Chapter 641

Chapter 641: Even Relative Weaklings Get Bullied

“Whew…”

“Roar—!”

“Roar—!”

The coalition of primordial gods of the Primal Wilderness wandered outside the "World Tree Forest," roaring at the suddenly appeared spooky "forest" to show their might.

But…

Not one dared to go first.

“Charge!”

“You go ahead!”

“No! You go!”

That "forest" looked like a huge, scary mouth; the World Tree roots stood tall, and the dark trunks gleamed with a “black shine” as if fed by the “etheric storm,” like flowing black divine blood.

The etheric storm poured down, and a big patch of “ether droplets” steamed up from above the "forest."

It was like a boiling pot!

Anyone stepping inside would be eaten up whole, not a bone left.

Mysterious and eerie.

In a place like that, the first to enter would be an idiot.

Everyone hoped some fool would rush in to test it for them.

But really…

Who’d want to be that first fool?!

So, a bunch of big-bodied deities just squatted outside the forest, stuck in a weird "sit-in fight."

If their enemy was a normal deity, that god would smile easily.

After all, facing so many powerful deities alone was nearly suicide; even with good spots and strong bodies, most deities wouldn’t feel sure.

Scaring off foes just by growing a “World Tree Forest” was a big win…

Beating them without a fight—how awesome was that!

They could brag about it forever!

But who is Trilobite!?

He always dreamed of lending and investing in more “Chaos Energy”; now he needed this pile of meat to pay back the forest’s costs.

But these "beasts" wouldn’t come in, making Trilobite frantic…

“Seriously…”

“I said grow some guts!”

“This forest isn’t even that huge!”

“You’re so big, yet scared of a little woods? How pathetic!”

"When you’re meat, you should at least act like it!"

Fortunately, Trilobite hadn’t had to wait long.

After all, these deities came to challenge the self-proclaimed "Tyrant." If they cowered before even entering his domain…

Wouldn’t that mean admitting cowardice while indirectly validating that arrogant one’s claim?

"Enough! Silence!"

"We charge together!"

A colossal deity bellowed.

Though the tone lacked warmth, the proposal made sense.

Facing the dread of the deep "World Tree Forest" collectively proved wiser than marching in one by one.

Theoretically, sweeping through like a carpet would foil the arrogant one’s schemes completely!

"Three… two… one…"

"Advance!"

"Boom… boom… boom…"

Deities of the Primal Wilderness surged forward in unison, reaching the forest’s edge.

But then…

"Huh?"

They exchanged uneasy glances.

Though a single step would take them into the woods, not one deity moved.

All froze awkwardly, each waiting for another to step first.

The silence grew thick with tension.

Trilobite felt equally uneasy.

"I set this battlefield for combat, not for your cowardice!"

"This outcome was inevitable."

"These aren’t social creatures—just a ragtag pack of beasts. That they haven’t torn into each other is already an ecological marvel."

"Well… though not entirely impossible…"

Truthfully, diverse beasts crowding into a jungle together remains rare—almost ecologically unheard-of.

Cooperative arrangements between species do exist, of course.

North American badgers hunt alongside coyotes. African zebras mingle with gnus. Even crocodiles and hippos tolerate uneasy coexistence.

Meerkats and ground squirrels—different diets, similar size—often share burrows. Records show them cooperating to kill invading cobras.

Since the Holocene birthed an age of fading species (not solely by human hands; ecology never fully recovered from the Younger Dryas—to put it bluntly, what can ten thousand years really accomplish, especially with Horror Upright Apes wreaking havoc?), ancient ecosystems likely hosted far more intricate interactions.

More complex multispecies alliances could indeed have flourished.

"But then…"

"With different species, there was no organization to expect."

"It was normal to hesitate when facing danger."

"I needed to think of a way to lure them in."

"Um…"

Trilobite pondered how to bring the invaders into the trap!

But soon, this wasn’t his worry anymore, as that group of "beasts" solved it for Trilobite themselves.

—-

“Hey!”

“You!”

“Get in there!”

“Go first!”

The one who first pushed for everyone to advance together roared, his spit nearly spraying on the others.

The one being yelled at…

Was likely the smallest among the primordial gods of the Primal Wilderness.

Though they were all "Tyrant Candidates," strength varied; like house cats and cougars in the same Felidae family are worlds apart.

In this setup for testing the waters, the weakest always took the hit first.

“No!”

“I won’t do it!”

The smallest "Tyrant Candidate" tried to argue, but what greeted it was…

“Roar…”

“Boom——!”

A hard shove!

“Ah!”

It screamed out, tumbling far away, and got shoved right into the jungle!

The primordial gods of the Primal Wilderness were like that: violent, bowing only to the strong.

The weak…

Even if just a bit weaker and unwilling?

Then the strong used force to make it happen!

“Good!”

“Thanks for your sacrifice and help!”

“We back off!”

“Boom… boom…”

The primordial gods of the Primal Wilderness stepped back; but only two steps, then stopped.

The deity thrown into the "World Tree Forest" wanted to run out, but as it left the "jungle," it saw its "comrades" waiting outside.

If it didn’t scout ahead, a beating was sure to follow.

Worse, after the beating, it would be tossed back in…

Death was coming either way. Fewer beatings before dying were better!

“Gulp…”

It swallowed lightly, slowly lifted its forelimbs, and took its first step into the "jungle!"

“Ah…”

“Hope…”

“That guy really is just an ‘arrogant one’!”

—-

“Oh!”

“A guest is here!”

“Even if it’s only one…”

Trilobite looked at the suddenly crawling intruder and felt a bit of pity.

The bullying wasn’t the main thing.

The key was…

“Um…”

“With such short legs and a body built for rivers, how did it crawl so far…”

“You really had it rough.”