Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 105: Apex Predator: Mangrove Tyrant

Mud and vines slid aside as something enormous rose from beneath the dark water. Aren literally felt his heart beating in his chest, eyes widening as he recognized the beast.

That’s—that’s the Mangrove Tyrant! How the hell is it—?!

The head that emerged was larger than Marcus’ entire torso, armored green scales overlapping like jagged plates of armor. It crawled slowly on all fours before making its way to their direction.

Aren barely breathed as the monster lumbered forward. Every step made the swamp floor tremble.

The beast’s massive head passed within a few meters of the group’s hiding place, its golden eyes reflecting faintly against the wet mangrove bark.

Aren slowly pulled the thin layer of water around his body, the shimmering veil of Aqua Veil bending the light around him just enough to blur his outline.

Beside him, the others had already vanished beneath Professor Sterling’s web of camouflage threads, the delicate strands made the whole thing look a part of the roots.

The Tyrant paused as its massive nostrils flared once. Aren’s heart nearly stopped.

For a long moment, the golden eyes stared into the mangrove trees...then the beast continued moving forward.

It dragged itself toward the edge of the swamp lake, enormous body curling slightly as it settled against the muddy bank. With a heavy exhale, the beast lowered its armored head onto the ground.

The swamp fell silent again and the Mangrove Tyrant closed its eyes, drifting to sleep.

The only sound in the clearing was the slow, rumbling breath of the Mangrove Tyrant as it slept beside the swamp lake. Aren carefully lowered his Aqua Veil just enough to whisper.

"...Ideas?"

Daniel leaned slightly closer, keeping his voice barely above the sound of the swamp.

"We don’t actually have to go near it," he murmured. "Emily can fly us over."

"Me?" Emily said, pointing a finger at herself.

Daniel nodded. "Just carry us straight to the plane. Grab what we can from the wreckage and get out before it notices."

For a brief moment, the idea didn’t sound terrible. The plane was only a short distance away, half-sunken in the swamp lake.

If they could avoid swimming across the territory...

Sterling slowly shook her head.

"Too dangerous."

Daniel frowned. "Why?"

The professor’s gaze never left the enormous crocodilian body resting beside the lake.

"Ruler-class beasts are extremely sensitive to ether," she whispered. "The moment Emily uses her Manifestation to summon enough dragonflies to carry us... the Tyrant will feel it."

Sterling continued quietly.

"Just the amount of ether we used earlier nearly woke it up."

Aren immediately understood what she meant.

Even the small bursts of power during the Razorfly chase had caused the Tyrant to stir beneath the water.

Sterling glanced briefly at Iris, Daniel, Marcus, and finally, Aren. "That means Morphing is out too."

The group continued whispering plans around Aren, but he wasn’t really hearing any of it.

The Mangrove Tyrant...it all made sense now.

The reason why he never recognized this place was because it was never called the ’Mangroves’ in the future.

It had been completely replaced by a new region that every Mystic knew about...called the Radiated Swamp.

He remembered the stories clearly.

Years from now, a hunting expedition had come here searching for rare materials. The Mangrove Tyrant had been their target. An Ascendant-grade Mystic had joined the expedition, hoping to use the Tyrant’s core to break through his bottleneck.

Even surrounded by elite hunters, the Tyrant had refused to die quietly. The battle had turned into a massacre, the creature tearing through the expedition and killing the Ascendant himself.

Desperation had taken over in the end. With his final breath, the dying Mystic unleashed everything he had left. The explosion of poison ether had spread across the entire swamp, giving it the name.

So this is it...the Tyrant is still alive and ruling this territory now.

But Aren’s mind continued turning. Because if the stories were right...Then this place didn’t just have one ruler.

The group continued whispering possible plans, each one sounding more desperate than the last.

"We could try reaching the plane from the far side," Daniel murmured.

Marcus shook his head slowly. "Not without stepping into the water."

"Maybe if we distract it first—"

"That would wake it up," Sterling cut in quietly.

Every plan ran into the same problem.

The Mangrove Tyrant.

Aren’s eyes drifted back toward the enormous crocodilian body resting beside the lake. Then he spoke.

"...What if we don’t fight it?"

The others turned toward him.

Daniel frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What if we make something else fight it?" Aren said, keeping his voice low.

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Sterling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"...You want to provoke another predator."

Aren nodded.

"This place is too dangerous to have just one apex beast."

His gaze flicked briefly toward the mangrove forest surrounding the lake. "If the Tyrant dominates the water, then something else should be ruling the forest."

Marcus blinked.

"You mean... another Ruler-class?"

"It doesn’t have to be stronger," Aren replied quietly. "Just dangerous enough that the Tyrant can’t ignore it."

Emily looked between them. "And if they fight...?"

"We take what we need from the plane and leave," Aren finished.

The group fell silent again. Sterling studied him for several long seconds before slowly nodding.

"...It might work."

But her gaze didn’t leave him. "How do you know there’s another apex predator here?"

Aren blinked once before shrugging, deciding to play it dumb.

"I don’t."

He gestured subtly toward the silent mangrove forest. "But this place is too hostile for only one ruler."

The professor watched him a moment longer before finally looking away. "...Fair assumption."

Aren exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding. But he could tell she wasn’t entirely convinced.

Finally, the professor gave a small nod.

"...It’s risky," she whispered. "But it might be our best option."

Her gaze moved toward the darker wall of mangrove trees on the far side of the clearing, the part that looked more like a forest and less of a swamp.

She glanced once more at the enormous crocodilian body resting beside the water. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"We don’t wake that thing up."

Everyone nodded, and one by one, they slipped along the edge of the clearing...

Toward the only other natural predator that Aren knew would be inside those thick mangrove trees.

The Emerald Constrictor.