Chapter 114: Battlefield Chat
In Crush's camp, there actually weren't many people who could inflict damage on the White Whale.
Even though this was another world, that didn't mean everyone was some kind of superhuman.
Magic users could cast spells to harm the White Whale, but due to the creature's scales and massive size, the damage caused by mages was greatly reduced.
Aside from the mages who could attack the White Whale as it floated in the sky, only Crush could strike it with her longsword thanks to her One Blow, One Hundred Felled technique.
The rest of the people couldn't fly, nor did they possess any long-range attack methods powerful enough to damage the White Whale.
If the White Whale didn't have the ability to fly, then Crush's forces likely wouldn't have suffered such severe losses so early in the battle.
While most of Crush's camp had already lost their will to fight, there was one man who had been dealing damage to the White Whale from beginning to end.
To Wilhelm, the White Whale—who had taken his wife from him—was a lifelong enemy.
He joined Crush's camp for the sake of vengeance, and after many years of waiting, he had finally gotten his chance.
He had placed his life on the line for this.
Even if he couldn't fly, as long as he saw an opening, Wilhelm would use his overwhelming physical abilities and combat instinct to leap onto the White Whale and leave wound after wound on its massive body.
Right now, revenge was the only thing in Wilhelm's eyes.
Other than that, he saw nothing else.
Until either the White Whale or he himself was dead, Wilhelm would never stop swinging his sword.
But the White Whale wasn't something one person could take down alone... No, that's not right—most of the world's dangerous magical beasts and Witch Cult Sin Archbishops could be taken down by one man.
But that "one man" would never be Wilhelm.
Though he was once feared and revered as the "Sword Demon," once defeated the previous Sword Saint and married into the Sword Saint's family—
His strength still wasn't enough to slay the White Whale on his own.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to join Crush's camp and wait until now.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Wilhelm shouted as he sprinted across the White Whale's back, slashing his sword without pause.
One gash after another opened up on the beast's body. But it still wasn't enough… This damage wasn't nearly enough to cripple the monster.
Then the White Whale shook violently, flinging Wilhelm off its back. Thankfully, before he hit the ground, his trained ground dragon caught him.
Watching the White Whale ascend higher and higher into the sky, Wilhelm clenched his fists and could only watch as it disappeared into the thick mist.
"Wilhelm-san!"
"Natsuki-sama? Why are you here?"
Wilhelm turned his head to see Subaru Natsuki running toward him through the fog.
In Wilhelm's memory, Subaru should have returned to the capital and gone back to Emilia's camp.
So why was he here now?
"That kind of thing can wait until later. Let's deal with the White Whale first," Subaru said, scanning the surrounding mist.
He could feel it—he'd been targeted again.
Just like the first time he met the White Whale—he'd been locked on again.
"Hm, but Natsuki-sama, this has nothing to do with you, does it?"
"In theory, sure. But since I'm here, I can't just sit back and do nothing. It's coming!"
The sudden shout made Wilhelm tense up instantly, but it also raised a question in his mind.
Since the battle began, the White Whale had rarely approached the ground.
So why was it doing so now? Could it be that it believed the ground was no longer dangerous?
The dense fog parted, revealing the White Whale's ferocious appearance. Seeing it, Wilhelm didn't hesitate—he reached out, grabbed Subaru, and tossed him onto the ground dragon's back. Then, alone, he jumped at the White Whale.
Subaru, now sitting atop the ground dragon, quickly steered it to retreat. Just moments ago, he had considered climbing onto the White Whale himself to attack it.
But since Wilhelm had already jumped up and the White Whale had clearly locked onto him, all Subaru had to do was lead it away from the wounded. That way, there wouldn't be any more needless casualties.
With that thought, Subaru spurred the dragon forward, sprinting across the battlefield and luring the White Whale farther away.
Then, things changed. The White Whale began its attack. A blast of fog shot past Subaru like a cannonball, tearing a deep trench into the earth.
"You're ignoring me?! I've hated you since fourteen years ago!"
No matter how fiercely Wilhelm attacked the White Whale, it refused to take its attention off Subaru.
It kept launching attack after attack at Subaru.
If it hadn't been for the excellence of his ground dragon, there was no way he would have come out of it unscathed.
At this rate, Subaru could probably lead the White Whale away. But things didn't go as he had hoped.
Even an outstanding ground dragon couldn't keep up that level of high-intensity running forever. No matter how strong, fatigue would eventually catch up.
Against such a colossal beast, even a small misstep would be fatal.
A slight graze to the dragon's tail caused it to snap off, and the dragon toppled sideways. Subaru tumbled to the ground and quickly scrambled to his feet, but the White Whale was already charging at him, jaws wide open.
As Subaru tried to dive out of the way, an invisible slash struck the White Whale in the eye. Taking advantage of the moment, Subaru dove aside just in time to narrowly avoid the impact.
Wilhelm leapt down from the White Whale's head and landed beside Subaru, extending a hand to pull him up.
"Natsuki-sama, are you alright?"
"Yeah… more or less. But Wilhelm-san… your ground dragon…"
Subaru looked at the dragon lying motionless on the ground. Its tail was severed, and though it still had a faint pulse, its breathing was so weak that even a breeze could snuff it out like a dying flame.
"It's fine. Once we kill the White Whale, we'll have avenged it."
Subaru nodded, turning to look at the White Whale. It had stopped attacking and ascended back into the sky, waiting to strike again.
"Lady Crush, why are you here?"
Hearing Wilhelm's voice, Subaru turned to see Crush approaching, sword in hand.
"What are you saying? This is the White Whale subjugation. How could I sit and watch from the rear?"
Crush responded to Wilhelm and then focused her gaze on Subaru. After examining him closely, she smiled.
"It's truly a relief you're alright."
"Ah, if it weren't for you just now, I'd be toast. But Crush, weren't you organizing the troop retreat?"
"I've already ordered them to withdraw. After all, I couldn't possibly entrust the rear guard to you. You're not even under my command."
"Is this really the time for that? I never noticed how stubborn you were during our conversations."
"Stubborn? I simply don't want to see you die here. After all, don't you still have to return and face the Witch Cult?"
"Well, yeah, but that's just walking back into death."
Subaru waved dismissively and continued nonchalantly:
"Besides, the Witch Cult's attack is tomorrow at noon. If I help you take down the White Whale before that, I can return with reinforcements. That's the plan—otherwise, no one wants to face one of the Three Great Witchbeasts."
"You're lying."
Subaru froze for a second, instinctively touching his face and wondering—am I really that bad at lying?
"It's coming!"
Wilhelm's voice cut through, ending the conversation.
This was a battlefield. To chat here—was that confidence, or just plain stupidity?