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Chapter 362: White Whale Subjugation Operation
🕑 Added 2024-10-31 11:01:01 +0000 UTC"I really can't figure out what the boss is thinking. He's actually got us protecting this weakling and even expects us to take orders from him?"
After successfully negotiating the terms with Elsa, Subaru was eager to get started with the trade expedition. He wanted Elsa to assign the escort team as soon as possible.
But it wasn't long before Subaru realized that negotiating with Elsa was just one of many challenges he would face. The issues before him still gave him quite a headache.
The guards Elsa assigned to him were indeed experienced and significantly more skilled than a typical mercenary group. However, unlike regular mercenaries who simply followed orders in exchange for payment, these killers from the underworld were far harder to control.
Not only were they covered in a constant aura of killing intent, but they also had a rebellious attitude. Despite Subaru supposedly being the head of this caravan, few actually obeyed his commands.
If it weren't for the "boss" being able to keep these maniacs in check, Subaru feared he might be dead before they even reached their destination.
"Hold up, something seems off. We've traveled down this route many times, and because it's quite remote, we barely ever see anyone here.
But judging by the trampled grass and the footprints on the ground, it looks like a lot of people recently came through."
The leader of the escort team for this mission was a former head of the underground assassination organization, known by the alias 'Venomous Thorn.' His specialty was creating poisons and executing kills with them.
With his level of strength, he really shouldn't have been tasked with something as low-ranking as escort duty. However, considering that this was the group's first collaboration with Subaru and Elsa was concerned about whether the weak Subaru could manage the bloodthirsty killers, she asked Venomous Thorn to oversee the situation.
As one of the former leaders of the assassination group, Venomous Thorn was also one of the few who had witnessed Wood's power. He had been completely won over by Wood's strength and had no qualms about following the orders given by their "boss."
An experienced assassin like Venomous Thorn might have been silent along the way, but that didn't mean he let his guard down for even a second.
If it had been just another task assigned by that woman Elsa, it would've been one thing. But since Elsa mentioned it was something the "boss" wanted done, Venomous Thorn had no choice but to take it seriously.
Wood was someone who had effortlessly taken down 'Mother' and instantly defeated Scar, the second-in-command of the assassin group. With that display of overwhelming power, he had united all of the underground assassination groups. In the eyes of people like Venomous Thorn, Wood was undeniably both strong and ruthless.
Failing to complete a task assigned by such a person—Venomous Thorn didn't even want to think about the consequences!
Determined to avoid any complications, Venomous Thorn maintained his vigilance throughout the journey, always observing his surroundings with utmost care.
It was when their caravan reached a narrow path that Venomous Thorn immediately noticed something was off.
The wilderness was different from the main roads due to its sparse foot traffic—few people traversed these areas regularly.
However, Venomous Thorn saw that along the path ahead, the surrounding grass was trampled, and there were numerous tracks, both from ground dragons and people.
"There might be trouble ahead. I suggest we take another route," he advised cautiously, even though he couldn't be sure if danger lurked ahead. Better safe than sorry.
"But according to the map, if we change routes, it would take us three more days to reach our destination,” Subaru replied.
“Most of the goods we're transporting are fresh. If we delay too long, their value will plummet."
Seeing Venomous Thorn, who had been silent and gloomy until now, suddenly speak up made Subaru realize that this was the most dangerous person among them.
Normally, Subaru wouldn’t dare argue with these killers, but given the current situation, changing routes would result in significant losses. He had already been frustrated with the unruly attitude of these "guards," and now decided to muster the courage to oppose them.
"What's more important—profits or lives? If we take the detour, we'll simply earn less than expected.
But if we push on and encounter something dangerous, and lose all the cargo, who will take responsibility?
Look closely, you weakling—the footprints here are clearly from knight boots, the kind that only official soldiers or organized military forces wear.
And judging from the number of tracks left by both knights and ground dragons, there must have been a considerable number of them passing through recently.
I don't know why they were in the middle of nowhere, but they certainly weren't here for sightseeing!"
If it had been another caravan, there would have been marks from wagon wheels and the prints of regular boots—not uniform knight footwear. This much was obvious to an experienced person like Venomous Thorn.
To Subaru, losing the goods would likely just mean getting chewed out by his master. But for Venomous Thorn, failure meant something far worse. With Elsa adding fuel to the fire, Wood might very well decide to kill him.
So Venomous Thorn, usually the quiet type, now grabbed Subaru by the collar, practically shouting at him.
"Even if it’s the Royal Knight Order ahead, as long as it’s not a beast, they shouldn’t be hostile to us, right?
Besides, if the profit doesn’t meet expectations, aren’t you worried your boss might punish you?"
Subaru understood what Venomous Thorn was saying, but this was his first assignment and he wanted to do it perfectly, partly to look good in front of Emilia. So he stubbornly stuck to his guns, though he lacked confidence.
To be fair, Subaru was pretty smart. In normal circumstances, Venomous Thorn would have already taken him out. But the mention of disappointing Wood and facing punishment made Venomous Thorn hesitant.
After wrestling with the decision for a moment, Venomous Thorn proposed a compromise: "We could split the cargo in two. You and some of the unlisted brothers take the fresh goods and proceed ahead. Meanwhile, the rest of us—those with bounties on our heads—will take the rest of the cargo on a detour to the next city. This way, if something goes wrong, we can minimize the damage."
If the Royal Knight Order was up ahead, Venomous Thorn and the other notorious assassins would inevitably clash with them.
By splitting into two groups, they could both get the fresh goods to their destination on time and mitigate the risks of losing everything.
If Subaru's group ran into trouble, Venomous Thorn could simply explain to Wood that Subaru, the "weakling," had ignored his advice and insisted on continuing—thus causing the losses.
After thinking over Venomous Thorn's proposal, Subaru agreed, seeing it as a win-win solution. While his group might seem to be in greater danger, Subaru's "Return by Death" ability made him feel more confident.
Even if they did run into trouble, he could always die, reset, and then agree to Venomous Thorn's detour.
Just as Venomous Thorn and Subaru finished splitting their forces and were about to set off on different paths, a thick fog suddenly rolled in, enveloping them at great speed...
Cut to two days earlier—
Anastasia had managed to quickly gather all the strategic supplies, and Wilhelm and the Mimi triplets were ready to move at a moment's notice.
Julius had also used his eloquence and negotiation skills to swiftly secure an agreement with Crusch's faction, persuading them to join in the White Whale subjugation.
The Karsten family was one of the few ducal houses in the Kingdom of Lugnica, with a long history of military service and loyalty to the royal family. They also had their own sizable guard force.
To fulfill Wilhelm's desire for vengeance and to fully bring him under her command—not to mention for the glory of slaying the White Whale—Crusch agreed to the cooperation, even if she knew Julius had ulterior motives.
It was simple—whether or not Anastasia intended to use them as pawns, Crusch had always intended to slay the White Whale.
With someone willing to help, and with Crusch taking the lion's share of the credit, she had no reason to refuse.
When Crusch led Wilhelm, Phenix, and several hundred family guards—as well as Wilhelm's group, led by Wilhelm—to confront the White Whale on the wasteland, they quickly realized that the subjugation wouldn’t be as straightforward as they had hoped.
They had already heard about some of the White Whale's abilities beforehand, so Crusch and her group had come prepared.
As the fog settled around them and the whale's cry echoed above, Crusch ordered her troops to fire special flares into the sky.
These high-powered flares not only pierced through the darkness but also interfered with the mana in the air.
No matter how powerful the White Whale's fog was, it was ultimately fueled by its own mana. Under the interference of the flares, the night turned as bright as day, and the surrounding fog vanished.
With the fog cleared, the subjugation force finally caught sight of the legendary White Whale—one of the three Great Beasts, also known as the "Fog Beast."
It looked like a massive white whale swimming through the sky, with a horn on its head, terrifying glowing red eyes, a large pink halo above it, a body over fifty meters long, and countless vent holes and white fur covering its surface.
Its enormous size and menacing appearance left many present momentarily stunned.
However, Crusch showed her remarkable leadership skills at that moment. She not only snapped her troops out of their daze but also organized an immediate attack.
Although the fog had been cleared, the ensuing subjugation didn't go as smoothly as they hoped.
The White Whale could fly, staying hundreds of meters in the air. Most spells couldn't reach it at that height unless they were joint magic attacks or high-powered spells that consumed a lot of mana.
If even the magic users struggled, then knights and warriors were even worse off. Apart from Wilhelm, Julius, and a few elite fighters like Wilhelm, most warriors were stuck on the ground, unable to even touch the White Whale.
In addition to its massive size, the White Whale's fur provided a significant defense against both magical and physical attacks.
Due to its size and limited attackers, the White Whale hadn’t sustained any critical damage.
To make matters worse, the White Whale possessed two powerful abilities beyond its usual fog—the abilities to create 'clones' and use 'Vanishing Mist.'
As the name suggests, the cloning ability allowed the White Whale to produce two replicas, each slightly weaker than the original but with independent combat capabilities.
As for 'Vanishing Mist,' it was an enhanced fog that could make anything it touched disappear from the world, erasing the memories of those who knew the target.
Using 'Vanishing Mist' required a great deal of mana, and even a massive creature like the White Whale couldn’t use it as casually as its regular fog. It could only emit it intermittently in a mist column from its vent holes.
But the power of 'Vanishing Mist' was undeniable. Part of Crusch’s guard had just been engulfed by the mist, and their existence had been erased instantly.
No one remembered their names or had any memories of them, but Crusch knew exactly how many people she had brought to subdue the White Whale.
Though she couldn’t remember who was missing, she knew for sure it was the White Whale’s doing.
Among those present, only Wilhelm, Reinhard, and Julius could deal substantial damage to the White Whale.
Had they been able to focus their efforts on a single White Whale, they might have taken it down quickly, allowing the others to join the attack.
But now, with the sudden appearance of two clones, the already limited firepower had to be spread even thinner.
