Since he had invested all his Evolution Points into Earth Energy, Logan's physical growth had stagnated over the past half-month, with his body length remaining just over thirteen meters.
In contrast, Zhu Peiniang seemed to be in a massive growth spurt. Gorging itself daily, its body length had already approached eight meters. Logan wasn't sure if all Zinogres grew this way or if this was an isolated case, but to him, the speed was truly extraordinary.
Take the Tyrannosaurus rex as a baseline: those large carnivorous dinosaurs gained about three hundred kilograms a year as juveniles, hit their growth peak around age ten, and didn't reach full maturity until about fifteen, eventually weighing eight to nine tons.
Yet, Zhu Peiniang was only about six months old since hatching, and its weight already exceeded six tons—growing at a staggering rate of nearly one ton per month.
Is this a unique survival mechanism? Logan wondered. Perhaps they rapidly increase their metabolism in their early stages to outgrow their vulnerable infancy, then slow down during adolescence to ensure a longer lifespan?
Unable to figure out the reason, Logan stopped dwelling on it. For now, it was a good thing.
Early in the morning, as the sun began to rise, Logan led Zhu Peiniang toward the swamp to hunt as usual. This time, Lady Luck finally smiled upon him. From a distance, he spotted a dark shadow soaring through the sky.
"Finally showed up!"
The discovery sent a jolt of excitement through him. His pace quickened instantly, turning him into a white phantom racing across the barren earth. Electrical currents stimulated his muscles, pushing his speed past the one-hundred-kilometer-per-hour mark as he chased the shadow.
The surrounding air grew moist. The yellow sand and silt vanished, replaced by clusters of low shrubs.
After a few minutes, Logan fully left the Wildspire Waste and reached the forest at its edge. Just then, the dark shadow dove from the sky, plunging into the dense canopy.
Logan skidded to a halt, trying to steady his heavy breathing. The high-intensity exertion had caused his body temperature to skyrocket. Even with his efficient respiratory system, he was reaching his limit.
Massive clouds of white steam billowed from his nostrils like scalding vapor, distorting the air with heat ripples. After several deep breaths, the rapid exchange of hot and cold air began to shed his excess body heat.
At that moment, the faint scent of blood drifted into his nostrils. It seemed the Rathian had already caught its prey.
To prevent it from flying off with its meal, Logan left Zhu Peiniang behind and crept forward. The thick pads on his paws made his footsteps nearly silent; he moved with the fluid agility of a great cat.
Leaping over low shrubs and bypassing towering ancient trees, Logan finally saw his long-sought quarry in a clearing between two broadleaf trees.
It was indeed a Rathian. Measuring fifteen meters long, her body was covered in brownish-emerald carapaces and scales that looked glossy and bright—a sign of youth, likely an adolescent. However, her powerful legs, a maw full of fangs, and a club-like tail bristling with venomous spikes all declared her lethal nature.
Currently, she was pinning down the carcass of a five-meter-long herbivore. Judging by the massive skull and developed hind legs, it was a Kestodon.
This was the perfect opportunity. Since a Rathian had stolen his "pup's" prey before, it was only fair to return the favor. As for whether it was the exact same individual? He didn't care. He'd fight first and ask questions later.
Logan lowered his body, inching forward like a stalking predator. His light footsteps went unnoticed by the feeding Rathian. Once he was within range, his muscles exploded with power. He lunged from behind a tree, slamming directly into her flank.
With high-density muscle and bone combined with thick scales, Logan's weight far exceeded that of creatures his size. At thirteen meters long, he already weighed over twenty-five tons.
When he accelerated from a near-standstill to dozens of kilometers per hour in a split second, the resulting impact force was nothing short of terrifying.
The feeding Rathian heard the noise and snapped her head up, only to have a massive white shadow slam into her side. The sound of hard carapace grinding against scales was like a deafening crack of thunder.
The Rathian felt a dull, crushing pain in her ribs. Her entire body was lifted off the ground, sent skidding backward until she slammed into a thick tree trunk. Leaves rained down as her combat instincts took over; she thrust her legs forward, kicking away her pursuing assailant.
Immediately after, the Rathian's chest puffed out, and a red glow flickered in her throat. Suddenly, she unhinged her jaw and spat. A fireball the size of a large boulder shot out, expanding rapidly as it caught the air. In the blink of an eye, it was over a meter in diameter, shrieking through the air like an artillery shell aimed straight for Logan.
Logan was prepared. He had been wary of the Rath family's signature breath attack. His powerful limbs kicked off the ground, moving his body laterally with surprising agility. The fireball whistled past him, landing in a patch of shrubs behind him.
BOOM!!!
In an instant, it was as if a high-explosive incendiary bomb had detonated. The blast shook the air. A powerful shockwave swept out like a surging tide, followed by a pillar of fire and rolling waves of heat.
The mane on Logan's body was blown upward by the pressure. Even through his thick scales, he could feel the searing heat.
The ten-meter patch of shrubs was instantly uprooted and incinerated, vanishing into an orange sea of fire. Even the ground looked as if it had been scraped by a blade, leaving only charred stems behind to prove they had ever existed.
The power is just ridiculous! Can a biological creature really produce that?
Before the echoes of the explosion died down, Logan looked up to see the Rathian charging him with her powerful legs. The distance of a dozen meters was closed in an instant. She reached him in a heartbeat, snapping her jaws viciously at Logan's neck.
At the tip of her toothy maw was a unique, beak-like structure. It didn't hinder her bite force; instead, it enhanced her ability to pierce through flesh and scale.
While Logan was confident in his hard scales, he had no desire to test what it felt like to be bitten by those jaws. He swung his developed forelimbs, striking the Rathian's head heavily. Simultaneously, he lunged forward, crashing into her "inner circle."
For a Rathian, biting was only a basic attack. Her true killing moves were her powerful wing slams and her venomous, clubbed tail.
However, in this zero-distance grappling match, her wings and tail were too close to be used effectively. And with only her mouth, how could she compete with Logan's two flexible, versatile front claws?
His twenty-centimeter-long claws, shaped like oversized karambits, rained down like a frantic storm, raking against the Rathian's carapace. Accompanied by the ear-piercing screech of grinding armor, bloody gashes quickly began to appear.
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