Chapter Thirteen: Battling on Enemy Turf, the Mantis Claw Strikes!

It was another day of continuous spring rain.

Raindrops fell steadily from the gray, overcast sky, while the lingering mist enveloped the entire lodgepole pine forest in a hazy veil, creating an ethereal, mirage-like atmosphere.

The weather had been poor these past few days, and so had the luck of the mother tyrannosaurus. She had failed to capture any prey, and as a result, the three young raptors were all going hungry.

Hunting failures were nothing unusual—even for a fully grown tyrannosaurus, a top predator, the odds were stacked against success, with a success rate often below thirty percent.

Naturally, Chu Xu would not sit idly by. Having learned many hunting techniques from the mother tyrannosaurus, it was time to put them to good use and help shoulder some of the hunting burden.

The mother tyrannosaurus, conserving her strength for the next hunt, had already fallen asleep, as had Longyue and Liuxing, too famished to cause any trouble.

Chu Xu, however, ventured out alone into the rain, heading toward a riverbank not far from home.

He was well aware of the dangers lurking in the Hell Creek Formation environment, so he chose a hunting ground close to home and used his spiritual perception to remain alert to any movement within a one-kilometer radius. This way, he could prepare in advance if danger approached.

His spiritual perception expanded, capturing countless signals like fledglings returning to the nest, forming a three-dimensional topographical map visible only to him.

All creatures hiding within were accounted for, clearly layered and detailed.

Due to several days of rain, the river's water level had noticeably risen and the temperature dropped. Fish had gathered near the shallow waters close to the shore to feed.

Chu Xu’s objective was clear: to catch fish.

“So many fish,” he murmured.

Through his spiritual sense, Chu Xu could clearly detect various strange-shaped ancient fish swimming in the river.

There were small, delicate round-tailed fish less than five centimeters long, ancient white sturgeons with sword-like snouts, flat-bodied freshwater shovel rays, and even a small shark under half a meter in length called the honeytooth shark, named after a game called “Little Bee.”

Carefully, Chu Xu crept to the riverbank, lowering his body, his sharp eyes tracking each fish’s movements. He extended a front claw, lightly skimming the surface to create tiny ripples that mimicked the sound of an insect falling into the water.

This method of luring fish was learned from a creature called the fishing cat in his past life. It tricks fish into thinking food has appeared, drawing them close only to fall into the fishing cat’s trap.

After waiting quietly for a moment, Chu Xu soon spotted a shovel ray over half a meter long approaching the shore.

With a flick of his mind, the invisible deterrent power formed by his tyrannical essence burst forth, causing the ray to become briefly stunned.

“Whoosh!”

In the next instant, Chu Xu struck with lightning speed. His powerful front claw thrust into the spot where the ray was, the movement so fast it happened within milliseconds.

* * *

With a splash, the water erupted as Chu Xu’s sharp claw pierced through the shovel ray, flicking it onto the riverbank.

Excellent!

His first attempt at fishing was a success!

Chu Xu beamed at the struggling ray on the shore.

With the keen sensitivity of his spiritual perception and the formidable deterrent power of his tyrannical essence, combined with claw strikes measured in milliseconds, fishing was almost effortless.

“Plop, plop!”

The briefly stunned ray regained consciousness but it was too late; it could only thrash wildly on the shore.

Chu Xu, already starving, bit down hard on the fish’s tail, snapping it in half with a powerful jaw snap, swallowing it whole.

[Notification: You have hunted a shovel ray. Evolution points +3.]

[Notification: You have consumed shovel ray meat. Evolution points +0.1.]

The familiar taste of raw fish, tender and refreshing.

One fish was not enough to satisfy his hunger, so Chu Xu moved to another spot and continued fishing in the same manner.

“Splash! Splash!”

A series of splashes echoed across the river as Chu Xu used his spiritual perception to lock onto targets. He then employed his tyrannical essence to briefly stun them before striking with his claw like a harpoon, swiftly ending the fight.

The entire fishing process was smooth and fluid, with a high success rate.

In a short time, Chu Xu caught seven or eight large fish. After filling his own belly, he saved the rest to bring back to the mother tyrannosaurus, Longyue, and Liuxing.

“This isn’t just a great place for food—it’s a treasure trove for earning evolution points,” Chu Xu remarked, pleased to have gained over twenty additional points from his haul.

Feeling good about his success, he faced one remaining challenge: how to transport so many fish back at once.

* * *

This too posed no difficulty for Chu Xu. Not far from the riverbank, water lilies bloomed, their broad leaves perfect for wrapping.

Quickly, Chu Xu jumped into the river. His hollow bone structure allowed him to float easily on the surface, while his powerful hind legs and tail acted as paddles, making swimming effortless.

“That is…”

As Chu Xu reached the lily-covered waters and prepared to gather leaves, he suddenly sensed something amiss and turned sharply toward the source.

Not far away, the water surged violently as two dark shadows darted toward him like arrows released from a bow.

They were two northern pike, each over a meter long.

The northern pike had elongated, cylindrical bodies with crocodile-like jaws, revealing two rows of sharp, pointed teeth. Their bodies were covered in hard, diamond-shaped scales. Fierce and aggressive, they attacked any fish they encountered. Unique to North America, they were freshwater giant carnivorous fish, living fossils that had survived into modern times.

These two pike clearly saw Chu Xu as prey and lunged at him with open mouths, ready to tear.

Even underwater, Chu Xu remained calm. He faced them head-on, claws sharpened and poised to strike.

“Whoosh!”

As one pike neared, Chu Xu’s claw struck swiftly. Despite the resistance of the water, the attack was so fast it was invisible to the naked eye. The friction generated heat, causing sparks to scatter in the surrounding river water.

This technique was known as the Mantis Claw Strike.

Under Chu Xu’s razor-sharp, lightning-fast claws, the pike’s hard scales proved worthless, torn as easily as paper. The fish’s body nearly split in two.

Effortlessly tossing aside the agonized pike, Chu Xu’s other claw locked onto the second attacker, breaking through the water with astonishing speed and smashing down on the fish’s head.

“Shhhk!”

Before the second pike could react, its head was brutally ripped open by Chu Xu’s claw. The blood flowing out stained the river red. The fish lost all strength and collapsed to the riverbed.

You little pests, thinking you can challenge the Dragon Lord?

Even on enemy turf, Chu Xu was unafraid, easily handling these two overconfident northern pike.

…