Chapter 440

Chapter 440: Oh dear! The Rules Have Changed!?

Trilobite politely and sincerely wished the "ma’am" well.

But the Ether Mother, referred to as "ma’am," was faring poorly.

In fact, she appeared battered.

Her massive Divine Body bore countless small wounds and scratches; severe areas showed exposed flesh hanging like torn cloth strips.

Light traces of blood slowly spread through the Ether Sea.

Nearly half her former subordinates had perished.

Even the cunning blood octopus Outer God clung listlessly to her Divine Body, its large ear blades drooping in dejection.

Though bearing no visible injuries, it seemed thoroughly terrified.

“Giant God! Oooaaaah—!”

The Ether Mother released a low, distant roar from her throat—equal parts fury and stifled resentment.

Her schemes had utterly collapsed.

The Ether Abyss had launched total war against her faction.

The pretext? "The Ether Mother recklessly distributed Powers." The Abyss deemed this a challenge to its authority, a slap to its own face.

Truthfully, the Ether Mother was wronged.

For years she’d cautiously grown in secret, submitting to the Abyss’s rules as a humble deity, never crossing red lines. Those Power bestowals "defying the Abyss’s authority"? All the Giant God’s doing!

Yet explanations proved useless.

The Abyss stubbornly accused the Ether Mother of deliberately breaching its interests.

Die!

She must die!

Thus, total war erupted.

The ambush commenced.

Hordes of Gods of Blood and Delirium and Abyss-loyal Ether Usurpers descended like starving wolves upon the "Deep Ether" where the Ether Mother and her followers dwelled.

Initially, the Ether Mother believed her doom had come.

She knew her development remained incomplete; she lagged far behind the Endless Ether in every aspect.

Facing such odds, how could they possibly fight?

Fortunately, the first battle proved less arduous than expected.

Strangely, the first wave of "Gods of Blood and Delirium" arrived already wounded.

She later learned they’d previously assaulted the edges of the Ether Sea under the Giant God’s Domination, suffering a crushing defeat that left their morale and cohesion shattered.

No sooner had they repelled the first wave than the second arrived.

Luckily, though fiercer, the second battle proceeded smoothly.

Again mysteriously, the attacking "Gods of Blood and Delirium" seemed utterly drained. They quickly depleted their stamina, fought increasingly poorly, and finally collapsed into total rout.

Later, the Ether Mother learned that the second wave had been sent by the Abyss to the edge of the Ether Sea, ready to fight the Giant God forces. But just as they were about to attack, they were suddenly pulled back, crossing the vast Ether Sea to fight her instead.

It was like making marathon runners jump straight into battle without rest.

Naturally, their combat power, morale, and organization were a mess.

Still, with their huge numbers, they caused many casualties to the Ether Mother’s forces.

But it didn’t end there.

The third wave, made up almost entirely of Tyrants loyal to the Abyss, charged in.

These Tyrants weren’t well-organized, but each had strong combat capability and was fresh; the Ether Mother’s forces, worn down from the first two waves, were exhausted.

They were pushed back step by step, close to collapse.

The shocking scars on the Ether Mother’s Divine Body came from that battle.

Just as she was about to break, a deity with a colossal head and four strange flippers on his Divine Body burst into the fight from behind!

He used his powers of ether to cast magic, controlling the flood of ether; he swam faster and sent enemies one by one into his giant jaws!

Soon, the Abyss forces were stunned by this terrible backstab.

The Ether Usurpers fought back in panic, but quickly fell one after another under that giant jaw.

Tyrants trying to attack found that almost no deity could last one round under his giant jaws.

Meanwhile, the attacker with “ether Powers” controlled the currents, pushing away deities trying to surround him from other sides and pulling those in front to his mouth.

His four large flippers beat fast, letting him move like a graceful butterfly in the Ether Sea.

Faced with an unbeatable enemy, the Ether Usurpers chose to retreat.

His terror, brutality, and undeniable power earned him the name “Giant Head Fiend.”

And the result of their scattered retreat was…

Total rout!

The Ether Sea was filled with broken Divine Bodies of ether deities, bobbing on the sea’s surface.

The “Giant Head Fiend,” who had just turned the battle, acted like a crude beast, madly devouring the floating bodies in the Ether Sea.

“Blood sacrifice for the Giant God!”

“Flesh offering for the feast!”

This was his crude and terrifying battle cry and the horrifying ritual before his “savage devouring.”

The fleeing Tyrants of the Abyss were the least worry; even allies from the Ether Mother’s forces dared not go near him.

Now, the “Giant Head Fiend” was still there, eating the remains of dead deities.

“What a… clever scheme!”

The Ether Mother glared at the Giant God squatting on the shore, stepping on some deity’s body, gritting her teeth.

“You knew the Abyss’s limits, so you gave powers to those deities who followed you!”

“And your land-based Divine Body hid the fact that you knew much about the Endless Ether!”

“That’s why the Abyss took out all its anger on me!”

"So, that’s why it sent wave after wave of armies to conquer me!"

"You’d already laid out your plans long before!"

"Everything was premeditated—whether wiping out the Assassin Gods, crippling the Gods of Blood and Delirium, or timing the granting of powers to manipulate the Abyssal Carpet!"

"And when I was on the brink, you sent critical reinforcements…"

"Hahaha…"

"Both the Abyss and I suffered heavy losses. After this battle, reconciliation is impossible."

If only minor clashes had occurred, both sides could have negotiated.

Compensations paid, apologies given.

But this battle…

Nearly half the deities serving the Ether Mother perished, while the Abyss endured even greater losses.

After relentless blows, the Gods of Blood and Delirium faced near extinction—hardly one in ten survived. Over seventy percent of the invading Ether Usurpers fell.

Though the Abyss runs deep, such devastation crippled it to the core.

For ages to come, it will lack the strength to wage any offensive war!

Seeing reconciliation hopeless, the Ether Mother abandoned all illusions.

Without hesitation, it stormed the edge of the Abyssal Carpet’s true form, tore off a fragment, and hurled it into the Sea of Ether—letting currents carry it adrift.

Attacking the Abyss’s core meant crossing the line, declaring all-out war!

Thus, every scheme of the Ether Mother lay in ruins.

"To think my plans crumbled so easily at your touch."

"I’ve brought this ruin upon myself!"

The Ether Mother had intended the Giant God to draw the Abyss’s attention while it schemed in shadows, poised for betrayal.

Yet now…

Stealthy plotting proved impossible. Instead, the Giant God hid behind the Ether Mother, stabbed the Abyss at the perfect moment, and handed it a towering "favor."

Henceforth, as the weaker party in this death war against the Abyss, the Ether Mother must rely on the Giant God’s strength.

"What ruthless cunning…"

"No—when cunning shapes battles between realms, it becomes strategic genius!"

"Very well!"

"To lose a ‘battle of wits’ to a deity of such vision, wisdom, and knowledge—I, the Ether Mother, yield with respect!"

"The pact stands!"

"This time, a contract of true sincerity—no schemes between us!"

"Farewell for now!"

—-

【You have received a contract application.】

【Accept?】

As Trilobite gazed at the big Ichthyosaurs, he received a prompt from the System.

"Ah, this…"

"I’ve never encountered creatures that actively propose an alliance before."

"Could it be…?"

"Is this lady interested in me?"

"Does she want to marry me?"

"Heh heh heh…"

Of course, this thought was just a silly joke in his mind, amusing himself.

Trilobite knew about the three major illusions of life.

"Well…"

"The so-called ‘pact’ must be like a cooperation intention."

"After all, rising seawater affects ichthyosaurs too, right…?"

"Uh… or maybe this lady is a caretaker, like me?"

The more Trilobite thought, the more it made sense.

"Since we’re colleagues, we should help each other."

"I accept!"

"But how can I help you?"

"What can you do for me?"

"Even telling me about this area’s geography would help!"

"Then I could plan better to slow the waves beyond the Dam."

Just then…

【Beep beep…】

The System’s alert sounded suddenly.

Trilobite noticed the "beep beep" grew louder or softer as he shifted his view.

"Like a positioning radar?"

"Let me see…"

He moved his gaze toward the loudest beeps.

A strange purple blob appeared in his sight.

"Oh!"

"That’s…"

He spotted a squishy mass on the "Beach."

It looked odd and thick.

Layered, like a dense slab of cake.

When Trilobite focused on it, the System showed: 【Slice Sample 001】.

"This must be intel from my ‘ally.’"

"Thoughtful—it’s physical evidence too."

Trilobite moved closer to inspect the "thick cake."

"Wow!"

"Paleozoic microbial Carpet!"

"This world keeps getting stranger!"

But another alert worried him.

【Beep—!】

The System’s sound rang again.

【Version fluctuation task issued.】