Chapter 353

Chapter 353: High-End Hunters Often Appear as Prey

Trilobite felt deeply wronged and terribly unlucky.

He hadn’t wanted to fight at all!

According to the intelligence he’d gathered, both were enormous—top predators.

If only one had approached, bursting from the cave for a surprise attack might have given him decent odds; driven by hunger, he might have risked it.

But two showed up!

And they stayed close together.

Unless he crippled or killed one instantly, he’d face fighting both.

It wasn’t impossible, but escaping unscathed like before? No chance.

He might even suffer heavy losses.

As a wild predator, Trilobite avoided this at all costs.

In the wild, injury meant failed hunts. When other predators came, he’d lack strength to intimidate or drive them off—a death sentence.

For Trilobite, though Chaos Energy healed wounds and he had ample reserves…

What was the point of a losing trade?

Hunt for nothing?

Worse, those two massive predators brought a pack of medium-sized and small-sized predators.

This wasn’t about pointless hunts anymore—it was survival!

Trilobite prayed desperately: "Dice Goddess, make that fool above watch their step, don’t let them stomp in…"

Sadly, reality ignored his wishes.

The Dice Goddess handed him a crushing failure.

"Boom—!"

A thick, clawed leg slammed into Trilobite’s hiding place.

He’d camouflaged the cave perfectly—the enemy noticed nothing and stomped right in!

"Boom—!"

The colossal body crashed down beside Trilobite’s cave.

"Damn it!"

"You leave me no choice!"

"There was no turning back now!"

"Roar—!"

He jerked his head sideways, sinking teeth into the intruding leg.

This leg was extraordinary—thick, clawed, and armored with lizard-like scales.

Trilobite found it somewhat familiar.

But whether it was the Scale Armor or the tough hide, both meant nothing before the saber teeth!

“Pshhh—!”

The blade-like saber teeth effortlessly pierced through the bony armor and leathery skin, tearing through flesh.

“Riiip—!”

A huge chunk of the intruder’s calf muscle—the gastrocnemius—was ripped clean off!

Blood instantly gushed forth, flooding the entire cave in a terrifying crimson tide.

“Roar—!”

The unidentified monster howled in agony, yanking its leg back in haste.

And Trilobite too…

“Boom——!”

The colossal beast slowly emerged from the muddy depths.

Drenched in blood, he resembled a nightmarish creature clawing its way from hell; those gem-like compound eyes gleamed eerily amidst the scarlet haze.

“Roar—!”

His furious roar unleashed violent shockwaves that ripped through the void and Ether Sea.

Even the distant Fantasy Tree of Subspace trembled at the beast’s cry!

A truly commanding entrance!

Core councilors, subordinate officials, and Resurrectors alike froze at this thunderous bellow.

“Grrrr…”

“Huuuh… roar…”

The deep roar echoed through the woods, striking every conscious being’s soul like the whispers of an Ancient God.

The “Giant God” had arrived in a manner no living thing could have foreseen!

—-

“Creeeak—!”

“Bzzzt…”

Across the Ether Sea and upon islands of Primal Mud, all Saraph people—their flesh gone, existing only as “metal coffins”—gazed upward.

Though distant, every Saraph witnessed the Giant God emerging from the chaos!

His Divine Body stood immense and mighty, its magnificence undimmed by the swirling fog.

Bathed in the evil god’s blood, he embodied battle’s savagery; his jeweled eyes held the void’s cold precision; his monumental form radiated the primordial’s unyielding eternity!

“Boom——!”

The Giant God took a step, shaking the earth like thunder.

The once-smug Chaos Demon God shrieked, stumbling backward in retreat.

Like the rising sun that drove away darkness, like the storm that swept away dark clouds!

It brought hope and ideals to Saraph and her people.

"He… actually embodied all the rules of creation!"

"As if He were the sovereign of all things!"

"Indeed, the nemesis who could overturn chaos!"

"Great is the Giant God!"

However proud or noble Saraph’s people might be, whatever deities they’d witnessed or scorned—before such overwhelming divine presence, faith remained their sole recourse.

For the Giant God’s majestic form seemed to proclaim one truth: before Me, you need only believe.

"Rooooar—!"

The thunderous roar swept across the world, shaking all existence!

Saraph and her people marveled, Amon quaked in terror, and Samikina plunged into panic.

"This…"

"This wasn’t part of the plan!"

According to the scheme devised by her and Barbatos, Saraph held utmost significance to the Giant God. When she faced peril, He couldn’t possibly abandon her.

Thus they’d mobilized two core councilors and numerous subordinate officials, plus reinforcements from the Ether Sea, using Saraph as bait to ensnare the Giant God!

Wherever the Giant God might be, He’d surely rush to her aid.

Once He drew near, scouts would signal the core councilors to spring their ambush.

Enemy exposed, us concealed—first-strike advantage secured!

Yet now…

The trap barely set, the "prey" hadn’t approached from without—but erupted from within their very center!

The opening move shattered one of Amon’s legs!

Now their initiative vanished, advantage became disadvantage…

Wait—disadvantage?

"No, not disadvantage!"

"It’s still two against one, and I remain hidden."

"The Giant God shouldn’t know I’m here!"

"Besides, I command all these subordinate officials!"

"Though their strength barely matters against the ‘Giant God,’ they can still sow chaos!"

"And the Giant God must protect Saraph mid-battle!"

"Regardless—many against few, shadow against light—advantage remains mine!"

"Haaah…"

Samikina drew a shuddering breath.

“Buzz…”

An Outer God from the Void flew over.

“Go, tell Amon my plan!”

“As long as we acted according to my plan, our winning rate would be…”

“One thousand percent!”

But at that moment…

“Bad news!”

An Outer God frantically flew over.

“Sir, your subordinate officials…”

—-

“Hmm…”

“I encountered a relative so distant that eight poles couldn’t reach.”

“And it looked just like me.”

Trilobite examined the predator he’d crippled, instantly recognizing its species.

“Probably a fast crocodile from the suborder of Crocodyliformes…”

“It ran quickly. In the short time I took to climb out of the cave, it had slipped far away.”

“Calling him ‘grandson thief’ now probably wouldn’t have worked.”

Creatures in the Loricatosauria were fierce top predators, sporting crocodile-like scales, four legs, upright posture, and a Large Head with massive bite force!

Simply put, they all resembled each other.

Outsiders couldn’t tell them apart.

Even experts struggled to distinguish them once bones were clad in muscle and skin.

Trilobite was highly skilled in this field.

As for whether this fast crocodile and Trilobite’s postosuchus were remotely related…

It was debatable.

They belonged to tangled groups where family ties blurred, and species hopping between families was routine.

Generally, though, postosuchus fell under the Bopolong superfamily, while the fast crocodile belonged to armored crocodilians.

The fast crocodile’s link to modern crocodiles was slightly closer.

“This guy was huge!”

“Over five meters!”

“Nearly my size!”

“And much heavier than me!”

Unlike Trilobite—with his air sacs, hollow bones, and dinosaur build—that fast crocodile was a true fast crocodile, burdened by dense bones and packed with muscle.

His body cavity was solidly heavy, not supported by air sacs.

This made the nearly five-and-a-half-meter fast crocodile weigh seven hundred kilograms!

However, such a heavy body also limited its agility.

Furthermore…

“This fellow is already injured.”

“The heavy weight presses on its wounded hind legs, becoming a burden.”

“The key is…”

“Sniff… sniff…”

When Trilobite hid in the cave, he smelled many scents.

There were many medium-sized and small-sized predators.

But they were scattered throughout the vast forest, and it would take them some time to arrive.

And…

“Rustle…”

His sharp hearing and olfactory sense also picked up the sound of shells clashing and the scent of chitin.

Some giant arthropods must have been moving through the woods.

Their scent gradually mixed with that of the medium-sized and small-sized predators in the forest, and a scent of blood began to spread…

“How strange.”

“It seems like a group of big insects is fighting those small predators?”

“That’s perfect; it reduces a lot of trouble for me.”

“Now, the only opponent I still have combat power against is…”

Trilobite clearly sensed a large, vicious beast filled with a scent of blood hiding in the nearby bushes; it seemed ready to make him focus on the fast crocodile while it planned to ambush him!

“But this creature’s hunting experience seems lacking.”

A mature hunter, or a qualified hunter, would at least observe the wind direction before hunting, right?

This creature was upwind; when the wind blew, the scent would all drift downwind to Trilobite’s nose.

“All right, since you want to ambush.”

“I’ll grant you your wish!”

“Acting? Who can’t do that?”

“Roar—!”

Trilobite roared as he slowly approached the “fast crocodile,” pretending not to notice the hunter beside him.

“You must understand one truth.”

“Advanced hunters often appear in the form of their prey!”