The dinosaurs returned to Cartago as triumphant; Old Li and the few remaining soldiers warmly welcomed the return of the legions. Everyone knew how valuable such a victory was: it was the tangible proof of the power of the dinosaurs in front of the whole world, the confirmation that dinosaurs were strong enough to take on the armies and the weapons of the humans and win. Now humans would think twice before challenging them a second time!

As soon as they crossed the gap between the collapsed walls, Sobek and his army were greeted by a series of deep roars that indicated the joy of the dinosaurs. All the members of the pack who remained in Cartago hurried to meet them and celebrate. The victory was theirs!

However, Sobek didn't share their happiness. He knew that he had achieved a total victory and that he had achieved exactly the objective he had set out to achieve, and that in the following days his herd would reap enormous benefits, and that therefore he had proven himself to be both a good pack leader and an excellent general and strategist. But despite this, he wasn't in a good mood. "Did you recover the bodies of the victims?" he asked Buck and Carnopo as soon as they reached him.

The two nodded in agreement. "How many are they?" Sobek asked again.

"Thirty-two" Buck answered with a lot of sadness.

Sobek felt as if the world had fallen on him. Thirty-two. He had lost thirty-two of his subjects. For the first time, he had suffered a loss.

Sobek never thought he would have felt this way when he lost a soldier. Given the coldness he had always shown in killing, he was convinced that he would not care much for a loss. After all, he knew that in a war it was impossible to save everyone, so he had embarked on that mission with mental preparation to lose soldiers. He was sure it would have been easy for him to not think about the dinosaurs that lost their lives. Still, it wasn't like that.

His animal blood once again affected his mood. Since he had become the pack leader, things had changed. A pack leader always had to protect his underlings, unless they turned against him or challenged his authority. Nature had established strict rules on this point, because it was an extra guarantee for the survival of the species. After all, if a pack leader didn't care for his underlings, then the pack could have taken too many losses over time.

Therefore, now that Sobek was a pack leader, he was very sensitive to the fate of his subordinates. He had lost thirty-two dinosaurs almost unknown to him, he had probably never even spoken to them, but he felt like he had lost thirty-two friends.

"What do we do with the bodies now?" Carnopo asked.

Sobek considered the options, and then he made a choice. "Go outside the walls and dig a hole two meters deep, and put the corpses inside. We'll give them a proper goodbye tonight. Oh, and if among the dinosaurs we left at the lake or at the refuge they had family or friends, or anyone who wishes to greet them, then let them come here, so they can see them one last time"

"We'll do it right away" Buck replied. "And the prisoners?"

"Make sure they don't have any hidden weapons and put them with the other humans. As for their leader…" Sobek gritted his teeth, so much so that they made a sound like metal rubbing. "Lock him in one of the houses and barricade every exit. If any of the victims' family members want to do something to him, then let him do it. Cuts, wounds, bites, backlashes; I don't care what they do to him. However, make sure they don't kill him and the injuries aren't fatal. I don't care if he loses the use of his legs and arms or has his eyes and ears gouged out, but he must stay alive. I want to kill that bastard personally"

Sobek wasn't a warmonger; he had chosen war against the humans because they were the only possible option, as humanity would not relinquish the title of 'dominant species' very easily. He had never wanted open warfare. Besides, he wasn't ruthless: he never killed unless it was necessary. But Daevis had managed to kindle his anger, and he would have regretted such wickedness.

Understanding the mood of the pack leader, Buck and Carnopo hurried to leave him. Old Li, on the contrary, approached him: "Are you okay?"

Sobek growled. "We have lost thirty-two of our brothers"

"Oh, that's clear then" Old Li murmured. "I know how you feel. I too was a pack leader, even if just for a while. I know what it means to feel responsible for the death of others"

"And how can I surpass it?" Sobek asked, relying on the precious advice of the old ankylosaurus.

"Thinking about how many of us are alive, and not about how many of us are dead. Here is how you can surpass it. Remember that without your leadership we would have lost hundreds, perhaps thousands of brothers, not just thirty-two" Old Li replied. "Another tip? Remember that you have other lives to take care of. The troops are hoping for your speech after this victory. Go and satisfy them"

Sobek realized once again how wise Old Li was. He didn't know if it was because of the title of adviser or if it was all his own thing, but the old ankylosaurus certainly knew the what he was said.

And then he wasn't wrong: it looked like the dinosaurs were waiting for a speech before they let loose and celebrate. Apparently, between humans and animals, the boss always had to be a bit of an exhibitionist. After all, the mood of the leader was reflected in the mood of the troops: a leader should always be proud and proud, especially in times of war.

However, Sobek had already prepared for that eventuality. In the central square there were two huge piles covered by a black cloth that obscured the contents, which he had prepared before the battle.

"Listen to me all!" he roared moving to the center of the square. The dinosaurs' eyes were instantly on him. "Today we got a big win! I expect the best, and I give my best!". He pulled off the tarp covering the first pile, revealing a mountain of meat and vegetables. "Here's the food!"

The dinosaurs cheered to see him, realizing where their pack leader was headed. With a yank, Sobek pulled off the second sheet, revealing items they had looted from Marsala's shops, such as balls, marbles, tug-of-war ropes and even some punching machines. "And here's the fun!" he roared as he kicked one of the balls. "Have a good time, and give your best! It's an order!"

The dinosaurs roared in exultation and began to play with balloons and tug of war; even if they did not know the use of these objects, it was easy to understand, and in fact in a very short time the games had begun. Sobek didn't know what rules they chose, but he didn't care.

"A clear and short speech. Great job" Old Li whispered in a pleased voice.

************

While the dinosaurs were in full swing, Sobek went outside the walls and went to check. With the help of some triceratops and sauropods, Buck and Carnopo had dug a hole of at least five square meters in record time. And inside, neatly arranged, were all the victims of that battle.

Six compsognathus, two microcephales, one stygimoloch, three goyocephales, one amtocephale, one dracorex, three velociraptors, one avaceratops, two deinonychus, four luanchuanraptor, three zhenyuanlong, three homolocephale, one guanlong, one mei-long: this is the totality of the victims. All small dinosaurs that had been the first to come into contact with nerve gas.

Sobek felt his heart squeeze as he saw them in the pit. Dying from nerve gas was horrible. Even if death came within seconds, it didn't mean it was painless. A quick death is not always a sweet death.

The wide-open eyes and empty sockets of the dead dinosaurs testified to this precept. Sobek dared not imagine what they felt as the gas entered their lungs like fire and killed them by suffocation.

Some of the victims' families had already arrived and were leaning over the bodies of their parents, children, wives and husbands. Animals felt deep pain when they lost their mates, especially dinosaurs and birds, being monogamous. Fortunately, all the relatives were small in size, so the large flying reptiles had been able to transport them and bring them there in a short time despite the long distance.

Sobek sighed. "Tonight we will greet them in a dignified manner. We'll say goodbye properly" he said. "Pass the order: everyone must participate. They were our companions and they sacrificed themselves for us, so all the dinosaurs that are in Cartago right now must be present"

"And how do we do with human prisoners?" Buck pointed out. "We can't leave them unsupervised"

Sobek narrowed his eyes. "Then they will be there too"