Chapter 140: Armor

The quetzalcoatlus, whom Sobek had chosen to name Apache in honor of the famous American military helicopter, maintained his word. From the first day of his departure countless pterosaurs began to arrive at the lake. Sobek had sent Apache to recruit mostly giant-sized flying reptiles, but the quetzalcoatlus hadn't disdained recruiting all the other pterosaurs it encountered as well. So every day Sobek saw pteranodon, dimorphodon, tropeognathus, ornitocheirus, tapejara, aerotitan, batrachognathus, anurognathus and countless other species arriving. And with so many pterosaurs came even more dinosaurs: by now Sobek could count more than thirty thousand creatures under him. The rate at which the herd increased in size accelerated every day, and Sobek couldn't help but be pleased with that. As for the giant flying reptiles, Sobek had to wait a while for that. However, some of them soon made their appearance. The first to arrive was an Arambourgiania, about three days after Apache's departure. After another two days it was the turn of a Eurazhdarcho couple. And some hatzegopteryx arrived at the turn of the week. Sobek also sent them to recruit flying reptiles. That way the search would have been faster. However, he did not send them all: he wanted at least one of the hatzegopteryx to remain with the pack. He was sure that having one of those giants always on hand was a good move. In short, in just one week the herd was filled with pterosaurs of all kinds, and the number was constantly increasing. And the dinosaurs under his command were increasingly numerous thanks to the recruiting action carried out by Carnopo and Al. Sobek was sure that, once Apache had completed the task he had entrusted to him, the speed with which the herd grew would increase so much that the number of dinosaurs under his control would reach hundreds of thousands in a few months, if not millions. Buck was also doing his part: the group he trained was becoming more and more efficient. Given the results, Sobek had increased the number of dinosaurs in the assault troop, from just two hundred to over a thousand. Sobek was sure that when it came for them the time to learn about weapons, that troop would be ready for that. Continuing at this rate, Sobek was confident that he could have a well-equipped and well-trained army of millions of troops in a matter of months, more than enough to counter human armies. At that point he could have started planning a large-scale attack against the humans. Sobek was pleased with how events were progressing, but there was still something to be done. And that something was about the [Armor system]. Not only would the armor massively increase the pack's defensive potential, but Sobek was sure that by completing all of the [Armor system] he would get a [Personal armor] or something like that, as had happened with the [Weapon system]. However, he couldn't create them because he lacked the 'starting material'. Unlike the [Weapons system], which was based on human weapons (rifles, machine guns, missiles, etc.), the [Armor system] was based on dinosaur-sized objects. There were armor for tyrannosaurids, ceratopsids, stegosaurids and so on. The problem was that he could hardly find certain things in a human city. Come on, what madman would have started building an armor for a triceratops? Ok that there was a lot of strange people in the world, but... So if he wanted to unlock the [Armor system], he needed to find someone who was willing to make armor for him. And dinosaurs weren't an option, because they didn't know how to mine or work metal. Armor was of the utmost importance for fighting against humans. Sobek wanted him to have them when the time came. With them, at least for the first time, victory would have been assured. Sobek was counting on the fact that an armor, combined with [Reinforced skin], would at least be sufficient to allow him to survive against missiles and tanks. In a world that still didn't know napalm, thermobaric missiles or the atomic bomb, this would have guaranteed victory for the dinosaurs. Of course, provided that their number was sufficient. Unfortunately, there was a difference between winning and repelling the enemy. Sobek knew that humans could take refuge in impenetrable fortresses. So even if he could have defeated them, he would not have been able to conquer the whole world in a single shot. Humans could very well have retreated and then returned until they were exhausted. Or they could have hidden in super-equipped bunkers designed to withstand the most violent stresses, and there they could have studied and built new, much more powerful and destructive weapons. Regardless of all the powers the System gave him, Sobek knew the war was going to be very, very hard. It would have been a struggle for survival in which both sides would have an equal chance of winning and losing. The presence of the armor, however, would have tipped the scales in favor of the dinosaurs. So when [Linguistics (2)] finally reached level 5/5 and Sobek unlocked the ability to talk to humans, he decided it was time to act. He then summoned Carnopo, Buck, Al, Rambo and Old Li to explain his plan to them. When the five dinosaurs learned of the armor they were amazed. Even if they didn't know what armor was, they could figure out how it worked. After all, they had plenty of armored dinosaurs they could use as an example, including Old Li himself. Even though theirs was natural armor, it worked just the same. So when Sobek explained them that he could create armor, they were more then happy. Such protection, combined with weapons, would have greatly increased their war potential! Unfortunately it remained the question of how to get them. And Sobek knew that there were just one solution for that problem. "We have no choice" the spinosaurus said. "We need the help of the humans. Only they can forge an armor, and only by seeing an armor can I understand how it work and replicate it with my powers" "Humans will never help us" Al muttered. "We want to use those armor to destroy them!" "It is not sure" Old Li calmed him. "Humans are somewhat fickle creatures. We can convince them somehow, offer them something in return. And I'm sure that if our brave leader has come up with such a thing, he sure has a plan" Old Li's wisdom could be seen in such moments: even when everyone was against the original plan, he was able to calm people down and suggest solutions. It was exactly what any good advisor should have done. Sobek had made the right choice by giving him that title. "Old Li is right. I have an idea. To create armor we will ask for help to the ones who live on the hill north of the lake" Obviously, Sobek was referring to the Neanderthals. That primitive people were perfect for the purpose. They already knew how to work metals and being so ancient they were satisfied with little rewards: for them going to bed with a full stomach was already a reward. On Earth, until the end of World War II, most of the population was still suffering from hunger. Only later technology allowed the creation of large farms and cultivated fields of thousands of hectares. Of course, the technology... obviously added to a lot of slave labor by the people who lived in the poorest areas like Asia, Africa and South America. On Earth, global welfare was just an illusion: the ease that the rich countries had gained was achieved at the expense of countless poorer nations. That rule also applied to Eden: very few nations were really doing well. Most countries weren't that rich. But Sobek had no intention of turning to them: after all, they were still beyond his bargaining power. He didn't have the ability to corrupt an entire nation and even if he had addressed individual people, someone would have noticed that something was wrong. Furthermore, in the age of communications, it was impossible to come into contact with civilized human beings without the whole world knowing about it. But the Neanderthals, who weren't so civilized, would have give him everything he wanted just to own one of his feeders that would provide them with endless food. Not to mention that they saw him as a deity. This initially unforeseen event would have greatly facilitated bargaining. Sobek had inquired in the previous days. Through the Internet he had traced the research of Sarah Hardy and Nick Hutter, in which there were some notes concerning the Neanderthal society. Through them he then found other articles by other scholars, many of them anthropologists. By now he had a clear idea of how their politics, religion and culture worked. With this knowledge Sobek was convinced that he could get what he wanted from the Neanderthals. Knowledge is power, after all. After hearing his words, Carnopo had calmed down. "Is an excellent idea. They aren't like the others" he said, since he remembered when Sobek showed him the Neanderthal city and got a good impression of them. "Yes, they are not bad. But how will we convince them?" Buck asked. He too knew Neanderthals, having lived around for years, though he never paid too much attention to them, not finding them interesting preys, but he had no idea how to communicate or negotiate with them. "I have an idea about it" Sobek explained. "Listen to me..."