Animals were generally ruled by their own instincts. It was almost like a sixth sense of sorts, when it came to discerning the world around them. Being able to sniff out not only danger, but also potential benefits.

  And tonight, in the forests surrounding the main entrance to the Dark Lands of Mir, the usual suspects that would be present and active were instead hiding.

  Not even the most aggressive predators were out and about if they could avoid it. For even they no longer felt like the hunters in the area.

  No…for the moment they had lost that position.

  Yet if one were to casually take a walk through the forest, it would be hard to see the reason for the unrest for the native life of the forest.

  There wasn’t any fighting going on. No blood being spilled, no massive army stalking the forest, nothing at all was seemingly amiss.

  But unlike most people who didn’t have to develop a feel for when the grip of death was nearing them, animals did. They needed to know when a predator who hunted in silence was sneaking up on them.

  So while an ordinary stroll might feel a little eerie in a forest like this, there would be nothing obvious to point to the danger the animals felt. But they knew.

  They knew that death itself was lurking in the forest. Their instincts were screaming to run, but at the same time telling them that there was nowhere to run to. Death would be waiting no matter what they did.

  Such was the state of the forest at the moment.

  The Shadows of Verdan were here in full.

  Carefully and patiently, they catalogued every part of the forest they moved through. Every blade of grass, every branch, every speck of dirt, every borough of every animal. Nothing was left unchecked.

  And it was all checked twice.

  Not a single word was said, not an accidental noise made.

  But it wasn’t them that cause majority of the fear for the animals of the forest. Instead that was a role reserved for the members of the Black Wolf Tribe.

  As Demi-humans who shared similar qualities to that of an apex predator, it was far easier for them to move and behave as predators do. And all it did was add to the fear factor of the forest natives.

  Of course, the two groups had now made contact with each other, and were working together to accomplish their tasks.

  Neither group wanted to be particularly friendly with their counterparts, but the mission all came first. And right now that mission to properly scout the areas surrounding the Dark Lands of Mir.

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  They were looking for traps, potential ambush locations, hidden coves for Goblins to hide in, optimal routes to advance through, and even places to set up a large military camp.

  So they weren’t there just looking for Goblins. No it was far more detailed than that. These were steps that Minister Franc had ignored when he made his trek here. It wasn’t because the Minister was inexperienced either. Just a simple yet costly mistake of allowing a once tempered ego to become slightly inflated.

  To the point where they didn’t treat an enemy with the utmost cautiousness, and due seriousness. These were mistakes the Shadows of Verdan and the Black Wolves wouldn’t repeat. Especially after learning about the fact that Goblins had business in the dark.

  Something they would come to know in even more detail.

  Lagg.

  He was a proud Goblin of the Shadow Clan and had only recently evolved to the Fifth Tier. It had taken hard work and plenty of moments where he nearly lost his life. Especially when once considered the training methods of upper members of the Shadow Clan.

  Their entire focus was on being unseen. Being assassins. The perfect scouts. Anything and everything involving a life hidden in the shadows was their forte. In the Dark Lands of Mir, there was only one place where their skills could truly be honed.

  Beyond the front lines as thousands of beasts of all shapes and sizes who would devour you if caught. There was no mercy to be had, no negotiations to happen, no hostages taken. If you were caught you were dead.

  Of course, they also participated in non-fatal training where their Chief or other high ranking members would be the enemy they had to take out or hide from, but that was the minority.

  So Lagg wasn’t afraid of the situation he found himself in.

  The Goblins had been at peak alert level from the day spies first gathered in their surroundings, and that level of alertness had somehow reached another level when troops first marched on their borders.

  It had never dropped.

  Which is why they were aware when enemies reached the forest surrounding their homes.

  Even if they never saw them, it was easy to notice that something was off about the animals tonight. And so…it was time to act.

  Lagg held a dagger in his hands as he waited patiently in his designated location. He wasn’t alone either.

  There were two other Goblins who joined him in this mission. One where they could die at even the slightest mistake. But the mission was necessary. Whether it was just to delay them, whittle down their numbers, or simply cause headaches, it was necessary.

  Anything and everything was on the table for this war and they had to do whatever it took to win it.

  Silently, and most of all hidden to the untrained eye, where three individuals veiled in shadows.

  All three of them were highly trained Tier Five members of the Shadows of Verdan, and they were currently scouting the area. They were just one division of Shadows in the area, while others were doing the same in other parts of the forest.

  If he could, Lagg would’ve taken a deep breath as he prepared himself for a moment that was getting closer and closer.

  Then like a rabbit unsuspectingly triggering a trap, the three shadows took one more careful step forward and three Goblins emerged from their hiding spots with nothing but blood on their minds.

  But the members of the Shadows of Verdan were not so easily out maneuvered. They were always ready for a battle. Ready to fight to the death at a moments notice without fail.

  They were caught off guard and immediately placed on the backfoot, but they weren’t killed within the first few exchanges and began fighting back in earnest.

  What they didn’t know though was that similar scenes could be seen all across the forest.

  Some assassinations managed to work in favor of the Goblins without a problem and their targets were swiftly put down, while others failed and lost their lives to the enemy, and a few of them like the one Lagg was involved in, quickly reached a stalemate of sorts.

  With this move from the Goblins, the first drops of blood in the second act of this war have been spilled.