"Picking a fight the second he wakes up… this guy is a total psycho. This level of aggression is way past normal territorial testing."
"Can't be helped. Given his history, he was bound to turn out like this. Should we... step in and intervene?"
"No need. As the saying goes, 'He who finds great support prospers, while he who is isolated falls.' A true king never stands alone."
"Has your [highly civilized language] chuunibyou phase flared up again? Speak English, will you?"
A fierce gust of wind sliced through the air. Scientificus Tyrannosaurus twisted her body, absorbing the brunt of the impact with her flank. The Carcharodontosaurus wrenched his skull, whipping his entire torso along with the motion to tear a fresh strip of flesh from her hide.
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus's external injuries were glaringly obvious; the Carcharodontosaurus's were barely visible.
The stark contrast in their hunting styles put Scientificus Tyrannosaurus at a severe disadvantage. She excelled in head-on brawls, relying on overwhelming power and a crushing bite force to shatter her opponents. The Carcharodontosaurus, however, preferred a war of attrition, aiming to wear down his prey until they were either crippled or bleeding out.
I have to change tactics.
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus's mind raced. Her eyes remained locked onto the Carcharodontosaurus as she kept herself in constant motion.
Her opponent was clearly far more battle-tested than she was. Judging by his effortless, fluid movements, he had obviously dealt with her kind before. If she kept letting him dictate the pace, defeat, or even death, was only a matter of time.
Come to think of it... when Carnotaurus was facing off against other dinosaurs before, he used to roar constantly. Maybe that would work?
"Roar—"
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus unleashed a deep, resonant roar vibrating with raw power. Beneath her deceptively stocky appearance lay rows of thick, razor-sharp teeth.
"Aunnng-roar—"
The Carcharodontosaurus's raspy, terrifying shriek cut off abruptly. Seizing the exact moment her opponent paused to return the challenge, Scientificus Tyrannosaurus lunged forward with a slight tilt of her head, clamping her jaws squarely onto his upper muzzle!
Crack...
Her colossal bite force locked into place. The faint sound of fracturing bone mingled with the Carcharodontosaurus's muffled, struggling growls.
Observe, learn, adapt.
This massive Scientificus Tyrannosaurus was considerably smarter than the rest of her species; she seemed to harbor secrets of her own. But right now, her priority was finding a way to end this fight as quickly as possible.
Though the Carcharodontosaurus couldn't feel pain, he thoroughly detested being pinned down, especially when the cracking sound coming from his snout never signaled anything good.
The two titans shifted. The Carcharodontosaurus backpedaled furiously, violently thrashing his head in an attempt to wrench his muzzle free from her maw!
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus strained to match his pace, her massive skull moving in tandem with his frantic shaking, but her grip was beginning to slip.
I can't let this drag on.
THUD.
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus slammed her feet into the green turf, spreading her legs slightly to plant her weight before driving forward with all her might.
The sudden burst of force threw the Carcharodontosaurus off balance. Capitalizing on the opening, Scientificus Tyrannosaurus yanked his pinned head hard toward herself.
Release... re-bite! Throat lock!
Because the Carcharodontosaurus had been in full retreat, he had no leverage to resist the leverage change. With just a sharp tug from his opponent, his upper body lurched forward, completely exposing his tantalizing throat!
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus didn't miss a beat, immediately transitioning into her favorite chokehold. From here, all she needed to do was apply pressure. The Carcharodontosaurus, however, had a lot more to worry about.
"Roar..."
The Carcharodontosaurus's cry was agonizingly sharp, yet no less terrifying. He deliberately threw his weight to the side, crashing onto the ground. Anticipating the move, Scientificus Tyrannosaurus pressed her weight down, pinning him flat.
Was it over? No, far from it.
From the day he was auctioned off from the Lockwood Estate, this Carcharodontosaurus had been trapped in the battle arenas of the ultra-wealthy. The sheer volume of combat he had seen during this time surpassed what most dinosaurs experienced in a lifetime.
He didn't need an adrenaline rush, a desperate death throe, or a final surge of fading strength. He only needed to follow his instincts.
TEAR...
The Carcharodontosaurus keenly sensed the unhealed wound on Scientificus Tyrannosaurus's chest. With his pain receptors surgically severed, he remained unnaturally calm in the face of death. Tumbled on his side, he didn't flail aimlessly; instead, he weaponized his sickle-like foot claws, raking them across her old injury.
Low growl...
Jolted by the flash of pain, Scientificus Tyrannosaurus wavered for a fraction of a second, but she maintained her iron grip on his throat.
The Carcharodontosaurus seized the opening to twist his torso. Blood smeared from both sides of his neck, but he couldn't care less. Assuming a prone stance, he stomped his foot onto Scientificus Tyrannosaurus's right leg, leveraging his entire body weight to force her upward.
Low growl...
Unable to withstand the mounting leverage, Scientificus Tyrannosaurus was finally forced to release her grip. The Carcharodontosaurus slammed his bulk into her to create distance, spinning around to whip his tail hard across her skull as he turned.
Fresh air rushed into the Carcharodontosaurus's lungs as he successfully regained control of his body. Having survived the ordeal, he still had no intention of retreating.
Before Scientificus Tyrannosaurus could recover her bearings, he dipped his frame, plunging his entire snout and part of his face into the lake, then violently snapped his head upward!
SPLASH—
A massive sheet of lake water sprayed directly into Scientificus Tyrannosaurus's face. Caught off guard by the incoming deluge, she instinctively blinked. The icy shock hit her face, followed immediately by an overwhelming force crashing into her side.
HEAVY CRASH...
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus was thrown completely off her feet by the Carcharodontosaurus. The tide of battle turned instantly. Now her vulnerable neck lay exposed. The Carcharodontosaurus didn't need to crush her bones; he only needed to rip her throat open, a task that, for him, was second nature.
"Aunnng!"
A deep, horse-like snort snorted through the air, accompanied by the thunderous pounding of heavy footsteps.
The Carcharodontosaurus froze mid-strike. Carnotaurus Two charged at maximum velocity with her head lowered, slamming directly into the joint connecting the predator's thigh and lower leg. The sickening sound of bone displacing echoed instantly!
Under normal circumstances, the Carcharodontosaurus's leg bones wouldn't be so fragile, but the accumulated internal injuries from months of nonstop arena combat meant he could no longer rely on his body being in peak condition.
Carnotaurus Two reeled for a moment from the concussive backlash rattling her own skull, but the Carcharodontosaurus didn't hesitate. He pivoted on the spot, clamping his jaws around Carnotaurus Two's neck!
Huh? It doesn't hurt?
Carnotaurus Two had braced herself to endure a crushing blow, only to find that the opponent's bite merely grazed her skin.
The confusion was mutual.
For the first time, the Carcharodontosaurus realized his jaws could muster no crushing power whatsoever. Limping slightly, he backed away from the Carnotaurus and the Tyrannosaur. Feeling blood leaking from his upper muzzle, the reality of the situation finally set in.
Yes. The moment Scientificus Tyrannosaurus had successfully locked onto his upper jaw earlier in the fight, he had already lost.
You could mock a T-Rex for being slow, and it wouldn't care because it couldn't catch you anyway; but if you mocked a T-Rex's bite force, it would gladly teach you your place in the food chain.
The fallen Scientificus Tyrannosaurus slowly hoisted herself up, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Carnotaurus Two as they unleashed a synchronized defiance at the Carcharodontosaurus.
"Roar—"
"Roar—"
Stepping back inch by inch, his fighting spirit utterly broken, the Carcharodontosaurus finally turned and vanished into the brush.
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus and Carnotaurus Two watched him disappear before turning to look at each other. Carnotaurus Two let out a low rumble and began walking back toward the forest.
Watching her leave, Scientificus Tyrannosaurus turned back to the lake to get a drink... and to wash out her wounds. Once she cleaned up, she could go look for food.
Low, muffled rumble...
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus looked back to see that Carnotaurus Two had returned. Dangling from his jaws was a freshly caught Simosuchus.
"Impressive. I heard that Carcharodontosaurus was the reigning champion of the underground arena, yet he gave up just like that."
"It's a Tyrannosaurus rex after all. If you want a reason, I can only tell you it's the sheer power of superior stats."
"Shouldn't we dispatch the medical team to check on them, gentlemen?"
Scientificus Tyrannosaurus trekked up the hillside, settling down at the summit. She gazed out over the sprawling vistas of the island, yet felt no desire to roar.
It felt just like old times...
A faint glimmer of nostalgia softening her expression, Scientificus Tyrannosaurus slowly lowered her massive head onto her paws, deciding to take a well-deserved nap.
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