Rare human visitors had entered the dense jungle. There was nothing here to attract humans, and that had granted this place a long stretch of peace. Now, that calm had been broken.
A squad of black-robed figures searched every inch carefully, leaving traces behind as they passed. Their targets must have left some clues as well; no one knew how they had escaped pursuit. Perhaps they had some special method of concealment that, limited by their strength, these pursuers had been unable to discover.
Now, with the help and resources of a Soul Saint, the search sped up considerably. Soon, they found traces their targets had left here: a campsite. It was obvious they had rested here for some time, so the pursuers hurried to check when they had left. The charcoal in the firepit was still warm.
That meant these people had not gone far. The leader of this squad was delighted, but he did not rush forward recklessly. Their opponents' strength could not be underestimated. History had proven countless times that one must never look down on students from Shrek. Countless powerful figures had created countless examples by slipping up against them.
"Check whether they left any clues. No rash advances. Messengers, go inform the other two squads of our discovery. We'll encircle and wipe them out together."
There were roughly three squads here, ten people in each squad. Originally, there should have been more than this, but that great lord had called many of them away, leaving only this few behind and creating a severe shortage of manpower. But no one dared raise an objection. Those who had objections were already all dead.
All they needed to do now was carry out their work properly and avoid doing anything unnecessary.
Just as the messenger soldiers set off,