Chapter 488

Chapter 488: The Ancestors’ Laws Cannot Change… Nonsense!

“Whew… whew… whew…”

Malbasi panted, his long Divine Body slowed down.

He was already deep within the "gap."

"That fellow didn’t catch up!?"

"Hmph, lucky for him."

For Malbasi, this realm between the "Endless Ether" and the "Chaos Swamp" was absolutely his territory.

After all…

"Although my few subordinate officials were a bit lackluster."

"With my brilliant plan in play, there was no way I couldn’t deal with those two Outer Gods pretending to be mortals."

"Hey!"

"Where are you!?"

"Come out and greet your master!"

Malbasi roared in the Ether Shallow Sea, very displeased with the negligence of his subordinate officials.

He didn’t wait too long.

“Coming! Coming!”

“Here! Here!”

“Great core councilor! Formidable core councilor!”

“We’re here! Here!”

Their large ear blade-like "flesh fins" flapped continuously as the blood octopus Outer Gods swayed their chubby, slightly comical Divine Bodies over.

They looked innocent and a bit flattering as they gazed at Malbasi.

“Oh? You?”

“You are…”

As a core councilor, Malbasi didn’t have much contact with various Outer Gods, but he had certainly heard of the famed "blood octopus Outer Gods."

They existed outside the Chaos Council, living by accepting various tasks from other councilors.

However, rumors said these fellows were not very reliable.

“Blood octopus Outer Gods? What are they doing here?”

“Oh…”

Malbasi immediately understood.

Clearly, the blood octopus Outer Gods had also become residents of this so-called "Outer God Realm" and would also be subjected to the mortals dispatched by the "Giant God."

“It was evident that with the free-spirited nature of the blood octopus Outer Gods, they would certainly not submit to the Giant God’s rather rude rules.”

“I was sure my subordinate officials had already persuaded the Outer Gods led by the ‘blood octopus Outer Gods’ to wipe out the Giant God’s ridiculous ‘false god spawn’."

"Sure enough, my clever plan worked perfectly."

This thought eased Malbasi’s mind.

He found the Giant God’s actions increasingly absurd.

"Outer Gods may be mad and chaotic, but they’re still deities!"

"What god would willingly bow to the Giant God’s rule!?"

"The Giant God must’ve lost his mind to pull such stunts!"

"Now these Outer Gods helped me, Malbasi, crush the Giant God’s forces while gaining dignity and latching onto me—a core councilor. Their enthusiasm makes perfect sense."

"But…"

He glanced around.

Still, no subordinate officials came to greet him.

"What’s happening?"

"Those brats show shocking disrespect!"

At that moment, the blood octopus Outer Gods intervened for the subordinates.

"Those Giant God’s lackeys! Tough nuts! Hard to crack!"

"The bosses went to subdue them! Take them down!"

"This way! Here!"

The fawning blood octopus Outer Gods guided Malbasi shoreward. Swimming along, Malbasi spotted two elongated False Bodies lying motionless on the Ether Sea floor.

"Hmm…"

"You’re the Giant God’s ‘mortal spawn’?"

"Bold enough to steal a deity’s form for such sacrilege."

"This is what they call abandonment by all!"

"Your Giant God will share your fate soon enough."

He mocked while swimming closer.

Yet…

"Boom—!"

Suddenly, shadow engulfed Malbasi!

—-

"You there…"

Though the distant "noodle" seemed unclear, up close Trilobite recognized its kind through his archaeologist-honed vision…

At least its family.

"A belly-bodied ichthyosaur that swallowed BBC gunpowder!"

The so-called "belly-bodied ichthyosaur" ranked among the ocean’s lesser-known reptiles.

They lived in the late Jurassic period, unfortunately coexisting with many plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and land-dwelling crocodilians, while having little presence.

But for paleontologists, this creature was truly special!

Because it overturned biologists’ traditional views about a certain group—the beaked reptiles.

Beaked reptiles resembled lizards and belonged to the scaled dragon subclass, yet they had parted ways early from the squamates represented by lizards. They thrived during the Triassic but gradually grew worse off.

Though surviving today, the entire group has dwindled to just one family, one genus, and two species, teetering on extinction—nothing like the globally widespread squamates.

In textbooks or children’s science books, the beaked lizard is called a living fossil since its form barely changed from its Triassic ancestors.

Some science content creators even pair them with phrases like "The Ancestors’ Laws cannot change."

But actually…

Beaked reptiles did try to evolve throughout natural history.

And they changed quite radically!

The belly-bodied ichthyosaur, a genuine marine reptile belonging to the supposedly "conservative" beaked reptiles, modified its body beyond recognition.

True, today’s beaked reptiles look very "primitive," but every group needs some primitive members to survive.

For instance, scaled dragons have many primitive-looking members holding basic ecological niches, and mammals have "steadfast" creatures like shrews.

Meanwhile, the flourishing dinosaur order of the Mesozoic charged into large, dominant niches, leaving almost no small primitive forms like Ornitholestes.

That’s why no traditional long-tailed, bipedal "dinosaurs" appeared after the Cretaceous extinction.

Had a small, primitive dinosaur group survived until the meteorite hit, Cenozoic evolution might have rewritten itself.

But this wasn’t a problem for dinosaurs.

They handed small insect-eating and scavenging niches to birds.

Birds excelled, surviving the Cretaceous extinction.

The cost? After the catastrophe, losing land niches and birds’ failed attempts to reclaim them became inevitable.

Those who forget their roots lose past glory forever.

Among beaked reptiles, the beaked lizard "guarded" their origins, preserving the group’s last hope while awaiting opportunity or extinction.

The belly-bodied ichthyosaur, however, explored new niches.

Their bodies stretched long, limbs shrank into flippers, and tail muscles strengthened for powerful thrust.

Nostrils shifted toward the head for easier breathing.

Overall, they trended toward a "noodle-like" form, resembling early Canglong.

Sadly, belly-bodied ichthyosaurs were born at the wrong time.

Canglong entered the seas perfectly—just as plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs vanished, leaving vacant niches for them to dominate scaled dragon history.

But belly-bodied ichthyosaurs had no such luck.

Their sea-entry era…

Saw giants like ichthyosaurs, sea crocodiles, plesiosaurs, and resurging sharks turn Jurassic oceans into a battleground.

Crocodilians, the noble "true dragons," struggled in the seas daily. What place had beaked reptiles—mere peasants—in such chaos!?

Stay out!

So the beaked reptiles’ niche expansion failed.

A truly inspiring yet tragic tale.

Trilobite knew this but didn’t dwell on it now; even if he did, it wouldn’t change his actions.

Thanks to nature’s evolutionary struggles, adding such flavor to our tables!

"But belly-bodied ichthyosaurs usually reach 1.5 to 2 meters, yet this guy…"

"Damn it, this one’s six meters long!"

"Almost my height."

"Did this world’s creator work at BBC?"

"A perfect hunt means a feast."

"A bad hunt won’t just cost limbs—it’ll break bones."

"But risky hunting demands risks!"

Trilobite crept closer, peeking along the "shore."

Meanwhile, that belly-bodied ichthyosaur paddled clumsily in the shallow sea, heading toward land!

"Let’s settle this!"