Chapter 320 – Doubt

After confirmation by Punk and Ben Lajie, the originally over one thousand Storm Hawks in the cave had indeed vanished without a trace. The vast cavern left little evidence behind, with only the dried droppings indicating the Storm Hawks had disappeared from this cave system for at least a month.

“Master-Level Divination Spell – Advanced Information Gathering.”

Finding no clues through inspection, Punk immediately employed a divination spell to trace their whereabouts. Logically, most of the missing Storm Hawks were merely magical creatures barely reaching Apprentice-Level, so Punk’s divination should have accurately located their destination. However…

“Any results?”

Seeing Punk silently holding a shimmering band of light that shifted colors, Ben Lajie grew restless. He too could sense the unusual nature of this series of events. Shortly after Joni Zordas issued the mission, Monbay Windbeak—the Storm Hawk closely connected to the Gray Rain Nation Air Trade Association in the Hoth Mountains—had mysteriously died. Now his entire clan of over a thousand had vanished without a trace. Even someone as thick-skulled as Ben Lajie could detect something unusual in the air.

But Punk paid no attention to the idle Ben Lajie standing foolishly nearby. The rainbow-hued light band created by his divination spell drifted effortlessly through the cave, its other end sweeping repeatedly across the rocky walls. Faint, hazy light shadows began swirling around Punk, continuing this way for over ten minutes.

“This matter has become quite complicated. I’m afraid this mission isn’t as straightforward as we thought.”

Dispersing the radiant energy generated by the divination spell, Punk opened his eyes with a grim expression.

“What exactly happened? Did you find any clues?”

Ben Lajie asked urgently.

Instead of answering immediately, Punk turned and exited the cave, carefully observing the entire hollowed-out exterior of the mountain peak before speaking seriously to Ben Lajie:

“The biggest and most troublesome problem lies right here—my divination spell was almost completely ineffective. I couldn’t trace the Storm Hawks’ whereabouts at all.”

“The divination spell failed? Those Storm Hawks were only Apprentice-Level at best!”

“Of course I know the Storm Hawks themselves couldn’t possibly possess the ability to block divination spells, and Monbay Windbeak is already dead. Facing a Master-Level divination spell, this Windbeak Clan of Storm Hawks should have been completely transparent to us. But now it appears… the mastermind behind these events isn’t someone to be trifled with!”

Punk’s pupils swirled with rapidly rotating azure magical energy as the emerald glow of his Emerald Staff grew increasingly sharp in the mountain’s cold wind.

No longer expecting to find any clues in the cave, Ben Lajie also emerged from the cavern with a furrowed brow. The moment Punk’s divination spell failed, both Master-Level spellcasters realized that whoever made these Storm Hawks disappear must also be a Master-Level powerhouse. Moreover, the opponent possessed sufficient capability to block divination spells, enough to render Punk—a mage quite skilled in divination—helpless.

“Well, it seems our clue ends here.” Did we ultimately make this trip for nothing?”

Ben Lajie shrugged somewhat helplessly.”No, we can still gather some intelligence from Monbay Windbeak and its clan.”

Punk carefully took out the identity card from his storage ring to confirm the mission details:

“Joni Zordas posted a mission at the Thought of Truth, then Monbay Windbeak went mad, the Stormhawk clan disappeared, followed by us accepting the mission… So many major events happening suddenly within just three months. If anyone says these aren’t connected to that Ovakain Acidmaw from the Dragon Roar Kingdom, I’d be the first to disagree.”

“But that doesn’t quite make sense either?”

Ben Lajie asked Punk curiously:

“Ovakain Acidmaw’s Dragon Roar Kingdom is at war with Joni Zordas’s Maple Leaf Kingdom. Would that Holy Warrior family be so careless as to let information about requesting external assistance leak? Moreover, if Ovakain knew about Joni Zordas seeking help from the Thought of Truth, he should be even less likely to provoke Monbay Windbeak. Believe me, a rational Monbay has some real capabilities.

Most importantly, Ovakain is just an ordinary black dragon. Having him block divination spells and drive Monbay Windbeak mad… Does he possess that kind of ‘expertise’?”

Ben Lajie spoke with conviction. If not for his intelligence gathering credibility having hit zero in Punk’s mind, this fat old man would certainly have added “I haven’t received any intelligence” as his final piece of evidence.

Actually, Ben Lajie was more worried about this mission going wrong than Punk was – partly because accepting this dragon-slaying mission was his suggestion, and partly because… Ben Lajie still owed a large debt of exchange points. When it came to needing exchange points, this cheerful fat old man was definitely more anxious than Punk.

But Punk disliked self-deception, and he mercilessly exposed Ben Lajie’s attempt at comfort:

“Leaving aside whether the Zordas Family is truly as righteous and steadfast as rumors claim, let’s just talk about the black dragon Ovakain Acidmaw. How can you be so sure he truly has no class levels? No spellcasting abilities? Just because the Zordas Family has excellent credibility?”

“Surely not. No matter what, the Zordas Family wouldn’t lie about intelligence, would they? The last guy who lied to deceive the Thought of Truth has his entire family’s souls still being roasted in a crystal ball.”

In reality, Ben Lajie still didn’t believe Ovakain Acidmaw actually possessed spellcasting ability, because dragons with mage classes were too rare… and too powerful. He seemed more inclined to believe that whatever blocked the divination spells and drove Monbay Windbeak mad was some of Ovakain’s magic equipment.

Faced with Ben Lajie’s rebuttal, Punk also found it difficult to determine whether his own conclusion was correct. After all, there were still too few clues – just one mad Monbay Windbeak and a missing Stormhawk clan couldn’t prove much.

However, out of caution, Punk mentally noted two concerns – both Ovakain’s hidden methods and the Zordas Family’s credibility now carried question marks in his mind.

“Never mind, never mind. Probably Monbay ate something wrong. He’s no mage but loves eating all sorts of things recklessly. Might have even eaten his own clansmen after going mad, who knows? We should hurry to the Maple Leaf Kingdom – I heard their rice wine roasted duck is particularly delicious.”While Punk was still lost in gloomy contemplation, Ben Lajie had already stopped dwelling on these matters. This cheerful fellow’s moods changed extremely fast—even while standing atop his old friend Mengbei’s lair, he was already looking forward to the roast duck of Maple Leaf Kingdom.

However, collaborating with Punk meant Ben Lajie’s dreams of fine food and wine were destined to remain distant.

Without even glancing at Ben Lajie, Punk turned and walked toward the opposite side of the hill.

“Hey, wrong direction! That leads to Dragon Roar Kingdom. Maple Leaf Kingdom is this way!”

“Correct. We’re heading to Dragon Roar Kingdom. Rather than listening to the Zordas Family’s dubious persuasion in Maple Leaf Kingdom, we might as well go see the situation in Dragon Roar Kingdom directly.”

Punk’s faint voice answered through the cold wind.

(End of Chapter)