I let out a long mental sigh as I realized I arrived on time. Now, with more calmness, it's time to stabilize my meditative state. Due to the hurry I was in, it wasn't a calm, natural meditation, Instead, it felt forced and although I managed it, I felt like the connection could be severed at any moment and my eyes even felt a bit itchy, something that hadn't happened in any of the previous sessions.

Of course, despite the instability, I didn't take my eyes off the goats, I mean, I didn't go through all the stress from a moment ago just to miss out on something important due to carelessness. That would speak volumes about me as a researcher, although besides lying down and grazing, they don't do anything else. But the savanna is unpredictable, and you never know when the fray might begin.

The instability in the meditation was solely due to lack of concentration, so after a few moments of serenity, I managed to calm down and regain control of my emotions, restoring the natural order of things. For now, I can only wait for something significant to happen, otherwise, it will be very disappointing. Of course, I also hope that the fruits don't run out quickly, or at least not at an important moment.

I was ready for a long wait, but I didn't have to wait long at all. The goats, who were on high alert covering the herd, focused their gaze on the same point, making it clear that whatever was stalking them was there. Despite being on high alert and their attention focused on the darkness, the circle didn't deform. I should point out that even though the situation seemed pressing, the animals remained calm. I was more nervous than they were.

The night turned darker than usual, it happened in an instant. At first, I thought it was just my perception, that maybe due to keeping the skill [Snooper] activated for so long, it was normal, but apparently it wasn't just my assumption. The goats knew something that I didn't and immediately they stood up and four males stepping out of the circle to be the vanguard. The dance between life and death was about to begin.

I had to adjust my gaze several times so as not to lose sight of the group. I don't know the reason for the sudden darkness, but I'm sure the scenario I was waiting for is right here. With the night at its darkest, it was the perfect time to make an attack. Yeah, I knew it, the goats knew it and obviously, the predator knew it too, who of course did not miss the opportunity that the night gave him to launch his night siege.

“BRRRRRAAAAR”

The first one to notice the attack was the leader of the herd, which surprised me a lot. I mean, even with a panoramic view, I hadn't realized where the attack was coming from, but he did, amidst the darkness. Although it could be that his eyesight is better than mine, he has an ability that allows him to see in the dark, or maybe it's just due to accumulated experience. Anyway, there's a reason he's the leader.

With the leader's warning, the deer once again demonstrated how prepared they are to face these events. All the goats lit up the patterns on their bodies at once, they looked like one being. I understand a bit how predators on the savanna feel when they try to hunt zebras, it was difficult to distinguish one from the other, although the night quickly swallowed the faint light emitted by their bodies. However, this combination made it easier for me to follow them with my eyes.

"BRAAR"

*Clank*

The fight to live or be the prey, to eat or starve, officially began with the loud bleating of one of the males that is part of the protective circle, who, along with his bellowing, created deadly spikes that sprouted from the ground at an incredible speed. If I were his opponent, I would have surely died without knowing it, but since the goat is not the attacker but the prey, all he got with the spikes was a loud crashing sound that traveled through the air to my ears.

*clank clank clank clank clank*

His comrades, upon realizing the direction from which the aggression originated, without waiting for an order from the leader or for the attack to be repeated, created hundreds of spikes in succession in the same place as his comrade did, which was a wise decision, since I could hear the collisions coming from the darkness. So it is safe to say they managed to land several blows on their predator or predators

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Thanks to the darkness, even though I'm focused on the place where the deer launched their attack, I'm still not sure, I still can't see any living being. All I manage to make out in the midst of the darkness is when the spikes emerging from the ground are shattered one after another, leaving behind only rocks and sparks from the collisions.

Although the ponies are organized and those spikes look deadly, the creature or whatever is hunting them clearly isn't weak at all. Besides, it seems to be very used to the current situation. I mean, since the start of the assault, it hasn't made any noises of pain or anger due to the continuous siege, and if it weren't for the collisions occurring with the spikes, I might think the goats are attacking nothing.

For me as a spectator, the current scenario is quite admirable to watch. I suppose that's the cycle of life. no matter which planet you're on, they are fighting with their lives at stake, wanting to survive and yet neither seems to be nervous. The goats remain calm and their hunter, well, I don't think he's very desperate either. Even looking at the place where the spikes emerge, it seems that despite the goats' siege, who take turns to maintain a continuous attack, each time he's getting closer to his prey.

Although the goats are not stupid and are very aware of this fact, I think they know that at the end of the night one or several of them will die. So, they are giving it their all to protect the herd and not fall without putting up a hard fight. Although I still can't see the shape of the predator, the deer, on the other hand, despite the predator's continuous change of position, know exactly where to strike and always hit their mark.

*BOOOM*

“GRRRRRRRRAAARAR”

It's a dance of death, the deer are the prey, but that doesn't mean they can't change their roles. When the clashes were getting close to one of the males in the circle, at that moment, a light crossed the battlefield. It was the lead male who, using his body like a bullet, shot out from the other side, managing to land a powerful blow against his opponent, who, for the first time since the attack began, emitted a sound of pure pain.

It's a dance of death, the deer are the prey, but that doesn't mean they can't change their roles. When the collisions were getting close to one of the males in the circle, at that moment, a light crossed the battlefield. It was the lead male who, using his body like a bullet, shot out from the other side, managing to land a powerful blow against his opponent, who, for the first time since the attack began emitted a sound, but it was a wail of pure pain.

Taken by surprise, he was sent flying a few meters before crashing into the ground. I think he was caught off guard because previously the ponies had attacked him from all directions and still hadn't managed to wound him. Maybe that gave him confidence and he thought the goats would be easy prey, which makes me think that maybe, just maybe, he is an inexperienced predator, a young one testing his worth. However, like everything else, it's just speculation.

In any case, the leader's blow gave me the opportunity to see the appearance of the predator, and I'm not sure whether to feel disappointed or amazed, but one thing I'm sure of, it's undoubtedly one of the ugliest things I've seen in all my existence. In summary, it looks like a huge bald rat that consumes asteroids and suffers from a very serious radiation mutation.

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAR”

Angered by his own carelessness, the beast rose from the ground on its two hind legs and roared towards the goat chief, allowing me to get a better look at him, and I take back my earlier words, he's not ugly, he's even worse. Its bald, greenish-blue skin, similar to the color of stagnant water covered in algae, is adorned with muddy-red spikes that run down its spine from its head to its tail, a terrible attempt to imitate Gojira.

Huge red protuberances on his sides that, although they are on his skin, I believe they are veins, pulsing to the rhythm of his breathing, as if they were transporting blood. These veins, protected or adorned by spikes barely three centimeters long, connect the spikes on his back to its limbs, which, it should be noted, are the same muddy red color, to his wrinkled, yellow belly. From its hind legs extend five deadly claws about six or seven centimeters long, along with a spur.

Although, to be honest, I think that considering his size and muscle mass, those paws are a bit short, but who am I to question nature? Its forelegs, on the other hand, only have three claws, but their size, thickness and sharpness make it clear that they are much more lethal than their counterparts. It's also clear that it is with these claws that it has shredded the spikes the goats threw at it, and yet they don't seem to have any cracks.

"Those claws my deformed friend.... will kill"