The Path Of Glory (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

46. Half-Bloods VS Hunters

Y/N couldn't help laughing this time. This guy was a gem.

"Nico, this is serious," Percy said. "Real swords. These can hurt."

Nico stared at him, a little disappointed.

Y/N patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. If you want to drive your sword in some Hunter's gut, you've got my blessing. We'll have a blast, you'll see."

Chiron hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half-Blood—shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis—red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please!"

Y/N leaned to talk in Nico's ear. "That means you can maim any Hunter you want as long as you pretend you didn't want to."

"Sweet," Nico whispered.

"All magic items are allowed," Chiron went on. "To your positions!"

"What kind of magic items?" Nico asked. "Do I get one?"

Before Y/N could say anything, Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"

The campers cheered and followed. Percy ran to catch up, and tripped over somebody's shield. Y/N had to admit it, Percy didn't look much like a co-captain. And he didn't like it.

They set their flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It was a cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it the right way, looked like a huge first sticking out of the ground. From any other side, it looked like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let them call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much a sense of humor.

Anyway, it was a good place to set a flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.

Y/N set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers. That would kill two birds with one stone—Nico would be safe, and he wouldn't bother anyone.

"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."

"Got it!"

"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."

Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work. Y/N hated that.

"Anything to add, Percy?" Thalia said.

"Um, yeah," Percy said. "Keep sharp defense. We've got five guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."

"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.

"Unless you see a golden opportunity," Percy added.

Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."

"Right, unless—"

"Percy!"

They broke into smaller groups; Y/N remained at Zeus's Fist with the defense. The horn sounded, and the game began.

Y/N waited for something to happen. He remembered how the Hunters had stormed out of the woods when they fought the manticore, and he was prepared for something like that—one huge charge that could overwhelm them. But nothing happened.