Chapter 572

Chapter 572: Planting Vegetables in Pangu’s Chaos — The First Vegetable of Creation

"You all… were indeed a bunch of dim-witted Megalania."

The Megalania belonged to the archosaurs and the Anomodontia suborder.

Perhaps upon hearing "Anomodontia," one instinctively imagined this suborder contained many terrifying beasts!

Indeed, that was the case.

For instance, the gigantic Anteosuchus might have been the largest archosaur predator ever recorded.

At that moment, it was surrounded by Trilobite, who gnawed on it with sharp teeth, causing a bloodbath.

This creature belonged to the Anomodontia suborder.

However, we couldn’t generalize.

Within the Anomodontia suborder, there were also herbivores.

This was quite peculiar, contrasting sharply with modern understanding; in current animal classification, creatures under an "infraorder" typically shared similar diets.

The feliform infraorder consisted entirely of predators, while the caniform infraorder included both predators and omnivores; the equine and horned infraorders held only herbivores, and so on…

Yet the Anomodontia suborder boasted a diverse array of diets.

The Tapirus were herbivorous animals within the Anomodontia, apart from the Anteosuchus, the Multicuspidon, and the Cranogryphus.

Moreover, these creatures were abundant, dominating the Ecological Niche of mainstream herbivores during the late Permian period; their massive size and robust bodies supported colossal prehistoric giant beasts like the gigantic Anteosuchus.

As for their appearance…

"Overall, they resembled a super-sized lizard with a short tail and small head."

"In fact, they didn’t look much like typical archosaurs."

"Their skin was thick, akin to rhinos or elephants; some paleontologists even believed they had scales."

"The specialized teeth archosaurs took pride in had regressed into blunt, rounded peg-like teeth, lacking distinctive fangs."

"Everything fit."

"Yet what let me recognize these clumsy fellows at a glance was their heads."

The heads of the Tapirus were small—just one word: small!

And disproportionately so.

Often, Trilobite felt their jaws fused directly to their necks, their entire heads seemingly no thicker than their necks!

This struck him as odd.

Both Sauropod Dinosaurs and Tapirus had small heads; yet Trilobite found Sauropods pleasing, while Tapirus seemed awkward…

Both unwittingly embraced a strategy revealing a truth—brains are useful but sugar-hungry!

With such absurdly tiny heads, high intelligence was hopeless.

But their heads faced another flaw—not only small, but their skulls were thick too!

Paleontologists discovered that the Tapirus’s thick skulls and special cervical structures channeled impact vibrations to their shoulder blades, preventing concussions.

These creatures likely butted sturdy heads like modern mountain goats or Cretaceous large-headed dinosaurs, battling for territory and mates.

Some scholars speculated that when facing predators, the Tapirus’s thick skulls could ram opponents.

But Trilobite felt that explanation didn’t hold up.

After all, horned animals like argali and reindeer found their large antlers useless against predators—they’d flee if possible, but those horns often became burdens rather than self-defense tools when escape failed.

Facing a giant Anteosuchus from the same era and region would’ve been a guaranteed death sentence.

With their bulky build and clumsy structure, Tapirus creatures couldn’t run fast or move nimbly; encountering predators likely meant sacrificing their slowest member.

Truth be told, archosaur predators and herbivores of the early-to-mid Permian period were perfectly mismatched.

Herbivores couldn’t sprint properly and lacked defensive weapons, while predators had pitiful claws and feeble fangs.

Monsters like Cranogryphus probably hunted by ramming prey with their horns before biting down…

A fearsome predator attacking like a herbivore—

that was truly the most absurd thing since the dawn of time.

As for the Tapirus behind him, Trilobite estimated its species just from its size.

"Hmm…"

"Probably Megalania."

"The largest of the Tapirus clan."

Megalania’s scientific name meant "little cow’s face."

Their abundant fossil evidence marked them as a signature species from South Africa’s Karoo Basin Group, measuring two to five meters long—among the era’s largest land animals.

These creatures lumbered across ancient South Africa with pigeon-toed steps, forming massive herds.

But their dominance was brief, lasting barely ten million years. By the late Permian period, Megalania and all Tapirus had vanished from fossil evidence.

Their Anteosuchus predators disappeared alongside them.

"With walnut-sized brains and dimwit intellect, no wonder they tried rescuing their natural enemies."

Trilobite paused his Bite on the two Colossal Creature Cranogryphus.

Their bodies were already shredded, and the saber teeth inflicted more than surface wounds—each strike pierced fat, tore through muscle, and shattered bone or organs.

The Colossal Creature Cranogryphus bled freely, bodies riddled with ghastly cavities!

Their lungs and arteries suffered catastrophic, irreversible damage.

Now they couldn’t stand, only whimpering weakly while half-collapsed.

"Roar—!"

Trilobite snarled and lunged!

"Boom—!"

His massive yet agile frame slammed onto one Colossal Creature Cranogryphus, toppling it.

The falling Cranogryphus crashed into its companion.

"Roar—!"

Perched atop both fallen Giant Gods, the Saber-toothed Beautiful Nodosaurus glared down at the Megalania and roared a warning:

"Back off!"

"Scram if you value your lives!"

"Or else…"

"I’ll devour you too!"

But the Megalania ignored him.

They advanced proudly, encircling the fallen Colossal Creature Cranogryphus.

One especially huge beast even climbed onto a Cranogryphus, planting its feet firmly.

"Damn it!"

Trilobite cursed angrily.

"You mistake silence for weakness?"

"Minions!"

"Attack!"

As he roared…

"Boom… Boom… Boom…"

The Primordial Earth quaked violently once more!