Chapter 538
by fanqienovelChapter 538: The Hardest to Accept Was Actually One’s Own Incompetence
“Burp—!”
Trilobite burped.
“Honestly, this long-snouted structure sucked up fish quite efficiently.”
“These little fish…”
“Except for two or three that slipped away, I finished them all within minutes.”
Among later theropod dinosaurs, groups like Ornithomimidae, Dromaeosauridae, and Tyrannosauridae all had examples of convergent evolution similar to Megapnosaurus.
Yet few dinosaurs achieved such distinctiveness.
“But…”
For Trilobite, a “burp” didn’t mean fullness—it only meant his stomach had something inside, bringing temporary satisfaction.
Soon, he grew hungry again.
“Anyway, the fish were too small; I’m still not full.”
Given that giants like Giganotosaurus and Megapnosaurus waded through shallows to catch relatively small fish, they likely spent much of their day fishing.
In contrast, spinosaurus hunted three-to-four-meter-long fish. Though requiring swimming and pursuit in deep waters, just a few big catches could fill them daily.
This explained spinosaurus’s dominance locally—outnumbering even herbivorous dinosaurs.
“What spinosaurus do isn’t my concern yet.”
“The current problem is…”
“Hmm…”
Trilobite checked the System.
[Mask of the Shape-Shifter: Usage Time 48:17]
[Mask of the Shape-Shifter: Usage Time 48:16]
…
Nearly fifty minutes remained on the “Mask of the Shape-Shifter.”
Removing it now seemed wasteful.
The mask’s minimum use was one hour—taking it off early still cost a full hour!
Trilobite had already spent 10,000 Chaos Energy just for fun.
It hadn’t even been fifteen minutes…
“Removing it now would waste 7,500 Chaos Energy?!”
“No!”
“It can’t end this simply!”
But wearing it idly also wasted those 10,000 points.
“Anyway, I need to do something about it…”
“Uh, at least I should eat some things I usually couldn’t get.”
It was well known that the Beautiful Nodosaurus preferred seafood.
During the Jurassic period, Europe was a fragmented archipelago, and some islands weren’t very large; walking just a few steps could bring you to the beach.
Not gathering some seafood would’ve made the whole trip pointless.
But given the Beautiful Nodosaurus’s build, it mostly scavenged stinky fish and rotten shrimp washed ashore. With luck, it might stumble upon dead ichthyosaurs.
Either way, those weren’t fresh.
The stench of rotten fish…
Yet nature is cruel. Even for the Beautiful Nodosaurus atop the island’s food chain, smelly scraps were better than an empty belly.
As for fishing…
With that Big Mouth and thick teeth…
Just entering the water would create huge splashes, scaring fish away. Even if it caught one, those blunt teeth couldn’t grip shallow-water little fish.
Big fish?
Why would big fish linger in shallow waters?
Fresh live fish truly remained a luxury beyond the Beautiful Nodosaurus’s reach.
“So…”
“Since I’ve got a Megapnosaurus head now, I’ll fully play the part of one for this hour!”
“Go!”
“Patrol the coastal lagoon!”
“Can’t waste these 10,000 Chaos Energy points!”
After swallowing several little fish, Trilobite’s Chaos Energy had unexpectedly surged by over 3,000.
He calculated: if he reached fish-rich waters and ate a few more, he might reclaim all the Chaos Energy spent on the “Mask of the Shape-Shifter”!
—-
As the last two or three “Chaos Usurpers” fled the “Ether Sea behind the dam,” they cast one final spell while scrambling away.
No attack or escape magic—this was a message.
The Information Flow rode the etheric current straight to the embattled front.
The overwhelmed Ether Lord and Ether Usurpers instantly abandoned the fight and retreated.
But the magic surged onward.
Carried by swift currents, it reached the Abyss’s edge.
“Barbatos! Barbatos!”
“Return my legions!”
“Roar— Roar— Roar— Roar— Roar—!”
The Abyss trembled with fury.
The sudden defeat threw Him into a rage.
He never expected such a "perfect" plan to fail so completely!
What was even harder for Him to accept was that every part of this "plan" seemed perfectly executed, as the Ether Lord and the Ether Usurpers had successfully tangled with the approaching Chaos Demon Gods as planned.
Many Ether subordinates quickly crushed the mortals’ resistance and rushed into the "Ether Sea behind the dam," ready to start a "slaughter" against the "unarmed" "Ancient Cup Outer Gods."
But the truth was…
The Ether subordinates were the ones being slaughtered!
Undoubtedly, whether it was the Ether Lord, the Ether Usurpers, or the Ether subordinates, they all played their roles well and finished their tasks.
The big mistake was badly underestimating the Ancient Cup God’s strength.
And this blame…
Couldn’t be dodged; it had to land only on the Abyss.
Looking back at the whole plan…
It only showed that "a useless general ruins the army," proving the battle’s planner was a fool who didn’t even know the basics. It made clear the Abyss was tricked by "chaos," spinning in circles…
Plus, this fight ended in a heavy loss, with almost all the first wave of Ether subordinate forces, gathered with so much effort, wiped out.
He couldn’t even pull off the self-consolation trick like Barbatos.
This was what made the Abyss angriest—He could take failure, but He couldn’t stand His own stupidity!
What the Abyss should have yelled was, "Why was I so dumb to wreck my legion?!"
Shame turned into even more fury!
Rage pushed the Abyss to do wilder things!
"Fine!"
"Chaotic Forces, huh!"
"Barbatos, huh!"
"If you want to fight dirty, I’m in!"
"Whoosh—!"
The Abyss started pulling more energy from His huge, solid Divine Body covering the sea floor.
Even though this would weaken the Abyss and leave Him less able to look after Himself,
it didn’t matter!
He just had to vent this anger!
"Buzz—!"
The energy formed a bright ball of light.
Then the ball slowly changed into a "long snake-like" golden light.
"Swish—!"
This golden light, like a ribbon, rushed rapidly toward the junction of the “Chaos Swamp” and “Endless Ether”!
It bypassed the Ether Sea behind the dam and entered the area outside the “Holy Tree Embankment.” Then, it flowed into the “bust” area of the “Chaos Swamp” and circled around to the side of the Ether Sea behind the dam.
This place was on the side of the long-abandoned “Chaos Swamp.”
Endless Ether had invaded there, creating small puddles that connected to each other.
The destination of that golden light was here!
“Hiss…”
The golden light moved swiftly between the puddles, dropping golden powder into them.
Soon…
“Whew…”
“Roar—!”
“Ugh—!”
The scattered energy awakened the powerful, malicious deities from the swamp.
They growled low in magic language, announcing their awakening to the Abyss!
“Hahaha—!”
“Serves you right! Serves you right!”
The Abyss laughed out loud, and the howling from magical vibrations echoed through the Abyssal Sea, making the gathered “Ether subordinates” tremble with fear.
Some wanted to run right away.
After all, news of the Abyss’s big failure had spread fast through the currents in Endless Ether; deities near the Chaos Swamp Realm and the Abyssal Sea all knew the Abyss had been tricked by “chaos.”
All deities feared they would be sent to die by the Abyss.
But this time, they worried too much.
“It’s you who pushed me!”
“Didn’t see this coming, did you!”
“My Abyss power has spread into the Chaos Swamp!”
“Though those proud deities slipped my control, I only need to pay a little and give them rewards to get their help!”
“This time, I’ll make these beings attack your ‘Ancient Cup Gods’ from behind!”
“They aren’t as easy to handle as the Ether subordinates!”