Chapter 281
The small baby whale, with softer body lines than Moby Dick, floated in the air just like its mother.
As though it had only just been born, amniotic fluid dripped from the calf’s milky-white body.
The baby whale, still unable to open its eyes, turned its head sensitively toward the surrounding noises.
Even while breathing heavily, Moby Dick curled its fins inward to protect its child.
Only then did Lee Jeongho and Claire realize why Moby Dick had turned this place into its domain.
“So it built a nest here to give birth.”
“Any living creature becomes weakest when giving birth. It must’ve created this domain to protect itself.”
The demonic beasts had instinctively sensed that Moby Dick had weakened and rushed here because of it.
KWAHHHH!
At that moment, the Gray Ogre and the other beasts launched a simultaneous attack on Moby Dick.
Given enough time, Moby Dick would recover its original strength.
And once that happened, the beasts would lose their chance to devour Moby Dick forever.
This was their last opportunity to kill it.
The Gray Ogre swung its aura-infused club against Moby Dick’s massive body, while the Crimson Drake attacked with Fire Breath.
The Giant Spider spat webs that tightly bound Moby Dick’s enormous form.
In response, Moby Dick swung its gigantic tail.
Its hundred-and-twenty-meter body was itself an overwhelming weapon.
But because it had to protect the newborn calf beneath its pectoral fins, it could only move defensively.
The Gray Ogre and Giant Spider did not miss that opening and forced their way in.
Their target was the baby whale.
Every child was inevitably a mother’s weakness.
By attacking the calf, they sought to divide Moby Dick’s attention.
And their strategy worked perfectly.
Moby Dick could no longer properly swing its tail and instead twisted its body to shield the calf.
The three A-rank beasts and the B-rank monsters attacked Moby Dick’s torso.
KWA-JIK! THUD!
Moby Dick’s thick hide split open, and chunks of flesh were torn away.
It had to be suffering terribly, yet Moby Dick desperately continued protecting its child.
After creating the domain and giving birth, Moby Dick had completely exhausted its strength.
It could no longer deploy a force field, nor could it use magic skills.
It had no choice but to endure every attack from the beasts with its bare body alone.
Iiiiii…
The baby whale let out a faint cry.
Though it still could not open its eyes and did not fully understand the situation, instinct told it that both it and its mother were in danger.
Moby Dick desperately protected the calf while weakly swinging its tail.
BOOM!
The Gray Ogre was struck by Moby Dick’s tail and sent flying far away before crashing into the ground.
But it soon got back up as though nothing had happened and charged Moby Dick again.
The Giant Spider was the same.
Unlike Moby Dick, their force fields were still intact.
The force fields absorbed most of the impact, allowing them to rise again with little damage.
And once they stood back up, they charged Moby Dick once more.
BANG! KRAAACK!
More and more wounds appeared on Moby Dick’s body under their attacks.
KUUUUU!
Moby Dick let out a cry of agony.
Then suddenly, Arkelon moved.
With its massive body, it intercepted the attacks of the Gray Ogre and Giant Spider.
BOOM! BANG!
An impact incomparable to anything before slammed into Arkelon.
Each time, Arkelon let out pained cries.
The sturdy shell that had protected the Motee tribe for countless years shattered apart, fragments scattering everywhere.
The tremendous shock forced Pabilsa and Kaylie out from the shelter where they had been hiding.
“No!”
“Arkelon, why?!”
To anyone watching, Arkelon was clearly protecting Moby Dick.
There was no connection whatsoever between the two beasts.
There was no reason for Arkelon to protect Moby Dick.
And yet it was shielding Moby Dick with its own body.
Broken fragments of shell flew through the air and crashed to the ground.
Naturally, the magic formations carved inside Arkelon’s shell were completely destroyed as well.
Everything was breaking apart.
Yet Arkelon did not retreat even a single step.
As though it intended to protect Moby Dick with its very life.
But it was impossible for Arkelon alone to completely defend Moby Dick from the attacks of so many beasts.
KWAHHHH!
The Crimson Drake’s Fire Breath struck both Arkelon and Moby Dick at the same time.
Under the magma-like flames, Arkelon’s remaining shell and Moby Dick’s hide melted away.
The heat was so intense that even Pabilsa and Kaylie were forced to jump off Arkelon’s shell.
THUD!
The moment they leapt down, Arkelon finally collapsed, unable to endure the damage any longer.
Moby Dick was also on the verge of death.
Meanwhile, the beasts became even more ferocious as they attacked both Moby Dick and Arkelon.
Watching the scene, Lee Jeongho spoke to Claire.
“Now is the perfect opportunity.”
“But if we do that, Moby Dick…”
“We have to kill it anyway if we want its heart.”
At Lee Jeongho’s cold words, Claire tightly shut her eyes.
She truly did not want to harm that mysterious and majestic beast.
But she had no choice.
Lee Jeongho pressured her once more.
“Start.”
“…Alright.”
In the end, Claire squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the Rainbow Pendant hanging around her neck.
The Rainbow Pendant was an S-rank item.
It could temporarily elevate Claire, who was merely a B-rank Tamer, into an S-rank Tamer.
Borrowing the Rainbow Pendant’s power, Claire attempted to tame Moby Dick.
The moment she tried connecting with Moby Dick’s consciousness, she was startled.
‘Its ego is far too powerful. If it hadn’t weakened after giving birth, even the Rainbow Pendant’s power wouldn’t have been enough to tame it.’
The Rainbow Pendant’s power was certainly extraordinary.
In the past, it had even forcibly evolved the Queen Ghost Dragonfly.
But even with the Rainbow Pendant’s power, taming Moby Dick in its normal condition would have been impossible.
Just as Lee Jeongho said, if not now, they would never even dare attempt to tame such a colossal beast.
Drip.
Blood burst from Claire’s nose.
The strain on her body had become too great from concentrating so much power and mental energy.
Enduring the pain, Claire drew even more heavily upon the Rainbow Pendant’s power.
As the S-rank item activated, crimson light erupted outward.
Even after mobilizing the Rainbow Pendant’s power, Moby Dick was still resisting.
At that moment, the Gray Ogre stepped on the fallen Arkelon and leapt high into the sky.
Then, gathering all of its strength, it brought its weapon crashing down upon Moby Dick.
BOOOOM!
Moby Dick’s massive body shook violently from an impact incomparable to anything before.
At the instant Moby Dick’s consciousness wavered, the Rainbow Pendant emitted an exceptionally brilliant light.
At the same time, Moby Dick’s eyes turned crimson.
Claire had barely succeeded in taming Moby Dick.
“I-I succeeded…”
“Then drive it into a frenzy.”
“But…”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“…Alright.”
Biting her lip hard, Claire gave Moby Dick the command to rampage.
FWHAAAA!
In an instant, black light erupted from Moby Dick’s entire body like a Big Bang.
The intense darkness exploded outward toward the beasts attacking Moby Dick.
The moment the black light touched the Gray Ogre, its left arm was severed.
Four of the Giant Spider’s legs exploded apart.
The Crimson Drake, which had been flying overhead while unleashing Fire Breath, lost both wings and crashed to the ground.
There was no need to mention the B-rank beasts.
The instant they touched the dark light, their entire bodies vanished as though erased from existence.
Its power was truly overwhelming.
This was one of Moby Dick’s innate skills—
“Authority of Death.”
Though it shared the same name as the authority possessed by Deioden, it was vastly more powerful and activated instantly.
This ability converted Moby Dick’s own life force into death and unleashed it outward.
It was Moby Dick’s final means of defense.
The moment it used Authority of Death, the utterly exhausted Moby Dick lost all remaining strength and collapsed.
BOOM!
Moby Dick’s gigantic body slumped heavily onto the ground.
—Piiiiii!
The baby whale, which had barely escaped being crushed beneath its mother, let out a sorrowful cry.
Only then did Moby Dick break free from the Rainbow Pendant’s control and look toward its child.
Even while standing on the brink of death itself, Moby Dick’s eyes were filled with warmth as it gazed at the calf.
Then—
KROOOOAR!
The beasts that had been gravely wounded by Moby Dick’s authority roared as they crawled forward.
Even after losing one arm, four legs, or both wings, they still charged only toward Moby Dick.
As though devouring Moby Dick would make such injuries meaningless.
A cold smile formed on Lee Jeongho’s lips.
At last, the scene he had desired had been created.
A dying Moby Dick.
Weakened beasts.
The ending was crystal clear.
“Now, destroy each other. Beasts that throw the world into chaos.”
“You caused quite a disaster while I was away.”
At that moment, a voice came from behind him.
But Lee Jeongho was not surprised.
“Zeon!”
The owner of the voice was Zeon.
Having arrived late, Zeon’s face was as hard as stone.
The sight of Moby Dick and Arkelon dying in such miserable conditions was shocking.
Kaylie looked at Zeon with tears in her eyes.
“Zeon… Arkelon was trying to protect Moby Dick…”
There was no need for her to finish the sentence.
More than anything, Zeon had witnessed with his own eyes from afar how Claire forcibly tamed Moby Dick and drove it berserk.
To be honest, he did not particularly want to criticize them for forcing Moby Dick into a frenzy for the sake of their objective.
From the beginning, Lee Jeongho’s goal had been to obtain Moby Dick’s heart.
The real issue was Arkelon.
Lee Jeongho knew full well that Zeon and Pabilsa had come here to save Arkelon, yet he had still allowed it to be wounded like this.
That was something Zeon could not overlook.
Zeon glared at Lee Jeongho.
“This won’t simply be ignored.”
“And if it isn’t?”
Lee Jeongho returned the gaze provocatively.
A chilling killing intent lingered within his unfocused eyes.
His gaze was so terrifying it made one’s legs tremble just from meeting it.
But Zeon did not avoid his stare.
“You’ll pay the price.”
“You think that’s possible?”
“There’s nothing impossible about it.”
“You overestimate yourself too much.”
“Do I?”
“That’s how it looks to me.”
“You’re the one overestimating your own abilities.”
Lee Jeongho’s eyebrow twitched.
Zeon’s words had struck his pride.
He acknowledged that Zeon, as a sand mage, was absolute within the desert.
He had witnessed it personally.
But that did not mean Zeon was invincible.
Everything in the world had natural counters.
Even the strongest possessed weaknesses, and every attribute had something resistant to it.
If Zeon specialized in wide-area attacks, then Lee Jeongho was a swordsman specialized in one-on-one combat.
They were opposites standing at opposite ends of the spectrum.
To others, Zeon might be a calamity—
But to Zeon, Lee Jeongho himself was the calamity.
The fact that Zeon arrogantly confronted him without understanding that almost made him seem pitiful.
“Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to teach you a lesson before I carve out Moby Dick’s heart.”
“A lesson?”
“Yes. A lesson in death.”
SHIIING!
The instant his words ended, Lee Jeongho’s sword flashed out at terrifying speed.
A strike aimed directly at Zeon’s life.
Just before the blade reached Zeon’s throat—
BOOM!
A pillar of sand suddenly erupted beneath Lee Jeongho’s feet.
The massive sand pillar hurled him far away.
After instantly removing the obstacle, Zeon turned his gaze toward Moby Dick.
The beasts were tearing into both Moby Dick and Arkelon.
Looking at them coldly, Zeon muttered:
“Sand Mixer.”
GWAAAAANG!