The rain continued to fall, but its intensity had lessened considerably.
Chen Nuo and his companions had donned military waterproof ponchos. The mercenaries around them were still busy meticulously searching the entire campsite, their expressions alert and solemn.
The search area began to extend beyond the Vanguard's campsite.
Selena, an automatic rifle slung over her shoulder, personally joined the search party. As if she had found something, she led a team southeast, deeper into the jungle.
Among the seven Ability Users in the team, some consciously began to spread out, searching for something.
Chen Nuo, however, remained still, standing under a tent beside Vanel, his gaze fixed in one direction, seemingly lost in thought.
Sato Ryoko, clearly very nervous, dared not stray far from Chen Nuo, staying consistently within a three- to five-meter radius of him.
A moment later, Gray Cat returned. He squeezed into the tent, flipped back the hood of his raincoat, exhaled, then unzipped his raincoat and set down the gray cat he held in his arms.
"Any discoveries?" Vanel asked.
"I haven't found anything," Gray Cat replied. "Everything in the camp is neatly arranged, with no signs of destruction or chaos. If, as you say, these people left of their own volition, then their departure must have been orderly, not a hasty evacuation due to some emergency."
There was one detail that everyone knew but left unspoken. It was that if the missing Vanguard had evacuated voluntarily, they would have, at the very least, used their communication equipment to contact the main force and send a notification.
"The communication equipment is intact; no damage or malfunctions," Vanel said, shaking his head. "We've already checked. Moreover, when they left, they didn't take anything with them except their personal weapons, ammunition, and a small reserve of munitions. They left all supplies, food, and water behind."
Soon, Bonfrey and the Professor also returned.
"Found nothing," Bonfrey said before Vanel could even ask.
The Professor also shook his head. "I didn't find anything either… no traces of a fight between Ability Users, nor any signs that powers had been used."
Vanel's expression grew increasingly grim.
The missing Vanguard consisted of seventeen people. Fifteen were elite mercenaries from Steel Fire Company. They were experts in using weapons, proficient in combat skills, all experienced veterans, and possessed above-average abilities for survival in the jungle wilderness. The other two missing individuals were not mercenaries from the company but local indigenous guides who had traveled with the Vanguard to this location.
"What about Sea Monster?" Gray Cat asked suddenly. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novèlfire.net
Bonfrey shook his head. "The last time I saw Sea Monster and Golden Bird, they were heading north to search, accompanied by several mercenaries."
"It's all because of this heavy rain," the Professor sighed. "It's been pouring for over two hours. Any traces on the ground—footprints or disturbed vegetation—would easily be obscured or destroyed. It's hard to find any valuable clues."
Vanel sighed and asked in a somber tone, "Mr. Harvey, what do you think?"
"Harvey?" Vanel frowned, looking at Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo withdrew his gaze and looked back at Vanel.
"What were you looking at?" Bonfrey asked, frowning.
Expressionless, Chen Nuo pointed towards the direction his gaze had been fixed on: a spot in the distance, about twenty meters from the campsite, beside a mound under a large tree.
There, a local guide from their team had taken off his shirt and was kneeling on the ground, arms raised high towards the sky. He held a dagger in his mouth, his eyes were closed, and he seemed to be muttering something.
Chen Nuo recognized him as one of the guides they had brought from the village when their team set out. He was the same man who had been cutting crocodile meat the night they camped.
"What is he doing?" Bonfrey asked.
"I don't know. Maybe some kind of prayer ceremony?" Vanel speculated with a frown. "Of the two guides the Vanguard brought, one was his brother. All these guides were hired from the village where we set out."
The Professor squinted at the scene for a moment before suddenly remarking, "This seems to be some kind of sacrificial ritual."
The indigenous guide stood up. He quickly gathered some stones from the ground and arranged them into a circle of various sizes. Then, he turned, walked over to the large tree, removed the dagger from his mouth, and swiftly cut off several pieces of bark.
With a gesture of reverence, the man carefully placed the bark inside the stone circle with both hands. He then knelt, took out fire-starting tools from his clothes, and attempted to ignite the bark.
Although the rain had lessened considerably, it was still falling steadily, making his attempt to start a fire seem rather foolish. But the guide appeared quite obstinate, persistently trying to light the rain-soaked bark.
Seeing this, Chen Nuo stepped out of the tent and strode towards the guide.
"Harvey?" Bonfrey asked, then followed him.
The Professor didn't hesitate and followed as well, with Sato Ryoko right behind.
"Use this," Chen Nuo said, standing behind the guide and offering a windproof lighter. He spoke in Portuguese, the common language in Brazil.
The guide turned, glanced at Chen Nuo and the lighter in his hand, then shook his head.
The man stood up, walked back to the pine tree, circled it, and after careful observation, quickly took out his dagger and cut into the trunk. Soon, he had cut off a piece of resinous pine wood. He returned to the stones, placed the resinous wood on the bark, and resumed his attempts to light it.
With the resin, the fire finally caught after more than a minute. The burning pine resin emitted black smoke, and the bark struggled to catch fire as well. The flames were small, flickering within the stone circle in the fine rain.
The indigenous guide knelt down again, shielding the small flame with his hands, and began chanting rapidly in his native language.
"It's a prayer ritual to the Sun God."
Chen Nuo didn't turn around; he recognized the Professor's voice.
The Professor stood behind Chen Nuo, his eyes fixed on the native guide and the burning stone circle. "The circle of stones on the ground is round, symbolizing the sun, and the fire in the middle represents the sun's power. It's an ancient religion from the Americas, though now only remnants exist in some rural villages. The cities in the country have largely converted to belief in God... hmm, a religion brought over by us Europeans."
"Indeed, at the cost of the Aztecs' destruction," Chen Nuo replied with a faint smile.
Centuries ago, Spanish missionaries with a handful of men conquered the last great ancient civilization of South America: the Aztecs. They used muskets and... the smallpox virus.
After tens of millions had died, the Aztecs, South America's last great ancient civilization, perished in the flames of war.
The Professor continued, "The Aztecs practiced polytheism; they worshipped many gods. Each tribe had its own deities, and all their gods combined formed a religious system with a complete mythological pantheon. This native likely worships the Sun God."
As the Professor's deep voice trailed off, the indigenous guide quickly stood up.
Inside the stone circle, the bark had nearly burned away, and the fire was weakening.
The native swiftly extended his left hand, gripped the dagger, and sliced his own palm. Blood dripped profusely into the dying flames.
The native's chanting grew faster and more urgent.
Finally, he suddenly opened his eyes. He quickly sheathed the dagger at his waist, adjusted his shoes, and glanced at Chen Nuo and the others watching him from nearby.
The guide pointed in a direction, and then, as nimble as a monkey, he darted off.
Chen Nuo's eyes lit up!
He immediately followed. Noticing the Professor and Bonfrey were about to follow him, Chen Nuo quickly shouted, "Bonfrey, stay at the camp! The camp can't be left without Ability Users! The Professor and I will go!"
Then, in Japanese, he called out to Sato Ryoko, "Ryoko! Stay by Vanel's side!"