Below the thick canopy of trees was the ruins of an old town, now reduced to just some rock formations, overgrown by vegetation. As the shrubs were cleared away, the ruined blocks, once the home of families, were uncovered and illuminated by the sun's light peeking through the thick leaves of the trees. A group of forty people was camping around the site, with some maintaining their weaponry and others gathering around a big pot, waiting for the stew to be ready.

  “Prince,” came up one of the soldiers, dressed in a leather outfit, wearing tools used for excavation on his belt, holding in his hand an old-looking box, still locked, stained with dirt. “We found something under one of the ruined homes.”

  “Oh? Let me see!”

  Feynor, the firstborn of Dermitos, stood up in a hurry, climbing out from a hole that was once the celr of a home. He looked the same as Leinor, only older, while his hair was kept short, and he wore a neatly trimmed, short beard. He looked like someone in his thirties, but he was actually more than double that age, being the first son of Dermitos, born right around the time that his father ascended to the throne. He was dressed in workers’ clothes at the moment, digging for old tools and pottery.

  “Ah, it seems like a typical box from the Ein-era... Hm, I think this is where they kept the store’s earnings,” Feynor said after taking it away and sifting through it, wiping off the dirt. “Probably that block of stone was some general goods store for the town. Put it next to the others, and we'll take it back and examine it more carefully at home. Try not to break it. The old coins are collectibles and worth a lot, not to mention if it has paper money! It was such fine craftsmanship of the time... And it had to be much easier to carry it around. Sadly, most of that rotted away over the centuries...”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “Any news about the requested reinforcement or the fairies?” he asked one of the others who was standing around him, as the Prince had to be protected at all times.

  “The letter we received from a messenger hawk mentioned we have reinforcements on the way; they should arrive by night. Nothing about the fairies yet.”

  “I see. Keep an eye out." He nodded, "We have been here for weeks now... Our presence may have already been picked up by creatures who would not take us as friends. Haaaah... We should stop the work and start preparing to move as soon as the reinforcement arrives. We will be heading to the next location in a few days, but do not x your attention! I already informed the fairies where to go if they don’t find us here.”

  “Understood. I’ll tell the others!” The soldier saluted.

  As Feynor looked around, he had a satisfied expression, seeing their hand-pulled carts filled with treasures. Most of it, if presented to anyone, would only be beled as junk, but to someone fascinated by history, every little piece he collected was worth more than any gold statues or gem-filled cutlery would. These were the true treasures... At least, for him. Just as he was about to clean up, the same soldier rushed back, who he had sent away with the box.

  “Captain! We have a problem!”

  “Expin,” he walked up with a fierce expression, and soon he saw a soldier holding a small, only forty or fifty centimeters tall female fairy in his hands, bruised and battered.

  The small, plump, tiny yet mature-looking woman wore clothes made from leaves that were now barely hanging on her. Her usually bright, slightly transparent, colorful butterfly wings, as rge as her body, were folded unnaturally, dim and powerless. Her long, bright blond hair was stained with blood, and twigs were sticking out of it as her breathing was haptic and disorderly.

  “Let me!” Fenyor rushed up to him, pcing his hand below her nose. “Not good…” he murmured, checking her belly while gently pushing it. “She has internal bleeding for sure and maybe some ruptured organs..'' he said while shaking his head with furrowed brows. She may not survive this... Thinking, he bit his finger, letting some of his blood drop into her mouth. The royal family’s power immediately showed itself, yet it was not as powerful as what Leinor was capable of. “I should’ve trained in my little brother’s way….” Feynor murmured, seeing the sub-par results.

  The Emperor long ago sent copies of Ren's new cultivation method to his sons. However, those advanced in their refinements found it difficult to convert over, as it posed much greater challenges than starting with the original method. Even though Feynor did dabble in it, he was already at the ninth stage. The strengthening and awakening of his energy points in an already refined body proved more difficult than expected. Still, he was trying, and as he watched, his blood slowly made the fairy regain consciousness.

  “Help… us… they… c-came… to…” she muttered with a soft, weak voice, her golden eyes filled with dread and tears, peering into Feynor’s gaze, transmitting her memories of her vilge, built in a small meadow. It was id out between tall grass and flowers, getting attacked by beasts resembling giant wasps, none of which had a humanoid form. “I… don’t wa....t… die,” she cried silently, choking on her st words as life left the small body, which moved no more.

  “Tell the others to leave the carts behind! Get ready for battle!” Feynor ordered with a stern voice.

  “Sir!” The soldiers saluted, surrounding him, and soon the whole camp was ready to move out.

  “I won’t let this fail..." Feynor grunted, "There should be others with a simir fate in this forest... Not every one of them has to be bloodthirsty... If we can show them they can trust us, it could change a lot…” he sighed, looking at the fairy in his hands before going back to camp, pcing her in a safe spot to bury her ter, and getting ready by putting on his battle attire.

  …….….

  “Master, I found the camp. It’s empty!” Poli rushed back through the forest, gasping for air.

  “Empty?” Leinor asked, a bit worried.

  “Yeah!" He nodded, "I found tools, dug up things, carts, everything left there... They left in a hurry... and I also found traces where they moved out! It seemed they were going to fight a battle, as every piece of armor or weapon was missing. Oh and... I also found a dead fairy. Poor thing!” he sighed with a sad voice.

  “Something happened! Can you track them?” Ren trembled at the thought... Damn it.

  “Sure thing, Master!”

  “Everyone move out as fast as you can!” She ordered as she and Poli fshed out like lightning, whizzing by the trees at an inhuman speed.

  Poli only stopped occasionally to check the surroundings, looking for clues. Following the traces of forty soldiers wasn't hard; it didn’t take them more than half an hour to sense a battle nearby.

  Standing with his people, Feynor observed them being surrounded in a circur formation, which made his face graver by the minute. But... They couldn't just leave, as there were a dozen or so fairies in the middle of their circle, providing cover for them while the soldiers fended off attacks from multiple, two to three-meter-long, yellow-bck wasps. Around them, multiple dismembered corpses of tiny fairies and humans were already visible, oozing blood, tangled with the remains of dead wasps. Yet, the living monstrosities were still buzzing around them in numbers, making the battle feel like an already lost one.

  “Captain?” Leinor asked, watching his elder brother wielding a short sword and shield, fending off a wasp from scooping in and grabbing away one of the fairies the moment they arrived.

  “I hate bugs." Ren groaned, "I really… really hate bugs, especially ones that buzz like those abominations….” She added, shuddering a little, “Kill them. Kill them all! Burn them up until none remain!” she ordered with a cold voice, surprising the others before she shot out like lightning, striking one of the giant wasps with a spear, formed out of pure, purple lightning energy.

  Soon after, two small fireballs struck the wasp next to it, lighting it up in fmes as it released an inhuman screech, killed by Isha, who was on the same page as Ren.

  “They do feel pain!” Poli ughed as he also arrived, sshing through another one.

  “Eldest Brother!” Leinor shouted as he nded before him and grabbed onto the wasp that tried to stab his brother, tearing off its wings while Feynor attacked in tandem as he hacked it into two.

  “Finally, you are here!” Feynor ughed while Zern also nded close by, looking at the fairies, towering over them. His skin shone in a metallic luster all over his body, easily fending off the wasps’ stingers aimed at one of the fairies.

  “I also hate flying bugs.” Zern cpped at it, like it was a simple nuance, squashing the attacking demon like a mosquito, spshing nasty, greenish-yellow pus everywhere.

  “Geez… you guys are powerful!” Feynor smacked his lips as they finally gained the advantage in the stalemate, and with Ren’s lead, they began massacring the wasp demons.

  The demons' numbers and capability of flying, which gave them the advantage over Feynor’s squad, were gone as Poli, Ren, and Isha struck them much faster than they were capable of moving. It didn’t take a long time to exterminate all of the buzzing wasps, especially as Ren’s lightning spear struck out, sending out electricity, numbing and slowing them down even further. Their fate was sealed the moment Ren arrived. After the battle had ended, Isha was still walking around, burning them to a crisp at Ren’s order, while the others grouped around the remaining fairies, looking at them.

  “Prince.” Ren saluted. “How’s the situation?”

  “Good to finally meet you, Little Ren!” Feynor smiled, giving a surprising hug to her. “Drop the names. Call me Elder Brother! You are my little sister, ahaha!”

  “Ah…. um, sure?” Ren blinked her eyes, surprised at his reaction, her lips curling into a grin.

  “Told you! My Eldest Brother is pretty easy to get along with.” Leinor smiled, too, clearly happy to see Feynor again.

  “Back to business!” Feynor sighed, letting go of his new sister and turning towards the small, trembling frames of the fairies. "Few survived from the original vilge, where over forty adults, evolved fairies, and hundreds of small, still-young butterflies were present. We tried to save as many as we could..." He finished, shaking his head.

  Sadly, only eleven grown-ups remained, and as Ren looked at them, all of them were females. Watching their bodies, they had various colored hairs, skins, and wings, coming in the shade of the many flowers present in this part of the forest. Their bodies were mature, some even plump and curvy, evoking in men the feeling that they could bear fine, healthy children. The only issue was… the tallest of them was only sixty centimeters tall. At best.

  “T-thank you…” one of the fairies murmured, wearing a tiny dress made of pink flowers. Matching it, her skin was deep purple, while her bluish hair was messy and sticky from sweat and blood. Her golden eyes were still filled with tears, and she soon started to cry loudly, just like the others who were huddling together, trying to hug each other.

  “Fuck…” Ren cursed with a grimace. “What happened here?” she asked, looking around as the soldiers checked on the injured and the dead with the help of Zern and Poli.

  “A wasp nest has been harassing them in the past year, but it seems they moved in for the kill." Feinor expined, "I only know as much as they told me. The bugs have been feeding on their young for some time now, but the nest may have grown too rge, leading them to start taking the adults for food too. When we arrived, they were chased by the wasps, and those who fell behind got taken away or eaten on the spot. We could only save them...”

  “Tsk. They are too fragile…" Ren shook her head, already feeling that even the evolved fairies had barely any power to stand up to her... and it was her from four years ago, not the current version. "What about the males?”

  “There is none. Never was. They have... Um... both of the organs down there. Fascinating!” Feynor said with a smile, “When they find a mate, one of them decides to py the part of the mother, the other pys the role of the father. And can change any time they want. Truly interesting!”

  “I bet.” Isha cut in, rolling her eyes. “That's the Aerthus bloodline I know of... Khm. Captain," she shook her head, "We should move." If this was just a squad of wasps, we'd better be off quickly before they send out more soldiers.”

  “True, true, I was carried away.” Feynor nodded, and soon the frightened fairies were held up by soldiers, carried away as they left the battlefield.

  “Are we going back to the camp?” Ren walked next to Feynor, with Leinor in tow, while Poli held one of the trembling, younger fairies, trying to soothe her. Isha was also doing the same, now embraced by four of them, keeping them close to her bosom.

  “We should." Feynor hummed, "I can’t leave weeks of work behind! When we are back, we will move out as soon as possible. I already have a pce I pnned on visiting on the road back to base. It will be easier now that you are here. We can camp there! Als... You were fast! We expected you by night.”

  “Hehe, what can I say? We are called 1st Recon for a reason!” Ren giggled as she proudly pressed her ft chest forward. “How are the injuries?”

  “I checked with the soldiers and fairies. We have minimal casualties." Leinor came up to them, "The fairies suffered far worse than our troops did. They are all hurt and exhausted... They will need medical attention and rest. A lot of rest! The physical injuries won’t be hard to heal, but the mental… I can’t say.”

  “The w of the jungle… huh?” Ren sighed, looking around the terrified and trembling fairies in the others’ embraces. The fear in their eyes, the twitching of their tiny bodies for every noise from the woods, resembled a small, young, beaten, and then thrown-out stray dog. “As it seems, being a demon folk is not as easy as many think.”

  “I agree…" Feynor sighed, "Seeing this and interacting with them for months now… I believe more strongly than ever that I am right.”

  “Well, we were sent to help you out, Eldest Brother, so don’t worry, we will. With everything.” Leinor patted his brother’s back, smiling at him reassuringly.

  “That's right. Leave it to us!” Ren ughed.

  “I’m relieved to hear that! Everyone!” Feynor shouted, “Speed up! We need to move before more come this way! Don’t let the bugs catch us!”

  “Poli, Zern, you two take up the rear and try to clear our tracks!” Ren ordered with a firm voice, “Leinor, try to heal some of the truly injured ones. I’ll move forward with Isha and scout out the road.”

  “Understood, Captain!” Leinor nodded, and soon they were back in the deep woods, marching on with a handful of small survivors.