Chapter 576 - 223: LV999

"Alright, next, we cross the river! We’re going to a new area!"

「Dinosaur Era.」

Gazing at the LV 517 above his head, Shen Fei issued a new command without the slightest hesitation.

It all started three days ago when, after hitching a ride on a Triceratops, they discovered a beach teeming with turtle eggs and hatchlings. Thanks to that, Shen Fei’s team had moved beyond the LV 1 Newborn Stage. After three days of mindless Devouring, every member of their team had reached LV 500 or higher. As for the highest-leveled member—Xiaohong, who could fly and rapidly Devour creatures of a similar level—her level had soared to LV 800.

At the same time, after three days of Devouring, the team had also scouted most of the surrounding terrain. Originally, Shen Fei had thought the body of water that blocked the dinosaur stampede was an ocean or a lake. However, through Black Tortoise’s scouting over the past few days, they discovered it was actually a river—a massive one, dozens of kilometers wide.

By now, on their side of the river, every creature with a higher level than the team had been utterly Devoured, save for the LV 1,000 Thorns two hundred kilometers away. If they wanted to keep leveling up quickly, they needed to cross this river, get to a new map, and continue their rapid ascent.

SPLASH.

At Shen Fei’s command, Black Tortoise, its shell now over ten meters in diameter, was the first to act, kicking off with all four limbs and plunging into the water.

Currently, Black Tortoise’s level had reached LV 783. The waters of the Dinosaur Era teemed with a vast number of creatures, which provided Black Tortoise with plenty of opportunities to level up. Therefore, having made the waterways its Devouring grounds, Black Tortoise’s level was now only slightly lower than the flying Xiaohong’s. It was far higher than that of Shen Fei and Zero, leaving them in the dust.

SPLOOSH! SPLOOSH!

Seeing Black Tortoise leap into the water and surface, Shen Fei and Zero exchanged a look and, without a hint of hesitation, dove straight in as well.

SPLASH. SPLASH.

Having already mastered how to swim, Shen Fei and Zero quickly bit onto the bone spurs growing from the edge of Black Tortoise’s shell. Then, Black Tortoise adjusted its course and charged swiftly toward the other side of the massive river.

Although Black Tortoise’s body had grown to over ten meters in size, it still wasn’t strong enough to directly carry "Tyrannosaurus Shen Fei" and "Triceratops Zero," who had also grown to a similar size. However, just because it couldn’t carry them didn’t mean it couldn’t tow them. Towing the floating Shen Fei and Zero forward at high speed was still an easy task for Black Tortoise.

SPLASH-SPLASH-SPLASH.

Sensing Shen Fei and Zero were ready, Black Tortoise began to paddle its limbs furiously. Like a motorboat, it surged forward, towing Shen Fei and Zero at high speed.

WHOOSH!

Overhead, Xiaohong spread her wings—a full fifty meters wide. After a single circle, she soared straight up, preparing to keep watch for the team from the air.

"Don’t look~~~"

As Xiaohong spread her wings and spiraled upward, her underside was completely exposed to Shen Fei and Zero below. Who knows what went through her head, but as she spiraled rapidly upward, she actually shouted something incredibly bashful.

SWOOSH.

Amidst her own shouting, she vanished directly into the clouds, accompanying the team from high above.

Now, at a solid LV 800+, Xiaohong completely dominated the airspace. Faced with the Winged Dragons, who averaged only around LV 300, none dared to provoke her. None could stand in her way. In fact, just half a day earlier, Xiaohong had used her formidable power to bring a small squad of Winged Dragon underlings to heel. Now, these underlings had already been dispatched by her to the other side of the great river to gather intelligence.

"It’s pretty safe!" Zero remarked while being towed swiftly by Black Tortoise across the great river, her lower body submerged and her upper body above the surface. She remained constantly vigilant of the depths, on guard against any underwater creatures with higher levels than their own. But she soon discovered that, despite their rapid movement, they hadn’t seen a single creature. The reason was obvious: Black Tortoise had previously Devoured every single creature in this entire stretch of water in one fell swoop, regardless of their level. Unlike Xiaohong, who only selectively picked off and Devoured targets close to her own level, Black Tortoise was like a glutton swallowing dates whole—it indiscriminately slaughtered everything!

"Mhm! That’s good. Saves us the trouble," Shen Fei replied casually. As he was being towed rapidly by Black Tortoise, his mind turned to the second quest he had received.

My second quest is to Devour our way to becoming the most powerful dinosaurs in the entire Dinosaur Era. After three days of Devouring, I feel like we’re already close to completing it. I’ve realized that back when I was LV 1, the dinosaurs I encountered seemed incredibly powerful with their three-digit levels. But now that my own level has risen past LV 500, I find there simply aren’t enough high-level dinosaurs left for me to Devour. Even the most famous dinosaur of a later age—the Tyrannosaurus—only has an average level of around LV 700. Of course, the good news is we have Xiaohong, who can fly. She’s currently over LV 800, with a Flying Speed of several thousand kilometers per hour. And she also has a large group of underlings to handle scouting... This way...