From Balthazar’s perspective, before the light pillar had fully dissipated, a completely different atmosphere enveloped his entire body like thick, lukewarm water.
First was the sense of smell.
It was no longer the eternal, unchanging scent of death mingled with metallic corrosion atop the divine corpse.
Instead, it was replaced by an immensely complex, vibrant life force.
The moist fragrance of soil, the cloying scent of unknown tropical flowers, and the dense methane produced by the accelerated decay of vast amounts of vegetation in the high-temperature, high-humidity environment—all these smells mixed together, forming a green wave so potent it was almost suffocating, rushing into his lungs.
And beneath this complex background scent, there was also a faint, extremely subtle trace of the rich meaty aroma and musk of a large living creature—a scent that made every scale on his body tremble.
Next came the sense of touch.
The air was thick, scalding.
Every breath felt like inhaling a mouthful of warm steam.
Fine, almost invisible raindrops drifted down silently, striking his cold, hard Ferro-Dragon scales.
Instead of bringing any coolness, they instantly evaporated from the dragon body’s high temperature, rising in faint wisps of white mist.
Beneath his feet was no longer hard bone plate or rock, but soft, slippery humus.
His massive dragon claws sank deep into it, churning up black mud mixed with rotting leaves.
Finally, the dragon from the Western Fantasy world stood amidst an endless expanse of primeval jungle.
Above his head were towering giant ferns and unknown broad-leaved trees.
Their branches and leaves overlapped layer upon layer, weaving into an impenetrable green canopy.
Only a few scattered beams of sunlight struggled through the gaps, casting swaying patches of light on the moss- and giant fungus-covered forest floor.
The air echoed with the ceaseless chirping of insects and croaking of frogs, sounds that seemed from another era, along with the occasional sharp cries like the wails of giant birds in the distance.
Everything seemed so primitive, savage, brimming with unapologetic vitality.
[Jurassic World: Isla Nublar (Post-Lockdown)]
Mission Type: Hunting
Objective: Unlimited hunting.
Acquire sufficient biomass to sustain the tribe for one month (estimated: 20 tons).
Synopsis: After the International Genetics technology company’s theme park went out of control and was sealed off, this island has completely transformed into a paradise for dinosaurs.
They are walking mountains, living meat lockers.
Primary threats are the Indominus Rex and the militarily trained Velociraptor squad.
Other dinosaurs are pure beasts without higher intelligence.
[Too humid…]
As a Ferro-Dragon, Balthazar felt a layer of sticky moisture clinging to his scales, which was very uncomfortable.
This feeling was worlds apart from the dry, warm environment of the divine carcass, making it difficult for him to adapt for a moment.
However, for Balthazar’s famished appetite, this was heaven.
Every cell in his body was cheering for this rich life force.
That intense hunger, now, exploded as if doused with hot oil.
His stomach was convulsing and contracting madly, craving to fill this emptiness with vast amounts of flesh and blood.
For a moment, he almost lost control, almost charging straight into the jungle depths following the strongest meaty scent, ready to tear the first living creature he encountered to shreds.
He forced himself to take a deep breath.
His scalding exhalation blew out, violently shaking a patch of low ferns before him.
The movie Jurassic World featured quite a few top predators.
Although he was a dragon now, he was still only in his juvenile stage.
With a body length of just over five meters, he wasn’t enough to strut around in a world containing carnivorous dinosaurs over ten meters long.
Reason ultimately overpowered the dragon’s wild instincts.
He lifted his ferocious head, surveying his surroundings.
The terrain of this jungle was too complex, severely limiting his vision.
Moving on the ground was tantamount to being blind.
He must…
get to higher ground.
Once decided, Balthazar didn’t hesitate for a second.
He strode with his heavy steps toward the thickest, most massive ancient tree nearby—one that would require four or five people to encircle.
He used a more direct, more tyrannical method.
“CRACK—!”
His massive foreclaws, forged like fine steel, with the force of ten thousand jun, plunged deep into the bark as rough as rock, gouging straight into the tree trunk itself.
Amidst the teeth-grating sound of snapping wood fibers, his enormous body began ascending in a brutally unreasonable manner.
Each claw strike left five terrifying, bone-deep gashes in the massive trunk, sending showers of bark and wood splinters raining down.
This was not climbing a tree; it was more like performing a brutal and inhumane dismemberment on this ancient tree.
Soon, he broke through the dense canopy and reached the top of the jungle.
The thick, viscous clouds seemed within reach, and an endless green ocean stretched to the horizon.
A wide, turbid river snaked like a giant serpent, cutting through this primordial land.
In the distance, several volcanoes spewing black smoke loomed faintly in the mist, sketching the skyline of a savage era.
His gaze began to greedily sweep across this green ocean, searching for his target.
Soon, on an open meadow near the riverbank about two or three kilometers away, he saw a sight that made his dragon blood boil.
It was a massive dinosaur herd.
Dozens of creatures, as large as heavy trucks, were gathered there.
They possessed incredibly thick keratinous frills and three deadly horns pointing skyward, gleaming like ivory.
They were leisurely lowering their heads, using their hard beaks to graze on the low-lying plants, occasionally emitting low, muffled bellows like cattle.
Triceratops.
Those moving mountains of flesh were automatically converted into pure calories and protein in his vertically-slitted pupils, which were slightly reddened from hunger.
Deep in Balthazar’s throat, an involuntary, low guttural sound full of desire and killing intent rumbled forth.
His massive tongue extended from his maw, slowly licking his sharp fangs.
Thick saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth, burning small holes that emitted white smoke into the leaves beneath him.
[The buffet… is open.]