The door flew open—away from , thankfully—and a younger giant with short black hair imdiately burst in, almost stepping on a Beemarine by pure accident.
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〔Human〕
〔Na〕: Gash Morst
〔Health〕: 95 / 95
〔Stamina〕: 110 / 110
〔Species〕: Intelligent Human
〔Age〕: 26 y
〔Remaining lifespan〕: 64 y
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He shouted sothing in alarm, opening his mandibles wide. The sound blast made wince, but I still recognized what sounded like the dead old man's na.
Then the man saw the body and the other ss and froze.
"Kuch?"
Slowly, like in a horror movie, the man lifted his eyes from the body up and up, until it rested on .
I was hovering only twenty ters away from the man's empty nose-space.
Although I doubted these bug-faced humans could physically turn pale, I saw his eyes widen with terror. I doubted he recognized in particular, but he must've understood what this all ant.
The forest spirits ca after their own—and they were angry.
I grinned.
'It looks like my stunning charge could be saved in case we will have to avoid soone more reckless and less afraid.'
Gash—I supposed I could call him by na since I didn't plan to kill him anymore—took a step back, opening and closing his weird mouth. I expected him to bolt at any mont (and possibly call for help, but by then we will be far away).
Instead, he looked sowhere behind him and froze again.
'Actually, why did he co here in such a rush? There wasn't enough noise to hear from there, the old man choked before he could really scream,' I asked myself. 'Wait, why is there so much shouting from the outside? What is going on here?'
I moved a bit to the side, trying to see sothing behind Gash's massive head, but saw only a house on the opposite side of the road—several hundred ters away.
This point of observation really sucked. But I still could hear the loud, rhythmic thuds coming from the distance, the voices that accompanied them.
I also felt the slls. More humans, but also so other beasts.
"Father!" A shout from Destroyer made look down.
Malevolence's prison was significantly damaged by the efforts of a dozen bees at once; in half a minute they would break it fully. In the distance, several other Beemarines were carrying Assault-9's body to the exit.
Destroyer was hovering halfway between and the ground.
"Father, where should the rest go after they finish? This exit is blocked!" she gestured to Gash.
There was also a window—it was safer, I supposed, even if it was farther away from us. But before I could say anything, Gash dashed away from the door, giving a full view of what was going on.
Three humans were riding their steeds down the street—toward us. They were just close enough that I could make out the details of their appearance, but not close enough for their status windows to appear.
Their brown and gray steeds, I suspected, were horses—although they also were very bug-shaped. They had four long, delicate legs that looked like a beetle's, but had flat ends and were covered in short fur. The beasts' snouts ended with a pair of long mandibles. But they had very horse-like manes.
Their riders were also notable. It was hard to make out one local human from another with their alien features and unfamiliar fashion, but these three imdiately stood out.
They had weapons—maces, swords, and bows. And armor—vests and so supplenting pieces made from a mix of leather and steel.
Their leader stood out because he was riding first, and because he had the most tal in his armor. He also had a helt with a blue plumage that looked like a dyed horse's tail.
In short, these three people looked like they ant business, and a dangerous one. They had to be soldiers, rcenaries or bandits—or all that put together, which happened often enough.
'They were probably the source of the shouts I thought I heard earlier!' I realized. 'So they just ca here and definitely have no idea about any bees. Good! They won't pay us any mind. I can think about these guys later, when I'm not so busy!'
With this thought, I dashed lower to the ground.
"We will leave the sa way we ca!" I said to Destroyer. "Pass this to the rest—the giants are too busy to even look at us!"
As I spoke, the soldiers confird my words. Their leader shouted sothing while pointing at the running Gash, and his subordinates spurred their steeds into a chase with more shouting.
None of them paid any mind to so buzzing bees like us.
"Yes, Father!" Destroyer saluted, and we both flew to the others.
There, Malevolence was finally freed from her prison, and now looked ready to bite soone's head off or faint in this very instant. Other Beemarines were smiling at each other (in a stoic, subdued way) and patted each others' shoulders.
I smiled, too.
The long-legged beasts thumped past us, throwing dirt and boulders around with each enormous footstep. Their speed was incredible even compared to that of humans, and I knew that Gash had no chance.
But and my girls safely left the house. While the human mayhem was growing in intensity above us, we quietly moved under the protection of so big-leafed trees that grew near the human houses where they weren't trampled yet.
The way to the extraction point where our dragons were, hopefully, still waiting wasn't far. Malevolence's exhaustion won, and she fainted, but even with two dead weights (only one *literally* dead, thankfully), we moved fast enough.
On the edge of the village, I paused and looked back. There were more shouts, and *definitely* more than the three riders I've seen earlier.
Although the rescue mission was a success, I felt too tense to celebrate.
"Soone needs to keep an eye on what's going on here. These new people might spell us more trouble. If they hear tales from the locals, who knows how they will act? Damn, this might just throw all the latest successes in diplomacy under a train!"
I turned back to my squad.
"Beehounds, I wish it wasn't so sudden—but I have a new mission for you three."
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