I'm a spinosaurus with a System to raise a dinosaur army

Sobek had become suspicious that he hadn’t received any news from Snock for weeks. Not that this hadn’t happened before: it was normal for the giganotosaurus to be absent for days to be able to assess the territory well and plan an attack. However, it was the first time it had disappeared for weeks. Sobek had started to worry, but for one reason or another he always ended up forgetting about it. At least until one of the human ships arrived carrying him and his team along with a good number of injured dinosaurs.

Sobek was surprised, but decided he would have investigated later. As usual, he paid the agreed price, freed some humans, and then he led the newcomers to the pack, where he subjected them to [Regeneration].

When the dinosaurs felt their body parts grow back they burst into cheers. Sobek had seen that show before, but it was always nice to see them so happy. The dinosaurs felt their lost body parts in wonder, not believing what they were seeing. In particular, he noticed a huge therizinosaurus constantly brushing his eyes and blinking, not believing he could see again.

At that point, Sobek asked Snock for an explanation. "Sir, it was my fault" the giganotosaurus replied. "I didn’t plan our escape properly"

Snock told him everything. He explained to him how they had initially calculated how things should go, but then everything had gone wrong because of a fire unleashed without warning by the humans. Snock admitted, with a hint of bitterness, that he had been forced to ask humans for help, putting himself and everyone else at risk, and that even some had nearly died.

When he had finished the tale, Snock expected to receive the wrath of his lord. However, Sobek saw it very differently. He was silent for a few moments, then murmured in a muffled voice: "I made a terrible mistake"

Snock was caught off guard: he certainly did not expect that reaction. But even more surprising was what Sobek did after him: he bowed his head towards him, a gesture that normally no pack leader would have dared to make. “You aren’t to blame, Snock. You did everything you could and you did it beautifully. I’m the one who has to apologize"

“Pack lea... sir, please don’t bow your head. You don’t have to..."

"Yes, I have to" Sobek stopped him. “Because I am the one who made a stupid mistake"

Sobek had no intention of running away from his responsibilities. He didn’t want to be like many human politicians, always ready to blame someone else to save face and their career. No, he wanted to be someone who admitted his faults when he knew they were true. And in that case it wasn’t Snock, but Sobek the one who did everything wrong. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Sobek had sinned with pride and vanity. He had agreed with Snock with a simple plan: the giganotosaurus would think of everything, while he would just sign the [Contracts] when they appeared and hand over certain skills to the new dinosaurs. However, he had always wanted to deliver only and exclusively offensive skills.

But he never wanted to deliver life-saving abilities like [Regeneration] in advance. Not because he hadn’t thought of it, but because he wanted to be the one to heal the dinosaurs himself once they arrived in his territory.

In any part of human history, the editors were noble and respected people; since they actually controlled the miracle of life, they were considered real messiahs. And just as a human being would always be grateful to a doctor for saving his life, dinosaurs would always be grateful to the one who gave them back healthy and strong bodies like the ones they had before being mistreated by humans. In their eyes, Sobek would not only have been a pack leader but also a savior. This would have helped form an even stronger bond between them and him, further strengthening the social structure of the pack.

But Sobek hadn’t taken into account the implications this decision might have. He had never taken into account that Snock could find himself in a situation in which he would be forced to stall, therefore not being able to return to him. If it weren’t for the charity of humans and Snock’s decision to be helped, some dinosaurs could have died. And the fault would only be Sobek’s vainglory.

And not only that: he had also sinned of negligence. She had given the mission completely to Snock and then ignored him. He should have been much more careful. Once he received the new [Contracts], he could get in touch with the giganotosaurus using his soul sharing ability, or at least check what was happening once every two or three hours. If he had done that, he would have noticed immediately what was happening and he could have helped the new dinosaurs. Instead he had left Snock alone to handle a situation for which the giganotosaurus had not in the least prepared.

If there was anyone to blame, it was Sobek himself. He had been arrogant, foolish, blind and short-sighted, and that could have cost lives.

“You don’t have to blame yourself, Snock. You handled things beautifully. I’m the one who didn’t factor in too many variables” he said. “Our recent and continuous victories have made me too proud. I deluded myself that I could let my guard down, because none of my plans could go wrong. I should have been more careful, foresee possible disastrous scenarios, check the situation more frequently... I should have done a lot of things"

“But, sir... you don’t have to take the blame. I’m the one who did it wrong” Snock exclaimed. “All of this happened because of my mistake in judgment. I have not calculated the possibility that..."

"Because you couldn’t calculate it" Sobek interrupted again. "Do you know what is the most dangerous characteristic of humans?"

The giganotosaurus was taken aback by the question. The most dangerous feature of humans? What could it be? From his point of view, humans were dangerous for multiple reasons. Their strength? No, that was only from the weapons. Their strategic capacity? No, many predators were much more skilled than them. Their cruelty? No, even that didn’t meet the requirements. "Their intelligence?" he tried to answer, since that seemed to him the only thing that humans had more than other living creatures.

Sobek shook his head. “No, Snock. The most dangerous feature of humans is their absolute unpredictability"

The giganotosaurus rolled his eyes. "Unpredictability?"

“Yes, Snock. Humans are unpredictable, which is what makes them so dangerous” Sobek explained. “When it comes to any other creature, you can predict how it will behave in a certain situation. There is a margin of error, of course: after all, we are still talking about a being with an autonomous brain and consciousness. But for the most part you will know exactly what it will do. Animals have very specific instincts carved into their bodies, which forces them to continue to act in a certain way indefinitely. But not humans". The spinosaurus let out a snort. “Humans can be controlled, but only up to a certain point. Beyond that point, no one can predict what they will do. If placed in a situation of danger, they will hardly act with logic; on the contrary, they will do everything to make the situation even more chaotic and dangerous. And this is even more true if you take into account their pride, their greed, their envy... extremely stupid feelings that lead to stupid actions and that none of us could ever foresee"

Sobek looked intently at Snock. "You aren’t at fault, because even the best strategist in the world can do nothing against human unpredictability. You can make all the plans you want, examine every logical alternative, but you can rest assured that humans will still find a way to send you into crisis. So no, Snock, you couldn’t predict how events would unfold. On the contrary... I should have taken into account human unpredictability, and I didn’t"

Sobek bitterly chewed the same words as him. He felt as guilty as ever in his life. For the first time since he had reincarnated, he felt he had behaved exactly like any human politician: nothing more than a boss who played with other people’s lives just to satisfy his own personal desire. If only he had not been so proud the situation could have been very different.

Snock seemed intent on saying something, but Sobek didn’t give him time to talk. “When you fight against humans, you have no way of realizing the perfect plan. Human unpredictability prevents the creation of such a plan, because it responds neither to logic nor to predefined behavioral patterns. When fighting with humans, therefore, the best plan is one that can be changed: a plan with a well-defined goal and path, but fluid enough to adapt to circumstances, constantly changing based on events. I knew that was how it worked, but I didn’t act that way anyway. I came up with a simple, straightforward plan, and when I saw it worked I assumed that everyone else would work too, no longer evaluating how humans would react. I rested on my laurels and forgot the unpredictability factor, and this led to the current situation. You instead, Snock... you were great"

The giganotosaurus was watching him with a strange look. From his expression it was clear that he no longer intended to speak, but to listen. Sobek did not stop: “You have adapted to the circumstances. Although the situation was beyond all expectations, you found a way to solve it. Just as a fish does not fight against the current but adjusts to it, you have not clung to a plan that has now failed and rather you have adjusted to the situation and in doing so you have saved many lives. You have put aside your emotions, you have thought further than others, you have chosen to take actions that many would have considered unsafe, and in doing so you have brought our brothers to safety. You even forgot your hatred for humans to protect our companions"

Snock shook his head. "I just remembered your words, that the safety of the pack is more important than my revenge"

“And this gives you honor. You learned from your mistake and used this experience to protect the pack. I’m now going to do the same” Sobek said. “I won’t escape from my mistake and I will work to resolve them. I intend to make changes in the plan to save our brothers"

The giganotosaurus looked worried for a moment, but Sobek reassured him: “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to relieve you of your assignment. I would be foolish to deprive myself of such a good commander, who has proven time and again that he knows how to carry out this task better than anyone else. However, I intend to take action” he explained. “First, we’re going to change the skill swap. This time, in place of [Teleportation], I will initially provide [Regeneration]. I will leave it for a full minute so that all dinosaurs are healed of the wounds inflicted on them by humans, and then I will replace it with [Teleportation]. In this way we will have already improved the situation"

"It makes sense to me" Snock said.

“Secondly, we will improve our communications. From now on we will agree on our assaults in advance. You will tell me the exact time when you will start the rebellion, and if an hour later you still have not returned here with our brothers, I will be the one who will get in contact with you. In this way, if you will be in trouble, will need reinforcements or will need advice, you will be able to warn me"

"I understand. And then?"

"Thirdly, I intend to reintegrate a brilliant strategist into the pack"

Snock did not immediately understand what Sobek had said. It took him a few seconds to digest it all. When he finally understood, his eyes grew as big as two bowls. "Sir!?"

"Don’t call me ’sir’. Call me ’pack leader’. It’s an order” Sobek said.

"Pack leader... do you really want...?"

"Yes. You’ve earned too much credit for me to ignore your worth. It is only thanks to you that many of our brothers are now alive and free. You have been able to plan, adapt to circumstances, organize rebellions, even put aside your hatred. I could no longer call myself fair if I didn’t allow you to return to the pack” Sobek replied. “Don’t get it wrong, I haven’t forgiven you. Your challenge still makes my blood boil like the lava of a volcano and my instincts are screaming at me to not accept you in the pack again. But just as you put aside your emotions towards humans to protect the pack, so do I. The pack needs you, you have amply demonstrated that. So I have no reason to keep you out of it, and I won’t be blinded by my grief"

Snock stared at him intently for at least a minute. In his eyes Sobek read many emotions: confusion, surprise, happiness, joy, but above all a deep sense of admiration. "Thank you very much, pack leader" the giganotosaurus finally said, bowing his head in submission. His body was almost shaking. “Don’t be worry, I will protect our brothers at the cost of my life if necessary. I’ll do my best to be able to earn your forgiveness"

"I’m sure of it" Sobek said, placing one of his huge clawed paws on his shoulder. "Let’s go now. You have to have the distinctive signs of our people painted on your face, and then we will have to plan the next assault... together"