Concurrently, old Mourbo had already propped up the Takji lad, before feeding him a mouthful of strong liquor and chewing up some herbs. Finally, he managed to pacify the lad. However, when he inquired the lad about what he had seen, the lad's eyes remained blank, as he repeatedly emphasized the phrase 'The Tree of Souls within the water'.
After interrogating him several more times, Sheyan injected a tranquilizer into that pitiful warrior, allowing him to rest. He then called old Mourbo over and asked.
"The situation just now was very strange. Can you tell me, why is your old friend's spirit able to control such a powerful beast to ambush us, and even temporarily control the bodies of your clansmen? That goes to say, you and your clansmen can't exclude the possibility of being controlled to assassinate me! "
Old Mourbo's expression turned gloomy, as he carefully deliberated for a long time before replying.
"Sir, I can only speak of my conjecture."
After hearing old Mourbo's words, Sheyan faintly nodded. Without a doubt, after hammering this brat with a warning, his words and actions had become much more reliable.
"Speak."
Old Mourbo earnestly continued.
"In the past, I've witnessed a grand Priestess of Mother Nature executing a divine art. Speaking of which, you might be acquainted with her, that Priestess is the mother of the dragon clan's daughter, Mo`at. She was deeply doted upon by Mother Nature Eywa."
"At that time, the most valiant warrior of her clan was gravely wounded, and the clan was on the brink of despair. At that moment, that Priestess executed a divine art, and transferred the mighty spirit of that warrior into the body of a nearby spiritual beast (Mountain Banshee); transforming it into a wild beast to continue leading her clansmen into battle! "
"Under such a miraculous act, the morale of the entire clan soared. They successfully repelled their enemy, and returned his spirit back to his original body. The reason why that warrior was able to become a revered Phantom Knight was probably related to this experience of possessing a spiritual beast. "
Sheyan earnestly listened, as he contemplated. Old Mourbo continued.
"Furthermore, when our na'vi women are 4 months pregnant, they will also approach the Tree of Souls, and plead Mother Nature Eywa to bestow a spirit to the child. As for Cherokee, before he fell, he was also a powerful Eva Priestess. Therefore, it is almost certain that he could have possibly come into contact with such a powerful Soul Transferring Divine Art … "
Listening to old Mourbo's narration, Sheyan suddenly recalled a similar scene in the original movie, where it appeared twice. The first time was when Jack Sully had obtained the identity of a Phantom Knight. He had requested the Omaticaya tribe to heal the heavily injured Dr. Grace and transfer her soul into her avatar body. The second time was when the main character abandoned his human identity to become a Na'vi ….
It was hard to imagine that Eva was such an omniscient and omnipotent person. She knew in advance that the main character of the movie would need to enter his avatar's body. Hence, she specially imparted this set of divine arts to him, 'Priest Mo`at'. It was specially used to inject the soul of an earthling into the avatar's body. Furthermore, looking at the members of the Omaticaya clan, they were rather familiar with the various processes. Their actions of executing the divine arts with 'Priest Mo`at' were so skillful and consistent. Even their incantations were flawless.
Then, the only logical explanation was that this divine ritual that allowed the soul to move the body had always existed! This was sufficient to prove that old Mourbo wasn't lying. However, following that, another question arose ….. the Mosake clan was already a fallen clan, and had lost the grace of the Goddess of the Earth. Then how did Cherokee accomplish this feat?
Old Mourbo was currently deeply worried as he spoke.
"This ability that Cherokee exhibited, seems to be able to possess the soul of a wild beast from afar, and control its actions. After the death of the wild beast, the soul can still safely return to its body. This is already very similar to Mother Nature Eywa's divine arts, perhaps even surpassing it! But as for the specifics of how he accomplished this, even I can't fathom it. "
Sheyan bent his finger and knocked on a nearby tree. He didn't know why, but he suddenly recalled the insane muttering of that Takji clan member previously. Linking these crucial points together, it further verified Sheyan's previous conjecture.
"The Tree of Souls in the water ….. if that's the case, then there's still a possibility."
After thinking through this problem, Sheyan released a long sigh of relief, as the hidden worries in his heart were mostly dispelled. The reason why he couldn't sleep and came out for a stroll in the middle of the night, was naturally because he was completely clueless about the internal affairs of the Mosake clan. Yet after his previous interaction with Yimutata, he realized that the internal affairs of the Mosake clan were similarly unstable.
Perhaps the initial Mosake clan was united due to the viciousness of their enemies. This could be deduced from the information that Sheyan had previously obtained.
However, things would always change. There was a saying, 'It's easy to share poverty, but hard to share riches'. In recent years, the Mosake clan had grown stronger, and had unknowingly become the overlord of this region. Living a comfortable life would naturally erode the fighting spirit and courage of many, especially under such a crushing crushing defeat.
Hence, even if Cherokee didn't change, he absolutely couldn't guarantee that the others wouldn't! Hence, it wasn't hard to deduce – Under the immense pressure that Sheyan bestowed, distinct cracks had already surfaced within the internal affairs of the Mosake clan.
Of course, Yimutata's words could be deceitful or false. Sheyan had already considered this point long ago! However, the requirements for this' Spirit Possession 'divine art were exceedingly harsh. If not, why would only 3 controlled wild beasts launch a sneak attack? Moreover, the price that the victim had to pay was exceedingly tremendous. Yimutata's words of 'Every transformation of the body requires 5 years of lifespan' were basically impossible to be false. This was a point that even old Mourbo agreed with.
Hence, based solely on the fact that Cherokee had been forced to resort to desperate measures for a sneak attack. Sheyan could determine that this savage and wily old fox had actually sensed the uneasiness and cracks in the clan, and his heart was in a state of panic.
Otherwise, if old Mourbo's words of 'They would become more united due to the flesh and blood of their clansmen' were true, then Cherokee could've simply holed himself up in his old lair and wasted his time with Sheyan! Why would he expend such a hefty price (5 years of lifespan) to launch a sneak attack? He didn't have much assurance of success. Could it be that his brain was damaged, and he felt that he hadn't lived long enough?
*****
In the following two days, there were still no movements from the previous days. At this moment, Mogensha and Reef's hearts were filled with apprehension. They reckoned that Yimutata might really be playing a trick to survive, and was merely delaying their precious time. Yet in the afternoon of the 6th day of the siege, when the sun was at its hottest, the matter that everyone had been bitterly anticipating finally happened. The nearest Overlord to the Mosake clan's residence had discovered a massive horde of Mosake clansmen charging out from within. Moreover, there were other clansmen of the same clan pursuing them from behind. Both parties had erupted into an intense battle!
Sheyan immediately mounted an Overlord to scout out the situation. Of course, old Mourbo could only put on his armor and enter the fray. After being hammered, he no longer slacked off in his work. The Mosake clan's disadvantage was their complete lack of aerial superiority. Hence, Sheyan quickly obtained a clear picture of the battlefield situation. It seemed like the Mosake clan had indeed encountered internal strife.
Sheyan pondered for a moment, before dispatching 400 zerglings to infiltrate the battlefield from the side; providing cover for Yimutata's group as they retreated.
In this manner, Sheyan wasn't afraid even if it was a ruse. According to the Blackthorn clan's current production capabilities, replenishing 400 zerglings would merely take 20 minutes. Even if an Overlord were to send them over, it would at most take half an hour. Furthermore, Sheyan's remaining thousand plus zerglings were sufficient to contend against the Mosake clan's reinforcements. Once the battle escalated into a war of attrition, the Mosake clan who had no aerial superiority would never be able to escape from the Overlord's shadow-like pursuit!
In actual fact, there weren't many schemes. When those 400 zerglings were dispatched, they at least obstructed the pursuers from behind, and bought close to 10 minutes for the fleeing clansmen! Realizing that things weren't going well, the pursuing clansmen could only retreat back into their buildings.
Under Sheyan's incitement, old Mourbo stepped forward, and with the addition of the thousand zerglings as his trump card, he carefully inspected the fleeing Mosake clansmen. After ascertaining that Cherokee wasn't among them, he very straightforwardly released them.
Of course, the released clansmen were monitored by several Overlords, to ensure that they wouldn't launch a surprise attack against Sheyan and the rest, or perhaps collaborate with them from the inside. With Sheyan's shrewdness, he absolutely wouldn't allow himself to be casually toyed with and deceived!
However, these Mosake clansmen appeared exceedingly mentally and physically exhausted. Besides, during those few days of being besieged, they could be slaughtered and eaten by their own clansmen at any time. The pressure was exceedingly immense. Hence, even though Sheyan had allowed them to leave, the majority of them were still willing to join the Takji clan, renouncing their fallen status and returning to the embrace of Mother Nature Eywa. This basically eliminated the possibility of any devious movements.
On this very night, Yimutata once again led a large group of Mosake clansmen to escape. If one were to carefully calculate, the number of Mosake clansmen that had escaped had already exceeded the number of people left behind. Nevertheless, there was no way for Sheyan to obtain any insider information from the Mosake clansmen. According to Yimutata, they had already betrayed their own beliefs. If they were to divulge any information, then it would be equivalent to betraying their own souls. If Sheyan insisted on forcing them, then they would rather die.
In view of the fact that he currently possessed sufficient cannon fodder, and that the current situation was still within his grasp, and was progressing towards a positive direction, Sheyan didn't wish to force them to do so. Therefore, Sheyan wasn't willing to excessively coerce them. After all, he still needed the Takji clan to serve him. (To be continued. If you like this work, I welcome you to cast your recommendation votes or monthly votes at qidian.com. Your support, is my greatest motivation.)
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