Chapter 529

Chapter 529: Weaknesses Are Also Reverse Scales

“Finally, this place should be safe.”

Trilobite darted far away.

But he didn’t just keep running blindly. After putting distance between himself and the fire, he sensed something amiss and turned back.

Admittedly, his initial impulse to flee came from a deeply ingrained fear—the dread of causing major trouble and being caught by "police officers," a bad habit carried over from his past life.

Then it struck him: this was different.

Who would care about a wildfire now!?

If he ran too far, he wouldn’t know who’d get the meat roasted by the flames.

So after watching for a moment, he sprinted back.

Along the way, he glimpsed strange sights unfolding in the fire’s wake from afar.

"Black snow" drifted downward.

"This is good," he thought.

"These ‘black flakes’ must be like ‘plant ash.’"

"Packed with inorganic salts, mostly potassium carbonate—a rare potash fertilizer."

"Perfect for helping plants grow."

"I recall loads of ‘red tree fern’ seeds washed into the swamp."

"They could sprout and thrive right now!"

Soon, he spotted tiny creatures scrambling everywhere—early amphibians.

Without hesitation, he snatched several and swallowed them as a snack.

Later, he even glimpsed his jumping spider spawn in the distance. Marching like predatory army ants, they hauled the corpse of a "lizard" or lizard-like creature toward Lake Valaharl.

"This is also good," he mused.

"The fire scatters small animals, turning elusive prey into easy catches."

"My social jumping spider spawn seized the moment—working together, they bagged one."

"Well done to them."

…

But now, the most pressing issue remained…

Trilobite halted before the raging inferno.

"When will these flames die out…?"

"A little wildfire might be fine, but if it rages out of control, I’m doomed…"

He knew wildfires’ greatest danger lay in being uncontrollable.

So many people had sparked mountain infernos just by lighting campfires, grilling meat, or tossing cigarette butts—careless acts that ended with them imprisoned…

Although Trilobite didn’t face "jail time" in this world teeming with strange paleo creatures, the fire might spread uncontrollably.

It could blaze through the woods all the way to the "coastal area," torching the "tree dam" he’d just established. That would make Trilobite cry his eyes out.

"But then…"

Trilobite glanced skyward.

Though the endless downpour had ceased, the sky remained stubbornly overcast.

Stepping farther from the flames, he felt moist breezes stirring the air.

"In this weather, in this humid age, even the fiercest wildfire couldn’t rage forever."

Indeed…

"Plip… plop…"

"Patter—!"

Soon, bean-sized raindrops plummeted down.

At first, sparse drops fell like pathfinders, plunging straight into the fire sea—only to vanish instantly in the blaze, leaving no trace.

The flames’ arrogance seemed to provoke the heavy clouds.

So he dispatched more raindrops.

"Whoosh—!"

The curtain of rain soon veiled the landscape, smothering the fire’s fury.

Amid the dense downpour, Trilobite trudged toward the fire-ravaged "woods."

"Hah!"

"Old friends are here too."

He spotted his regulars—Lady Megalodon and Sister Giant Kunpeng Pterosaur—examining and sifting through the "ash" on the ground.

Since lizard-like creatures have expressionless faces, Trilobite couldn’t read their emotions.

"Probably driven by ‘greed’ for an easy meal."

"Who’d turn down free food?"

"But I reckon we can coexist peacefully."

"Fire-roasted meat litters the ground."

"Whoever snatches it—depends on skill!"

With that, Trilobite bent down, kicked aside smoldering charred branches, and hunted for food.

"Ahm—!"

"Crunch… crunch…"

Soon, he found fire-blackened meat—crisp outside, tender within—resembling a small snake.

However, since snakes likely emerged after the late Jurassic period, Trilobite guessed this creature was more likely a limbless amphibian.

These beings thrived during the amphibian-dominated Carboniferous period, possessing snake-like bodies that swam swiftly on land and in water. Yet Trilobite felt most limbless creatures resembled a giant yellow eel rather than a large snake.

“So this is ‘grilled eel’!”

“Munch… munch…”

“Tasty!”

“Now let’s see what this is!”

With excitement, Trilobite kept sifting through the ashes, hunting for delicacies.

Unbeknownst to him, his two regular customers had no intention of eating.

They stared at the “joyful Giant God” busily foraging, their expressions mixing shock with fear.

—-

Originally, Gimmerly clung to hope.

She believed such vast, sustained magic couldn’t possibly be cast by any single deity alone!

But her sister Xidi insisted this must be the Giant God’s doing.

“Giant God… Giant God…”

“Sister, you drone about the Giant God constantly!”

Gimmerly grumbled at Xidi, yet still accompanied her to survey the blast site.

The devastation deepened her horror—Fantasy Trees of Subspace lay destroyed in swathes!

The damage surpassed even the Giant God’s prior destruction; an ugly bald patch now scarred the dense “Waist of the Swamp.”

More shocking were the fallen deities.

Though no famous gods or Chaos Council members perished, the sheer number left Gimmerly and Xidi dumbfounded.

Their deaths proved even more staggering.

The victims’ skin charred black, smoldering as if pierced by horrifying flames. Limbs twisted and curled in agony during the scorching.

A sight beyond dreadful!

Both Chaos Demon Gods grew increasingly unnerved.

Soon, a more alarming scene unfolded.

The Giant God arrived.

He casually combed through the “ash” from forbidden spells, appearing wholly familiar with such power.

Perhaps even accustomed to it.

He unearthed the divine bodies of fallen gods and devoured them voraciously.

As though…

“This… this was his goal all along!”

Xidi stared at the Giant God’s mouth, her voice faintly trembling.

"That divine body, I had seen before."

She observed the elongated deity being swallowed into the mouth of the Giant God.

"His divine body was very recognizable, so I remembered it."

"This fellow appeared together with the Outer Predator near the core of the Chaos Swamp, close to the court of the First Demon God."

"With him were many other Secondary Gods."

"According to Barbatos, he was ready to gather these Secondary Gods to attack and slaughter the Giant God’s spawn, striking at their only point of rescue."

"He was very proud of that."

"But he didn’t even touch the mortal spawn before being destroyed by the Giant God’s forbidden spells."

"It was indeed the Giant God’s doing…"

Gimmerly had no doubt about the Giant God’s power.

Compared to her sister, she felt more fear.

"Why…"

"They were just Secondary Gods; the Giant God should have a hundred ways to make them fall."

"Why did it have to be like this…"

Xidi shook her head.

"Touching the reverse scale…"

"Those mortal spawn are the Giant God’s reverse scale."

"Touching them means certain death."

"Barbatos indeed found the Giant God’s ‘weaknesses,’ but didn’t he understand?"

"Weaknesses are often where a strong being’s reverse scale lies."

"They must not be touched at all!"

—-

"Hahahahaha…"

Looking at the report submitted, Barbatos was not disheartened at all; instead, he laughed loudly.

"Good!"

"Although this plan was destroyed by the Giant God’s terrifying forbidden spells, it was still successful!"

"I was even more convinced now that what the Giant God cared about was the mortal spawn!"

"Send out more Secondary Gods!"

"I wanted to make the Giant God run himself ragged!"