Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Happily Catching Fish by Hand

"Flagship! Our flagship!"

"What kind of monster is that!?"

"Ah!"

"We’re doomed!"

When a mountain suddenly rose from the sea and attacked them, instantly destroying their mighty flagship, even the most disciplined sailors of the Triton Empire couldn’t think straight.

They stared dumbly as the colossal creature scooped up the flagship moored at the outermost edge and hoisted it high.

The once-great warship seemed no larger than a tiny fish before the terrifying unknown deity.

Seawater poured like a waterfall off the enormous body, crashing down with thunderous splashes.

The dreadful divine aura crushed down on sailors and officers alike.

"Ah—!"

"Great Primordial Deity, save me!"

"Uh…"

The sailor who cried out to the Great Primordial Deity bled from all seven orifices and died.

"Your Majesty Azure Emperor!"

"Destroy this monster!"

"Ah!"

The officer shouting the Azure Emperor’s name strangled himself to death.

Only a few stronger nobles survived.

They did try to resist.

"Fire!"

"Start the ‘Primordial engines’!"

But soon, every resisting officer got grim news.

"No… impossible!"

"All ‘Primordial engines’ are dead!"

"Slap!"

The messenger sailor was instantly struck hard.

"Then load by hand!"

"If the large-caliber Primordial energy cannon fails, switch to small-caliber!"

"Move!"

"Unless we act, we all die!"

Moments later…

"Boom… Boom…"

The cannons hidden beneath the deck slowly extended, their muzzles shooting flames as they struck the huge god!

—-

"Creek… Creek…"

"Ah-oo… Ah-oo…"

Trilobite noticed that his Gasmarosaurus claws were pretty good, since the five fingers actually had a "grasping" ability.

For example, he used his body to block the big fish’s escape at the water’s edge, then scooped one up, grabbed it, and started chewing!

"This meant…"

"Gasmarosaurus was actually quite advanced?"

"Ah, actually, maybe that wasn’t right…"

"Five fingers and average hands should mean ‘primitive’ and ‘basic’."

In evolutionary history, there were many things that seemed backwards.

Like the clever hands of us and our primate "relatives."

Many people thought such clever hands must be very "advanced," coming from a long time of "evolution."

But in truth, primate hands weren’t a sign of being advanced; they were rather "basic" and "primitive."

This was because early true beasts were just a bunch of rats, living in trees eating bugs or digging for roots as part of an omnivorous ecological niche.

In that kind of life, they naturally needed fingers that could grasp, to dig better and hold onto branches for quick moves through the trees.

Tree-living primates and ground-burrowing rodents weren’t predators, and most didn’t become picky plant-eaters.

They kept their ancestors’ way of life, acting as "guardians" of those old methods.

On the other hand, feline claws, which could pull in and had soft pads, were a result of long specialization for being predators, making them quite "advanced" compared to our hands.

So, primitive and basic traits weren’t necessarily bad.

Five full, bendy fingers might not even be a regular thing for mammals or true beasts, but could be an old treasure from terrestrial vertebrates.

Because our earliest ancestors, creatures like amphibians, often lived in lakes and swamps full of "algae"; underwater, being able to grasp, hold on, and push through plants was really useful for survival.

It not only boosted their moving and hunting a lot, but also let them stay put in fast water.

So, these traits got passed down from our Devonian ancestors, generation after generation, until they became the hands we type with now!

"Whatever, primitive is primitive, basic is basic."

"Primitive and basic doesn’t mean it’s not good."

"It’s still comfy to grab food and eat."

"Ah-oo… Ah-oo…"

Trilobite kept munching away.

But then, his calcite compound eyes spotted…

"Oh?"

"How strange it was."

"There were several Madageria fish…"

"Their scales were actually glowing!"

With poor resolution from his calcite compound eyes, Trilobite couldn’t see the glowing details, but he could at least notice the Color Blocks around the scales constantly shifting from bright to dark and back.

This piqued Trilobite’s curiosity.

"Was it the sunlight reflecting off the fish scales?"

"Or was it a color-changing mechanism like chameleons or butterflies?"

"That was interesting!"

He immediately put down the half-eaten big fish in his claws and extended his massive claws.

—-

Heaven-sent disasters can be survived, but self-made ones cannot.

For the officer who ordered the fire from the royal guard fleet, the payback for his self-inflicted actions came fast!

"Boom——!"

"Boom——!"

"Fire! Fire!"

"Damn it, why wasn’t it working!"

Though it was a small-caliber cannon, this batch of artillery packed a punch.

The armor-piercing shells, rich in "primordial energy," could even make etheric worms wail in pain.

But when waves of shells poured onto the huge "unknown deity," they didn’t get inside it at all—not even a scratch or spark showed.

This just drew its attention.

"Um…"

"Rumble…"

It turned its massive body, letting out a heavy grumble.

"Boom——Splash——!"

It let go, and the half-eaten flagship crashed back into the sea.

"Buzz——!"

A colossal arm reached out, blocking the sky like dark clouds!

"No——!"

"It was over!"

Amid the screams…

"Creek——!"

The gigantic claws clamped down hard on the firing battleship!

At the same time the royal guard fleet suffered, the "noble" people in the arena were also suffering.

"Ah——!"

"Hold on! Hold the line!"

"Spare me, I’ll give you all my wealth… Ah!"

Screams, shouts, and the sound of blades hitting flesh echoed through the arena.

Warriors who suddenly gained power climbed skillfully to the stands and began hunting nobles who were relaxing moments before.

Even though gladiators were fewer than spectators, they had the first move and high morale.

They wanted only slaughter and revenge!

The gladiators shouted, using every way to kill their former masters and nobles.

They chopped with axes, sliced with blades, and even bit with their teeth!

They looked fierce like "war dogs"!

"Kill!"

"Get revenge for your loved ones! Seek justice for everything you’ve suffered!"

Angna took the lead, charging ahead.

She swung her Blood Jade longsword, striking down every Trinitum Clan member in sight.

Around Angna’s waist hung a circle of Trinitum noble heads!

In front of her floated the High Priest overseeing the grand "gladiatorial sacrifice."

"Blood sacrifice for the Giant God, Offerings to the divine throne!"

She shouted loudly.

"Blood sacrifice for the Giant God! Offerings to the divine throne!"

The gladiators echoed, killing as they moved fast, surprising the Trinitum Clan and leaving piles of corpses behind.

But they were still far from victory.

Because…

"Watch out!"

A gladiator yelled to Angna who was leading.

"That is…"

"An avatar construct!"

"Its huge power matches etheric worms!"

"This is not an enemy we can fight!"

Maybe they got power from the Giant God, or the seals in their souls broke, but it only helped the uprising gladiators win one-on-one fights.

At most, they could fight the light vehicles of the Triton Empire.

But the giant vehicles were too much for them to handle.

Yet it was too late!

A huge shadow loomed over her.

"Boom——Boom——Boom——!"

A giant construct, like a dragon, covered the sky above Angna, casting a long shadow before her!