She was referred to as a Miao Clan girl because she wore a light purple Miao Clan skirt and beautiful silver jewelry on her head, which set her apart from other girls in terms of temperament.
Juliet had a cold expression with clear, watery eyes that seemed to reflect the people around her. When she met Leo’s gaze, she simply nodded in greeting.
Fire Rose pointed to the young man next to Juliet and introduced him as Cale Talley.
Cale wore an antique white robe and held an ancient fan in his right hand. His demeanor occasionally revealed a hint of arrogance.
Cale glanced at Leo several times and snorted lightly, “Fire Rose, we’ve been waiting for him for hours. I thought he was someone special but he’s just average.”
Leo frowned at Cale’s words.
“Cale, you can’t say things like that. Leo is very strong; I’ve tested it myself,” Chad quickly spoke up for Leo.
Cale looked at Chad and sneered before saying nothing more.
Abel raised his hand and spoke in a deep voice, “Leo, now that you’ve all met, you will be the closest comrades from now on. Let’s all sit down and discuss the mission.”
Everyone gathered around Abel and sat on the ground.
“You are all aware of the situation. So far, two villages on the outskirts of the Evergreen Rainforest have been wiped out. They were inhabited by ethnic minorities,” Abel’s tone was grave.
The Evergreen Rainforest was the vast tropical rainforest located in front of their camp.
The Evergreen Rainforest was the largest pristine tropical rainforest in Atraria, spanning tens of thousands of square kilometers.
The forest was rich in vegetation, with over tens of thousands of plant species, including a wealth of precious medicinal herbs.
Of course, there were also numerous venomous creatures and aggressive insects in the rainforest. A moment of carelessness could lead to death.
Due to the dangers lurking within the rainforest, only a few ethnic minority villages existed on the outskirts of the Evergreen Rainforest. Deeper into the forest, it was like a primeval wilderness with scarce human presence.
Abel swept his gaze over the group, “Our mission this time is to kill the Black Poison King. Thunder Dragon will lead the team, and we will enter the Evergreen Rainforest at 5 a. m. tomorrow. We must accomplish our mission successfully.”
When Abel mentioned the “Black Poison King,” Leo noticed that Juliet’s body trembled slightly, and her expression turned colder.
Leo also noticed a red spider slowly crawling onto Juliet’s shoulder, creating a strong visual contrast against her fair neck.
Seeing Leo’s gaze fixed on Juliet, Fire Rose whispered in Leo’s ear, “Juliet is from the Black Miao Clan. She is proficient in witchcraft art and is a witchcraft practitioner. The Black Poison King killed her loved ones.”
With this explanation from Fire Rose, Leo understood why he could clearly see a look of hatred in Juliet’s eyes when Abel mentioned the Black Poison King.
Fire Rose continued, “The previous Black Miao Witchcraft King was an honorary advisor to our organization. Juliet was recommended by the former Witchcraft King to join WONDER. I have worked with Juliet on a mission before, and she is formidable.”
The Miao Clan had a long history of practicing witchcraft.
The term “Miao Clan” was a broad label encompassing various subgroups such as the Black Miao Clan, White Miao Clan, Blue Miao Clan, Flower Miao Clan, and several others.
In reality, only the White Miao Clan and the Black Miao Clan possessed knowledge of witchcraft.
Furthermore, not all members of these two clans were proficient in witchcraft. The understanding of witchcraft remained limited to a small number of individuals within the White Miao and Black Miao clans.
Abel changed the subject and pointed to Thunder Dragon, saying, “Now, Thunder Dragon will explain the route for entering the Evergreen Rainforest.”
Thunder Dragon took out a handheld computer from his person and tapped a few times on the screen, causing a three-dimensional holographic image to appear above the computer screen.
The image displayed the entire view of the Evergreen Rainforest.
Thunder Dragon zoomed in on a specific area of the holographic 3D image and said, “Everyone, please take a look. The red dots marked on the image represent the villages on the outskirts of the Evergreen Rainforest.”
Everyone focused their gaze on the 3D image, and they could see dozens, if not hundreds, of red dots densely scattered along the periphery of the Evergreen Rainforest.
Even in slightly deeper areas of the tropical rainforest, venomous creatures and aggressive insects thrived, making it unsuitable for human habitation.
Only the peripheral areas, with fertile land suitable for cultivation and relatively fewer venomous creatures and insects, were inhabited. Many wild elephants, buffaloes, and primates also resided in these areas.
Thunder Dragon further zoomed in, drawing circles around two of the red dots, and said, “These two red dots represent the villages where corpses were found.”
From the map image, these two villages were slightly farther away from the others and closer to the interior of the Evergreen Rainforest.
“Based on the information we have gathered so far, it is speculated that the Black Poison King is active in this area, centered around these two villages,” Thunder Dragon drew another circle, encompassing several other villages.
“Forensic appraisal indicates that the time of death for the villagers in Village Number One was six days ago, while the villagers in Village Number Two died three days ago. If the Black Poison King strikes again, there is a high possibility of an attack on Village Number Three and Village Number Four.”
“Based on the principle of proximity, our main targets should be Village Number Three and Village Number Four.” Thunder Dragon pointed his finger at the two villages closest to the ones that were massacred.
The crowd nodded with solemn expressions.
Thunder Dragon looked at Juliet and continued, “The cause of death for the villagers in Village Number One was the Venomous Wolf Heart-Eating Scorpion, while the cause of death for the villagers in Village Number Two is unknown.”
“We will first go to Village Number Two and have Juliet lead the investigation into the true cause of death for the villagers.”
Juliet nodded with a cold expression.
“After investigating Village Number Two, we will then proceed to Village Number Three and Village Number Four, aiming to uncover the Black Poison King as soon as possible!”
Thunder Dragon adjusted the image and drew a line, saying, “Tomorrow morning at five o’clock, we will follow this route to Village Number Two and then continue on to Village Number Three and Village Number Four.”
“That’s the basic plan. Does anyone have any questions?”
“No!” everyone replied in unison.
“Then rest early tonight, and we will depart on time tomorrow morning!”
Once everything was settled, everyone returned to their respective tents.
It was still early, and Leo wasn’t sleepy, so he didn’t plan to enter his tent to rest. Instead, he wanted to find a place to cultivate.
Leo could clearly sense that there was a faint spiritual energy drifting through this place from time to time.
Just as Leo was about to search for the source of the spiritual energy, he heard Chad’s voice from behind, “Leo, where are you planning to go?”
Leo turned his head and replied, “Just wandering around.”
“Perfect, I can’t sleep either. Let’s go together.” Chad quickly caught up to Leo’s side.
The two of them left the camp and sat down on a grassy area not far away.