Chapter 391
by fanqienovelChapter 391: An Oddity Among Saber-Toothed Lineages
“What are you roaring for!”
“I couldn’t understand any of it!”
The massive creatures opposite unleashed panicked bellows; Trilobite, refusing to be outdone, howled back and charged forward.
Bopolong was a bipedal creature, relatively swift in movement.
Trilobite no longer resembled the postosuchus that could only manage a brisk walk; he could now run on two legs like a dinosaur.
Still, his agility and speed fell short compared to a true dinosaur.
But the "mangroves" stood close to the prey—Trilobite covered the distance in mere seconds.
During those fleeting moments, his professional expertise allowed him to identify the creature’s classification.
“Microposaurs.”
“A direct translation would be Micro-Orifice Dragon.”
“Yet for taxonomic accuracy, this creature ought to be called Micro-Orifice Salamander.”
“Another evolutionary marvel.”
The Micro-Orifice Salamander belonged to the amphibians mentioned earlier. Like the Panuto Crocodile, it possessed highly waterproof skin.
Waterproof skin typically negated osmotic pressure concerns.
Much like humans swimming equally well in sea or river, such adaptation enabled freshwater-to-marine transitions.
The Micro-Orifice Salamander leveraged this trait to become a marine amphibian.
Yet labeling it odd solely for marine adaptation seemed excessive.
Its true peculiarity lay in possessing…
“Saber teeth!”
“And damn it, they’re on its lower jaw!”
Admittedly, saber teeth themselves weren’t extraordinary—countless species had evolved them, spawning an entire lineage.
Among synapsids alone, over four distinct groups independently developed saber teeth.
But those always emerged on the upper jaw, where jaw muscles anchored them for functional use.
This Micro-Orifice Salamander, however, grew saber teeth on its lower jaw…
A truly baffling evolutionary choice.
Naturally, as a paleontologist, Trilobite had examined fossils from every continent and exchanged friendly banter with countless specimens.
Lower-jaw saber teeth merely puzzled him—hardly qualifying as bizarre.
The real absurdity was…
“Fine, lower-jaw saber teeth are strange enough.”
“But to accommodate oversized upper-jaw teeth, this freak let them pierce through its nostrils!”
“Who knows what evolutionary path produced such a freakish form.”
Many times, evolution defied all reason, leaving paleontologists powerless and frustrated; yet some prehistoric creatures seemed hellbent on murdering paleontologists’ hair.
Nothing could be done; these ancient beings were long extinct, so let them be cheeky.
“But who cares if it’s bizarre?”
“No matter how weird, it’s still good meat!”
“And five huge chunks at that!”
Typically, Micro-Orifice Salamanders measured about two meters long, but this bunch seemed to have feasted on miracle grow—the biggest stretched to six meters!
The rest hovered around five meters.
Still, their slender frames…
“Sure, you’ve got numbers—salamanders galore! But I’ve got mighty allies!”
“Majimosuchus…”
“Huh…!?”
Trilobite’s sweeping glance confirmed no Majimosuchus lurked nearby.
He stood utterly alone.
“Damn!”
“Where’s the backup I was promised?!”
“Immobile as mountains, eh?”
“Pulling a National Army move?”
“I totally gave it the eye signal…”
“Oh…”
Only then did Trilobite remember—his exceptional imagination had made him forget his calcite eyes couldn’t convey signals at all.
“Well, that explains it.”
Communication failed, allies vanished, yet his charge couldn’t be halted.
Collision loomed.
Luckily, Trilobite remained inexperienced and slow, buying time to rethink tactics.
That Micro-Orifice Salamander proved equally clumsy—limbs splayed sideways, belly scraping dirt—predictably sluggish.
Moreover…
“My sudden appearance clearly spooked them.”
“An advantage!”
“Switch from assault to ambush!”
Facing five head-on seemed dicey; better to strike and flee!
“Thud… thud… thud…”
His heavy footfalls softened as Trilobite prepared to execute his plan.
“Fighting in a brawl, I’ll take them all on alone!”
“He needed to be cautious!”
“Ball Joint Armor Shield · Hundredfold!”
As Trilobite’s body grew larger, his magic had passed ten thousand, letting him layer hundreds of shields.
He hadn’t been so careful before; the Ball Joint Armor Shield hadn’t seen use for ages because he hadn’t faced fair fights in a long time.
Every hunt was either a sneaky ambush or bullying the weak, overpowering the less powerful.
If human, Trilobite would be trash.
If a predatory beast, he was average, neither dumb nor great.
But this time was different; he faced five alone, and all were saber-toothed predators!
He had to be fully ready!
“Thickening the armor was just step one.”
“Next step!”
“You look weakest, so you’re it!”
His predatory habit kicked in—targeting the softest.
Trilobite picked one under five meters long; though big, it was the smallest Micro-Orifice Salamander.
“The distance had to be just right!”
“Or it might backfire or fail.”
Trilobite lowered his head, eyes forward, measuring the distance.
His eyes sat like a crocodile’s, with narrow crossed vision, maybe only ten degrees.
To gauge distance, he had to lower his head for accuracy.
Many early theropod dinosaurs had this issue—poor 3D vision, needing head down to range.
But Trilobite wasn’t ranging for biting; he was setting his “skill” range!
“Almost there!”
Trilobite stopped, aimed at his target, and opened his giant jaws wide!
—-
“Everyone, stay calm!”
“We outnumber him!”
“Five against one, advantage is ours!”
After the first panic, the Ether Gods led by Pal steadied fast.
After all, one was a strong core councilor of chaos, the others top Tyrants; they’d seen everything.
They formed a group defense line.
Big ones stood back, small ones blocked front.
Not using small as cannon fodder; big divine bodies held more magic, skilled as mages, so hid behind.
Small ones guarded the “big mages” during casting, while fighting.
This was Chaos Demon God’s tactic for self-defense against stronger deities.
“Bring it!”
“Roar—!”
They waited for the strange god to charge.
However…
“Zizz—!”
The “strange deity” slowed and stopped, seeming to speed away.
“Trying to flee?”
As Pal and his group were about to sigh in relief,
“Eh?!”
“Huh?!”
The front two Ether Gods yelled in shock.
Before them, a middle finger shot up.