Chapter 351

Chapter 351: When the King Comes Early, Let’s Be a Small Tyrant First

“Whoosh—!”

“Buzz—!”

The Ether Emperor glided through the Ether Sea, using his four paddle fins.

His former companions gazed at him with shock and admiration.

They knew their past leader had transformed beyond recognition, rising from a lowly tyrant to a true king!

The Sin Dragons were powerful ether deities.

Battling three at once, crippling two near death while brutally slaying another—such a feat seemed impossible before.

This triumph alone secured the Ether Emperor’s place among the Upper Tyrants.

Yet he also noticed profound fear and wariness in his former companions’ eyes.

Because…

“Rip…”

“Gulp…”

He was ravenously devouring the fallen Sin Dragon’s Divine Body.

To fellow deities, this seemed utterly barbaric!

Crude. Despicable.

Others might crush foes and pride, but he consumed the corpse too!

However, the newly crowned Ether Emperor remained unfazed.

“Just the narrow views of mediocre gods.”

“Sacrificing so-called elegance for power means nothing!”

“But the real question is…”

“Big brother! Can’t you spare me more?!”

“Blood sacrifice for the Giant God! Flesh offering for the feast!”

“I’ll gorge myself and sacrifice endlessly—won’t you make me stronger?!”

Though the Giant God’s modifications for the Shallow Ether Wanderers were only phase one, this deity had glimpsed his destined blueprint within that wondrous space!

That massive Divine Body!

That monstrous yet majestic form!

That aura of absolute domination…

It left him craving more.

His current Giant God-remade body paled against that vision.

If you possess such wonders, why tease me with mere scraps?

Under its constant pleas and prayers, the Giant God finally showed mercy again.

However, this upgrade still seemed like a half-hearted trick…

"Uh…"

The Ether Emperor felt tremendous force kneading its skull, lifting it higher; the "divine muscles" attached above the skull also multiplied and strengthened!

This granted it terrifying blood-filled jaws and astonishing bite force!

Its jaw extended while its teeth transformed.

Three-angled edges with dreadful serrated cutting surfaces emerged—perfect for piercing divine Steel Skin and even better for tearing huge chunks of divine flesh from deities!

Finally, this newly transformed deity realized that the consumed divine flesh, beyond being Sacrificed to the great Giant God, continuously merged into its own form.

Divine bone, divine muscle, divine tendon…

Every organ expanded and thickened!

At last…

"Roar—!"

Magic power and oppressive aura erupted skyward!

The Ether Emperor’s second metamorphosis was complete!

It still possessed a long neck and modestly sized head, but its body had swollen tremendously!

The towering spine and cavernous torso radiated overwhelming strength and magic!

Through its roar, it declared absolute sovereignty over the Ether Sea!

Yet at that very moment…

"Move! Fall back!"

"Damn it! Abandon the prime materials!"

"Hurry if you value your lives! Slowpokes won’t last long in these waters!"

"I’ll cover you!"

…

Just as the Ether Emperor prepared to assert its dominion, rebels stormed in.

Worse still—they threatened to harm the Giant God’s people!

Unforgivable!

"If they succeed, the Giant God might deem me incompetent… withhold my upgrades…"

"I’d lose my mind!"

"No time for doubts!"

"Strike hard!"

—-

"Full retreat now!"

"I’ll cover the rear!"

Albert Drake gritted her teeth,

overwhelmed by frustration.

The feat of deicide had been achieved, though she and her ether Fleet had slain a deity already teetering on the edge of collapse.

But taking advantage of the situation felt exhilarating!

The Ether Queen absorbed more "divine ranks," causing the crimson "star" within her soul to burn brighter—her soul’s resilience strengthened!

A fraction of "divine flesh" was consumed by the Ether Queen’s avatar body, transmuting into surging energy and magic.

This energy could fuel powerful magic for deity-level spells or rapid injury recovery. Yet its greater purpose lay as raw material—turning the Giant God’s blueprint for the "avatar body" into reality.

Naturally, even the Ether Queen’s vast appetite couldn’t devour two colossal Sin Dragon divine bodies.

But divine bones, blood, or flesh all served as exceptional industrial resources. Divine bone and flesh could forge battleships with godlike durability; divine blood could enhance existing vessels, granting them biological properties…

Every part held value!

Moreover, divine bodies were typically massive—kilometer-scale mountains to mortal eyes. Towing one back promised years of excavation!

Had deities not been beyond mortal challenge, humans would’ve hunted them to "protected species" status long ago.

But deities remained deities.

Even this opportunistic strike cost the ether Fleet three capital ships and five support vessels.

This loss fueled Albert Drake’s bitterness.

"To abandon hard-won gains earned through sacrifice…"

Yet against two advancing Usurper-level ether deities, even a battleship wouldn’t survive one exchange.

"Retreat! Now!"

Though the second living saint spoke bluntly, she valued lives—distinguishing clearly between resources and her people.

"I’ll hold them off!"

"Buy every second you can!"

As she stepped forward—

"ROAR—!"

The Bird Fish God’s maw gaped wide, unleashing a torrent of magic!

The deity’s most fundamental spell—energy torrent.

No artistry here—just raw magical energy concentrated before its head and violently expelled!

Brutal. Primal. Devastatingly potent!

"Damn it!"

Albert Drake’s eyes widened.

She mustered all her strength, charging headlong into the energy surge.

"Even burning all the energy I just absorbed… it might not be enough!"

“Not to mention, this damned evil god shouldn’t have only this one move.”

“But there was no choice, she could only try…”

“Boom—!”

The torrent of energy ruthlessly smashed into Albert Drake’s “avatar body.”

“Ah—!”

She let out a horrifying scream, blood streamed from the corners of her mouth, and two trails of bloody tears flowed from her eyes.

The Spiny Shark-style avatar body wailed within the energy torrent.

In under ten seconds, the energy she’d just devoured was nearly drained.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Warm breath puffed from her crimson lips as Albert Drake’s whole body flushed an unhealthy red.

She’d overloaded!

“Though I survived that hit, one more strike would…”

“What!?”

A bright yet sinister light flooded her command cabin again. Drained of energy and defenseless, the Ether Queen could only watch the evil energy swallow her whole.

But…

“Roar—!”

An enraged bellow shook the Ether Sea.

A colossal shadow loomed over Albert Drake.

Massive paddle-flippers churned chaotic currents in the Ether Sea, flinging her aside!

“Boom—!”

The powerful torrent of energy slammed into the enormous shadow.

Yet it didn’t cause even a ripple.

It stared down the energy torrent and charged straight at the evil god.

“Had it changed again!?”

Albert Drake gaped at the former “Shallow Ether Wanderers.”

Its old lazy, peaceful aura had vanished, replaced by a king’s dominance and a tyrant’s brutality!

“Is this the Giant God’s transformative power!?”

“He’s forged another ruler!”

“Magnificent!”

Then…

“Boom—!”

The Ether Sea’s new king ignored the energy blast entirely, crashing headlong into the two evil gods of the Endless Ether!

—-

“Huh…”

“That’s somewhat impressive.”

“But still far from an ‘Ocean King.’”

Trilobite tossed four more “small DLCs”—jawbone extension, triangular cutting teeth, raised skull, and increased size—pushing the Ocean Dragon’s evolution further.

Now the Ocean Dragon resembled…

“Huh… a Fierce Dragon!?”

“At least it looked kinda similar.”

“Well, call it a Fierce Dragon-style plesiosaur.”

Fierce Dragons weren’t from the Plesiosauridae or Sauropterygia families but one of Plesiosauria’s three main branches.

They had another name: Rhomaleosauridae.

They rose earliest and were least specialized.

During the late Triassic, Fierce Dragons tried climbing the food chain by raising their skulls and boosting bite force.

Sadly, they still lost to Temnodontosaurus, vanishing together in the early Jurassic extinction.

But many early plesiosaurs, like the short-snouted dragon, closely resembled those niche-challenging Fierce Dragons.

This meant the Fierce Dragon’s evolution previewed the plesiosaur’s path—they just lacked the same luck.

“Current hardware isn’t quite king-tier yet, but it’ll let you dominate locally.”

“Future upgrades? Save up Chaos Energy and return later.”

“But now…”

Trilobite started refocusing on his own plight, planning how to dodge the fight.

The next instant, he realized it was pointless.

“Whoa!”

“Boom—!”

A giant clawed foot stomped down, smashing straight into his hiding cave.