Another week had passed, and more than half of the journey had been completed. By now there was only another week left for arrival. Once on Maakanar it would be easy to return to the place where Sobek had recently dwelt.

The spinosaurus couldn't wait to see its lake again. Who knows how Buck was doing? Probably well given the skillshe had left him. In a way, they hadn't been apart for too long: Sobek didn't expect to be back in little more than two months.

Anyway, now Sobek had to focus on the dinosaurs he had to deal with. He had a new task: to retrieve another prey for them.

Unfortunately, the whale had lasted less than he expected. Although in terms of meat it was enough to satiate the dinosaurs for months, unfortunately the brackish air soon made it rot. Such a large decaying carcass inevitably attracted thousands of bacteria and microorganisms, so in the end the dinosaurs were forced to dispose of it in order to avoid disease. Even Sobek hadn't dared to eat what was left of the whale, even though with [Rapid digestion] he was safe from pathogenic organisms; so in the end they had simply thrown it into the sea.

Fortunately, the ocean was full of fishes. And even bigger animals.

[Prey identified: Livyathan melvillei, physeteroidea. Experience: 300,000 points]

Livyathan melvillei was a prehistoric whale related to sperm whales; adult specimens could reach a length of almost 18 meters. They were thought to have habits similar to killer whales, and in fact Sobek found a whole herd of at least a dozen orcas.

Livyathan whales, as he remembered, were some of the megalodon's historical prey. It could almost be said that the two super predators were competitors: both were very inclined to eat the opponent.

Sobek was intent on bringing one of the whales to the dinosaurs, but he wanted to wait a bit to see if the giant ocean shark would also make an appearance.

As he had expected, very soon there was a shadow. However, it was not the massive and shark-like figure of the megalodon that attacked, but a long-limbed, serpentine creature with a rectiliform appearance.

[Prey identified: Mosasaurus hoffmannii, mosasauridae. Experience: 250,000 points]

Sobek's eyes widened at the sight. The mosasaurus was probably the largest marine reptile ever to exist, perhaps surpassed only by a few giant ichthyosaurs. It was at the top of the food chain of its time!

The mosasaurus pounced on the nearest whale and violently tore off one of its fins. The livyathan groaned and called its companions back. The whales hurried to intervene, but the mosasaurus had already retired and it had the advantage over them by now.

Sobek knew that even if the reptile hadn't killed the livyathan, the mosasaurus had already won. Very soon, in fact, the whale began to sink, completely at the mercy of the current. And like all cetaceans, the livyathan also needed to breathe. The other whales tried in vain to help their companion: after almost an hour of agony, the giant suffocated completely.

The other whales remained around it for a while, then they gave up and went away. At that point the mosasaurus, who had remained nearby, returned to claim its meal.

Too bad it hadn't foreseen the presence of a second predator, one much more lethal than itself. Within seconds Sobek was on top of the reptile and snapped its neck.

He dragged the carcass to the surface and devoured it. Since it was an apex predator of the oceans, the mosasaurus granted him 10 skill points. By now he already had 140. Not only that: he was finally able to level up again.

After the usual ten seconds of suffering, he had reached 32 meters in length and 10.2 meters in height. The goal of overcoming the argentinosaurus was getting closer and closer.

Once the mosasaurus was consumed, Sobek dived again and went to fetch the carcass of the livyathan. In the few minutes in which he had gone, many marine animals had come to consume the body: several ichthyosaurs, fish and cephalopods swam around the whale, tearing pieces of meat from it, but obviously, when Sobek arrived, they quickly fled.

Sobek dragged the carcass to the ship and then tapped the hull three times. Then, just as he had done with the blue whale, he tore the livyathan apart and threw the parts onto the deck, where they were recovered by the dinosaurs and hidden in the hold.

And so he had solved the food problem once and for all. This time the whale would have been enough: there was only a week left to arrive.

Unfortunately, a new problem was lurking, and it was brought to his attention that same afternoon. As usual, he had brought a prey, a helicoprion, to feed his bird allies, but after they were fed they made him participate in a hitch.

"We can't go any further" the one who presumably was their spokesperson said. It was an argentavis magnificens, the largest bird that ever existed, with a wingspan of almost seven meters. Sobek remembered that he had called him Scuttle. "We are too far from the coast and fewer and fewer ships are approaching this stretch of sea. We no longer have a place to rest"

Sobek had taken that possibility into account from the beginning: unlike him, birds needed to sleep periodically. It was essential for their survival. And in the open sea there weren't many places to rest.

Up to that moment the birds had gotten away with using the passing ships as a landing point, but now fewer and fewer boats were on the way. Sobek had no way of verifying this, not being able to open the Internet underwater, but he was pretty sure that the humans had understood the hint and cleared his way.

"Okay, I understand. You can go back" he said. After all, if the humans had decided to let him go, he no longer needed lookouts. "However, as I promised you, I still have one last gift for you"

Sobek accessed the [Contract] he had with all the birds and gave them the [Ambush] ability. "Now you can hunt any prey without being seen"

Some fool might have thought that abilities like [Deadly claws] or [Powerful bite] were the best an animal could wish for, but that was wrong. What an animal, especially predators, wanted more than anything else was to be invisible. It was no coincidence that even large predators such as tigers had colors that helped them blend in. You can be as strong as you want, but if the prey sees you, you have no way of catching it.

Therefore the birds were delighted to have received [Ambush]. As soon as they figured out how it worked, they showered Sobek with praise. "There is no need to thank me" he said, and then pointed out: "Remember though, this power will be yours only as long as you are part of my pack. Now you will return to the continent, but you will still have to remain faithful to me. If one day you'll deny me your help or you'll break my rules, this power will vanish forever"

"Absolutely! Could we ever disobey you?" Scuttle replied reverently. Like all wild animals, birds respected strength and power. Sobek was the strongest, so that automatically made him their leader. But Sobek aimed at a deeper, more intimate fidelity: for this he gave them the skills. Seeing their life facilitated by this mysterious new lord, the birds were more than happy to remain loyal to him even if he wasn't there.

"The rules are simple. You must not attack other members of the pack and, above all, you must stay away from humans. Especially, never use the power that I gave to you in front of humans. I don't want them to know. Even if one day my powers will improve and you gain the ability to speak human language, don't interact with them in any way" the spinosaurus specified. He had added that last specification because he imagined that [Linguistics] would improve with his next evolution or with the next ones, but he didn't know how. It was better therefore to prepare and forbid to his subordinates who would have found themselves too far from him to receive his orders when the time would come from interacting with human beings.

"Of course. We wouldn't do it under any circumstances". Even the birds, in their simplicity, were aware that humans had a dangerous interest in strange or fascinating creatures. All birds, for example, knew the sad fate of eagles and falcons, which due to their elegance had been captured and forced to play clowns in flying shows. For all of them, attracting the attention of humans was a taboo.

It wasn't just the birds, of course. Any animal that had ever had contact with humans knew it was best to not tease them. On the two continents where humans reigned for generations, every living creature knew that there was no need to attract the attention of those dangerous two-legged primates. It was no coincidence that man was the only being everyone was afraid of, and even bears fled at the sound of people's voices.

"I'm glad you understand. Anyway, before you leave, I have one last task for you" Sobek said. "When you return to the continent, I want you to expand the size of our pack… or flock, whichever you prefer to call it. Spread the word that every bird that comes in to make it seems will not only receive the ability to talk to other birds not of its own species, but will also have the best camouflage that ever existed thanks to which it will no longer go hungry. The same will also be true for dinosaurs. As long as they join the pack and abide by my rules, they can have these gifts. They will have only one task: they will have to train themselves to observe humans without being discovered and to memorize their every movement, even the smallest and most insignificant details"

Animals, unlike humans, didn't take much to buy. Their brains had only one thought in mind: how to survive. If someone offered an animal a means to survive more easily, then the heart and soul of that animal would forever belong to that person. This is why many species had been so easily tamed. Dogs, cats, parrots, chickens, horses, pigs: faced with the prospect of an easier life, they were happy to give up that little bit of extra freedom and showed their masters an unparalleled love.

As a result, Sobek was certain that as soon as Laurentia's and Saramir's birds and dinosaurs knew that by joining his flock they would have a better life, they would rush to join. Also, Sobek didn't ask for much, so it was a win-win deal for them. Many birds, such as pigeons, crows and magpies, lived in close contact with humans. For them, the lifestyle would not have changed much.

In reality, however, by doing so they would have unknowingly become his network of spies! With such action, Sobek had just created an intelligence force. And anyone who knew anything about wars knew that the intelligence could mark victory in many battles.

Nobody suspected canaries or pigeons. They were the perfect spies!

"When the time comes, I'll send someone to contact you. The watchword will be 'Dinosaurs together strong'. My messenger will tell you what to do; until then, just survive and train yourself to spy the humans" Sobek explained to them.

"All right. We will look forward to your emissary, pack leader" Scuttle said, finding the approval of all the other birds.

The birds quickly finished eating the carcass and then flew west to return to their original continent. As he watched them disappear over the horizon, Sobek grinned knowing he had laid the foundation for another milestone in the success of his future war against humans. "Goodbye birds! We will see again very soon"