Chapter 57: Goodbyes Are for Better Reunions! The Certificate of Eligibility for an Apex Predator!

Leaving the Dragon Mother's territory, Chu Xu headed straight back to the coastal region of the Western Interior Seaway.

Living independently was inevitable, and Chu Xu had already mentally prepared himself long ago. He pushed aside his lingering reluctance and a sense of reluctance, replacing them with a firm yearning for his future life.

Parting ways is only for a better reunion, and Chu Xu would definitely return to find the Dragon Mother and the others in the future.

He had not forgotten the recurring dream he often had—the nightmare of the dinosaur extinction!

In that nightmare, he was already living independently, while Longyue Liuxing was still living with the Dragon Mother.

It was on what seemed like an ordinary day when that asteroid from beyond the skies paid its visit, destroying everything in an instant!

Chu Xu could still occasionally dream of this nightmare, and the sensations within it were becoming increasingly vivid and terrifying, spurring him on to use every ounce of effort to evolve and grow stronger in order to prevent all of this.

***

Arriving at the coastal area of the Western Interior Seaway, Chu Xu designated this as his new territory.

This included not only the land but also the shallow sea known as the "Hell Aquarium," which was waiting for his conquest!

As the dry season neared its end, this lush delta plain had visibly withered considerably, and most of its resources had been largely consumed by the massive herds of migrating herbivorous dinosaurs.

Perhaps in another month or two, these herbivorous dinosaurs would once again embark on a long journey, migrating back to the mountain forests in the north.

"Moo~~"

As the main force among the herbivorous dinosaurs, the triceratops herds were not only widely distributed and enormous in number, but their appetites were also astonishing, spending nearly twenty hours a day foraging and feeding.

The amount of food consumed by a single adult triceratops in a single day reached three to four hundred kilograms, comparable to the African elephants of later eras.

Following the scent of food all the way, the triceratops herd soon arrived at the coastal area. The wetland woody plant communities growing here were still lush and verdant, very much to their liking.

Upon reaching their destination, the triceratops that had previously gathered together scattered, foraging in small groups of three to five.

This was undoubtedly the best time for predators to launch a hunt.

At this moment, Chu Xu was hiding not far away, secretly watching this massive herd of triceratops, among which were also mixed other large ceratopsians such as Torosaurus and Bravoceratops. A rough estimate put their number at over a hundred, a considerable scale.

For a Tyrannosaurus rex, whether it could independently hunt a triceratops determined whether it possessed the hunting capabilities of an apex predator.

Therefore, the first step of Chu Xu's independent life was to lock his target onto these old rivals!

Using psychic perception to scan the area, Chu Xu quickly set his sights on an exceptionally robust male triceratops.

Other predators often picked the old, weak, sick, or injured to increase their hunting success rate.

Chu Xu deliberately did the opposite, specifically targeting young and strong prey, as the latter would yield a much higher value in evolution points!

An ordinary triceratops typically had a body length of 8 to 9 meters and weighed 5 to 6 tons. Hunting such an average triceratops held no challenge for Chu Xu at all.

As for the male triceratops he had now selected, its body length exceeded 10 meters, and its weight was roughly estimated at 8 tons.

Judging purely by tonnage, the opponent was twice his size, but Chu Xu did not take this slight gap seriously at all.

Starting with this male triceratops, he would let all the herbivorous dinosaurs in this land know the might of the new generation of dinosaur tyrant!

Awaken, the hunting time has come!

"Bang!"

The next moment, Chu Xu launched his attack. His massive reptilian body moved like a spring-loaded mechanism, his sturdy hind legs shattering the ground as he charged toward the target male triceratops.

The sluggish male triceratops did not react at all, still chewing away with its head lowered on the food it had just taken into its mouth.

Meanwhile, Chu Xu had already crossed the triceratops herd like lightning, accurately locating his target. He opened his blood-red maw and clamped his jaws viciously onto the male triceratops's frill.

"Moo!!"

It wasn't until a crisp cracking sound echoed from the frill that the male triceratops belatedly realized a predator had appeared!

Suddenly attacked, the male triceratops did not panic and flee; instead, it violently swung its thick, short neck, trying to break free from Chu Xu's powerful bite.

However, Chu Xu had no intention of letting go. He bit down relentlessly on the male triceratops, refusing to release his grip until he had violently shattered its entire frill, spitting out a mouthful of bone fragments!

"Moo~~!!"

The male triceratops was filled with anger. For a triceratops, the frill was not only used to protect the neck but also served as a tool for regulating body temperature and communicating during courtship.

Once the frill was shattered, its normal life would be severely affected.

On the other side, the surrounding triceratops herd noticed Chu Xu's arrival. The adult triceratops immediately protected the young little triceratops, forming a classic circular defensive formation.

However, Chu Xu's target this time was not the baby triceratops, which had hardly any meat on them.

With a furious roar, the bad-tempered male triceratops glared fiercely at Chu Xu, thrusting its pair of thick, long brow horns in a display of intimidation before lowering its head and charging violently at Chu Xu!

Any other adult Tyrannosaurus rex would not dare to meet its charge head-on, but Chu Xu did not dodge or evade at all; instead, he met the charge directly.

Just as he approached the male triceratops, Chu Xu's powerful forelimbs shot out, his claws gripping its two brow horns, while his hind foot claws dug deep into the ground like a plow.

"Moo!!"

The charging momentum of the male triceratops was thus abruptly halted. No matter how much brute strength it exerted, it could not shake Chu Xu in the slightest.

"Roar!!"

Having merely stopped the male triceratops's charge, Chu Xu had not yet used his full strength. As the twisting power of his waist drove his pelvic bones, a thunderous sound instantly exploded among his muscles, tendons, and bones, gathering and channeling all of his body's strength into his forelimbs.

Immediately after, a sharp "crack" was heard.

The male triceratops's two brow horns snapped with a crisp sound and were casually discarded by Chu Xu.

"Moo~~!!"

Having even its proudest brow horns snapped off, the male triceratops's howl was filled with grief and indignation, but by now it had lost any means to resist Chu Xu.

Chu Xu decided to show this male triceratops what a true horn charge really was!

His forebody lowered, his entire body tensed into a horizontal straight line, and the massive horn on his snout resembled a spear or halberd. Under the enhancement of fluid armor, it grew razor-sharp and formidable. With the spring-like launch of his reptilian body, he fiercely lunged forward in a sudden thrust!

Giant Horn Impact!

"Puchi!!"

The massive horn struck dead center between the male triceratops's brows, piercing through its skin and flesh with unstoppable force, driving deep into its hardest skull bone, and finally bursting out through the top of its head, sending a spray of turbid blood and cerebrospinal fluid splashing into the air.

A direct strike to the fatal vitals!

"Moo~~!!"

The massive form of the male triceratops, which had still wanted to put up a desperate last stand, instantly stiffened. It collapsed heavily to the ground, motionless, its life force rapidly fading away.