White Whale.

Although everyone had gathered a lot of information about the White Whale before this, it was only when witnessing it with their own eyes that they could truly understand what kind of being it was.

A colossal creature.

The White Whale, over tens of meters long, floated and spun in the air, its enormous form appearing in the night sky was enough to impose an unimaginable sense of oppression on people.

"So big..."

Even the Priestess of the Goddess couldn’t suppress her agitation and unease when looking at the White Whale in the sky; it was a fear and dread stemming from human instincts in face of such a gigantic existence. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Whew..."

The immense White Whale swept past everyone’s eyes, and at this moment, all people seemed to have their hearts and spirits captured by that gigantic figure.

"Everyone, pay attention!"

Crusch was the first to react, drawing her longsword and swinging it forward.

"Attack!!"

"Ohhhhh!!!"

With Crusch’s angry roar, the soldiers rode their Earth Dragons, raising their weapons, and charged towards the direction of the White Whale. At the same time, the Magitech Cannons at the back of the battle formation began charging energy and then roared, firing one beam after another toward the White Whale.

"Boom boom boom boom!!"

The pure white Magitech Beams blasted onto the White Whale, instantly stirring up a cloud of smoke that engulfed the White Whale.

"Release Night-Exorcising Magic!"

Following Crusch’s command, a bright Light Orb was quickly launched into the sky and then suddenly exploded. In the next moment, the originally pitch-black night sky instantly faded, replaced by a sky as bright as daylight.

"Amazing..."

Seeing this, the girls around Fang Zheng couldn’t help but widen their eyes in amazement. Although many of them had experienced quite a lot of battles, they had never witnessed such an army-rank magitech power. And now, being able to dispel the night and return to daylight was even more unimaginable for these girls.

"Can Magic accomplish such feats?"

Meiyin also observed with awe, and Mel shook her head in disbelief.

"I don’t know, but I certainly can’t do it!"

"———————!!"

A deafening roar resounded throughout the battlefield, the intense sound waves forming a shockwave that rushed forward, stirring up a dust storm. Even the girls watching the battlefield from afar instinctively covered their ears. Simultaneously, Fang Zheng saw Crusch, riding on her Earth Dragon, suddenly raise her longsword and swing it forcefully at the White Whale!

"Boom!!"

In the next moment, the White Whale’s massive body erupted with blood as if struck by an invisible sword. Following this blow, the White Whale immediately turned its body, letting out an angry roar once again.

Meanwhile, the Magitech Cannons fired again.

Continuous volleys of cannon fire completely enveloped the White Whale. Seeing this, the girls applauded in delight, while Fang Zheng silently drank his cola without saying a word.

However, these bombardments did not inflict enough damage on the White Whale. After another round of bombardment ended, the White Whale only showed faint signs of blood and wounds on its surface. This infuriated the White Whale even more as it dived down towards Crusch’s direction, opening its massive mouth to charge at her.

Seeing the White Whale charging towards them, other soldiers quickly dodged to the sides, but Crusch remained standing in place. At the same time, an elderly warrior riding an Earth Dragon swiftly ran out from behind Crusch. Just as the White Whale lowered its head, opening its mouth to devour the two, the elderly warrior leaped into the air, straight like a beam of cold light, piercing toward the White Whale.

"—————!!!"

The blood splattered again, causing the White Whale to shriek in pain, struggling as it flew into the air, attempting to rid itself of the elderly warrior. But the elderly warrior seemed unfazed, gripping his longsword and slicing one cut after another into the White Whale’s body. This was also causing the White Whale’s head to be drenched in blood for a while.

"—————!!"

Eventually, the furious White Whale swung its head violently, throwing the elderly warrior away. Yet, the elder seemed to have anticipated this move, effortlessly returning to the galloping Earth Dragon and dodging the White Whale’s enormous jaws.

At this moment, a warrior resembling an Orc also charged forward, leading his subordinates to attack the White Whale once more. Fang Zheng remembered these were mercenaries hired by Crusch, and now, they appeared to be quite capable.

"Everyone, disperse!"

At this moment, Crusch once again raised her longsword. With her motion, the blade began to shine again.

Then, Crusch aimed at the White Whale and swung her sword down.

"—————!"

The White Whale’s body suddenly arched downward from the middle, blood gushing out once again. At the same time, Crusch also issued a command.

"Cast Magic, target the side abdomen!!"

Hearing Crusch’s command, the adjacent mages promptly raised their hands, unleashing a barrage of Flame Magic that struck the White Whale’s abdomen.

"Go! Go!!"

Watching this intense battlefield from afar, the girls were thrilled, continuously cheering for the soldiers on the battlefield. The White Whale, hit by Flame Magic, did not react at all, and was soon completely swallowed by the explosive flames.

"Great! We won!"

Seeing this, Mel jumped up in joy, and the Priestess of the Goddess also breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her staff. As for Megumin, she showed a slightly disappointed expression, muttering to herself.

"Really, I wanted to try my Burst Magic on it..."

"Well, you’ll have your chance."

Fang Zheng finished his cola and yawned.

"If nothing unexpected happens, this group is surely doomed."

"Eh?"

Hearing Fang Zheng’s definitive answer, the girls were all taken aback.

"No way, wasn’t it going smoothly?"

"Yes, it indeed seemed smooth, but... did you see the White Whale die?"

"Eh?!"

At this moment, the girls were also shocked, quickly turning their heads to look, only to discover... the White Whale remained stationary in the sky, showing no signs of descending!

"But, but, with a few more rounds of such attacks..."

"You think the White Whale is stupid? Besides, even with a few more rounds, nothing would change."

Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders, letting out a soft snort. However, others seemed to have a different view. Mel’s companion, the Red-Haired Mage Rena, let out a contemptuous snort.

"What’s so impressive about it? To me, that Demon Beast just happens to be a bit bigger."

"Size itself is an advantage."

"But wasn’t that elder already able to wound the White Whale, and the White Whale yelled very loudly too."

"If I draw a few lines on you with a needle, I can make you scream too."

Fang Zheng rolled his eyes.

"However, will you die?"

"Uh......."

Hearing this, Rena also fell silent.

"Isn’t there any way?"

At this moment, the Priestess of the Goddess felt uneasy again, and Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders.

"It depends. In this round, Crusch has revealed her trump card. As far as I can see, the only one who can cause effective damage to the White Whale is herself. That old man and those mercenaries have some skills. As for those mages, they’re fine for a fireworks display, but others are merely filling the scene. However, the most important thing is, none of them have a method for a guaranteed victory. If the White Whale turns around and escapes, then it would be truly in vain."

While speaking, Fang Zheng took an apple from Rem’s hand.

"If in the last round of attack they had succeeded in knocking the White Whale to the ground, it would have been promising. As Mel said earlier, in this round of attack, Crusch and the others have demonstrated their best strength, but the result remains the same. As the battle prolongs, their condition will naturally deteriorate... They didn’t even manage to reduce the White Whale’s health by half. It looks like this BOSS fight could end in a total wipeout."

As Fang Zheng spoke, the battle raged on, with the white-haired old man being the most outstanding performer. He leaped again, landing on the White Whale’s back, attacking it, and even managed to burst its eyeball.

Yet, that’s as far as it goes.

"———————!!"

The deafening scream echoed again. Meanwhile, everyone saw thick mist suddenly emerge from around the White Whale’s body. This mist sprayed out from the White Whale’s body, enveloping the entire battlefield in the blink of an eye.

"A critical hit leads to the second phase..."

Fang Zheng shook his head as he looked at the distant fog.

"Looks like it’s doomed, though it’s normal for a random group."

Just as Fang Zheng predicted.

Once the fog engulfed the battlefield, things began to turn ugly. Screams and sounds of magic being cast were everywhere. Clearly, someone was under attack, but no one knew where the enemy was or what was happening. From the surveillance magic, the girls could clearly see what was unfolding within.

The White Whale lurked in the fog, occasionally attacking the soldiers. Most of the soldiers didn’t even have time to react before being swallowed by the Whale. Others tried to evade, but the fog that covered the sky scrambled their sense of direction. Even attempting to regroup was futile, as they couldn’t see any signals in the fog that was so thick it obscured vision.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, please help them quickly, or things will get worse!!"

At this moment, others lost interest in being mere spectators and turned their gaze towards Fang Zheng, who simply shook his head.

"I can’t go."

"Why not?!"

"Because I don’t get along with Lugnica. This time, Crusch came to hunt down the White Whale to compete for the throne. If I intervene, it might seem as though I’m siding with her, and Crusch has previously requested that I don’t get involved."

"But..."

"However, only I won’t intervene."

"???"

The group stared blankly at Fang Zheng, not understanding his meaning, but Fang Zheng chuckled.

"Listen, you’re not my subordinates, you’re just my friends and companions. So your help doesn’t conflict with my abstention."

"Ah!"

Hearing this, the girls were stunned for a moment before realizing—indeed, as Fang Zheng said, they were not his subordinates!

Even though Fang Zheng often takes the Priestess of the Goddess on adventures and tasks, Fang Zheng himself isn’t an adventurer, and Mel and the others simply stay here as guests. Only Ram, Rem, and Meiyin are part of Fang Zheng’s faction, but without Fang Zheng’s orders, Ram and Rem won’t act. As for Meiyin... she needs the strength to fight!

"Red Pledge!"

Mel drew her longsword, pointing towards the battlefield.

"Let’s go!!"

"Oh!!"

Hearing Mel’s call, her three companions shouted, then quickly rushed to the battlefield. Next, the Priestess of the Goddess gripped her staff and respectfully saluted Fang Zheng before leaving with Ais and Megumin.

"Hahahaha, merely a White Whale, let it taste the power of my Burst Magic!"

Listening to Megumin’s overconfident laughter, Meiyin showed a worried expression.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, will it be okay?"

"Theoretically."

Fang Zheng didn’t provide a definite answer.

"If they can utilize Megumin properly, then there absolutely won’t be a problem. Megumin’s Burst Magic is enough to roast the White Whale thoroughly, head off, ready to eat. The problem is..."

"Megumin can only use it once..."

Meiyin sighed, as nearly everyone in the castle already knew of Megumin’s "capability."

While Megumin indeed can use it only once a day, the actual power of that single shot, within the castle — her attack damage is second only to Fang Zheng, even Mel can’t withstand it.

The issue is, she can only use it once and then she’s out.

Now, it remains to see how they will deploy Megumin.

At the same time, the battlefield was already in chaos.

Although Crusch had quickly regrouped her troops, a squad was missing, and soon, the White Whale launched a mental attack against them — though for unknown reasons, its scream caused many to exhibit symptoms akin to magic poisoning, falling into madness and chaos. Despite the best efforts of Felis and others responsible for healing, it was only a drop in the bucket.

Even that old man, at this point, was already gasping for breath.

"Ah!!"

After successfully marking another injury on the White Whale, the old man flipped over and landed on the ground, but suddenly, the White Whale appeared behind him, opening its mouth wide, attempting to completely devour the old man.

Seeing the blood-red mouth behind him, the old man had no time to escape.

Is this the end?

"Merciful Earth Mother Goddess, please protect your people and grant us strength!"

In the nick of time, as the old man was about to be swallowed by the White Whale, with the shout, a golden shield suddenly appeared behind the old man, barely blocking the White Whale’s blood-red mouth.

"Holy Shield!"

The old man immediately reacted and, even though the Holy Shield lasted less than three seconds before being shattered by the White Whale, he seized the short amount of time to hastily speed up and escape from the White Whale’s attack range.

"Sir Wilhelm!"

Seeing the old man escape death, Crusch breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she turn her head towards the source of the voice. Then she saw Mel and her companions, the Priestess of the Goddess, Megumin, and Ais standing not far away.

"You guys........"

"We’re here to help!"

Mel raised her longsword high.

"We are the Red Pledge Squad! We are adventurers!"