Chapter 389

Chapter 389: Not a Scaled Dragon, nor a True Dragon

“The giant in front of us was the Hubei Crocodile.”

“At the very least, it was a creature similar to the Hubei Crocodile.”

Hubei indeed had crocodiles (Yangtze crocodiles) in its history, which became extinct only last century; and according to some unreliable claims, the abbreviation for Hubei, “E,” came from an ancient tribe that had a totem depicting a crocodile tail.

However, the “Hubei Crocodile” that Trilobite talked about had no relation to crocodiles at all.

The Hubei Crocodile may not even have been a true dragon but rather belonged to the lizard-like class and the ichthyosaurs subclass.

What exactly the ichthyosaurs belonged to was still unclear, but at that time, mainstream academia classified them separately within the ichthyosaurs subclass, alongside true dragons and scaled dragons.

Though they were noteworthy, they unfortunately went extinct during the Mesozoic Era and did not even survive to the Cretaceous period ET.

The Hubei Crocodile order, while just one of the most basic members of the ichthyosaurs subclass, still showed considerable differences compared to ichthyosaurs seen later, but the earliest ichthyosaurs likely resembled the Hubei Crocodile order.

“The Hubei Crocodile order looks like a creature that is half crocodile and half ichthyosaur.”

Actually, this description was not entirely accurate.

The standard image of the Hubei Crocodile featured a long, slender snout much like a long-snouted crocodile and a head that was small compared to its body; its body was depicted as round and plump, with limbs highly fin-like but still showing traces of fingers.

It did not have a dorsal fin, and sometimes the skin surface contained bony plates like those of a crocodile; its tail did not show a fish-like forked caudal fin, but rather a long, flat tail like a crocodile’s.

“The Hubei Crocodile order ventured into the sea very early. Studies showed that less than five hundred thousand years after the Permian Mass Extinction, the Hubei Crocodile order hastily began to enter the ocean.”

“This was much earlier than the appearance of dinosaurs.”

“Early Hubei Crocodiles resembled crocodiles, while later species began to look somewhat fish-shaped, showing early signs of ichthyosaurs.”

“This creature in front of us…”

“Actually resembles an ichthyosaur a bit.”

“It is really different from its relatives.”

Although there were not many species in the Hubei Crocodile order, they showed notable diversity; some species had completely lost their teeth and only had a beak.

Some paleontologists believed that many members of the Hubei Crocodile order even relied on their beaks to support the skin pouch under their jaws, much like how modern whales filter feed.

There were truly many peculiarities.

Moreover, their sizes were generally small, usually around one to two meters long.

However, the creature in front of Trilobite…

“Wow, it’s four meters long!”

“I really don’t know what it fed on to grow this large.”

“However, it might even be a new species.”

Larger animals were harder to preserve.

The prerequisite for fossil preservation was being buried by muddy sand or other sediments, and through the pressure of ground movement, they gradually became fossilized; however, large animals found it difficult to be completely buried by sediment.

Either they were not preserved completely, or they could easily be dug up and eaten by scavengers that followed clues.

Therefore, it was not impossible to discover larger members of the early ichthyosaurs subclass from the Early Triassic Period in the future.

“And the largest Hubei Crocodile is two meters long.”

"This guy was just twice as long; given the huge differences between lizard-like species and even within them, such a gap was possible."

"In that case, I’ll call you the Hubei Crocodile Unnamed Species."

"However…"

After identifying the "Hubei Crocodile Unnamed Species," Trilobite lost all interest in it.

"This fellow’s in rough shape."

"Seems stranded here."

"If this keeps up…"

"But whether it lives or dies isn’t my concern."

"Useless thing."

Trilobite checked through his system vision and noticed the creature was white.

Like a stone, it couldn’t provide him even a speck of Chaos Energy.

"Still, not entirely worthless."

"At least it lured some decent prey over."

Trilobite saw several creatures with standard yet bizarre features circling the "Hubei Crocodile Unnamed Species."

"Five in total!"

And these things…

"Holy moly, did these five grow up on hormones!?"

"Why’s each one so huge!?"

"And…"

Trilobite tilted his head slightly.

He spotted another large creature lurking in the nearby sand, observing him.

If attacked from both sides, he’d be doomed.

Luckily…

"My Lorentz Jar, inherited from cartilaginous fish, still works. I detected that sand-buried guy early."

"Plus, this one’s blue!"

"An ally!"

As he spoke, Trilobite gave a subtle look toward the creature, trying to signal with his eyes: Watch my cue—let’s strike together!

"Thud…"

Trilobite slowly stepped forward.

—-

"Creak—Creak—Creak—"

"Boom—Splash—!"

The massive rumble shook the entire Fantasy Tree of Subspace.

The demons still hiding inside the Fantasy Tree were living in constant terror.

Because…

"Boom—!"

The trunk of the Fantasy Tree suddenly erupted with a loud crashing sound.

"Sizzle—!"

The already battered Fantasy Tree, eaten away by the "void battleship" using the "Divine Gift Disruption Cutter" until it was riddled with holes, teetered on the brink of collapse under the continued "processing" of the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons.

The enormous Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons extended their massive divine bodies inside, showing no interest in the swarms of demons below.

Instead, they focused on searching for the law substance where the "void battleship" had chewed small holes, targeting those spots to keep devouring the essence of the Fantasy Tree.

"Boom—!"

Another ominous tremor followed.

"No!"

"Help!"

The screams of the demons echoed.

But it was already too late…

"Boom—!"

Finally, after relentless attacks from the void battleship and the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons, a remote branch of the Fantasy Tree could no longer hold up.

"Creak—!"

"Boom—!"

It let out a loud snap and a wail, crashing hard into the Sea of Ether!

"Boom—!"

"Crash—!"

Giant waves surged in the Sea of Ether.

"Is this… the Giant God’s plan!?"

"Great is the Giant God!"

After Barbatos, the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons also arrived at the "mark" left by the Giant God; but their mobility was poorer, so they came a bit late. The chaotic dragons and trash scorpion god had already been taken out by Barbatos.

The evil god, driven by hunger, had run off to who-knows-where to keep causing chaos.

Now, Sulya could finally float peacefully above the Sea of Ether, watching the grand show caused by the fall of the "Fantasy Tree Structure" and its huge ripples in the ether.

Moreover, she wasn’t alone in enjoying this spectacle.

A deity joined her.

"That’s right."

"The Giant God is truly great."

Ye’s Foolish Act rose from the "small island" in the Sea of Ether, letting the spreading waves crash against him.

The thick law shell and heavy divine body of the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons helped them handle the impact.

He saw many Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons crash into the Sea of Ether with the Fantasy Tree, but they stayed calm, continuing to devour it without worry.

Watching his kin feast so happily, Ye’s Foolish Act felt deep satisfaction in his soul.

And admiration for the Giant God.

"Though gods shouldn’t feel such worship."

"As leader of the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragon clan, I shouldn’t either."

"But I can’t help admiring Him."

"What a clever plan…"

The Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons were slow-witted, but with the "enlightenment" from mortal leader Sulya, they finally grasped the Giant God’s full "plan."

"Indeed."

"It’s incredibly clever."

Sulya explained further.

"The Giant God knew our spawn’s weakness: we could use the ‘Disruption Cutter’ to grind through the hardest outer shell of the law substance, but devouring the Fantasy Tree was inefficient; while the respected Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons faced the opposite problem…"

Though their mouthparts were sharp, they could only cut soft new branches or young shoots of the Fantasy Tree, making them slow against the toughest law substance shell.

For the hardest outer shell, they often found no way to bite in.

They could only target Fantasy Tree branches eroded by "Holy Light Mold Tumors," where the law substance grew thin and soft from decay.

This limited their attacks.

But now, drawn by the Giant God’s "beacon," the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons met the Giant God’s spawn, and everything changed!

The mortal spawn’s "void battleship" only needed to focus on cracking the hardest outer shell; then the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons could bite in.

With this teamwork, a branch of the Fantasy Tree was "destroyed!"

"Perhaps…"

Sulya and Ye’s Foolish Act exchanged glances.

"Under the Giant God’s glory, let’s unite!"