The forest was getting so dark that they had to bring out light crystals to proceed because they wanted to avoid using torches. Torches would give off a smell alerting animals and beasts. The sound of heavy breathing was heard as they got closer. The leaves rattled with every inhale and exhaled. Then there it was, the fafnir sleeping over its treasure. It had thick scales. Its coating was mixed with black, purple and blue. Its wings were covering its body like a blanket.
Eden raised her hand to stop everyone from moving. Then she put down her fingers and raised two, her index and middle. She held them up for 3 seconds, then split them up like bunny ears. Then she lowered her middle finger so she could point to the right and left with her index finger. Her army began to split up. Arthur took the right side and Eden the other. Eden had taken the side that the head was facing. Her speed had increased and it was necessary to get away from the fafnir.
They took out cloths of cotton from the bags they carried under their cloaks to cover half their faces leaving their eyes to see. After they tied the cloths of cotton to stay on their heads they took out a jar that contained a sponge that was soaked in hydra blood. A poison to kill or at the very least slow the beast down. It was deadly to inhale or get it into your system. After rubbing the sponge on their sword tip they placed it back in the jar and closed it. Then Eden took the lead charging in silently without a word. The rest of her group followed her lead. The fafnir smelled the blood shortly after they took a step forward to it. It snapped its mouth at Eden as soon as it saw her. Eden stabbed the sword into the ground to lunge herself off the ground. The Fafnir's jaw enclosed on the sword left behind as Eden used its closed mouth to jump out of reach. Arthur was right behind the beast's neck where he quickly slashed it below its neck to its right. The impact was not enough to go through. It was only enough to scratch the outer coat of its scale. Then the fafnir whipped its head to look at Arthur to snap at him. One of the other soldiers with Eden took the opportunity to swing his sword at the neck. He managed to do the same as Arthur on the opposite side. Eden ordered, "stick to the marks until we pierce through!" Eden had recovered her sword that the fafnir spit out. She looked at it and said to herself, "still good." The sword was slightly bent, but can still cut. She ran back inside the chaos to continue attacking. Then the fafnir turned around and started swinging its tail at them. Eden yelled, "pull back!"
Eden took a moment to analyze the situation. The Fafnir had deliberately moved where you would have to get within snatching distance. Its face and neck were covered by the tall trees that were too close to each other because they were bent. Probably because the beast would bounce back and forth in its dwelling. I can only climb the top of the trees and jump from above, but that would leave me open for a few seconds. Then Eden and her army noticed that the fafnir began to glow, charging up. It was getting ready to use its fire breath. Eden didn't want to use Erza to shield them, because they needed to defeat this fafnir without her. But what other options did she have?
Back at the camp Sylvie was standing in the direction of the path that Eden had left with her army. She had mind linked the rest to take position in covering all four corners of the camp. She was focusing on Eden's location that was within 1000 meters of hearing range. She overheard Eden talking to Arthur about her. "Whosoever can be trusted with small things can also be trusted with big things," still kept replaying in her mind. She didn't hear their voices until Eden yelled instructions. Sylvie was trying to follow the battle with her hearing. Then she heard the noise from the dragon. The noise of it getting ready to do a fire breath attack. She could take off and put up shields around them to protect them from the attack but they were scattered. They would have to move quickly to get behind her. If she took two of the guys, they could manage a barrier, Gideon and Murphy. Then that would leave Kane and Lewis alone to protect horses, Kane was terrible at magic control for defense. Lewis would be the only one. Then she heard Murphy mind link her, "incoming, giants." Sylvie asked urgently, "how many!" Lewis replied, "3." Any plan of Sylvie to leave was out the window. She was their strongest. Giants were manageable if there was only one. But when they traveled in groups, they could be a formidable force. Sylvie refocused on Eden's direction, how much time does she have, 42 seconds at best. She had to make a decision right away. She then turned away from her spot and transformed instantly. Sylvie issued orders as she was transforming, "Murphy, Lewis, Gedion, go to Eden 890 meters north and put a shield around her men now!" All three of them rushed out immediately. With their Lycan speed, they could reach them in time. Kane, who was in the middle of shifting, had anticipated he would go as well, but realized he wasn't called and looked at Sylvie. Sylvie said, "I'm trusting you to help me with these giants. You strike, I defend and strike." Kane nodded as he curled his mouth into a smirk and his eyes furrowed to focus.
The giants happened to be passing by the area and heard some rustling in the dark forest. They knew it was humans in the forest, which meant there were horses to eat as snacks. As a plus side, they would devour the humans as well. Giants couldn't enter the human castle territories unless under special permission by the elders. There were runes to keep them away but not in the open areas where they would venture during a boss hunt. They would serve as the elders "garbage men," eating the deserters who refused to return to their monarch. That was their role. There were no rewards to fighting a giant, so mostly everyone tried their best to avoid them, finding them unnecessary to fight.
Sylvie and Kane stood in front of the camp 150 meters away, enough space to not scare the horses. Kane's power was electricity which allowed him to pick up speed. With focus, he could create weapons from his electricity, but he mostly used his power to throw bolts at his opponent to stun them or burn to a crisp. Sylvie's power was to control matter, she could construct and deconstruct any object she touches. Then have it turn or do whatever she wants with it. Because her power was difficult to manipulate and understand, she was a late bloomer which is part of the root cause for the adverse childhood she had. They activated their powers as they waited for the giants to get within attack range. Kane with his body charging through the electricity visible on his fur coat and Sylvie with a floating stone spear that she created by touching a boulder that was nearby.
Eden thought they could hide behind the trees, but it would be a matter of time before the forest was encapsulated by fire. They couldn't retreat behind any large stones. Then it occurred to her that they could move in closer to the beast and hide behind its tail. They would have to be extremely careful. It was a gamble because they could get trapped. To avoid getting trapped they could climb on it;s tail to get on its back and rush to its neck. The idea seemed crazier by the second. If it was her and her generals then she would do it. They have increased their stats with Erza's training. Eden was about to call for Erza to cover as she saw no other alternative when Murphy, Gideon and Lewis appeared in front of her. They saw the situation and quickly moved in position. Murphy went to the left side and Lewis went to the right. Gideon stayed in the middle where Eden was with a few men. Then they chanted something with some hand gestures and a shield that looked like a soap bubble to Eden grew around them covering the men in the area. Eden realized it was a protection spell and ran towards the dragon. Gideon was shocked as he saw the woman he was sent to protect dive into danger. Arthur, Sir Tristan, Sir Lancelott, Gwaine and Gabriel didn't miss the beat. They did the same and made a hand signal for the rest to stay put. Now Eden with her Generals were running right towards the dragon as it was turning around to throw its fire breath at the army. They managed to go undetected for the moment. Eden told Arthur you get the left eye, I get the right after we use its tail to climb. Sir Tristan and Lance will hit the left mark, Gwaine and Gabriel to the right. Arthur, you have the best aim, throw your jar of hydra blood in its mouth. That fafnir had begun to let out its fire as they began climbing it. The fafnir was so busy trying to burn the troops under the bubble that it reacted slowly to look behind it to see what was on top of it. As it turned its head while still spitting fire, Eden stabbed its eye, then she jumped out of the way. When the fafnir whipped its head to the other side so it could take the sword out, Arthur stabbed its other eye. With both its eyes gone, the rest of the generals continued their attack. In the process of the fafnir trying to sniff and snap at them, Arthur managed to get his jar of hydra blood at the dragon. The dragon had already been slowed down by a fraction from Eden's sword which was laced with hydra blood, but now it looked drunk. The poison was taking effect with a higher dose. They kept hitting the marked spots and finally one scale fell off exposing tender flesh. All together, yelled Eden. They each stabbed the dragon on the flesh, getting in deeper and deeper until it fell. Eden looked back at the lycans and gave them a thumbs up. The Lycans looked at each asking themselves what it meant. Then the soldiers said, drop the shields, it's okay to proceed with harvesting the rewards.
Eden was examining her sword and was thinking she was going to have to either purchase or upgrade this sword. She thought to herself she would need to look at her treasury first and the accounts. So much to think about for something that was supposed to resemble a game was her thought as she sighed.
Gideon walked over to Eden and said, "Sylvie sent us to place a shield over you and your men. Currently she is protecting the horse from giants." Eden raised her head to look at his face, then looked at the path they came from, then she looked back at him before asking, " are you worried about her?" It was a genuine question because his facial expression didn't give off any anxiety and the other Lycans didn't seem in a rush to return. Him making that statement could be because he wanted to see her reaction or expect gratitude. Gideon answered, "No, she's a lieutenant from the Lycan royal guards. She is highly trained and capable. Kane is a berserker and the one I would wonder about if I had to." Eden nodded in understanding, "then I thank you all for your support on today's hunt. But I have to ask, why did your statement sound expectantly?" Gideon replied, " I didn't expect you to dive into the danger we were sent to protect you from." Eden laughed and said, "honestly I didn't expect it either, but I saw an opportunity and I took it. Once I knew my men were safe, then it was an easy decision for me to make." There was a laughter echoing from Sir Tristan, "you would expect our Commander to be saved like a damsel in distress?" Then the rest of the crew laughed around him. Gideon didn't know how to respond to that because he was just pointing out an observation. Eden noticed the awkwardness building in Gideon and she turned to look at them to say, "what are you guys doing? You got time to laugh? Then maybe we need more training." Then Arthur smiled and nodded to give them the impression she was serious. They went quiet and began to rush in grabbing all the boss drops.