Chapter 117: Caught a ship

Even though it was still the middle of the night, anyone who looked out over the sea would have noticed that ships were frequently passing by. The lights that the boats emitted were easy to recognize. Although Flagrand City wasn't a port city it was still located on the sea, so ship traffic was common. Even with the technology at their disposal, humans preferred to sail near the coasts, where there was less chance of encountering monsters such as megalodons or mosasaurs. Therefore any city that overlooked the sea, regardless of whether it was a port or not, could admire the passing ships not even five hundred meters from the coast. The ships of that world, too, were quite huge. On Earth, a container ship reached just sixty meters, but on Eden the standard dimensions were one hundred meters. This is to make the ship more difficult for sea monsters to sink. One might think that marine reptiles and prehistoric fish were just oversized versions of current life forms, and that they would therefore ignore ships as their counterparts do today. Nothing could be more false. To give a simple example, the bite of a megalodon could shatter a car as if it were butter. Which meant that if a megalodon mistook a ship for prey it would easily open a gash in its hull. The best way to scare predators was with size. They would hardly have dared to attack a freighter over a hundred meters long. Furthermore, those creatures didn't live near the coasts but in the open sea, so the ships could avoid them by moving there. Sobek had learned this through the sacred power of the Internet. Information was truly the key to winning all wars. With just a few clicks he had been able to discover the routes of all the nearby ships. The reason he was looking for a ship was very simple: the distance that separated him and his followers from Maakanar was over 20,000 kilometers. The best way to get to the mainland was by ship, or it would take ages to walk. Furthermore, no human would ever suspect that he would steal a ship. Taking advantage of the darkness he had slowly approached his target. It was a freighter about 100 meters long, large enough to carry all the dinosaurs. Moreover, from the information he had obtained, he knew that it was carrying vegetables, with which he could feed the herbivorous dinosaurs. As for the carnivores, however, he would have caught something himself. Earth's merchant ships, 'just' sixty meters long, could carry up to 220,000 tons of cargo. This probably could carry over 300,000, more than enough to feed the dinosaurs on the journey. However, he couldn't assault the freighter alone. While he would have been easy against the humans, they would have alerted the coast guard. He had to perform a more refined attack than mere brute force. And for that he needed help. On his back, clinging to his skin and also concealed by [Ambush], were at least thirty carnivorous dinosaurs of the dromaeosaurus family. There were utahraptors, deinonichus, velociraptors, dromeosaurs... all small but lethal carnivores. They would be the sword that fell upon unsuspecting sailors. The ship was moving at 30 km/h, but Sobek could swim ten times faster thanks to [Swim speed]. He could then safely raise his head and use it as a bridge to get the raptors onto the freighter as if it were stationary. Once aboard, the dromaeosaurus dispersed. Sobek had taught them very well what to do. If the technology of that world had been even matched by the 1990s, then it would have been enough to eliminate the captain and take control of the cockpit to avert any attempt to alert the authorities. But with the advent of cell phones, things had changed: anyone could call for help. It was therefore necessary to be much more cautious and quick. There were hundreds of people on the freighter, so the dromaeosaurus were in large minority. But these people were scattered throughout the ship, and many of them slept. If they had played their cards right, everyone would have died without noticing anything. First they had to eliminate the officers. It wasn't strange for ordinary sailors not to receive communications even for hours. But the officers kept in constant contact and would quickly realize if any of them were missing. Protected by [Ambush], the raptors locate the captain, boatswain, second in command, and so on. They waited until they were alone, then cut their throats. The dromaeosaurus' claws, no matter what species they were, were enough powerful to rip a human's jugular apart in an instant. All the officers fell to the ground and died without knowing what hit them. The second target was the people closest to the officers, the ones who expected a communication every half hour or so. They were more numerous, but unlike the officers they did not keep in contact with each other. The dromaeosaurus had plenty of time to kill them one by one. Then there were the common sailors who were awake at that time. They were the easiest prey, since the dromaeosaurus only had to track them down and take them out without having to stall. Finally, only those hundreds of people who were currently sleeping in their cabins waiting for their shift were missing. It was like stealing candy from a child. Within half an hour, no living humans were left on the ship. After making sure they hadn't forgotten anyone, the raptors nodded to Sobek, who quickly returned to the sewer entrance. Under his command, the dinosaurs jumped into the water and started swimming. The good part of the night was that there was no risk of being seen by satellites or bystanders. And with [Swim speed] even slow ankylosaurs could swim at 100 km/h. Once next to the freighter Sobek he grabbed each of them and made them go up. With his current strength he had no problem lifting dinosaurs weighing several tons. When they were all aboard, Sobek knew that most was done. A dakotaraptor came shortly after to confirm that they understood how to use the rudder. Sobek didn't care that dinosaurs could drive a ship. After all, the ship had already left and did not need it to stop. Also, the engine room with the current technology needed assistance just for safety: for a couple of weeks it would hold up perfectly on its own. All the dinosaurs had to do was turn the wheel to steer the craft. Sobek pulled one of his cell phones out of [Inventory] and showed them how to use GPS. All they had to do was steer the ship so that the navigator's arrow went towards Maakanar. It was a pretty simple job and the smartest dinosaurs like dromaeosaurus had no problem doing it. Sobek decided that he would explain to them how to recharge the battery in the next few days, or the navigator would run out quickly. Once the navigation problem was solved, he ordered all the dinosaurs to go below deck. The reason was simple: there they were in no danger of being discovered by satellites if by chance they forgot to use [Ambush]. Besides, there was a very luscious surprise there for them. Their reaction was not a surprise. After a few surprised bellowing from below, the ankylosaurus named Old Li ran out followed by several other herbivorous dinosaurs and even some carnivores. "Pack leader!" he exclaimed in a trembling voice. "It's full of food over there! There are crates and bags full of vegetables, fruit, refined grain! And they are all very well preserved!" Even though Sobek had stated that he had a plan, none of the dinosaurs expected to find a gold mine right away. "I'm aware of that" he replied. "All that food is yours. But remember, you will only have to eat as much as you need to fill yourself up. Don't overdo it unless I agree" In reality, he might as well have let them celebrate day and night: a medium-sized herbivorous dinosaur ate more than 150 kilos of food a day, but if Sobek wasn't wrong, the freighter was carrying at least 200,000 tons. However, it was always better to play it safe: he didn't want to be wrong and find himself in the middle of the ocean with nothing to eat. With his current speed of 300 km/h, Sobek could have returned to Maakanar in just over five and a half days. But since the freighter could not exceed 30 km/h, it would have taken at least three weeks to complete the journey. Sobek wasn't a champion at math: even though he was pretty sure the food was more than enough, he didn't want to risk it. The important thing was that the dinosaurs were healthy. After all, he certainly didn't want to have an army of fatties! "Of course, pack leader. We'll be careful!" Old Li promised and with him all the other herbivorous dinosaurs. Their attitude towards Sobek had completely changed: now they looked at him with adoring eyes. After all, the best way to conquer an animal is with food. A little hesitant, Al stepped forward from the crowd. "And us carnivores, pack leader? There is no meat" he pointed out. Sobek shook his head. "I'll take care of that. You just hide in the hold and steer the ship in the right direction. When I get back, I'll hit the hull three times. Remember: no one must leave without having activated [Ambush]!" And having said this, his body sank and disappeared in the waves.