After these events, I made a list of "errands" to do and went on an expedition to the south, combing the old industrial areas, now reduced to ruins. Maybe the stainless steel would have resisted? Anyway, I had to see if something could be useful.

A big truck drone with tracks was following a robot patrol and I was relaxing while flying, warming my wings by the soft rays of the sun, well not the gamma rays...

I decided to go along the coast towards the south, towards old port structures now...

The wind and the spray hit my scales and the soft heat of the sun intoxicated me. This feeling of flying, of freedom, of having the world all to myself was feeding my dragon nature which was getting further and further away from my human nature.

I was flying just above the clouds and the southern winds were soft and pleasant.

With pleasure, I saw a seagull... miraculously, they had survived. Or maybe it was the Norwegian species preservation program.

I began to smile as I saw life slowly returning. My efforts would pay off one day.

But I was attracted by spots on the sea, trails between the waves.

Sailing boats! ?????

I had to see this more closely, and as I lost altitude, I saw some kind of conchs with humanoid creatures on them, but my sharp eyesight allowed me to see humanoids in armor but with long ears, protected by a long helmet.

Eh... the port was repaired! With stones but there were wooden ships, sailing boats, houses and... human creatures???

Fortunately, we were not spotted and they were not on guard...

No, it looked like fairies and gnomes but much bigger.

And they didn't look very comfortable...

Guards, civilians, workers and dockers.

Carts passed back and forth between the streets and the port loading and unloading their goods.

I saw a hill with a rocky overhang and decided to land on it and observe.

"MEEERDE!!!" They are so developed???? And there are so many of them!!!

But then I thought again. Yes, civilization... Would they accept humans??? dragons??? Are they like fairies and gnomes?

Then I saw movement.

Horse-drawn carts from the north, panicked elves...

Probably my carnage...

I had arrived before them. 100 km was nothing for me, but on horseback, it took 3 days,

Guards surrounded the cart and the elf headed for a stone fortified post at the port.

It looked just like La Rochelle

Then, to my surprise, in the harbor, I saw cages with a small dark being... long hair, a human?? no.... a dwarf!

The bugger was dressed in rags and his look. The same as Waspy's...

A noble soul.

The cart containing the cage had just been unloaded and the dwarf brought to the public square.

I was really surprised to see a city with 2 stone towers guarding the harbor, a dock, ships and galleys. There was also a fish market, full of crates.

Elves everywhere. If I were to estimate the population of the city based on its size, 38000 roughly.

So there would be a kingdom, cities, roads, villages...

At the sight of this spectacle, my stomach started to rumble...

I hesitated between negotiating, bombing or tasting or simply having fun.

I dreamed of organizing a battle royale.... or like a slasher.... organize a group to hunt me and devour the members of the expedition starting with the most loved, the most beautiful or the loudest....

All this flesh made me salivate and I only wanted to test my new toys...

But as an informed psychopath, I had to know my enemy.

Indeed, a degree of civilization as I observed it had its risks and the fact that they had the basis of engineering, I could fear powerful crossbows, ballistas and other gems that could do damage combined with their damn magic.

I could raze the city with the push of a button, but my war was not a war of territory but a war of extermination.

My attention was drawn to the chatter that the wind was bringing as it blew north.

My troops were lying on either side of me and by radio I asked Waspy to join me with the gift I had given her.

The fairy, dressed in a fatigue-style uniform and a leather-padded helmet entered the droid garage.

Her vehicle was waiting for her.

With a firm and determined step, she went through the armory and took a belt with a revolver buckle, a beretta, and an M16 A4 assault rifle and smoke grenades.

Then she climbed down a metal ladder and found herself in the huge underground hangar where hundreds of military vehicles were stored and maintained by drones supervised by Cabal.

She had non-reflective glasses, like a stainless steel plate, but inside she had the information that was transmitted to her by the cybernetic computer.

There was her relative position, an outdated map, except the one updated by the patrols and a kind of fog of war.

The undiscovered areas were blurred or in dark gray.

There was a route map and the latest information updated by me and my drones.

She also had a camera that allowed me to see and hear what she was seeing.

A real warrior and she also had her kit bag. A big bag made of military fabric, and some make-up cartridges to be discreet.

All this was precious but useless for me or my drones. She might as well enjoy it and have some fun.

At the back, an appendage protruded, not like a tail, but a wasp appendage with a stinger.

This was hidden by a khaki cloak to protect her from the weather but also to camouflage herself.

But this was only the beginning.

She found herself in front of an infernal machine, the use of which was known only to me and to her now.

A vehicle built by the former Russia and exported all over the world and its efficiency was not to be proved. The maintenance was easy, they were also in the armies of the United States at that time.

The heavy doors opened and the metal hatch opened almost automatically.

She entered the hold and the door closed on her.

A simplified dashboard, automatic controls... the ultimate...

The powerful diesel engine started and the fuel made of grease flowed towards the pistons which made roar the engine and the moment after, It left all alone controlled by Cabal.

The suspension absorbed all the unevenness of the ground and the debris littering the ancient roads.

Cabal: "You can take the wheel and practice!

And so the little fairy drove through woods, fields and clearings the 100 kilometers between us.

Meanwhile, a crowd was gathered in the main square by the harbor.

An elf with a kind of crown and a big cloak and a stick arrived with an air of defiance in front of the dwarf's cage.

He was taken out of the cage in protest, but he was gagged and his hands were tied behind his back.

I couldn't hear everything that was said, but obviously it was a reminder of the law, and a death sentence...

"Raldur, your dissident tribe..." "You have defied the deities"

"Like the elders who were purged by Tyrant..."

"Disgrace!"

"May ..." "Have mercy on you... "Be reborn living in the worship of the Lord..."

Never in my life had I heard such bullshit... It was brainwashing...

The dwarf reacted normally to fanatical and dangerous idiots: to say nothing.

What to say to people who are only pale and soulless imitations of them.

He held out the pole to the dwarf, offering him a final salvation, but like any self-respecting dwarf, he didn't even raise his head and threw the pole away with his shoulder.

Like any public slanderer, the elf priest or mage recited a well-trained speech.

He was condemned to death long before he got off the cart.

Apart from the dwarf, I felt nothing...

Then, some movement...

Guards with bows lined up and the kneeling dwarf stood up and looked proudly at the armored elves.

He was brave.

From my radio: "Waspy, where are you?"

"I'm almost there."

"Position yourself in the wide open meadow, and at the back.

"But, Lord, they'll be positioned higher and we'll be at a disadvantage."

"By the time they figure out what's happening to them, it'll be too late to react."

Tonight we'll be eating pointy ear fries...

"But their armor?"

"The truck is here to load them"

And so it was, and the drones went to join it.

Meanwhile, I was loading my scales with mana and shield spells but my earth magic.

This made the elf mage's head spin for a moment.

But it was too late,

Silence had fallen over the port city.

Like an eclipse, my shadow covered the square and everyone froze as a monstrous creature descended upon them.

A roar finally gripped and paralyzed the archers, unaccustomed to being attacked by a creature from the chaos and darkness.

A microsecond later, the square was ablaze, the sails of the ships in ashes and the devastating blast finished cooking the gathered elves.

The next moment, the dwarf was in my grasp, still gagged.

A quick glance from my head as I rose showed that the center of town was nothing but an inferno.

You could hear the bells ringing, and the horns being blown to rally the soldiers and locate where I was going.

And I arrived in the large meadow where a familiar object was waiting for me.

Waspy had come out, and took a blade and pushed the dwarf into the mobile fortress

Obviously, he expected to be devoured, but what was his expression when he saw the human-looking fairy come out of the carved stone block and pull him in?

He knew that the elves, at war with his clan, were going to descend upon this place. It was only a matter of hours.

But why was he being kept waiting?

Why did he have to enter this mechanical being, this infernal machine?

All this was beyond him, but he was happy to be alive.

The carnivorous carnage could start soon...