Finally, Ben's group will start attacking the Dragons. Now they have 534 people after a lot more joined when Ben returned to the fortress city. They were attacked after Elefseria's group left to follow Ben.
Of course, they couldn't defend themselves properly without any Dragon Slayers on their side. That's why they decided to join Ben's group attacking the Dragons. Defending without Dragon Slayers made them realize that they can't just wait. They need to attack and take their freedom back.
In the last few days, everyone has prepared themselves as best as they could. Ben helped them by providing Dragon weapons and armor for everyone including the Dragon Slayers. This will increase their chance of winning and surviving this war.
Obviously, the weapons and armor aren't just made of Dragons' body parts like scales, bones, fangs, etc. Their qualities are very high and Ben installed high-level enchantment on them to maximize their power. With these weapons and armor, even the ones without Dragon Slayer Magic will be able to fight a Dragon alone with sufficient skills.
Ben gives weapons & armor based on his trust and also the users' levels. He obviously gives the best weapons and armor to his family and friends first before the others. Brandish is included in that list because Ben has known Brandish's character and he knows he can trust her.
Besides, without a great weapon, Brandish's power will be useless because she isn't a Dragon Slayer, and normal-grade weapons won't be able to endure her power. She has power rivaling a Dragon, so it will be a big shame if she can't use that power to defeat Dragons. That's why Ben facilitates her with one of the best weapons & armor so that she can kill the Dragons.
The Dragon Hunter group then goes to their first attack targets. Just like on the other continents, the Dragons are spread in many places here. They'll only move when called and they mostly spend their time in their nests, gathering magic power.
Most Dragons are staying in small groups of 3 to 10 Dragons. They usually move as groups by Acnologia's order, so they stay with their groups in forests, mountains, or ruins. This is good for now because the Dragon Hunters don't need to fight thousands of Dragons at once.
Fighting thousands of Dragons at once will be very difficult. There are a lot of new members, so they need to know each other in battles first to improve their teamwork even a little bit by fighting just a few Dragons. At the very least, they won't hinder each other in the main war if they know each other a little bit.
They will attack a group of 6 Dragons for their first attack. Ben assigns Wendy, Brandish, Lucy, Elefseria, and the strongest Martial Artist of the Eastern Continent, Tsunzu to lead the other 5 teams while he'll lead the other 1. These guys are strong and they have leadership skills, that's why he chose them.
Their attack starts right away and they still use a space barrier. It's a very good and safe strategy that has given them victories while removing post-battle problems, after all. So they will keep using it while it's still helpful.
Lucy & Brandish can erect the space barriers themselves now. As for Elefseria and Tsunzu, they use a magic tool that Ben made to erect the barriers. The magic tool is still not perfect and it still has a time limit, that's why they need to finish the battle fast.
That's also why those 2 groups have more people with experience and they also face the weakest Dragons in the group. Hopefully, they can defeat the Dragon before reaching the time limit.
Ben's group is attacking the 4th ranked Dragon in the group. He doesn't fight the strongest because his group members are full of new guys. Everyone in his group is a new member who has just joined because they follow Elefseria.
They aren't very experienced at fighting Dragons, that's why Ben is the one who leads them. He needs to teach them the important things they need to know when fighting Dragons. But he can't take all the new members in his group, so he also puts them in the group led by Wendy, Brandish, and Lucy.
Ben's group faces a Bronze Dragon that controls bronze metal. It has strong defense and attack power, which makes it a difficult opponent for the new members. However, it's also the best opponent because they will be able to learn a lot more.
They don't have much time, so they need to grow fast and be ready when the main war begins. Learning slowly by facing weaker opponents first won't help them much, so they need to fight stronger foes. Besides, they have faced some Dragons in the past, they just need to know the more efficient method that Ben prepared.
"Rangers, keep attacking its head and upper body without rest! Vanguards, attack its feet, but be careful so you won't get stomped! Supports, distract it, and watch it carefully! Warn your comrades if it's about to attack them! Dragon Slayers, focus on attacking its wings first to prevent it from flying!"
Ben gives simple instructions to his group which has been split into some divisions based on their roles. He tells what to do them if they make mistakes or are confused about what to do. With Quorra's help, Ben can easily remember each of their names, so he can give clear instructions to them.
It's very hard for them to follow the orders and work together to defeat the Dragons. But slowly they get used to it because Ben's instructions are clear and easy to understand. They will be very stupid if they can't even understand those orders that even Natsu could understand.
The rangers are shooting magic arrows or bullets using their magic bows or guns that Ben made using Dragon bones. The bows & guns have unique magic letters engraved on them which made their magic arrows & bullets turn into Dragon Slayer attack spells.
It works by using the Dragon bones as a medium to change the Mages' magic power into Dragon Slayer magic power which will be very effective against the Dragons. Of course, their attacks won't be very powerful, but they can give more damage to the Dragons than even strong normal spells.
Ben's group doesn't have Dragon Slayer other than him. The 5th generation Dragon Slayers are assigned to other teams. Those guys were quite arrogant, especially toward the non-Dragon Slayers, so Ben wants to humble them by showing them the power of non-Dragon Slayers' power who only use Dragon Weapons to defeat the Dragons.
They are assigned to Brandish's and Lucy's teams because the 2nd generation Dragon Slayers who came from Ishgar are assigned to Elefseria's and Tsunzu's teams to make their hunt faster because of their time limit. So the 5th generation will only fight alongside the non-Dragon Slayers who can kill Dragons by themselves already.
Back to Ben's group, they are attacking the Dragons from all sides. Their attacks can only give little damage to the Dragons, but they are still inflicting damage. Such a result already makes them very happy because as non-Dragon Slayers, they never dealt damage when they attack Dragons.
It makes them very motivated and they start getting better. Their movements are not stiff anymore and they are not hesitating to move forward. They start following Ben's orders even better because they know their attacks are successful because of him.
Although sometimes, they got too excited that they don't listen because they are distracted or they think they can do better by doing something else. The ones who do that pay the price though and get hit by the Dragons. Ben only saves those who will die if they get hit and let the others to give them a lesson.
They attack the Bronze Dragon with hit & run tactic. Ben orders them to attack from all sides, then tells them to move when the Bronze Dragon will attack. These guys are obviously not tough enough to handle the Bronze Dragon's attacks. Even its Dragon Roars will shred them to pieces if they take it head-on.
Similar to Iron Dragon, Bronze Dragon can reshape its body parts to create attacks. However, its attacks are not as powerful as Metalicana's attacks. The Bronze Dragon also can't shape its body parts as freely as Metalicana, which makes it an easier opponent.
Ben's group bombards the Bronze Dragon with attacks from all sides. They also try to disrupt the Dragon's movements using their normal magic. It's not difficult to disrupt a Dragon's movements. They can control the ground where the Dragon stands or just annoys it.
The biggest problem for them is when the Dragons fly. Their attacks can't reach the Dragons most of the time. The only solutions now are by attacking from afar or they need to fly too. Not everyone can fly, so only some will go up and chase the Dragons.
That's why all groups will focus on attacking the Dragons' wings at the beginning to prevent the Dragons from flying. Ben'a group also does this, but it's difficult to break a Bronze Dragon's wings. So now, they need to handle a flying Dragon. So annoying.
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You can read more chapters ahead of my fanfics and more pictures on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.
Voting for this book is highly appreciate. Cover image is the MC, artist's ig: @fatmaqn_
I've uploaded:
1. Chapter 443. The End (Fairy Tail: Sun Eater)
2. Chapter 472. Closer to Death (Transcended as Lord Buggy)
3. Pictures of both stories (ex: bounty poster & magazine cover) by fatmaqn_
https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain
(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)