The 1st Demon — Deviljho.
[Spade Dragon Egg (Deeply Mutated): Unknown template. Ancient reptile, deeply mutated creature, fertilized egg. HP = 40, MP = 1. Strength 1, Agility 1, Spirit 1, Charisma 1.]
[Biological Traits — Spade Fusion, Hatching (Temperature too low, activity decreasing)]
This was the attribute panel of the dragon egg Cheng Tian had moved from the nest. The attributes of the two eggs were almost identical, as if the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex had laid two twin eggs from the start. However, one of them was "born" out of thin air by Cheng Tian, using a concept-level template derivation skill.
Cheng Tian's 'Mini Kulu-Ya-Ku' skill allowed him to find a live egg in any dragon nest, including abandoned ones. This meant that even if there were already eggs in the nest, Cheng Tian could still find another one, limited to once per nest, unlike in games where one could endlessly smash and search for eggs.
Although the original effect of the skill limited Cheng Tian to holding only 1 dragon egg at a time, under the mission's bonus, Cheng Tian gained a temporary no-holding-limit buff. As long as Cheng Tian could transport them, he could take ten or eight if he wished.
Dragon eggs almost as large as Cheng Tian's own torso naturally couldn't be easily transported on foot. So, Cheng Tian chose to load the two dragon eggs separately into the cockpits of his Drill Battle Car and Iron Ox Battle Car. He also had Irene and the others collect a large pile of fresh, large green leaves to lay down beforehand as cushioning.
However, even if they could be transported by vehicle, some basic egg-transport rules still had to be followed.
For example, the car being subjected to severe external impacts, excessive route elevation changes, or the car bouncing around would all lead to the dragon eggs breaking... While this could indirectly satisfy Cheng Tian's desire to eat dragon eggs, presumably other dragon eggs wouldn't taste much different, so it was better to complete the mission first.
[A safe camp has been randomly generated. Please transport the dragon eggs to the camp and submit them.]
Just as Cheng Tian settled the two dragon eggs, a green marker suddenly appeared on the dragon beast distribution map he had acquired earlier with a fist-sized diamond. This was the location of the safe camp set by the space.
It was only about 1 kilometer in a straight line from their current location at the shallow beach Tyrannosaurus Rex nest.
However, considering the terrain elevation differences and the problem of clearing a path through the jungle, the actual travel distance would at least double.
This didn't even account for their mother, or other creatures that might interfere by preying on the eggs.
No time to lose! Hit the road immediately!
This time, the War Elephant Mammoth led the way!
For Cheng Tian and his team, the biggest problem now was not exposure, but getting the eggs to their destination as early as possible before being caught.
The 2-year-old big friend, re-released from the garage, was a bit moody, but its reason for being moody was rather peculiar.
Cheng Tian could sense that this big fellow was actually ashamed of having cowered in front of the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex, and was showing signs of being annoyed and angry out of embarrassment.
But Cheng Tian couldn't think of any words to comfort it for a while, because this was the purest bloodline and racial suppression among mutated creatures. Just like in the previous dungeon where it ate carnivorous plants and locusts as snacks, creatures like Mammoths were also on the Tyrannosaurus Rex's menu.
However, even though this 2-year-old big friend was moody, it unhesitatingly carried out Cheng Tian's command to clear the path after receiving it. Its movements were just a bit violent, clearly taking its anger out on the surrounding vegetation.
The passive influence of the Battle Car Master and Elephant Rider on the Mammoth was immediate.
Cheng Tian's open transport of the eggs inevitably attracted many wild counterparts who were interested in the eggs. Among them were "Raptors," skilled in group hunting and acting like wolf packs, and "Oviraptors," named due to a mistake by the first discoverer, and subsequently given the same habits as their name in many later works.
They were clearly drooling over the dragon eggs Cheng Tian was transporting.
Not just because of appetite, but there was a feeling of "if I eat this egg, I can level up" driving them to hunt.
Unfortunately, Cheng Tian's escort service was armed. Although the cars inevitably needed to move slowly and couldn't bounce, the Vulcan machine gun could be used as usual.
These fragile little guys, who could only win by numbers, even with varying degrees of pattern fusion traits, were never able to get within a 10-meter radius of the convoy.
But the cost was immense pressure on ammunition.
Even though Cheng Tian's ammunition reserves were indeed abundant, a considerable amount was consumed by these trash dinosaurs eyeing the eggs.
A straight-line journey of one kilometer was forcibly stretched to nearly three times its length.
"The red Tyrannosaurus Rex is only one kilometer away from us in a straight line. What are you going to do?"
Irene, who had been lying on the shell of the Drill Battle Car, maintaining her shared senses with the owl, opened her eyes and said to Cheng Tian, who was squatting on the shell of the Batmobile on the other side, with a frown.
On the way to transport the eggs, Cheng Tian had already told Irene about his reconnaissance ability and the relationship between the dragon eggs and their mother.
Normally, Irene wouldn't fear such a seemingly oppressive large creature, because as long as there was enough tall vegetation around, she could kite it to death, possibly even without taking any damage.
However, the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex's initial area-of-effect deterrence already indicated its ability to hard-control Irene at least once, and just one touch from the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex would basically be synonymous with death for Irene.
And currently, the only one in Cheng Tian's team who could confront the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex head-on was the War Elephant Mammoth, and it was clearly the type that couldn't win against it.
How could Cheng Tian bear to let his 2-year-old big baby become live bait for the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex... But looking at Cheng Tian's side, he really didn't have any means to 100% directly withstand the wrath of an enraged Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Unless he decisively abandoned the dragon eggs now, there was a possibility of escaping unscathed.
But with the safe zone just a few hundred meters away, giving up just like that clearly didn't align with Cheng Tian's personality.
Cheng Tian rubbed the Batmobile's cockpit shell with one hand, looking at the dragon egg inside somewhat lost in thought... Thump, thump, thump, thump!
This was the sound of a mutated Tyrannosaurus Rex mother's footsteps, filled with extreme rage after returning to her built nest and discovering her children had been stolen. All obstacles blocking her search for the dragon eggs were smashed and trampled.
Soon! Almost there! My children are just ahead!
Another fierce headbutt, and the thick tree trunk was directly snapped in half, and the obstructed view suddenly opened up.
The Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex's angry gaze almost instantly fixed on the Spade Dragon Egg that Cheng Tian was holding!
But the next second, the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex's rationality snapped, because the eggshell in Cheng Tian's hand had actually broken open!?
However, before the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex could make any subsequent moves, the Spade Dragon Egg that had hatched in Cheng Tian's hand rapidly inflated like a balloon, almost in the blink of an eye transforming into a colossal creature covered in mucus and obscuring the sky.
It had scarlet scales covering its entire body, and engorged muscles on its neck easily exposed its blood vessels. Overall, it looked like a giant, blood-stained loofah, especially its maw, which was filled with sharp, numerous, albeit newly grown, jagged teeth.
With strong legs and short forelimbs, this dragon beast, already exuding a ferocious, demon-like aura, let out an earth-shattering roar at its birth mother—
The Gluttonous Devil! Deviljho!