Chapter 531 – Prey

There was a reason for the Qin Ren Shaman’s low strength and slow reaction speed. In Punk’s view, this Qin Ren’s willpower was as weak and feeble as his combat prowess. Perhaps because this Qin Ren Elder had grown up in this reclusive swamp since childhood, experiencing smooth sailing without any proper battles or setbacks, when danger arrived, the fellow’s mind simply shut down. The mind-affecting spell released by Punk encountered no resistance as it invaded the Qin Ren Shaman’s soul.

While employing mental magic against the core of this old Qin Ren, Punk hardly felt any conscious resistance from the Qin Ren Shaman. Judging solely from this aspect, the interrogation of the Qin Ren Elder was proceeding quite smoothly.

After all… Punk was never a spellcaster skilled in manipulating souls. If the subject of memory extraction resisted fiercely, Punk wouldn’t be confident in completely extracting the information he wanted.

Of course, Punk certainly wouldn’t explain this technical deficiency to Kane. After completing the casting of an unpolished “Master-Level Mind Magic—Truth-Speaking,” he simply maintained his naturally composed demeanor and calmly stated:

“Truth-Speaking ensures every word spoken by the subject comes from genuine intent.” In his current state, this Qin Ren cannot resist the spell’s effects, so we can proceed with the interrogation now.”

While tossing the Qin Ren—whose dilated pupils made him appear idiotic—onto a chair, Punk calmly explained to Kane.

Though directly reading a captive’s memories might be more convenient against spellcasters with strong willpower, that approach would lead to the same situation as when obtaining Sorsend’s intelligence in the Raging Wave Desert—where “the validity and content of any intelligence would rely solely on Punk’s unilateral account.” Having suffered greatly from this before, nearly being fatally betrayed by Punk, Kane would never agree to such methods.

Therefore, this time Punk employed a spell that made the “subject” verbally recount information. It appeared Kane could accept this “open intelligence-sharing” approach.

“Then speak in Common Tongue, this Qin Ren gentleman. What tribes exist in this swamp? Who are the powerful figures in these tribes? And what lies in the swamp’s depths… that forces you to dwell only at its edges?”

Gazing coldly at the limp Qin Ren, Punk quietly activated the “Truth-Speaking” spell effect while posing his questions.

Fortunately, the Qin Ren Shaman, who appeared to have lived seven or eight hundred years, could speak Common Tongue. Though his pronunciation and grammar frequently contained errors, his meaning remained understandable with careful listening.

Now, under the combined effects of the two Master-Level spells “Bewildered Mind” and “Truth-Speaking,” the moment Punk finished questioning, the limp Qin Ren Shaman began to respond endlessly:

“Three races inhabit this Tar Swamp.” Those cruel, barbaric lizardfolk dwell in the eastern ‘Bloody Creek,’ where prey and vegetation are most abundant.”The Rabbitfolk tribe is located in the southeastern region near our Mushroomfolk Village. Long ago, those cunning rabbits had a dispute with the Snakefolk. After losing the conflict, they all fled into the “Southeast Forest” near the human Kingdom. Since the Snakefolk dared not cross the center of the Swamp to pursue the rabbits, those cowardly creatures managed to survive.

Our Mushroomfolk Village originally lived in the central area of the Swamp long ago. But about a thousand years ago, our ancestors had to lead all our people away from the beautiful wetlands we had inhabited for generations, because over there… over there, a terrifying monster was born!”

As he spoke of the terrifying monster, the limp old Mushroomfolk’s beard trembled.

“A monster? Tell me more about this monster you mentioned!”

Hearing the rambling Qin Ren Shaman finally get to the point, the impatient Kane quickly pressed for details.

“That… is a monster born in the ‘Tar Lake’…”

Upon hearing Kane’s question, the Qin Ren Shaman, who had been about to continue rambling about his tribe, immediately began describing the monster he spoke of:

“No one knows how it came to be. I’ve only heard that long ago, the Tar Lake contained only some low-level ‘Tar Beasts.’ But one day, a king emerged among them. When I had just advanced to the Formal-Level, I once boldly caught a glimpse of that terrifying giant beast… The horrifying monster stands as tall as an ‘oilwood tree,’ its massive body could fill the entire Tar Lake, and with every movement, it can make the entire Tar Swamp tremble…”

Whether the “monster” described by the Qin Ren Shaman could truly make the Tar Swamp tremble was unclear, but now the old Mushroomfolk’s body was shaking uncontrollably. It was evident that the shadow of the monster he spoke of had never faded from his heart.

Hearing the Qin Ren Shaman’s description, Punk couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Without a doubt, that terrifying “monster” was likely the “Master-Level magical creature” he and Kane were searching for. Otherwise, even a relatively powerful Formal-Level creature wouldn’t be able to frighten the old Qin Ren Shaman to this extent with its aura alone.

But… because this timid old shaman had seen too little and had only observed the giant beast from a distance, his description was quite vague. From the old Mushroomfolk’s rambling “introduction,” Punk only learned three pieces of information about the monster: “large in volume, tall in stature, and residing in the Tar Lake of the Tar Swamp.”

“Tar Beasts? Could it be that one among a group of Tar Beasts with exceptional talent advanced to the Master-Level?”

Frowning, Punk couldn’t help but lower his head in deep thought.

Tar Beasts are not rare magical creatures. These semi-elemental beings born from oil generally maintain an Apprentice Rank power level from birth to death. They are ferocious by nature, crave flesh and blood, and excel at using their bizarrely shaped limbs to shred vegetation and rocks.

However, there is no doubt that Tar Beasts do not possess noble ancestral bloodlines, nor are they magical creatures with great potential. For a Master-Level “Tar Beast King” to appear in an inconspicuous swamp is quite extraordinary.From this perspective, the monster Punk and Kane were going to “hunt” this time was the Tar Beast King entrenched in the Tar Lake. However… information about this creature was currently “extremely scarce.”

The intelligence gathering was somewhat disappointing, but after weighing the pros and cons, Punk’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

A Tar Beast King born among tar beasts clearly wouldn’t possess the bloodline of powerful magical creatures. In other words, various innate spell-like abilities were destined to be beyond this monster’s reach—its combat would rely solely on straightforward “punching and kicking” to inflict damage.

Moreover, according to the Qin Ren Shaman’s description, although this Tar Beast King possessed extraordinary innate talents, it hadn’t reached the level of “extraordinary” where it awakened intelligence.

In other words, this creature was a “dim-witted brute” with monotonous tactics and low intellect. Its massive size and fixed settlement made it a perfect “sitting duck.” For hunters in urgent need of prey, such a target was already the best possible quarry.

Thus, after listening to the Qin Ren Shaman’s account, Punk casually extracted the shaman’s soul while simultaneously canceling the “Truth-Speaking” spell. With an expressionless face, he said to Kane:

“Intel acquired… Let’s set our sights on this Tar Beast King then. Finding a Master-Level magical creature is fortunate enough—no matter what, it shouldn’t be harder to deal with than any Kingdom Protector.”

“Kekeke, this lord doesn’t mind either way. A mere beast isn’t worth making a fuss about.”

Hearing Punk’s suggestion, Kane—who had been helplessly watching Punk collect the Qin Ren Shaman’s soul—pursed his lips and agreed.

Just as Punk had said, hunting this Tar Beast King as a sacrificial offering offered the highest cost-effectiveness with the lowest risk. From any perspective, there was no reason to question this decision.

(End of Chapter)