Experience on the Field
The ship that had been given to them wasn't exactly something that Edelgard was familiar with, neither in Fodlan nor in her time here. It wasn't that hard to control however, and she was pleased by that.
"I'm surprised you were the one chosen to lead us. Thought you'd stay behind with Ozpin" - Yang said as she took a seat in the ship.
"He's very convincing when he puts his mind into it. He said he wants me to take a look at something in Mountain Glenn and since he saw you girls eyeing the location, he thought it was a good idea to pair us up" - she answered as they got closer to their target, huge buildings in the distance.
"Mountain Glenn? Wait, wasn't that one of Vale's expansion projects?" - Ruby asked surprised as she jumped next to Edelgard.
"And one of its greatest failures. It ended up being overrun by Grimms and it was fenced away from the city" - Yang continued.
"A place like that would make for an excellent hideout" - Blake said right after.
"Exactly. Now you know what Ozpin wanted me to investigate" -
Their aircraft slowly descended into the abandoned landscape. Buildings and streets empty and in ruins, no soul had been in them since years ago, and it was easy to tell. The 4 members of Team RWBY jumped out with their weapons in hand, Edelgard followed them soon after.
"Remember well girls, we're not in friendly territory anymore. From now on, you will stay close to me and obey what I say" - Edelgard spoke as the ship flew into the air, and the 5 of them began walking - "By the way, Ruby, I don't see what the need for your bag was" -
Despite them not needing any additional equipment beyond their weapons, Edelgard was shocked to see Ruby bring her bag like it was any other day.
"Well, sorry but I…" -
Ruby's speech was cut short, as the head of a small dog poked out from the bag and quickly jumped out of it, landing at the feet of the Huntress.
"You brought… A dog" - Edelgard said with an unamused face, which only became one of annoyance as the dog started to bark at her, distrusting her nature as a half Demonic Beast due to the Hegemon Beast transformation - "Rose, I understand that you have an unconventional way of doing things, however…" -
"I'm sorry, it's just that I… Zwei, get back in the bag!" - Ruby yelled as she grabbed the dog and tried to put him away again.
"Ah… I'll let it go for just this once, but you have to be more mindful in the future, Rose. On missions like this, it's best to bring only the essential" -
"Well, it's just that I…" -
Ruby didn't have a chance to finish speaking, as the group had to quickly hide from an approaching Beowulf, likely drawn due to the sound that Team RWBY was making.
"If I remember correctly, Ozpin told me that Grimms are attracted to negative emotions" -
"Right, but what does that have to do with anything?" - Yang asked.
"Well, if his theory is right, the group that is using this place as a hiding spot is going to be harboring quite a bit of negativity. If we follow this Grimm, it might lead us directly to our target" -
After Edelgard finished speaking, the Beowulf that first appeared was joined by 5 others, which then turned to look in their direction and started to slowly approach.
"I think following them is out of the question now" - Weiss said as she pulled out her weapon.
"Unfortunately, you're right. We'll have to deal with this first, then go look for others. Girls, with me" -
The Beowulfs jumped at them, with one of them being stopped clean off by Ruby attacking with Crescent Rose, cutting its head right off. Another one was frozen and shattered by Weiss as it tried to catch Ruby off guard.
One of them jumped from above but was punched to the side by Yang, with Blake handling the fourth one with ease thanks to her Semblance, distracting it and allowing her for a quick kill.
Only one was left, jumping at Edelgard.
"Look out!" - Ruby yelled, but the ex Emperor wasn't phased.
With ease, she grabbed the neck of the Beowulf with her left hand before crushing it with ease, as the creature fell to the ground dead. The 4 girls looked stunned, remembering that their teacher was nothing short of a powerhouse.
"We'll have to look for others to track. Follow me girls, we'll go through the buildings" - Edelgard said as she walked in front of them - "Ruby, make sure to keep your dog in check" -
"S-Sure" -
Going to the top of one of the buildings to get a better view of the place, they were all stunned by the sheer quantity of Grimms inhabiting the area, fighting each other and looking for anything to kill. Such mindless beasts reminded Edelgard of the Demonic Beasts that Those Who Slither in the Dark used during the war in her support.
In between the amount of Grimms, something caught Blake's eyes, the sight of a humanoid figure with a mask of the White Fang, travelling in a building far away.
"I see someone, from the White Fang" -
"Good eye Blake. Follow my lead girls, we'll catch up with him before he gets a chance to hide" -
The 5 started to jump from building to building, chasing the figure that Blake saw at the distance, making sure that they wouldn't lose him. As they were jumping however, a Grimm that looked like a mammoth clashed into the building, causing it to fall to the ground and throwing them all off.
Using her body, Edelgard protected the girls, tanking the falling debris with ease, as they fell to the ground. With her help, none of them ended up hurt, although now they had a much bigger problem.
Through the smoke caused by the fall of the building, Edelgard could hear the nearby Grimms running at them, drawn by the sound of the destruction of the building. There were so many, and the girls wouldn't be able to take them all at once, she'd have to deal with them mostly on her own. She wouldn't let them get hurt under her care.
"Girls, I want you to stay in a circular formation, don't engage on your own, only attack if they get too close" - she said as she stood up.
"No, we're going to fight with you, we can…" - Yang tried to walk up to her, but she was pushed back by Edelgard.
"Do as I tell you. Stay safe, I can handle all of them on my own" - her eyes started to light up in red flames, the Crest of Flames and the Crest of Seiros shining in front of her - "I'll show this malformed creatures what a real beast is like" -
One of the Grimms attacked first, jumping at them at high speeds. Edelgard quickly reacted, holding the face of the beast and crushing it with her bare hands, just as 3 others launched themselves at her, which she easily swatted away like they were nothing but flies.
A Death Stalker tried to pierce Edelgard's body with its pointy tail, but she dodged it without any issue before ripping it off and using it as a projectile to pierce the head of a Golitath before jumping over the Death Stalker and crushing its skull with a powerful kick.
More and more Grimms approached, but she wasn't planning on backing away, she still had to protect Team RWBY. Charging a giant fireball in her hand, she slammed it into the ground, creating a huge blast of flames in front of her. In but a second, the horde of Grimms in front of her was reduced to nothing but ash.
What would've been an unwinnable battle for Team RWBY, turned into a one sided massacre on Edelgard's part, and the girls looked in both awe and shock at the power of their teacher.
"That will keep them away from us for a while" - she said as she turned to look at them, her eyes returning to normal - "Let's keep going, we still have to find our prey" -
