Chapter 142

Chapter 142: Eat You, What Does It Have to Do with Me?!

“Hmm… hmm hmm…”

Trilobite gently swayed his caudal fin and slowly floated upwards.

He had just witnessed a short battle and concluded…

“It was quite brilliant.”

“After giving the ancient jumping spider a soul, she became much smarter—even using tactics!”

“Her bites were precise too, targeting weak spots!”

“But this venom…”

Trilobite pondered carefully. Venom was rarely designed solely for "defense"; it mainly improved hunting. Protection was just a side effect.

For defense, heavy armor worked better than venom.

When predators grew large enough, poison proved ineffective unless exceptionally potent—especially in the wild.

Creatures like scorpions or black widows produced strong toxins, yet predators like weasels, bats, or birds only suffered temporary pain from their "deadly venom."

Natural selection gave small animals venom but also granted their enemies immunity.

“Relying solely on venom to conquer larger foes was naive.”

“Most animals either Grew Bigger like Sauropod Dinosaurs, armored up like ankylosaurs and stegosauruses, or attacked head-on like triceratops.”

“Venom isn’t a strong creature’s survival strategy.”

“Ah, but the jumping spider young lady isn’t strong—venom helped her. Otherwise, the multi-finned fish would’ve devoured her in one Bite.”

“When possible, I’ll help her grow larger.”

“But for now…”

“Splash——!”

Trilobite’s body advanced slowly, his tail stirring ripples across the water.

The multi-finned fish, however, seemed enraged by the bite. Obsessed with the "jumping spider young lady," it ignored the intensifying water tremors.

“This won’t do.”

“Creatures facing venomous Bites should flee immediately, not seek revenge.”

“Even non-lethal venom dulls reactions and focus through pain.”

“Stubbornly chasing the attacker instead of hiding to recover heightens predation risks.”

“Like now!”

“Splash——!”

Trilobite lifted his head slightly. Seawater cascaded from his mouth, nostrils, and eyes—plunging hundreds of meters down as magnificent waterfalls!

“Boom——! Boom——! Boom——!”

Water crashed onto the sea, churning violently. His near-kilometer-wide form blotted the sky, casting an enormous shadow over the waters!

Now, even if that "multi-finned fish" was slowed and sluggish due to the venom, and was furiously fixated on washing away its shame, it should have understood what was happening!

“This… this…”

“What is this thing?!”

Its pupils widened in panic.

A colossal creature, many times larger than itself, stood proudly above, staring down with his strange "calcite compound eyes."

There was no sparkle in those "calcite compound eyes."

No sign of the fury, anger, or hatred typical of deities.

But that pure, inorganic feeling chilled the etheric worm to the bone.

That emotionless gaze, mixed with the bloody stench from the Giant God’s mouth, told one clear fact— he wasn’t there out of hate, just hunger.

He was only running on instinct.

Eating you— what was that to him?!

“This… this is like a machine!”

“A monster machine! A devouring machine!”

“Get away!”

The etheric worm tried to flee, but whether from terror or the "little bug" venom’s lingering effect, its body went limp, bobbing helplessly in the sea with no strength left.

Yet that hungry, ruthless "devouring machine" didn’t care at all.

He just wanted to eat.

“No—!”

“Save me!”

“Ahhhhhh—!”

The etheric worm’s desperate cries cut off abruptly.

“Crunch—!”

The Giant God snapped his jaws around the "etheric worm."

“Gulp… gulp… gulp…”

He tilted his head back, working his neck to slowly swallow the etheric worm down.

Though Trilobite weighed nearly a hundred times more, the worm was slender— about one-fifth to one-fourth his length. Like a 1.8-meter crocodile swallowing a 30-centimeter eel.

Not hard, just time-consuming.

“Burp—!”

After the "multi-finned fish" slid into his belly, Trilobite felt satisfied, finally a bit full.

“Next, it’s your turn…”

“Splash…”

Trilobite dove underwater, gently balanced the "little" "jumping spider young lady" on his nose, paddled with his limbs, and swam toward the shallow shore.

“Whoosh—!”

He gently nodded and touched the ground with his nose, letting the "jumping spider young lady" climb onto the shore.

Trilobite watched as the jumping spider collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

He noticed that on the system interface, the avatar of the white-haired sister was constantly gasping and coughing.

“Uh… this… using the white-haired sister as bait seemed a bit too much,” he thought.

“This time really wore her out.”

“What should I do if I feel a bit sorry for her?”

“Look how hard she’s gasping!”

“Ah, she’s making me dizzy.”

“But I want to feel dizzy again…”

“I just want to stay dizzy and not get up…”

Just moments ago, he felt bad for her, but now he forgot after seeing some nice views?

But Trilobite knew it was wrong to enjoy this sister’s pain.

Later, there would be plenty of chances for the young lady to sway.

For now, since he had nothing to do, he could play with the young lady.

“I should cheer her up a bit.”

“How about this: praise her and offer some big promises!”

So, Trilobite "calmed" the jumping spider young lady through "Soul Resonance."

“Thanks a lot for this time!”

“You worked hard.”

“I’ll go to more lakes and eat more tasty food, and I won’t leave you out!”

“Keep working hard with me!”

“Hmm!”

After that, Trilobite tilted his head and went back into the sea.

The "Tiktaalik Fish-shaped" Giant God swam away casually, but it didn’t know what those offhand "big promises" meant to the Valaharl people who had just faced despair!

—-

“Now… hmm, I’ll just go back to sleep.”

Just as Trilobite felt bored…

“Jiggle jangle…”

“Wibble wobble…”

“Glub glub…”

Three round heads popped out of the “lake.” On top of them, two flesh fins trembled slightly in the air, looking like cat ears.

Kind of cute.

“Oh?”

“Is that the little flying elephant octopus?”

“Long time no see!”

“Hey, you guys are back again?”

“You showed up just in time…”

Trilobite remembered that his evolution from Pander Fish to Tiktaalik Fish changed the shape of his fin limbs and took off his dorsal fin. This big change didn’t cause a full molt, but it left behind some scraps of fins, Bone Fragments, parts of shed skin, and old fins.

Not long after he molted, trash appeared, and they came running over.

“Here to collect trash again?”

“Just a moment!”

Trilobite turned around and ran back to his cave, using his mouth to pull out all the “trash” he had shed.

“Uh, wait.”

“Didn’t you always bring food to trade with me when you collected trash before?”

“Why are you empty-handed this time!?”

Trilobite shook his big body, circling around the few little flying elephant octopuses.

“Glub glub…”

“Doo doo…”

The little flying elephant octopus seemed to say something to Trilobite with its fleshy tentacles covered in membrane.

“Huh?”

“Oh!”

After thinking a bit, Trilobite finally got it.

“So you didn’t bring the food here with you!”

“Or did you bring so much stuff that you couldn’t carry it all?”

“What are we waiting for?”

“Hurry, take me there!”