Once Rae and Lotus returned from their flower hunting trip, with the flower safely stowed in Rae’s space along with the branch it was growing on, Alice got the group moving in the direction that Hawk had recommended for them to follow past the mole monsters.
Hawk had already succumbed to temptation and caught one for a taste test, which he found pleasantly mousy, with a hint of feral monster. That meant bringing Karl to him so he could stow the bodies in his space before he continued his scouting flights.
Alice didn’t say anything when she saw the rapidly vanishing bodies of the moles, but the Church Guard with them did give Karl a strange look, wondering what he was doing, and if this was some sort of food stocking ritual that he did for his beasts every day.
They didn’t actually eat that much, and other than Thor, who was pleading for a fresh update of Ascended Rank feed every day, even though he had so much it was actually growing in his space now, they were in no need of refreshed supplies.
Their spaces were nearly reaching their power and size limits, and soon Karl would be able to begin working on a fourth space, in preparation for adding a new friend.
Thor’s space looked like an idyllic pasture, filled with the best feeds, a few trees and smashing posts, while Hawk’s was neatly organized piles of meat, cut and stripped to unrecognizable chunks based on flavour and energy content.
Rae’s on the other hand, had a very horror graveyard vibe going for it, as she had strung all of her reserves up in her webs, and in the dim light, it almost looked like they were still alive.
[If you’re going to add something, I want a cool friend.] Rae commented when she sensed Karl checking on the state of the spaces.
[Oh? What sort of cool friend?] Karl asked.
[Maybe like a Shadow Demon, or a Leaper.] She suggested, referring to two species of ethereal humanoid monsters who preferred to hunt in the dark and had incredible magical power. In the wild, they were natural allies of the Bloodbath Spiders, whose webs would catch and detain prey for all of them.
The other two would herd hapless monsters and humans into the webs, which the targets would be unable to break free from, and then take the choice bits and leave the rest for the Bloodbath Spiders as a form of payment for their assistance.
As Karl recalled, they were both born at the Royal Rank, and would grow up to become Overlord level threats that kept the majority of humanity out of the tunnels in the mountains.
[I will have to see what we can manage. I don’t think that anything above our rank is going to end well, though.] Karl laughed.
Hawk led them to the pair of Commander Rank Giants that he had found, with the Church Guard following closely beside Karl as he moved through the trees.
“How can you be so certain that we’re going the right way?” The Guard asked as Karl made a turn to follow a riverbank.
“Because Hawk is still overhead, and he will tell me if we’re going the wrong way, or if something is blocking us. The Giants should be just around this bend in the river.” Karl explained, as he slowed to make certain everyone was ready for the fight.
“Don’t you think something is off about this forest? The woods here shouldn’t be so lush, they should be more barren with the poor soil, and then there was that magical flower that Lotus found earlier. I think that we’re coming into an area with higher than usual mana density.
That means a chance at some unique rewards, but also stronger monsters.” The guard whispered as the others joined them.
Dana’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Like the woods around the Holy Relic. They were loaded with good stuff, but this time we haven’t been looking for it. We were just looking for monsters.”
Alice smiled. “Alright, if there are Commander Rank monsters, there is a chance of Commander Rank resources. We can’t turn that down, and it’s permitted in our group charter to search for them.
I don’t know about the army unit, but for certain the six of us are allowed to search.”
The Lieutenant sighed. “Anything that we gather is to be turned over to military supplies for processing, and a reward will be issued as a portion of its value.”
That line was straight out of the operator’s handbook, and Sergeant Rita nodded in agreement.
[I will look for magical plants for Rae and the tiny human to collect.] Hawk agreed.
The last time they went for magical plants worked out very well for him. If they could find another good thing, he might really become a Commander Rank Hawk.
He was so excited about searching for magical resources that he almost forgot to join the fight when everyone moved to surround the Giants.
“Everyone move up to surround them, but leave a way out. We don’t need them smashing through the ranks if they try to run.” The Lieutenant quietly ordered his troops.
They were going to try to help, but they all knew that at two Ranks higher, the Giants could easily kill them with a single hit. If they got into the line of fire, it was over for them, and their attacks would do little more than distract the enormous humanoids.
When Karl reached the spot where the Giants were waiting, he saw that there was a good reason they hadn’t moved, even though they had to have heard the soldiers approaching. There was an intensely magical cluster of grass between them, and the Giants had taken defensive positions around it.
“Do we know what that is?” Karl whispered to Lotus as she moved forward in preparation for the charge.
“No idea. I haven’t seen it before, either. That’s really strange, two unknown plants in one day.” She replied quietly.
Alice nodded in agreement. “Then make certain that we do not destroy it during the battle. It must not be ready yet, or they would have picked it.”
The Giants held their position as Karl and Thor stepped out into the open, with Alice, Rita and the Church Guard behind them. The Lieutenant had gone to the left, while Rae went to the right, so they could attack from the sides, while the rest of the unit got in position.
The Giants made a motion to shoo Karl and the others away, which Karl returned by pointing at the plant, as if they would let the Giants leave if they gave up the treasure.
The one closest to him roared in anger at Karl’s arrogance, daring to demand the precious resource from literally between his feet.
The Giant charged at the arrogant young human, and Karl produced the large vampiric sword from its ready state. If he was going to get gains for his team, this was the perfect opportunity for it. There were plant resources right there, and the blade would suck some of the life force from the Giants when they died, giving them all an extra bump of growth.
Karl stepped forward, using [Rend] to reduce the power of the Giant’s attack so he could block, while Alice’s Golem charged at the other Giant before it could get in position to assist.
The Giant facing Karl lifted its blade to hack down at Karl just as Thor charged into the battle, crashing into the side of its knee, while Karl attacked its forearms with [Rend], toppling the creature over backward.
That was Rae’s cue to get in on the action, and the Spider Golems were on the Giant instantly, attacking the arms so it couldn’t pick up its weapon, while Hawk dropped Fireballs into the middle of its exposed stomach.
Rae herself was hanging back from the battle and waiting for an opening to attack the other Giant.
The rest of the force were all focusing on it now, as Thor and the Golems blocked their line of sight to the fallen monster. But then Rae had a brilliant idea. They didn’t have to wait for the end of the battle to get the loot. She just had to dart over to the plant and use her forelegs to scoop it out of the ground and into her space for later.
Nobody even noticed when the plants disappeared, the closest to knowing what happened was the standing Giant, who only noticed Rae’s approach after the plants were gone, when she went for the vulnerable spot between the shoulders, where the Giants weren’t flexible enough to reach her.
That only lasted a few seconds, until the Giant managed to take a swing with its sword, sweeping over its back, and the Bloodbath Spider was forced to retreat while the Golem and the two Ascended warriors attacked from the front.