After this, Fang Zheng also heard from Crusch about the situation regarding the White Whale.

Rumor has it that the White Whale is one of the three great demon beasts created by the Witch, with the other two being the Big Rabbit and the Black Snake. These three demon beasts have caused terrible harm to the world and humanity, especially the White Whale. It possesses a very special ability: those who are devoured by the White Whale will lose their existence, and apart from their closest ones, others will no longer remember that person.

Hearing this, Fang Zheng became somewhat interested because what Crusch described about the White Whale’s nature was quite similar to the Followers of the Crimson Realm. Humans devoured by Followers of the Crimson Realm also lose their existence and gradually vanish, but Fang Zheng didn’t expect to encounter a similar creature in this world.

This is indeed quite interesting.

But for Fang Zheng, it’s just a bit interesting, nothing more.

According to Crusch, the White Whale mostly appears within the Kingdom, causing significant impacts on passing merchant groups. The Kingdom of Lugnica attempted to subdue the White Whale before but ultimately failed. However, Crusch is not discouraged and wants to attempt subjugating the White Whale again, but first, she needs to know its location.

That’s quite difficult.

Therefore, upon learning that Fang Zheng has a method to determine the position of demon beasts, Crusch immediately came to visit him.

"Alright, I roughly understand the situation."

After listening to Crusch’s explanation, Fang Zheng nodded.

"But what does this have to do with me? You should know that my relationship with Lugnica isn’t great. Frankly, your troubles are just a show for me. If that White Whale is stupid enough to come to my territory, then of course, I’ll take care of it. But since it’s not here, what price are you willing to pay?"

"The Karsten Family is willing to dispatch soldiers to assist you in clearing the Demon Beast Forest."

Crusch immediately presented her terms for the deal.

"We have excellent healers on our side who should be able to help you resolve many issues, and you can gain the friendship of the Karsten Family."

"I don’t really see how the friendship of the Karsten Family is of any use to me... hmm..."

Fang Zheng touched his chin and thought for a moment.

"Alright, considering we’re short on manpower, you are welcome to join, but since it’s a trade, we must wait until the entire Demon Beast Forest is cleared. If you withdraw midway, the deal is off. Is that okay?"

"Of course, no problem."

Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Crusch also breathed a sigh of relief. The divine protection she possessed allowed her to determine the truth in Fang Zheng’s words, and in her view, there was no problem with Fang Zheng’s answer. This meant he indeed could locate that damn White Whale, which was enough for Crusch.

After the two sides made the agreement, Crusch promptly dispatched soldiers from her family, and also sent a cute girl... no, a cat-eared crossdresser named Felis. According to Crusch’s introduction, Felis is her knight and one of the top healers in the entire kingdom.

Fang Zheng was not surprised by Felis. This "so cute that it’s hard to believe they’re not a girl" role was not something new to him. However, Felis felt a bit frustrated for not being able to tease Fang Zheng, as he most enjoyed the reactions of others learning his real identity. But Fang Zheng merely glanced at him and said, "A cat-eared crossdresser? That’s pretty rare to see," and that was it.

This left Felis somewhat feeling defeated.

Despite looking very much like a crossdresser, Felis’s Healing Technique was indeed quite remarkable. With his inclusion, the efficiency of the adventurers improved once again, and Crusch’s soldiers were quite capable, too. Of course, these soldiers could only handle ordinary demon beasts; the more advanced ones deeper in required skilled and strong adventurers.

But accidents always happen.

In fact, shortly after, Fang Zheng received a report that a group of adventurers ventured deep into the Demon Beast Forest, only to be attacked.

But this time, it wasn’t demon beasts that attacked them, but...

"Witch Cultists?"

Looking at the black-robed corpses brought back, Fang Zheng furrowed his brow.

"What are these guys doing here?"

"Maybe they consider that area as a base."

Hearing Fang Zheng’s question, Radis answered — as Blue Rose, an adventurer team, naturally joined the event. Given their relationship with Fang Zheng, helping out was expected.

"The Witch Cult is the most notorious organization on the continent. Generally, such organizations can’t set up bases in cities like Eight Fingers do. Perhaps they use places like the Demon Beast Forest to conceal their presence."

"Witch Cult..."

As they looked at the corpses on the ground, Ram and Rem, standing behind Fang Zheng, both displayed cold expressions. Though things were in the past, for them, the Witch Cult was still the unforgivable enemy that destroyed their village.

Incidentally, after that, Fang Zheng attempted to heal Ram’s horn but eventually found that the horn of the Ghost Clan wasn’t a simple horn. Technically, the Ghost Clan’s horn is a part of the soul, and they’d manifest it when needed. Therefore, Ram’s horn being severed actually meant damage to both body and soul.

The physical wounds were easy to heal. Fang Zheng’s Time Manipulation or Medical Gel could take care of that, but the soul damage was a different matter. Fang Zheng and Kurumi attempted before; their time reversal could restore a corpse to its living state but couldn’t restore the soul.

The same applies here. Fang Zheng could heal the bodily harm with time reversal but would need other methods to address the soul’s absence.

"So, the Demon Beast Forest also has Witch Cultists? They just won’t die, like pesky cockroaches."

"What do we do now?"

"What to do?"

Fang Zheng let out a light snort upon hearing Radis’s question.

"Just treat it like a special event, okay? Send out the message, inform all adventurers to prioritize hunting Witch Cultists from now on. Each Witch Cultist is worth a hundred gold coins! The boss is extra! The Witch Cult Hunt starts now!"

Saying this, Fang Zheng glanced at the corpse in front of him.

"And next time, don’t bring back the bodies, just the ears will do."

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round.

After Fang Zheng ordered the start of the "special event," the adventurers immediately lit up like players seeing a special mission in a mobile game, and started working tirelessly.

So, the Witch Cultists hiding in the forest suddenly had terrible luck.

Generally speaking, most adventurers are not willing to provoke Cultists. Those like Blue Rose, who are related to the state’s rulers, are another story. Other adventurers prefer to avoid trouble. Of course, if they encounter Cultists while completing a quest, they have no choice but to fight.

However, on an ordinary day, no adventurer would voluntarily seek trouble with Cultists. After all, even though they are Cultists, they are still a faction with believers spread across the land. If you provoke them too much, you might get backstabbed by an unknown Cultist at some point.

But it’s different when there’s money involved!

One Cultist is worth a hundred gold coins!!

This is a grand opening sale!

With this money, one can fulfill their dreams, whether it’s going back home to marry or buying land to become a farmer, it’s more than enough!

No more living on the edge, licking the blade, no more adventuring, just living a stable and comfortable life!

With this huge carrot dangling in front of them, the adventurers instantly poured all their energy into outsmarting and outmuscling the Witch Cultists.

So the Witch Cultists were doomed.

As Cultists, they naturally had some peculiar powers to evade their pursuers, but this time the adventurers wouldn’t let them go. Among the adventurers were many skilled in tracking and searching, and they had the advantage in numbers. So even if the Witch Cultists tried to escape, most of them were captured by adventurers, killed, and their ears were cut off.

For a moment, the Witch Cultists hiding in the forest suffered heavy losses.

"I didn’t expect you to spend so much money on the Witch Cult, meow."

Felis complained as he treated the adventurers while looking at Fang Zheng.

"Now it’s good, these adventurers are going crazy, meow, Felis finds it a headache to treat them all, meow."

Because there were too many people.

"What does it matter? I raised the reward to get this result."

Fang Zheng shrugged, then reached out and patted the heads of Ram and Rem.

"Besides, it’s just the Witch Cult, once I find time, I’ll personally take it out."

About the Witch Cult, Fang Zheng also investigated. Initially, he was worried that the Witch Cult might be related to Dragon King Gabu or Fabrizzo the Deathlord, but later found out that the Witch Cult actually worships a Witch — which meant they didn’t have any noteworthy backers. Plus, those bastards are enemies of Ram and Rem, so Fang Zheng naturally planned to wipe them out.

Now that the Witch Cult is delivering themselves to his doorstep, Fang Zheng surely wouldn’t be polite.

"It’s not easy to wipe out the Witch Cult, meow..."

However, at this moment, a low explosion sound suddenly interrupted Felis and Fang Zheng’s conversation. Everyone looked up to see a red flare rising from the depths of the forest before bursting into a bloom.

This is... a rescue signal?

Are the adventurers in trouble?

Seeing this, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow. Ever since they started clearing the Demon Beast Forest, this was the first time anyone had sent a rescue signal. Normally, with Blue Rose and a bunch of silver-ranked adventurers around, even if one or two people were in danger, they’d be rescued by others.

But now this is...

"I’ll go check it out."

Saying this, Fang Zheng snapped his fingers, and with a flash of light, he vanished into the air.