Chapter 454

Chapter 454: The Largest Archosaur Predator in History Appears!

"This creature looked…"

"A bit weird."

In Trilobite’s eyes, it had a round body, a big head, a short tail, and four legs that didn’t fit its body at all.

Its snout was long, like a carnivorous dinosaur’s, but flatter.

With the long jaw, its head was quite large.

Overall, it had a big head, long mouth, round body, short legs, and a short tail.

Also, it had big fangs in both its upper and lower jaws.

If any animal today looked like it, it would be…

"A hippopotamus?"

"No, it was the ‘Permian Hippopotamus,’ the Gangsaurus!"

The Gangsaurus lived in South Africa in the late Permian period.

They were part of the Anomodontia suborder of the Therapsida order and the Great Crocodile family.

Most of their fossils were found in the Balfour Formation of the Karoo Basin in South Africa.

This creature was pretty unknown; its group was messy, and often when someone found a fossil, they made a new species, so there weren’t many fossils but about seven or eight species.

The Gangsaurus was a huge beast, up to five meters long, bigger than most hippos today!

Plus, it had a round, strong body that looked tough; it weighed about two tons!

But, some paleontologists thought it ate plants.

Others disagreed, saying they were meat-loving predators.

When Trilobite was a Researcher, he guessed its Ecological Niche was like bears, eating plants and hunting.

Even though its hippo-like barrel body and short legs didn’t seem good for hunting, clumsy animals like the Tapirus with even shorter legs in the same layer were a perfect match.

If the two-ton Gangsaurus really ate meat—like brown bears, where meat was a big part—then among archosaurs, things like the "Bone-Crushing Lycerosaur" or "Giant Short-faced Bear" had to step back.

The biggest archosaur predator ever was the Gangsaurus!

"Hmm…"

"Time really messed up again."

"The Gangsaurus met some kind of Pseudo-Bone Dragon."

"It seemed my guess about the Gangsaurus was right."

"This guy liked eating meat too."

"If I got back, I could put a paper in ‘Nature’ to brag."

"Oh, now wasn’t the time for that…"

"The situation was bad!"

The Gangsaurus, though clumsy, was the largest archosaur predator in history.

Its opponent, the "Unnamed Dilophosaurus," didn’t even rank among notable Triassic predators.

A two-ton Gangsaurus devouring the barely three-hundred-kilogram "Unnamed Dilophosaurus" would be like eating small children.

With ten times the weight difference—how could this even be a fight!?

"Even for me, a head-on attack would be dangerously reckless."

Though Trilobite had invested heavily when upgrading to "Saber-toothed Beautiful Nodosaurus," undergoing significant growth to reach six meters in length, dinosaur order proportions were often deceptive.

After all, most dinosaur order members possessed long tails for balance.

Their air sacs and pneumatic structures helped "inflate" their bodies, facilitating larger sizes.

Thus, despite its six-meter-long frame, the "Saber-toothed Beautiful Nodosaurus" weighed only about eight hundred kilograms…

An awkward predicament.

Trilobite’s weight barely exceeded one-third of the Gangsaurus’s—

comparable to a hyena confronting a male lion.

A hyena charging a lion…

Rushing to become a meal?

"No winning this…"

"Even with that unnamed Dilophosaurus, victory seems impossible."

"Since that’s the case…"

"Then perhaps…"

Trilobite accessed the System, locating the "Evolution Consultation Black Room."

"Time for some on-the-spot upgrades!"

"But evolution takes time… Who’ll buy that time?"

Just then…

"Craack! Craaack!"

"Meat here! This way!"

"Crack! Move faster!"

—-

"ROOOAR—!"

The Gangsaurus in Trilobite’s sight—Vashak, Third Seat wielder of immense divine power and formidable magic—stood not far from Barbatos.

It opened its maw.

Magical energy had begun gathering.

"Bask in glory!"

"Barbatos!"

"Die under my ultimate move!"

The strategic-level magic for slaying a deity was already in preparation.

Barbatos certainly would not sit and wait for his fate.

He was trapped in the strategic magic binding formation set by Vashak, with magic bursting continuously from the formation and striking his magic circuits.

The chaotic magic flowed through the magic circuits like writhing snakes, wildly causing destruction and creating whirlpools one after another.

If this continued, it wasn’t just that he might not cast magic at all, but at least his magic casting would become less and less efficient.

By that time, Barbatos, still trapped in his Divine Body, would be unable to resist Vashak’s attacks.

However…

"Gulp!"

The mark of the "Fanged Giant Mouth" in Barbatos’s stomach suddenly created a strong pull, sucking all those "snakes" toward it; then, like munching on spicy snacks, he gobbled them up bite by bite.

His magic power flowed freely again, like river water melting the ice in spring.

"Void Shield!"

"Buzz—!"

An invisible shield appeared before Barbatos.

"Not bad."

"You can still cast magic in this state?"

"Truly worthy of a core councilor."

"But you should know, once my magic fully forms, your Void Shield won’t hold…"

"Quack, quack, quack—!"

"So much food, quack!"

"Grab them! Quack, quack!"

Noisy cries rang out.

Several deities, smelling wild and bloody, charged suddenly from behind a "Fantasy Tree of Subspace."

Their eyes glinted greedily.

"Quack—!"

"Blood sacrifice for the Giant God! Skull offering! Quack—!"

They pounced fiercely on the watching subordinate officials and secondary demon gods, launching a scary surprise attack!

Almost instantly, screams echoed.

"Help!"

"Vashak! Save me!"

"We helped you in this mission; you can’t kick us aside now!"

…

"Damn it!"

Vashak cursed inwardly.

Though his magic hadn’t gathered enough to cause backlash if unreleased, squandering so much power still stung bitterly.

He had no choice but to temporarily halt the magical buildup.

Toppling Barbatos couldn’t rely on one deity alone; Vashak needed to rally sufficient Chaos Demon Gods.

Abandoning them now meant slaughtering every traitorous subordinate official without a whisper leaking out!

While Vashak could effortlessly kill these officials—mere handwaves—eliminating dozens of fleeing demon gods scattering in all directions posed real difficulty.

Should even one demon god escape and spread word, Vashak could forget any future attempts to undermine Barbatos. Worse, his schemes would reach Barbatos’s ears.

Soon, renewed targeting would begin.

Thus, Vashak had no option but to rescue the present Chaos Demon Gods.

"You’ll live a while longer!"

"Not like you can break free anyway!"

Just as Vashak turned to aid his followers…

"Buzz…"

Golden light pulsed from within Barbatos’s body!

"Urk… Ngh…"

He sank into a crouch, gasping violently.

His tongue lolled, eyes rolling white.

"At this very moment—?"

The Giant God’s power flooded him once more.

"Goo hee hee…"

As colossal energy churned within him, Barbatos emitted a dazed giggle.

Inside his form, bones thickened anew, his skull stretching and lifting as tiny teeth morphed into terrifying "scimitar fangs." His primitive air sac breathing system expanded further!

Twin towering "crowns" erupted from his head.

Shrouded in faint, subdued golden radiance, Barbatos’s divine body swelled relentlessly!