Chapter 555

Chapter 555: Striving to Turn Customers into Cats Soon

"This is really…"

"A monster gathering…"

Trilobite finally saw the creature that made the cat sound.

But…

"Uh…"

"Rather than a cat, it looked more like a large yellow weasel or a wolverine."

"Yeah, with a head that big, it resembled a honey badger."

"However, this fellow should actually have been…"

"Moschowhaitsiavjuschkovi… I guess."

This so-called "Moschowhaitsiavjuschkovi" frustratingly had no Chinese name, and since it was discovered in Russia and named in Russian, it couldn’t be directly translated.

Helplessly, Trilobite decided to call it "Weaselhead Beast."

The Weaselhead Beast belonged to the "Beasthead Suborder," which represented one of the branches of early synapsids that was relatively close to modern mammals.

So, although the Weaselhead Beast still had many primitive features, like short, thick limbs and developed lumbar ribs, its body hair gave it a distinctly "mammal" appearance.

It certainly resembled a honey badger, but its length could reach an astonishing two meters!

That was about the average size of lions and tigers.

A honey badger’s body combined with the size of tigers and lions…

Didn’t that make it unbeatable?

But what surprised Trilobite the most was that this creature actually had a pair of ear blades!?

"Ah?"

"I remembered that the earliest ear blades appeared in the early Cretaceous period, gradually emerging after the auditory bones were fully in place to collect air vibrations."

"Now it seemed this part of evolutionary history needed to be rewritten."

Many depictions of early synapsids showed them with body hair but without ear blades.

This made them look rather strange, like a hairy short-tailed lizard.

This was mainly because modern mammals had a set of "auditory bone systems" made up of the hammer, anvil, and stirrup bones in their ear blades, efficiently transmitting eardrum vibrations to the nervous system.

Neither the hammer nor the anvil was originally part of the ear blades but was once part of the lower jawbone.

The "native" in the ear blades was just the stirrup bone.

Therefore, if there was only a stirrup bone, sensitivity to air vibrations was lower, and it relied more on solid ground vibrations to gather intelligence.

Early synapsids, like Dragon-type creatures, Two-toothed creatures, and even some Crystal Walls-like Beastheads, fanged beasts, and early Jurassic mammals, lacked the "auditory bone" system and only had the stirrup bone. Hence, there was no need for an outer ear.

Of course, this theory wasn’t absolute.

Many owls had feathers on their heads similar to "ear blades," serving to better collect sound.

"This was another major discovery!"

"And that Cat’s ear blades are so cute—I really want to touch them…"

Though Trilobite had felt disappointed it wasn’t a true cat, it still bore some resemblance.

After all, the ancestor of felines, the fossa, looked just like a weasel.

"But…"

"No worries!"

"Come be my client!"

"I can transform you from this honey badger’s ‘feisty’ look into a big Cat!"

"Like a savage lion or a saber-toothed tiger!"

Despite Trilobite constantly praising dinosaurs, he was truly a "lizard-like enthusiast."

He’d marvel at lizard-like creatures in reptile houses or museums, heaping compliments on them.

Yet once outside…

He still sought cats to pet.

It’s like how tsundere attributes sound appealing, but for settling down, a gentle partner works best.

Lizard-like creatures might be majestic or mystical, yet few were cute.

Perhaps…

Owls marked the peak of lizard-like cuteness!?

But owls were merely one small branch among them.

By contrast, synapsids…

That is, mammals, saw their charm soar once ear blades evolved.

Eventually, they birthed beings like felines, pandas, and orcas—creatures striking human souls!

"Er… sure, that’s still distant."

"But we’ll take it slow, aiming to make you a big Cat soon!"

Just as Trilobite lost himself in fantasies of petting a northeastern orange tabby, an African golden-maned lion, or a snowy mountain silver feline…

"Crash—!"

"Mee-roar—!"

After the impact, the "future Cat’s" screams rang out.

Trilobite snapped awake instantly.

He leaped to his feet.

"Hey!"

"You ugly freak behind us!"

"What are you attacking the cat for!?"

"Do you want to die!?"

"I damn…"

"Let’s see before acting."

Trilobite noticed the enemy numbers were overwhelming, and the situation felt complicated. A flicker of panic rose within him.

The Weaselhead Beast shoved into the "mud pit" seemed unharmed—just dirtier and more listless.

Since that was the case, Trilobite saw no need to charge out recklessly for the cat and risk injury.

For beasts, injury almost meant death.

Even if he could expend vast Chaos Energy to heal, he refused to pay the price for his own rashness.

The best approach was…

"Hmm, let’s strengthen the cat first."

"Er… but can I actively pitch this?"

"Should be possible."

"Still… will she accept it?"

…

As Trilobite pondered how to make the Weaselhead Beast accept the "become a cat" transaction…

[Ding—!]

[You have received a new evolution consultation request. Accept?]

"Oh?"

Trilobite glanced at the notification.

He discovered…

"Hah! Just when I wanted sleep, a pillow arrives!"

"The cat… no, the Weaselhead Beast is coming to me!"

"Perfect!"

Trilobite excitedly scratched his belly with a claw.

"Good!"

"Begin…"

—-

"Hahahaha…"

"Today, you all die!"

"Every last one of you!"

The grotesque, misshapen deity sank its elongated, wolf-like jaws into the long neck of an Infernal Mad God.

"Roar! Roar!"

The Infernal Mad God thrashed wildly.

Useless.

"Thud—!"

Though lacking the bite force to sever the neck outright, the ugly deity viciously slammed its victim into the ground.

Then, a powerful neck twist!

"Crack—!"

The snap of breaking vertebrae echoed.

The Infernal Mad God fell.

Meanwhile…

"Crack—!"

Another sickening crunch of bone.

A fallen demon god’s body went limp. Its lifeless divine body was kicked by the Monster God into the Ether Sea, flipping belly-up on the surface.

Barbatos’s reinforcements had begun a true slaughter on both flanks.

Many fallen demon gods broke.

Terror-stricken howls filled the air as they fled back into the Ether River.

The tenuously held battle line crumbled instantly.

Once more, Infernal Mad Gods plunged into the Ether River like dumplings into a pot, scrambling towards their leader.

The scene…

Descended into utter chaos.

Just as the Monster Gods reveled in the pandemonium they’d created…

"AWRROOO—!"

A deep, terrifying roar erupted behind them!