Chapter 301

Chapter 301: How Happy It Is at the Tidal Flats

“What… happened…”

“Chaos… complete chaos…”

Barbatos, secretly preparing to attack the Bubble World of Valaharl, was stunned by the abrupt news.

A branch of his Fantasy Tree of Subspace had been ambushed.

Though merely a branch, it stood close to Barbatos’ main trunk—a guardian satellite domain.

If breached, the core domains leading to Barbatos’ territory would lie completely exposed!

The enemy could advance without fear of repercussions!

“Report the details.”

“I require the exact situation.”

Having resumed his “middle-aged gentleman” form, Barbatos waved his hand.

The Outer God from the Void prostrated before his desk went *pop*, bursting its own eye.

“Hiss…”

Mist shrouded Barbatos’ face, plunging him into the scene.

It had been a swift slaughter.

The enemy employed rapid-strike tactics, dragging the patrolling upper subordinate official into the Sea of Ether. There, they tore him apart and consumed him in brutal fashion.

The perpetrator was none other than…

“Emerald Shadow!”

“Moreover…”

Barbatos narrowed his eyes dangerously.

His subordinate had been dragged underwater by that terrifying Ether Dragon. Before being shredded apart, he’d revealed his allegiance, begging his “background” to spare him.

Yet after a mere pause, Emerald Shadow struck mercilessly.

A flicker—something like a mark—had flashed across its brow.

“Ah…”

“This confirms it.”

“Emerald Shadow actively opposes us. And…”

The First Demon God massaged his temples.

That fleeting mark troubled him.

“Magic akin to a communication beacon?”

“Hmm…”

Point-to-point communication magic existed, though complex—a “strategic-level magic” beyond most demon gods.

“Emerald Shadow must have contacted someone after learning my subordinate’s identity.”

"Wait for permission before striking hard!"

"So…"

"The situation was clear."

"The one he reported to must be the Giant God!"

"The Giant God’s tactics were beyond what I expected!"

A sense of crisis arose in Barbatos’ heart.

"The Emerald Shadow was clearly fully obedient to the Giant God. To subdue an Ether Dragon, the Giant God’s methods were impressive."

"Moreover, just as I was about to launch an attack on his Fortress World of Valaharl, the Giant God immediately sent the Emerald Shadow deep into the Chaos Swamp to hunt down my patrolling subordinate officials with perfect aim."

"Without a doubt, he must have gotten word of my plans to strike Valaharl, warning me this way!"

"He was telling me that once my strength was spread thin, he would hit my core domains!"

"If I attack his Fortress World, he will strike back at my core territory. Tsk…"

"Also, his ability to kill my people so precisely means he has a traitor inside the Chaos Council!"

"Ah…"

"That’s actually normal."

In truth, without absolute power to crush underlings, it’s natural for a leader to face envy and schemes.

Although the First Demon God Barbatos was strong, he couldn’t completely overpower the other chaos deities below him.

Within the Core Council of Chaos, Gimmerly and Lady Xidi didn’t get along with him at all.

"In this case, if they didn’t sell secrets, I’d be shocked."

"Oh, Giant God, you really are clever; not only do you control the Ether Dragon, but you also team up with my enemies in the Core Council of Chaos!"

"Such sharp moves, a scary foe!"

"Just wait; I’ve marked this grudge!"

"But the top priority now is…"

Barbatos kept rubbing his temples, thinking over a plan.

The Giant God’s "hold-back" and "warning" had truly cost him dearly; the Giant God’s string of actions made him feel outplayed in strategy and tactics!

As a "chess player," Barbatos had never felt so beaten.

"Well then, great First Demon God, should we stop our move against Valaharl?"

The Attendants of the God asked.

"No…"

Barbatos shook his head.

"The plan goes on, or we’d hand the enemy a win."

"But stick to one rule— I won’t show myself at all, only push things from behind the scenes."

"In this area, we need Bohimond’s strength and must pull in more players!"

"Is the Giant God going to restrain me, but I wouldn’t?"

"What a joke!"

"For instance, the edge bordering the Endless Ether Realm."

"There, many deities hunger for new territory."

"I’ve already contacted numerous deities whose strength nears that of Secondary Gods; larger ones too."

"They’ll assault the Bubble World Themis."

"Perhaps soon, a being barely reaching Core Councilor Level will harass Themis."

This plan made Barbatos’ attendants frown.

"Er…"

"Great First Demon God, you know ordinary core councilors no longer threaten the Giant God."

"Such power can’t even pose a major threat to the Bubble World Themis."

"Sending them there would be…"

Indeed, the attendants felt dispatching these chaotic deities to Themis was sending them to their doom.

Just the two avatars guarding Themis possessed formidable strength, having once overwhelmed the Ether Dragon, leaving it howling in agony.

"No matter."

"Let them try."

Barbatos’ lips curled slightly, revealing a smug smile.

"I merely guide them, consuming no resources."

"Besides…"

A wisp of "dark energy" flickered in the First Demon God’s eyes.

"I’ve heard those deities acquired treasures from the Endless Ether."

"Like… micro divine ranks!"

—-

"Burp—!"

Trilobite was full.

"Thump—thump—thump—!"

Bored, he slapped the hollow "cornerstone shell" with his massive palm.

As he slapped, his eyes suddenly brightened with an idea.

"Heh… heh… heh…"

He began scooping "sand" with his giant paw.

"Whoosh… whoosh…"

Soon, a large pit yawned open.

"Boom——!"

Then, Trilobite pushed the giant "cornerstone shell" into the pit and lightly buried it.

"Not bad, not bad."

"Maybe one day, seawater will flood this place; ocean sediments will pile on top, burying this ‘shell’."

"After billions of years, it would become a great fossil!"

"Exactly!"

Like a cat finishing its litter, Trilobite scratched the dirt a few times and stomped away with heavy steps.

"Hmm?"

"I keep feeling like something’s following me?"

"Just my imagination?"

Trilobite felt a bit anxious.

Although as a postosuchus, he was definitely the top predator of his time, he wasn’t invincible. In his era, he might run into other big shots from the Loricatosauria and bird-neck true dragon groups.

The so-called bird-neck true dragons are closely related to crocodiles but distantly related to the bird-neck true dragons, which include dinosaurs, birds, and pterosaurs.

The Loricatosauria group mainly consists of various fierce, massive predators.

During the late Triassic, rulers among these creatures appeared endlessly.

They dominated the land, overpowering the Erelasaurus and Dilophosaurus superfamily, making it impossible for dinosaurs to grow larger in size.

These top predators shared a common trait—moving on land with quadrupedal movement or walking on two legs. They resembled four-legged carnivorous dinosaurs but had names like "XX Crocodile."

For example, Fasalacroc, fast crocodile, Tear Frog Crocodile, and Lizard Croc…

They looked very similar; at least, outsiders couldn’t tell them apart from bones or reconstructions.

Trilobite judged that these unrelated brothers would be his main enemies!

"Um…"

"Sniff… sniff…"

He used his Olfactory Membranes inherited from cartilaginous fish to scent the air and interpret the smells.

"There are two scents."

"One has the ocean’s smell, plus the scent of pincers and shells baked by the sun…"

"Probably a sea scorpion or something."

"Nothing to fear."

Sea scorpions never crossed paths with postosuchus, but if they dared to cause trouble…

"Nonsense!"

"Any that come close will be eaten like hairy crabs!"

"The other scent…"

"Smells like reefs and has a strong fishy odor!"

"Maybe it’s an ichthyosaur?"

"Actually, that makes sense."

Although ichthyosaurs, plesiosaur, and other Mesozoic sea creatures were often mixed up with dinosaurs, they were distantly related. Even whether ichthyosaurs and plesiosaur belong to the true dragon category is debated.

They ruled the oceans long before dinosaurs.

As early as the Triassic, ichthyosaurs had evolved great diversity. By the late Triassic, the Xunyi ichthyosaur appeared, reaching over twenty meters in length and possibly up to twenty-six meters.

In the late Triassic, giant ichthyosaurs that could rival blue whales also existed. Though no species was confirmed due to broken fossils, estimates put their length over 30 meters!

"But these shouldn’t be ichthyosaurs; they’re more likely ichthyosaurs."

"Specifically, some kind of Phantom Dragon."

Among the ichthyosaurs, modern people know plesiosaur and ichthyosaurs best.

But in the Triassic, ichthyosaur forms were diverse; the most common was the Phantom Dragon class. The ichthyosaur class probably evolved from it.

"Doesn’t matter."

"Phantom Dragons are basically seal-like animals."

"They might be fierce in the sea, but challenging land predators on land? That’s just asking for death!"

"Forget them."

"I need to search along the coastline carefully to see if there’s…"

"Um——!?"

Just as Trilobite started walking deeper onto the beach, he noticed the water, once at his knees, had risen to his thighs!

And in the distance, a tragic corpse lay sprawled on the shore!

"Let’s check it out!"

He licked his lips and ran over.