...

After quite some time of observing the ancient murals on the wall, Shin was finally able to get a gist of the current situation on Sky Island.

"I see, so that's what actually happened," muttered Shin while looking at the certain mural on the wall.

Hearing his words, Cloe suddenly turned her head towards him before asking. "Oh? So, how did they do it?"

Shin pointed at the murals in front of him while replying. "It's simple. It is because of their leaders."

"And what about their leaders?" asked Cloe immediately as she couldn't tell what he was referring to since she couldn't find any leaders in the murals.

"Because they don't have any leaders," replied Shin, which confused Cloe even more.

"Hey! Wait! I can't understand what you are saying this time. First, you said it is because of their leaders and now you are telling me that they don't have one? What's with the irony?" said Cloe with a deep frown on her brows.

Hearing the annoyance from her tone, Shin couldn't help but chuckle a little before explaining. "What I'm talking about is that these Wingmen Race are practically acting similar to the birds in the real world."

"Birds are practically a group of democratic creatures, especially when they are in a flock. For example, if the birds were flying in a v-formation, the leading bird would work hardest compared to the others. That is why they are taking turns taking the lead to prevent anyone from collapsing due to exhaustion. Even the weakest birds are taking the lead sometimes."

Cloe was starting to understand what Shin was trying to say before asking another question. "Then how are they protecting themselves against their predators if there is no one taking the commanding position?"

Hearing that, Shin thought for a brief moment before replying. "It's not that there is no one giving out the commands. In a flock of birds, everyone is the leader and all of them have the responsibility to protect the others."

"If someone senses a threat, then it is going to inform the others immediately. That way, everyone is going to respond with the warning accordingly and prepare to defend themselves."

At this point, Arthur finally woke up from his nap and suddenly appeared beside Shin while asking. "So, how is it related to the Wingmen Tribe on the Sky Island?"

"Finally feeling bored of sleeping?" sneered Shin before answering his question. "It is actually simple."

He paused for a moment before pointing at a certain group of murals where the Wingmen Tribes of the Sky Island were drawn. "As you can see, those tribes are originally segregated with each other and are doing their own things."

"There was no Sky Island before and the Wingmen Tribes are leaving peacefully just like the other Beastmen residing here in the Primal Kingdom."

He then pointed to another mural where a group of snakes suddenly invaded their territories. "But one day, their peaceful lives are suddenly interrupted when the spawns of the Black Snake start attacking them."

"Naturally, the Wingmen Tribes are going to protect their territory and fight a long battle with the Black Nagas that are invading their territories."

"Unfortunately, the Black Nagas are way too strong for them to handle which is why they are being pushed back repeatedly. And since their enemies are blessed with the powers of the Serpent King, the Wingmen Tribes are no match against the Black Nagas no matter how hard they try."

After that, they proceeded to another mural where a certain Wingmen with golden wings suddenly stood out among the rest. He was quite powerful and much stronger compared to the others.

With his help, he managed to defeat a lot of Black Nagas and chased them away from their territory. And when the Serpent King heard about that news, he knew that this certain Wingman was the same as him, a being who transcended into a higher realm.

Due to that, the Serpent King led the next invasion personally and planned to devour this particular Wingman with golden wings.

Then a world-shaking battle between those two transcendent beings broke out which lasted for almost a week. And during that battle, the two even released their true forms which were a Gigantic Golden Bird and a Massive Black Snake.

Seeing the mural of those two titanic beings trying to overwhelm each other, Arthur couldn't help but click his tongue for being too amazed by it. And after a few moments of appreciating the murals, he then turned his head towards Shin before asking. "So, what happened next?"

Shin pointed to the side and showed another mural where the Golden Bird emerged victorious in battle. It swallowed the massive body of the Black Snake and consumed its remaining powers, further strengthening itself.

"With all of those, the great Wingman became the hero of his race and worshiped as their god, swearing loyalty to him. He then named himself Garuda, the King of all birds."

He then proceeded to the next mural before continuing. "And as a reward of their loyalty, Garuda used a part of his transcendent powers and lifted a part of the land towards the sky and turned it into the new nest for the Wingmen Race."

"He then gives his kins his divine blessings and shares a part of his powers to his offspring. And that is when the leading tribes of the Wingmen Race are born."

Arthur started nodding his head repeatedly as if he understood everything that Shin had said before asking. "So, why is it related to birds in the real world?"

And that was when Shin pointed at the mural in front of them where a massive serpent with three heads was drawn.

"A hydra?" asked Arthur.

"Sort of, but not exactly," answered Shin almost instantly while shrugging his shoulders.

At this point, Cloe was quite annoyed at Arthur for interrupting her private time with Shin. She was about to say something when she suddenly noticed something lying below the three-headed serpent.

"Ah!" her startled voice interrupted the conversation of those two.

Looking at her, Arthur slightly knitted his brow before asking. "What is it? Did you see a ghost or something?"

Cloe didn't even turn her head at him as she was too focused at the bottom part of the mural while saying with a trembling voice. "I-is t-that-… Garuda?"

Hearing that, Arthur also turned his head towards the mural and focused on the part that she was pointing at. And when he saw Garuda lying lifelessly underneath the three-headed serpent, he couldn't help but exclaim. "Eh!? Hey, what happened? How come this powerful bird is defeated by this snake?"

Meanwhile, Shin also turned his attention back to the mural. He then took a deep sigh before answering. "I'm also quite confused about what actually happened since most of the murals are quite damaged. But one thing is for sure, Garuda indeed falls under this unknown serpent."

He then took a brief pause before adding. "And now that the light that the birds are chasing is gone, they now lose their destination and mistakenly take a wrong path."

"If a free and democratic group finally finds a great leader that they can follow and lean on, then they are most probably going to chase after his back blindly and become dependent on him without them knowing."

"But imagine if they suddenly lose their leader that they so dependent onto, what do you think is going to happen to them?"

After that, he turned his head at another mural where the leading tribes of the Wingmen Race were drawn. "For such beings who become used to hiding under the wings of a supreme being, they tend to find another leader who can take on the role of being the light and lead their Race to fly higher in the sky."

Then Shin pointed at the cracks on the wall which happened to separate the five tribes from each other. "And that is when the difference in their beliefs and opinions came – which will also lead them to go separate ways."

"That is quite reasonable and explains why those tribes are waging war with each other," said Cloe agreeingly while nodding her head.

But immediately after that, she immediately added with a confused tone. "But what about the matter that Crazy Jiang told us? About overthrowing their previous Ruler or something?"

Hearing that, Arthur nodded his head and supported her question. "If Garuda is already dead, then why do they want to overthrow him?"

"That is what I'm not sure about," answered Shin instantly before adding. "But from what I can guess, maybe his spirit, soul, or whatever managed to survive that disaster and tries to come back to Sky Island. But little did he know that his home is already in chaos due to a power struggle."

Shin then fell into deep thought before quickly adding. "But there can also be another theory for it. And that is those two guys somehow stumble upon the surviving spirit of Garuda and they help him to go back to Sky Island."

"That explains how those two managed to unlock a new region, the Crystalline Peak, and managed to find the way to arrive at the Sky Island at the same time."

"Moreover, it also explains why one of them is a Wingmen," he added while holding his chin with his hand.

After that, he cast his gaze back at the mural in front of them before continuing. "I am still missing some of the important parts, so I can't give my final conclusion. But I'm sure that this Three-Headed Serpent and the Black Nagas are pretty much involved in this matter without a doubt."

And that was when he received a message from Leonard reporting about the suspicious groups that they captured.

Reading the contents of that message, Shin started grinning from ear to ear before saying. "Looks like the final piece to complete this puzzle is finally here."

...