Chapter 342

Chapter 342: A New Species Discovered Again!

As Saraph people rose from the coffin… no, as they opened the coffin and violently beat the chaos pirates, Trilobite began his new hunt.

“Damn it, what the hell dares to touch my customer!”

Trilobite’s grumbling turned into light growls that caused gentle ripples in the Sea of Ether.

However, he remained quite far from that “sandbank,” so the commotion he stirred wasn’t enough to attract the attention of the “prey” or the prey’s prey.

This was exactly what Trilobite wanted.

His eyes remained fixated ahead, sensing changes in the seawater waves. He took one step, paused, then took another, blending his footsteps with the tide and using the sea’s power to mask his movement.

“Very good…”

“Closer…”

“Getting closer and closer…”

“The prey hasn’t noticed me yet!”

“I must be patient and wait for the right moment!”

Postosuchus wasn’t built for speed. In the original timeline, their targets were large Water Lizards—hefty creatures never known for swiftness.

They only needed to master ambush tactics and short sprints to outpace Water Lizards.

But for Trilobite, that approach wouldn’t work.

Because his prey was…

“Hmm, a creature in the water, it should be…”

“Uh…”

“Harpagofututorvolsellorhinus.”

Trilobite silently recited the strange Latin name.

He wasn’t showing off to some imaginary audience; this creature simply lacked a Chinese name.

In fact, except for species discovered domestically or famous paleo-creatures, most fossils found abroad had no Chinese translations.

So Trilobite took matters into his own hands, dubbing them: “Just call them Dragon-shaped Shark.”

He felt quite satisfied with his naming skill.

Though “Dragon-shaped Shark” contained homophones that sounded odd, it captured the creature’s essence.

This species belonged to the “Holocephali” subclass of cartilaginous fish, related to silver sharks in the same subclass—hence the “shark” label.

Additionally, while these creatures were holocephalans, they fell under the “Eugeneodontida” order.

The name suggested slender, eel-like beings.

Yet “Harpagofututorvolsellorhinus” had another dragon-like feature: males bore decorative horns resembling dragon antlers.

With backward-curving horns plus pectoral and pelvic fins, they truly looked like the dragon-serpents from fantasy tales.

As for the horns’ purpose…

Unknown.

Given that only male Dragon-shaped Sharks had horns, paleontologists speculated these horns might serve solely for sexual selection—used to compete over females during courtship. They served no real purpose.

In fact, most deer antlers also lacked survival benefits; offering near-zero defense against predators while becoming a heavy burden during escapes. Yet deer evolved down this irreversible "sexual selection" path, leaving them no choice but to endure the cost.

"But this guy’s absurdly huge!"

Though cartilaginous fish, not all modern sharks are fierce giants. The Carboniferous era—when Dragon-shaped Sharks thrived—saw cartilaginous fish radiating and expanding across nearly every Ecological Niche in the ocean. Cartilaginous fish varied wildly in size, including all sorts of oddities.

"Dragon-shaped Shark" was the imposing Chinese name Trilobite coined, but their size hardly matched it. Fossils showed these eel-like fish averaged twenty centimeters—smaller than farmed carp, truly insignificant.

Yet the creature Trilobite spotted here measured nearly five meters long! Dwarfing even giant moray eels! If not for its noodle-like build, it would rival a Great White Shark.

"What did it eat to grow this big?"

"Whoa—there’s more than one!"

Trilobite gazed toward the distant water, where several massive backs slowly arched above the "surface."

"Huh, an undiscovered large species, perhaps?"

"Quite possible."

Cartilaginous fish bones rarely endure decay; many fossils preserve only teeth. That’s why "Helicoprion" teeth remained a century-long mystery. Additionally, larger animals’ skeletons fossilize poorly. With this double disadvantage, few cartilaginous species—especially large ones—get identified despite their abundance.

"Then I’ll treat this as discovering a new species."

"In the past, these finds could’ve fueled several papers."

"Now, no papers—but at least I’ll feast!"

"Patience is key, though."

Trilobite lowered his head, watching Dragon-shaped Sharks inch closer to the "sandbank."

His tree-planting project had formed this platform slightly above water—spacious enough for him to sprint freely. As for how one tree spawned such a vast sandbank…

Trilobite, lacking expertise, barely grasped the ecology-geography interplay. He guessed his tree accidentally "triggered" massive muddy sand accumulation, creating the irregular, gap-riddled ring resembling a lagoon. This structure even aided marine predators.

Sleek predators adapted to shallow seas could beach half their bodies ashore—no orca-like risks needed.

"Still, they’d struggle to move in shallower water."

“On the contrary, I, as a four-legged creature, had the advantage.”

“That sandbank could be seen as a trap!”

Trilobite thought as he slowly approached from behind the sandbank, sneaking up on these fellows.

—

The “Sin Dragons” were deities whose very name suggested they were not good beings.

These creatures were as evil and greedy as the Border Dragons, filled with the Abyss’s malevolent will in their Soul.

But unlike the Border Dragons, their activity range was wider, mostly in the deeper layers of the Ether Sea; they hated the environments of the “Shallow Ether Sea” and the “Chaos Swamp Realm,” so they almost never appeared there.

Lately, though, things were changing.

The Endless Ether Realm kept spreading, pushing its borders and slowly eating into the domain of the “Chaos Swamp Realm”; even the Ether Sea inside the Chaos Swamp Realm was gradually being taken over by the Endless Ether.

This was driven by bigger rules, unstoppable and not changing for any deity’s will.

Even the “Abyss” had to adapt.

For the “Abyss,” the spread of the Endless Ether wasn’t all bad.

They could use this chance to reach into the “Chaos Swamp Realm,” grabbing more benefits and powers.

As the Abyss grew greedier, deities from the Endless Ether moved toward the border between the shallow ether and the Chaos Swamp Realm; their move put more pressure on deities already living there.

A big migration was bound to happen!

The “Sin Dragons,” who didn’t usually handle the shallow ether and Chaos Swamp Realm’s border Ether Sea, suddenly showed up there and attacked the Shallow Ether Wanderers without mercy!

“Roar—!”

Their long divine bodies shot onto the shore.

Their awful blood-red jaws opened wide.

“Pshhh—!”

Their giant jaws clamped down hard on the hind leg of the biggest Shallow Ether Wanderer.

“Roar!”

The Shallow Ether Wanderer roared in pain, struggling to crawl up the beach.

In the void, the Sin Dragons couldn’t use magic, but neither could the Shallow Ether Wanderers; also, the Sin Dragons were stronger than their prey, so…

“Zzz…”

“Roar—!”

Both sides started a tug-of-war, fighting evenly…

After all, the Shallow Ether Wanderers, looking like Phantom Dragons, had some Terrestrial Mobility; but the noodle-like Sin Dragons had almost zero land movement capability.

Only half their bodies were in the Ether Sea, so they were evenly matched with the much smaller Ether Wanderers.

No…

They were even being pulled slowly onto the shore!

This was pretty funny.

The hunter got turned into bait by its prey, ready to be dragged ashore.

The silliness of it made Trilobite want to laugh.

Soon, something even more ridiculous happened.

“Boom—!”

“Roar—!”

Seeing their friend in trouble, other Sin Dragons rushed over!

Now there were three in total!

They charged onto the coast one after another.

One bit hard on the Shallow Ether Wanderer’s tail, another clamped onto its other leg, and together they tried to drag it back into the Ether Sea.

But…

“Snap—!”

The Shallow Ether Wanderer stuck out its front claws, grabbing a vine tightly; it bore the pain and used the vine to hold steady.

So those Sin Dragons couldn’t pull it anymore!

Used to fighting in the mid and deep layers of the Endless Ether Realm, the Sin Dragons had no skill for battles in the shallow ether and the "world," making fools of themselves.

In this harsh world, making a fool of yourself meant not just shame—it meant death!

“Roar…”

Low growls sounded behind them.

A huge giant beast stopped hiding.

“Splash… Splash…”

Its strong four legs stomped through the Ether Sea, and its massive divine body blocked their escape!

Then…

“Hey—!”

With a sudden push, before the three busy tuggers could react, it shoved them onto the “shore” one by one.