 6 Skep's body, the Skeps failed to see the actual situation. Rhachis Ancestor Strongest made sure to not leave behind any residue of his ability, lest the Skeps develop this property in them.

They were only pawns he wished to make use of, unwilling to give them the key to become major players of the world. They were terrifying enough as is. If they were to develop any further, even the Ancestors would be helpless against them.

He finally retracted his aura, ensuring not even a trace of it remained in the Tier 6 Skep's body. As its body healed automatically, the Tier 6 Skep remained still. The moment its Frenzy Parasite was pulled out, it entered a vegetative state.

It had lost its mind, unable to gain consciousness ever again. Rhachis Ancestor Strongest smiled, 'The prime weakness once you reach Tier 6, your mind fuses with the fused organ.'

The water rushed back to fill the vacuum; the Skeps too followed suit, hurriedly brandishing their tentacles to protect the body of the Tier 6 Skep from being shredded by the water. They suffered a lot of damage from the ensuing chaos but they easily healed their injuries, achieving pristine states within a couple of minutes.

They looked at the condition of the Tier 6 Skep, feeling a chill creep up in them. They subconsciously distanced themselves from Rhachis Ancestor Strongest, not making any moves on the Tier 6 Skep for the time being.

They knew the amount of power the Tier 6 Skep could wield, and its tough defences, not to mention its regenerative ability. But, all it took Rhachis Ancestor Strongest was a mere 10 seconds to defeat it, placing it in a state worse than death.

The leader Skep arrived before him, its presence trained on him, waiting for him to speak. Rhachis Ancestor Strongest closed his eyes once, sighing as he said, "Parasite can finish me even faster."

It shuddered under his words, even more than when he planted the aura needle in its body. After a while, the leader Skep spoke, "I have lived since the dark ages when we Skep first came into being. Through the centuries, I devoured everything I came across, growing little by little, sometimes even regressing in strength when I consumed cancerous genetic material."

Its tentacles rose, making a motion similar to a human's while praying, "Today, you clearly expressed the distance I have yet to traverse. Human, the Skeps are willing to cooperate with the humans when you fight Parasite."

'So, that means they still won't pull back their armies from Marble City. As expected, they only move towards their objective.' Rhachis Ancestor Strongest spoke, "That is enough."