That day, the sky was overcast and some elves were guarding a carcass still in good condition of an Abrams tank automated by Cabal... it still had some fuel but the ammunition was exhausted and the AI deactivated... down.

Others were in the vicinity...

The elf patrol was exhausted from days of guarding the area and patrolling the edge of the swamps.

Strangely enough, these marshes with beaches and islets were a heavenly place. The water was not stagnant, but now predators abounded, which did not make the soldiers feel comfortable.

Fortunately, they had a micro field of magical protection set into their armor to offer effective protection against plagues, mosquitoes and even dirt. This is why they were always clean and neat, unlike the stubborn dwarves.

The cleanliness and orderliness of the surviving human elites were admired by the noble elves and, miraculously, there were no conflicts. Everything was going well for the humans and the elves. Much less well for the dwarves. Even though the humans had reached out to them, for the surviving elves, they had only themselves to blame and beg Tyrant's forgiveness.

The waters, saturated with suspended particles, only allowed certain predators to have some visibility.

And, under the still water, the floating algae and dead wood, death could strike at any moment.

Still, it was Waspy's favorite area...a place of fun, but since his absence, the swamps were considered a very high risk area.

Plus, Drago Kobolds patrolled the area and...helped themselves to meat.

They had the advantage of intelligence, spells, magic and were veritable dinosaurs on legs.

Even their scales reflected the environment and only a trained eye could see them.

And when you saw one, it was likely that two others were under cover, ready to pounce.

And, when the sun went down, that's when the "sharpies" came out of their lair to hunt.

Although smaller, they were human-sized and always hunted in packs.

It was also a green hell.

a carnivorous hell...

The elves said that Tyran could not create these monsters but a rumor said that it was the mad dragon who created them in his image. A failed experiment...

Probably... I've done so many experiments, I don't remember everything...

The equipment kept was in a kind of biome of prairie and savannah, more suitable for moving a tank than in a forest that had nothing to envy the Carboniferous.

Monty was next to Raven, who was piloting Eagle 1, the quadcopter shuttle. But it was rocket thrusters that were used to keep the technical shuttle in place. Plasma thrusters, more efficient than propeller thrusters, the technology having greatly evolved.

Thrusters with plasma, more effective than propeller thrusters, the technology having strongly evolved

Moreover, it was relatively silent.

It was a beautiful ship and capable of going into space and putting heavy and complex structures into orbit, the central cargo ship could be fitted out to carry equipment, troops and could also be dropped and taken on vehicles

The ship was also modular and could be combined in several units for the transport of extremely heavy loads. And with certain adjustments, it could also be transformed into an interplanetary shuttle.

The ultimate in human technology. Unfortunately, it was only at the prototype stage at the time of the cataclysm and could not be mass-produced, which could have saved some of the population and animals. Time... always time...

The two teenagers arrived then above the suspicious zone and put themselves in hovering flight, finally in loop above... the zone to be watched being very vast.

With powerful optics, the two young captains observed the exchange of the elven patrols and nothing was to be reported.

Then...when the patrol was relieved and the elders were gone the drama began.

Sergeant Ergens was circling the tank and turned around, a soft roar being heard.

"Did you hear that?" he asked the first soldier beside him.

The thicket was very close to the vehicle. And the ground was strewn with grass, like a meadow...

Then, all of a sudden, a silence.

He turned around and saw an elf helmet on the ground without any trace of the soldier!

He drew his sword and took a whistle.

He turned around and the soldier was gone too.

Panic-stricken, he ran towards the meadow, where it was clear.

In altitude, Monty had not lost a single moment and Raven made the vehicle dive to save the unfortunate...

"But you are crazy!!! we are going to crash!!!"

"We have to save these people!!!" did you see the monster running behind him?

ALERT!!!

MASTER SYSTEM DEFECT!!!

Alarms began to sound and the ship's AI could not compensate for the list, all power being redistributed forward to right the ship.

The ground was getting dangerously close.

A sonic boom disturbed the monster

The monster was three times the height of the elf and was running at high speed.

But what was disturbing was that it was equipped with a belt, a radio and an automatic assault rifle of unknown manufacture.

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked up at the smoking trail in the sky

"BZZZZZ RWWWWWW......... "* (Unknown ship Orders???)

and the radio screamed...

It whistled and, immediately, 6 other monsters came out of the ground by burrows and traps judiciously dug in advance.

They were all the same and a special vehicle with vertical antennas, like tuning forks came out of the forest

"KKKK BZZZZRRRRR .... (sounds of angry insects (wasps) -* ( Turn on the disruptor on the area...)

In a flash of panic, Monty yelled, "There's plenty!!! A vehicle!!!!! quickly, towards the vehicle!!!! there may - be allies!!!"

The quadcopter managed to get up from the maneuver, but its inertia could not fully compensate for its fall. Then Raven began to hope...

All the power was now redirected towards the retro rockets... and the fall stopped.

Raven: "Phew, we are saved..."

on the radio, Bello was supervising the operations...

"Children, you arrived there!. They are vespalians... I see the image...

The images were transmitted in real time to the command center and the elf general was happy to see that even humans would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for an elf. This, obviously, brought him a little closer to the humans...

Kate, who had the fine hearing heard the voices through the concrete and understood that the humans had found the monsters responsible for the disappearance of the tanks and elves.

Raven: "I will open the door of the airlock and fly over the elf who will be able to jump in the shuttle and escape these species of giant mantises.

But the ship was only a first series, just after the prototypes and although cut for space, it was not intended to twist and do acrobatics. The metal was getting tired. And the counter pressure of the thrust of the flames in the reactor, at the level of the combustion chamber had overheated, the return pressure having compensated the cooling of the oxidizer, this one had undergone a double pressure and the threads let pass fire which, like a blowtorch began to shear the cylinder head, the plasmatic fire finding a not cooled passage pulverized the mechanism of arrival of the ionized gases which provoked a fall of power, the engine being on fire and melting irremediably

The shuttle was unbalanced and to keep a minimum of control, the 3 other reactors balanced with the remaining power of the engine in the course of destruction.

In short, it was the crash!

The shuttle crashed, turned to 45° but the shock was not lethal.

Sarah: "Monty??? Raven??? answer!!! "

Raven: "Mom!!! we crashed... we couldn't do anything... help!!"

Sarah: "We know where you are... barricade yourselves, we send help!"

Raven: "The shuttle is on fire!!! there is smoke everywhere!!!! we have to get out!!!"

Sarah: "Take the tractor!!! the noise will scare those animals!!! and it will offer protection take flares!"

Monty was bleeding on his forehead but it wasn't too bad..

He kicked in the door between the cockpit and the freighter. The smoke was coming from the technical compartment and the air was unbreathable.

Monty : "Quick, the crane! thingy..."

Sarah: "Hold on!

But there was no answer.

The disrupter was cutting off all transmission, even by satellite.

It was one of Hans' latest finds in case enemies or humans turned up.

The vehicle was a kind of EMP that prevented any engine or electrical system from working.

It was itself protected by a special armor designed for this purpose!

As soon as the tractor came out, it stopped dead.

The two young captains' faces were filled with despair.

Seeing the situation, the elf relief did not arrive.

The sergeant ran to the young men to tell them how and where to flee from these monsters.

He knew that there was no way out, but running was the only option.

The huge tank had a turret and the three individuals arrived at the vehicle with tuning forks on top.

"We have a chance if we get inside" but... Six mantises had arrived and were surrounding them.

They were surrounded.

On the tank, a flag showed the crest of the eight-headed black hydra...

"It's a Hans tank... we're saved!" shouted Monty to the sergeant.

But the access hatch lifted. A glimmer of hope for the escapees.

But the Monsters did not move, as if they were smiling...

A small hand came out of the trapdoor, revealing a fairy.

She had black hair, black eyes and looked like Waspy except that she had a pirate's headband that hid a probably one-eyed eye. Many scars dotted her skin.

She smiled and the humans began to beg on their knees, the elf not too proud?

With a snap of her fingers, magic... and vines came from nowhere.

And, as if the weather was affected, clouds or fog descended on the area, making the place dark as the beginning of a night... the sun looking like the moon, the darkness invading the whole area.

The vines tightened the feet and the hands of the 2 young people.

The elf was also paralyzed, but he tried to cut the ties with his sword. He succeeded.

"Marauding fairy... you have denied your god to stoop to the cult of the abomination... He lunged to decapitate the fairy but was stopped in his tracks.

Drool came out of his mouth, eyes surprised, misunderstood. That was the term... he didn't understand. The fairy had not moved but he was paralyzed.

He lowered his head and saw a thin needle coming out of his belly, through the chain mail.

A stinger. Then he raised his head and met the mouth of the mantis which sent him rolling at the feet of the teenagers.

Raven and Monty began to cry and beg for mercy to the monster and the fairy.

"We are friends with Waspy, the Kobolds and Hans... please!!!!"

Marauder fairy: "Do you believe in the Destroyer? You are human...."

The mantis approached as if to sting them...

They screamed... "No, we don't want to die... "

The fairy raised a hand and the mantis soldier stopped but his mouth slammed down on top of the 2 humans, signifying that they should get up.

With a blow from the scythes, the vines were cut off at the feet.

Then with another blow, the two humans were propelled against the tank.

The liana on the hands was attached to a ring.

Then the whole thing started to move.

The elf was picked up alive.

Raven wanted to speak, but Monty nodded.

The other six spread their elytra and wings began to whirr.

With a wand, the fairy removed the "mass" of the abandoned tank. and the Mantises flew away, taking one of the last tanks with them...

A dump truck came out of the forest and the elf was thrown in, joining his comrades.

The truck had no cabin but a platform on which a Vespalian monster was sitting, driving...

Monty realized the intelligence and the danger of such monsters... Then he noticed the belts, weapons and radios... Dreadful monsters, straight out of a nightmare.

The monsters from the old movie "Alien" had better watch out... this evolved but aggressive life form... Another end for humanity???

It was absolutely necessary to warn General Mondeville... To warn the help... it was a giant trap...

Monty now realized the position of the humans... they were no longer at the top of the food chain... nor at the top of anything. With the elves or not...

Their only hope... the Ummites and Yuri maybe???

Everything was working fast in the heads of the two humans.

The vehicle stopped to take a break.

The little fairy got out of the cart and handed over a gourd.

"I am doing you a favor... But we are in enemy camps!"

Raven: "Why???"

Marauder: "Our queen will answer your questions, if she lets you live...Don't even try to contact your people, this tank prevents any communication...You don't even exist in her zone of influence...and if you fail me..."

The fairy grew and transformed into a Vespalian mantis monster.

The sharp teeth clacked.