Chapter 318 – Investigation

The battle had ended… with an outcome that naturally aligned with Punk’s expectations. Monbay Windbeak, the troublemaker who had plagued the Aerial Trade Association, was ultimately just a Level 15 magical creature. In terms of level, he was one tier below Punk and two tiers below Ben Lajie. Compounded by the thunderhawk’s hysterical, deranged state, his reckless charge to single-handedly challenge two top-tier powerhouses like Punk and Ben Lajie, and being caught squarely by a trap at the battle’s onset—if Monbay Windbeak could still win under such circumstances, it would defy all reason.

Punk hovered mid-air, manipulating alchemical dissection blades to meticulously slice open the spine of Monbay Windbeak’s corpse. He then extracted large bundles of nerves intertwined with faint traces of lightning element—tougher than steel threads—and stored them in his storage ring. These nerve filaments from the thunderhawk were premium energy-conduction materials, and Punk had no intention of wasting them.

As a Master-Level magical creature, Monbay Windbeak’s soul was truly the most valuable prize. However, no matter how desperately Punk needed exchange points, he wouldn’t risk capturing a Master-Level being’s soul. At his level of power, a fragile soul stripped of bodily protection could be obliterated by a mere fireball. Yet magical equipment and spell scrolls could be directly activated using souls, not to mention the myriad of chaotic soul-detonation techniques available.

Thus, no one could guarantee whether an opponent reduced to a barely mobile soul was truly helpless or secretly preparing to take the first reckless scavenger down in a “spectacular” mutual destruction. Under such circumstances, even fully aware of a Master-Level soul’s immeasurable value, Punk could only destroy this “ticking time bomb” at top speed without hesitation!

The cost of Punk’s caution was evident, however—his investigation of Monbay Windbeak’s corpse had reached an impasse…

By the time Ben Lajie trudged mournfully to the thunderhawk’s head, Punk was still frowning while examining the brain tissue through the shattered cranium.

“Sigh, I knew this fellow over a thousand years ago. To think he’d end up like this… how unpredictable fate is, how unpredictable…”

Using Mage Hand, Ben Lajie closed Monbay Windbeak’s remaining intact eye before sighing deeply with lament.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those sentimental mages. Instead of wasting time on pointless sighs, why not ponder what drove this creature to madness?”

Punk didn’t even glance at Ben Lajie as he carefully cradled a relatively intact portion of Monbay Windbeak’s brain tissue, intently sensing residual elemental traces within.

With no means to extract memory through soul retrieval, Punk now resorted to this crude method of detecting spell residues on Monbay Windbeak’s body.Ben Lajie looked somewhat helplessly at Punk, realizing that his partner was truly an emotionless individual, fundamentally different from someone like him who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Melodramatic? Ben Lajie wasn’t sure if his post-victory “hypocritical compassion” counted as melodrama. However, after Punk’s mockery, he stopped dwelling on the half-cooked Monbay Windbeak. As a mage, Ben Lajie was also curious about why a perfectly normal Storm Roc had gone mad.

“So, have you found anything?”

Since he knew nothing about alchemical spells, Ben Lajie could only watch as Punk picked up pieces of blue brain tissue and softly chanted incantations. Feeling a bit awkward just standing there idly, Ben Lajie finally spoke up.

“Findings?… There is one small clue. The magical shockwaves and elemental chaos from the battle erased many traces, and as a Master-Level magical creature, even in death, it’s not easy to trace information using Divination Spells. However…!”

Punk carefully sensed the residual energy in the brain tissue. With perception no less keen than that of a Divination Spell specialist, he could faintly detect a trace of energy fluctuation mixed within the elemental torrent.

“There’s a residual spell energy—it doesn’t belong to you or me, and certainly not to the Storm Roc. Monbay Windbeak was no spellcaster. This residual spell energy is external, and its level… I’m afraid it has reached Master-Level!”

Punk tossed aside the large, blue, mushy piece of brain tissue and stood up, his brow slightly furrowed.

At this point, although there was a clue, it was still too scarce. The Storm Drills had caused comprehensive damage to Monbay Windbeak’s brain—all the brain tissue had lost its energy connections, and a great deal of Punk’s own mana had thoroughly washed over the shattered brain. It was already fortunate that even a trace of spell residue remained.

Still, even with just this small clue, Punk found it very peculiar. In any case, external spell energy lingering in the body was no trivial matter, especially since this energy didn’t seem to have any beneficial effects. Based on Punk’s speculation, Monbay Windbeak’s madness was likely related to this trace of spell energy.

“Can’t find any more clues. Let’s check its nest.”

Punk muttered to himself in resignation as he stuffed the last bit of neural fibers into his Storage Ring, then casually remarked to Ben Lajie.

Watching Punk monopolize the last valuable items, the still-dazed Ben Lajie couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his eye. But then he thought about it… While Punk was setting up traps, he himself had been frolicking with a group of beauties. Moreover, the upcoming investigation would largely depend on Punk’s alchemical spells, and Monbay Windbeak had, after all, been an old friend…

In the end, the chubby old man couldn’t bring himself to say anything about “sharing the spoils.”

After standing awkwardly to the side for what felt like an eternity, Ben Lajie could only manage:

“Well, you’re right. I know where his ‘Storm Fortress’ is. Let’s hurry over!”

————————Break————————Although the name “Stormwind Fortress” might suggest it to be a certain stronghold, in reality, it is merely a nesting colony of Storm Eagles, built atop a highly conspicuous peak in the Hoth Mountains. Whenever gloomy weather sets in, fierce winds and roaring thunder perpetually swirl above this nesting site.

Incidentally, the reason Monbay Windbeak’s Windbeak tribe adopted the name “Stormwind Fortress” stemmed from a jest made by Ben Lajie. However, it has always seemed that only Monbay Windbeak himself considered this jagged, rocky peak a beautiful fortress. Punk, for one, absolutely failed to see how this cluster of nests could relate to a traditional castle in any way.

“Monbay Windbeak has decent taste in food, but his architectural aesthetics are truly dreadful. He always insists on making his nest resemble a stone forest, erecting all these messy pillars—it couldn’t be uglier.”

As they made their way, Ben Lajie had stopped dwelling on Monbay Windbeak’s death and had resumed his habit of running his mouth, nitpicking at everything around them.

(End of Chapter)