Save Ernie Polk First, Then Slay the Black Venerable!

At dawn.

Deep in the Amazon rainforest.

In the lush rainforest outside the hidden settlement, a group of uninvited guests quietly closed in from all directions.

Upon approaching the outermost periphery of the settlement, they suddenly halted.

Kenneth and Shay stood side by side, gazing into the small town shrouded in morning mist and partially visible.

Shay raised his hand to glance at his wristwatch and asked straight away, "Charge straight in?"

Kenneth shook his head in refusal, "Ernie is still inside."

"Unsurprisingly, he's probably brainwashed and controlled by the dark magic now."

Shay raised his eyebrows with a smile, rather enjoying the prospect of chaos, "Ha, wouldn't that just be perfect? I've long since found Ernie's sanctimonious act grating!"

"It's the exact right chance to give him a good thrashing!"

Kenneth rolled his eyes and retorted, "Stop joking around, Shay."

"OK! OK!" Shay smiled, shrugged, and said, "You're the overall commander of this operation, you call the shots."

Kenneth pondered for a moment and decisively ordered, "Shay and I will sneak in to find Ernie Polk; the rest of you stay within the range of the Stealth Technique and are forbidden to act without authorization."

Just like that, Kenneth and Shay concealed their presences and stepped into the mysterious settlement shrouded in morning mist.

Walking into the settlement, Kenneth was surprised to find that most of the buildings here seemed rather aged.

Passing by a two-story thatched wooden cabin, he even spotted a horse stable typical of the medieval period.

Shay activated the Crimson Mana Resonance Secret Art, continually probing for Ernie's location.

When they arrived in front of the stone roller in the settlement's small plaza, the Resonance Secret Art suddenly reacted.

Shay immediately stopped in his tracks and sent a voice transmission to Kenneth, *Kenneth, I've