Chapter 417: Interrogation

“Wow, I bet something truly extraordinary happened here. Even from this distance, I can smell the blood in the air that gets one’s adrenaline pumping. This level of bloody scent couldn’t possibly come from just one or two deaths.”

Planting his golden lance firmly in the ground, Kane exaggeratedly sniffed the dust-filled air. While ordinary people might detect nothing unusual in the air, to an experienced and highly alert knight like Kane, the signs of the intense battle this small town had recently endured were unmistakably clear.

“Hmm, let me see. I smell the blood of ordinary folks, the stench of numerous goatmen, and wow, there’s even the charred scent of burning trees mixed in. Haha, looks like quite a few trees were burned down. I’d love to see how heartbroken those druids would be if they witnessed this ‘devastation’!”

Not bothering to conceal his delight in tragedy and slaughter, Kane even struck an exaggerated pose of intoxication.

But Punk had no interest in playing tedious detective games. He always preferred simple, crude yet effective methods, especially when he was in a hurry to get things done. In this state, Punk increasingly favored using spells to solve problems. Unlike Kane’s wild speculations, Punk’s approach remained consistently “efficient.”

“Sniffing around like a dog won’t get you clues. To find out what really happened, just grab someone and ask!”

—————Break—————

It must be said that the Baron of Hazelwood Town was truly unlucky. Just two or three days ago, his territory had been attacked by a group of goatmen, resulting in the destruction of two entire towns and the precious Hazelwood. Now he had encountered Punk and Kane, two individuals who wouldn’t hesitate to use violence at the slightest provocation. Even more tragically, he had voluntarily positioned himself within Punk’s line of sight to offer his “services.”

The Baron’s outcome was undoubtedly miserable. Before he could finish speaking, Punk—who had been searching for townsfolk to interrogate—immediately spotted this Baron walking at the forefront of his guards, dressed in conspicuously more luxurious attire.

“Excellent, it seems I’ve found one of the town’s Nobles. His mind should contain plenty of information.”Without giving the Baron time to speak or even react, Punk’s Mage Hand instantly yanked the Baron—who had no class level whatsoever—over to him.”

“Mage… Mage Lord… You…”

The speed of a Master-Level powerhouse’s strike was too fast. From an ordinary person’s perspective, it seemed as though Punk had merely waved his hand, and the Baron was suddenly “teleported” to the center of the crater. Not only was the Baron himself caught off guard, but even the two Apprentice Rank warriors standing beside him failed to react in time.

When the Baron met Punk’s azure blue eyes, shadowed beneath his hood, his still-dazed mind immediately recognized the immense danger. But by then, he didn’t even have time to utter words of surrender.

“Formal-Level Conjuration Spell—Memory Reading.”This is the convenience of a mage’s interrogation methods—no flashy psychological tactics, no bloody torture that looks impressive but is useless. Directly searching memories at the slightest disagreement is the spellcaster’s style. The intelligence obtained this way is far more truthful and detailed than any confession extracted through interrogation.

As numerous silvery spell tentacles plunged deep into the baron’s brain, all his memories from childhood to the present unfolded before Punk. Of course, the scene he remembered most vividly—Ovakain in human form slaughtering the goat-headed men—was displayed in minute detail in Punk’s eyes.

“Ovakain, you really have time to spare. Even while fleeing, you couldn’t resist upholding justice and punishing evil? Then the question arises: if this town suffers a disaster because of you, will you rush back to rescue it regardless of the consequences?”

Staring at the black-haired youth in the baron’s memories, who was “displaying great power” by slaughtering the goat-headed men with a set of clumsy, flawed, and unrefined “swordsmanship,” Punk couldn’t help but curl his lips into a cold smile.

Although strictly speaking, the same method is unlikely to work twice, the strategy of forcing Ovakain to walk into a trap alone for the sake of protection and salvation had already been used once in the Hoth Mountains. For a wise spellcaster like Ovakain, who has achieved a “Cage Escape,” the same trick should never work again. However…

“Isn’t repeatedly falling for schemes they see through also the privilege of the kind-hearted?”

Punk admitted that Ovakain was the most troublesome enemy he had encountered so far. But ultimately, what made this black dragon difficult to deal with was his high spellcasting level and that piece of Legendary Equipment, which was highly advantageous for survival and escape. As for Ovakain’s personality, he wasn’t hard to handle—practitioners of the good alignment always had many things they couldn’t ignore, many bonds and principles they couldn’t abandon. For someone like Punk, who prioritized self-interest above all, the kindness of the kind-hearted was often the best weapon to use against them.

Thud!

Casually tossing the baron, who had been reduced to an idiot, onto the ground, Punk immediately began preparing a spell. In less than a second, a terrifying wave of magical energy was recklessly released. A large amount of fire elements rapidly gathered, compressed, and coalesced in Punk’s hand, eventually forming an intensely scorching white-hot sphere.

“Hey, hey, what are you trying to do? Evocation spells shouldn’t be toyed with so casually.”

Seeing Punk discard the baron after extracting his memories, Kane, who hadn’t expected Punk to share the intelligence, initially had no intention of speaking up. However, when he noticed Punk quietly preparing a large-scale evocation spell, the golden knight couldn’t help but voice his suspicion with a mix of caution and curiosity.

Punk’s reply was remarkably calm:

“Destroy this town. It no longer needs to exist.”That’s right, Punk intended to destroy this small town. Although due to the town’s fleeting connection with Ovakain and the black dragon’s previous failed rescue attempt, Punk’s plan only had about a seventy percent chance of success, he still had reason to believe Ovakain might return to save the town. After all, the black dragon was nearly recovered enough to use magic again, and perhaps the confident Ovakain believed he could defeat Punk.

Therefore, if destroying an insignificant town could lure Ovakain out, it would be a foolproof deal. Even if the cautious black dragon didn’t take the bait, causing him some trouble and slowing his recovery would still be worthwhile, since the healing of soul wounds is significantly affected by one’s mental state.

With these considerations in mind, after calmly responding to Kane, Punk directly cast his spell.

“BOOM!!”

The terrifying scene from the Goat-headed Tribe repeated itself. Soaring flames descended upon this town that had just recently suffered disaster. But this time… the poor town wouldn’t receive rescue from any powerful savior. Instead, they would face an even more unstoppable enemy and his cruel, brutal accomplice.

(Please vote~~ Also the author got another cat, come see it in the group 548859662)

Please vote~~ Also the author got another cat, come see it in the group 548859662

(End of Chapter)