Utopian System

Before crossing to the second ring, Zahyla stopped, making the army congregate around her.

"Listen carefully," her voice maintained that characteristic casualness, but there was an edge of authority to it.

"From here stay very close together, no one separates. Humans will be weaker in the first ring, yes, but don't get overconfident... only Zalvek can cross the last barrier to the first ring, we need more warriors with that right, that will be our real challenge."

Her eyes swept over the warriors' faces, ensuring each one understood her words.

"When we cross to the second ring, we'll stay close to the barrier toward the third. No one advances until everyone has adapted to the power loss."

A slight smile curved her lips. "I'm not going to risk any of you giving humans more advantage just because your pride prevented you from admitting you needed time."

She extended her arms, indicating the formation she desired. "I want a complete perimeter around me at all times. No exceptions, no individual heroics unless I ask for them. We move as a unit."

The artromus took positions, aware that their next steps would lead them to worse weakness.

"Ready?" asked Zahyla, though she didn't really expect an answer. "Stay together."

♢♢♢♢

A while later when it seemed they had adapted...

"Listen... Human leaders are predictable," Zahyla floated in the center of her formation, her voice tinged with boredom. "Always so eager to prove their supposed superior power to those of their own species."

She stopped, turning to face Zalvek directly. "It's almost poetic. Their need to prove themselves will be exactly what we need."

"My lady?" Zalvek stepped forward, noting the intensity in her gaze.

"We only need ten," she continued, with a casual voice. "Ten level ten humans or... better yet, their leader. Humans always send their best warriors first, as if they had something to prove... It will be easy to obtain those of adequate level."

Her eyes gleamed with something close to amusement.

"Once several of us obtain the right to cross, we'll use skirmishes, the last territorial barrier will be indefensible for them with their low level. Humanity's last bastion will again be the small city."

Her voice lowered, almost talking to herself. "They'll never be able to overcome the next level... Until the frustrated leader makes a mistake... And finally this tedious game will end..."

"He'll have to yield, he'll have to open that last section of his mind and..."

"He?" asked Zalvek, but Zahyla had already resumed her casual tone.

"No one important... What's important now is that you, my dear Zalvek, will be the key piece." Her smile widened. "Want to know how we're going to lure those proud and egoistic humans straight into our trap?"

♢♢♢♢

Zalvek flew over the barrier's perimeter, evaluating the new changes in the situation.

The 3 soldiers he had initially managed to drag were already in Zahyla's hands, but the hunt had become more complicated.

The humans moved fast.

They no longer patrolled alone, they had regrouped into increasingly large formations, strategically moving away from the barrier a bit to close the surveillance circle's distance and make it harder to drag them.

A group of four caught his attention, but he dismissed them upon seeing how they coordinated their defensive powers. Energy domes and elemental barriers intertwined, creating protection that would require too much mana to break.

'Efficiency above all,' he remembered Zahyla's words. 'Don't waste time with difficult prey.'

A movement caught his attention, two soldiers who hadn't yet reached their main group, running.

Perfect.

He dove, his speed taking them by surprise.

The first barely had time to raise a carbon barrier before Zalvek shattered it.

His claws found flesh, the second tried to paralyze him but it didn't work, Zalvek was about to catch him too but before he could secure his second prey, a third figure intercepted.

The new attacker blocked his grip with precision, building a barrier and giving time for the second soldier to break free. Zalvek evaluated the situation in a fraction of a second, he could pursue the one escaping or secure the one he already had.

'Prioritize security, speed and mana efficiency.'

The decision was quick. His claws closed around the arms of the soldier he still held captive, severing them with a brutal movement. He didn't want the human to reach his book and enter the 11th level upon entering the second ring... And the parasite couldn't do it with bleeding stumps.

Zalvek rose, dragging his mutilated prey toward the second ring's barrier. The soldier's screams mixed with the sound of wind as they crossed the transparent limit that he was the only artromus capable of crossing freely.

Zahyla waited at the meeting point, the other three prisoners unconscious but alive at her sides. Her eyes glowed with approval when Zalvek deposited the fourth captive in his brothers' hands.

"Four," she murmured, observing the regenerating stumps of the new prisoner. "A good start... hurry, their leader won't take long to make an uproar."

♢♢♢♢

Zalvek returned agitated to Zahyla to deliver his fifth prisoner.

The last capture had been especially costly in terms of mana, and he had had to kill one of the humans to take another.

A waste in his already completed '10 kill count' perhaps, but every parasite eliminated was a victory in itself.

"It's enough for now," Zahyla announced before he could undertake another flight. "You were very slow and our guests have arrived."

Indeed, a massive group approached the barrier.

The human elite at the front, led by a man of imposing presence.

"No one gets too close to the first ring," Zahyla ordered her warriors. "So don't follow me too closely when I execute the plan... Maintain formation."

The hundred and two artromus observed while the human army deployed on the other side of the barrier.

More than 1,000 level 10 soldiers formed a living wall behind their elite group.

Lucien, at the front, flanked by Selene and Milo's squad along with ten other exceptional warriors.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Lucien's eyes narrowed studying Zahyla, who approached alone, her almost human form proving more disturbing than her followers' complete transformations.

The minimalist armor that barely covered strategic parts of her body seemed like mockery, difficult to call armor by their known standards, it seemed a deliberate demonstration of her incredible closeness to the human form.

Only small details, an unnatural glow in her eyes, the way her dark blue hair moved as if submerged, and the chitin armor covering her hands, feet, plus some intimate body parts, betrayed her true nature.

"I suppose you are their leader... I see you've decided to take us seriously," Lucien's voice resonated clear and firm. "Using your transformed forms from the start."

Zahyla's laugh was musical, almost childlike in its joy. She approached the barrier floating slowly, as if taking a casual stroll.

"Isn't it fascinating?" She extended her hand, allowing her index finger to cross the energy limit, only to watch it disappear on contact. "Oh, but don't worry. We can't cross... for now."

Zahyla's finger regenerated almost instantly.

"I appreciate the information," responded Lucien, his tone courteous but laden with threat. "Now, I suggest you release my soldiers."

"The five?" Zahyla looked back where the prisoners lay guarded. "Oh, they're only four now."

One of the artromus bit off one of the hostages' heads.