Sniffing.
Carlo leaned down, sampling the scents lingering amidst the wreckage of the helicopter.
"Cough, cough..."
Acrid gunpowder fumes mixed with a hint of embers drifted into his nostrils, though that was hardly enough to cause him any real harm.
Carlo felt a bit annoyed at the moment. If he had known, he would have memorized the scent of his targets before shooting the helicopter down; he might have been able to track it all the way back to their base. But now, aside from the choking fumes and the stinging smell of nitrates, he couldn't gather much of anything.
He straightened up and scanned his surroundings, eventually spotting a totaled vehicle near a fallen tree that had somehow survived his own earth-shattering devastation.
Thud. Thud.
Carlo approached slowly, bowing his head to inspect the scene.
Hmm... everyone seemed dead. The seatbelt on the pilot's seat... it looked like it wasn't fastened? The pilot must have been ejected. That explained it.
Sniffing.
Although there were still no useful scents, Carlo discovered an intact BioSyn logo. That, at least, pointed him in a direction.
From here on out, all he had to do was follow the path where the logos became more frequent, and he would definitely find Dad and the three kids...
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a yellow flare shot into the sky in the distance. It didn't travel straight up but angled slightly, carving a path through the blue firmament and adding a streak of yellow mist to the horizon.
Carlo's attention was instantly captured. He whipped his head around to stare at this second "sun" in the sky.
A moment later, the flare extinguished, falling into the jungle. The reflection of the flare's flash faded from Carlo's pupils, and he took a powerful step forward.
THUD!
"ROAR—"
Three Mapusaurus had invaded the creek meadow, letting out a defiant, thunderous roar at the Giganotosaurus family ahead!
There is a saying: people always want to climb higher, and dinosaurs are no exception.
Before the arrival of the Giga family, the Mapusaurus had reigned supreme in the BioSyn Ecological Zone. The two Giganotosaurus couldn't threaten them due to their smaller numbers; the Spinosaurus preferred the water and had always kept to a "live and let live" policy with them.
But the Giga family? They had the numbers, and they matched the Mapusaurus in size. It was a severe threat to their dominance.
Furthermore, the humans were consciously using neural chips to force the dinosaurs to hunt, inadvertently accelerating the depletion of prey. This only made the Mapusaurus increasingly irritable, turning inter-dinosaur conflicts into uncontrollable brawls.
"ROAR!"
Katyusha let out a deep, guttural roar. Kafka and Karl immediately moved to her side, mimicking the formation of the three Mapusaurus.
"Roar?"
The third Mapusaurus emitted a confused growl; it was the first time it had seen a dinosaur learn by watching.
"ROAR!"
The lead Mapusaurus nudged the third one to its left, forcing it to focus.
This wasn't a duel between leaders; it was a battle between two packs.
Whoosh—
A breeze swept through the hills and woods, rustling the leaves. Sunlight dappled the green grass, reflecting a tender, shimmering light. The creek water bubbled over the stones, making a soft clatter.
It was a beautiful, peaceful scene, a shame it had been turned into a battlefield.
"ROAR!"
The Mapusaurus struck first. Following their leader's roar, they all lunged out, spreading out to attempt a flanking maneuver in a triangular formation.
The three young Giga siblings didn't have much experience facing their own kind or predators of equal size, but Katyusha understood the principle: "match the master with the master, and the weak with the weak."
"ROAR!"
She let out a short roar, signaling them to intercept while switching positions with Kafka. After all, she was the largest of the three in the field; it was best if she were the one to stall their leader.
BANG!
Karl had a clear target and slammed directly into the third Mapusaurus. The sound of the massive collision echoed across the prairie.
Karl tried to tear a chunk of flesh from his opponent, but he misjudged the force of his attack because of the layer of blood already covering the creature's body, only managing to scrape some skin.
So that's how they solve it?
"ROAR—"
The lead Mapusaurus wanted to engage Katyusha, the Alpha Giga, but Kafka cut him off first.
Katyusha launched an attack on the second Mapusaurus. Having learned from the previous clash, she didn't miss. She seized the opening and left a terrifying gash on the creature's cheek.
"Aoork—"
The second Mapusaurus didn't like the feeling of blood spraying and couldn't help but let out a whine.
The lead Mapusaurus tried to go help, but once again, Kafka blocked his path.
What the hell?Why was this big lug so agile?
Kafka was slightly larger than the lead Mapusaurus, but consequently, she wasn't as nimble, not unless it was night, so she very carefully maintained her position between Katyusha and the enemy leader.
Playing dirty with tactics, huh? I can do that too.
"ROAR!"
The Mapusaurus leader knew that engaging a stronger opponent wasn't a wise choice, so he let out a loud roar.
The next moment, the third Mapusaurus, who had been fighting Karl, spun around instantly! It had gained the upper hand against Karl and was still operating with ease; in fact, it even managed to whip its tail and knock Karl back while turning.
"ROAR—"
The tide of battle shifted instantly. Kafka was now facing two Mapusaurus at once. The leader and the third one flanked her from left and right, successfully leaving wounds on her body. However, the leader didn't linger; he seized the opening and charged toward Katyusha!
Karl scrambled to catch up, having realized, too late, that Katyusha was in danger. But he was too far away; he couldn't reach her in time!
"ROAR!"
He cried out a warning. But the lead Mapusaurus had already opened his massive jaws, less than five meters away from Katyusha!
If a Giganotosaurus were severely injured or killed, they would surely lose.
"Aunnng-roar—"
The mournful cry of a carnivore echoed. Giga Dad lunged from the woods, snapping his jaws shut around the neck of the lead Mapusaurus from above!
Suffocation and sharp pain flooded the Mapusaurus's brain. Giga Dad twisted his body, spinning the opponent around in place before violently throwing him aside!
The lead Mapusaurus stumbled and fell, scrambling to get up, only to find that his attacker didn't pursue.
"ROAR!"
Giga Dad took the opportunity to snap his jaws onto the tip of the second Mapusaurus's tail. The second one couldn't resist such power and was thrown directly into the lead Mapusaurus by Giga Dad's momentum!
BANG!
The two dinosaurs collided with a violent crash.
What happened? I was only gone for lunch.
Dad glared at his opponents. Immediately after, the third Mapusaurus was shoved forward by the combined force of Kafka and Karl, colliding lightly with the other two.
Low growl.
Now it was the Mapusaurus pack's turn to be surrounded. All three bore new scars, but the blood didn't show much, and their killing intent remained undiminished.
Just as the four of them were about to...
"ROAR—"
A long, piercing howl echoed from the forest, and a massive black shadow slowly emerged... It was a Saurophaganax. It didn't stand with the Gigas, yet it had unexpectedly joined in to face the Mapusaurus together.
But then again...
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