Chapter 182

Chapter 182: I’ve Got Long Legs Now!

"Ah woo… ah woo…"

"So tasty, so tasty…"

Trilobite licked his lips.

He’d nearly wiped out the entire school of Madageria fish from behind!

His rear legs could now stand upright while still resting at his sides. After altering their pelvic connection, his hind legs gained longer leverage. Each kick delivered far greater force than before. With absolute strength and speed, Trilobite began wiping out the Madageria fish.

In the end, only a few "little fish" escaped by scattering. The rest were cornered by Trilobite and his "symbiotic creature."

The biggest one—nearly 1.5 meters long—naturally got eaten clean by Trilobite too.

Shattered fish bones lay scattered like trash on the seabed.

But the "spiny fish" wasted nothing. They busily gathered "fish bones" while scooping up every "little red dot" fallen from fish bodies, cleaning the battlefield.

They worked fast. Soon, the seabed was nearly spotless.

"Huh, weird though. These Madageria fish taste way too good."

"Like they’re stuffed with seasoning—lightly salty with a unique kick."

"Reminds me of eating ‘Mentaiko Sushi’ at Japanese joints."

"Kinda neat."

"Only downside…"

To Trilobite’s eyes, the Madageria fish glowed "orange." Orange critters gave less Chaos Energy than red ones.

"Eating that big fish only got me 10,000 Chaos Energy points."

"Even adding the small fish and spawns’ contributions, I’ve got just under 20,000 Chaos Energy…"

"But upgrading my forelimbs…"

Trilobite opened the "Evolution STEAM Store," checking the cost to change his forelimb-tibia connection…

"Crap!"

"25,000 Chaos Energy points!"

"Where do I scrounge the last 5,000!?"

Right then—

"Whoosh—!"

A shadow streaked overhead.

Nearby spiny fish fled in all directions!

The Lorentz Jar and Olfactory Membranes’ weakness showed—great underwater, useless against airborne threats.

Luckily, Trilobite’s eyes weren’t totally worthless. Though low-res—seeing the world like "Minecraft" with mere tens of thousands of "pixels"—they excelled at spotting movement.

"The threat’s from above…"

"Tch…"

"Another ancient giant dragonfly?"

"No! This one’s bigger than the ancient giant dragonfly!"

"And its tail looks different too!"

Trilobite watched the giant insect dart through the air. His professional habit had him identify every creature he spotted.

"Hmm, must be the Permian giant dragonfly!"

Insects had their giant phase during the Carboniferous period, but that didn’t stop later bugs from trying the same path.

The insect order that produced the ancient giant dragonfly kept pushing for gigantism.

During the Permian, they spawned another giant—the Permian giant dragonfly!

With wingspans around 80cm, they might’ve been larger than their ancient cousins!

But this marked insects’ last stand as sky rulers. Later giants like the Titan Chirper only dominated treetops, never truly conquering the skies.

Why the Permian giant dragonfly was insects’ final flying giant?

By the Mesozoic, even large insects vanished.

Simple reason—after the late Triassic, pterosaurs took vertebrates airborne.

With vertebrates dominating the panel, large insects stood no chance.

That insect order was done for.

Yet this Permian giant dragonfly seemed unaware of its disadvantage against vertebrates. It dipped low and soared high repeatedly, taunting Trilobite.

It hovered at a tricky height—neither Trilobite’s "Flip the World Off" nor his water spray could reach it.

"Prepared, are we?"

"But still…"

Trilobite flexed his longer hind legs.

"Maybe I’ll test it!"

—-

Molybdenum Cleansing lay tightly bound. The horns on his head and the tough hide and spikes covering him screamed Chaos follower.

But Albert Drake simply used "Holy Light from the Sun" to pin him down.

The Ether Queen watched coldly as the proud commander struggled.

"Hmph."

"This creature reeks like a sun-baked clam."

"Only Chaos followers stink this foul."

The insult provoked Molybdenum Cleansing.

"You wretched woman!"

"Chaos follower!?"

"Our one true god is the great ‘Great Primordial Deity’!"

But such a nitpicking correction made Albert Drake roll her eyes.

“Mystery solved.”

“Definitely a Chaos follower.”

“But oddly, he seems completely ignorant about the very name ‘Chaos’.”

“Elvlyn, any insights?”

The tall woman attending Albert Drake nodded. Formerly one of the Prophets from Ark World Beltan, she had witnessed countless Bubble Worlds and deities during her people’s wanderings through the Sea of Ether. Her extensive knowledge proved invaluable.

She didn’t disappoint Albert Drake.

“I’ve heard tales.”

“Some chaos deities operate less overtly than those in Themis or Valaharl.”

“They prefer slow infiltration—whispering locals into overthrowing native gods, imprisoning or sealing the Will of the World, then gradually brainwashing populations into Chaos followers.”

“Next, they spread Chaos Energy to trigger mutations, twisting the world toward chaos.”

“Civilizations from such ‘Bubble Worlds’ grow fiercely aggressive, their people brutal; they conquer Bubble World after Bubble World under the Chaos Demon God’s command.”

“Within their own realm, they endlessly nurture saplings of the Fantasy Tree of Subspace to ‘drain’ the world’s essence.”

“When ripe, these trees shatter the Crystal Walls from within, merging with other Fantasy Trees to feed the ever-growing Subspace!”

“Compared to brute conquest, this is…”

“Peaceful transformation.”

Albert Drake listened intently, habitually twisting her wine-red bangs.

“Excellent.”

“Then all is clear.”

“Hmph! This ‘Triton Empire’ is just fools marching blindly to their doom.”

“Drag him away and behead him!”

“Blood sacrifice for the Giant God! Offerings to the divine throne!”

The “First Paratroopers” flanking Albert Drake saluted instantly, hauling Molybdenum Cleansing out.

Yet Molybdenum Cleansing showed no fear.

“Hahaha…”

“Killing me changes nothing!”

“I feel it!”

“A True Deity approaches!”

“And it is…”

“The Giant-Winged Vortex God!”

“The Great Primordial Deity heard my pleas! He—”

“Boom—!”

A massive, earthshaking roar cut him off!

The Ether Queen bucked violently, like a leaf in a storm.

*Has divine punishment come?*

Molybdenum Cleansing hoped desperately.

But…

“Tsk!”

Albert Drake’s scornful laugh crushed his hope.

“Activate magical projection.”

“See for yourself what your ‘Giant-Winged Vortex God’ truly is before the great Giant God’s divine eyes!”

Then…

“Boom—!”

A colossal “dragon” stretching kilometers long breached the surface, soaring skyward!