Beep, beep, beep, beep...
Owen held a tracker in his hand, walking one behind the other with Kayla through the dense forest.
To some extent, this place was even more terrifying than Isla Nublar. There were a full eleven large predators and one super-sized predator here!
Moment of silence for the herbivorous dinosaurs of the BioSyn Sanctuary.jpg
As dusk approached, mist began to rise between the trees. The two arrived at the location of the ejection seat, only to find no sign of Claire.
Owen keenly noticed the footprints on the ground and let out a slight sigh of relief.
I suppose I have to track humans again... It feels like the last time I tracked humans was when Claire's two nephews were around.
Thud, thud, thud…
The sudden sound of heavy footsteps treading the earth through the mist made their hearts skip a beat! They hurriedly lowered their bodies and retreated into the brush, only to bump straight into a hard... stone wall? Before stopping.
"Roar..."
Rexy's condition appeared somewhat weak. At that moment, she was slowly stepping closer to their position, finally coming to a halt less than ten meters away.
She lowered her body to inspect the faint scent of blood drifting from the ground. However, her static vision... seemed a bit too poor. For quite a while, she didn't notice the dead deer until her upper jaw bumped against a soft object.
Low growl.
She gave it a couple of tentative nudges, and upon confirming that this was indeed her target, she gently picked it up in her jaws.
Thud, thud, thud…
Just as Rexy lifted her body, she felt the impact of footsteps matching her own in weight! The silhouette of another behemoth emerged from the mist, declaring itself the master of this domain.
It was Giga Two.
"Roar…"
He confronted Rexy face-to-face, growling to threaten her into getting out of his territory.
"Is that an Allosaurus?"
Owen failed to recognize the Giganotosaurus, which was excusable, after all, the Giganotosaurus in his understanding didn't look like this.
"That's a Giganotosaurus, the largest terrestrial carnivorous dinosaur in history... They actually put apex predators together, but there'll only be one left soon enough."
Thud, thud, thud…
Rexy slowly took two steps back, her heavy footsteps echoing through the mountains and forests, making it impossible not to hold one's breath.
"Roar…!"
Rexy knew her status as an intruder, but she had no intention of retreating just like that. She tilted her head slightly to drop the deer carcass onto the ground, mustered all her strength, and let out a low roar, though the sound lacked its former edge and punch.
Yet she remained fierce as ever, still the Queen of Isla Nublar who dared to face the Indominus rex head-on, still the one who dared to duel two Carcharodontosaurids simultaneously.
Bang!
With a fair bit of tacit understanding, the two dinosaurs stepped back, lowered their bodies, and charged forward viciously, crashing head-to-head to test each other's strength.
Only, Giga Two played a little trick: as the other lunged, he pressed his body even lower, evading the focal point of her brute force.
"Roar!"
Feeling the spine-like growths on the opponent's head graze against her old wounds, Rexy couldn't help emitting a whimpering cry.
Seizing the moment of cognitive vacancy, Giga Two immediately lifted his body, placing himself in a high-ground position.
Relying on instinct and experience, Rexy tried to bite the exposed neck of her rival, but her speed was vastly diminished compared to before. Giga Two lowered his head first, biting down sideways across her skull.
Hiss...
Sharp teeth pierced flesh and blood, shocking Rexy back to clarity. Before he could exert full force, she swiftly yanked her head back.
"Roar…!"
Her aggression seemed to pick up a little, but her breathing was somewhat ragged... What on earth was wrong with her?
This clash had nonetheless yielded a victor. Rexy had no intention of continuing the fight; abandoning the deer carcass, she planned to return to her own territory. Giga Two had no desire to keep her as a guest either; he picked up the deer left behind, swallowed it whole, and turned away.
Both of them needed to return to the sides of their families.
As the heavy footsteps faded into the distance, Owen and Kayla allowed themselves to resume their carefully quieted breathing.
"Foo… you said that was a Giganotosaurus? The Giganotosaurus in my memory doesn't look like that."
"Hm? The Giganotosaurus in your memory is..."
Hooo...
A scorching breath blew directly against their bodies, causing the two, whose clothes were still damp from falling into the water, to shudder violently.
The "stone wall" behind them slowly rose; branches were continuously snapped, and the sound of bushes and grass being trampled echoed in an unbroken stream.
"...it looks just like that."
Carlo slowly rose to his feet. Katyusha peeked out from behind his massive frame, though Dad didn't continue his stealth and instead stood openly right beside Carlo.
There weren't even any broken branches around the surrounding area, just how did this guy get here?!
A stampede of ten thousand animals was raging through Owen's mind right now. All he could do was hold his breath, even though the creature most likely, or rather, absolutely, had already discovered them.
"Roar?"
Is that... a conspecific?
Carlo let out a soft, uncertain growl. Just now, Katyusha had said she found something suspected to be a conspecific here and wanted to bring Carlo to check it out.
"Roar…"
Yes.
Though the outcome did indeed broaden Carlo's horizons.
He didn't care to critique it too much; the other creature did give him a feeling resembling a conspecific, but it felt more like witnessing a peer that had taken a completely different evolutionary path.
After a brief exchange, the air suddenly fell silent, as if deliberately designed to torture the two humans standing on the ground.
"Roar…"
You two head back first; there are some things I want to confirm.
After quite a moment, Carlo finally spoke in a low growl. Rexy's state just now was clearly abnormal, and her frail appearance reminded him of... In short, he simply wanted to go and verify something.
Low growl.
Katyusha rumbled softly in response, agreeing with Carlo's proposal. After all, leaving Karl and Kafka hanging by the stream meadow for too long wasn't ideal.
As for Giga Dad... he maintained an attitude of "Why are you looking at me? I'm doing a stealth, you can't see me," acting as if he had never appeared at all, and followed Katyusha back.
Carlo watched his family depart, followed Rexy's scent across the river, and stepped into another territory.
Sniffing.
Hmm?
A slightly pungent odor drifted into his mind. If he remembered correctly... was that the scent of dried mucus?
He was all too familiar with this scent; it was the residue coating eggshells shortly after laying.
Carlo halted his advance, raised his body, and cast his gaze through the shrubs and thickets to spot Rexy lying beside a crude nest.
Shortly afterward, the other Tyrannosaurus appeared. Judging by the fact that she returned empty-handed... they wouldn't be having dinner tonight.
Hooo.
Carlo gave a soft sigh, turned around, and walked away.
This time, he could not help her.
Whether in the Primeval Ecological Zone or on Isla Nublar, every dinosaur connected to Carlo was carefully remembered by him. Given a suitable opportunity, he was always willing to lend a hand.
Even though Rexy was much like Carnotaurus Two to him, someone with whom he didn't share many interactions, yet counted as an acquaintance... he had previously even stolen Rexy's spoils of war, though he made up for it afterward by sending her a retirement insurance meal.
The issue, however, was that sharing prey with Carnotaurus Two last time was because he had hunted the game himself.
To deliberately cause the death of another dinosaur just to favor one would violate the kindness of Carlo's understanding, and would run completely counter to the Lord of the Primeval.
What he protected was never solely carnivorous dinosaurs; otherwise... why would so many herbivores always be willing to accompany him?
Sound of flowing water.
Carlo quietly crossed the river without a low growl or disturbing any creature, only casting one last look back as he prepared to leave.
Even if the world is cruel, please live on strongly.
Sound of grass being trampled.
Passing through the woods, sunlight washed over his body, and as usual, he arrived beneath the shade of the trees, right where Kafka was stationed.
Sigh... Getting older seems to make everyone sentimental. How many dinosaurs on Isla Nublar that I used to know are still around today?
It used to be Kafka sneaking into the shade of his territory for an afternoon nap; now it was him squeezing into the shade of the other's territory to rest.
Still... this feeling of watching the younger generation grow up really isn't bad.
Perhaps thinking of future prospects, Carlo became visibly happy, though regrettably, he knew nothing of the parting that awaited the King and the Lord from this day forth.
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This fanfic is now complete! If you want to read the whole story ahead of everyone else, head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]