Chapter 174

Chapter 174: The Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons Taste Something Good Again

“Hiss…”

“Zii—!”

Golden gelatinous creatures resembling slime mold—yet far more energetic—rolled across the Primal Mud beneath the Sea of Ether.

They formed from countless tiny "Unicore Beings."

Each "Unicore Being" stood no larger than a mortal; ordinarily, they lived and fed separately, multiplying through division.

But within the unstable Sea of Ether, where currents ceaselessly swept through, the "Unicore Beings" instinctively united.

Though they possessed no concept of "unity," it remained their nature.

"Unicore Beings" gathered into small "Divine Clusters."

Small clusters merged into larger ones, and these larger clusters interlinked, ultimately becoming a "Divine Body"!

Or rather, a divine form.

Once the "Divine Body" took shape, hormones caused internal "Unicore Beings" to differentiate.

Rudimentary motion and sensory organs emerged.

Outer "Unicore Beings" grew restless, linking like treads in back-and-forth motion, driving the entire "Divine Body" forward.

Those atop became acutely sensitive to magical turbulence in the Sea of Ether, adept at capturing scattered magical particles.

By sensing different "magical particles," they developed a basic "stress response."

In some ways, they resembled primitive Ediacaran-era lifeforms.

Or even real-world slime molds.

Yet they proved far more active than slime molds.

Incidentally, some say fantasy realms’ "fluffballs" are actually slime molds.

Of course, such "half-fungi half-animals" remained primitive—easy prey for dirt-foraging creatures.

For instance…

“Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!”

The colossal Star-Eater Plutonium Dragon crept through the mire.

These giants—which Trilobite mistook for "Diplopods"—surpassed true Diplopods. They could briefly shut abdominal energy exchangers to climb waves in the Sea of Ether.

Unlike land-bound Diplopods.

Thus the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons prowled the Sea of Ether, hunting Subspace fragments, scattered demons, and underground worms within the Primal Mud.

Naturally, they never passed up other delicacies.

“Phew…”

“Utterly exhausted…”

Ye’s Foolish Act grumbled while crawling.

“Good grief.”

"Although spreading the troublesome ‘mysterious spores’ all over the Chaos Demon God’s home was nice, constantly moving around made my supplies a problem."

"I didn’t even have time to eat."

In short, one of the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons’ Three Kings, Ye’s Foolish Act, was hungry too.

Fortunately, he quickly found some food.

"Wait, that thing radiating golden light…"

"What exactly was it…?"

Ye’s Foolish Act sped up and soon caught the golden object.

"Oh my, this scent…"

As he got closer, a very tempting smell hit his antennae, making him unable to resist!

"Wonderful!"

"This was like a gift in a snowstorm!"

"Shall I try it?"

He carefully stretched his head and gently nibbled the golden "fungal cluster" with his mouthparts.

"Uh…"

"It didn’t seem to have much taste…"

"It wasn’t as good as it smelled."

"But… wait, the nice smell didn’t come from these things themselves!"

"It was actually…"

Ye’s Foolish Act moved the cluster of fungi and saw some "wood shavings" next to it.

It seemed like a branch from the Fantasy Tree of Subspace that had fallen, then been corroded by these "Divine Fungi."

"The scent appeared to come from these corroded Fantasy Tree branches!"

"Well then…"

He tasted the wood shavings.

Then…

"Hmm!"

"Delicious!"

After decaying, branches from the Fantasy Tree of Subspace gave off a very tempting smell for the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons.

Sadly, the Fantasy Tree of Subspace was hard to break down; even after sinking into the Primal Mud for a long time, it didn’t rot.

Branches with full "law fiber" made the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons’ mouthparts and gut useless.

Before, Ye’s Foolish Act’s "late husband" had chewed on fibers in Trilobite’s excrement, and that was why.

Now, although these things, formed from the "chewed-up" slime molds Trilobite spat out, weren’t exactly excrement, they worked like his gut.

They could break the Fantasy Tree branches’ "law fiber," pull out the energy inside, and let the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons eat!

"Creak, creak…"

Ye’s Foolish Act continued nibbling, and soon finished the pile of wood shavings.

"Wonderful!"

"If only there were more…"

"Hmm!?"

Its antennae twitched again.

The magical aura drifting in the Sea of Ether excited the appetite units within its Divine Core!

"There!"

"Boom—boom—boom—!"

Without hesitation, Ye’s Foolish Act moved hundreds of walking legs, crawling toward the scent’s origin.

It was not alone!

"Boom—boom—boom—!"

"Thud… thud… thud…"

Along the way, more Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons gathered from all directions, advancing toward the aroma’s source.

Truthfully, many Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons cared little for the hatred toward Ye’s Foolish Act or this drawn-out, tedious war.

Yet regardless of their views, all Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons shared immense interest in fragrant "delicacies"!

Thus…

More Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons joined, along with some Outer Gods from the Void and Ether Dragons, converging into a spectacular "divine torrent."

Divine powers collided, fused, and surged, forming a violent "storm vortex"!

Slowly, they gathered near the "Bubble World" of Valaharl!

—-

Beyond the "City of Dimensions" where the Giant God dwelled, "Giant God’s Tower" stood tall.

These living, colossal spires sheltered Valaharl.

The Giant God’s "Resurrection Halo" radiated outward, nourishing and improving the "Bubble World’s" atmosphere and environment.

At least now, Valaharl people no longer needed filters to breathe freely.

But wearing respirators had become habit—even culture—hard to abandon quickly.

Valaharl people sowed seeds preserved for centuries through magic into the earth, reviving some vitality.

Beneath the giant towers, forests gradually grew; though still saplings with sparse canopies, their future held promise.

Storing plant seeds and animal embryos was a last-resort measure. Most Valaharl people never imagined these pre-birth reserves would prove useful.

Yet the true marvel was a wonder—the Cathedral of the Divine Body!

The colossal skull and ribs of the Chaos Demon God lay sideways on a sea islet. Kilometer-long bones whispered of the creature’s former grandeur.

Now it stood as Valaharl’s greatest structure.

The exposed vertebrae and ribs formed an open-air arena. Slightly modified with seats carved into the "divine bone," it hosted a hundred thousand for legion clashes and grand duels.

The skull, still connected to the spine, became a grand cathedral.

Valaharl’s holiest site rested here!

"Long live the great Giant God!"

"Great is the Giant God!"

"Blood sacrifice for the Giant God! Offerings to the divine throne!"

…

Outside the cathedral, all warriors knelt, praying in unison.

Though the Giant God had only recently entered the City of Dimensions, nearby crust movements grew increasingly violent.

Living saint Sulya dreamed the Giant God would soon emerge again.

As the "First Living Saint," her visions never erred!

"Boom—!"

Amidst prayers, the earth trembled.

"Boom—boom—boom—!"

Rhythmic booms echoed from the world’s edge!

"Good!"

Sulya, leading the prayers, rose.

"Assemble all engineer ships!"

"The Giant God prepares to restart His ‘Network Plan’ and ‘Great Expedition.’"

"We cannot remain idle!"

"Albert Drake, Loseta, approach."

"I have a new strategy—‘Overlord Operation.’"

"To execute it, we must form an elite war organization."

"This war organization shall be named ‘First Paratroopers’!"