188: Chapter 188 The Mysterious Squad! Miss Witch Aurora! Cooperative Exploration!

Mist Forest, border area.

The closer one got to the forest, the thicker the mist in the air became.

The grayish-white mist swirled like a living thing, filtering the world into a pale and hazy hue.

The air carried a faint scent of blood.

Several carcasses of recently slain magical beasts lay scattered across a forest clearing.

Their bodies were nearly a size larger than their ordinary counterparts, with bulging muscles, protruding fangs, and eyeballs displaying an unnatural, dark red color.

Even in death, that dark red in their eyes still retained a heart-stopping sense of madness and violence.

A six-person squad was dispersed around the clearing, examining the carcasses of these magical beasts.

Their attire was completely different from the knights or mercenaries commonly seen in the North.

There were three men and three women in the group, all wearing dark blue or silver-gray wizard robes.

The young man leading them was lean, with an unremarkable face and a hint of arrogance.

On the west side of the clearing, a young woman in her early twenties was squatting beside a magical beast carcass.

She used a slender silver needle to dip into the beast's blood and then placed it into a transparent test tube.

The moment the beast's blood made contact with the liquid in the test tube, a change occurred.

The originally clear liquid began to churn, rapidly turning into a murky, dark red, and emitting a scent reminiscent of sulfur mixed with rust.

The young woman carefully examined the changes in the test tube.

A moment later.

She looked up and said happily, "Senior Cassius, it's confirmed!"

"This is indeed the aura of a Blood-Ash Bone Snail, mixed with residual magic from a special ley line node."

"It seems that the Nether Mist Wizard is indeed deep within this forest. We haven't come to the wrong place!"

On the other side of the clearing, the man named Cassius heard this and laughed, "Good! Well done, Junior Aurora!"

"Since the information is confirmed, let's head in quickly. Let's make it a swift battle, finish the mission, and leave. I've had enough of the mist in this damn place!"

His tone carried a hint of urgency.

The other team members nodded upon hearing this and began to pack up their examination tools, preparing to move forward.

Just then.

From the thin mist behind them, a clear sound of hoofbeats suddenly rang out.

"Clop, clop. Clop, clop—"

The sound of hooves approached from the distance.

Soon, the silhouettes of a group of people on horseback slowly pierced through the mist and appeared on the scene.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly became somewhat tense.

Rowan sat upright on his horse, his gaze sweeping calmly over the six-person squad before him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

This group of people clearly did not look like locals.

Both sides sized each other up through the hazy mist.

Rowan subconsciously swept his system panel over them.

Suddenly, a flash of unexpected pleasant surprise crossed his eyes.

Among the six-person squad, the scores of the three female members were: [90], [86], and [85].

The young woman with lake-blue eyes actually had a score as high as 90!

His heart stirred slightly, and he was about to speak.

However, the young man leading the opposite group spoke first.

He lifted his chin slightly and said in a commanding tone, "You must be the local nobles, right? Perfect, there are quite a few of you, so go ahead and clear the path for us."

"I am here to solve your problems!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the air became subtle.

Beside Rowan, Portia felt a flash of anger in her eyes upon hearing this and was about to retort immediately.

However, just before she could speak, Rowan raised his hand and made a gesture for her to calm down.

Rowan lowered his hand and looked at Cassius with a calm gaze. His tone was unhurried, revealing neither joy nor anger: "That's right, we are the local nobles."

"There is a problem in this territory, and I have brought people here to investigate the situation." He paused, then changed the subject, "May I ask who you are? And what are you doing here?"

Cassius heard this, and a look of obvious impatience flashed across his face. He opened his mouth, prepared to reply.

At this moment, Aurora realized things were going poorly. She knew that Senior Cassius came from a commoner background, had entered a formal wizard academy through his talent, and always looked down upon hereditary nobles, so she quickly spoke up to smooth things over:

"My Lord, we are students from the Moon Chant Pact Wizard Academy in the city of Ascalon."

Her voice was crisp and gentle, carrying a natural sense of affinity.

"We recently tracked some intelligence regarding traces of experiments by a dark wizard and suspect that a dangerous individual known as the Nether Mist Wizard is lurking in this forest, conducting illegal research. Therefore, we have come specifically to investigate."

She paused and looked at Rowan with an earnest gaze: "It seems our goals are the same, aren't they? We are both here to resolve the hidden dangers in this forest."

"Why don't we… cooperate and enter the forest together, what do you think?"

"We have some experience in dealing with dark wizards and anomalous magical beasts, while you are more familiar with the local terrain."

After she finished speaking, she tilted her head slightly and signaled to Cassius with her eyes.

Cassius's expression was not very good, but he couldn't say anything else. He just snorted coldly and said nothing more.

Rowan listened and looked quietly at the young woman.

The young woman had soft, honey-gold long hair, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears. Her features were delicate and bright, with slender eyebrows and full lips.

Rowan lingered for a moment on her slightly nervous face, thought about it, and nodded slowly, saying, "We can cooperate."

He paused and added, "My name is Rowan, the local lord. What should I call you all?"

Upon hearing this, the blonde young woman revealed a sweet smile and introduced herself, "My name is Aurora Winfield."

"This is our captain, Cassius Alfred."

Immediately after, she turned to the side, raised her hand, and introduced the names of the remaining team members one by one. Her demeanor was poised and generous, and her voice was gentle and moving.

Thus, both sides reached a simple consensus and headed together into the depths of the forest...