Chương 87: Sarimanok

Within the Negros islands, somewhere in an area between Luna's mansion and Mount Kanlaon. The high-level officials of the <Sovereign Nation> were gathered.

"The smaller Nations must have started to install their Agimats," Luna said.

"That does indeed explain the stronger zombies. But there is one thing that I've noticed as well that didn't really happen in our world," Elder Aran thought out loud.

"The increased amount of earthquakes lately, right grandfather?" Alea asked.

"Indeed." The Elder replied.

"Truly? I thought this was a normal occurrence, what with the next phase probably requiring more energy to open the portals for the stronger enemies," Sura inquired.

While the earthquakes were happening all around the world, the ones in the Philippine islands were noticeably stronger. Thankfully, the advance structures they currently had were not affected even in the slightest.

Unbeknownst to everybody, deep underground in every single one of the Philippine islands, divine light started to emanate from an unknown source.

"We'll worry about the details later, as of right now, none of us are sure of what this all could exactly mean. The other <Nations> must have felt the changes as well and are preparing to install their Agimats. We cannot delay much longer," Luna declared.

Neither time nor information was on their side. All they could do was prepare as best as they could and hope that it would be enough.

"Agreed." They all said in unison.

"Clemencia, have the Angels retreat back to the base for now," Luna ordered.

"Yes!" She quickly replied. While the rest of the troops were told to retreat in advance, the Angels themselves opted to stay. They were thrown from Heaven to lived cursed lives and Luna not only saved them, but he also gave them the opportunity to evolve further.

With the Agimat of Attribute, they can now potentially surpass even the current Gods themselves. Although they were Angels, beings that people assume to be full of kindness, it would be a lie to say that they didn't hold some bitterness on the inside. However, they were now fiercely loyal to Luna. With even their leader, the Seraph Clemencia, devoting her life to Luna, they, in turn, saw him as their true master. They continued to fight and even though all it did was bring Luna a bit closer to level 61, they didn't mind the extra effort at all.

Truth be told, they still had a little over a week to make sure that the new citizens are settled in and assigned to their posts. Throughout the transition, the citizens from Emil's nation were all leveled to level 40. With the current EXP given by the zombies, this wasn't hard at all. Although it may not make them as formidable with the higher leveled and more geared up veteran soldiers of the <Sovereign Nation>, it was enough to ensure that had some chance of survival.

Luna was also aware of how unknown the next phase was, and how unpredictable it will be and the time before it's coming. He could not afford to have his soldiers out and about and be caught off-guard by whatever unexpected surprises this transition brings.

Just then, Luna received a message request from Paco who had been investigating Sneaky Snake's old lair. "Lord Luna, we might need your help."

"Paco, what's going on?" He replied.

"The Serpent's lair is one hell of a maze underground. Without its guidance, finding what we're looking for would have taken another few weeks. But there's something interesting here in its main dwelling. You might want to come and see it for yourself."

"Alright, good job, Paco." Luna then turned towards the rest and said, "Sura, come with me. Elder Aran, Max, Tala, and Clemencia. Max, have Bakunawa come here at once. We leave immediately!"

"Yes, father!" Max enthusiastically replied. She had a feeling she was about to see something interesting.

"Bro, what about me?" Boni, the endlessly curious individual that he was, was interested as well. For Luna to bring such a group, it must be important.

"I need you here, Boni," Luna replied.

"Fine, fine. You got it!" Boni gave him a thumbs up. Although he was curious, he knew Luna would update him if something important happened.

The people he chose weren't randomly chosen at all. Right now, the individuals he chose were the most knowledgeable within the <Sovereign Nation>. He wasn't ignorant to Sneaky Snake's growth. If it was something like an Agimat that could hasten the growth of Mutant Beasts, that would another boon to their <Nation>.

If there was one thing that Luna didn't mind, it was overpreparing. It was the reason why he is as powerful as he is now. Had he been any less prepared before, chances were that he and the original group would have perished during their first <Small Territory> challenge.

After all, while this reminded him of MMORPGs, there were no respawns in this world.

***

Northern Philippines, in Luzon, within the Serpent's Lair.

Arriving in Sneaky Snake's main dwelling after being guided by the Serpent himself, Luna stepped forward with Sura and the rest. Immediately, they could feel the rich life energy emanating within the area.

Maxene who was the most sensitive to life energy felt the most attention-grabbing difference from this area was in the middle. She walked towards the middle area as she conjured up her Wind Anito. "Everyone, shield your yourselves," she warned. She looked towards Luna as if looking for his approval. Lune, in turn, gave her a nod.

A few seconds later, after seeing everybody was prepared, she smashed the wind energy smack dab in the middle of the room.

*BOOM*

Everything in the middle was pushed outwards. At the center was a crater. The dirt offered very little resistance and so it was easily removed.

What they saw at the bottom reminded them of a glacier. It was as if there was an actual glacier at the very bottom of this cave. The turquoise color made it quite a sight to see, albeit, looking a bit off in an area as tropical as the Philippines.

Luna headed towards the bottom as he felt an increase in life aura. It was a miraculous feeling. It felt as if it strengthened his body as a whole, he also felt his mind clear up a little as if the things that confused him about Anitos before made a bit more sense now.

Reaching out to touch the glacier-like formation, he noticed that it didn't feel the slightest bit cold to the touch. In fact, it was a comforting warmth that greeted his fingertips. The surface was still a bit foggy, so he wiped the surface a bit, as he noticed something frozen inside the formation.

"A bird?" Luna said out loud as he furrowed his eyebrows. What he saw was a bird, almost like a chicken. Its feathers were all different colors. The image of a mythical creature in Philippine legend immediately came into Luna's mind. "Sarimanok?*"

He remembered hearing and reading about the legend of this mythical bird. It was said to be a symbol of good fortune. As to what fortune it was, it was currently quite apparent to Luna. "It's obviously not just enriching Mutant Beasts. Could this be?" He didn't want to assume right away as even he could not believe that his luck would be that good.

It should be known that the majority of what he had received so far was due to his own competence and leadership. One thing was for sure, the effects he had felt so far was the very same effects one would expect from the strongest and rarest of all Agimats.

Containing limitless amounts of life energy, albeit, one cannot siphon it as they please as the Agimat will only release it gradually, just enough so it can create more than it releases. It contained the knowledge of Anitos infused within the energy itself. The two effects were one, embedded within each other.

The rest of the group had formed the same thoughts within their heads as well. They knew what this meant, yet none of them smiled. They were afraid that they would celebrate too early and be disappointed. But they knew in their hearts, that they had indeed just hit the jackpot.

Was this a blessing or a curse?