Рыбаченко Олег Павлович
Cosmic Love Of An Elf And A Troll

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  • Аннотация:
    A war rages between the space empire of the trolls and the elves. After the explosion of a cutting-edge thermopreon bomb, the Countess, the elf Elfaraya, and the troll Marquis Trollead find themselves stranded on a planet seemingly devoid of intelligent life. But in reality, this is not the case, and amazing adventures await them.
  COSMIC LOVE OF AN ELF AND A TROLL
  ANNOTATION
  A war rages between the space empire of the trolls and the elves. After the explosion of a cutting-edge thermopreon bomb, the Countess, the elf Elfaraya, and the troll Marquis Trollead find themselves stranded on a planet seemingly devoid of intelligent life. But in reality, this is not the case, and amazing adventures await them.
  . PROLOGUE.
  The black velvet of the boundless cosmos was adorned with garlands of stars sparkling with diamonds, topazes, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and agates. How beautiful the starry sky on the outskirts of the galaxy, in the Tiger's Tail of the Milky Way.
  And between the stars, various kinds of starships crawl. They vary greatly in size, but most are streamlined and resemble deep-sea fish, studded with gun barrels and emitter antennas.
  Some starships, however, are shaped like naked daggers with a cold steel blade that gleams.
  One armada has a distinctive yellow stripe that crosses each ship in half, while the other armada has a green stripe. The starships are so similar in appearance that, in battle, especially if the formation gets mixed up, these stripes highlight the difference between the elven and troll spaceships.
  The largest, teardrop-shaped star vessels are the flagship gross battleships, six of them on each side.
  They are surrounded by force fields, like a silvery fog.
  Slightly smaller are the grand battleships, twelve of them, and simple battleships, the last of which in this battle were thirty.
  Next come squadron battleships, armored cruisers, first-, second-, and third-class cruisers, and first- and second-class frigates. Then brigantines, counter-torpedo boats, torpedo boats, destroyers, and various types of cutters. And fighters, from single- to triple-seat.
  And there's a special type of ship-grapplers-that resemble naked daggers, unlike the other streamlined, fish-like or teardrop-shaped machines. That's the power gathered here.
  On one side are the elves - the Golden Constellation, yellow stripe. On the other are the trolls - the Emerald Constellation, green stripe.
  Elves resemble humans of average height, very handsome and youthful in appearance. They are distinguished by their lynx-like ears, and the young men have smooth, beardless faces, like teenagers. Furthermore, both elves and trolls have twelve times more fair sex than men. And this is a very good thing; it's an extremely harmonious world.
  Trolls are also very beautiful and ageless, and are distinguished from humans by their aquiline noses. They also lack beards, appearing as eternal youths, and are slender and muscular.
  The two races, despite their many similarities, have been at war for millennia. The first battles were fought with swords, bows, spears, and primitive magic. But as technology advanced, the confrontation expanded into space. Thermoquark rockets and nanotechnology, combined with varying degrees of magic, are now being used.
  This is the antagonism between two highly developed races, and one of the largest battles in which thousands of starships of various classes and tens of thousands of fighters take part.
  CHAPTER No 1.
  The battle began with a barrage of thermoquark missiles from the flagship grand battleships. They launched them using hyperplasmic acceleration. The resulting explosion was based on the process of quark fusion. Colossal energy was released, with ultraphotons dispersing at superluminal speeds. They scorched force fields. The barrels of large-caliber hyperplasma cannons melted, and armor warped. On the flagship grand battleship Pobeda, some elven girls suffered burns, despite wearing protective suits.
  Countess Elfaraya was shaken too. The magnetic-soled boot slipped off her right foot, revealing a graceful, bare foot. But then, elves are girls at any age. And they can live a long time, thousands of years. Moreover, in addition to their natural strength and ability to regenerate their bodies, elves and trolls have also developed medical technology, and that's remarkable!
  Elfaraya burned her defenseless, bare sole on the heated metal and screamed. But then the Countess pulled herself together and pressed the button.
  The flagship grand battleships, firing a swarm of hyperballistic missiles, inflicted damage on each other. While the super-heavy ships suffered minor damage, some cruisers, including their crews, were incinerated almost instantly by the hyperplasma. Gravilasers, however, shot down more than half the missiles before they reached their targets, but those that did reach their targets inflicted colossal damage, especially when they fired in close succession and overloaded the defensive fields.
  It was as if professional boxers were throwing long jabs at a distance.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - Here roars the ultra-nuclear and there is no military valor!
  The girl, the elf Baroness Snezhana, agreed:
  - If only the ancient, knightly times would return, like in movies and computer games!
  The elf countess nodded:
  - That's right, battles with swords and in knightly armor.
  Smaller missiles launched a long-range attack. There were thousands of them, and in flight, they twisted and swirled to avoid the gravolasers. But they were also countered by hyperplasma blobs, which demonstrated remarkable agility in hunting down flying targets.
  They caught up with the missiles like a predatory kite with a swan, biting into them and causing detonation.
  The battle was fought at a highly technological level, using a combination of nanotechnology and multicolored magic.
  Besides trolls and elves, the space warriors also included mercenaries from other races. In particular, gnomes, avid techies. One of them even helped the Americans reach the moon, creating an engine that neither the US, China, nor Russia could replicate even fifty years later.
  Dwarves are a technical people, though, unlike elves and trolls, they show outward signs of aging. With age, they grow long beards and develop gray hair and wrinkles. But they too live for thousands of years, and in more ancient times, they lived much longer than the ageless trolls and elves.
  One of them handed the troll marquis Trolliad some kind of device and remarked:
  - It is possible to emit radiation and create radio interference for enemy missiles, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles.
  Trolliad is a young man with a rather gentle face and an aquiline nose; he could be called handsome. It's a good thing for the stronger sex in an empire where there are a dozen eternally youthful girlfriends for every male. It's, let's say, wonderful!
  Among the mercenaries are also hobbits. These creatures look like human children: boys and girls of ten or eleven years old. They differ from humans only in that they don't mature and go barefoot in all weather, even on spaceships during battle. Only in a vacuum or in extreme cold can they don a spacesuit. Nevertheless, hobbits live long lives, don't age, are very resilient, and possess considerable magic. They are also convenient to use in situations where their small size is advantageous.
  For example, on single-seat fighters, which can be made smaller and more maneuverable.
  However, artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role. It's possible that pilots will soon disappear altogether.
  Combat robots are also becoming increasingly common. They've even developed their own religion. Apparently, intelligence presupposes religiosity. Moreover, they're reluctant to give up their existence, even in electronic form.
  Just as trolls and elves don"t want to die, especially since they have a good life and eternal youth, and material well-being.
  Elfaraya hopped around half-barefoot for a while, then the robot handed her a spare boot. The elf countess put the boots on and began to feel more confident.
  After the missile exchanges ended, both space fleets began to close in. Now, light emitters of various types emitted every color of the rainbow: hyperplasma, magoplasma, gravioplasma, and even chronoplasma. This is how the mutual interaction began.
  The force fields began to converge and collide with each other, after which they began to violently shake and shudder. Sparks were even noticeable, and the sparks resembled pulsars and moved, bouncing in the cold vacuum.
  Smaller combat units joined the battle, specifically fighters ranging from three-seat to single-seat. Elf Countess Elfaraya jumped into one of them. She lay prone in a fighter craft made of transparent metal.
  She excelled at maneuvering combat. The craft was shaped like a stingray and controlled with a joystick. The elf had freed her very seductive legs from her officer's boots and now controlled the fighter not only with her fingers but also with her bare feet.
  The fighter was armed with six cannons with pulsed gravo-lasers and one ultra-chrono-emitter. It was the most modern fighter of the modern era. It also carried several miniature thermoquark missiles, guided by gravo-radio.
  More precisely, twelve. They can be used on larger targets.
  Elfarya straightened up. She was wearing only a bikini, albeit covered by the transparent, protective film of her spacesuit. Space around her was open, literally within reach of her hand.
  The girl looked around. The largest starships had come close to each other. They were emitting beams of ultraphoton energy that pounded the rotating platforms. And from them, weapons were firing. The elves were acting energetically. And when the armor cracked, the metal burned with orange and blue flames.
  But the Golden Constellation also responded. The trolls also received their horns. Losses mounted on both sides.
  Here, two first-class cruisers literally collided head-on, and an internal detonation occurred. It looked like a supernova had flared, and it emitted flashes of every color of the spectrum. Fighters and attack aircraft were scattered in all directions. Some were flattened, others melted, and elves, trolls, and hobbits were blinded.
  Elfaraya, along with the other war machines, approaches. She has two hearts, and they beat rapidly. The girl feels the thrill of battle.
  And even begins to sing:
  Elfia has been celebrated as holy for centuries,
  I love you with all my heart and soul...
  Spread from edge to edge,
  She became a mother to all elves!
  And here's her first opponent, a female troll, also in a fairly modern fighter. The space pilots' craft are covered in swirling, gravioplasmic radiation, so to shoot them down, you need to get behind the fighter.
  The girls, one with an aquiline nose and the other with lynx ears, began to maneuver to move.
  Elfarai's scarlet lips whispered:
  "Now I have the opportunity to perform a heroic feat. Our skill matters here."
  And so the girl, whose high breasts were covered by a narrow strip of fabric, and whose panties were thin, began to maneuver more energetically.
  And her fighter began to jump and bend in a spiral.
  Elfaraya remembered her training. When you put on a helmet and immerse yourself in the world of a space simulator. For example, you're flying through a maze, barely touching the walls. And you're in danger of crashing. You maneuver. And all around you are monsters, which become more dangerous and difficult to kill with each new level.
  And in particular, there was even a witch named Vance, she could take any form, from a flower to a spaceship.
  The Countess has plenty of experience, no matter what. And she pulls off the maneuver. A jump with a half-roll, and a tail-spin. She fires from all her launchers...
  The enemy fighter explodes, and the troll girl ejects. She, too, is clad only in a bikini and barefoot, suspended in a transparent life-saving balloon. Killing an enemy in such a position is considered despicable. They are usually left hanging like this until the end of the battle. The victor takes them prisoner, where an exchange takes place, or other options may be available.
  Elfaraya exclaims with joy:
  - The score is one to zero in my favor!
  And so, once again, the warrior seeks a target. In this case, she encountered a hobbit pilot. The hobbit looks like a human boy of about ten. It's even a shame to kill someone so seemingly young. But appearances can be deceiving, and the hobbit boy could be a couple of millennia old.
  Elfarai performs a fox-snake maneuver to avoid radiation damage. And now the hobbit is trying to maneuver.
  It must be said that these people are more dangerous in such a fight than trolls. And their small size allows for increased weapon power.
  Stars dance overboard like shadowy balls. And how many fighter jets bounce, explode, and even collide.
  Elfaraya sang with a sigh:
  War rages in the universe,
  To destroy, to kill without reason...
  Satan has broken free from his chains,
  And death came with him!
  But we, elves, will see the world to the fullest,
  God is with us - the most holy cherub!
  The girl suddenly caught a movement purely intuitively. A missile, the size of a chicken egg, was hurtling toward her fighter. She barely managed to parry it with a grav-laser beam. And the missile exploded at half strength, shaking the vacuum in a bright flash.
  Elfaraya began to adjust the trajectory of her fighter. She had to get around this hobbit. The boy was quick. The bare toes of the gorgeous, high-born girl played with the joystick buttons. The warrior acted skillfully. The hobbit, too, seemed a veteran. He tried to catch her with a counter-maneuver. And adjusted his own trajectory.
  Elfarae remembered the vampire instructor. He was a very handsome young man, pale, with thin fangs. Vampires are very strong fighters. In hand-to-hand combat, neither trolls nor elves stand a chance against them. It's a good thing there are so few vampires. And a bite isn't enough to become a bloodsucker.
  But you can try to enchant and confuse your opponent. And the elven countess's scarlet lips whisper spells.
  Then the beauty's fighter jet begins to shudder and bounce. She performs a rattlesnake maneuver. And now the war machine, shaking in every detail, finds itself at the enemy's tail.
  A squadron battleship was blown up from the side, and from multiple hits it began to burn and fall apart.
  Elfaraya disconnected from the surrounding reality. Her bare, round, pink, girlish heel pressed the button.
  And then a destructive pulse erupted from the emitter. And it struck the transparent car with the hobbit inside. There was an explosion... The boy from the magical, fairytale people barely managed to eject. His small, bare feet were singed and turned red, like a goose's feet.
  But outwardly the young hobbit managed to jump out and hung in a transparent capsule with a slight emerald tint.
  Elfarae really wanted to finish off the hobbit. Especially since he was a mercenary, and members of this people are quite dangerous fighters.
  But the elven countess understood that it was quite improper to break the laws. There had to be at least something chivalrous in them.
  Since the times when elves held tournaments and rode on deer, gazelles, and antelopes.
  Elfaraya winked at the defeated hobbit, as if to say, boy, live!
  She won't kill an unarmed enemy, that's not her nature.
  This is how her glorious ancestors fought in knightly tournaments in ancient times.
  And they had special spears with elastic tips. And they clashed at full gallop. And they also fought against trolls. There were many different adventures and legends here.
  The titles have been preserved since ancient times. True, the monarchy isn't entirely hereditary, and the emperor is elected by the entire state for ten years. He can be re-elected three times. Then, after reigning for thirty years, he resigns, according to custom, to avoid despotism. Of course, if his subjects are dissatisfied, they might not elect him for a second or third term!
  Otherwise, given the advances in medicine and the elves' eternal youth, the emperor could sit in power for thousands of years. And then, from too much absolute power, he could go nuts. And all sorts of abuses are possible.
  Elfaraya shifted her fighter slightly to the right, and a beam from a rather large cannon on a space brigantine fired at her, but it could penetrate the front, as there was a denser and more powerful stream of ultraphotons there.
  The elven girl pressed the button with the little toe of her right foot, releasing a miniature thermoquark rocket. It launched energetically through space, gliding like a needle. Elfaraya controlled it using telepathic impulses.
  The troll star army's brigantine had a rather large central cannon with a wide muzzle. And a miniature missile with a charge based on the principle of quark fusion slid into it.
  It went in as easily as a knife through butter. It penetrated the breech. And a miniature thermoquark charge detonated. And a thermoquark charge, weight-for-weight, is two million times more powerful than a thermonuclear charge. And the brig, resembling a shimmering steel shark, began to tear. It burst and emitted a cloud of hyperplasmic spray. And the debris flew and burned. Some of the trolls, perhaps most of them, were incinerated on the spot. Only three females managed to escape.
  Elfaraya sighed and cooed:
  - I feel sorry for intelligent beings.
  Elfiada, the elf baroness muttered:
  Don't spare the trolls,
  Destroy those bastards...
  Like crushing bedbugs,
  Beat them like cockroaches!
  The boys and girls continued to fight. It's a wonderful world, after all, where the fair sex outnumbers us twelve to one. How fragrant the girls' bodies are when drenched in expensive perfume. And the natural scent is good, too.
  The warriors are very tough and ultra-pulsar. You can see how one of the flagship grand battleships, having taken numerous hits, began to retreat. It could very well be repaired and put back into service later.
  The Elven spaceships became active, trying to finish off the seriously wounded enemy.
  The grapplers also entered the fray. Their special beams flew from their sharp, dagger-like tips. And upon impact, the energy stream could pierce the force field of even the largest ship.
  The battle, however, was a back-and-forth affair, and the elves' flagship grand battleship suffered serious damage and began to fall into disarray.
  Elfaraya noted with a sigh, pressing her bare heel on the control panel:
  - How fickle happiness is.
  Elfiada countered by singing:
  Can you imagine the situation?
  Everything that will come true is known to us in advance...
  And why then doubts, worries,
  The schedule will take care of everything in the world!
  Both the elves and the elves, piloting their single-seat fighters, chorused:
  And we challenge the storms,
  That's why...
  To live in this world without surprises,
  Impossible for anyone!
  Quarks and photons are jumping,
  Spiraling up and down!
  There will be a new order,
  Long live the surprise! A prize will be won!
  Surprise! Surprise! There will be a tailbreeze!
  Long live the surprise! A prize will be won!
  Surprise, surprise! There's a tailwind!
  Long live the surprise! The benefit performance is coming!
  Surprise, surprise! The warrior is no empty artist!
  Elfarai has a new opponent. This time, a young troll. The Marquis de Trolleade also couldn't resist joining the melee, boarding the most modern and advanced fighter in the Emerald Constellation army.
  Now a serious battle lay ahead, for the troll marquis was an ace in his field.
  Elfaraya realized this after a few maneuvers. And she said in frustration:
  - A proton collided with an antipositron! And an ultracoulomb discharge resulted. In short, the mouse ate the cat, no matter.
  Both fighters began maneuvering. It was delicate work. The other aircraft nobly did not interfere with the duel.
  Something from the knightly tournaments remained in the technological age of the confrontation between trolls and elves.
  In particular, when two aces are fighting, do not stab them in the back.
  Elfarae remembered a certain film. In it, an elf girl fought a vicious monster. And when one of the elves shot the villain from behind, breaking the rules of the duel, the heroine threw herself onto the arrow, offering her chest. And although it seemed she had lost, having died, the Olympian gods declared her victorious and resurrected her.
  So it is better to die than to betray!
  Elfaraya tried to catch her opponent in a mistake, but Trollead was also thinking and planning. The Marquis and Countess moved very cautiously, although they fired at each other a couple of times. Their defenses sparked, but held.
  So the duel continued. The cosmic battle raged on, too. It was fierce, the scales tipped sometimes one way, sometimes the other, but overall, a dynamic equilibrium was maintained.
  More and more starships on both sides were becoming disabled.
  Those that flew off were immediately repaired on the fly. Hyperplasma welding glowed.
  Somehow everything was so mobile, and at the same time, as if static.
  The trolls tried to extend the front and find a weak spot somewhere. But it was no easy task. The elves also maneuvered. The brigantines-special spacecraft-were especially active. Grapplers also played a role. At the same time, the starships dropped fiery, hyperplasmic nets. They swirled, threatening to completely entangle the spaceships.
  If we compare this situation to a chess position, a dynamic equilibrium emerged. In terms of mutual damage, both sides weren't far behind each other. Overall, trolls and elves are very similar in physical characteristics, reflexes, and intelligence.
  What a blessing for these races to never know old age, or at least its outward manifestations. Although even this does have its downsides. After all, especially in ancient times, elves and trolls, although they lived many times longer than humans, still died.
  And when you're outwardly young and full of strength, you're doubly reluctant to die. True, the immortal soul certainly exists, but almost no one knows what unknown worlds it departs for. And those who know don't particularly talk about it, keeping it a secret.
  Trolls, elves, and hobbits treat humans with disdain. They live short lives, their wounds heal slowly and leave terrible scars, and as humans age, they become hideously ugly. Elves and trolls, however, are very preoccupied with beauty. In their view, anything ugly is repulsive! And there's certainly some truth to this, but it's not the humans themselves who are to blame.
  The gods made them so imperfect. But still, elves and trolls find humans disgusting to look at or interact with. They treat them as inferior beings.
  But the trolls and elves are equal, and two absolutely equal aces are fighting.
  Elfaraya tries to concentrate. Maybe she should sing a song? But nothing comes to mind. The battle is raging, and other elves and trolls are participating.
  The warrior and the elf winked at each other. They looked sad, but only for half a minute.
  Then they started smiling and baring their teeth again. Why not play?
  The five dove into the combat ultramatrix and shifted through space. There, they began fighting in single-seat kinespace fighters.
  The elf Fatash spun around... Her machine was as transparent as a diamond crystal. Six hyperlaser cannons and one gravity emitter-a pretty decent armament.
  Try and fight against one like this.
  And now the first opponents appear, also mercenaries, the swallowtails. In actual combat, they're roughly equal to the elves, and the chances of surviving until the end of the battle, when mutual annihilation occurs, are slim.
  But the elves here are super-level aces and they can perform super feats.
  Fatashka presses the joystick button with her bare heel and her fighter accelerates.
  A swallowtail mercenary's car is speeding towards them. This is a serious opponent, as butterflies are natural-born warriors, though they may not have an empire of their own, but they are very aggressive and divided into tribes.
  Glamorous girl sings:
  - We are peaceful people, but our armored train,
  The thermoprene managed to accelerate...
  I'm a barefoot girl, but cooler than Norris,
  Let's kiss the boys now!
  And so Fatashka imitates the dive, dodging the enemy's hyperlaser beams. And then she flies right onto the enemy's tail. And then she goes and hits them, also using the bare toes of her seductive feet.
  The sentient butterfly fighter exploded. A girl with broken wings flies out of nowhere. Swallowtails look like humans, except they have natural wings and eyes made of a multitude of crystals. This girl has honey-colored hair.
  And Fatashka's hair is like sapphire, light blue and sparkling.
  The girl winked and noted:
  - Maybe they offended you for nothing,
  The calendar will close this sheet...
  We are rushing towards new adventures, friends,
  Only up and not a second down!
  The elven Viscountess Foya also fights in the Ultramatrix. It's nice and comfortable to fight when you're not in any danger. Not like in a real battle. Like when the hyperplasm burned half of Foya's leg off. How painful it was. It's a good thing they have such bodies and medicine and healing magic that the girl's leg grew back. But then again, how unpleasant it is.
  And here, even if you get knocked down, it will only be a slight tickle.
  Foya cleverly steered the fighter to the side. And then she fired hyperlasers into the enemy's side. And it immediately exploded.
  This time, there was an orc inside - a creature that looked like a nasty and very hairy brown bear.
  Foya took it and sang, baring her teeth:
  - I agreed, so be it,
  What a trifle to get a bear!
  Aurora is also fighting. This time, she's up against a rather large spacecraft with a dozen hyperlasers. And that's a serious obstacle. It also has a cannon in the center and ultragravity, which hits across a wide range.
  Aurora, an elven girl with copper-red hair. She is beautiful and agile.
  Her bare toes press the joystick buttons so deftly.
  And so she sharply accelerated her fighter. But she was hit by flames. The cockpit became hot.
  Even the girl's bronze skin glistened with sweat.
  Aurora sang:
  How we lived, fighting,
  And not fearing death...
  So the girls will have power,
  And I will become like a prince!
  And so she slipped past the guns and found herself in the enemy's rear. And then she suddenly struck with deadly force.
  And it will hit the very center of the nozzle of a powerful enemy boat.
  And everything inside him began to crack and explode.
  Aurora giggled and sang:
  - And I play with dynamite,
  With the astronaut in sight...
  How it hits, how it bangs,
  You are burning, and I am walking!
  The elven Marquise Fwetlana also fights bravely. She dodges, evading the enemy's deadly missiles. The girl fights two fighters at once, and does so with remarkable agility. Her craft lurches from side to side.
  The warrior presses her bare heels on the pedals, dodging the enemy's extremely dangerous blows. And whistles:
  - And in the mountain heights, and in the starry silence,
  In the sea wave and the furious fire...
  And in a furious, furious fire!
  And so she turns and somersaults, wiggling her bare toes. The opposing swallowtails' fighter jets explode, sending countless fragments flying in all directions.
  The warrior squeals:
  - How we lived, fighting,
  And not fearing death...
  A hard slap across the face,
  And you will be like a crucian carp!
  These girls are funny, you wouldn't say they're boring. And they're capable of a lot.
  Even the most powerful tank won't be able to stand up to these.
  The young elf and Duke Alfmir also fights, and he has to maneuver a lot to avoid being hit.
  He's quite nimble, though. Although, can someone over four hundred really be considered a youth? But for elves, that's still very young.
  Alfmir sings:
  Heroism has no age,
  In the young heart there is love for the country...
  Can conquer the boundaries of space,
  There is little room for fighters on the ground!
  It's a pleasure to fight in space and with a team of ultras.
  Fatashka, for example, performs the "Smooth Barrel" move, knocks down the enemy and squeals:
  Trolls of hell, you should fear us,
  The girls' exploits are countless...
  The light elves have always known how to fight,
  And the beauty's soul is pure!
  A space battle is, of course, a place where anything goes.
  Foya ordered another ice cream, this one in a platinum glass and framed with sapphires. It's quite delicious. And what wonderful fruit it contains. And how interesting it is when you hold the glass by the stem with the bare toes of your graceful lower limbs.
  Foya, meanwhile, manages to shoot down another fighter with orcs and sing, baring her teeth:
  I can do it all at once,
  The girl is top notch!
  Yes, elf girls really are so wonderful. They have so much fury and passion.
  The elf princess Aurora, cutting down her opponent and lunging with her bare, round, pink heel, sang:
  - This is our love!
  Blood flows like a stormy stream
  The red-haired elf warrior sang as she shot down another fighter with a very precise and deadly move:
  O sea, sea, sea, sea,
  The boys are sitting on the fence!
  The girls are looking after the boys,
  After all, it"s more reliable with them anyway!
  Fvetlana nodded with a smile:
  "Yes, it's a bit boring without war, and when there aren't enough guys, and not enough beautiful women to go around. Of course, there are wonderful and intelligent biorobots that will give you a lot of pleasure, but it's still not the same!"
  And the warrior again, with great skill, shot down another target.
  This is what elf girls are like...
  A world with few males... But it has developed into an empire encompassing more than one galaxy, a paradise of abundance. And the elves and trolls themselves live without aging, for how long they don't even know yet. Perhaps even the body, thanks to hyperactive stem cells, can live practically forever.
  Fatashka took it and sang:
  Immortality since ancient times,
  The sweet elf was looking for a wondrous goal, captivated...
  In the religions of ancient books,
  And the strict sciences of later times!
  And it wasn"t only fear that moved me,
  But also the desire to see the whole path,
  See the dawn, hear the blossom,
  Step to the heights of unprecedented knowledge!
  Years will pass, perhaps we will understand,
  How to cross this endless ribbon,
  How not to get lost in the wild whirlwind of times,
  Dissolving into the emptiness of the universe.
  The years will pass, as the Legion taught,
  Elves, believe me, are eternal children,
  In the glow of the stars, after thousands of years,
  We will all meet on the eternal planet!
  Foya, firing, fired and noted:
  - That's good! But when will we learn to resurrect the dead? And especially men?
  Aurora answered confidently:
  - I think that sooner or later we will learn.
  Fvetlana confidently confirmed:
  - Everything impossible is possible, I know for sure!
  And with the help of her bare toes she shot down another enemy starship.
  And vampires watch the space battle in the distance. This mighty race doesn't care who wins: trolls or elves; they are both disgusting and rivals!
  But it seems the battle between the Golden and Emerald constellations is gradually dying down. It seems the battle has failed to determine the strongest of them this time. And both sides are ready to part ways to repair their damaged starships and heal their wounded warriors.
  Elfaraya noted, even slightly pleased:
  - Looks like it's a draw!
  Tollead grinned and roared:
  - I didn't have enough time to finish you off!
  But the vampires apparently had other plans. This race is distinguished by its particular ruthlessness and cunning.
  The vampire Duchess of Liramara bared her fangs and remarked:
  - Now is the perfect time to test the thermopreon bomb!
  The vampire duke Gengir Wolf nodded in agreement:
  "And why did we come here? Just to watch these pathetic elves and trolls squabble? Of course not."
  And the bloodsucker dignitary began to control the robots using a remote control with buttons. The vampires had a very dangerous and unpleasant surprise, manufactured by the dwarven race: a thermopreon bomb. Its charge was based on the fusion of preons, the particles that make up quarks. And in terms of combat power, it is two million times more powerful than a thermoquark bomb of the same mass, or four trillion times more powerful than a thermonuclear bomb. Just imagine its destructive power.
  The rocket, the size of a beer keg, carries the energy of twenty trillion atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima.
  Gengir Wolf grinned and roared:
  "Our victory will be in the holy war! Raise the imperial flag-glory to the fallen heroes!"
  Liramara noted:
  - With such weapons, we vampires will conquer the universe!
  The Vampire Duke remarked:
  "The gnomes can sell this weapon to others. Then it'll be a complete disaster."
  The vampire duchess giggled and replied:
  - Then we'll order a bipreon bomb, and then we'll be able to destroy half the galaxy with one missile!
  After which the vampires laughed. They had combat robots at their service, and they had no need for extra witnesses-living vampires.
  Here the rocket with the thermopreon charge flew, almost invisible due to magical camouflage, towards the still fighting starships of the trolls and elves.
  Liramara gurgled, baring her teeth:
  - Here the axe is raised against these glamorous individuals.
  In appearance, she looked like a very beautiful, albeit pale, girl with fiery red hair. But her pallor was matte, and didn't detract from the impression or seem unhealthy. On the contrary, it enhanced the Duchess's aristocratic face.
  The bloodsucker duke was also handsome in appearance. He also resembled a youth, despite his advanced age of several millennia.
  Not only do vampires not age, but they are also very difficult to kill.
  Gengir Wolf pressed the red button with his index finger:
  - Now it's going to explode with a hypernuclear charge!
  Liramara pressed the green button with her index finger and cooed:
  - I'm turning on the defense at full power. It will reach us too.
  And indeed, a powerful charge exploded in the midst of the armies of the Golden and Emerald Constellations. It resembled the explosion of a massive supernova. And it blazed with incredible force. Hyperphotons flew out at a speed billions of times greater than the speed of light, burning and overturning everything in their path. Like a giant squid, composed entirely of stars, unfurling its tentacles. And so it blazed.
  Nearby stars and planets were crushed. Starships closer to the epicenter of the explosion instantly vaporized, disintegrating into preons and quarks. Those further away melted and scorched, and were thrown tens of parsecs away.
  There were practically no survivors left.
  Even the vampire dignitaries, despite the strongest protection using the principle of fractional dimensions, when space is not three-dimensional, but one and a half, were fed up.
  They, too, were thrown back with colossal force at superluminal speed. Only thanks to the powerful antigravity and the exceptional resilience of the vampire race did they survive.
  Elfaraya felt a blinding flash, then felt scorched, as if she were at the epicenter of a nuclear explosion. Then she was carried away. The elf girl felt as if she were racing through a fiery, light-flooded tunnel. And then, ahead, something green shimmered...
  Elfaraya felt heat, and a hot blast blew across her. She saw something flickering. And then she fell into something soft, felt a colossal G-force, and passed out.
  There was something delirious and sparkling in her head, and the light was mixed with darkness.
  CHAPTER No 2.
  The elven countess opened her eyes. She was lying on orange moss. She was wearing only her bikini, which barely covered her breasts and hips. She rose and stood barefoot. Her bare feet felt comfortable. It was warm and a light, fresh breeze blew.
  Elfaraya took a few steps. Her body ached, as if after a great deal of physical exertion, and her muscles felt extremely tired. She didn't want to walk; she wanted to lie down, stretch her legs, and relax.
  The elven countess tried this. She lay down on a leaf resembling burdock and looked at the sky. Two suns were shining there, one orange and one purple. This meant it was quite warm, and she could lie uncovered. The only strange thing was that the suns weren't round, but hexagonal, which made her wonder if she was even in the right part of the universe!
  Elfaraya closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But her stomach was completely empty, and when you're hungry, you don't sleep very well.
  The elven countess stood abruptly and strode through the jungle. Vines and some kind of fruit grew there. They looked bright and appetizing, but unfamiliar. However, Elfaraya remembered that elves had a strong immunity to poisons, especially those of plant origin. She reached out and deftly plucked a fruit. Then she heard a hissing sound and a stone flying. Elfaraya looked back. A snake, resembling a hooded cobra, had been knocked down by a nut resembling a coconut. And in the distance stood a young man. He was very handsome, tanned, with defined muscles, and skin as clear and smooth as a statue's. But judging by his aquiline nose and human-like ears, he was not an elf, but a troll. A representative of the hated race!
  Elfaraya turned and growled:
  - What do you want?
  The young man answered with a smile:
  - Can't you see, we've landed on an unfamiliar planet! We might have to fight for survival. It's better to do it together!
  The elf countess shrugged and replied:
  - There was such a powerful explosion that I don"t know where it took me!
  The girl crushed an insect that looked like a cockroach with her bare toes:
  - Okay, we won't fight until we figure out where we are!
  The young man extended his hand to her:
  - I am the Marquis de Trolleade - have you heard?
  The elf nodded:
  - Yes, he is one of the best aces in the entire empire. And I am Countess de Elfaraya!
  The Troll Marquis nodded:
  - I heard that even our men and swallowtail mercenaries are afraid of you!
  The elf countess smiled and replied, running her bare sole over the orange moss; it was soft and pleasant to the touch:
  "We're both worthy enemies. Let's promise each other not to stab each other in the back."
  The troll marquis was about to reply, but then a roar was heard. A beast appeared, similar in appearance to a leopard, but with porcupine quills and saber-like teeth.
  Both seemingly youthful warriors clenched their fists and tensed. Both were experienced enough to freeze and wait to see how the beast would react if they remained motionless.
  And it was even possible to force the beast to abandon its aggression. The porcupine leopard approached them, its heavy breathing audible. The beast's scent was rather pungent and unpleasant. He looked at the elf and the troll, their fists clenched tightly and tensed, like tightly wound springs. In his swimming trunks, the beardless youth looked like Apollo, and Elfaraya, looking at him, melted.
  The porcupine leopard looked at them, breathed harder, drooled, and turned back, its tail something between a fox's and a lion's. And the beast moved away, branches and pine cones cracking, twigs snapping under its paws.
  When he left, Elfaraya squeaked:
  - Wow, that turned out great!
  Trollead objected:
  - Not cool, but reasonable...
  There was a pause. The elven countess and the troll marquis looked at each other, silent and their smooth brows furrowed. Then, finally, they laughed, somewhat strainedly.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - Let's swear that until we get back to our own people, we won't stab each other in the back!
  Trollead asked:
  - And who are yours? It's a very broad concept, to put it mildly. I have my own, and you have others!
  The elf countess replied:
  "We'll sort this out when we get out! We need to survive here. We're naked and we don't have any weapons."
  The Troll Marquis agreed:
  "Yes, we'll have to fight for survival. It's not even clear what part of the universe we're in. So let's put our feud aside for a while."
  Both the young man and the girl shook hands.
  After that, they slowly moved through the jungle, planning to first find a well-trodden path. Better yet, they'd find some kind of road and traces of civilization.
  The landscape around them was beautiful, butterflies with multi-colored or sparkling, gold-like wings, or silver dragonflies, or even squirrels with sparkling wings were flying.
  And the flowers on the trees are magnificent, and the birds sing very beautifully. Like a thrush, or a nightingale, or birds that have no name on earth.
  Trollead, walking barefoot on muscular, tanned feet and throwing cones, asked:
  - Is it true that you and I have the same Gods?
  Elfaraya whistled:
  - Similar, but not quite. Although, what do we know about each other's religions!
  The boy and girl became wary. They heard branches cracking, and an animal the size of an elephant, only taller, appeared. It didn't look scary, though, and was perhaps even beautiful, with a yellow-orange coloring speckled with purple.
  Elfaraya and Trolleaid stood motionless and watched the beast.
  He stomped along with soft paws, a whistle escaping from his lungs. And then he began to move away.
  The young man noted:
  - If we are attacked by a beast of similar size, but more predatory, then we will have a hard time without blasters!
  The girl nodded, pressing a green pine cone into the orange moss with her bare foot:
  - Yes, that would be a problem! But we don't have a blaster, much less a force field.
  Trollead suggested:
  - So let's at least make spears then.
  There was nothing to argue about. But what to make them out of? There was jungle and vines all around. The branches were flexible and flexible; you couldn't break a spear out of them. And you still had to find the tip.
  The young man and the girl fiddled around for a bit and then moved on, hoping for luck.
  Both the Countess and the Marquis look very young, healthy, strong, tanned, with small but very defined muscles, and by human standards, a very beautiful couple.
  The soft grass ended and thorns set in. Walking barefoot on them wasn't exactly pleasant, but elves and trolls have resilient, tough soles, making them resilient.
  Elfaraya asked:
  - Do you have a big estate?
  Trollead readily answered:
  - A whole planet! What?
  The elf countess replied:
  - Oh, nothing! But do you have slaves?
  The Troll Marquis replied:
  - Mostly the human race. And people are disgusting creatures and become so ugly with age.
  Elfaraya winced and remarked:
  "We elves can't afford to look ugly. And the human race is an abomination! And people don't live long... It's disgusting even to have such people as slaves."
  Trollead noted:
  "We can stop people's development at fourteen. Then they don't age, and their deformities don't trigger a gag reflex in us. Here, we perform cerebellar surgery using a gravilaser, and they remain teenagers forever. And they live to be a thousand years old. It's very practical!"
  Elfaraya noted:
  - People in their teens are probably disgusting?
  The Troll Marquis objected:
  - No! Absolutely not! They're quite cute at fourteen, they look like us trolls, except they have noses like elves.
  The elf countess giggled:
  - Yes! And people have ears like trolls. Well, yes, in their teens they're not as repulsive as when they're already in their fifties, let alone seventies. We even perform brain surgery on them so they don't age and become obedient! But in the wild, people are disgusting, vile, and treacherous. And as they age, hair starts growing on their cheeks and chins-how disgusting!
  Trollead agreed:
  - Yes, facial hair is disgusting! They call it beards. Really, hair should only be on the head. Even under the arms it looks disgusting!
  Elfaraya noted:
  "Dwarves have beards too. But they look much neater and more aesthetically pleasing than humans!"
  The Troll Marquis nodded:
  "I compared humans and dwarves. The latter are the most ancient civilization, and they lived for thousands of years, even in the days when we all used stone axes. No, it's not comparable at all."
  Finally, the thorns ended, and a fairly decent path appeared before the couple. They followed it without arguing. Their spirits were lifted.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - I want to meet intelligent beings!
  Trollead asked sarcastically:
  - And what if they are people?
  The elf countess answered confidently:
  - It doesn't matter! If anything happens, we'll subjugate them and establish our own kingdom on this planet!
  The Troll Marquis looked at the sky and remarked:
  - A hexagonal star... How is that even possible? After all, the laws of physics haven't been repealed?
  Elfaraya giggled and replied:
  - I don't know... But maybe it's an optical illusion caused by the refraction of rays in the atmosphere. But in reality, the stars are spherical, as they should be!
  Trollead laughed and remarked:
  - That's just it... It's impossible to have such rectangular edges during a thermonuclear reaction!
  The Elven Countess added:
  Science has proven that quasars use thermoquark fusion to produce their light, and are therefore a quadrillion times brighter than ordinary stars. However, thermoquark fusion is not observed in nature, at least not in the visible universe.
  The Troll Marquis nodded:
  - That's logical! We can't just imitate Mother Nature all the time!
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - You say Mother Nature, but who are the Gods then?
  Trollead answered confidently:
  - They are children of nature! A kind of older brothers to us!
  The elf countess burst out laughing and blurted out:
  We are sisters and brothers with the Gods,
  We are ready to open our arms to our friends!
  We like to make some noise sometimes,
  We'll stick up for each other!
  The boy and girl fell silent. Around them grew a multitude of huge, lush flowers with bright petals, and from them emanated an intoxicating scent. And it was very pleasant. Both the troll and the elf began to feel as if their bodies were being caressed by someone's gentle hands.
  Trollead shook himself and noted:
  - This could be dangerous, maybe it would be better to start running?
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  - This could really be dangerous!
  The boy and girl took off. Their bare, round heels, lightly tinted by the grass, flashed past. The troll and the elf ran with the speed of good racehorses at a gallop, maybe even faster. In any case, even a human Olympic sprinter was no match for them. Of course, elves and trolls are naturally stronger and faster than humans, and then there's the added benefit of bioengineering. They could even match a motorcycle for speed.
  Therefore, soon the bright flowers were behind them, and after running a little further, the young man and girl jumped out onto a quite decent path, paved with green and blue tiles.
  Elfaraya, feeling the smooth, polished surface with her bare, graceful feet, whistled:
  - Wow! Look, this isn't natural, it's man-made!
  Trollead nodded with a satisfied look:
  - Long live civilization! There is intelligent life here, and that's great!
  The elf girl took a few steps, bent down, touched the surface with her palm and answered:
  - That's good! And which way should we go? We need to go somewhere and look for the local aborigines, whoever they are!
  The troll boy shrugged and sang:
  Forward with a brave chest,
  We will defeat the evil orcs!
  Who's walking on the right there!
  Left - crush the scum!
  Elfaraya agreed:
  - Orcs, yes... They're the only race we're united in our hostility towards! They're very nasty.
  Trollead noted:
  - People are vile too. Especially those who didn't become our slaves!
  The elf and the troll looked in different directions. It was clear that the path was bordered by curbs, but the jungle, with its lush and beautiful vegetation, still grew. And birds and insects chirped with a ringing trill. One of the palm trees, for example, resembled an ornate musical instrument.
  They didn't collude; they decided to go to the right. It's like you're aiming for the future.
  The elf, slapping her bare feet, remarked:
  -We're almost naked. They might mistake us for commoners!
  The troll added:
  - It's not so bad for commoners, it's worse if they mistake them for slaves!
  Elfaraya chirped:
  - Our noble blood is already evident!
  Trollead noted:
  -Too often people judge you by your clothes!
  After which they slightly quickened their pace. Indeed, there was nothing to argue about. Both representatives of the fairytale peoples were handsome and muscular, and semi-nudity suited them perfectly.
  Along the way, they came across several posts with inscriptions in an unknown language. This delighted the travelers even more.
  Trollead noted:
  - And they even have a written language!
  Elfaraya confirmed:
  - This is a real civilization!
  The Troll Marquis noted:
  - But judging by everything, at a low level of technological development!
  The elf countess nodded happily:
  - So much the better! It will be easier for us to become kings and queens of this world!
  Trollead nodded:
  "Yes, I wouldn't mind getting a crown; it would be fun and interesting! And unlike fiefdoms like yours and mine, the power would be royal, absolute!"
  Elfaraya nodded in agreement:
  - That's right! We have many restrictions, even regarding slaves.
  And the beautiful girl angrily stamped her bare, very seductive foot.
  By the way, it would probably sound wild to a civilized person that slavery exists in a space civilization when starships are already capable of flying to neighboring galaxies.
  Yes, slavery exists in space empires, but elves, trolls, hobbits, and other slaves are only in exceptional and legally stipulated cases. Humans, however, who are treated with contempt, make up the bulk of the slave population. And then there are orcs, also not the most intelligent species, dumb and rude, often enslaved. But orcs are rather lazy, unruly, difficult to train, and difficult to use as slave labor.
  Elfaraya and Trolleaad walked quickly along the path of colored tiles, and now the first representatives of the local inhabitants came across them.
  Riding in a cart pulled by two large, cockroach-like insects were creatures with humanoid bodies but feline features. Their paws were perfectly human, though hairy and clawed. They wore what looked like shorts, covered in wool, and boots on their lower limbs. Considering the two scorching suns, it's clear that clothing wasn't really necessary. But as Elfiray and Trolleaid later learned, boots are a sign of status. And to walk barefoot is to be either a slave or very poor.
  The three cats held spears and carried bows on their backs, suggesting a low level of technological development. Two were bareheaded, and the third wore a hat with a feather.
  Seeing Elfiray and Trollead, they stopped and began to say something in an incomprehensible language that resembled meowing.
  The elf countess squeaked:
  - I don't understand anything!
  The Troll Marquis replied:
  - Maybe we can try to explain ourselves with gestures?
  Elfaraya began to speak in sign language, since she also completed this program.
  The cats stared at her. Suddenly, one of them snatched up a whip and whacked the cockroaches. They jerked, and the cart creaked and tore down the flagstone road.
  Elfaraya was surprised:
  - What are they doing?
  Trollead suggested:
  - They thought you were doing magic and got scared! Well, it's better to be afraid of us than to be afraid of us!
  The troll marquis did a horizontal split, and the elven countess did the same with him. They were both tanned, half-naked, muscular, and very beautiful.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - If they are afraid of us, they can call for help, and then we will have to fight a whole squad of cats!
  Trollead suggested:
  - Maybe we should try to come to an agreement? After all, we can't fight an entire planet naked.
  The elf countess suggested:
  - Let's move on. We'll study them better, and then we'll make contact.
  The Troll Marquis noted:
  - An enemy studied is already half defeated! Well, let's not rush.
  The boy and girl rose from their splits and turned slightly off the road, walking along it through the grass and moss. It was even more pleasant on their bare feet, a tickling sensation. Trolleaad let Elfaraya go ahead. Her face was hidden, and the boy imagined her to be a girl of his own race. And she truly was a beautiful figure. And what muscular thighs she had, her high breasts barely covered by a thin strip of fabric, her legs and arms beneath her bronze skin, like bundles of wire. And her neck was strong and graceful at the same time.
  She's a great girl. She may have lynx ears, but that doesn't spoil her at all; she might even be better than human ears.
  Trolls and elves despise humans, but at the same time they look so much like them, especially if people play sports in their teens, before they grow beards that are disgusting to fairy-tale creatures.
  True, in the neighboring galaxy there is a space empire and a human one. And supposedly, people there have already learned to overcome old age and, at a thousand years old, look as beautiful as elves and trolls.
  Elfaraya stepped on a thorn with her bare foot, and a painful sting pierced the elastic sole. She squeaked and remarked:
  - It might be poisonous too!
  Trollead confirmed:
  "And it camouflages itself in the grass, so it's invisible. Maybe we should go along the pavement after all? We still need to establish contact with the natives, and the sooner we do it, the better!"
  The elven countess was about to reply when four grasshoppers hopped down the path, carrying small, armored warriors. Despite the heat, they were fully armored, with only the trunk of a tree sticking out from under their armor.
  Grasshoppers made a good substitute for horses for these knights with spears and in shining silver armor.
  Elfaraya whispered:
  - Primitive times. Isn't that so?
  Trollead muttered:
  - We need a hyperblaster each, we could take them all out at once, the whole army!
  And the fairytale creatures laughed. And their giggles resembled the ringing of bells. So full-bodied and silvery, like the shimmering fountains in the Garden of Eden.
  But there was nothing to be done. Both the elven countess and the troll marquis stepped out onto the flower-lined path. They made something resembling the sign of the cross and then began singing, breaking into a quick stride.
  And their song was somewhat general, quite suitable for any era, and for any species, both trolls and elves:
  I was born into a family that was essentially royal,
  In which there was honor and bright harmony...
  And she was distinguished by her hussar-like daring,
  This is what has already happened, know the layout!
  
  I wore diamonds while playing,
  And the pearl loaded the girl's chest...
  We have shown great talent,
  The girl, you know, really can't bend!
  
  We will make the Fatherland of the sun more beautiful,
  Under the flag of the glorious king...
  Let's even raise an eagle above the planet,
  We fought the infidels for a reason!
  
  This is how cool I am, princess,
  I fight with a sword - it's more powerful than a machine gun...
  And my feet are bare now,
  As I begin a powerful takeoff!
  
  Why do I need shoes, in a furious attack,
  She just prevents me from running...
  I will prove myself in a bloody fight,
  Passing exams with only A's!
  
  We will commit hara-kiri on the evil orcs,
  We'll really defeat the enemies...
  We will trample the swarm with our bare feet,
  And then we will build a new world!
  
  After all, why does God love barefoot people?
  Beautiful and curvy girls...
  Since there are no wretched among us, know,
  And if necessary, we load the machine gun!
  
  Now I am a girl and a princess,
  Who fights like a titan...
  I fought yesterday and today,
  When the hurricane of death swept through!
  
  She loved to walk with her bare heel on the grass,
  It's so nice to tickle your feet...
  And to a very joyful childish tear,
  So that they don"t start to undo their braids!
  
  What warriors I didn"t know,
  What battles have I not been in...
  After all, the will of a maiden is stronger than metal,
  And the voice is like a sharp saw!
  
  When I start screaming like a raven,
  Even the clouds in the sky will collapse...
  Sometimes I have to be harsh,
  Catching with nets in your wildest dreams!
  
  But I'll kick you in the chin with my bare heel,
  And the orc will fall, spreading its paws...
  I'm a warrior, just from the cradle,
  Let the bald Fuhrer of hell come down!
  
  For a girl, battle is no obstacle,
  No spears, no swords, no sharp knife...
  The highest reward awaits us,
  Believe me, beauty, you won"t be lost in battle!
  
  The girls have a magical charm,
  They are even capable of chopping metal with ease...
  They shoot very accurately, even the thieves,
  And they smash the orcs, twisting their wool!
  
  They are on the highest pedestal,
  Believe me, you won't find anything cooler than them...
  And they gave the lousy demons a spanking on the horns,
  The girls are no more than twenty!
  
  They are capable of knocking down even a fly with a stele,
  And launch a boomerang with your foot...
  They have so much fighting spirit, believe me,
  May the thread of our life not be broken!
  
  We meet the sunrise, believe me, the sun,
  Which is very bright, like a quasar...
  And the girl's heart beats strongly,
  Capable of delivering a triple blow!
  
  We fight for our Motherland very hard,
  In which elves are like kings...
  No, we can"t just watch stupidly,
  Tear the enemy to pieces!
  
  Even though we experienced a lot of pain,
  But we are used to fighting like animals...
  There is no better girl, know your fate,
  She will jokingly break the steel door!
  
  A girl's bare heel is strong,
  And believe me, it will crush even an oak tree...
  And the voice is so loud, you know,
  What, rattling, even breaks a tooth!
  
  And then blows will come to the ears,
  That the brain will be instantly and firmly knocked out...
  Turpentines poured into the sky like lava,
  The opponent will probably be tough!
  
  A magic ray will flow from the wand,
  And the Earth will be illuminated with a wondrous light...
  And the Sun will shine very brightly,
  It will definitely illuminate the planet!
  
  The executioner will shut up from the enormous losses,
  Which I received from the girls...
  Even very modest female warriors,
  But full of endless light forces!
  
  The sky will light up in a stormy hurricane,
  And there will be a very formidable wave...
  And tsunamis will sweep furiously,
  As if it were a wild horde!
  
  Then the girls will move like an avalanche,
  And the evil, fanged orcs will be killed...
  The enemy will show his back in battle,
  And the maidens of light sing a hymn of love!
  This is such a wonderful song. The whole poem is simply superb. And while they were singing it, they traveled a considerable distance, and the landscape changed. The jungle gave way to fields sown with something resembling grain. Very lush and luxurious, at that. Local aborigines strolled about in boots and hats. And at the same time, creatures resembling human children of ten or eleven years old were working in the fields. But these were not people, but hobbits. Despite their resemblance to human children, the experienced warriors, Elfarai and Trolleaad, with their very keen eyesight, could discern subtle nuances, especially in the color of their eyes, that distinguished them from the human race.
  Trollead noted:
  - Hobbits... So there are familiar races here. Maybe we'll meet some trolls too!
  Elfaraya giggled and noted:
  - And the elves too... I hope they, like humans, have roughly equal numbers of males and females. It's hard for the fair sex when there's a shortage of the stronger sex.
  Trolled chuckled and replied:
  - But for us it's good. Even, you could say, super!
  Several cats with weapons followed the couple, but they hadn't yet attempted to attack them. They were just watching...
  Another dozen horsemen rode up on grasshoppers. And they had not only spears and swords, but bows as well.
  This caused concern in Elfarai. The elf remarked:
  - They can hit us from a distance!
  Trollead nodded:
  - Yes, it's unpleasant. But what's even worse is that we don't know their language.
  Elfaraya noted:
  "With the help of magic, one can acquire knowledge of other languages. Although, it requires a lot."
  The girl tossed a broken branch into the air with her bare foot.
  The boy and girl continued walking slowly. They were heading toward the city. Towers were visible there, glittering in the distance.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - There are cities here and some pretty tall towers. That's good!
  Trollead sang:
  My heart burns brightly,
  It beats like a drum...
  Let's open our door to happiness,
  How bright are the rays of the sun!
  
  We can, like eagles over the world,
  Flapping my wings to soar...
  You became an idol for me -
  May the thread of life not be broken!
  
  Margot, you are a lady of fortune,
  Beautiful, with hair like copper...
  There will be lyrical strings here,
  Although the bear roars sometimes!
  
  We fly up to the sky from the crowns,
  Which is beauty...
  We got up in the morning, bright and early,
  May my country flourish!
  
  We are like trolls in this world,
  With its heavenly purity...
  We're flying with the girl, the light is on the air,
  The child with her will be mine!
  
  We love each other so passionately,
  The volcano rages in fury...
  And I believe that a miracle will happen,
  The hurricane of death will pass!
  
  Yes, the unimaginable light of the Fatherland,
  Forever in love in color...
  We look at the world as if through lenses,
  Let your dream come true!
  
  My beauty Margarita,
  Walk barefoot through the snow...
  The window is spacious and open,
  And you can't hit it with your fist!
  
  How come her feet don't get cold?
  The snowdrift caresses her heels...
  Powder falls from the sky,
  And the wind blows over the threshold!
  
  The girl feels great,
  All with his bare sole...
  The cold is not dangerous for her at all,
  And it's even cool to be barefoot!
  
  But now the snowdrifts have melted,
  And spring is blooming here...
  And there will be new updates,
  The girl is sweet and honest!
  
  Let's play a wedding with the female troll,
  There will be a magnificent diamond in it...
  So that there are no attacks from the thief,
  I've got my machine gun ready!
  
  Well, beauty, let's get married,
  Pendants that sparkled like diamonds...
  They sipped the wine along with the tea,
  And while drunk they punched me in the eye!
  
  A girl and a boy with rings,
  Put it on, passionate kiss...
  It was as if heat was coming from a stove,
  The priest shouted: "Don't be naughty!"
  
  Now she has a husband,
  And she gave birth to three children...
  Their feet splash through the puddles,
  And pour down some rain!
  
  In short, there will be peace and happiness,
  All the thunderstorms of hell will cease to rumble...
  Believe me, the bad weather will end,
  And the guy and the girl will be happy!
  After such a song, my spirits were lifted. It became easier to move and breathe. The hobbits tried to look around during the song. They were half-naked and, of course, barefoot. Well, even kings go barefoot among these people. They look like children, but they are strong, resilient, intelligent, and can even wield magic.
  Elfaraya was surprised:
  - How do they, hobbits, allow themselves to be commanded by some cats?
  Trollead whispered:
  - And look at their brand, some kind of rose on the shoulder.
  The elf countess remembered and answered:
  - Yes, in earlier times, people-slaves were branded in a special way so that, thanks to a magical spell, they would be obedient and would not rebel or run away.
  Trollead reminded:
  - It wasn't just people who were branded, but elves too, and especially elven women. Right?
  Elfaraya answered sullenly:
  - Don't talk about it! We had troll slaves too.
  Apparently the cats weren't familiar with trolls and elves, so they were observing them from a distance. And the number of armed natives wasn't growing much. Then a cat in rather luxurious clothing rode up, accompanied by fighters in steel armor. And this cat-you couldn't tell whether it was male or female-pulled something resembling a telescope from her pocket. And she began examining the couple through it.
  In appearance, the elf and the troll resembled hobbits, only in adult or even adolescent form. Incidentally, they were slightly taller than most cats. And the troll's nose and the elf's ears were not quite typical.
  Elfaraya stepped on a pebble with her bare sole, pressing it into the damp soil. She left her bare, girlish footprints. The troll's footprints were also graceful; he was a handsome young man, very muscular, a true Apollo. They were both like ancient gods.
  A cat in luxurious clothing, riding a unicorn instead of a grasshopper like the others, rode up to them. Knights with swords and spears rode behind her.
  She took it and meowed. Elfaraya replied:
  - We don't understand your language. Let's use gestures instead.
  The cat in the luxurious uniform winked. Then she looked more closely, crossing her paws.
  And so Elfaraya began making gestures. The cat responded. Somehow, communication began.
  The elven countess announced that she came in peace and with the best of intentions. The cat seemed to understand and replied that they were glad to have guests and that she need not fear for her life.
  Meanwhile, Trollead began drawing something in the loosened soil. And it was interesting. Even the hobbit slaves paused in their work and began to stare at the drawing, trying to get closer.
  And the cat overseers began to beat them. They lashed them with whips. The hobbits, who looked so much like ten-year-old human children, began to scream and mumble something, apparently begging for forgiveness.
  And they got back to work. Trollead exclaimed:
  - Well, the order here is barbaric!
  And then he remembered that people weren't treated any better in his empire. Although, people are the trash of the universe, but hobbits are noble creatures and shouldn't be treated like that!
  Elfaraya conversed briefly in sign language with a luxuriously dressed cat-or rather, a male cat, as it turned out. It was the local baron, and he seemed generally pleased with the conversation.
  You can communicate more or less using sign language even without knowing other languages.
  The Baron beckoned to Trollead. He approached him and bowed slightly. The Baron made several gestures, as if asking about his social status.
  Trollead gestured his high status. This seemed to satisfy the baron. And he stated his name:
  - Epicurus.
  Trolleaad pointed at himself and also indicated a name. Elfaraya followed suit. And thus, in effect, the first encounter with the new cat race took place.
  The baron asked them to follow him, preferably quickly. And so they set off for the city.
  There were fields around, and besides grain, they also grew something like bananas of fairly large size, some square coconuts, and something else.
  Hobbits were usually the ones who did the work. They were industrious, obedient, cheerful-looking, and constantly smiling. This is how hobbits behave in the wild, too. They look like children and act like children. Their faces are sweet and round, though their muscles are defined, the kind you see in Earth children who are professional gymnasts or bodybuilders.
  The city walls were high, as were the towers. It was surrounded by a moat and a drawbridge raised by chains. It was a very respectable fortress city for the Middle Ages. Or perhaps this was already the time of the Renaissance?
  There was a guard at the entrance, also in armor. In such a hot climate, armor is a serious burden. But apparently the cats liked it.
  Elfaraya and Trolleaid ran onto the bridge lift. There, the baron was greeted by guards. And so the pair found themselves in the city, behind fifty-meter-high walls.
  CHAPTER No 3.
  Inside, the city was quite clean and tidy. The streets were swept by hobbit slaves; apparently, such was the lot of these eternal children. Although they didn't look exhausted, sad, or tired.
  They even hummed songs to themselves.
  Elfaraya and Trolleaid noted that the city's houses were made of white and pink stone, although lilac marble and some other shades were also found.
  There were growing clubs with lush flowers of all the colors of the rainbow, and there were even fountains with gilded or silver statues.
  The cats walked carefully. Among them were children, such cute kittens.
  The town gave a peaceful and cheerful impression. If you recall what human towns looked like in the Middle Ages, you'll see a huge improvement in the appearance of cats.
  Elfaraya noted, noticing the gilded dragon from whose seven mouths jets of water shot upward:
  - This is great! And there are dragons here!
  Trollead logically noted:
  - But if there are hobbits, then why not dragons? There's nothing unusual about that.
  A gilded carriage pulled by six snow-white unicorns sped past. A cute feline face peered out, wearing a small, diamond-studded crown.
  The cat baron bowed to her, and she blew him a kiss in return. Males and females did differ in clothing and some facial features. And the females' fur was more delicate. They truly were attractive creatures, even if they lived in shameful slavery.
  However, that was still the Middle Ages. And when does slavery exist in the space age? That's doubly, perhaps a thousandfold, a disgrace.
  Baron Epicurus was somewhat cruel. Elfaraya translated:
  "She's a noblewoman, a duchess, I think. This is the first time she's seen creatures like us. But she says that traveling sorcerers have seen something similar to us. They have such things... They've seen them in distant worlds."
  Trollead nodded with a satisfied look:
  - Maybe we'll still encounter trolls. And elves too... There'll be something to fight.
  The elf countess nodded:
  - Yes, of course it will! We also love to fight, right up to the top.
  Baron Epicurus made a few more gestures, saying that the aliens could be guests of honor at the Duchess's.
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - It's an honor for me!
  Trollead replied:
  - And for us too!
  The Duchess looked at them and asked the Baron something. He translated with gestures:
  - Don't you know our language?
  Elfaraya replied with a sigh:
  - Unfortunately no!
  Then the noble person ordered:
  - Get into the carriage behind me.
  The baron translated her order with gestures. The troll and the elf didn't argue. They had no plan yet for conquering their own kingdom, much less building an empire. And since that was the case, it was better to befriend the strong. Especially if you were unarmed and surrounded by armed aliens and dangerous creatures.
  The Duchess's carriage smelled strongly of perfume and various incense, and the cushions in the back were also soft and fluffy. Elfaraya purred:
  - It may not be modern, but it is comfortable.
  Trollead muttered:
  - It's comfortable for girls, but not so much for men.
  The elf countess giggled:
  - I'm not the weaker sex either, I've already killed so many male trolls. You know me!
  The Troll Marquis nodded with a smile:
  - I know! But I've also killed quite a few elves, both male and female!
  The two Terminator fighters looked at each other, their eyes sparkling. But then they smiled, and something warm wafted through them.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - Let's not remember the past, it's better to think about the present.
  Trollead agreed:
  - It is true that he who remembers bygone days will wither like a branch!
  They were driving through a fairly large, beautiful, and elegant city. It featured temple-like buildings and tall statues covered in gold, bright orange, or bright purple metal. There were also numerous fountains and numerous sculptures of insects and animals. Among them, there were even creatures resembling swallowtails from outer space.
  Besides cats and hobbits, I also encountered a few creatures with horns and tails on the streets, reminiscent of funny little devils. But they're not scary; they're actually quite cute, like cartoon characters.
  A lump with legs and a silver helmet also walked by.
  Along the way we came across luxurious palaces, and there were practically no poor huts.
  This, for example, is atypical for the Middle Ages of human civilization, where there are plenty of slums and few palaces. But cats have beautiful, magnificent palaces, as well as elegant, ornate buildings that are somewhat more modest.
  There are many hobbits. Young, childlike slaves, half-naked, but some of them are also adorned. In particular, they have bracelets on their ankles and wrists, even studded with precious stones.
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - It was done beautifully. It's beautiful, just like the elves!
  Trollead objected:
  - No! The trolls have more beauty than here, and than the elves!
  The Duchess's palace stood in the very center of the city. It was surrounded by a ring of fountains. They sparkled with statues crafted from various precious metals and stones, their jets shooting tens of meters into the air. They sparkled in the rays of two suns.
  And there were trees with enormous buds, very large and sparkling. And everything smelled so fragrant. Amber, you could say. And a wonderful landscape. And the palace itself was enormous, like a cake covered in roses, butterflies, and other flowers and insects. Perhaps even too bright and colorful; some might consider it tasteless.
  Trollead noted:
  - Too colorful! It needs to be more modest and strict.
  Elfaraya nodded:
  - In this case, I agree. But in any case, we need to be polite and cultured when visiting.
  And the girl straightened her hair; it was lush, as if covered with gold leaf.
  After which, first the cat-duchess, then the troll and the elf, left the carriage. The young man and woman literally fluttered out and followed the noblewoman. At the palace entrance, several hobbit slaves ran up to them and wiped the guests' bare feet with pink-footed washcloths.
  Trollead noted:
  - Funny!
  Elfiada nodded:
  - It's ticklish and nice!
  They found themselves inside a palace. Everything here shone with luxury, not barbaric, but glamorous and delicate. One might even say it was very beautiful and tasteful. But still, it was too bright and colorful.
  Nevertheless, the elf liked it. And the carpets were very fluffy and soft, tickling the soles of her feet very pleasantly.
  Elfiada noted:
  - Although it is primitive here, it is not at all disgusting.
  Trollead agreed:
  - Yes, the variety pleases the eye.
  The boy and girl followed. The rooms smelled of perfume and all sorts of subtle scents and incense. Even the hobbits were scented and adorned with precious stones or simply artfully painted glass.
  There were also portraits of cats in armor, uniforms, jewelry, crowns hanging on the walls, and next to them were flowers, luxurious trees, fountains, sometimes also waterfalls, chests with piles of precious stones, or even a couple of very bright volcanic eruptions.
  Along the way, I also encountered several battle scenes with bladed weapons, ballistas, and catapults. There were also naval battles involving rams, or incendiary pots, and much more.
  The young man and woman continued walking along the corridors. The palace was enormous, and its owner was obviously fabulously wealthy. But then they emerged into a large hall, where something resembling a throne stood. The Duchess sat upon it and began giving orders.
  First, the young man and woman were taken to the bathroom. There, the hobbit slaves began dousing them with shampoo, incense, and various spices.
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - It's like we're in the Sultan's harem!
  Trollead remarked with a smile:
  - More precisely, the sultana! You know, I'm feeling a bit hungry.
  The elf countess remarked:
  - Maybe the locals eat something that is completely unacceptable for us.
  The Troll Marquis objected:
  - We're protein creatures. So we'll be fine.
  After washing, they were dried with terry towels and taken further.
  And as Elfaraya expected, they found themselves at a table laden with sumptuous delicacies. There was plenty of game of unknown species and exotic fruits. The dishes were gold, or of a bright orange metal, and studded with gems. There were also some truly luxurious chairs.
  Elfaraya and Trolleadd sat down in them. It was comfortable and soft. The young man and woman were hungry. They had eternally youthful bodies and, of course, active metabolisms.
  So they began to eat, paying tribute to the local cuisine. And it really was quite good.
  During the meal, a robed cat approached them and unfolded a book printed on papyrus. It contained colorful pictures. The cat, clearly a scholar, began pointing to them and naming them. Elfaraya, and then Trolleadd, slowly eating their food, began repeating them.
  Thus, they began to learn the language of cats. And trolls and elves, with biologically young brains, have incomparably better memories than humans.
  The cat turned over page after page and continued naming the pictures. And then came the letters of the alphabet. Luckily, cats didn't have hieroglyphs, so this proved easier. Both the boy and the girl learned...
  Another cat in white clothes came up and listened to the troll and the elf's lungs, and then looked at their mouths.
  Then another hobbit boy brought another book. The young slave was barefoot, but with jewelry on his ankles and wrists.
  The boy and girl continued their studies. And time passed quickly. It was already evening. It grew darker, and several large candles were lit, as well as a gas burner. Well, there was no electricity or incandescent light bulbs yet.
  A messenger from the Duchess appeared. He made several gestures. Elfaraya remarked:
  - They suggest we go to bed.
  Trollead nodded in agreement:
  - That's possible, let's go and rest.
  The young man and woman rose from the table and, accompanied by two cats, set out through the palace. They were indeed being led somewhere, to be shown something.
  Trollead noted:
  - We were received too well.
  Elfaraya nodded with a smile:
  - True, but what's the problem?
  The Troll Marquis answered logically:
  - That's exactly it - expect a catch!
  The boy and girl were led into the hall. There was a small lake with islands spanned by bridges made of crystal and gem-studded stones. Elfarai and Trollead were transferred to beds-the girl's adorned with pink gems, the boy's with blue ones. They were then offered the featherbeds.
  Elfaraya and Trolleaad wished each other good night and fell asleep almost immediately.
  And they are young, strong, healthy, but at the same time overexcited and they dreamed of something impressive.
  At the same time, the contours of the starry sky began to appear. Not the diamond-strewn sky visible from Earth, but far richer, with dense clusters of multicolored stars dotting the space. How fabulously beautiful it is, each star beautiful in its own way, with its own unique palette, and millions of them are visible at once: rubies, emeralds, sapphires, agates, topazes, and much more, eclipsing all earthly notions of wealth and luxury.
  Elfaraya saw it all at once. Trollead was standing next to her, not a half-naked youth with very clear and smooth skin, but in a luxurious uniform decorated with medals. And the elven countess was in battle dress, ready to fight and demonstrate her outstanding skill.
  And then there was a girl in a sparkling dress, strewn with large diamonds, holding a magic wand. This was the space fairy Malvina - a super warrior.
  And it really is beautiful here, although it must be said that they have seen worse. This is not the first time they have fought.
  Elfaraya still couldn"t resist asking:
  - I've never seen stars like these. Where can one observe such a miracle?
  "This is the center of the galaxy!" Trollead replied. "Here are vast clusters of stars, the most incredible inflorescences, the likes of which cannot be found. However, soon you will see even worse. Much more terrifying."
  The elf countess asked in surprise:
  - What's the matter?
  The Troll Marquis replied:
  "Our united star empire, after the end of the millennia-long feud between trolls and elves, has been attacked by evil creatures. They have subjugated several races, including gobslons and trollhorses, and are now ready to wipe all humans from the face of the universe. They call themselves hellgroves, an incredible type of magical creature."
  "I'll show them to you now," the fairy whispered something.
  Frightening yet humorous creatures, reminiscent of fairytale goblins, bared their faces, revealing large teeth and ears like bat wings. Their commander, long-nosed, with a mammoth-like trunk and mustachioed features, gazed at a three-dimensional hologram of the starry sky, depicting a variety of shimmering ships and starships. Then, with a fury, he struck them with a beam from a weapon resembling a seven-pronged fork, striking at the glued-on figures of the enemy fleet:
  "The trolls and their elven and vampire allies will be destroyed," hissed the elephantine, feline face, reminiscent of the quintessence of obscurantism and buffoonery.
  "Yes sir, my space hypermarshal!" said another hellbeast with ruby-flecked silver epaulettes. "We'll get behind them. As the great teacher Meow said, a blow to the tail is the most painful." The hellbeast shook its long trunk and ran it over the scanner.
  The goblins, huge and prolific, giggled. Their voices were so low they sounded like a group of broken double basses.
  "The enemy will be struck in its most vulnerable spot!" The High Marshal flashed his epaulettes, dazzling with the stars. "I hope these primates won't be able to respond. Not a single cannon salvo."
  - We have done serious work on creating camouflage.
  "Look! You won't be able to take off your tail and you'll lose your nose if you fail!" the hypermarshal snapped.
  The Hellboss fleet approached the unfamiliar system, reforming as it went, forming a gigantic, three-dimensional, spiky iron. On the tips of the iron's needles, light detachments of reconnaissance starships deployed and broke away from the rest of the clusters. These included counter-destroyers armed with powerful weaponry, even including a magical phase "space breaker."
  Then Elfaraya asked:
  - What is a space splitter?
  The fairy shook her head:
  - Oh, the darkness! Well, how can I explain it to you? Do you understand the concept of space?
  The Elven Countess confirmed:
  - Yes, we learned at school that substance is the core on which matter rests.
  The girl with wings that sparkled like gold replied:
  - Correct! Now imagine that, using magic and hypershort radiation, it was fragmented, changing the parameters of matter. As a result, in one part of the starship, space remains three-dimensional, while in another, it's four- or five-dimensional, but the most dangerous is when it combines with two-dimensionality. In this case, the entire ship could be destroyed.
  Elfaraya asked:
  - Is there any protection provided?
  The girl with wings confirmed:
  - Yes, various fastenings of the matter and its core carrier - the space of the spell and the potion with which the casing is lubricated, which softens the impact of this magical weapon.
  "I realized something!" Elfaraya said.
  "I'm fine!" replied the little bear, who had appeared out of nowhere, blinking his childish eyes. "It really does look beautiful."
  Indeed, the iron was enormous, occupying a space with a diameter of billions of kilometers.
  Closer to the center were heavy battleships, battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. They were followed by transport ships, repair, refueling, and medical bases. The coffins changed configuration several times, the iron sometimes expanding, sometimes contracting. Within them were tens of thousands of starships of various, most terrifying shapes.
  The trolls and elves were also vigilant. Star reconnaissance kept a close eye on the enemy, sending reports to headquarters every minute. The troll commander, Star Marshal Zhalorov, checked the reports, aided by a magical computer, moving arrows across a three-dimensional projection, trying to find the optimal location and time to strike the enemy.
  The Hellbosses had over three hundred and fifty thousand ships, while the trolls and elves had barely eighty thousand. That's not even counting the smaller vessels, where the scions of the underworld had an even greater advantage-the odds were unequal! However, they couldn't afford to attack the planet Tollemlyu (and the fleet was approaching the mother planet). Not to mention the satellite megalopolis. There, on a vast sphere drifting through space, lived hundreds of billions of peaceful beings of all races and species. Furthermore, a vital industrial base supplied almost half the galaxy with its goods. But most importantly, it was the mother system of all the trolls, and information about it had been leaked by a traitor. So all that remained was to find the most suitable areas and calculate the optimal balance of forces. And in doing so, test their only chance at an honorable death. Although the sphere, of course, has its own defenses, being twelve-dimensional, it is vulnerable to even a single small missile. In this case, the solid disk will shake and something like a terrible earthquake will occur.
  Electronic intelligence officers reported to Star Marshal Zhalorov.
  - The most convenient place for an attack is the ninth gravity-magic belt of the Katsubei system.
  "He reported. "The enemy fleet will be forced to disperse its forces to bypass the asteroid rings imbued with the magic of the archangels. We'll set up an ambush there. And our nearby planets will divert some of the enemy's forces; they offer very good fire cover. We've developed a new method of movement using wave spells through the one-dimensional space of the universe's subfield."
  "It's too risky," said the second elf, shaking a curled lock of hair and scratching his forehead. "At such speeds, maneuvering near planets and asteroids is dangerous, and the induction spell might not reflect correctly."
  "We'll have to take a risk! The Hellbos' starships are practically as well-armed as ours; it's no wonder they've managed to enslave so many worlds, and their numerical superiority is more than threefold. Only surprise, speed, and a one-dimensional, magically folded space will allow us to even the odds."
  - Where shall we conduct reconnaissance in force?
  - At the nineteenth star group of Zhurrok.
  - Well, let's try to spur on this strange creation of the gods.
  Reconnaissance in force was entrusted to General Uday Hussein, a system general, paired with the elf Kenrot. He was a humanoid, but for some reason had the face of a handsome goat. The elf was more imposing, like all of their ageless tribe, resembling a painted youth. He was an experienced and seasoned warrior of about five hundred years. Moderately cool and brave, he was already sated with life and unafraid of death, but on the other hand, he managed to think through countless combinations in lightning speed. Old age is more resilient than youth and more fearless-there's less to lose, especially when you feel physically fine, and even Satan can't take away your experience.
  "Take care of the starships and don't play all your cards at once. If things get tough, leave immediately-it's even better if the coffin race thinks we're cowardly and weak."
  "When you're strong, appear weak; when you're weak, appear strong!" "Well, the cunning of deception is the verb of victory." The elf general saluted his colleague.
  The troll starships began to move.
  Elfaraya asked:
  "The sight is impressive. But fairy, how did such an armada penetrate the heart of your great empire?"
  And the girl shook her diamond earrings.
  The fairy replied with a sigh:
  "Apparently betrayal played a role. You know yourself, after your emperor loosened the reins, corruption flourished."
  Elfarai's curiosity even increased:
  - What is one-dimensional space and how can it be used to your advantage?
  Trollead stated:
  "I'll try to explain it to you as simply as possible. In a three-dimensional world, there is height, length, and width. If we remove height, we become two-dimensional, like a drawing in a painting. Look, for example.
  The fairy drew little men with horns on a piece of paper.
  "This is a typical example of two-dimensionality. After all, they have no height or volume. Now look at what the little people would look like in one-dimensional space."
  The mistress of sleep magic carefully drew several lines of different lengths.
  "These are the same little people, this time without any width. However, the comparison is not exact, since we still see a line. In a truly one-dimensional space, we wouldn't see it at all."
  "I think I understand something," the countess said, her voice brightening. "Although I didn't know our empire had such a weapon."
  "Yes, when the inductive spell covers the ship. It's not words, but a flickering of induction and the hypershort wave it generates, and it seems to disappear into space, becoming one-dimensional. This means it's invisible even to gravity radars. And the speed becomes almost instantaneous due to the complete absence of spatial and material friction."
  If there's no volume, there's no resistance to movement. And you know, even a vacuum resists with its countless visible and invisible fields.
  Elfaraya was delighted:
  "So, instant movement to any point and invulnerability. Such an army is invincible! You have to be a genius to come up with something like that!"
  The fairy said:
  "That would be true, if not for one thing... Starships, being in one-dimensional space, are themselves harmless and cannot destroy other ships. So, to open fire to kill, you have to jump out."
  "It's like a predator in a cage: it jumps out of the bars, bites, tears out a piece of flesh, jumps back, and hides again," Elfaraya noticed.
  - Something like that! Well, I see you understood me perfectly.
  The girl thought that now she would have to wait a long time for the continuation of a spectacle a hundred times more entertaining than any exciting wrestling battle, when suddenly the stunning starry sky appeared before her sleepy eyes again.
  The trolls launched their attack using a classic strategy. The primary strike was against the rear units, with a secondary strike against the maneuver groups.
  The Hellboss fleet had just circled a star cluster, shooting down frenzied asteroids with electromagnetic cannons and neutrino machine guns. These clumps of liquid metal moved wildly, leaping like tops out of seven-dimensional space, striking anyone who allowed themselves to relax for a split second. Blurred blotches seemed to race through space, instantly piercing the sides and hulls of starships. They were half-dead, sometimes taking the form of angular dragons and spewing chunks of plasma. The relatively well-coordinated formation had become stretched, some groups of ships had fallen behind, and the guards, reforming their ranks, had relaxed their control. The vulnerable "belly" of the Hellboss armada had come under sudden attack.
  Kenrot screamed in a squeaky voice:
  - Throw out all the energy quanta, we need to crush the "tail".
  His partner, the troll Uday, yelled:
  - Tail for tail, eye for eye! The long-nosed ones won't escape us! I swear by the Almighty, we'll ram the roofs!
  The battle was no joke, deadly streams filled the vacuum, bizarre figures swirled.
  Trolls and elves emerged from one-dimensional space like mushrooms after a rainstorm, popping up near every planet or moon. Small vessels-boats and destroyers, as well as frigates and brigantines-were the first to enter the fray. Annihilation platforms raced after them, moving with indescribable grace despite their impressive size.
  Their striking power-hypergrav-magic beams that rip apart all matter, and thermoquark missiles-should knock the wind out of the hell-bodies and their satellites. The missile carriers and anti-soyders that leaped out behind them immediately moved, unleashing a hyperplasmic vortex on the aircraft carriers, cruisers, and large transport vessels.
  The sudden attack caught the Hellbots off guard. Overconfident, they thought a tribe with bare human skin was incapable of stinging strikes. Especially since they were awaited at the edges, not in the belly of an innumerable armada. True, the technical reconnaissance stations and unmanned observers deployed to the flanks detected something incomprehensible, but apparently mistook it for annoying interference or the eruption of a black hole, which sometimes ejected a hypergravicorona at a speed three hundred trillion times faster than light. This substance instantly swept across the galaxy, causing glitches in computer programs and electronics, natural disasters, and unexplained pain and illness in living organisms.
  - What is this hypergravicorona? - Elfaraya asked.
  The fairy replied:
  "Indeed, why do people so often experience pain and itching in their bodies for no apparent reason? Someone might have a sore finger, or a sharp pain in the heart. It's the cosmic influence that's to blame, depressing bodily functions, and sometimes, on the contrary, giving them additional strength. That's why the huge fleet of hell-bodies was caught in marching formation, quite vulnerable when the force fields aren't fully activated to conserve energy while moving through multi-level space."
  Elfaraya, although she had seen space battles not only in films but also participated in them herself, enjoyed the spectacle of an unprecedented battle.
  "I want to fight myself!" said the elf girl. "Perhaps you'll let me fight too? After all, Trollia may not be my homeland, and I may be an elf, but here we are one with the trolls."
  - Please! - The fairy nodded. - What kind of fighter do you want?
  "The most modern and powerful! Give me the best you have!" the countess said with obvious desire.
  "Okay! Put the bunch of grapes in the empty glass!" the mischievous fairy uttered the nonsense like a mantra.
  Before Elfaraya could blink, she found herself on a high-speed fighter. A beautiful machine made of transparent, ultra-strong metal, holograms providing a full view, and several scanners. You lie down, and the armor automatically conforms to your body.
  - That's good, but how do you control it? - Elfaraya asked.
  The fairy readily prompted her:
  "This is the most modern machine and it's controlled by thought. Remember the Sphinx's riddle: what's the fastest?"
  The elf countess quickly replied:
  - I know, an elven thought.
  - So think and move, however, in case of damage there are several backup control systems, including joysticks, as well as manual coarser settings.
  - I'm ready, and now I'm going to battle like an eagle.
  The fighter was moving very quickly. Elfaraya loved playing computer simulators and felt like a fish in water. Her machine attacked the enemy mini-flyer, the spacecraft took wing and burst into flames before disintegrating.
  "The first fruit is already here," Elfaraya said with admiration.
  A barrage of hypergravity cannons and gamma cannons disorganized the trolls' starships, causing them to disintegrate into photons. However, their gravity cannons and gamma machine guns soon responded, their space-breakers booming, liberally intermingled with the now-obsolete lasers found only on older ships. Thousands of missiles and tens of thousands of shells pierced the trolls' and hellbeasts' ships. Simultaneously, hyperplasmic eights and triangles swirled, sending chaotic, shifting beads of energy flying off them. Of course, some missed; anti-missiles also fired, as did volleys of thermoquark-accelerated gamma rays. Some were repelled by force fields and spatial cyber-defenses. This type of defense was highly mobile, reminiscent of liquid waves washing over the starships' bodies. But at least a third of the "gifts" reached their target.
  Hundreds, then thousands, of blinding fireballs erupted in space, then dispersed into dazzling purple and green petals. The shattered hulls of various stations and starships scattered in a bizarre kaleidoscope, as if someone had scattered shards of glass across space. Parts of medium and large-class ships, flipping over, burned and continued to fragment and explode, flying in all directions. Six starships collided at once, one of them a battleship with a crew of thousands on board. Thermoquark missiles detonated, aided by offensive magic, and a supernova erupted, scattering the remaining ships far and wide. One of the repair bases began to crumble, and two not yet fully completed starships crumpled like an accordion, crushing the repair robots and the workforce, consisting of goblins, runcats, and a number of races conquered by the hell-gods.
  Elfaraya continued to fight. Two fighters attacked her at once. She dove between them, slipping sideways. Seven grav-laser emitters struck simultaneously, wiping out the vehicle drifting to the right. Elfaraya performed a triple barrel roll and struck the tail of the vessel attempting to slip past on the left.
  - That's it! Dance the hopak! - said the countess girl.
  Her next victim was a bulky two-seater stormtrooper. Elfaraya, taking advantage of her superior maneuverability, slipped past its twelve guns, even though the gravo-laser beams danced practically next to her transparent armor. She even felt the heat emanating from the hyperplasm. A special multi-scanner pinpoints the stormtrooper's vulnerable points. Just then, she emerges at the seam and slams a treat into the seam. The beams pierce the generator, and the craft explodes. The pilot, however, manages to escape. Oh, wow, it looks like a female rat-cat, a rather cute white mouse in a transparent spacesuit. It would be a shame to kill such a cutie. Elfaraya waves at her and flies away:
  - I hope we meet again!
  Speedboats, counter-destroyers, and tojomers-heavy-duty combat vessels with mega-accelerators on board-were moving at top speed. They unleashed a hurricane of fire, spitting out gouts of hyperplasm and antimatter. Intricate pretzels, octopuses composed of spheres, and polyhedrons swirled in the vacuum with ever-increasing speed. Then the star avengers darted through the enemy starships and arced around the battlefield for a second approach. Some of the spacecraft traversed a parabolic course, disappearing as soon as heavy thermoquark missiles appeared. The strike platforms countermaneuvered, moving into the junction of the clustered ships, where they began spewing gigantic fountains of annihilation from all systems. The missile carriers entered the thinned formation of the hell-grouse starships, reminiscent of fallen foam, ears of corn knocked down by a scythe, and sent out "gifts" without much risk of receiving any in return.
  Four hundred and sixty upgraded anti-soiders began to circle the enemy front counterclockwise. These newest starships were the pride and joy of the troll fleet. High-speed, highly maneuverable, armed with thirteenth-generation missiles-meaning hypergravity acceleration-and modernized artillery systems, magically forged by the empire's finest sorcerers, they were capable of confronting the most powerful enemy vessels. A sophisticated, multi-layered defense system, utilizing several types of sorcerers, allowed them to survive massive fire, up to a point, of course.
  Elfaraya herself sensed this limit. She threw out her gifts, exercising a certain amount of caution as she fought alongside several human fighters. Then a hologram of a girl with a six-colored hairdo flashed. She smiled sweetly and said:
  - Maybe we should try to outsmart the enemy on a scooter?
  "And how is that?" Elfaraya asked.
  - You'll see now! Were you into ballroom dancing?
  - Just a couple of lessons.
  - So, let's reproduce the sompramé technique.
  It really is more fun to destroy with two. Explosions can be heard, and the fighters are crumbling like houses of cards. And here comes a larger target: a boat. It's clear they spent quite a while hitting the tail before they managed to ignite the reactor. Elfaraya turned to the fairy:
  "I'm tired of this small-scale shooting. I want a more powerful weapon, like a thermoquark bomb."
  - It's too bulky, you can only carry one charge at a time.
  Elfaraya thought for a moment, and then it dawned on her:
  - Then make it reusable with magic. Like, say, the reusable explosive cartridge in the comics. Or is that too much for you?
  The fairy was offended:
  - Of course, I can do it, but will it be fair?
  The countess girl replied:
  - Cunning and calculation, how husband and wife give birth to victory - honesty is the third wheel!
  The fairy agreed:
  - Okay, you've convinced me! Get a reusable thermoquark rocket.
  Elfaraya, armed to the teeth, began attacking even more persistently. Now her victim was a frigate. It's generally risky for a fighter to attack a large ship with a crew of a thousand or more soldiers, but a thermoquark missile is the equivalent of ten billion bombs dropped on Hiroshima. It's capable of tearing apart a starship with matrix defenses and force fields.
  The Hellbosses were masters of war, characterized by the instincts of predators, having risen through the ranks of evolution from a comical freak crouched at the edge of the trees, a species aspiring to be a super-civilization. They were already powerful creatures, but unlike humans, they respected no one. The Hellbosses, however, had enlisted the support of their equal allies, the elves. Elves, accustomed from birth to moving in a vacuum, were not natural to the Hellbosses, but the space was not their natural habitat. Nevertheless, the armies of the bastard mastodons were superbly trained. The Gobslons themselves were trained on special magical virtual machines, and they were fed a special drug that suppressed the sense of fear, allowing them to memorize any actions or commands. Listrolls, on the other hand, were distinguished by their high intelligence, but the Hellbosses, distrusting such forged creatures, kept this species on standby. Overall, it was a motley army of a great empire bent on conquering the universe, whose ideology was the pursuit of magical and sexual dominance. However, they were incapable of immediately resisting.
  Elfaraya took advantage of this, firing thermoquark charges into medium-sized vessels. A destroyer burst into flames and broke apart, followed by a brigantine, which was hit by a shockwave. The girl, however, had to maneuver. The beams scorched the hull several times, and only her perfect shielding saved her, but the temperature rose, and even the girl's nose began to peel.
  "I'm just being fried," the girl muttered. "Isn't it possible to strengthen the defense, like in computer games, to switch to god mode?"
  The fairy answered her:
  "Of course you can, but it won't be fun. This way, there's risk and an adrenaline rush. Better yet, maneuver. Use the star hare loop!"
  - Will try!
  A few precious minutes of confusion and panic were paid for by the tears of those families who cried heart-rendingly for the dead.
  Elfaraya asked:
  - What, they don"t believe in meeting in a better world?
  The fairy explained:
  The tears were all the more bitter because the advanced hell-groves, like some advanced earthlings, were almost universally atheists and didn't believe in heaven. True, spiritualism was fashionable; many communicated with their spirits, until they fell into the interdimensional holes protruding in the collapse areas. There, they were transported somewhere, to a place of no return. Of course, death isn't the end, but it's clear that being in the flesh is better than being in spirit. Especially since in this collapse, whether a new, beautiful world, or hell, is yet to be determined!
  - Perhaps! I converted to Catholicism to spite most of my Orthodox compatriots. Although, the innocent girl heard that the Pope is the Antichrist.
  The fairy laughed:
  - Each race has its own religion, but one thing is common: the presence in all gods of traits characteristic of the race that professes them.
  - So I will confess them with the most powerful rocket.
  And Elfaraya continued to reap a bountiful harvest. She crushed everything in sight, thanks to the missile's infinite replication, capable of wiping out dozens of fighters at once.
  The humans advanced, pushing back the enemy, forcing them to retreat. However, the shock quickly wore off, and the sullen race of hell-bodies began to respond furiously. Their commander, a space hypermarshal, wheezed terribly:
  "I'll disintegrate them into photons, grind them into quarks, trap them in black holes, and cut them into suits! Hit them immediately, you blockheads, with your most powerful weapons! Use skeletarscopes!"
  The destroyers in the outer formation dropped containers with homing mines and opened fire on the boats and anti-soiders. The cruisers, maneuvering, fired their first salvos of missile launchers, targeting the crossoiders and attack platforms. And the aircraft carriers opened their bellies, from which emerged entire swarms of skeletrascopai. These seemingly small, yet super-maneuverable starships, devoid of inertial mass, were capable of accelerating to superluminal speeds even in ordinary three-dimensional space-an impossible feat for ordinary bodies, crushed by gravity. The skeletrascopai sprouted stingers and began spitting out gifts of annihilation. They truly resembled bumblebees, and not just ordinary ones, but frenzied ones, possessed by tiny subspirits. However, with the help of necromancers, the lower spirits controlled these machines.
  Elfaraya asked the fairy:
  "So many unfamiliar words and terms. Explain to me. I know what thermoquark rockets are (they fuse quarks, like a hydrogen bomb, but at a higher level). Well, gamma-ray guns and grav-lasers-I've played with simulators, too, and I like them. And also, what are skeletrascopians? The name's pretty funny!"
  The fairy whistled. Being the queen of various spells, she could tell a lot about modern weapons. But she was reluctant to share, so many of the world's secrets were revealed to people only slightly, timidly, like a window in the cold. Elfaraya herself was familiar with science, including futuristic science, where weapons were made. But naturally, she couldn't remember everything about the countless discoveries on the various planets and worlds that inhabited the universe. Moreover, no vampire, even the most perfected, could withstand such a burden.
  The fairy, however, put on a mysterious look:
  - You know, I was very proud that one of the most powerful spies of the earthlings told about the weapons of this ruthless empire.
  The skeletrascopists were unmanned ships, controlled from aircraft carriers via a narrow-beam gravo-channel. Moreover, the pilots weren't adagrobs, but psychotropically infused crab jellyfish-semi-intelligent creatures resembling transparent mollusks with paranormal abilities and phenomenal reflexes. These creatures were vulnerable to extreme sensitivity to radiation, temperature fluctuations, and gravitational fluctuations. Therefore, using them as pilots was out of the question. But sitting in virtual cockpits and monitoring the battle from twenty-eight screens simultaneously, they controlled the skeletrascopists using mental impulses sent via the gravo-channel. This wasn't the best idea, however, as the information carriers became confused, and during the battle, the vacuum became so saturated with various impulses and aggressive radiation that false commands were transmitted via the beams. That's when the Fosh decided to use lower, weightless spirits, reinforced with hyperscreens. This is far more reliable and effective. Moreover, a spirit can't be killed even by a thermoquark bomb.
  CHAPTER No 4.
  Elfaraya woke up... Several hobbit slaves began rubbing her body with olive oil. It was pleasant and delightful.
  Trolleada was also rubbed, the young man noted:
  - It's like paradise!
  Elfaraya noted:
  - Yes, our life is not hell at all... Although, what was bad in the old world?
  The young man replied:
  - No! It wasn't bad. And we're already noble people!
  The girl chirped:
  - There will be a bald devil in the coffin.
  And she burst out laughing. It really was funny. After they were washed, the adventures didn't end there.
  They decided to dress Trolleada and Elfaraya. While they were sleeping, they had already managed to sew costumes!
  The young man tried on the waistcoat and boots. They were brand new and slightly tight. Elfarae was given a dress and high-heeled shoes.
  The elf and the troll were very pleased. They stood in front of a large mirror and tried on their new clothes. They were also given hats with large feathers.
  Elfaraya logically noted:
  - Nothing comes easy. I have a feeling they'll ask us for something!
  Trollead nodded in agreement:
  - That's right! There's no such thing as a free lunch.
  The boy and girl looked in the mirror again. Then, half-naked but with jewelry on their arms and ankles, the hobbit slaves led them out of the hall. And they set off down the corridors.
  Elfaraya stepped carefully in her high-heeled shoes. On the one hand, it was beautiful, beyond words. On the other, it wasn't very comfortable. Women generally prefer to go barefoot for comfort. Especially since high heels aren't exactly fashionable in the space world.
  She remembered the fight. She was against a female troll in a photon fighter. How they maneuvered back then. Elfaraya tried the barrel roll three times. But each time she failed, and the target slipped out of her sights. And only on the fourth try did the fox snake work.
  Space battles are a fascinating thing. There's so much to love about them. And the jumps are simply incredible. A battle in a vacuum is something special.
  Although Elfarae had to fight in the atmosphere, too. Here, air resistance plays a role. And special maneuvers, and inertia, and turbulence.
  In somewhat earlier times, for example, there were no laser or beam weapons, but rather projectiles. And then, too, combat had its own unique characteristics.
  Elfaraya loved playing ancient strategy games on the computer. For example, flamethrower tanks are incredibly effective, especially when there are a lot of them, and they burn everything down. They destroy houses, buildings, walls, and even infantry. Although burning the enemy in a stream of flame seems cruel. But in the game, there are no living creatures, just bits of information. And it's truly incredibly captivating.
  But there's also a real space war, and that's even more captivating. Elfaraya winked to herself... It was kind of funny, after all.
  They were led into a luxurious hall. Even as they approached, majestic music began to play.
  And so the troll and the elf entered this room, the size of a large stadium. The hall contained a banquet table, laden with the most sumptuous delicacies, and a large open space. Guests were entertained in various ways. Cats danced, and hobbit slaves fought among themselves. There was also a dwarf with a long black beard and a turban. He was performing some magic tricks.
  Such a cheerful atmosphere.
  Barefoot hobbit boys and girls carried food on gold and light orange trays. Resembling human children, they wore jewelry made of colored glass, some of it made of real gemstones, reminiscent of India, where, half-naked and barefoot, but still wearing jewelry, boys and girls dance and carry food.
  Musical instruments also play, producing sounds in complex combinations that enchant the ear.
  Elfara and Trollead were seated next to the duchess. The young man and woman were given golden cutlery and began to eat with it. Overall, their spirits were lifted again. Though the thought of being crowned had not yet left their minds.
  The elf girl sang:
  Trying to shake the world,
  We are celebrating a noble feast!
  The guests were mostly cats. Only a couple of dwarves were among them. Apparently, this world wasn't particularly diverse in intelligent life forms. Or perhaps it's not customary to gather many other races here for a private feast?
  Trollead noted that there were no firearms or cannons here. This meant that if they offered to make powerful explosives, they could gain a significant advantage over the others. But first, they needed to build their own army.
  Offering cooperation to the Duchess? That's not a bad idea either.
  First with her, and then instead of her.
  Elfaraya watched the hobbit duels. Two boys, apparently ten or eleven years old, clad only in swimming trunks, were duelling with wooden swords. They had been fighting for quite some time and vigorously, their tanned, childish yet sinewy bodies glistening with sweat like polished bronze.
  Hobbits are very agile and swift creatures. But one of the boys took a powerful blow to the neck and fell. His opponent pressed his sword to the boy's bare, muscular chest.
  The fight stopped. Then other boys ran out and began fighting with poles.
  And it was, let's say, great and exciting.
  Elfaraya remembered that they, too, had various martial arts. Nothing entirely new, but pleasing to the eye and heart.
  The girl took it and whispered to her vis-à-vis:
  - What are we going to do?
  The young man answered with a smile:
  - I don't know yet. Maybe I should suggest to the Duchess that she make nitroglycerin or some other explosive?
  Elfaraya shrugged.
  - Well, that... Or maybe make a machine gun?
  Trollead noted:
  - It"s difficult to make, the design is complex, and only blacksmiths are here!
  The elven countess shrugged. Her head, her hair shining like gold leaf, was full of ideas, but they somehow ran into difficulties in material implementation. It was like in that computer strategy game-anything is possible, but first you have to obtain at least a thousand units of resources.
  So the girl didn't speak, but reached for a glass of wine. It was very fragrant and sweet. Overall, this world seemed quite harmonious. Even the hobbit slaves wore precious jewelry, were cheerful, contented, healthy, and constantly grinning.
  Should we introduce weapons into this world? Specifically, firearms, and beam weapons at that. Or, God forbid, a thermoquark bomb-damn it!
  Really, why teach the locals violence?
  The troll marquis, however, had something else on his mind. If he offered the cat-duchess the recipe for nitroglycerin, or even the simpler gunpowder, wouldn't she try to get rid of it and stab him in the back? Although, such an idea might never occur to her. Or she might want to make use of more than one discovery or invention of the time-travelers.
  Besides, there's the matter of my partner. Seriously, what should I do with her?
  Elves are traditionally hostile to trolls. They've been at war with each other for millennia. What if she plunges a poisoned dagger into their back? Or plants a coal dust explosive herself? Or even poisons them? These elves are treacherous. Despite the fact that they have more in common with trolls than differences, they've become accustomed to hating each other.
  But the elf is actually quite beautiful. Although there are no ugly elves or trolls. It's humans who can be very ugly, even in their youth. Although, for example, human teenagers, both male and female, are rarely ugly. But in older age, it's a horror.
  Both glamorous races love beauty. And they dislike the ugly, the ugly, the wrinkled. Well, that's just the way they are...
  Neither trolls nor elves ever aged, at least not in appearance-the High Gods created them that way. Humans are deprived in this regard. Dwarves, incidentally, are also deprived. But groms, while aging in appearance, enjoy very good health and do not lose strength with age. Indeed, even in ancient times, they lived for thousands of years. In this regard, humans are inferior even to orcs without rejuvenating magic.
  Trolled shook his head angrily; he seemed to be thinking too much about humans. A hobbit differs from a human child in their developed muscles, physical strength, and eye color. Elves, trolls, and hobbits are stronger than humans. And vampires are even stronger-they can fly without nanobots.
  It's good that there are too few vampires, otherwise they would have conquered the trolls, the elves, and maybe even the dwarves.
  The Duchess unexpectedly proposed a toast to her new guests.
  Elfaraya and Trolleaad stood up and also raised their golden goblets.
  Everyone drained their glasses and then applause was heard.
  Then a new spectacle awaited the guests. This time, it was much bloodier.
  Three hobbit boys, wearing only swimming trunks, came out armed: a sword in their right hand and a dagger in their left.
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - A beautiful battle is brewing!
  Trollead noted:
  - Maybe not so beautiful!
  And then the gong indeed sounded. And the young-looking hobbits' adversary appeared. It was a rather dangerous beast: a purple-furred saber-toothed bear.
  His claws were sticking out from his paws. And he was growling aggressively.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - What a funny sight! It's a pleasure to watch.
  Trollead chuckled and remarked:
  - These slave boys could die. Don't you feel sorry for them?
  The elf countess squeaked:
  - It's a pity for the bee, but the bee is on the Christmas tree!
  Bets on the fight were placed hastily. The bear was held back for now. The boy gladiators looked much smaller than this monster. And they looked barefoot, so cute. And their muscles were lean and defined.
  The bets were placed, and the bear lunged with wild force at the childlike hobbit slaves. The young warriors met him with sword blows and stabbed him several times. In response, the fearsome beast scratched a couple of boys. And the warriors in their swimming trunks squealed.
  Elfaraya licked her lips:
  - It's quite funny! It's a pulsar spectacle!
  The boys leaped and dodged the monster's saber-like fangs. Their young legs flashed, their bare heels glittering.
  And the saber-toothed bear roared.
  Elfaraya remembered playing a fantasy game once, and there were saber-toothed bears there, too. And she'd blasted them with lightning bolts. But more and more monsters kept appearing. And they growled, jumped, and squealed.
  Trollead said:
  - Do you like it?
  Elfaraya giggled and replied:
  - Not really! Kindergarten!
  The young marquis remarked:
  - Hobbits are grown-ups. They only look like little ones.
  Trollead sang:
  And childhood, childhood,
  Where are you rushing to?
  Ah childhood, childhood,
  Where are you flying to!
  I haven't had enough fun with you yet,
  Although the boy is really cool!
  The hobbit boys continued to gallop, their bare, muscular, tanned legs flashing like the spokes of a wheel. Now that was swearing, without the extra sentimentality.
  The saber-toothed bear chased after him, but received more and more blows from both swords and daggers. The hobbit boys were skillful and experienced, and they were hitting their opponents. But one of the young hobbits failed to jump back in time and was caught by the bear. It pounced on him and began to gnaw at him. The other two young warriors desperately lashed out with swords and stabbed him with daggers. But it was of little use.
  Elfaraya, in whom the good awakened, exclaimed:
  - Stop this!
  The Duchess asked in her own language:
  - What do you want?
  Elfaraya began to explain herself with gestures. The Duchess seemed to understand, but exclaimed:
  - No! This is impossible!
  Elfaraya began gesticulating even more vigorously. And the hobbit boy, tormented by the bear, fell silent. It seemed his soul had left his body.
  The other two boys recoiled from the monster. It, too, was wounded and in poor health, and therefore couldn't catch up with the boys.
  A peculiar chase ensued. The young hobbits turned and struck back. They stabbed the bear, keeping it from calming down. And the reddish-brown blood continued to flow.
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  - This is terrible! This can't happen! What happened?
  Trollead noted:
  - And when you yourself killed trolls, males and females, as well as hobbits who fought on our side as volunteers, you didn"t think about the fact that this was not right!
  The elf countess remarked:
  - It's one thing in war, and another during entertainment at a feast.
  The Duchess apparently decided to take pity on the hobbit boys who had lost their swords and were simply saving lives. And she threw down her gauntlet onto the colored tiles of the arena.
  The bear was subdued by powerful warriors led by a dwarf, and the boys, frightened and scratched, were tied to the goats. The Duchess said something. A whip fell upon the young hobbits, and the dwarf struck them with such force that their skin split.
  Elfaraya tried to object again, but Trollead noted:
  - They lost, which means they must pay by receiving a whip instead of death!
  The elf countess muttered:
  - You would have been spanked if you hadn't spoken like that!
  When the boys lost consciousness, the dwarf poured a bucket of water over the hobbits. They were then lifted, placed on stretchers, and carried out of the arena into this great hall, where one could both feast and enjoy the spectacle.
  Then came a new performance. A cat, hung with colored glass, sang. And four hobbit boys, dressed as devils and wearing horns, danced.
  During the performance, two hobbit boys crawled up to the elf with a golden basin. They carefully removed her shoes and began washing her feet. Two hobbit girls crawled up to the troll and began washing the boy's feet as well.
  Apparently, this was the custom for honored guests here. It was all quite wonderful. After the song and dance, hobbit boys in swimming trunks ran out into the arena. They began to fight without any weapons.
  And there was a system here. They fought in turns, then retreated, and then others rushed into battle. It was quite a spectacle.
  Elfaraya thought that having fun without a computer was not the same.
  For example, in battles you can command both the most modern armies and, conversely, ancient ones. There's even a game where you evolve from a single barracks of warriors with stone axes to battles: galaxy against galaxy, or even universe against universe, and it's extremely quasaric.
  The entertainment here is simpler and more straightforward. But the times of development are ancient. And the magic here isn't great. Elfaraya thought that maybe she could try to conjure something herself.
  It's nice when boys slowly wash your feet. Their hands are small, gentle, and tender. Hobbits are a special people. So sweet and gentle on the outside. But they're not bad warriors. And they can be cruel, too.
  Elfaraya deftly grabbed the hobbit boy's nose with her bare, monkey-like toes. He didn't resist. Then the girl grabbed it and squeezed hard, causing pain. The boy gritted his teeth. The elf giggled and let go. The young hobbit rubbed his nose; it swelled up like a plum.
  Elfaraya laughed and flicked her toes at the boy's forehead. It was good to torment the slaves like this. And how she longed to do something else.
  There in the arena, two hobbit boys were beating up one another. They kicked him with their small, bare feet, then started jumping. Then another boy attacked them from behind. And then the fun began. A serious fight.
  Some people even used their teeth. And blood flowed, scarlet dewdrops dripped.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - This happens, but it is more cruel and disgusting than exciting.
  Trollead agreed:
  - Yes, it"s disgusting, but at the same time fascinating!
  The young hobbits were light and couldn't knock each other out with a single blow. But they did get bruises and black eyes. And that's cruel, one might say.
  One of the cats tossed hot coals under the boys' bare feet. They squealed and moaned as they stepped on them with their bare, childish soles. Which made the spectacle more brutal and, at the same time, entertaining.
  The smell of burnt leather wafted all the way to the stands. It smelled like roast lamb, but Elfara felt sick and nauseous. And she even began to think that this was immoral and stupid.
  Trollead seemed to enjoy this. The boys continued to fight. New bruises, abrasions, and nail scratches appeared on their faces.
  Elfarai tried to think of something more pleasant. It was disgusting when children fought. Especially so aggressively. Hobbits weren't children, of course, but they were still alike. On the other hand, why was she so emotional?
  She once had an episode where an elven countess dropped a powerful thermoquark bomb, and it exploded so hard it wiped out an entire base. At least ten thousand trolls and a couple thousand other races, including hobbits, perished. But for some reason, her conscience didn't bother her then. And for that, she received a very beautiful medal, studded with precious stones.
  And then, looking at the boys, scratched and bruised, with slightly scorched heels, she became emotional. Why was this... So much sentimentality. And yet she had so much blood on her hands. It was good that it wasn't elven.
  For example, humans often fight each other. Elfaraya didn't like them. But it should be noted that some members of the human race could create some pretty good inventions, even in the military sphere. And that humans also have a space empire where old age has been conquered, and they're also sweet and lovable, like elves, only with different ears.
  But this space empire is far away. And perhaps that's fortunate, otherwise elves and trolls, and perhaps other races as well, would have risen up against humans. Dwarves and hobbits don't have large space empires; they're more fragmented, and vampires, fortunately, aren't numerous. There are other races, too-fauns, for example, or boars-that aren't as common.
  A deafening roar suddenly interrupted the discussion. A cracking sound was heard, and a huge dragon appeared. It had seven heads. Its jaws opened, furiously spewing flames.
  The guests immediately bristled with spears, bows, and swords. The dragon was large, and it was unclear how it had penetrated the enclosed space.
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  - Wow!
  Trollead nodded:
  - Phasmagoria!
  The dragon beat its wings, looking terrifying. And it had rather long fangs that glittered like diamonds. The crowd began shooting arrows and throwing spears at it. It looked like some kind of thasmagoric show.
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - It's just a hologram! Or a magical mirage.
  Trollead noted:
  - It seems!
  Indeed, although flames spewed from their mouths, they didn't burn anyone and no heat was felt. It was something illusory.
  The Duchess rose from her chair. She pulled a crystal ball from her belt and cast a spell. Three bolts of lightning struck the dragon at once: red, yellow, and green, reflected in their faces. And the monster vanished, as if someone had turned off a hologram. The music began again, the drums began to beat, and the show continued. It was like some kind of special celebration. By the standards of ancient times, with a pretty good show. And the entertainment was in full swing. There was dancing and drumming.
  Elfaraya asked Trollead:
  - What do you think? Are they in our honor or what?
  The Troll Marquis replied with a grin:
  "In our honor, that would be too much! And anyway, no one's paying much attention to us."
  The elf countess replied with a sigh:
  - And what are we going to do?
  Trollead noted:
  "For now, we'll learn the local language and keep a low profile. Incidentally, I've sometimes watched movies about time travelers. And there have been cases where, as soon as they were transported, they immediately began to understand the natives' speech."
  Elfaraya replied with a sigh:
  - Unfortunately, this is not a threat to us!
  The boy and girl looked at the arena. Another performance was underway. This time, two cats were fighting with sticks against three hobbit boys. They fought beautifully, dancing along. And the spectacle didn't look at all cruel or crude. The boys were wearing swimming trunks, but they had bracelets of bright orange metal on their ankles and wrists, with glittering stones. It wasn't immediately clear what kind of jewelry they were; they looked more like Czech glass. It was quite impressive, you could say.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - It's charming in its own way!
  Trollead replied:
  - There's nothing to argue with! But I'll be honest, when it looks like a dance, it's not very engaging.
  The elf countess remarked:
  - I don't really like rudeness. Especially lately. I want something more gentle.
  The Troll Marquis noted:
  "We are nobles and we must balance everything. Be both intelligent and strong at the same time!"
  The young man and woman drank some more sweet wine. And relaxed. Although they wouldn't have minded moving around. They were in a good mood.
  Elfaraya imagined a battle between trolls and elves in the ancient world. On one side were beautiful female elves, and on the other, equally glamorous and pretty female trolls.
  And then the girls from the elven side stop and fire a volley of bows and crossbows.
  And the beautiful warriors of the troll race disappear and in their place appear predatory, carnivorous orcs.
  The girls are completely wild. And they really are stunning beauties. And their feet are bare and chiseled.
  Well, they've really taken on these orcs, and they're thoroughly mowing them down and killing them.
  And the front of the elven women and a smaller number of elves began to press on the orcs, those furry bears.
  The girls rushed to attack.
  The orange-haired elf warrior pressed her scarlet nipple onto the joystick button.
  A shock wave erupted. It rushed toward the orcs like ultrasound. It engulfed them all at once, literally charring their bones.
  The warrior chirped:
  - For the cobra's wild leaps!
  And she just bursts out laughing. These women are truly, let's just say, super.
  The girls, it should be noted, are formidable.
  And so, with their bare heels, they threw up deadly streams of coal grenades.
  They tore apart a lot of angry and furry bears. And after that, the girls started singing:
  I ask, Lord, that the day does not fade away,
  May the girl's gaze remain forever young!
  So that our knight can soar above the rocks,
  May the cover of the lakes be purer than crystal!
  
  What a beautiful world the Lord created,
  In it the spruce was silver, and the maple was ruby!
  I'm looking for a friend, God's ideal -
  That's why I chopped down enemies in battles!
  
  Why is the young man's heart so heavy?
  What does he want to find in this world?
  Why is the oar broken?
  How to resolve a tangle of big problems?
  
  I want, God, to be happy too,
  Find your heavenly dream!
  So that the thread of luck does not break,
  To put a ballast line under the path!
  
  But what should I seek in a world without love,
  What could be more expensive than a girl?
  It is difficult to build happiness on blood,
  You can only swim along it into the heat of hell!
  
  Separation is torture for me,
  War is still such a nightmare!
  Here is my foot in the stirrup, I saddled the horse,
  Although the evil orc, the executioner raised his axe!
  
  They are taking our daughters into captivity,
  They torture them and burn their bodies with fire!
  But we will inflict defeat on the Fuhrer,
  Know that our Elf will never die!
  
  Let's have a wedding after the evil war,
  Then the kids will give us laughter!
  They are all my blood relatives,
  I'm going hunting, there will be fat game!
  
  And the oak, its leaves like emerald,
  He said: "The guy did a great job!"
  Let your conscience be as clear as crystal,
  And only on the plus side of the balance sheet will there be numbers!
  The girls sang and showed their colossal aplomb and fighting spirit.
  And of course, one of the warriors brought a hose. And loaded it with gasoline. And suddenly, she unleashed a deadly stream. A lethal torrent of fire, a tsunami of fire, poured out. And completely incinerated the orcs.
  And this is truly incredibly cool. Literally totalitarian destruction is underway.
  And at the same time, go and burn off the orc's head.
  And roast them all with fire, and burn them to the ground like this. And not leave even the bones of the enemy.
  That's the kind of girls you get sometimes. They bare their teeth and show off their temper, like a cobra.
  Warriors who can tear any army to pieces. And if they want, they can fart, too.
  Oh, it would be so cool if heaven prevented that. Because then the crows would rain down on the orcs' heads. And they would fall and crush their skulls, demonstrating the most deadly effect in the universe.
  And the girls began to sing again in their wild fury and passion, and their pearly teeth sparkled like mirrors.
  Nightmare always comes like a snake,
  You don't expect him, but he crawls through the door!
  You are happy, generously well-fed family,
  You don't know that there are people who are animals!
  Here began the raid of the dashing horde,
  The Tatars are showering us with arrows!
  But we are born for a brave feat,
  And we will endure cruel blows!
  
  No one knows if God is good,
  Man has become so cruel!
  Death is already knocking on the threshold with its fist -
  And Wezelwul stuck his horns out of the heat!
  
  Yes, these are the times of our ancient ancestors,
  Which we got into so cool!
  After all, that wasn"t what my dream was about,
  This is not what we were going through the distant mountains for!
  
  But if you find yourself in hell,
  More precisely, in a world of pain, slavery, battle!
  I will still keep hope,
  Let your heart beat those rhythms at full speed!
  
  But trials are our chain,
  Which will not allow thoughts to be easy!
  And if necessary, you have to endure it,
  And if you shout, do it with all the strength of your lungs!
  
  He is a poet, a songwriter and a rogue,
  But not on the hot battlefield!
  The vile enemies of the Fatherland will die,
  They will be buried quickly and for free!
  
  Now take it, bow down to Christ,
  Cross yourself, kissing the face of the icon!
  I believe I will tell people the truth,
  As a reward, the Lord will give you a peculium!
  The girls sang well. Their voices were so radiant and iridescent. And full-bodied.
  And after the song, a whole battalion of girls suddenly farted. They rose up like pillars and rushed toward the cloud of crows. They seized them and pounced.
  The crows began to choke, and they literally suffocated and writhed, having received a noose around their necks.
  And so many crows fell down. And they pierced the tops of the orcs' heads. And the bears released fountains of brown blood. They were knocked out like peas being crushed.
  The girls laughed. And stuck out their tongues. Winked at the creatures approaching them.
  One of the girls chirped:
  - Orcs are not like people,
  Orcs, they are orcs...
  If he's furry, he's a villain,
  The girl's voice is very clear!
  And she winked at her friends.
  The warriors immediately felt a wild confidence. And their teeth sparkled like mountain peaks. Or perhaps they were pearls and treasures of the sea.
  The girls laughed and began to sing:
  O sea, sea, sea, sea,
  The boys are sitting on the fence!
  The orcs will be seen in grief,
  All the bastards will die in the end!
  And the warriors suddenly started whistling. This time, not only ravens fell on the orcs' heads, but hailstones as well. And those literally crushed the bears' skulls.
  Here are the elven girls, how they took on these stinking orc bears. And it turned out to be incredibly cool.
  Elfaraya was so carried away by her imagination that she did not come to after the deafening gong that announced that the feast was over.
  And after that, the guests began to disperse. They left slowly and in an orderly manner.
  Trollead noted:
  - We had an interesting show!
  Elfaraya nodded and clarified:
  - Not us, but them! We have nothing to do with it.
  The Troll Marquis replied:
  - In any case, for now we only have pleasure!
  The elf countess nodded:
  - It's hard to disagree with that.
  Accompanied by a pair of cats, they were taken to a separate, elegant room with pictures. And there they began to teach them the language again. Well, that was necessary too.
  Trolleadd and Elfaraya were actively engaged in this, repeating the letters of the alphabet and learning words from pictures, and then by association. They did it quite quickly. Both elves and trolls have good brains.
  The hobbit slaves brought them new pictures or some outwardly incomprehensible symbols.
  Several hours passed in this way, studying. Until it began to get dark.
  Then two slave boys brought them a tray of food, and a slave girl brought them a jug of wine. And it smelled quite nice.
  Trollead noted:
  - Looks like we are the guests of honor!
  Elfaraya noted:
  - But there's no such thing as a free lunch. Soon they'll demand something from us.
  The Troll Marquis replied with a grin:
  - Let them demand! It doesn't bother me. After all, you'll have to pay for the treat anyway.
  They began to eat leisurely, discussing what to do next. The two hobbit boys began washing the elf's graceful feet again.
  Trollead noted:
  "Learning a language is the right thing to do. But let's just say it's not enough. Maybe we could suggest a cannon design? Or even a multi-barreled weapon to hit infantry. That would be pretty epic! And a flamethrower wouldn't be a bad idea either!"
  Elfaraya giggled, noting:
  "We could make a flamethrower. It's not difficult. And using it in combat against infantry is a very good idea."
  Marquis Troll added:
  "And against cavalry it's even better. It's not comparable to hyperplasm, of course, but it'll pack a punch!"
  The elf countess remarked:
  "It's not the worst idea. In some computer games, flamethrower tanks look so impressive. You just look at them and admire them!"
  Trollead took and sang:
  One, two, three - tear the tankers apart,
  Four, eight, five - let's shoot quickly!
  Elfaraya giggled and noted:
  - Yes, it looks funny! And a flamethrower tank is a superweapon. And capable of a lot.
  The Troll Marquis noted:
  "It's hard to make a tank even with an internal combustion engine. We need something different. Maybe electric, or something even more advanced!"
  The elf countess squeaked:
  - Now that's hyperpulsar! And what about antimatter production? That would be absolutely magnificent and cool.
  Trollead chuckled and replied:
  "Yes, producing antimatter would be wonderful. And even better, making an anti-gallant grenade! And one the size of a poppy seed!"
  Elfaraya noted:
  "And release this antimatter like a cloud of dust. And it would crush everyone. And it could cover an entire army, and armor, shields, and even powerful catapults would be of no help to the enemy!"
  The child slaves brought them a few more jugs of rose water and offered to wash themselves. Well, they could do it again.
  The hobbit boys washed the girl, and the hobbit girls washed the boy and sang something in their own, very interesting and full-sounding language, how beautiful and full-sounding it was.
  The young man and the girl washed themselves, and then, without thinking twice, they sang:
  I heard your voice, Motherland,
  Under fire in the trenches, in the fire:
  "Don't forget what you've gone through,
  Remember about tomorrow!"
  I heard your voice through the clouds...
  The tired company moved forward...
  The soldier becomes fearless and powerful,
  When Elfia calls him.
  Our people are thinkers and poets.
  Brighter than the stars of our discoveries is the light...
  The voice of the Motherland, the voice of the country -
  In the clear rhythms of poetry and rockets.
  I hear your voice, Motherland,
  He is like light, he is like the sun in the window:
  "Don't forget what you've gone through,
  Think about tomorrow!"
  We hear your singing voice,
  He leads us all,
  And you become fearless and powerful,
  When Elfia calls you.
  The globe of the earth believes in the scarlet stars,
  We will always fight for the truth.
  The voice of the Motherland, the voice of Elfia -
  This is Elfin's living voice.
  I hear your voice, Motherland,
  It sounds, it burns in me:
  "Don't forget what you've gone through,
  Remember about tomorrow!"
  Let our road get steeper,
  We fly through the storms -
  The people become fearless and powerful,
  When his Fatherland calls him!
  After which the young man and woman drank another small glass of wine and lay down in bed. And began to have a wondrous dream.
  CHAPTER No 5.
  The absence of hell-bodies as pilots made it possible to reduce the starship's size, increase its speed and maneuverability, and increase its ammunition capacity. But the most important advantage was that it eliminated the need for a bulky antigravity system, whose function was to compensate for the ships' sudden acceleration and deceleration, preventing the fragile pilot from being crushed. In that case, the body would be reduced to a pulp. Consider the g-forces the body experiences at an acceleration of just a hundred G's, and here we're talking billions-not a single intact molecule would remain. However, for the starship itself to survive, an antigravity system is also necessary, but a weaker, cruder, and more compact one.
  The Skeletrascop was equipped with a gamma machine gun, a twin hyperlaser cannon, and six missile launchers, naturally equipped with a gravity radar and photon targeting elements. When a Skeletrascop was disabled, another would immediately take its place, and they would simply pour out of the carrier's belly. Furthermore, the spirits, possessing disembodied intelligence, could fly away from downed ships, controlling a dozen ships at once during a battle. Therefore, if one was lost, it would immediately switch to another. The psyche of humans, elves, and coffins can hardly withstand such a burden, but a spirit controlled by a necromancer could utilize its full potential.
  The pilots of the boats and anti-soyders immediately felt the power of the satanic, enemy invention.
  The nimble starships too often bounced off even the most sophisticated sights, based on the principle of gravity-photon interaction or those charged with magically charged hyperplasma. The skeletraskopai fired accurately with cannons and machine guns, but fired their projectiles from minimal range, greatly complicating anti-missile maneuvers and leaving no time to deploy interceptor missiles.
  The mobile minefields spewed by the station also posed a threat. They even resembled piranhas with their bloodthirsty instincts. Gravity radars with identification friend or foe systems identified their prey. Then, the frenzied swarm pounced on them. The force fields burst from overload, making it virtually impossible to evade such a vast net of torpedoes. However, considering that up to 150 electronic mines were expended on a single target, this was quite wasteful.
  Elfaraya encountered the skeletal excavators herself. The solution came in a split second:
  "We need to destroy the spaceship. Then the monsters will lose their control center. A spirit without a necromancer is like a hole without a pocket! And I understand, I'm out like a bullet."
  The girl fired several missile shots to clear a path ahead of the flickering skeletal excavators. A series of explosions, which the gravity lasers were unable to parry due to the missiles' high speed, paved the way to the spaceship.
  Elfaraya fired, the missile detonated, its main blast escaping the matrix defenses. While the spaceship itself wasn't destroyed, several rotating turrets were knocked down. This facilitated the attack for the girl, who glided through the half-dimensional space like a skate on ice.
  There's the reactor, we need to hit it right there, otherwise the hyperplasm will convulse and explode so violently that nothing will remain of the giant vessel. Elfarae, however, had to fire back at the skeletarscopai pressing on the left flank. A couple of missiles, and they dispersed. It must be said that being immersed in the flames of hyperplasm is unpleasant even for a disembodied spirit. So the creatures retreated from the desperate girl. Another turn and a salvo right at the junction between the matrix and the half-space.
  "Get a punch in the gut, Adapist!" Elfaraya said with glee.
  The Cosmomatkia shuddered, badly distorted. The elven girl delivered another "gift." There was a thunderous roar, and an uncontrollable reaction began. The Cosmomatkia disintegrated like a rotten stump struck by a sledgehammer. Several thousand skeletrascopas froze at once, ceasing to fire.
  "The first monster has been defeated!" Elfaraya said. "Now let's continue dancing to the soundtrack."
  The fairy warned:
  - Be careful not to destroy yourself!
  The plasma hurricane grew, the hell-boss cruisers launched more and more missiles, the emitters in turn sent out false signals, trying to disrupt the guidance system.
  Only a few minutes had passed since the battle began, and it already seemed as if a fiery hell had burst forth from another dimension, and billions of demons and devils had launched into an orgy of dancing, turning this section of space upside down.
  Blinding, brilliant salvoes of laser and hyperplasma weapons, misty lilac, orange, yellow, and pink clouds of protective fields trembling with overload. Glittering lines of projectiles could be seen piercing them, and suddenly, gamma radiation with a guiding backlight became visible. Exploded starships blossomed like miniature supernovae, flickering like sunbeams with which children play, fighters, boats, anti-soyders, and skeletrascopists. Even the fairy seemed stunned, giggling like a wind-up doll, especially since the visual observation showed everything in full volume and color, greatly magnified from various angles. This created a stereoscopic effect, and even Elfaraya lost her head. She was so absorbed in it that she didn't notice a fighter emerging on her tail. Only the shots and the hit of the gravity beam brought her back to reality.
  "Oh, that's awful! I'll get you!" The girl suddenly picked up speed and spun around, using the "Top Spinning Top" technique. Her opponent, driven by inertia, darted past and was immediately cut through like a paper bag with scissors.
  - What happened, the bastard! The result was sad!
  A shudder ran through her body as the two flagship carriers collided, creating a gigantic display of fireworks.
  "How awful! Unbelievable! This is actually happening!" her luscious lips whispered. However, her embarrassment didn't stop her from sending her such a powerful bomb that it shattered the cruiser.
  Alongside the fight, an image of the imposing General Kenrot appeared on the screen. It was clear he was watching the fight with growing anxiety. His opponent, like a seasoned boxer, took a punch and found himself hanging on the ropes, only to manage to push back and recover, forgetting his headache and aching jaw. He not only leveled the fight but also went on the offensive, unleashing his heavy punches. Uday Hussein tried ducking under the sweeping swings again, escaping into one-dimensional space, waiting out the sweeping swing and slamming into his opponent's most vulnerable spot. The smaller opponent sidestepped the giant and charged again, giving the brute a good shake. However, he continued to advance. The hell-bodies had an advantage: they could advance on the capital's sphere, preventing him from maneuvering too far. In terms of armament, the Adagroboshki-a race of militarists-were practically equal to the trolls and elves (though Elfaraya had already realized that it wasn't her empire that was fighting), and their spirit-controlled skeletraskopians simply overwhelmed the small aircraft with their expressiveness. General Husit noticed and shouted, so that Elfaraya could hear:
  "This isn't the first time they've used a weapon like this, but they haven't found an effective antidote. So, they've only managed to open it, not neutralize it. No matter, specialists will study everything and find a way to counter it."
  "I order the grapplers to flank the enemy, using a photo-ion curtain like 'Star Dummy.'" General Uday commanded cheerfully.
  The powerful starships were indeed able to deceive the Hellbosses and their dim-witted allies when they deployed the veil, making it appear as if hundreds of thousands of new, enormous ships had appeared in the sky, threatening to crush them. The enemy's ranks were disrupted, and the humans once again launched a counterattack. Fifteen hundred large and several thousand medium Hellbosses' starships were disabled.
  - What's bad, it's a shame we didn't hit the enemy with all our forces, since he has too much numerical superiority.
  Kenrot, wearing mirrored glasses and a general's epaulettes, cast a yellow beam from his eyes. They were even capable of incinerating something. He responded to this passage cheerfully.
  "What if it's a trap? If we put all our weight into the blow, we wouldn't have anything to cover our jaws with. Besides, the hell-bodies aren't exactly vacuum-sealed blanks; they'll come to their senses soon, and we'll be in trouble again."
  "Don't say nasty things, bad prophecies have a habit of coming true!" Uday interrupted him.
  - Be that as it may, we must be prepared to retreat, otherwise the enemy will surround us and besiege us according to all the rules of military art - quantity will turn into quality.
  - Then we'll beat the mad mongrel a little more, and then we'll go into one-dimensional space.
  "Yes, I wanted to say something else here, because we didn't manage to install the new miracle engines on all the starships, which means we still couldn't hit with full force," one of the nimble fellows revealed.
  - That's little consolation!
  Although the elves and trolls were conversing so rapidly that the human ear could barely discern their words, the space battle shifted again. The hellbeasts, grouped together, slashed at the center. Kenroth saw the elven cruiser, allied with the humans, a veritable swan of improved modification, burst out of one-dimensional space and come under attack from ten powerful vessels at once, including a colossal ultra-battleship. Terrible salvos tore the starship to shreds. But the forward section of the ship still rammed the battleship's base, causing the vessel to first smoke and then explode with a terrible roar.
  - A magnificent example, you are a kind of Gastelo! - said Uday Hussein.
  The computer reduced the intensity of the transmitted radiation to a safe level, but his eyes still involuntarily narrowed. The elf's cheekbones, so childishly smooth, tensed for a moment.
  "The price of this war is too high! We are paying a generous tribute to universal evil. My brother died on this starship."
  One of the elf girls squeaked:
  "War is the best proof that there is no God. He would have intervened in such chaos and stopped the lawlessness. For example, goblins believe in such nonsense and pray six times a day! They only take breaks during battles; war is also a service, they believe in it."
  "It truly is absurd that a higher intelligence needs such humiliating and burdensome rituals for people," Uday Hussein agreed. "It is strange to endow the Almighty God with such purely egotistical qualities."
  Elfaraya, while continuing to fight, nevertheless declared on live television, entering into a polemic with the elves:
  "It's not that simple. God truly is the Creator and Omnipotent: with a single thought, He can end all wars, forbidding thinking beings from even considering violence. He can, of course, do anything, at least in His own universe, but..."
  The most important achievement of intelligent beings is free will, and he has no right to turn them into biorobots, obedient and controllable!
  She was interrupted by Uday Hussein:
  - I agree about free will. We are obligated to grant even our children freedom so that they can learn about life. But on the other hand, wouldn't a father, seeing his children fighting, intervene to break it up? Besides, the concept of upbringing includes supervision of children. When someone stronger and wiser watches over their path in life. After all, there are angels,
  and where are they looking, because their task is to reconcile species and individual trolls, to help progress, to prevent evil from taking root.
  "That's just my personal opinion!" Elfaraya said out loud. "Besides, sometimes even kindergarten kids are allowed to live without their teachers." "So the Almighty will intervene when the time comes."
  "If I were God, my children would become immortal," the elf girl noted. "But I don"t need worship and prayers, the main thing is to see them happy."
  Elfaraya interrupted her:
  "Without death, there will be no incentive for progress. Everyone will think, 'Why bother? There's eternity ahead, I can do it all anyway!'"
  - Fight better! And enjoy the vice of war! - said the fairy.
  The stellar cannonade raged and escalated. More and more rescue modules and liquid-metal capsules, resembling transparent tadpoles, crumbled, struggling to contain the minimum amount of energy. According to unwritten rules, they couldn't be deliberately destroyed, but if they were in danger of being captured, their built-in magical computer could order their self-destruction. Furthermore, many modules were destroyed accidentally. The anti-soyders, reaching maximum speed, continued to pin down the enemy fleet, darting sideways as they did so, with thermoquark bombs detonating between them every now and then, each carrying several billion charges, capable of destroying a medium-sized city. Naturally, no force field, no metal, even the most super-strong, could withstand a direct hit.
  Defense systems ejected dozens of decoys from a single starship, while specialized weapons released capsules of gas that distorted the trajectory of lasers, causing premature detonation of annihilation missiles, and weakening the effects of gamma radiation. Hellbeast ships were also on the alert, with increasingly more thermal, electronic, and even gravity traps flying through space. Truly gravity weapons, which could tear apart metal, twist structures, and cause detonations, were the most dangerous. A gravity trap could weaken or disrupt the guidance radar of missiles, torpedoes, and mines. Several starships, having sustained gravity damage, veered toward a white dwarf and began falling toward this extinguished sun with its colossal density and gravity.
  The Anti-Soiders, having reformed, unleashed their fire on the enemy's largest ships-the ultra-battleships. These mastodons, each large enough to contain an entire city, boasted a powerful weapons system and, of course, a powerful force field. Against them, they employed concentrated fire from their grav-cannons, whose radiation was much harder to deflect with a force field. Furthermore, they could attempt to at least partially damage the generators. In this case, with luck, a terrifying thermoquark bomb could be triggered. The Anti-Soiders were daring, displaying great courage. The vacuum seemed to hum with energy saturation; to enhance the effectiveness of their grav-cannons, they were forced to close the distance, which was fraught with enormous risk. One of them exploded, flaring up in a torch of annihilation, then the second.
  "Maybe we shouldn"t take such risks?" General Uday said.
  The elf objected:
  - No, my friend, we need to destroy at least a couple of them. These barbaric machines are capable of bombarding planets from a very long distance, which means that when they approach densely populated worlds, especially our capital sphere...
  - I understand that they will be the hardest to destroy, or to keep at a safe distance when the main forces converge.
  "So go ahead! And let them get even closer. The ultra-battleship is specifically designed to crush the enemy without any risk."
  The strike platforms, on the other hand, drifted at maximum distance from the enemy; the specific nature of their armament made this tactic optimal, firing at cruisers and transports carrying landing troops. Due to a misunderstanding, someone deployed vessels filled with combat robots, hellbots, and their allies from among the conquered races into the battle line. Although inferior in maneuverability and armament to conventional starships, the transports had decent protection, but still, more than eighty of them exploded, and another thirty-four were seriously damaged. Considering each one carried over one and a half million combat units, this is a significant loss.
  Elfarai destroyed one of them. The girl accomplished this with a rather elegant maneuver. Like a skier, she accelerated to high speed and suddenly flipped the fighter so that it performed a seven-fold somersault, destroying two of the vehicles in the process. The young female pilot twisted, executed a graceful tailspin, and engulfed the reactor of the enormous transport, which contained two million living creatures and thirty million robots.
  - Well, I sure gave you a hard time!
  The Hell-Beasts, however, quickly learned from their mistakes; their volleys increasingly reached the platforms, while the Skeletrascopians broke through, slicing through the sieve of explosions, inflicting painful blows and even ramming them. However, when you're not risking your own life, it's easy to be brave. Some spirits belonged to the still-unidentified dead, flitting between worlds, not averse to increasing their own numbers.
  "Look, it looks like the ultra-battleship is splitting apart," the galaxy's hypergeneral shouted.
  Indeed, the anti-soyders, having come extremely close, managed to damage the generators and then launched a thermoquark bomb into the breach. Now one of the stellar giants has ceased to exist.
  "Let's all get to the second one, concentrate your attacks, don't spread yourself too thin," Kenrot shouted into the encrypted channel.
  They clearly heard him, and the anti-soyders closed in even closer, almost touching the force field, all the while maneuvering and dropping their traps. One of them exploded immediately, two were seriously damaged (only the gas clouds saved them), but the other ultra-battleship, with a crew of three million, began to fall apart.
  - Well done! - said the elf general. - We can add a third one.
  The Space Ultra-Marshal, a vicious saber-toothed tiger with a trunk, was stationed on one of the Ultra-Battleships. Seeing his beloved pets failing, he growled:
  "Immediately gather all forces to the strike force, destroy all anti-soiders! And immediately deploy the spirits of the parallel underworld!"
  While he was yelling, the sixth ultra-cruiser sustained heavy damage. It managed to carry off three of its attackers, though, and then lurched forward so fast that the anti-soyders barely managed to jump away.
  The ultra-cruisers began to retreat and regroup. Yet the humans and elves refused to give in; they pressed furiously, rushing after the enemy, their starships arrayed like a double-edged axe. However, defeating the coordinated formation of such powerful starships as battleships and dreadnoughts was no easy task; losses mounted sharply, and the cruisers entered the fray. One after another, eighteen anti-soyders were shot down, and six more were stuck in a gravity trap simulated by a wave spell. However, four more ultra-cruisers suffered serious damage and were engulfed in flames. Now the humans were forced to retreat, while the hellbeasts finally found the right tactics, trying to maximize their numerical advantage.
  Elfaraya, however, remained undeterred. Her missiles remained relentless in their destruction. A dreadnought, for example, is a perfect victim of attack; it could easily be burned to the ground. However, the starship itself is difficult to destroy; its reactors are hidden beneath shielding and thick armor; it's no wonder it's a remarkable ship, and very expensive. Elfaraya fired her first shot. A second later, another missile appeared; the girl, dodging a return shot, fired again. A hit! Another evasive turn.
  "He won't go anywhere once he gets undressed!" she said predatorily.
  It's hard to hit the same spot three times. But the computer guidance system comes to the rescue. Another blow to the already exposed area and the mangled armor, and the reactor, the heart of the starship, is destroyed! Explosions follow, and the dreadnought shatters.
  The bare, round, pink soles with gracefully curved elven heels quickly flash, scorched by streams of fire.
  At some point, all the small troll and satellite ships pulled back and began to cover the platforms from the skeletarscopists' attacks.
  "Our troops have lost the initiative," Kenrot stated.
  "Then we need to sound the retreat!" Uday Hussein suggested. "I'll appeal directly to the Star Marshal."
  "I declare a redeployment!" the marshal barked. His bearded face expressed a mixture of satisfaction and regret. The outcome of the battle can be interpreted in various ways; as Napoleon said in a joke, if he had had Soviet television, the world would never have known about the defeat at Waterloo.
  The maneuver, delicately named "redeployment," had been long rehearsed and repeatedly used in combat encounters and virtual exercises. Naturally, it was conducted in an orderly and swift manner. The entry into one-dimensional space began with a preliminary acceleration, first by the larger vessels, then by the smaller ones. Those covering the retreat were taking a significant risk, but the hellbeasts, apparently suspecting a cunning trap, did not actively press, limiting themselves to long-range fire. Finally, the combat units entered multi-dimensional space, becoming unreachable.
  "How much did this cost us?" General Kenroth asked his partner, Hussein, with a frown as the fleet successfully passed the black hole, gliding along the orbit of a giant gas clot so dense that it created its own gravitational field.
  "A decent number! Over seventeen thousand small vessels were lost, and over one hundred and twenty thousand fighters. Eight hundred strike platforms were shot down, with another eighty-four requiring major repairs. Three hundred and ninety-eight grappling vessels were lost, with another nineteen requiring repairs. Four hundred and seventy-two cruisers, nine hundred and thirty-one missile carriers, sixty heavily damaged, not counting tracking stations, reconnaissance robots, and minor damage."
  - Did you let the hell-coffins have any blood?
  - It's hard to calculate exactly, but approximately three times more than ours, if you take into account the large starships, in addition, almost eighty transports and ten superships were shot down, and six, it seems, will have to be sent to the rear at best.
  "Well, we certainly won't be demoted for this, but I'm not so sure about the reward. Basically, we were lucky the enemy wasn't prepared. They'll be much more cautious in the next battle."
  - Conclusion?
  - The chances are approximately equal, and the computer will give us a more detailed breakdown.
  - So upload the summary information.
  A minute later the computer reported:
  - The chances of the parties with optimal behavior on both sides are as follows: victory of the hell-bosses is eighty-seven percent, victory of the trolls is nine percent, a draw is four percent.
  - Not enough! - The marshal's face suddenly fell.
  - Optimal behavior is unlikely, give a forecast taking into account what the enemy has demonstrated in terms of control capabilities and what we are like.
  The computer calculated half a minute more and returned:
  The Hellbosses have a 66% chance of victory, the trolls and elves have a 23% chance, and an 11% draw. This is when both fleets suffer such monstrous losses that they can no longer fight: a psychological breakdown!
  "So that means we're losing, though not by much. One chance in four. That's already better," said Marshal Ivanov.
  Meanwhile, despite the lull, the tireless Elfaraya continued her brutal yet sophisticated hunt. The elven girl maneuvered along an unpredictable trajectory. Her missiles mercilessly pummeled everyone in sight. Her first priority was to protect herself from the numerous advancing fighters.
  However, two cruisers soon fell victim to her. Elfaraya disabled one of them with a butterfly maneuver. When it caught fire, she attacked the next armada head-on. She even managed to fire seven missiles in a row at a single point, without even going to the rear, destroying the ship.
  - Well, there you have it! Sleight of hand, dexterity of foot, the huge starship is dead!
  After which the girl even decided whether she should attack the flagship battleship.
  Then she heard a sob. The voice was female and very young.
  "I can't even imagine anything like this. It's horrific! My father is fighting there among the elves and may be wounded or dead."
  "It can't be ruled out!" Elfaraya sighed. "My homeland is on the brink of defeat. A hyperplasmic guillotine hangs over my civilization."
  The fairy tried to calm down:
  - I hope everything ends well! As they say, all's well that ends well!
  "That's in a movie, not in real life," Elfaraya objected.
  Suddenly, a storm hit the combatants, and everything was instantly covered in a caustic gas that caused matter to shimmer.
  Elfaraya whistled:
  - Well, that's quite a display of force! Someone drank someone away!
  The fairy noticed:
  - There is a special bioscanner here, it will give you the opportunity to act when others are blind.
  "How?" the girl asked.
  "It detects people's bioplasm and targets their contours. You have to admit, it's like an ancient infrared device in the dark."
  "Then I will continue the extermination!" the elven countess rejoiced.
  Now that the enemy is blind, killing has become much safer and... less interesting.
  It was like beating someone tied up-no risk, no pleasure, no flight of fancy. They managed to destroy the ultra-battleship, though it took a dozen more missiles, but the population of an entire country was sent to hell. The counter-destroyer they encountered seemed like a mere appetizer. Elfaraya didn't stop, but set her sights on another battleship. Her motto was to keep hitting while it lasted, to crush it with whatever she had!
  But soon the fun ended, gravity waves passed through, dispelling the haze almost instantly:
  "Finally! The more enemies, the more interesting the war," said the elf girl.
  Sparkling garlands of stars and the nimble, streamlined contours of starships began to appear. Some resembled fish, others roughly hewn stones, and still others resembled driftwood.
  The fleet of predatory hell-creepers seemed to have received reinforcements on the move. It slowed, approaching a belt of frantic pulsars, where enormous, sometimes planet-sized, blobs of plasma move rapidly along twisting trajectories, with matter particles frantically darting between them. This region was known as the Womb of Cosmic Gehenna. The armada of ships of the Children of Enmity began to reorganize, executing complex maneuvers. The purpose of this ruse was to prepare for a possible collision with enemy starships.
  The Hell-Grove soldiers had noticeably smartened up; their plasma computers had accurately calculated that this area could become the site of an ambush, launched by an enemy far more cunning and sophisticated than previously thought. Now the army was preparing for any eventuality. The Space Marshal issued the appropriate orders in a squeaky voice. The Hell-Grove soldiers had performed similar maneuvers in previous exercises, and their personnel had been intensively training, acquiring and reinforcing their skills.
  To replenish the losses, equipment storage facilities, specialized metal alloys, and energy reserves were reactivated. Repair bases were consolidated into factories that repaired starships mid-flight and even built new ones. They could be seen circling the damaged, massive forms of aircraft carriers and ultra-battleships. Welding sparkled, plasma beams poured, and gravity currents erupted, shaping the ion-dispersed metal into any shape. Some of these conglomerates were destroyed during the human attack, some were smashed by Elfarai, but many remained. These included robots resembling two-hundred-armed squids, as well as specialized mages who cast structural restoration spells. They worked in large groups, clinging to the starship, muttering through loudspeaker-like magical amplifiers.
  In addition, local wizards tried to conjure something more serious, something that was included in the arsenal of magical fighters.
  The sorcerers began tossing some seeds. A small spot appeared, gradually growing. The wizards surrounded it in a flock, shouting something into megaphones.
  "Funny!" Elfaraya said. "It reminds me of a cannibal ritual."
  A bud appeared, at first the size of a beer keg, then it grew larger and larger, first the size of a barn, then a medieval castle, and finally an ultra-battleship. The bud began to bloom, transforming into something between a carnation and a tulip. The petals began to stir, darting in different directions, transforming into plasma-spewing winged tigers. They released gravitic waves that threw the hell-dwelling starships in all directions.
  The shock, however, wasn't particularly strong. Elfaraya was surprised:
  - What are these, giant phantoms? I've never seen anything like them!
  "Something like that, only more tangible than it seems at first glance," said the strange sorceress. "It's a type of magical hyperplasma with a greater magical component than pure hyperenergy. That is, magic is mixed with physical manifestations here, but the latter are present to a lesser degree."
  - I see, more witchcraft - less science! Elfaraya laughed. - What a crazy dream.
  Under the influence of the flying sorcerers' commands, the tigers, apparently of the saber-toothed breed, lined up, apparently obedient creatures.
  The hypermarshal of the adagroboshek muttered:
  "Our race is smarter and stronger than tigers, we'll force them to submit. It's no wonder humans have a monkey-like nature."
  A pretty female general with a forked, spiky proboscis circled around the hologram and said breathlessly:
  "How can we go on a campaign without a dragon? We'll be like a mammoth lion cub without fangs."
  "They'll do more! I've already given the order!" The Space Hypermarshal waved his hand. The twelve-barreled emitter rose into the air and beeped:
  - What do you need, sir?
  - I'm a hypermarshal! A box full of grub!
  A pile of food appeared next to the dignitary's hell-coffin. Among them, a cake shaped like an Earthling ultra-battleship stood out. However, contrary to its proportions, long-tailed and horned cosmonauts danced on it.
  "This is my favorite!" The High Marshal began devouring the cream and incense figurines.
  The female general said:
  In my wild youth, I ran a brothel with prostitutes. They catered to the local mafia. There was this one bitch there who was constantly robbing her clients. Eventually, I stumbled upon one who was too sophisticated. I caught her and her friends. I stabbed her with a ramrod and ate her with wine, and at the same time, I gave her the thigh. It was so fresh, spiced, and smelled so delicious that I couldn't resist gobbling it up. That was the first time I tasted meat from my own species.
  To be honest, it had a very unique taste, a bit harsh, the girl was athletic.
  The Hypermarshal stated:
  "In some establishments, you can even pay to participate in the cooking process-either your own compatriot, which is more expensive, or another type, which is cheaper. It's especially fun to laser-cut a still-living body into tiny pieces. Have you tried it yourself?"
  "When I was collecting debts, of course, I tortured others and cut them, but that's primitive. Now other forms of torture are in vogue, particularly those involving microcomputers."
  "That's exactly the kind of thing we need to use. It's harder to capture a prisoner in space battles, but several of the types that escaped in modules and capsules are trapped. In particular, the colonel disabled the self-destruct program in case of capture. So we managed to catch him."
  A force field flew into the office. It held a charming elf. These creatures lived longer and clung to life more strongly than humans.
  The hypermarshal rubbed his greasy hands together as the emitter released a wave that absorbed particles and waste.
  - Well, now we have an elf. We can split him up big time.
  The naked colonel resembled an athletically built man, albeit with an overly thin waist and narrow hips. He was undoubtedly a handsome gentleman, but there was something effeminate about his overly voluminous hairdo, his golden locks and the smooth, hairless face of a girl. So from a human perspective, the elf was of questionable appeal. Elfarai, however, liked him:
  - Are they really going to burn this sweet young man?
  "He's not a young man, and fire is too primitive. They'll find a better, more effective torture."
  "This experience could be useful to us!" Elfaraya said. "The art of interrogation is most valuable to a tyrant. Although I don't know if it's worth trading my freedom for such a burdensome honor as power."
  The fairy added half-jokingly:
  - Torturing is disgusting, interrogation is necessary!
  The colonel tried to maintain a semblance of composure, but he was trembling slightly. His mind was probably racing with thoughts of how to keep his guard down while still preserving his precious life.
  The High Marshal asked him a question:
  - What are your command's plans?
  The elf replied:
  "I'm a simple colonel and know no more than I need to know. At the last moment, commands are transmitted to us, and my starship moves according to the received orders."
  The hypermarshal raised his head:
  "It turns out you're smart, too. You know how to get out of this. But that won't help you at all. Tell me how your starships appear and disappear so instantly."
  The elf tensed up and spoke in a weak voice:
  "I don't know the technical details, as I'm not a physicist by training. I don't really need them. I'm a cog in the military machine; I simply give a command and receive an order, and the starship instantly leaps into space."
  - What about inertia?
  - Even on your ships it is dampened by antigravity.
  - All clear, all the better, let's begin the torture. Call the ultra-executioner.
  A large robot with numerous tentacles flew into the room, followed by a disgusting and very fat crabtroll. Its short legs were visible as it lazily shuffled along.
  - I am at your service, space giant!
  - See this "elf"? Try nanotechnology on him.
  - With pleasure.
  The troll took out a remote control and began making signs to the robot. It began to move, its tentacles moving against the elf's forehead, neck, ankles, and wrists.
  "Don't forget his hair, either! It's so voluminous, and if touched, it would send an incredible signal of pain."
  "And it will be," the crab troll grinned grimly.
  Pinkish beams erupted from the robot's tentacles, striking various parts of the elf's body. He hung there, cowering, the force field preventing him from moving, not even an inch. However, even though the beams penetrated him, the handsome man felt no pain.
  "What is the essence of torture?" Elfaraya asked. "It burns him like lasers."
  - No! Micro-robots have entered the body. They will now attach themselves to various organs on the body, primarily those with many nerve endings, and will begin sending pain impulses. And some of the tiny chips will act directly on the brain, intensifying the nightmares. In other words, it will be the quintessence of a nightmare.
  - Tiny computers!
  The fairy continued her explanation:
  "Imagine ants crawling inside your body, capable of secreting pain acid. Only in this case, it would be even more terrifying. A special hypercurrent is used here."
  The troll turned on the hologram, and a three-dimensional projection of the elf's body appeared in front of him.
  "That's it, my little one!" the crab troll said with exaggerated sweetness. "We'll regulate your pain. We'll start with a thousandth of a percent." A hooked finger ran over the scanner.
  The elf winced and began to twitch. He even began to squirm a little.
  "It doesn't hurt yet, but it will now. We'll increase the load on your kidneys, you have four of them," the troll said mockingly.
  After this, the elf colonel's face twisted and he groaned loudly.
  - Oh! And I've only just begun. How about I feel my liver?
  The color on the hologram grew darker, and the elf twitched, trying to clutch his stomach with his hands. Invisible bonds held him tightly.
  The Crabtroll chuckled with satisfaction:
  - And now the stomach, there are also not like in humans, but three, so the pain will be triple.
  It was pitiful to look at the elf, he moaned louder and louder.
  - And now the heart, there are also three of them, these elves are a thrifty people.
  Elfaraya turned away, the countess girl fired another thermoquark missile that dispelled the grand cruiser:
  - I don't want to look at this.
  "I also think there's nothing interesting in torture," the fairy agreed. "There's no point in stirring up unhealthy instincts."
  "Now let's fry the brain..." the crabtroll began, and his image cut off, almost immediately replaced by space. It showed sorcerers in spacesuits performing a ritual over a small lizard.
  And then the reptile rapidly grows in size, looking monstrous, and develops wings. Strange metamorphoses occur with its heads: miraculously, one begins to split into two. First two heads, then a third emerges. It seems like an inflatable toy, it's growing so rapidly. And it terrifies everyone.
  "It's a dragon!" Elfaraya said. "And one as big as an ultra-battleship. Where do you see one like that?"
  The fairy replied with a grin:
  "Wave spells, the power of hyperplasm and magic create such monsters. It's understandable! It's incomprehensible!"
  - I myself have seen so many wonderful things in the last few hours that my head is spinning.
  Just as a top spins, so does the "dragon" spin its rings.
  Indeed, a fiery, iridescent bubble flew out of the dragon's mouth. It spun. The colossal monster closed its mouth, and the ball flew back.
  The elf-countess, however, did not lose her composure; she fired another rocket at the brig, causing it to evaporate in a raging flame.
  - No, you will not be spared! I will burn you all to ashes! And make your bed among the stars!
  Elfaraya whistled. The sorcerers whispered. The dragon continued to move its paws. Its entire body seemed to have become distorted, and a large bolt of lightning shot out of its tail, damaging its own armadillo.
  Following the child of the magical underworld, a hairy witch appeared, clearly not of the hell-beast race. She carried a huge ladle. The sorceress launched four arms, which unceremoniously dropped chiseled figurines into the vacuum. They moved, and after a short period of time, armies began to form.
  They looked extremely unusual against the backdrop of the ultra-modern starships. Imagine a typical medieval setting, with heralds blowing horns. The steel ranks straightened out. Dinosaurs began to appear. Not like those on Earth-there are, after all, significant differences in fauna on different planets-but no less terrifying. There were also siege towers, mighty ballistas, and ornate catapults.
  Although the army moved in a vacuum, it seemed as if the warriors, as well as their horses and unicorns, were walking on a solid surface. The shudder of the vacuum and the shriek of gravitational fields could even be heard.
  And as is proper in every respectable army, four imperial standards fluttered over the heads of the central group of magical troops, symbolizing the tetralogical nature of the empire.
  They were fixed on heads crowned with nine dinosaur horns, shaking their colossal crests. Each standard bore a martial design, evoking awe and reverence. Moreover, it was not frozen, but moved like a movie. A remarkable sight. Beneath the standards appeared the four lords of the phantom army. They stood out even among the knights in glittering armor that reflected the starlight. The Emperor in the center, the largest warrior, shimmering in topaz-yellow chainmail brighter than gold. To his right, a thinner lord in bright, scarlet armor studded with rubies. He seems almost gaunt, his face aquiline and sinister. The third commander is shorter and stockier, with a horned helmet and emerald-green armor. The fourth emanates a nightmarish glint of sapphires. They rode on unicorns: a black one in the center, the ruler on the right on white, and a red one on the left. And the ruler behind had a soft blue coat,
  Another fellow rode on a camel with a goat's head with ten horns. His face was indescribably repulsive and terrifying, his figure hunchbacked, his purple robe falling over the camel's hump, and he exuded a chill of death.
  "Yes, we've got quite the crowd!" Elfaraya concluded.
  The fairy noted:
  - How much magical energy did they accumulate that they created such an impressive army.
  "They'll pollute space with their corpses. I think even millennia from now, their descendants will be throwing back their icy remains with their force fields. And some of the unlucky ones will probably be knocked down!"
  Trollead shook his head:
  "No, Elfaraya, in a few days these phantoms will disappear, along with the magical energy that sustains them. It's like a heavy stone, or a barbell, that you can't hold at arm's length for very long."
  - I see! But how much residual magical dirt and semi-material images are floating around in space?
  "Pretty good! But don't let that worry you; you can clear away accumulated negative energy with positive magic. But it's a labor-intensive process, and it's not something to be done during a war."
  The halberdiers advanced, spreading across the ground like a glittering river of steel. It was somewhat reminiscent of the surf, only the waves were so sharp that it seemed every drop could sting. Countless spearmen marched in a phalanx, their spearheads terrifying, followed by angular, conjured knights. They lowered pennant-adorned weapons, including long, double-edged axes, toward the lush, multicolored manes of their horses. Behind them came a motley armada of dinosaurs. The largest of them were mounted with such elaborate catapults that it seemed they had nothing to throw; a simple thrust would send any army fleeing. The dinosaurs roared, and the infantry struggled to keep up. Oddly enough, many of the soldiers' swords were bloodied and nicked. This was ironic, since they had only just been created.
  CHAPTER No 6.
  "Amazing thing!" Elfaraya muttered. "They look so much like seasoned warriors."
  The fairy replied:
  "The sorcerers embody images of battles they've previously witnessed. So it's no surprise that many of them are like what audiences are used to seeing in imported blockbusters."
  - I get it. A perverted mind creates perverted images!
  Oddly enough, despite the vacuum surrounding the troops, which in theory should not allow any sounds to pass through, the growing noise of the offensive could be heard.
  Elfaraya blinked stupidly, it seemed to her that angels were dancing around her, looking at her with wide eyes and open mouths.
  "It's the effect of gravitational magic!" the fairy explained, without explaining anything. Seeing that her words had no effect, she added, "The phantoms' movements cause vibrations in various invisible vacuum fields, and this, in turn, is perceived by the ears as sounds."
  "Even with difficulty, I understood," Elfaraya said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
  At the same time, the countess girl launched a rocket straight into the womb of the space mother, once again shutting down thousands of flickering skeletal excavators.
  The roar, growing like a rockfall, interrupted the clear sound of the trumpet, and the sound of thousands of horse hooves and the bony feet of dinosaurs drowned out the clang of weapons as the army unfolded for the decisive battle.
  The hypermarshal of the hell-boshek, distracted from the torture that had become tiresome to him (the elf only screamed curses), shouted out a command:
  - Show me your beauty and invulnerability, my warriors. You are the bravest of the brave.
  They shouted in response!
  - Long live the greatness of the empire!
  A cosmic valley filled with the invaders' troops passed next to a strip of gravitational collapses, they pushed the phantoms, bending them into an arc.
  Magical armies, as if descending from the steps of a gigantic staircase, rolled down from the warped space like foam on the crest of a wave. First came the light, richly decorated cavalry, then the heavier camels and dinosaurs. The riders, looming over their horses' withers, spared no effort in their spurs, while behind them, a silver wave blazed brightly in the rays of thousands of luminaries.
  "Colossal!" Elfaraya said. "It's hard to accept, lest you be mistaken! You have to believe it. Although, it's easy to disabuse one."
  "That's the meaning of dialectical unity!" As Elfenin said, the mischievous fairy noticed. "A battle with fresh forces is approaching."
  The image showed the torture chamber again. The elf had turned blue and was gasping for air, his entire consciousness a blur of pain; he couldn't even scream. The Crabtroll was shamelessly picking at his crooked nose with its claw. The High Marshal yawned demonstratively, the torture losing its appeal.
  - All this is boring me, like the sounds of a violin. You can throw this carrion back.
  - Back where? - the crab troll asked again.
  - To the prisoner of war cell. When he leaves, the interrogation will continue.
  "Excellent, that's where it belongs." Crabtroll clicked his cigarette case. A cigarette flew out and lit itself. The executioner caught it in his mouth and took a greedy drag. A skeleton-shaped ring flew out. "Now I feel much better."
  The central computer's voice announced:
  - We have reached the critical zone.
  By the time the fleet arrived, stationed near the site of the frenzied pulsars, all work was essentially complete. The factories were merely replenishing their stock of skeleton excavators, churning out these relatively inexpensive machines. Just in case, they, like the transport ships and bases, were brought to the center under heavy guard.
  A variety of vessels, large and small, were stationed here, using an ancient formation system called a needle sieve. The main forces, according to computer recommendations, were distributed among mobile strike groups. They formed a wedge-shaped formation, with cruisers and battleships at the core, surrounded by fighters.
  The space hypermarshal, having taken a sip of alcohol mixed with a tincture of giant spider stings, made his request. His face seemed to grow even more wrinkled and repulsive, but his eyes glowed even brighter.
  - Are you confident that we can now confront an enemy capable of using unknown laws of nature to emerge from space?
  Another adagroboshka, judging by his smoother face and sparse mustache, a young man with mirrored glasses covering half his face, answered:
  "Our extensive military experience shows that computer readings must be correlated with one's own intuitive assumptions, then the result will be accurate. I believe having separate strike groups is the best way to counter a more agile enemy. Furthermore, I propose sending scouts ahead, including to the pulsar zone."
  A deafening roar:
  - For what?
  A thin, mosquito-like squeak was heard in response:
  - Our starships won't be able to get through them, which means that even simple-minded people will think that by striking from this side they will catch us off guard.
  "You're thinking rationally, General. If the battle is won, you'll receive a medal and a slap on the wrist from me personally."
  - No need for the last one!
  The armada of hell-grouse reorganized with the precision of clockwork. The advance scouting group, having made the jump, headed for the pulsar cluster. One of the unmanned ships crashed into the stream, was thrown back, caught in a multi-million-year hell, burst into flames, then exploded, disintegrating into photons. The others carefully scanned the area, sending out gravitational pulses, scanning with radar, automatically deflecting from the raging pulsars. Behind them followed the vanguard group, sixty-nine cruisers and two hundred and twenty-five destroyers.
  The starships, moving very cautiously, approached the gate, split up, and began to circle it from six sides. The pulsars generally moved around the stars in a spiral or circular trajectory, some along jagged lines. When they collided, they emitted gigantic sparks, individual plasma predators flying beyond the rings, wandering for a while, and then, taking on a teardrop shape, returning. Woe to any ship that fell into their jaws. The only consolation was that death wasn't particularly painful; you burned quickly. It was clear that the coffin-sized creatures shied away from the colossal pulsars, fearing them like wolves of fire. Thousands of small, motorcycle-sized unmanned reconnaissance drones surrounded them, then they circled the rings and flew onward to the radiant light of the gigantic quasar, Sharrunta. It pulsed in certain cycles, swelling and emitting so much light that it gave birth to new, colossal coronas, while at other times it calmed down so much that the surrounding planets cooled slightly and gave birth to new, unique life forms. Now the quasar was dormant, and worlds were blossoming. There were exactly twenty planets, and they were large but less dense, making it possible to build small factories and establish bases of operations on them. True, some species of flora and fauna could pose problems, such as liquid-metal trees with signs of intelligence, reaching heights of up to a hundred kilometers, or mega-radioactive creatures of various shapes, species, and elements, but they could be repelled with specially selected radiation. One of them was shaped like a butterfly, its multicolored wings changing shape like a blot on water. The creature was enormous, capable of housing an ultra-modern city, but overall it was harmless. However, the effect would be like an atomic bomb.
  Of course, living on such a planet is unusual, but it's a dream for romantics and poets. Overall, it's a very interesting world, not entirely stable, but rich in every way.
  Elfarai will be udi again if such a monster wants to cope in flight:
  - What a huge star! It can probably be seen even in our earthly sky.
  The fairy answered ironically:
  "When she's sleeping, hardly. It gives off less light, but overall it looks impressive."
  - Honestly, liquid metal trees are so unusual that it"s hard to believe in such a perversion.
  - And the presence of reason?
  In fairy tales, trees sometimes speak and develop personalities. And enormous specimens are quite common.
  "You see, Elfaraya, there's nothing unique in the universe. After all, where did all the fairy tales and legends on Elferea come from, if not from us? We told them, not just the fauns, trolls, and hobbits, but the elves as well, everyone who came to Elferea. For some reason, your Earth attracts travelers and wanderers with a terrible, incomprehensible force."
  "And also, I think, adventurers. "Avanti" translates from Latin as "forward," but in reality it means the exact opposite! Such acceleration leads to stagnation." Elfarai echoed her tone.
  The fairy objected:
  "Without adventurers, humanity would never have existed. You know, there's a legend that the first human arose because a hypersexual elf fell in love with a monkey."
  - Or maybe, on the contrary, because the gorilla raped a lustful female of this glamorous race.
  "I don't rule it out! In fact, most geniuses are the children of vice, because a woman always prefers her husband to a better man!" the fairy said confidently.
  "And there's a grain of truth in that. I, for one, would never sleep with an unworthy man," Elfaraya said.
  The girl fired thermoquark bombs nonstop. Each strike resulted in someone's death. However, this only fueled the excitement.
  The fairy cast a spell: "Sorry, my dear, I need something to eat too." A tray of food appeared in her hands. "At least a little." The sorceress threw a cut piece of fruit into her mouth and, after chewing, uttered a catchphrase:
  -Cheating improves genetics, since a woman will never want to carry an idiot under her heart.
  - I agree a thousand percent. We'll see what cards my race gets, though.
  - I hope it's a trump card!
  - Or speckled, which is essentially the same thing!
  Having received the initial data, the starships set off after the scouts. At that moment, tragedy struck: a colossal pulsar, the size of Jupiter, shot out of space at a speed faster than light, striking one of the strike groups. Two hundred large starships instantly burned and vaporized, while the rest leaped in different directions, nine of which were seriously melted. The temperature inside them visibly rose, the hellbeasts turned red, and some began smoking. Fire was immediately opened on the mass, but it was a waste of ammunition. The fire from the thermoquark missiles generated a shockwave that caused the battleship and cruiser to collide. The cruiser exploded immediately, and the battleship burst into flames, a peculiar, almost invisible, but no less searing, fire. Rescue capsules began to emerge from its belly; it was clear that ordinary fire-fighting equipment could not contain such a force.
  "Get away from these creatures," the space hypermarshal commanded. "And don't be cowardly rats."
  The starships closed the distance, distancing themselves from the danger zone. Their speed had increased slightly, and their readiness for battle had increased; their fingers were visibly frozen on the scanners and buttons. Even the seasoned Hellbots were nervous, biting their lips and trunks.
  Elfaraya swerved her fighter out of the raging gravitic waves. She advanced like a panther, clinging to every ridge of space. But unlike any ordinary predator, she hurled terrifying weapons at the enemy. Each missile was a demon of annihilation unleashed from the abyss. It swept away everything in its path, wreaking havoc. Elfaraya felt her strength growing, drawing ever closer to the flagship battleship. It was truly a colossal starship, with a crew of thirty million soldiers and five hundred million warbots. It could easily pass for a small planet.
  The girl had already broken through to him, her eyes sparkling with the fire of Gehenna:
  "The end is near for Elpheria's enemies. Having lost their leader, this horde will flee."
  Without a brain, a body is a dummy, not a body! But a brain is just a lump without a body. I'm closer to victory than ever.
  Elfaraya has broken even closer; the outline of the flagship ultra-battleship is visible. Now all that remains is to choose a vulnerable spot. The enemy fire is intensifying. The vacuum resembles glass fractured along many jagged lines. Now all that remains is to break through to the reactors. The fighter launches missile after missile. They rain down like anti-aircraft shells. Turrets and weapon platforms are blown off, but new ones are brought into play. Taking advantage of the slightly weakened fire, Elfaraya has broken through to the junction of the force fields and the half-space defenses. She fires one charge, then another, then a third. The main goal is to destroy one of the twenty reactors. Besides, if one is destroyed, the main one can then be reached.
  The countess fires more and more missiles. It seems the target is close. Suddenly, everything goes dark before her eyes and disappears. Elfaraya screams and opens her eyes.
  The haze clears, revealing rusty bars. The countess tries to rise and falls, her hands and feet shackled.
  "What the hell is this?" the elf cursed. She tried to break the chains with her strong muscles, but the metal proved too strong. Elfaraya realized she'd seen the massive space battle in a dream.
  "What a boring awakening! I was just a heroine saving Elfea, and now I've woken up a worthless prisoner. This is the mad spin of fortune's wheel. And here I thought a miracle had transported me to another world. What am I supposed to do now?"
  Several attempts to break the chains were unsuccessful. The countess, however, still found herself chained by the neck to the wall, which was even worse.
  She screamed:
  - And who will come to my aid?
  The elven countess was completely alone and half-naked in the dungeon. Her bare feet were shackled, and the dungeon was slightly cool in contrast to the hot surface.
  True, the creaking of a heavy steel door being opened was heard and two slave boys ran in; they brought Elfara several textbooks so that she could continue studying the local language.
  There were pictures here, and the hobbits lit a very original lantern so that they could be seen clearly.
  The elven countess eagerly began studying, as it was useful. Besides, there was nothing else to do in the dungeon. Then two more slave boys arrived, bringing her some sweet pastries and milk.
  Elfaraya studied the language for several hours. Then she ate a hearty meal and felt heavy. Then she curled up on the straw and fell asleep.
  This time she dreamed of something less military and aggressive.
  As if she were just a little girl. Walking across the lawn, weaving a wreath for herself. Wearing only a short, modest tunic over her naked body and bare feet.
  But the weather is hot, and it's even more comfortable this way. And the grass tickles the little elf girl's bare, childish soles. She feels good and happy, her body so light that she feels like she could fly.
  And indeed, the girl pushes off with her small, graceful foot and flutters through the air like a butterfly. Such is the ethereal sensation of sleep.
  And you really are so weightless, like a feather.
  Elfaraya fluttered, and a boy flew out to meet her. He was wearing only short shorts, half-naked and barefoot. He was also a very handsome and sweet child, but his aquiline nose betrayed the troll.
  The boy and girl bumped into each other and laughed. Then the little man asked:
  - Are you an elf?
  The little girl answered a question with a question:
  - Are you a troll?
  The boy looked at her, his forehead tilted, and remarked:
  - I can hit you in the forehead with my fist!
  Elfaraya giggled and noted:
  - Don't ruin my good mood! Instead, tell me, what is the meaning of life?
  The young troll replied:
  - In service to our Motherland!
  The elf girl laughed and replied:
  - Of course, this is necessary too... But there is something else. For example, the sublime!
  The troll boy replied:
  - That's philosophy. But you better tell me, does a caring Creator exist?
  Elfaraya giggled and remarked:
  - Of course it does! But that doesn't mean he'll just take over and solve all our problems.
  The young troll nodded and noted:
  - If the Almighty solved all our problems for us, it would even be boring. Like, for example, a computer game that's too easy,
  that's what's interesting!
  The elf girl replied:
  "Yes, on the one hand that's true. But honestly, I feel sorry for people. They look so much like us, yet they age and become ugly! Elves and trolls are so beautiful at any age!"
  The troll boy extended his hand and replied:
  - I'm Trollead - let's get acquainted.
  Elfaraya giggled and replied:
  - We already know each other! It's just that right now we're not adults, but children.
  A squirrel with bat wings appeared before the young time travelers. It fluttered and squeaked:
  - Hello, friends! Maybe you want to say something?
  Trollead chuckled and replied:
  Well, what can I say, well, what can I say,
  That's how trolls work...
  They want to know, they want to know,
  When the dead man comes!
  The squirrel with wings squeaked:
  - That's very interesting. But the dead come and go, but friendship remains.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - We don't have time to just chat. Maybe you could grant us a wish?
  Trollead confirmed:
  - Exactly! My fists are itching.
  The squirrel with wings sang:
  Wish, wish, wish,
  And then you will rush to paradise!
  Dare to achieve great victories,
  And break the backs of the enemies!
  Trollead noted with a smile:
  - Yes, I understand. How wonderful everything will be for us! Well, can you give me a bag of gold?
  The squirrel with wings squeaked:
  - I can do two bags! But not just like that.
  Elfaraya noted:
  "We understand, of course! Nothing happens without a reason. What will you demand in payment?"
  Trollead puffed himself up with pathos and sang:
  Unnecessary conversation,
  Let's go a different way!
  After all, we need one victory!
  One for all, we will not stop at any price!
  One for all, we will not stop at any price!
  The squirrel with wings chirped:
  - A hundred winged sayings, and I will give you a bag of gold coins!
  Trollead clarified:
  - A big bag, big enough to carry an elephant into!
  The squirrel squeaked:
  - Won't it be too greasy?
  The troll boy muttered:
  - No! Just right!
  The little animal with wings squeaked:
  -Okay, I agree! But the aphorisms must be witty.
  Trollead pouted and then began to speak energetically:
  It's hard to walk through mud without getting your feet dirty, and it's hard to enter politics without getting your hands clean!
  In football you need fast feet, and in politics you also need to be quick to avoid losing your footing!
  In football, they score a ball into the goal; in politics, they put a pig in the voter"s pocket!
  In boxing, the most necessary gloves are the heavier ones, to beat up your brains; in politics, the most unnecessary are white gloves, so as not to interfere with the dripping on your brain!
  In football, hitting the ball with your hand is punishable, in politics, hitting someone in the head with your tongue is rewarded with an election prize!
  Boxing gloves soften the blow, but white gloves in politics prevent you from getting a good punch!
  Boxers have flattened noses, politicians have deformed consciences!
  With vodka you can remove worms from your stomach, with a sober head you can drive politicians out of your liver!
  Drinking vodka can make you screw up, but with a sober head you'll dislocate your head.
  Brains. Vodka gives you a hangover the next day, politics gives you a constant headache!
  Vodka is bitter, but it also doesn"t contain the salt of truth, like sweet honey from the mouths of politicians!
  There are no bare hands in boxing, no clean limbs in politics!
  Vodka has degrees and warms you up, politics heats up the degree of discord, and only a sober head cools it down!
  Vodka will bring joy for at least an hour, but a politician will bring disappointment forever!
  Whoever drinks a glass of vodka will at least clear his throat, whoever swallows a bucket of sweet speeches from a politician will pollute his brain!
  Every glass of wine has a bottom, but politicians' promises flow from bottomless vessels!
  A drunkard drinks wine without measure, poisoning himself; a politician pours out the ambrosia of intoxicating speeches, killing those around him!
  Wine can make you sleepy, and a hangover will go away in a day; a politician's drunken speeches can put you to sleep forever, and a voter's disappointment will last forever!
  Vodka fits into a half-liter bottle, but a politician's promises can't fit into three boxes!
  Even an ordinary person likes to lie, but he does it without malicious intent, but a politician, when fibbing, will, without any love, play a dirty trick on a voter!
  A politician would sell his mother for the sake of power, but for some reason voters bring politicians into power who promise things that are not worth a dime!
  The pig is too fat to fast, and the politician is too fat to be allowed to live a pig life, so as not to fast forever because of him!
  Sometimes a politician's fine speeches bring tears of joy to our eyes, but when the talker gains power, we have to cry from disappointment!
  A politician is usually wingless, but always a vulture and a scavenger!
  Vodka protects wounded skin from infection, a politician's verbal diarrhea will infect you with dementia even through the skin of a rhinoceros!
  Vodka is inexpensive and lifts the spirits, but politics is expensive and depressing!
  A politician whose promises are worthless, but who promises mountains of gold, will cost the voter dearly!
  In football, if there is a violation, the player gets a red card; in politics, someone who plays without rules will never blush with shame!
  A footballer will score a goal with his foot according to the rules, but a politician will knock out someone's brains with his tongue without any rules!
  If you have a strong will, then your destiny will not be weak!
  He who has not tempered steel will not receive a medal as a reward!
  A small glass of bitter vodka is much more useful than a whole tank of the intoxicating eloquence of a sweet politician!
  A politician often has the pressure of a tank and the stubbornness of a tank, but instead of a lethal gun, he has a deadly, long tongue!
  A politician, like a tank, has the ability to break through the mud and withstand blows, only he moves with much more noise and stench!
  A tank designer values a powerful gun, while a voter in politics values a long tongue!
  No virus is as contagious as the bacilli of empty speeches of politicians!
  The biggest mystery is how man acquired the power of a god, while remaining a monkey in his thinking, a jackal in his habits, and allowing himself to be skinned like a ram by a fox!
  Chess has strict rules of play, and moves cannot be taken back, politics has no rules, and the pieces jump around in complete chaos, but everyone shouts that they are playing white!
  A ruler who likes to pull the wool over the eyes of his subjects is worse than a wrinkled old woman applying makeup to her cracked skin!
  A young woman barefoot leaves traces that are tempting, but if a politician puts shoes on you, he will leave such marks on you that everyone will spit on you!
  Politics is, of course, a war, but it doesn't take prisoners, and it's expensive to feed when the victors have only promises to give that aren't worth a dime, and you can't feed yourself with a pig you've planted!
  In war, everyone deserves a reward, but not everyone deserves an order; in politics, everyone deserves punishment, and every politician will receive the contempt of voters!
  It's better to listen to a singer without a tone than to a politician, with whom you have to keep your ears open!
  A politician is a pig in a clean suit and a fox in the guise of holy innocence!
  A politician loves to bark loudly and make deafening promises, but when it comes to fulfilling his promises, you hear nothing but excuses!
  It's better to beat up a politician who promises idleness than to twiddle your thumbs and lose your job!
  A politician is a cheap prostitute who costs too much and brings not only a venereal infection to the flesh, but also breeds the bacillus of insecurity in the soul!
  The most expensive are cheap prostitutes, especially if they are political!
  A politician is a prostitute who promises heavenly pleasure for free, but only puts a pig in bed!
  A politician can only subtract and divide in arithmetic, and when he becomes a dictator, he can also reset the number of terms in office!
  It's not a problem when a dictator resets his terms in office, but it's worse when all his achievements are reduced to zero without a wand!
  When the achievements of a dictatorship are zero, the terms of office are reset to zero!
  A politician uses his tongue, energetically appealing to the heart, but as a result, all his words go straight to the liver!
  The duller the ruler's mind, the sharper the axe of his executioner!
  Resetting the dictator's term will cost voters a pretty penny!
  The ruler loves to speak in rounded terms, just to nullify the eloquent failures!
  A vulture dictator is always right because he has many rights without borders, while a voter with bird rights can only fly abroad!
  If you want to become an eagle, stop flying with bird rights!
  Most often, those who show off are those who have bird rights and the habit of counting crows!
  Until you learn to count crows, you will fly with the rights of a bird and the ingenuity of a chicken!
  With bird rights you won't fly into the sky, but you'll fly into hell like a plucked chicken!
  If you have the brains of a chicken, the rights of a bird, and the arrogance of a rooster, then feathers are guaranteed to fly!
  Those who have the brains of a chicken count crows and seek only bird rights!
  He who counts too many crows gets countless problems!
  By counting crows you risk croaking trouble, by turning up your nose you will end up like a chicken being plucked!
  The tyrant thinks of himself as a lion, but feeds on carrion like a hyena, loves war, but does not want to pull the soldier's strap, loves to put a pig under and devour it with giblets!
  If you are mentally crippled, then the prosthetic education will not help you!
  Even without an education, a Leo is a better leader than a certified ram!
  A boxer has a strong punch in his hand, but a politician beats people's brains out with his tongue, even when he himself is weak in the head!
  A boxer has two hands and several combinations of punches, a politician has one language, and endless rehash of songs with essentially the same tune!
  A barefoot girl will put shoes on a man herself, stripping naked, leaving him without pants, and spreading her legs, she will squeeze his throat with a death grip!
  A woman, spreading her legs, squeezes a man's mammon to squeeze out golden drops!
  Bare female legs are great for undressing men who have no heads!
  It's better to kiss a girl's bare feet than to be a complete lonely idiot!
  A bull has literal horns, but a man without bull health will get figurative horns!
  A man who has been shod with bare female feet is a complete idiot!
  If a man is a bast shoe, then he is destined to be under the heel and barefoot!
  The squirrel giggled and noted, flapping her wings:
  - Not anti-pulsar! Now let the girl say a hundred!
  Elfaraya noted:
  - You said that only he should utter catchphrases.
  The little animal objected:
  - When it comes to receiving gold, everyone gets it, but only one can pronounce it! That's very unfair!
  The elf girl nodded:
  - Okay, I'm not greedy!
  Tollead exclaimed:
  - I can recite a hundred aphorisms for her!
  Elfaraya objected:
  - No need! I'll say it myself.
  And the barefoot elf girl began to chatter:
  A man has no greater enemy than lack of courage, and no greater problem than an excess of desire!
  The man is a lustful monkey with a sweet speech, but the stupidity of girls will cripple him!
  If you are a donkey in mind, you will work like a donkey for a fox, if you are a hare in spirit, they will skin you three times for a hat!
  You can make a senator out of a horse, but you can't make an honest plowman out of a politician!
  The easiest way to make a senator is from someone who knows how to make a knight's move, but for some reason any parliament is full of donkeys, and lazy ones at that!
  If you don't learn to walk like a knight, you'll be the emperor with no clothes!
  In any tournament there is a number of games and final results, only in politics there are constant zeroings and parallel counting!
  In boxing, punches below the belt are punishable regardless of the color of the gloves, but in politics they bring victory, especially if the gloves are not white!
  The man is not far removed from the gibbon, if not in intellect, then in lust the male is a typical monkey!
  A man has one perfection and two hands, but a woman seeks perfection itself with greedy hands and mighty dignity!
  Clowns in the circus generate healthy laughter and fun, but jesters in politics cause unhealthy laughter and disappointment!
  In chess, a knight's move often results in checkmate; in politics, knight's moves are always accompanied by checkmate from the voter!
  A bad musician has had his ear trodden on by a bear, and a stupid voter has had his ears buzzed by fox-politicians!
  Two strong, but different characters, give birth to an explosion, two intelligent, but different in gender individuals give birth to genius!
  Children are born from the love of both sexes, success from the combination of hard work and talent!
  Men want sons from beautiful women, and women want daughters from intelligent men. The conclusion is that healthy offspring require beauty and intelligence, but where can you find a combination of such goodness?
  What a woman wants, God wants, but a man"s desires are akin to the desires of a monkey!
  God created a woman as a flower for beauty, a man was needed as humus to feed the delightful plant!
  A woman is a rose, but far from a plant, a man is a rooster, but not winged, but a typical horned animal!
  A man who struts is like a bird, but wingless, sings like a nightingale, but is not a singer, promises a woman mountains of gold, but is not worth a penny in bed!
  A politician makes promises like an emperor, but when it comes to fulfilling them, he's an emperor with no clothes on. He promises the moon, but voters get a dog's life!
  A smart ruler does not seek to deify himself, but tries to give the voter a human life!
  Even an idiot on the throne can plant a lot, but a rich harvest is reaped by someone with remarkable intelligence!
  A dictator who imprisons many and sheds blood will himself sit in a puddle and roar in pain!
  A voter who votes for a politician who often mounts a horse will be lassoed by sadists!
  A politician is a mixture of a wolf in sheep's clothing, a fox with the sweet trill of a nightingale, a pig in a new tailcoat, but under him you will live like dogs!
  It's stupid to vote for a wolf in sheep's clothing, he might turn out to be a complete sheep!
  A fox in sheep's clothing sits on a throne, better than a ram in a beaver coat, a clever rogue will do more good than an honest fool!
  The throne does not tolerate fuss and barking, and fear is not a method to subdue, but the ruler rules roughly, gives orders, deaf to pleas!
  Empires tend to expand, but to avoid becoming a bubble of size that loses its strength, an ideology is needed that binds in love the hearts of people who have washed themselves clean of filth!
  For an empire to grow, it needs an emperor of great intelligence and considerable cunning!
  An empire sometimes resembles a large barracks, but an army without discipline is like a den of robbers, and an empire without law is an anarchy of tyranny.
  A country becomes an empire when a cross between a fox and a lion is on the throne, but as a rule, a cross between a fox and a pig gains power, turning the country into a pigsty!
  The politician wants to fly high, imagining himself to be of the eagle race, but in reality he is a clumsy bear, often flashing the stature of a donkey!
  A politician is equal to God in his ability to crawl like a worm into any crack!
  A politician is Christ in reverse: he went to the crucifixion for the sake of the spirit of the people, a politician crucifies voters for the sake of the lust of his flesh!
  A politician wants fame, but, like old lady Shapoklyak, regardless of age, she understands that you can"t become famous for doing good deeds!
  Not every politician is an old man, but every politician is an old lady Shapoklyak, who does dirty tricks to voters and seeks bad fame!
  The older a politician gets, the more he feels like old lady Shapoklyak, wanting to screw him over, and the less he feels like Helen the Wise, wanting to give him wise advice!
  A soldier doesn't always perform many heroic deeds, but always from the heart; a politician invents countless dirty tricks, always ending up in the crosshairs!
  Even the young politician who pretends to be a macho is nothing but an old woman Shapoklyak, whom smart people look at askance!
  Young women attract men better than older ones, but politicians repel masculine voters regardless of age!
  A woman's youth is sweet, a politician, regardless of age, is bitter despite sweet speeches and without the salt of truth!
  A woman loves a great mind much more than great dignity, but she will never admit it so that men don"t get arrogant!
  A woman will forgive if a man's dignity is small, but she will not tolerate a small mind and meager income!
  It is better to fall into the clutches of an executioner than under the tongue of a politician; the former only torments the flesh, while the latter cripples the spirit!
  It is better to rinse your mouth with bitter vodka to get rid of the infection than to let the sweet speeches of politicians rinse your brain to become infected with dementia!
  A politician has more lies than drops in the ocean, and more promises than stars in the sky, but not even a grain of sand in his conscience!
  The politician is old lady Shapoklyak, but instead of the rat Lariska, he prefers to steal from the voters himself!
  Old woman Shapoklyak uses little rat Lariska for her mischief, and the politician plays a huge dirty trick!
  The loudest falls are made by large cabinets and politicians with little intelligence!
  A politician willingly accepts donations from fools, but is reluctant to listen to the advice of the wise!
  A politician loves to receive gold in exchange for the silver of eloquence, but by keeping silent at the right time, he sometimes hits the jackpot and even more for something that is not worth a dime!
  A politician's long tongue only lengthens the path to prosperity and shortens life!
  A pistol can kill one person with one bullet, a politician can deceive at least a million with one word - long tongues are more frightening than pistols!
  Being a politician is already a diagnosis, and the disease is incurable and drives voters to their graves first and foremost!
  A politician may not become president, but he will definitely remain a naked king!
  The empire loves huge sizes, and politicians strive to do the biggest dirty trick and grab the fattest piece!
  Why does a politician put a bigger shovel in front of voters in order to grab a bigger piece for himself, while leaving people with the mentality of donkeys without meat!
  To snatch a big piece, it's not enough to be a pig, you need to be at least a little bit of a fox!
  In politics, like an acorn in the forest, every pig tries to eat it, and all around there are oaks and stumps from which the fox takes shavings!
  A politician wants to become the queen of the sea and have a goldfish running errands, but it's usually the voters themselves who are left holding the bag!
  Regardless of age, a politician, or an old woman Shapoklyak who causes mischief for everyone, or an old woman who wants to become the queen of the sea with unlimited ambitions, or more often than not, both together!
  A bear doesn't wash itself all year round, but a politician, like a pig, constantly washes his hands!
  A wolf can tear one sheep to pieces with his teeth at a time, but a politician with a sheepish mind can fool a million at a time with his tongue!
  It's not the worst thing if a politician snatches a fat morsel, it's worse when he screws over the voters and puts a female boar under their nose!
  God has many days, but a politician, even though he strives to be the Almighty, is such a devil that he has seven Fridays in a week and all his voters were born on Monday!
  A politician is an animal that strives to get to the top in order to shit on the voters" heads, and acts like a pig to make it easier to rip out the fat pieces!
  A dictator also loves to pour honey from his lips, but instead of the salt of truth, he has the tar of threats and intimidation!
  The politician promises that everyone will be resurrected under him, but he is only capable of morally killing with the deadly sting of his tongue!
  A politician wants to be the father of the nation, but the daddy is in a perpetual divorce from the Fatherland, turning voters into hungry orphans, handing over alimony like a big pig into his pocket!
  No matter how much a politician fleeces voters, no matter how much he puts shoes on simpletons, he is still the naked emperor and has zero empathy!
  A politician at any age tries to show himself as a young macho and a tough guy, but in reality he is an old woman Shapoklyak, and in himself a big rat and a pig!
  Old lady Shapoklyak does little dirty tricks, causing laughter, but a politician of any age does big mischief, and voters are not amused!
  A politician takes money from sponsors, votes from voters, gains power and in return gives only verbal diarrhea!
  A politician receives a lion's chair from voters, but in return he plays a dirty trick on them, and considers it a fair trade, so the dirty trick turns into a good cutlet for the voters!
  A voter is often a moth that flies to a politician's fiery speech, thinking it will warm his heart, but it burns him to the core!
  You can't step into the same river twice, but why does the voter allow himself to be fooled a million times by banal promises with the same motive?
  To deceive a sheep you don"t have to be a fox, to put a pig under someone"s nose you don"t have to get involved in politics!
  If you have the mind of a sheep, you will wear a collar until they skin you three times and throw you on a barbecue!
  In fairy tales, three heroes protect the country; in life, three qualities are a reliable shield: reason, will, and luck!
  There are no people who don"t have problems, there are no politicians who don"t bring nothing but problems to voters!
  Elfaraya's girl finished and stamped her small, bare foot, so that even sparks flew.
  The squirrel flashed its tail and answered:
  - Well, not bad! But do you really think it's so easy to get a whole bag of gold for just words?
  Tollead muttered:
  - And what do you want?
  The grasshopper replied:
  There is no pilot without the sky,
  There are no armies without regiments...
  There are no schools without breaks,
  There are no fights without bruises!
  Tollead countered:
  - No! All this only happens when played on computers in virtual reality.
  Elfaraya suggested:
  - Maybe I should just give this squirrel a good beating?
  The squirrel growled:
  - Just try it! I'll tear you apart in no time!
  And a bright glow appeared around the animal, as if it had swallowed the sun.
  CHAPTER No 8.
  Trollead exclaimed:
  - Wow... You can't go there bare-handed!
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - Just like with bare feet!
  The boy and girl exchanged glances and snapped their fingers. Sharp, glittering swords flew straight into their palms.
  The squirrel in the aura squeaked:
  - Come on, don't do that! I was just kidding! Let's do it this way: I'll give you each a bag of gold, and you'll sing to me!
  Trollead noted:
  - First a bag of gold, and then we'll sing!
  Elfaraya confirmed:
  - On a heavy bag!
  The squirrel spun around and chirped:
  The aliens appeared like nasty things,
  And the boy, hidden in a bag...
  And the boy fought back and cried,
  And he shouted: I am a useful animal!
  And how he laughs, quite brazenly!
  Then she took it and waved her tail. A heavy bag filled with something appeared in each of the boy's and the girl's hands. Apparently, it contained circles.
  Trolled opened the pouch. It did indeed contain gold coins, each bearing the portrait of a very beautiful girl. On one side was a profile, and on the other, she was full-length and nearly naked.
  Elfaraya did the same. And she already had a portrait of a handsome young man. And that's wonderful.
  The girl exclaimed:
  - Hyperquasaric! Now maybe we can sing?
  The squirrel nodded her tail:
  - I would be very glad!
  The troll and the elf sang in chorus:
  There are girls in the blue sea,
  Very cool, believe me...
  The beauties' voices are ringing,
  Consider yourself the most beautiful in the world!
  
  We are able to move our elbows,
  Straight into the mouth, believe the dragon...
  Let the evil orcs die,
  To the greatest defeat!
  
  We are such girls of the world,
  Why don't you rather dare...
  And until the very blossoming,
  Exterminate, kill!
  
  And with a sword, and with a sharp saber,
  We blow off the heads of evil orcs...
  We won't step on the same rake,
  And we mow down our enemies with a scythe!
  And we mow down our enemies with a scythe!
  
  If a girl wants,
  Pick up a pirate guy...
  She will jump on him,
  With a striking temperament!
  
  She groans on the seas,
  Chops off the heads of corsairs...
  And it kills men too,
  Crazy for a reason!
  
  Be a beautiful girl,
  To make you feel good...
  And cut off the men's manes,
  There will be thick stains of blood!
  
  For new victories,
  And deep changes...
  And such is the glory of our grandfathers,
  Registered filibusters!
  
  And they are capable of punching you in the face,
  Even Cain the fascist...
  The age of enemies will be short,
  And the movement towards communism!
  
  Then we will trample the orcs,
  And let's burn their filthy flag...
  Let's dismantle the scum into a wasteland,
  Santa Claus is a little tipsy!
  
  Time will be ours, girls,
  Where the beauty decides fate...
  The shot will be very accurate,
  And into battle AWOL!
  
  We disperse the evil clouds,
  We defeat the enemy...
  Our squad of flying fighters,
  Very nice girls!
  
  They sharpened their arrows in battle,
  They loaded cannonballs into the cannons...
  We'll hit you with a quick shot,
  These are definitely not toys!
  
  There are some lively girls,
  Muscles like chocolate...
  Legs are strong and bare,
  This is how the layout will go!
  
  Mountains are capable of being reduced to dust,
  Having crushed stones into ashes...
  You stop talking,
  This fried planet!
  
  We are planning changes,
  Very cool indeed, you know...
  Let them disappear into the abyss of troubles,
  They know the fruits are juicy!
  
  We will not cry bitterly,
  Shedding tears in three streams...
  Some people wear bast shoes in the summer,
  Well, we are barefoot in winter!
  
  Let's not forget the beautiful world,
  The one in which they were born...
  We will be happy forever,
  Soaring like a rocket!
  
  We are pirates - that's the word,
  I believe it makes me proud...
  Though the greatness of Sodom,
  Very nasty things happen!
  
  We drive stakes into the back,
  Cutting evil into pieces...
  There will be death, believe the vampire,
  And happiness to the wise girls!
  
  Elfinism will come soon,
  Let's open the doors of space...
  It will be a death sentence for the orcs,
  Our bold undertaking!
  Then Elfaraya woke up... and found herself back in the dungeon. True, there was a flashlight. And the elf girl began to seriously consider escape. She began rubbing one link of the chain against another. Sparks even flew. But then three hobbit boys and a cat entered the cell. And they began teaching her again. Which is very interesting in its own way. And you become more and more proficient in a foreign language. Of course, Trollead was taught too. Of course. But the boy and the girl were in different cells.
  And we couldn't communicate with each other. But it was still interesting and exciting.
  They taught Elfaraya for a long time, then a barefoot boy in swimming trunks brought her something to eat. Milk and cakes. And then they started teaching her again. And so a long time passed. The elf girl got hungry again, and again they poured a little wine into her milk. And the girl just fell asleep.
  And again she dreamed of something impressive.
  Elfaraya sang in front of a crew of people in military uniform with epaulettes, and a very young one at that, the officers were between sixteen and twenty years old, and she performed a whole poem with great enthusiasm:
  I wander tiredly through the universe,
  How much cruelty and evil there is in him!
  But I ask the Lord for only one thing,
  To protect the world of those close and dear!
    
  War, knowing no boundaries, came to me,
  She covered me with her merciless wing!
  The sword is sharpened, without a sheath,
  Here comes the evil dragon, sticking his snout in!
    
  But the elven knight, a powerful hero,
  Not even the worst hell can break him!
  He said to the thieves, "You are not a stealer of conscience,
  Since our honesty is our hope, know it!
    
  The thief was frightened and saw a terrible sword,
  There is a harsh retribution for lawlessness!
  We can burn the usurers at once,
  And a high award to the Motherland!
    
  He who has not loved does not know these torments,
  What a different solution will bring!
  But our fire, believe me, has not gone out,
  There is enough of us if we are together two!
    
  Of course, the strict God keeps track,
  He is not a protection for the weak and timid!
  That's the kind of score people were given,
  That the army of the living is shattered into pieces!
  But man, like a sprouting ear,
  When he believes, know that he will not fade!
  The escape of progress, you know, has not dried up,
  We see cosmic distances in the sky!
    
  What do we need in this world, success,
  Such is the nature of humanity!
  A cheerful, youthful laugh is heard,
  And a new culture grows!
    
  Conservatism is our cruel executioner,
  The chains of people's thoughts are bound like stone!
  But if it's hard, soldier, don't cry,
  We will be, believe me, warriors on strike!
    
  The long-awaited victory has come,
  And who else would doubt it!
  A man's thought is a sharp needle,
  He who is a hero does not play the clown!
    
  I believe the planet will find happiness,
  We will become, I know, all sweet and beautiful!
  And malice will pay us a fair price,
  The fields will be filled generously with ears of corn!
    
  We know no peace, that is our fate,
  How cruel evolution is!
  There is boundless chaos in the universe,
  In it, every creature is lonely!
    
  We are hoping for the best,
  That there will be happiness and fear will disappear!
  And they will become like all their own sons,
  And we will describe the new path in verse!
  The young men in uniform and shoulder straps applauded:
  - Magnificent, like Fushkin or Fermontov. At the same time, the love for our country is evident.
  Elfaraya modestly lowered her eyes:
  "I'm just a student of great poets. Ultimately, this is just part of my calling."
  Her companion, the seven-haired nymph Drachma, agreed:
  - Yes, you have a lot to learn. In the meantime, let's have a snack and a drink.
  They ate leisurely, and as is customary, they touched on politics, discussing the prospects of upcoming wars.
  The young guard sitting on the right was a nobleman from a very intelligent family.
  He noted:
  How many people, mostly prisoners, perished in the CSA while creating the most destructive weapon in human history. People were irradiated, their skin peeled, their hair fell out, and in return they received only beatings and substitute bread.
  The Troll regime is inhumane; what was once the freest and most democratic state has become an evil empire.
  Drachma nodded:
  "To implement the ideas of communism in the most freedom-loving country in the Western Hemisphere, terror is essential. Let's remember what Fitler's totalitarianism brought to Fermania. A nation of great culture was transformed into a pack of bandits."
  The young man objected:
  Fitler is certainly anti-feminist, but under him there wasn't the kind of terror we see in the troll-ridden states of America. And the Febvrei were stripped of their rights, while in the CSA there were practically none left free. In particular, denunciations and torture are rampant. Prisoner quotas and execution lists are being sent down to the cities. Sometimes, an entire division's worth of people is executed in a single day. Criminal liability has been introduced starting at age five. Did anything like this ever happen in Fermania?
  The nymph Countess Drachma recalled that in this universe, Fitler hadn't yet committed as many bloody deeds as he had in theirs. After all, the Trollishists had essentially launched a mass terror campaign, including against the Fevrians, after the attack on the Elfeith Union. Fermania had been destroyed too quickly, and the border battles had been brief. Trollism hadn't managed to show its teeth in all their glory. As for Trollemmunism, something savage, almost unimaginable, had happened: Phtalin had become the leader of the richest power in the world. Now the world had changed. And that had to be taken into account.
  Elfaraya noted:
  Perhaps this is punishment for the CSA for striving for self-aggrandizement and doing nothing for the starving and distressed peoples of others. The Bible, in the Book of Revelation, speaks of a beast with two horns like a lamb, coming out of the Earth. This is a false prophet who speaks like a dragon, subjugating the world to the beast. Most likely, this refers specifically to the CSA. The previous beasts emerged from the sea, symbolizing countries and peoples, or rather, their aggregations, while the land represents sparsely populated areas.
  Drachma asked:
  - Beast, is this trollmunism?
  "A distorted understanding of elfkunism without Christian morality. An attempt to build paradise without God is doomed to failure. Happiness without God is like love without a heart!" Elfaraya concluded.
  The young security guard noted:
  "That's a very apt observation. Fristos is a paragon of kindness. For the sake of people, he endured unbearable torment, accepting a second death on the cross."
  Drachma asked:
  - And what about the second one?
  "Experiencing separation from the Father. The division of the Trinity. He felt all our sins, including the most vile and terrible. It was monstrous," the young man said.
  At that moment, angels and representatives of the unfallen worlds, who had not followed Satan and remained faithful to God, looked upon him. A hymn of victory rang out among the crosses on which the creator of all things suffered.
  "Not fallen worlds! You're not quite Elvenslave, are you?" Drachma asked.
  The Elven Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience. My parents were Elf-slaves, but I later discovered the new Elf-Day Adventist Church. They explained to me how to properly believe based on scripture. In particular, even Elf-slave priests won't deny that originally Christians observed only the Fubbot and had no icons.
  Elfaraya nodded:
  "This is a legacy of Fiudaism. It is characterized by a fear of making any kind of image or painting. That's why there are practically no artists among Feudaism's people. And there is no prohibition on icons in the New Testament."
  Drachma replied:
  - How can I say, the second commandment remains. Thou shalt not make for yourself an idol.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - So icons are not idols, but merely intermediaries between man and Christ.
  Drachma noted:
  - It is said in the scriptures: - We have one God, One mediator between God and the elves: the eternal elf boy Fiisus Christ.
  Elfaraya objected:
  "That doesn't mean anything. God is also the only judge, but at the same time it says: 'The saints will judge the world.' So not everything in Theblia should be taken literally."
  The blonde girl squeaked:
  "But the saints have a purely advisory voice. Besides, the word "judge" only denotes an investigative judgment."
  Drachma interrupted the conversation:
  "I don't want to listen to theological scholasticism. Let's talk about something more mundane. And anyway, when people talk, especially about sins, I immediately lose my appetite."
  Elfaraya nodded:
  - I feel like a sinner too. I killed so many people. It's terrible.
  Drachma waved it off:
  - I said that in the Bible the commandment "thou shalt not kill" means "thou shalt not commit evil murder."
  And killing in the name of the Motherland is good. Especially if your homeland is holy. Not a single country in the world has dared to call itself sacred, except Elfia. Isn't that a sign of our country's divine destiny?
  Elfaraya remarked ironically:
  - And this is said by an atheist.
  The nymph countess answered logically:
  "I don't believe in the Fibrean God, and especially not that the Fevrians are God's people, but I do believe that Elves have a special destiny. As for faith, that's my opinion. Once upon a time, there was a civilization similar to ours. It began with stone axes and wooden bows. But as the years passed, millennia passed, the first machines appeared. At first, clumsy and cumbersome, then increasingly swift, cutting through space. And, of course, the computer, the assistant of any nation in intelligence, in the most important thing for civilization: thought processes. Of course,
  The creatures themselves also changed through bioengineering. They became faster, smarter, and had better reflexes, not as sluggish as before. Everything changed for the better. The creatures developed powerful weapons capable of shooting down meteorites and asteroids. They learned to control the weather, prevent natural disasters, fly, and teleport. And most importantly, they created a stellar empire that stretched across an entire galaxy, then across multiple galaxies, encompassing the universe.
  Elfaraya stated:
  - Sounds beautiful. But did they have faith?
  Drachma continued:
  "As on Themla, there were many religions, but they gradually died out. They were gradually replaced by confidence in the power of reason. Finally, scientists, harnessing the power of millions of planets, discovered existence and learned to create matter. This was a monumental breakthrough in the universe. Now reason began to create its own universes. Vast and quite real. Thus, our universe was born. It's quite logical!" said the nymph-countess.
  The young man looked at her, his eyes sparkling:
  - This is so unusual! Well, I'm amazed. The creation of other universes.
  "The latter is entirely possible," the nymph girl declared. "All you need to do is reverse the structure of the atom. Size, in particular, is a relative concept. For example, if you make a three-dimensional cube four-dimensional, its volume will increase eightfold. The same goes for an atom: with six dimensions, it's five hundred and twenty-two times larger than a three-dimensional one. With nine dimensions, that's five hundred and twenty-two times five hundred and twenty-two. And so on. With a million dimensions, a single atom would exceed the size of a galaxy. Then it would need to be brought back into a three-dimensional state, and we already have the matter for a galaxy. Structuring it is more difficult, but I think our descendants will figure it out."
  In the novel "The Temptation of God," this problem was solved by a multi-hyperplasmic computer. Its performance was impressive.
  "What is a computer?" the young man asked.
  "An electronic machine. The first fully functional computer was created in the FSSR. True, it appeared in the CSA earlier, and a prototype was also created in trollish Fermania. He even calculated how long it would take to wipe out the physical existence of all the Fevres in Fevrope. That was in our world, in yours, maybe the Fitlerites didn't have time. Generally speaking, it's a vile pathology to hate God's chosen people." She finished for Elfarai's friend.
  The young man nodded:
  In modern Elfia, Febvrei are also restricted. In particular, those who don't accept Elfoslavie. I must say, I was warned that if I became an Adventist, I'd be kicked out of the army. The people don't like such Febvre evangelical sects, and the elected authorities take this into account. Of course, this is bad, but everyone remembers how many Febvrei there were among the Bolsheviks, practically a majority of the party's central committee. Therefore, Febvreism is barely tolerated. Sometimes, especially in the Malofros province, pogroms occur.
  The girls exclaimed in chorus:
  - Pogroms!?
  - Yes, and the police turn a blind eye!
  Drachma bared her teeth:
  "That's how it was in tsarist times, and that's how it will be now. The Fevrei must assimilate. Although I'm an atheist, I believe a single faith isn't so bad. It just shouldn't be as pacifistic as the Elven faith."
  The young officer confirmed:
  "And this is already happening. Specifically, the council passed a resolution that a soldier who falls on the battlefield has all his sins forgiven, and his soul, having escaped ordeals, flies straight to heaven. Furthermore, each heroic deed and state award forgives a certain number of sins. The greater the deed, the greater the certain indulgences, which are also granted for wounds and atonement for guilt with blood. The list of saints has been expanded: Fuvorov, Frusilov, Fushakov, Fakarov, Fakhimov, Futuzov, and others have been included. Among the tsars are Alexander II, Fetr the Great, Evan the Terrible, Princes Fmitry of Ton, Fasilius III, Evan III, and many others. The main criterion for this is service to the Motherland. I am confident that Fukov, not a particularly religious man, will be canonized."
  Elfaraya stated:
  - What of it? He deserved it. Generally speaking, the Christian faith requires not only a cross but also a sword to protect goodness.
  Drachma confirmed:
  - Religion with a sword is not the opium of the people, but the surgeon"s scalpel that heals souls!
  It is better to kill one villain than to mourn a hundred righteous people!
  Elfaraya did not quite agree:
  "The most dangerous weapon is Fibliya in the hands of the wicked! Excessive violence can alter the very concept of good."
  The guard, who had been silent until then, remarked:
  "It's nice to talk about everything in the company of such charming girls. But talking about religion is too tiring. Maybe we should talk about something more civilized. In particular, how did you like the film "Triumph of the Will"? Our valiant army defeated Fermania. Actually, I've read "Mein Fapf."
  "Are you allowed to read troll literature?" Elfaraya was surprised. "It's extremism, after all."
  The officer answered confidently:
  - Why not! After all, it's fashionable to read Napoleon's memoirs, and Fitler is almost the equal of Mismarck. He restored the Fermanian economy devastated by the Depression, voluntarily annexed Austria and the Fudet region, and secured the patronage of Feodoslovakia. And mind you, unlike Napoleon, there was no war. And the trolls' lives improved under him. Unemployment disappeared, every troll could buy a car on credit, paying only five marks a month. Free tours of the Atlantic and Africa. In other words, the Third Reich was rising, transforming into a prosperous power. But it turned on us and was cruelly defeated. I think Fitler's provocations had something to do with it. In any case, it's good that the trolls didn't manage to create an atomic bomb, otherwise the catastrophe would have struck much earlier.
  "But Phtalin, who became the leader of the KSA, managed to do it! He brought down an atomic fist on Elfia," Elfaraya replied. "And of course, he'll pay for it! Killing him won't be enough; he should be paraded through the streets of Elfskva in an iron cage. And left in a menagerie, in a monkey nursery, for the amusement of the crowd."
  Drachma nodded:
  - As much as I didn"t respect Phtalin in my world, in this universe, he"s simply a monster hostile to the country.
  The young men, having sipped some champagne and nibbled on a swan's leg, leaned towards the girls.
  - Tell us about your world. How incomprehensible and mysterious it is.
  Elfaraya nodded.
  - It's a long story!
  - We are nobles, and it is not customary for us to eat quickly.
  The blonde girl confirmed:
  "Then I'll tell you briefly. The Elfshevics won our civil war. This may have happened because Folchak failed to issue a decree on the permanent transfer of land to the peasants in time. Peasant uprisings broke out in his rear. Here, the admiral also made a mistake: instead of negotiating peacefully, he withdrew troops to suppress the rebellion, leaving his southern flank particularly exposed. That's when the Reds struck. After that, the initiative was lost. After that, the war raged for several more years, with varying success, but overall, the Reds had the upper hand. Having lost Folsha, Minlandia, and the western regions of Ekraina and Felorussia, the Elfshevics retained power.
  "What a horror! The Antichrist has conquered almost a sixth of the planet," said a tall young guard.
  - Yes, that's how it turned out! True, Fenin wasn't a fool; he introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) and managed to partially restore the economy.
  "Fenin was never a fool. He's a demagogue of the highest order," the young man interrupted. "I've read his works; they're quite logical. Incidentally, his style and argumentation bear a certain resemblance to Fitler."
  "Well, yes, only one destroyed Fermania, and the other created a viable state," Elfaraya declared. "Only without God. Fenin didn't live long in our universe. He was given a special drug that triggered a stroke, so his death looked like natural. Among the suspects are primarily Phtalin and his entourage.
  The officer confirmed:
  - A treacherous fellow. He apparently stayed with you.
  The blonde confirmed:
  - Yes! Although, it must be said, he is a person of outstanding intelligence. One might even say, a genius.
  "Genius and villainy are incompatible!" the young man remarked.
  Elfaraya nodded her bright head:
  "That's what Fushkin thought, but most great rulers were cruel. Fushkin himself didn't stand on ceremony with his enemies."
  The officer did not quite agree:
  "But he respected human rights. When Fering was captured, he invited this ace over, and they drank a glass of vodka together. Fukov paid tribute to him as a warrior and a soldier. In general, Ferman Fering was against the war with Elfia. He now lives in the city of Sorochi and teaches at a flight school. It's worth noting that it was in Fermania that the world's first jet fighters appeared. Go on, Elfaraya."
  The blonde continued:
  After Fenin's death, there was no single leader for several years. A struggle raged between Frotsky, Finoviev, Famenev, Fukharin, Fykov, and Ftalin. The latter, taking advantage of the discord among his opponents, broke them up piecemeal. Having come to power, he launched industrialization and collectivization. He shed much blood and destroyed an incredible number of people, but managed to create collective farms and a powerful military industry.
  "We also have a powerful military industry, even without streams of blood," the young man noted.
  "It wasn't all smooth sailing. In particular, many industrialization plans were thwarted," Elfaraya noted. "But overall, in '41, the ESSR was ready for war, while the Third Feikh was not. Fitler was slow to transition the economy to a war footing."
  The officer agreed:
  "Yes, and in this war, Fermania wasn't prepared for it. Specifically, the trolls only had enough ammunition for a month and a half, and enough bombs for ten days."
  Elfaraya continued her story:
  "But due to leadership miscalculations and the suddenness of the attack, the trolls were able to penetrate deeper into our territory. They even managed to break through to Elfskva, to its very outskirts, burning down the suburb of Zolotaya Polyana, and the paratroopers even photographed the Kremlin."
  The young man answered incredulously:
  "To Elfskva itself? It's hard to believe. Although the folsheviks certainly did a fair amount of damage to the army."
  The blonde agreed:
  "You're quite perceptive. Indeed, Phtalin wiped out almost the entire command staff, executing fifteen of the sixteen district commanders."
  The young officer roared:
  - Wow! What an idiot! A Georgian fool! However, things are no better in the CSA. The entire previous ranks have been ground up. And in general, the Finnish are mediocre soldiers.
  "I wouldn't say so! They have many shortcomings, but they learn quickly. In particular, when fighting the mighty Epon army, they were able to turn the tide quite quickly. In fact, there were quite a few heroes and cunning saboteurs among them. Emerica was formed from all the nations of the world. Many genes interbred here, including Russian ones. So it's a viable space."
  - Elfarai noticed.
  Another young man gurgled:
  - Well, I don't know! And in your world, what wars did they win?
  The blonde girl began to tell:
  For example, against Firaq in 3991. In a month and a half, an army of over a million with five and a half thousand tanks was routed. The Americans themselves, counting casualties, lost only two hundred men.
  The boy lieutenant whistled:
  - Wow! Even Fukov couldn't have dreamed of such success. In your world, how did this happen?
  Elfaraya issued:
  - Active use of aviation and unmanned missiles.
  The young man noted:
  - Americans prefer the doctrine of Marshal Fadua!
  The blonde girl nodded:
  - Yes! They really love to bomb and intimidate.
  The boy officer laughed:
  - Just like in this world! Total terrorism.
  Drachma noted:
  "By defeating the CSA, Elfia will become the world's sole superpower. In that case, humanity will be united. Which is undoubtedly a good thing. We can finally begin our expansion into space."
  Elfaraya narrowed her eyes:
  - Aren't you afraid of God's punishment?
  The young warrior shuddered:
  - What are you getting at?
  The blonde girl hissed:
  When all nations and peoples worship the beast, God's judgments will begin. This is written in the Revelation of Saint Philip.
  Drachma objected:
  - Everything that Fioann wrote can be explained quite scientifically.
  - How so? - Elfarai didn"t understand.
  The nymph countess explained:
  "For example, a meteorite falling, a wormwood star. Which would make water bitter. Meteorites and asteroids have always fallen to Earth. And since the final date is not specified, the impact must happen sooner or later. Unless, of course, humans create a weapon that can incinerate an asteroid. Specifically, an annihilation bomb."
  We have developments on how to make antimatter. Have you heard of it?
  The young man nodded:
  "I read Felyaev. He's the leading figure in Elven science fiction. Yes, antimatter should produce a thousand times more energy than a hydrogen bomb, given its weight. Moreover, antimatter should have negative gravity. So the missile systems wouldn't be overloaded. In principle, such a weapon would be a good response to the CSA."
  "We can't use it on Elfle. It's too destructive, but in space it's perfect. Moreover, it will be pure, unlike a hydrogen bomb, and we can easily detonate the asteroid. It will disintegrate into photons, leaving not even dust," Drachma said. "In general, Fioanna's prophecies will not come true if humanity develops science. Specifically, any of the plagues is theoretically possible, but protection can be replicated. New technologies, in particular, will protect against solar heat and global warming. We can deepen the world's oceans so that land won't be flooded."
  The lieutenant asked in surprise:
  - How to deepen? With an excavator?
  The nymph countess objected:
  "No, with a series of controlled, pure annihilation and subatomic explosions. Do it slowly, gradually, to prevent a catastrophe. If the ocean trenches slowly sink, say, a centimeter a day, it won't cause a tsunami or colossal collapse. On the contrary, the planet will become warmer and more hospitable. Air circulation will also change. Cold currents will, as humans prefer, move from the poles to the equator, and warm currents from the equator to the poles. The climate across the entire planet will become like the Canary Islands, and the land mass will even increase. The planet will become a paradise, as predicted in Theblia, solely by the power of science. And in the future, we might even bring Elfel to Folz, and push Plywood away."
  Elfaraya shook her snow-white head, lightly sprinkled with gold leaf:
  - These are fairy tales!
  Clever Drachma countered with a smile:
  - Why not! Take someone living two hundred years ago and transport them to our world. They would be simply overwhelmed by the abundance of wonders. The airplane, the automobile, the submarine, the radio telescope, television. And especially robots, computers, the Internet, holograms. All this wonder, surpassing fairy tales. The Bible couldn't have foreseen such developments; does it even mention computers or the Internet?
  Elfaraya objected:
  - There's something similar, like when Satan showed Frist all the countries, kingdoms, and their glory in the blink of an eye! It was way cooler than the internet.
  The nymph-countess laughed:
  - How can you show it in the blink of an eye?
  The blonde chirped:
  - That's a miracle! What people are trying to replicate.
  She took the drachma and answered with a laugh:
  "Don't you think this isn't a serious conversation? The internet is reality, and we see it, and what's written in Theblia has the authenticity of Scheherazade's tales."
  Elfaraya noted with fervor, stamping her foot in an elegant boot:
  "People wouldn't die for fairy tales. People went to their deaths for what you call fairy tales. They were crucified, killed, and yet they believed. If the apostles hadn't had living testimony of Frist's resurrection, no one would have gone to their deaths for a chimera. Fraudsters and martyrs are all different kinds of creatures."
  The young man confirmed:
  - He speaks convincingly.
  Drachma did not agree.
  "And in Eslam, they also go to their deaths, even though they don't have Fristov's testimony. And even the fanatical Trommunists died, endured torture, and refused generous promises. So that's not an indicator. The nature of fanaticism is complex, but even I, a convinced atheist, would endure any torture for the sake of the fatherland. Why, I don't know myself."
  "Even without believing in heaven?" the young man asked.
  The nymph girl pouted and replied:
  - One can believe in atheistic immortality, granted by the hyperscience of the distant future.
  Elfaraya shook her head:
  - Pure fantasy!
  Drachma exclaimed:
  "They said the same thing about the plane, about the flight to Funa, about cloning, until it became reality. Even you and I are just a fantasy, girls born in a test tube and endowed with superpowers."
  The blonde girl muttered:
  - But that doesn't mean anything!
  The nymph girl said:
  - In principle, yes! Besides the fact that the possibilities for progress are limitless.
  Elfaraya chirped in response:
  - But, for example, many diseases still remain untreated. Take AAIDS, the FAB virus, anthrax, and bird flu.
  Drachma, baring her teeth, replied:
  "You mean the plague that wiped out a quarter of humanity. But there have been pandemics before, too, plagues, smallpox, killing hundreds of millions of people, but they were defeated. These terrifying viruses will also be consigned to oblivion. It's only a matter of time, and not particularly long. By the way, AAIDS, Faebolla, and some other nasty things don't develop in our bodies," the nymph-countess declared. "Not to mention that the most deadly disease, old age, may not touch our bodies."
  Elfaraya chewed a piece of meat. She blinked. She gathered her thoughts.
  "Even progress can only develop because it pleases God. As for space travel, you yourself know the prophecy."
  Drachma chuckled.
  "It's most likely an ancient metaphor. If the nest is a figurative expression, then between the stars, why should it be taken literally?"
  Elfaraya nodded:
  - Overall, it sounds logical.
  By this time the boys had already finished most of the swan and were starting on dessert.
  "You know what I'll tell you?" the young man replied. "Your thoughts are quite reasonable and original. But the question is, how do we win this war?"
  Drachma smiled broadly, her large pearly teeth flashing:
  "At the moment, our troops have gained the strategic initiative. Three hundred thousand killed and an equal number wounded and maimed significantly alters the balance of power. Not to mention the enemy's loss of significant amounts of fuel. Which in itself is a serious slap in the face. It should also be noted that too many are dissatisfied with the Communists. So, as we move through France, we will have the support of the local population. Therefore, victory is inevitable."
  - Then let's drink to this! - suggested the young man.
  The six of them clinked glasses. Overall, it all looked rather idyllic. Drachma expressed her opinion.
  - I have some ideas on how to increase the combat potential of our troops and speed up the healing of wounds.
  Elfaraya asked:
  - What bright thoughts?
  The nymph countess replied:
  - Cumulative effect. On one side, you prick the needles into specific points on the body, stimulating nerve endings and muscle fibers.
  The blonde replied:
  - It's a well-known technique. Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years.
  The drachma gave out:
  - True! But at the same time, it is not always effective enough.
  Elfaraya squeaked:
  - You need to know the points! There are about fifteen hundred of them.
  The Countess Nymph added:
  - Not only that. It's also helpful to add a small amount of beneficial minerals and herbs to the needle, as well as a gentle electric shock. A low-voltage current can have a dramatic effect.
  The blonde girl noted:
  - We'll have to test this technique.
  CHAPTER No 9.
  Elfaraya woke up... Her bare feet were still chained. And her mood, let's say, wasn't exactly high. To save time, the girl began rubbing one link of the silvery metal ring against another. This activity warmed her up and loosened her bones. Plus, she could saw through the chain and try to escape.
  The girl worked hard and began to move more energetically. She even began to sweat a little. And energy began to return to her veins.
  As she worked, she began to remember some of the battles in her previous life.
  Erimiada, a beautiful elf from the noble line of the Dukes of Falua, must take part in her first space battle.
  Next to her is Elfaraya, both girls are gorgeous.
  The Viscountess Warrior trains on a volumetric hologram. She fires green beams at the enemy's small holographic fighters bouncing around space. The beams bounce and hit.
  In this case, the blue car turns pink, and if hit again, it disappears completely.
  Erimiada is a tall, curvy woman. She possesses a rare and striking beauty, even among the eternally youthful elves. Her hand movements, pressing the joystick buttons, are confident and agile. Erimiada is a very agile warrior, and she sings:
  I have my first fight ahead of me,
  I will fight the enemy...
  And the Lord is always with me,
  He will teach you not to give up!
  And the girl shot down another target. Yes, a massive space battle awaits the elves and trolls. Thousands of combat starships have been deployed, from single-seat fighters to flagship grand battleships. And it will be the greatest battle of the year.
  Elfaraya, being more experienced, notes:
  -The real Lord God is the brave soul in our chest!
  And Erimiada's maiden heart beats anxiously. And her excitement begins to spread to her hands. The elf's graceful fingers tremble. And her hair, dyed the seven colors of the rainbow, moves anxiously. Now that's a warrior girl.
  Elfaraya smiles at her friend, her teeth bared as if they were made of chalk.
  Now the fighters in the hologram graphics have changed and have become smaller, but at the same time, very mobile.
  Now Erimiada could barely keep up with the buttons and even started to miss.
  Elfaraya smiles sweetly:
  - There's no need to rush!
  Elf Karl, already an experienced fighter, though, like all elves, he looked like a beardless youth, noted:
  - You need to take some EM potion!
  Elf Countess Elfaraya confirmed:
  - Accuracy magic won't let you miss.
  Erimiada asked in surprise:
  - Why do both elves and trolls miss so often in real combat?
  Karl, with the radiant smile of an eternal youth, answered:
  - Because other magic is used to divert eyes and other damaging, destructive objects.
  Elf Elfaraya confirmed:
  "Yes, despite all the latest space technology, magic hasn't lost its relevance. On the contrary, its importance is growing. Technomagic spells used in armor casting greatly enhance defense."
  Viscountess Erimiada took the golden, diamond-studded cup of potion from the elf's hands. She took a couple of sips. The hot infusion burned her throat.
  Then the girl felt a surge of power, and her fingers suddenly sped up, firing computer beams much more frequently. And then the fighters were hit more frequently, and at first they turned red, and then began to disappear altogether, leaving a pale spot that finally dissolved, like sugar in water.
  Erimiada sang:
  Elves are brave in battle,
  The heroes are fighting...
  In hand-to-hand combat,
  Tear apart all your enemies!
  In the Elven Empire, girls outnumber boys twelve to one. The same goes for the trolls, by the way. And it's delightful when the fair sex dominates.
  Elfaraya continued sawing the chain link after link. She recalled not only her own life, but also the adventures of her famous friend, which had also become near and dear to her.
  Erimiada received the newest fighter, the Korushun-11. It was armed with six cannons with magically enhanced lasers. The fighter itself was clad in transparent armor, providing excellent visibility, and resembled a flattened deep-sea fish.
  Elfaraya chirped:
  - I'm a bone-breaking girl, there will be a valiant catch!
  One of the elven youths chirped:
  - Hyperquasar and ultrapulsar!
  Before the battle, the girl donned a special transparent suit that revealed the curves of her beautiful, muscular body with its light copper skin. Her legs were also covered in transparent, thin, and flexible armor, but they were practically bare. In battle, she had to use not only her fingers but also her toes, so seductive and graceful.
  The machine wasn't particularly complex. To reduce the number of hits, it contained the amulet of the God of War, Seth. And some other protective spells. These also increase the fighter's survivability.
  Erimiada and the other girls paraded before the battle. Their chests and hips were barely covered by a thin strip of white fabric, and the elves' muscles, though not large, were well-defined and defined.
  Some of the girls were darker-skinned, bronzed from the tan; others, on the contrary, were a little paler. Their faces were beautiful, pretty, and eternally youthful. Elves live for about a thousand human years and never seem to age, not even by a wrinkle.
  Therefore, their age cannot be determined by eye. At over a thousand years old, an elf appears to be a beardless youth with a delicate face and sculpted muscles. But then they die in their sleep. Without pain, suffering, or disease. And so far, neither magic nor technology can solve this problem.
  For a human, a whole thousand years, and without aging, seems quite a long time. But elves really want to live.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - And what about man? One of the most offended creatures by the Gods in the universe and other worlds.
  Erimiada, however, is still too young to consider a natural death. Moreover, there's a chance of dying in battle. Although, despite the seemingly formidable weaponry, space battles are not as bloody as they might seem at first glance. There are many protective spells, various kinds of warding off evil, talismans, amulets, and charms.
  The girls, shaking their multi-colored hair, hang artifacts around their necks that are supposed to help them survive in battle.
  And Elfaraya, of course, is also involved in this.
  Young men fight separately. In general, there's a shortage of males in their world. Girls often fight over boys, and polygamy is common. Some elves have up to a hundred wives. And because of this, the girls miss their boyfriends.
  Erimiada sighed heavily. She was a person of noble birth, and more than one young man would be willing to marry her wealth. But would it be true love?
  Then an elf ran up to her and handed her another talisman, whispering:
  - You mustn't die. Take care of yourself.
  The talisman resembled a frog covered in platinum and studded with emeralds.
  Elfaraya confirmed:
  - Don't be embarrassed by its appearance - it's a very good amulet!
  Erimiada hung it on her chest. She held it easily and sang:
  Let the whole cosmos be plunged into chaos,
  And the vacuum shakes from the ruptures...
  The enemy will be defeated by the power of the elves,
  And we are forever united with the Motherland!
  After which, flashing their bare, pink soles, the girls ran off to the single-seat fighters.
  Both space armadas began to approach each other.
  The largest starships are the flagship grand battleships. There are five of them on each side. They resemble blue whales in appearance, studded with the barrels of thousands of cannons and emitters. Enormous starships.
  Next come two dozen smaller, but still enormous, grand battleships. Then about a hundred simple battleships. Then dreadnoughts, battleships, cruisers, frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, and brigantines. There are also cutters and fighters of all types. From single-seat, very small ones, to three-seat ones.
  The fleets on both sides were enormous: several thousand ships, and tens of thousands of fighters.
  And a tough battle is expected.
  Elfaraya even made a five-pointed prayer sign with her right hand, confirming her power.
  Flagship grand battleships carry the most powerful and long-range guns. And now they're firing at each other from a distance. From their tunnel-sized barrels, projectiles are fired at superluminal speeds. They streak through the vacuum like comets, leaving trails in their wake. And they pierce the armor with full force.
  But protective spells are activated there, and fiery whirlwinds of ultra-fire sweep through, causing almost no harm. Only here and there do the armor boil.
  Elfaraya, as a seasoned warrior, also knows this very well, or, as another way to say it, quasarically!
  And the elven girls scatter, their bare, round heels flashing. Or the elven youths, who, in their transparent battle suits, resemble ancient Greek hero statues.
  Erimiada shuddered as the missiles charged with combat magic began to explode. It looked rather terrifying.
  Even an involuntary tear rolled down the elf's tender cheek.
  The girl took it and sang:
  How long should I be afraid, I don"t understand,
  An elf, like a warrior, is born for battle...
  Fear is a weakness, and therefore,
  He who is afraid is already defeated!
  Elfaraya, being more experienced and seasoned, exclaimed:
  "Of course, fear is a very bad helper! Or rather, your main enemy-drive it away!"
  The large starships are closing in. Now the grand battleships are engaging in fire, followed by the battleships. A serious battle is unfolding.
  Numerous magical defenses, spells, potions, deflecting missiles, projectiles and energy flows reduce the number of casualties.
  Elfaraya noted with a smile:
  - Magic is always valuable among elves and even trolls!
  Now even the single-seat fighters are taking up combat positions. Inside the aircraft, it feels like you're sliding down a hill.
  The girl's bare feet pressed against the control buttons. You need to know how to maneuver in combat.
  Elfaraya also uses her bare, muscular and graceful lower limbs.
  Protective magic is best used to cover the forehead, but the enemy risks being caught in the rear.
  Her partner, Jenny, a beautiful elf and also a viscountess, squeals through the radio:
  - Don't be afraid! We'll fight as a pair, if anything happens, I'll cover you!
  Erimiada sang:
  A tail for a tail, an eye for an eye...
  These trolls can't escape us,
  We will show simply top class!
  A tail for a tail, an eye for an eye!
  And after these words the girl really perked up.
  Elfaraya confirmed energetically:
  - Keep it up!
  Now the clouds of single-seat fighters began to approach each other.
  Meanwhile, laser beams were launched into battle on the larger ships. It was truly a combat display. So many streams of energy rained down and erupted.
  Elfaraya watched her partner and maneuvered.
  At the same time, the large starships fired, lacing their projectiles with combat spells. These exploded with great and highly destructive force.
  And upon impact, numerous fragments spun. And metal literally burned. And the missiles traced circles in the vacuum.
  The elven girls scurried from one weapon to another, shifting shells and missiles. They were quite energetic. Four girls, pushing forward with their bare feet, dragged a missile loaded with combat spells.
  They loaded it into the breech and slammed it in. Something extremely lethal and destructive flew past.
  And the rocket, flying with the speed of a comet, hit the side of the battleship, punching a significant hole in it.
  Erimiada sang in delight:
  How we lived, fighting,
  And not fearing death...
  This is how you and I will live from now on...
  And in the mountain heights, and in the starry silence,
  In the sea wave and furious fire,
  And in a furious, furious fire!
  And the girl pressed the button with the bare, round, pink heel of her beautiful and seductive foot.
  Elfaraya confirmed with a sweet smile:
  The order of the commander during the war,
  When the plasma pieces fly...
  Full of love and great value,
  Sacred for star girls!
  Here come the fighters, closing in. Tens of thousands of them. Like a huge swarm of bees clashing with a swarm of wasps.
  This is how trolls and elves rush into battle.
  Both races resemble very young and beautiful humans in appearance. Only elves have lynx-like ears, while trolls have aquiline noses, slightly larger than those of humans. They also live for approximately four hundred years without aging. They also have twelve times more females than males.
  Which is very much to the liking of the stronger sex, but creates problems for the fair sex, although, it should be noted, it is very aesthetically pleasing.
  Both races have many similarities, but they have hated each other and competed for many thousands of years. They once fought with swords, arrows, spears, and daggers.
  And now we've reached a cosmic level of confrontation. And once again, combat magic is in play.
  Elfiada noted:
  - An eye for an eye! Blood for blood! And all around again, killing again!
  Here Erimiada sees the enemy fighters. They are also transparent and streamlined. And also charged with protective magic.
  The girl presses the button with her bare toe, her graceful, agile foot, like a monkey's paw, and maneuvers to reach the tail, where the magical protection and force field are weaker.
  Here her opponent fires beams. But they are reflected by the magical field. Erimiada feels a slight shudder from the beams' impacts and becomes a little frightened.
  It even got hotter in the cockpit. The girl presses her bare toes and hands again. And then she fires a salvo from her aircraft cannons. They also go on the defensive.
  Vibration is carried out.
  The elf viscountess sang:
  Don't slow down on the turns, elf.
  We will defeat the merciless troll!
  The girl turned her fighter. Both warriors began to butt heads, trying to get behind each other. They twisted and shifted, sliding down the inclined slope of the vacuum.
  Elfaraya, with a sweet smile that was so full of light, noted:
  - Don't slow down so abruptly! The laws of physics haven't been repealed yet! And antigrav won't completely suppress inertia!
  Erimiada recalled her training. For example, how she'd paddled on a surfboard during a storm. Her bare, childish feet would slip off the polished surface, and she'd have to twist and balance with her arms.
  It's both scary and exciting at the same time!
  The girl remembered how they'd unleashed a trained shark on them, and it had been downright terrifying. The powerful predator's twisted, tooth-filled mouth literally roared like a steam boiler.
  The shark also had horns like a bull, only larger, and it could make thundering sounds.
  Erimiada nearly shit herself then. Even though her sister whispered in her ear that the shark was only a threat and wouldn't harm her. This, however, was of little comfort to the girl.
  Erimiada then scratched her face and leg and squealed:
  - I'm not a coward, but I'm afraid!
  After which, the girl retreated.
  Now she's trying to outflank a more experienced opponent. Trolls have ears like humans, which is why they seem repulsive to elves. And their noses are downright scary. Although, in reality, they're not as big as elf caricaturists depict them to be.
  The female troll also pushes forward with her bare toes and tries to seize the initiative.
  Erimiada glances at Ellie. But this girl now has her own opponent. And she's busy with him, her maneuvering strategy locked in the viscous silt.
  But Elfarai has her own, and she can"t yet come to the aid of her less experienced partner.
  The elf girl tries again to wriggle out of it and find a convenient way to defeat the enemy. She's only partially successful.
  And then Erimiada is hit by a stream of enemy magic. And her bare heel is burned by fire. It's unpleasant, of course, and quite stinging. Erimiada angrily says:
  - The insidious spider sharpened his sting,
  And drinks the blood of the elf girl...
  Nothing is enough for the enemy,
  The one who loves the elf will kill him!
  And once again, Erimiada feels the heat of the enemy's cannons, which attack her with great fury and intensity. And the girl carries out intricate and complex maneuvers, trying to outplay the enemy in a very complex game.
  And then she saw that her rival had the gnome's mark. Her mood immediately worsened.
  And Elfaraya understood very well why.
  Dwarves are the most ancient race in the universe. They're not particularly fertile and they age, but they can live up to ten thousand years. They have special magic and technology. If someone gets their hands on a dwarf's amulet, you'll have no chance of defeating them or breaking through.
  Usually, the dwarves tried to stay out of the war between the elves and the trolls. They said it was their business-the eternally young and eternally drunk teenagers of two glamorous peoples. We dwarves are respectable.
  But at the same time, this people is very greedy, especially when it comes to gold, or the bright orange metal. And for a lot of money, you can buy a lot of valuable things from them.
  And this troll acquired an extremely valuable amulet.
  Erimiada felt the cabin getting hotter and hotter. Her muscular body felt like it was about to melt. Even her skin was turning red and blistering.
  The female troll pressed and squeezed her more and more. And she clearly had the initiative.
  Erimiada sang with a sigh:
  We have thousands of enemies,
  Burn, don't burn...
  We are searching, we are searching,
  Paradise Lost!
  And the warrior continued to maneuver, or even tried to break the distance.
  But she couldn't do it. And all her efforts went to waste.
  These gnomes are generally very terrifying and ancient in appearance, but they are also strong and powerful. And to live ten thousand years is practically an entire era, if not more. Trolls and elves are somewhat afraid of them.
  Elfaraya noted with a sweet look:
  If you get involved with a dwarf,
  It threatens defeat!
  In general, the most despised race is humans. They live short lives and age, physically much weaker and slower than elves or trolls. Humans are the lowest rung of evolution and are treated with disdain. Although it is said that somewhere on the outskirts of the galaxy, humans have already learned to do some interesting things that astonish even the technologically and magically advanced dwarves.
  Erimiada felt like she was about to be roasted like a ram on a spit. It was incredibly painful, and her skin was smoking. And the blisters were swelling. Well, that's no big deal; elves' wounds heal without leaving scars or cuts. And there's also medical magic. They can even regrow a leg or an arm if need be. Various spells, herbs, and technological radiation can work wonders. So there's no need to freak out and think it's all over. But if your brain is destroyed, your soul will leave your body. And what awaits you then? The elf even envied a little the humans who had come up with the idea that, while not all of them, at least the most righteous among them, would attain immortality, making them literally equal to the gods!
  Although, perhaps this is a purely human invention. Humans are not very numerous and are in a position of slaves to the elves and trolls. But they make poor workers.
  Elfaraya gurgled:
  - We are the strongest and most perfect, go to hell, you despicable people!
  There are even plans to destroy this race entirely, but that would be too cruel. The elven viscountess saw humans, and she didn't like them. Especially the old women, how ugly. Simply terrifying. How could anyone even create such wretchedness? And where were the demiurge gods looking?
  Elfaraya also asked herself a similar question.
  However, the latter live somewhere in their own parallel universe and practically do not interfere in the affairs of living beings. Perhaps the souls of elves also travel to parallel universes and receive new bodies. And that, too, is quite interesting.
  Elfaraya seemed to read the thoughts of her young and very noble friend.
  Maybe she's right to be afraid of death. But she's still so young. This is her first fight, and she doesn't even have a child. It's a shame to die like this, without offspring.
  But Elfarai does, and that comforts her.
  Erimiada's fighter began to fall apart. She felt the heat become unbearable and screamed in agony.
  And at that moment a melodic voice was heard:
  - Don't kill her! Let's take her prisoner!
  The female troll noted:
  - Do you think they'll give us a ransom?
  The troll boy replied:
  - She's a viscountess. And she has a rich family.
  A rope flew out of the fighter. It wrapped tightly around the elf, like a boa constrictor. And dragged her inside the fighter.
  And Elfarya saw how her battle partner was being taken away, but unfortunately she couldn"t help in any way.
  Erimiada was scorched by battle magic and laser beams. She was in great pain, and then the ropes squeezed. A special capsule swallowed her, and everything around her went dark.
  The troll boy cooed:
  - No! Show her the fight. Let her see and stay conscious. The fight isn't over yet.
  Indeed, the trolls and elves continued to fight. Ellie was finally able to knock out her opponent.
  And Elfaraya also pressed, and even some troll boat became covered in feathers of hyperplasm and began to smoke.
  Although it seems like it could smoke in a vacuum, but that"s how it is!
  And she chose to eject. The battle raged fiercely. One of the elven flagships, the Grand Battleship, suffered significant damage and began to burn.
  One of the elven officers chirped:
  - What a fire!
  The elf youth sang with sadness in his voice:
  The pain in my soul rumbles like a terrible storm,
  And the fire in my chest burns mercilessly...
  I love you - you look back proudly,
  The ice breaks the heart into pieces!
  
  You are the goddess of endless love,
  An ocean full of bright light...
  You break the shackles of sorrow, playfully,
  I won't see the dawn without you!
  And so the trolls desperately try to advance. But they suffer significant and noticeable damage. However, the irreparable losses are small-magic protects.
  Elfaraya fights like a mad tigress, and she's getting some mileage out of it, another Trollslayer is on fire.
  Erimiada is tied up now, and everything hurts. Only pride allows her to hold back her moans and screams.
  How could she manage to be captured in her very first battle? What a disgrace. What if they refuse to ransom her?
  In that case, she could become a common slave. She'll walk around half-naked, and be whipped every day by a merciless overseer. That's terrifying.
  And it would be good if she had to work on the plantations. What if she went straight to the mines? And there's such a stench there. From the excrement and from the lighting, even though it's electronic.
  Elfaraya understands such concerns very well.
  However, the trolls' flagship, the grand battleship, also suffered heavy damage and was rendered inoperable. The elves were emboldened, and the front line stabilized.
  More precisely, the front line in the three-dimensional battlefield is more than just a concept. Everything here is in total, dynamic equilibrium. And the scale of the battle is swinging with terrible force.
  Erimiada sang:
  My dear elves, my brothers,
  I wish you victory over the troll...
  Even though the results ended up being zeros,
  Our glorious grandfathers will be proud!
  And the warrior again tried to tear the ropes, imbued with a special kind of magic. But this caused such pain in her scorched body that the elf only screamed and calmed down.
  Elfaraya fought desperately and furiously, demonstrating her now legendary skill.
  Meanwhile, the elves began trying to push the trolls from the flanks. Or even outflank them. The trolls, in turn, began to extend their front. And the flanks began to lengthen, like the tentacles of a squid. And it was quite noticeable.
  Elfaraya also fights, and behaves extremely aggressively and skillfully, and her bare, chiseled feet are distinguished by their enormous agility.
  The Duchess Elmira commanded the elves and elven women. She was a very beautiful and shapely girl. Her waist was slender and her hips were wide. She wore transparent armor. Her shoulder straps were visible, as were the insignia of her orders. Which was also impressive.
  Elmira took it and sang:
  After all, from quasars to black holes,
  Elves are the strongest of all - they are eagles!
  For the glory of the army, the great army,
  We will defeat the evil trolls,
  We will be in rank and in full health.
  Above us in the wings is a cherub!
  Elfaraya took it and enthusiastically sang along:
  And our people are invincible,
  And only the Almighty God is our Master!
  This is such a wonderful girl, Elmira. She's a duchess and a marshal. And yet she looks so young. And she loves it when young men give her massages, kneading her muscular body with their hands.
  Special types of counter-destroyers, shaped like naked daggers, were sent into battle. They also use a special kind of magic, capable of literally burning everything to ashes. And what's more, not every defense will work.
  Elfaraya chirped:
  Darkness spreads its claws over the universe,
  But I believe we will bring the world order to a sensible state!
  Elmira pressed the buttons with the bare toes of her graceful, muscular foot and sent the order.
  And so the torpedo boats meet the pincer destroyers. And everything happens in a combat action.
  Elmira sang with delight:
  -Troll army - black baron,
  The throne of hell is preparing for us again!
  But from quasars to black holes,
  The elven warrior is invincible!
  And she winked at her partners.
  Here, a pair of brigantines clashed in battle with great force. Sparks flew from the force and magical fields.
  "What a blow," growled one of the troll officers.
  Elfaraya chirped furiously:
  There is a raging fire raging inside me,
  It's probably too late to put it out...
  She put the power of rage into the blow,
  He who shook the sky - shook the stars!
  Indeed, the fight was, one might say, fast-paced and practically evenly contested. The girls on both sides were equally competitive.
  And the young men were also worthy.
  The trolls were commanded by the Marquise de Juliet. She was also a very beautiful woman, tall, muscular, and aquiline. They, the female trolls, also suffer from a shortage of men. However, there are plenty of women. And they often hold command positions.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - Our gender is beautiful, and not at all weak!
  Julieta looks at the hologram. Her assistant, General Bushor of the Galaxy, a young man in a black suit with epaulettes, muttered:
  - Things aren't going so well!
  The girl marshal noted:
  - The fight is still on equal terms!
  Bushor nodded:
  - We need to get something that will allow us to have a decisive advantage over the enemy there!
  Julieta tweeted:
  I ask that no one be surprised,
  If trolls do magic...
  If trolls, if trolls commit,
  They perform magic!
  Bushor noted with a smile:
  
  The latest data suggests that scientific progress on planet Earth has accelerated dramatically. That humans will soon be traveling beyond the Solar System!
  Elfaraya had also heard of this planet. Where people, like idiots, detonated hydrogen bombs on its surface and fought each other like savages.
  And the troll marshal seemed to share similar skepticism.
  Juliet giggled and shook her head:
  - These idiots, do you think they're capable of this? I doubt it!
  The troll general noted:
  "It would be better to send a couple dozen battleships with powerful weapons and magic to Earth, reducing its cities to ashes. And then we'll have a guarantee of safety!"
  Elfaraya also thought it would be much better that way. People on planet Earth are quite aggressive. They attack each other and fight constantly.
  Juliet shook her head, noting:
  "The Higher Gods-Demiurges won't allow us to do that. This planet must be unique. Wouldn't it be better to send spies there so they can learn more about human technology and possibly extract something useful for us?"
  Bushor nodded:
  - That's possible. I'll send a couple of very professional spies there. It's not hard to disguise yourself, just change the shape of your nose, and you'll be indistinguishable from other people.
  The girl marshal nodded:
  "Magic can do anything. For now, go ahead and strengthen the right flank. The elves are about to break through."
  The general remarked:
  - What unpleasant and stupid noses they have. Just like people's. And people can only be slaves. It's disgusting to even look at!
  Elfaraya agreed with this one hundred percent. Humans are worthy of nothing more than slavery. And with age, unless they're enchanted, they become so vile.
  Juliet muttered:
  - And the ears?
  Bushor shrugged and remarked:
  - I even like them like this! So...
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  - Don't you dare touch our ears!
  At this point, another troll flagship, the Grand Battleship, suffered serious damage and began to fall apart.
  The female marshal noted:
  - Trolls are having no luck today. Time to retreat!
  The young general doubted:
  - Isn't it a bit early?
  Juliet logically noted:
  "If we delay, our retreat could turn into a panicked rout. So it's best to avoid defeat."
  Bush sang:
  The king taught the trolls,
  Look ahead...
  And for the sake of will,
  Stand to the death!
  Elfaraya herself didn't like to retreat. But here they finally got the trolls firmly in the way.
  The trolls began sending signals for an organized retreat. Magical flashes passed from one starship to another. Simultaneously, the ships began to retreat and narrow their defensive arc.
  Elmira, seeing this, ordered:
  - Let's squeeze them from the flanks and encircle them. We'll inflict total defeat on the enemy!
  The young elven general noted:
  "They're scattering magical mines throughout the vacuum. We need to be careful when pursuing them."
  Elfaraya answered with a smile:
  - And we have the most advanced trawls.
  Elmira sang with delight:
  - The offensive is our passion,
  Let's destroy the trolls of power...
  We shed blood aggressively,
  Let bright love arrive!
  Viscountess Ellie chirped wisely:
  - Not finishing off an enemy is worse than not finishing off your dinner. In the latter case, it's easier on the stomach, but in the former, the enemy will definitely crush you!
  Elfaraya added:
  If the rear is worthless,
  Military fervor won't help!
  Well, if there is no passion -
  The rear will be the enemy's lunch!
  Erimiada felt somewhat better. The trolls had been forced to retreat. Although they retreated in a fairly orderly fashion, scattering small mines charged with powerful combat magic. One of the troll flagships cracked and was towed by smaller starships.
  Elfaraya chirped:
  - And yet we won!
  As they moved, specially welded ships attempted to repair the damage. Hot arcs of electricity and magic hummed. Sorceresses darted past. It all looked quite spectacular.
  Erimiada's face was almost pressed against the screen, which showed her a full view of nearby space. And the viewing angles were constantly changing.
  The elf girl noted:
  - It's not such a bad prison here. They even show movies.
  And she began to whistle through her nostrils some kind of elven song.
  Skirmishes were still raging along the flanks. Individual single-seat fighters were also engaged in combat. From a distance, they resembled fireflies, their armor glowing with protective magic.
  Elfaraya also fired from time to time and launched ball, hyperplasmic lightning from the fighter.
  There were hits, and their destructive impact depended on the power of magical amulets and talismans. Amulets charged by the demiurge gods themselves could provide particularly powerful protection. But these are very rare artifacts, capable of making a fighter virtually invincible.
  Ellie continued to fight. She was furious. Her cousin Erimiada had been taken prisoner. It was both shameful and costly.
  Even Ellie wouldn't mind dying. And then her soul would fly to the judgment of the Gods.
  Although no, it's much better in the body. Especially one that's eternally young and healthy, like the elves.
  And yet, she boldly attacked the trolls.
  And she didn"t forget to sing:
  Don't spare the trolls,
  Destroy those bastards...
  Like crushing bedbugs -
  Beat them like cockroaches!
  
  And then she was hit by some kind of lethal spell and projectile. Sparks erupted inside the cabin. And it became much hotter. And the sparks slightly singed Ellie's skin.
  The pain from the burns dampened the Viscountess's ardor somewhat, and she retreated back to the protection of the other warriors.
  Elfaraya also exclaimed:
  - Be careful, Ellie! You're still so young!
  In the art of war, one might say she's perfection itself. Or rather, perhaps she's simply a good warrior and a decent sorceress. She knows both how to defend herself and how to attack.
  Ellie pressed the button with her bare, round heel. A mine erupted, instantly becoming invisible thanks to a cloaking spell. Yeah, that was pretty cool, I guess.
  The Viscountess watched as the troll fighter raced after her. The destructive element was drawn to it.
  And then there was an explosion, the fighter hit an invisible sledgehammer and crumpled. Then it burst into flames. The female troll barely managed to eject. But Ellie immediately activated the tractor beam.
  Let her have a captive too.
  Troll women are just as beautiful, slender, and muscular as elves. And they also have a male deficit, twelve to one, which means competition and struggle for the females.
  The troll girl frantically flailed her arms and legs. She wore a transparent battlesuit. Her muscles tensed, and her light bronze skin glistened with sweat. Her face was contorted. And the characteristic aquiline nose of trolls gave her a predatory expression. But when a female troll is frightened, it's like a bird in a snare.
  Ellie rubbed her palms and sang:
  In captivity, a beauty like a bird,
  Once upon a time she was a predator...
  Now she sits in prison,
  And he remembers the eagle there!
  The female troll, no matter how hard she struggled, was unable to escape the spell-enhanced tractor beam.
  A small capsule, resembling a small shark, flew up to her. It snapped its jaws shut, swallowing the poor troll. And moved to the rear. Perhaps a prisoner exchange would take place.
  
  Gradually, the distance between the space fleets increased. The trolls retreated to the cover of planetary batteries. But storming the fortress planet proved difficult.
  Ellie asked her partner Elfaraya:
  - Well, how was the fight?
  She replied with a sigh:
  - Not really!
  Ellie was surprised:
  -Why?
  Elfaraya logically noted:
  - Erimiada is in captivity. And she's possibly being tortured.
  The Viscountess growled in annoyance:
  - Don't remind me. Actually, torture is actually quite beneficial. Specifically, it builds courage.
  The capsule carried Erimiad to the fortress planet. There she was to be taken to prison. With a sigh, the girl began to sing a song that was supposed to give her at least a little courage before what she thought would be the upcoming interrogation.
  Torture could be brutal, although various treaties existed on the matter. But theory is one thing, practice another. Many terrible stories were told about trolls. Of course, trolls also told the same about elves.
  It was a kind of psychological warfare, fueling mutual hatred. The two races had been competing for many thousands of years. They fought back when humans still wore animal skins and wielded stone axes.
  Elfaraya's memories were interrupted. Three hobbit-born slave boys entered the cell. They brought food: cakes and milk. Overjoyed, the elven countess pounced on the food. And quickly devoured it.
  After which she felt a heaviness inside her and fell asleep. And she dreamed again.
  CHAPTER No 10.
  Elfaraya, baring her pearly teeth, replied:
  - Yes, it seems they didn"t teach us anything like that at the Russian Federal Security Service.
  - We did teach them, but only individually. No comprehensive approach.
  - This is a significant disadvantage.
  The girls exchanged glances. The young man asked:
  - How will it work?
  The warriors answered in chorus:
  "Very effective! We just need to detail the methodology. The elven army's combat effectiveness will increase exponentially."
  One of the young men squeaked:
  - Wow!
  Drachma added:
  - And not only that, physical strength, reaction, and grip will increase.
  The young officer said:
  - This will impress the enemies.
  The Nymph Countess squeaked:
  "And us too! First of all, surprise yourself. Actually, we still have time, let's finish eating and test the new amplification system on you guys."
  "Furthermore, I will teach you meditation, which will enhance your shooting abilities," Elfaraya declared.
  The girls gobbled up the dessert almost instantly. Drachma urged the slow-moving guys on.
  - Why are you taking so long with the donut?
  The young men gurgled:
  - Yes, problems arose.
  The Nymph Countess roared:
  - It happens, but we will resolve them quickly.
  The young men burst out laughing, and the tallest of them said:
  - We are nobles after all. We must observe proper food standards.
  Elfaraya objected:
  - What if it's already a fight? And every second counts. You're obviously pretty timid.
  Drachma added:
  - He who eats long, lives short!
  - Well, that's a different story! - the young man objected. - Food must be chewed thoroughly.
  "Not at the expense of the Motherland," Elfaraya declared. "Especially since our stomachs can digest even tree bark."
  "It's just scary with you!" the guys said half-jokingly.
  Once they had finished eating, the girls suggested taking a shower together.
  - Before exercise, the body must be clean and breathing.
  Naturally, they readily agreed. Only the religious guy was embarrassed:
  - But we will be naked!
  Drachma stated confidently:
  - So what! Nudity is natural, and therefore not criminal.
  The young man noted:
  - And you are naked too.
  Drachma stated confidently:
  "But didn't men and women wash together in baths in ancient Elfia? There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
  The young men squeaked:
  - Just don't tempt us.
  "We are engaged in pure science. Not for the sake of debauchery, but for the sake of honor and the Motherland," said Elfaraya.
  The shower inside the general's hotel was impressive, gilded and studded with semiprecious stones. But the greatest treasure was the girls themselves, so special and ethereal. Their appearance was seductive and enchanting, inflaming and chilling all at once. Nevertheless, the young women behaved with restraint, although Drachma herself rubbed the boys' backs and asked them to do the same for her. Elfaraya also allowed the boy to scrub her marvelous yet firm legs with a washcloth. He happily agreed.
  After washing and drying themselves, the boys headed to the gym wearing only their underwear. The girls sat them down in a chair, took out the needles, and began preparing, wiping them down with oils and alcohol.
  "Come on, show us your best results first!" Elfaraya suggested.
  The boys squeaked:
  - For what?
  "We want to know how effective our method is," Drachma said. "It's very important. Besides, there's a shooting range nearby; it wouldn't be a bad idea to try it out there, too. Do you agree?"
  The young man nodded:
  - We shoot pretty well!
  "Well, that depends on what standards you're using," Elfaraya noted. "Our goal is to make real aces out of you."
  The young men chirped:
  - But not like Fering.
  - Of course! He's too fat, and you're so slim. - The girl licked the corner of her mouth.
  "Should we get dressed?" asked the Adventist.
  "No! It's not worth it. We need to see every muscle move, every twitch of your vein," Elfaraya said. "This is science and physical training, not debauchery."
  "For the sake of science, we are ready to endure!" the boys agreed.
  Drachma greedily kissed the prettiest of them on the lips. He blushed and became embarrassed:
  -Why like this!
  The warrior nymph answered confidently:
  - It's okay, I'm the senior in rank! So the responsibility will fall on me.
  The guys started warming up. They did squats, bench presses, deadlifts, abs, biceps, traps, and much more. Overall, the guys showed results comparable to those of a Candidate for Master of Sports, which is quite impressive, especially considering they don't use doping. Oddly enough, the smallest of them, a Seventh-day Adventist, took first place, coming very close to a Master of Sports.
  "You're not bad," said Drachma.
  The young officer replied:
  "That's because I exercise constantly and don't eat meat. Only fish, vegetables, and fruit. Generally speaking, Seventh-day Adventists are a church that forbids the consumption of pork and other foods prohibited by the Bible."
  - What about Fetr's vision? - Elfaraya asked.
  The lieutenant replied:
  "But it's talking about pagans. For an Orthodox Jew, preaching to pagans is like eating non-kosher food. Disgusting and vile, isn't it?"
  Something similar happened to Ezekiel when the Lord offered him cakes made with manure. Or to John when he swallowed the bitter book, but it wasn't a command to eat books. So, it was a metaphorical form of influence.
  "An interesting performance," Elfaraya remarked.
  The young man continued:
  - In addition, in the Revelation of John it is said that Babylon became a haven for various unclean and vile birds, for unclean and vile animals.
  The blonde terminator asked:
  - Sounds logical. Any other arguments?
  The religious warrior replied:
  In the final chapter of Isaiah, it says, in the context of Christ's second coming, that those who eat pigs, mice, and other abominations will perish. So this is a very serious warning.
  Drachma noted:
  - Paul said in his letter to the Romans that for each person what he himself considers unclean is unclean.
  The young man replied:
  - This is in the context of food sacrificed to idols. And in general, the Bible cannot contradict itself.
  Elfaraya chirped:
  - How can I say that? After Christ's death, all sacrifices became an abomination, but the Apostle Paul offered a sacrifice.
  The lieutenant replied:
  - It was just a symbol.
  Drachma interrupted them:
  - Don't get distracted. Now it's shooting!
  The boys weren't bad shots either, though they didn't make much of an impression. But when the targets started moving, things got much worse.
  "In battle, when the enemy flees, you could have serious problems," Elfaraya said.
  - Show me how it's done! - said the tallest of the guards.
  Elfaraya grinned. Having selected the farthest target, she engaged maximum speed. Then she opened fire in boost mode.
  She ran her bare foot across the marble tiles, chirping:
  - Now look.
  As the target approached them, the bullets knocked out Furatino's face.
  - Well, how is it?
  The young men squealed:
  - Wow, you didn't even aim, and your friend?
  "I can do even better!" Drachma turned on the target and emptied the clip. The leaden gifts clicked. Finally, a board appeared with the inscription:
  - The bullet is a fool, the bayonet is a fine fellow!
  The nymph-countess squeaked:
  - Well, how is it?
  The young men cried out:
  - Cool! A model of strength and technique.
  Another guard asked:
  - Why don't you shoot straight at the bull's eye?
  The girls answered in chorus:
  - Yes, you can! But it's rather boring and routine.
  "Of course, sometimes we too get tired of monotonous service," the young man declared.
  "Maybe I should show you our strength abilities?" Elfaraya asked.
  The young warriors cried out:
  - No need! We believe you. We know the results will be amazing.
  Elfaraya lightly flicked the young man on the nose:
  - Well, good! So much the better. Now let's get to your processing.
  The girl began massaging his face to numb the pain. Then, when the young man froze, she carefully inserted the needle into his right nostril.
  - This is an effect on the Du point! - She said.
  The girl worked very carefully, initially limiting herself to twenty points, from forehead to foot. The boys felt almost no pain. Elfaraya worked nearby. She injected slightly differently than Drachma. It was a kind of experiment. At the same time, the girls anointed the needles with various minerals. At the same time, they gently stroked the boys. It was clear the boys were extremely aroused by sex. A short injection into the scrotum relieved the frantic tension.
  "There you go!" said Drachma. "Now for the electric shock. I'll try to find the most acceptable voltage."
  The boys seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were even smiling. The girls were gentle with them, using far from the most intense pressure.
  The defined muscles were visible, deepened by the treatment, and the skin was degreased. Overall, it looked wonderful; the young men were literally blossoming.
  Elfaraya stroked the young man"s chest and said:
  - I'm increasing the impact. You'll feel like you're riding a white horse.
  Drachma also stroked their muscular, freshly washed bodies. She barely restrained herself from giving in to her wild passion.
  Here Elfaraya interrupted her:
  - The session is going on too long, and our time is valuable.
  The girls finished the procedure and pulled out the needles with sharp movements.
  Drachma clapped her hands:
  - Now let's start measuring the indicators.
  The young men jumped up, they looked quite cheerful:
  - We are ready!
  - Then let's begin. Strength exercises first.
  The guys started squatting with barbells. Indeed, their results increased by thirty kilograms, their bench press by twenty-five, and their deadlift by a whopping fifty.
  "That's how you maintain your reputation quite confidently," Elfaraya said.
  Afterwards, they tested their flexibility; the girls sat on their shoulders, bouncing slightly. Improvements were also noticeable. Their flexibility had increased.
  Drachma noted:
  - This is great, guys.
  Elfaraya suggested:
  - Maybe we should test them in shooting?
  The nymph countess blurted out:
  -It follows!
  The girls did just that, taking turns. At first, the results were unexpectedly even worse; the boys were overly nervous. After all, the experiment was risky; what could happen next? But then they got the hang of it, got the hang of it, and began moving and shooting much faster. Their hit rate increased dramatically, especially with moving targets.
  Elfaraya stated:
  - Wonderful! Looks like we're on the right track.
  Drachma added:
  "Otherwise, we'd have to find a different combination. Generally, the current with needles and minerals greatly enhance the effect. It could even be used to treat illnesses. What do you think, Elfaraya?"
  The blonde warrior, stamping her bare feet, chirped:
  - Not the worst idea.
  Drachma, flexing her abdominal muscles, barked:
  - We'll try this out for ourselves.
  The girls jokingly poked needles into each other's clear foreheads.
  And then they pricked themselves in the bare, elastic soles.
  After which they cheerfully bared their teeth.
  "It relieves fatigue perfectly!" Drachma remarked. "Although we have nothing to take off."
  Elfaraya confirmed:
  "It looks like we got results with these boys. Let's quickly write up the methodology and distribute it to the troops."
  The nymph countess answered confidently:
  "We'll do that, but target fewer spots in the head, especially near the eyes and brain. That could cripple even the soldiers."
  The blonde warrior nodded:
  - Definitely yes! There is such a risk.
  "Especially if it's not the gentle hands of a woman doing it," Elfaraya remarked a few seconds later, seeing the nymph was silent.
  Drachma chirped:
  - Now it's time for us to go to the center and share our knowledge.
  The boys seemed disappointed; deep down, they longed for physical love. But Drachma understood that in this still rather conservative country, a reputation as a whore would be a serious obstacle to upward mobility. So, sex remained only in her dreams. And Elfaraya in this dream, as a true believer (in reality, she's more agnostic than Elvish, though she loves to sing songs about Fiisus Frist!), was used to limiting herself.
  The girls abandoned the car and decided to run. They sped along very quickly, not much slower than a race car. And after donning the artifacts they'd picked up in the Wonder Zone, they sped even faster than before.
  "Zone, zone, the goal of the season, stage after stage!" Elfaraya said.
  It was almost impossible to keep track of their bare, tanned feet flashing by. The girls took off their shoes to save them on the difficult journey. Especially since running so fast wears them out.
  Green trees, breathing the freshness of early summer, the fragrant air of this hostile, yet welcoming world. A plane is visible in the sky. It's a strike aircraft with swept-back wings and cannons. A plume of smoke is visible; somewhere, a forest is burning. The girls breathe easily, but then they notice suspicious movement on the road ahead. They speed up.
  "It looks like there's a sabotage group lying in ambush there," says Drachma.
  "I see it and hear it. It seems the enemy has caught wind of something, if they're sending saboteurs into this area, regardless of the cost," Elfaraya noted.
  The nymph-countess squeaked:
  - This is undoubtedly true.
  The commander of the sabotage squad, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Griffind, a large brown fellow, was taking a bowel movement. He'd chosen a decidedly inappropriate spot, next to an anthill. The vicious insects, not particularly impressed by the American's award of the Fenin and Phthalin Orders, bit the officer in a sensitive spot. He began screaming at the top of his lungs, demonstrating a lack of restraint. His subordinate, Captain George Frooz, began stomping on the ants.
  Both were swearing profusely. Only Lieutenant Listopad, judging by his half-breed physiognomy, remarked:
  - This way we can break the ambush!
  Roar in response:
  - But there"s no one here yet!
  And then comes the hissing:
  - The general is furious, they say that the Great Leader himself ordered the execution of twenty-five members of the high command for sabotage.
  Squealing with fear:
  - He truly has a grip of steel. And he deserves it!
  Gurgling in response:
  - And our task is to find out and conduct reconnaissance.
  The Effeminate swore again, pulled up his pants, and fastened his belt.
  "I'd better scout this out. Now, listen to my command. As soon as the enemy appears, fire the grenade launchers."
  - Yes sir, comrade!
  And again the boar's rivers:
  - Watch out! I'll shoot your balls off!
  And obsequious:
  - Yes sir! Leader, comrade!
  The girls, flashing their pink bare soles, ran through the forest, trying to get behind the group lying in ambush.
  In principle, with their weapons and "armor" artifacts, a frontal attack would be possible, but that would be counterproductive. So it's too risky, and what if the stones have lost their magical power?
  Drachma spoke on this matter:
  - Another universe is unpredictable.
  Elfaraya confirmed:
  - We're both alike on this point. So we'll act according to all the rules of military art.
  The forest is an ally for a strong fighter. And although there were about a hundred paratroopers, it was clear this unit was not well trained. Many were smoking, others sipping whiskey from flasks. Informing was rampant in the CSA army. It reached the point of absurdity. If a commander offended a soldier, the soldier would file a denunciation, an almost irrefutable argument. Many soldiers were informants themselves, and they were feared like fire. What kind of discipline could there be? If you even slightly pressured the soldiers, they would scribble on you, accusing you of being a spy or a saboteur. Oddly enough, the flywheel of repression and spy mania did not transform the army into an insurmountable phalanx; it merely lowered the level of training.
  Elfaraya asked Drachma:
  - Maybe we can fry them from simple "Fobolenskie"?
  She replied:
  - Quite logical! This will improve our level of training.
  The girls stepped into range, took aim, and narrowed their eyes. Now it was crucial to distribute the burst so that the forty-eight rounds in each clip would reach as many soldiers as possible. The spread also played a role. Now the target's time in the clip was exactly six seconds. The girls froze and concentrated, aiming their weapons, trying to enter the "cascade" combat mode. They had invented this themselves, where time slows down and your personal speed increases, allowing you to take out as many soldiers as possible. Each bullet would be perceived as an individual fragment.
  "Shoot at the lift of a finger," Drachma warned. The girls hesitated for a few seconds and then opened fire.
  Now the enemy had a "snorter." Dozens of soldiers were cut down, both those standing and those clumsily lying in ambush. Many, however, were sitting, which made the task easier.
  Hearing the gunshots, the enemy reacted too late. Some flinched, others returned fire. In any case, after emptying their magazines, the girls mowed down more than half the enemy.
  Drachma commanded:
  - And now F-13 grenades.
  The enemy tried throwing their own. But they weren't very successful. The girls were shooting grenades in mid-air. They were firing with both hands. As a result, shrapnel struck those throwing them.
  "Help us, help us!" the seven-colored Drachma shouted mockingly in English.
  Elfaraya, working with both her hands and the bare toes of her seductive feet, noted:
  - Shooting down a grenade in flight is an excellent tactic.
  Soon, only a few soldiers remained alive, wounded ones at that. The girls rushed to their aid. Among them, unexpectedly, was Lieutenant Colonel Farry Griffind. He stank; oddly enough, his body had found the reserves to shit itself profusely.
  "I surrender!" he muttered. "Phtalin kaput!"
  "A familiar song," said Elfaraya.
  "You can't carry that stinking thing on your back!" Drachma shot at his legs, breaking his knuckles. "Now you're not going anywhere."
  Farry muttered:
  - Elfishen whores! - And he passed out.
  "That's it, that's all for now. We'll call the police and they'll tie them up. And we'll tie up the rest ourselves," Elfaraya said.
  The girls handled the job professionally and quickly. They tied up the lieutenant colonel and brought him to his senses. Out of fear, he spilled the beans. It turned out that three more landing parties had landed, and there was a spy at headquarters, no lower than a major general.
  The girls recorded his testimony on a tape recorder and left him behind. One of the groups was en route, and they set up an ambush near the town, while the special forces would deal with the rest. Once again, their bare heels were visible, speeding up as they went.
  Thunder cracked in the sky, and raindrops fell. Drachma slowed slightly and listened:
  - It smells like autumn, although summer has only just begun.
  Elfaraya nodded:
  - Yes! The streams of rain are so warm, it"s nice to splash through a puddle with bare feet.
  The nymph girl chirped:
  - Your legs, and mine, are capable of driving all the men in the world crazy. You saw how they looked at us.
  The blonde warrior, slapping her bare, pink heel into a puddle, cooed:
  - Honestly, handsome young men, I had a hard time suppressing my desire.
  "As an atheist, it was much more difficult for me to do something like that," Drachma declared (for some reason, she had become an atheist in the dream, even though in reality she was related to the pagan gods!). "However, I like intellectual men most of all. In particular, those who respect the classics. Yes, Elfaraya, if you want to be successful, you need to write more than just patriotic poetry. Just hearing Elfia's words makes my ears ring."
  The blonde warrior objected:
  - Well, don't think I'm such a narrow specialist. Here, for example, are poems about autumn.
  Drachma chirped:
  - I want to hear how they sound.
  Elfaraya began to sing with her wonderful, very strong voice, which could give any opera singer, even the greatest, a run for her money.
  Dressed to the envy of all kings,
  Crimson, gold, leaves in rubies!
  As butterflies soar in the evening,
  And the voice of the wind, the organs of the cherubim!
    
  The spacious, luxurious peace of autumn,
  Trees, domes of sacred churches!
  Any branch with a fine carving,
  Dewdrops pearls of priceless stones!
    
  The puddle was covered with thin silver,
  Sparks are shining from under the horse's hooves!
  You treat each other with kindness,
  May you live happily under the clear sky!
    
  In the bright sun, with her dress loose,
  Birches and poplars dance the waltz of love!
  We are sad about the days that have sunk into the abyss,
  Keep the memories of your meetings with me!
    
  Winter will come, youth is eternal in it,
  Not gray hair - diamonds in the hair!
  We will gather all our friends for the holiday,
  And let's express our dream in dashing verses!
  Drachma, as always, expressed dissatisfaction:
  - It's all a bit too old-fashioned. Expressions like voice, gold, and your beloved cherubs. You're just too preoccupied with religion.
  Elfaraya crushed a biting mosquito with her bare toes and cooed:
  "We live in a theocratic Elven-dominated country, where titles and many ancient idioms have been preserved. Just look how much the children love it."
  Standing along the highway, curiously watching the columns, boys of all types, from barefoot to rather smartly dressed, applauded. Someone shouted:
  - Fethoven in a skirt.
  One boy added:
  - And with bare, pink heels!
  As they sang, the girls slowed their tempo, making them quite visible. The most striking feature was their hair, fluttering like a battle flag. Elfarai's golden hair and Drachma's seven-colored flame.
  "They're running to set Fremen on fire!" one of the fair-haired boys shouted.
  Drachma jumped up to him in the blink of an eye, the boy had just turned away to run away.
  She yelled threateningly:
  - What's your name, wit?
  The boy cooed:
  - Eridrich, or simply as a friend, Rich.
  The seven-colored girl chirped:
  - Would you like some American chocolate?
  The tomboy shook his head:
  - Not really, they say it's just a ersatz.
  The nymph countess laughed:
  "No, really. Fatinskaya Emerica is still under CSA control. So they're quite capable of producing valuable products, especially for the landing force."
  - Then give it to me! - the boy answered.
  Drachma handed over a chocolate bar wrapped in a ten-ruble note. The boy smiled:
  "This money is for everyone," he said. Flashing his bare tanned legs, he ran towards his people.
  The child's T-shirt was still new, he looked healthy and well-groomed; the war had only just begun, and children hadn't yet experienced its hardships. Boys love to run around barefoot, especially in this heat. However, military rationing should probably have been introduced in Elfia-Elfmania is one of the superpower's provinces. Children are usually the hardest hit by this, as at their age they're always hungry. However, unlike the USSR, with its collective farm system, where food was scarce even during the prosperous Brezhnev era, modern Elfia is overflowing with provisions. A strong owner and farmer feeds the country better than anyone forced to do so for labor.
  Elfaraya thought that the fact that the country is predominantly religious has a beneficial effect on the climate. It must be said that in modern Elfia, most Elfslavs are little different from atheists: they drink, swear, smoke, cheat, have abortions, and spend time in prison. And attending church regularly, even once a week, is unthinkable for many. Here, if an official misses Sunday service without a valid excuse, their tenure isn't long. Religious studies are mandatory in schools. This includes the Fuslims.
  It's a powerful move, religious assimilation, when the elves begin to understand what's best for them. Elfaraya, in her time, read Protestant literature extolling Fiblia. But in her heart, she preferred the Elven-glorified tradition, without really considering whether it contradicted Fiblia or not. The Holy Scriptures were almost entirely written by the Fevrians, and much of the tradition is Elven-Frecian. It would be better to write our own Elven Fiblia, making Frist a symbol of the elves' strength, power, and chosenness. Otherwise, when you read the Old Testament, it's simply chilling: the Fevrians are God's people! Elves are God's people, and praise be to God, at least in this universe they have united into a single state. And in their world, relations between Elfia and their sister Efkraina are worse than with the trolls.
  Now they've picked up a breakneck pace again, but that doesn't stop them from thinking. If they're destined to return to their own world, how can they reclaim Efkraina? They need to act wisely, without resorting to rudeness. The key is to rely on young, honest politicians, not criminals. In general, it's crucial to form a new elite in Elfia-not scumbag oligarchs or party bosses like the FPSS, but a real force capable of advancing the country. The new elite must serve not itself, but the great empire and its mighty people. The same applies to this country: how can the collapse of the great empire be avoided? The main characteristic of Elfia, after the White Guards, is its elective government instead of a monarchy. Folchak proved a strong and far-sighted ruler, relying on a powerful presidential authority. The president's extensive powers allowed him to unite the nation and the state, and to overcome debauchery and lawlessness. It's no coincidence that the EFLSA, despite its democratic nature, was also characterized by considerable presidential power. But Felico-Britain, where the monarchy became purely nominal and the prime minister was excessively dependent on his own party, lost its position as a world power. Just think, its territory has shrunk by a factor of 150 in modern history.
  In this universe, Fritania has also become communist, and the cities are in turmoil and chaos. It's precisely to foggy Elbion that they must head.
  What are people like there?
  There was a faint rustling in the sky, and a reconnaissance plane appeared. Painted the same color as the sky, its wings translucent, it was emitting mist. However, for the keen eyes of these girls, this was no problem at all. The girls raised their rifles and fired a volley. Two bullets-that was too much for the lightly armored reconnaissance plane. It tilted and began to fall.
  "Weak armor!" Elfaraya said.
  The Countess-Nymph confirmed:
  - Especially if you hit the glass.
  "A machine like that, by the way, shouldn't weigh much. It's like a monoplane, no more than eight hundred kilograms." The girl asked Drachma:
  - Do you think the pilot will survive?
  The seven-colored girl answered not too confidently:
  - Unlikely! We've messed up all his settings.
  Elfaraya replied wittily:
  - So much the better, less torment of captivity.
  The run lifted the girls' spirits, and they reached the center in one breath.
  The only delay was needed to dismantle the ambush. The girls ran around the ambush, hearing muffled conversations.
  The paratrooper commander, Special Forces Major Fob Dowell, nervously scratched his nose. It was a bad omen; it meant you'd get a punch in the nose.
  Here he roared:
  - Shafranik, what kind of guys are these, crawling like ants?
  - Yes, those are children riding a bicycle, sir, - answered the mulatto Frenchman.
  A cry followed:
  - Let's open fire!
  The mulatto logically noted:
  - For such a trivial purpose as to expose an ambush?
  The animal in uniform grunted:
  "But they're so bright. Just pure devils. Let's just shoot them, just for fun."
  Shafranik noted:
  - Such a target is not particularly interesting.
  A sarcastic response:
  - Perhaps, but tempting.
  Forced growl:
  - We need a car, a purple Ferrari with two white chicks.
  Clarifying question:
  - With two chicks?
  A joyful cry:
  - Elven girls!
  And a vulgar statement:
  - Two, so few! For a whole company. They'll die if they serve us.
  Again a vulgar and indecent expression:
  - We can have them from both ends.
  A giggle in response:
  - This looks funny.
  And again the grunting of a boar during estrus:
  - And at the same time it"s practical!
  "I have no doubt about the latter," the major licked his lips. "There are probably some psychological measures involved."
  - You don"t understand? - Shafranik was surprised.
  The officer roared:
  - You apparently, as the Ephrusians say, are not friends with the head of cabbage?
  Shafranik didn't quite grasp the point:
  - I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm not at all against using cabbage as a side dish, for example, with chicken.
  The officer growled:
  - Do you stuff dollars? Put them in turkey?
  Saffron scratched the top of his head:
  - What is this for, commander?
  "I didn't understand the elven slang. Cabbage is our dollars, or bucks, and a head is a head," the major explained.
  A giggle in response:
  - What a head! What a "slang"!
  The officer boomed:
  - That's just how it turned out. Okay, can you drink a liter of elven vodka?
  Shafranik became scared:
  - Elven vodka? That's living death.
  The major chuckled and pulled out a liter glass bottle. Several paratroopers stared at them, blinking.
  - Wow, what a bomb!
  Fob Dowell weighed it in his hand and offered:
  - You have a choice. Either drink it from the bottle or smash it on your head.
  A frightened squeak in response:
  - What about some intermediate option?
  Next comes the growl:
  - Just take off your pants and sit on the bottle. In short, take your pick.
  With a sigh, a doomed voice is heard:
  - Okay, I'll take it. I've been wanting to try it for a long time. Elfrashen vodka, what kind of poison is this?
  A snide laugh in response:
  - The wildest thing.
  Drachma and Elfaraya overheard this conversation, their ears very sharp, plus the artifacts' influence. Meanwhile, they were crawling towards the rear. Elfaraya asked in surprise:
  - They're sitting in ambush and making such an idiotic bet!
  The nymph countess chirped:
  - What can you do! This is the level of American culture, multiplied by criminal trollism.
  "Elfinism is a bright idea, but it's often implemented in the dark!" Elfaraya remarked.
  "Bad people with good ideas shed far more blood than bad people with evil intentions!" Drachma concluded.
  "It's a choice between execution or the rope. I prefer the execution!" Elfaraya's sapphire eyes flashed. They moved silently, like ninjas; they were unrivaled in sabotage and ambushes.
  Meanwhile, Captain Shafranik uncorked the bottle and took a swig from the neck.
  "Sweet!" the paratrooper muttered.
  The vodka gurgled as it flowed into the wide throat of the French mulatto.
  He even grunted with pleasure.
  "What a pig!" Elfaraya declared. "Strange as it may seem, I even want to kill them all."
  Drachma grinned:
  - And eat pork!
  The blonde girl noticed:
  "There's a grain of truth in the words of the Seventh-day Adventists. A pig is a walking garbage dump. And for a Fiudean, it's not kosher; it's not food. The Fibliya was written primarily so that Febvrians would understand it."
  The barefoot nymph countess chirped:
  - Okay, see if an Emerican troll-munistic warrior can handle an ordinary elven alcoholic.
  Having finished about half the bottle, Shafranik suddenly began to tremble, dropped the bottle, and began to burp. Fob Dowell punched him in the back.
  - You're such a weakling!
  He threw up. His face was distorted.
  Fob laughed:
  - Well, now we'll test the strength of your cabbage. How strong is it to withstand an elven bottle?
  Having burped, Shafranik caught his breath with difficulty, squeezing out:
  - I broke bricks on my head.
  A howl in response:
  - So you'll break the bottle too. Take it in your hand.
  Shafranik tried to take it, but dropped it almost immediately.
  - Well, as they say, you are a goat! Or rather, a ram! - Take it and hold it tight, like a prostitute's balls.
  The captain gasped:
  - I'm a bad guy!
  Swinging wide, he hit him on the head, a ringing sound was heard, but the bottle remained intact.
  - For elves, everything is made of oak, it"s not for nothing that the symbol of Elfia is an oak.
  A strained growl in response:
  "Dub, that's most likely the contents of your head. What, don't you want to give yourself a proper punch? Coward, you're afraid of pain!"
  A frightened squeal in response:
  - No, comrade major! Pain is good for you!
  And again a roar, reminiscent of a wounded mammoth:
  "Once you fall into the hands of the Ministry of Honor and Rights, you'll know what pain is: two electrodes in your ass, one on your tongue. Give me the bottle."
  Saffronik timidly said:
  - Just don't kill me!
  Fob Dowell grabbed it with both hands and, swinging his body forward, slammed it into her head. The bottle shattered into pieces. Saffronik screamed at the top of his lungs:
  - A thousand devils into the well!
  Blood poured from the broken head, and the fragments cut.
  Drachma could hardly contain her laughter.
  - This is so funny!
  Elfaraya was serious:
  "Either he doesn't know how to hit, or he deliberately struck like that to inflict more pain. Either way, it shows the caliber of the American Red Army."
  The nymph countess agreed:
  - As a rule, not tall.
  The girls grinned and aimed their guns. Meanwhile, Shafranik groaned and wiped away the blood. It was clear that, being a half-breed, he was playing the role of jester to the major.
  And she squeals like a female:
  - Well, why so rude!
  And again a roar in response:
  - Shut up! Look, there's a woman riding a bicycle. I'll take her out with one shot, shoot her right through the leg. Then we'll fuck her with the whole company.
  Pleading squeak:
  - Will I get any?!
  And also the howl is aggressive and cool:
  - To trust a woman with such a weak mind...
  In response, something vulgar:
  - The main thing is what's between the legs.
  The major yelled:
  - Then go ahead, put your dignity in a bottle, or I'll put it in your mouth.
  - Brrr! - The captain whistled! - This is not possible.
  The company raised their heads from the ambush. Elfaraya began to recite a prayer, trying to concentrate. Drachma also remained silent, lightly massaging her neck; shooting with both hands was too difficult; precise coordination was required. The girls, each holding a machine gun, opened fire with four barrels.
  "Take that, communist fascists," the beauties whispered.
  Bullets cut down several dozen fighters. They were looking in a completely different direction, trying to satisfy their bestial instincts. But, as always happens with those who forget their duty, retribution follows.
  "We're hunting wolves, but we're killing fools!" Drachma declared.
  CHAPTER 11
  Elfaraya woke up... Two hobbit boys were washing her bare feet, slightly frozen from the dungeon.
  The elf countess cooed:
  - Dear boys, you are like bunnies!
  The cat-like girl asked:
  - Do you know our language well enough?
  Elfaraya nodded:
  - Yes, I'm not bad now. I'm not just an elf, but an elf countess from the elite, and I have an excellent memory!
  The cat girl chirped:
  - Then I'll call my mistress. I think a conversation with her will be useful to you.
  The elf girl asked:
  - Why did they chain me?
  The cat replied:
  - You are dangerous and strong. But don't be afraid, everything will be fine!
  Elfaraya whistled and sang:
  - Okay, everything will be fine, I know it and I"m on my way!
  The cat-girl left the room with the boys. Elfaraya relaxed. She waited impatiently for the Duchess. And to distract herself, she began to recall her past exploits.
  And in her imagination she imagined another cruel and merciless battle.
  But not cosmic, but ancient. From the times when people fought with bows, spears, and swords.
  On one side, an army of elves advanced. Most were on foot, and beautiful elves, barefoot and with graceful, elegant feet, marched in step.
  But some of the beauties rode on unicorns. And here, too, the girls were barefoot and almost naked, only their breasts and thighs covered by thin bronze plates of armor.
  There weren't many young men, but they were mounted on draft horses, clad in heavy, durable armor, and armed with spears. They were a striking, knightly force.
  And mostly girls. Very beautiful, with slender waists and stomachs lined with slabs of abs.
  It's a wonderful team, you could say. And the girls' barefoot, seductive, muscular, and tanned feet slap so skillfully.
  The beauties point their toes and suck in their stomachs. They move in sync, and quite nimbly.
  And an army of trolls is coming towards them. Almost entirely composed of muscular, tanned girls, barely covered in armor. And their bare, graceful, delightful feet, too, are marching with precision.
  Moreover, the warriors of both armies wear adornments. Snakes or flowers of silver, gold, platinum, and studded with precious stones adorn their ankles. The noblewomen wear precious earrings and hairpins. Some even wear beads.
  The girls of both armies look very attractive. And they ride unicorns.
  And the young men are on horses and in very massive, strong and shining steel armor.
  There are a hundred thousand fighters on one side and on the other. The forces are approximately equal.
  In her dreams, Elfaraya commands an army of elven women, and on her head is a crown sparkling with stars.
  At the same time, she, too, is barely covered by armor, on a snow-white unicorn, and her bare feet have platinum bracelets on the calves, studded with diamonds.
  Opposite her is another queen - a troll. She's also a very beautiful warrior, wearing a crown. She's also barefoot, muscular, but adorned with precious jewelry.
  You can also smell expensive and very aromatic perfumes and the healthy and trained bodies of girls.
  Beautiful armies on both sides. And the girls have pretty, cute, and yet masculine faces.
  But the armies didn't come to admire each other. Alas, they face a brutal and merciless battle.
  Elfaraya said with a sigh:
  Do you think that adventure,
  To become a hero, a son of the dawn...
  In fact, war is torture,
  Damn it!
  However, three girls with silver horns came out from one side, and from the other.
  They strode confidently across the grass with their strong, bare feet and raised their heads proudly.
  Then they raised their horns to their lips and blew them in unison. This signaled the battle between the elves and the trolls.
  Elfaraya sang:
  Blood flows down from the sky in a scarlet stream,
  The steps of the clouds, painted in the color of the sunset!
  Feelings, the noise of colors, and love have faded;
  Armageddon, the reckoning is approaching!
  And so the archer girls unslung their weapons. They knelt down. And with their strong, bare feet, they drew back the bowstrings. Then, in a high arc, they released a whole stream of arrows.
  The Troll Queen sang:
  The volcano erupted into a vortex of spears,
  A thick waterfall of sharp arrows...
  But I believe that we trolls are forever united,
  To give our lives to our Motherland is our destiny!
  Arrows flew in a high arc toward the infantry warriors. They jumped back and raised their shields, deflecting the incoming projectiles. Some were hit.
  There fell an elf, pierced by an arrow in her stomach and abs. A female troll also fell. Some were hit in the arms and legs. One girl's bare, round, pink heel was pierced by an arrow, and she screamed in pain.
  Elfaraya hissed:
  - These are our first losses,
  Girls are dying, it"s hard...
  But we will come, believe me, to the great goal,
  We have a boat and a strong oar!
  The Troll Queen threw her heavily armored mounted knights into battle.
  Even their draft horses are covered with tiles, and arrows don't faze them. It's true, how hard must it be for those guys to sit under a layer of iron in the heat? And, of course, if, say, winter comes. True, the planets where elves and trolls live have milder climates than Earth. But even at the poles, they experience frost.
  Elfaraya gave the signal in response, and her heavy cavalry rushed to meet them.
  On one side are light troops of almost naked, muscular, barefoot girls.
  And on the other, there are cavalry units, knights. Three thousand horsemen on each side, rushing toward each other. The ground actually rumbles with the clatter of their hooves.
  The female infantry also began to close in, as did the archers. What a sight.
  And when the two cavalry armies collided at full speed, crushing blows followed.
  Elfaraya sang:
  - We will go into battle boldly,
  For the cause of the elves...
  And with this war,
  Fighter, don't drift!
  Spears broke. Young men pierced each other and knocked them off their horses. Massive steeds also fell.
  The archer girls now approached at a walking pace, and fired with their hands.
  The infantry also marched in step. The girls lifted their bare, tanned, muscular legs, adorned with bracelets on their calves. They marched with great enthusiasm. And their teeth flashed in pearly white smiles. And it looked so wonderful.
  And probably men would go crazy with excitement, watching the strong, muscular bodies of beauties and their clear, tanned skin.
  And now they're getting closer and closer. And from a walk they break into a run, flashing their pink, round, very gracefully curved heels.
  After which, the girls collide. Sparks fly from swords and shields, striking each other. And some of the beauties fall backwards from the impact.
  In general, it"s such, let"s say, beauty here.
  Some girls lost their earrings, and they fell and tumbled around. Precious stones scattered under their bare feet.
  Elfaraya sang:
  A downed plane crashed into the gorge,
  My dream is torn apart, there is no life!
  I don"t know what awaits us in the other world,
  And in this, we faithfully serve our fatherland!
  And the warrior herself took up the bow and released the arrow. It described an arc and pierced the full, round breast of the female troll. It was a shame to kill such a beauty.
  How disgusting and repulsive it is when girls die.
  The Troll Queen shouted:
  - Maybe we should fight, woman to woman?
  Elfaraya chirped:
  - I'm ready! It's going to be a fantastic fight!
  The female infantrymen on both sides hacked and tore at each other. They used not only swords but also daggers. A large quantity of the scarlet, fragrant blood of elves and trolls was spilled. It was both beautifully captivating and disgusting, repulsive, all at once.
  The Troll Queen took and sang:
  - Trolls die for metal,
  For metal!
  Trolls die for metal,
  And madness rules the ball!
  There, the show is running!
  Elfaraya suggested:
  - Maybe we can make peace?
  The Troll Queen replied with a carnivorous smile:
  - Peace is not possible between us,
  Why? It can't be explained in words!
  And so the two young queens met. They fought with swords that glittered with alloy steel and had platinum hilts studded with precious stones.
  And it was a delightful sight. Both girls shone with perfect beauty.
  And it was wonderful, and gave a lot of scope for the imagination.
  Elfaraya deftly parried the attacks and tried to attack herself. But her opponent parried skillfully. The girls shifted. Their snow-white unicorns also kicked and tried to butt each other.
  The archer girls stood behind the infantrymen. And they began to shower each other with arrows again. And they shot again, using the bare toes of their strong, tanned, and nimble feet.
  These were warriors. And how beautifully the girls' muscles were arranged - like slabs.
  The female troll, fencing, remarked:
  - You defend yourself well, but you can"t reach me yet!
  Elfaraya muttered:
  - Attack yourself!
  The female troll went on the offensive, swinging her sword in a wide arc and putting in the effort.
  The elf parried, trying to expend as little effort and movement as possible. Then, suddenly shifting her sword, she stabbed her opponent in the upper chest, uncovered by the armored tile. She took the blow, and a trickle of blood flowed.
  The female troll muttered:
  - Wow, not bad! You're strong!
  Elfaraya sang in response:
  It's not bad to be strong,
  What can I say...
  But you will become a loser,
  If you do something funny!
  The troll responded by extracting a needle with her bare toes and throwing it at her opponent. Elfaraya barely managed to pull her head back, and the poisonous needle flew past, narrowly missing her ear.
  The girl squeaked:
  - Charming! But isn't it mean?
  The Troll Queen answered confidently:
  Everything that leads to victory is wonderful,
  To gain the upper hand over the enemy, and the means don"t count!
  Elfaraya giggled and noted:
  - Does the end justify the means?
  Instead of answering, the troll queen tried again, throwing another nasty thing with her bare foot-this time, a poison ball. Elfaraya sliced it in half as it flew. The poison scattered. Droplets fell on the elf queen's skin, causing severe and painful burns.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - I see you are the embodiment of deceit,
  You want to take over at any cost...
  But I know there will be a kingdom of elves,
  Let's crush the enemy with a steel hand!
  The Troll Queen again threw her needle at her opponent with her graceful, bare foot.
  Elfaraya cut it down in mid-air. And remembered that she herself had similar gifts from death. And she, too, was trained to throw barefoot.
  The girl sang:
  We will answer blow with blow,
  We will confirm our glory with a steel sword...
  It was not in vain that we defeated the trolls,
  We'll smash the sharp-nosed ones into pieces!
  And so she struck her opponent hard on the sword and hurled a poisoned needle at her with her bare foot. Only this time, Elfaraya aimed not at her face, but at her thigh, so that she could see the needle's flight and parry it much more difficult. And indeed, the needle struck the ridged muscle, piercing the skin.
  The female troll staggered, struck. The poison was quickly penetrating her bloodstream.
  She hissed:
  - How low this is!
  Elfaraya answered confidently:
  - If someone else's blaster were to squeal, yours would be silent!
  And she went on the offensive. The troll queen's arms weakened, and she dropped her sword. Elfaraya struck her on the muscular shoulder. Blood spurted. Her opponent turned pale and began to fall.
  The Elf Queen picked her up and asked:
  - Are you giving up?
  In response, the female troll growled:
  - Trolls don't surrender to elves!
  Elfaraya muttered:
  - I won't kill an unarmed person!
  The troll queen spat in her face in response. Elfaraya felt the troll's stinging, foul saliva on her cheek. And in a rage, she slashed at it with her sword. With such force that her head flew high into the air. And twisted.
  Elfaraya sang, feeling a surge of gaiety within herself:
  Don't lose your head,
  There is no need to rush...
  Don't lose your head,
  What if it comes in handy!
  You write it down in your notebook,
  On every page!
  All trolls must be killed!
  All trolls must be killed!
  All trolls must be killed!
  Meanwhile, seeing their queen beheaded, the trolls retreated. As often happens when a leader is killed, the entire pack scatters. And so the females of the beautiful, long-nosed race took off running. Their heels, many already covered in blood and caked with dust, began to flash. And it was utterly beautiful.
  And the girls' bare, tanned feet flashed. And they ran. The elves rushed to pursue the trolls.
  Elfaraya began to sing, baring her teeth:
  -How we lived, fighting,
  And not afraid of trolls...
  This is how you and I will live from now on!
  We will be on high, and never at the bottom,
  Mighty everywhere,
  In this mad, this mad fate!
  Elfarai's thoughts were interrupted. Several warriors, wearing armor but with tails, entered her cell, along with a luxuriously dressed duchess. A diamond crown sparkled on her head. A ring glittered on each finger of her hand.
  The cat-duchess's feet were shod in high-heeled shoes studded with precious stones.
  She nodded her head and asked:
  - Do you understand my speech?
  Elfaraya answered confidently:
  - Yes, your Excellency!
  The Duchess smiled and replied:
  - Excellent! Now I have a question - are you from the developed world?
  The elf countess nodded:
  - Yes, Your Highness! Our world is quite developed.
  The noblewoman muttered:
  - In your world, I see, you are not a slave. Perhaps you are a titled person?
  Elfaraya answered confidently:
  - I am a countess and a warrior!
  The Duchess nodded with a contented, cat-like smile:
  - That's good! I know there are worlds far away where not only magic but also technology exists. Including military technology.
  There was a pause. Two slave boys appeared. They brought a platinum jug of wine and a golden goblet.
  The Duchess cooed:
  - Drink to my health!
  The slave boys filled Elfarae's glass to the brim with sparkling wine. The girl sipped it. The intoxicating taste was sweet and pleasant, the gases bubbling. Elfarae began to drink. She herself wanted to relieve tension. The hobbit boys knelt and began to massage her feet. It was pleasant; these seemingly young slaves moved their childish hands with great skill and dexterity.
  When Elfaraya drained the cup, she felt a surge of energy and strength. Indeed, she felt so much more energy. And her eyes sparkled.
  And the Duchess asked in an ingratiating voice:
  - Maybe you know some technologies from your world?
  Elfaraya answered with a smile:
  - I know a lot! And my knowledge is power.
  The Duchess nodded and remarked:
  "We know the secret of gunpowder production. But the higher gods cast a spell so it can't be detonated here. Perhaps you know of some more powerful explosive?"
  The elf countess replied:
  "Yes, I know a thing or two! But mostly about producing antimatter. However, that's impossible with the current technological development of this world!"
  The Duchess frowned and asked:
  - What is possible?
  Elfaraya grinned and replied:
  - Well, for example, making grenades from coal dust. That's within the capabilities of your technology.
  The Duchess muttered:
  - Will these be powerful grenades?
  The elf countess, whose feet the hobbits were vigorously massaging, rubbing with their palms, answered confidently:
  "A single grenade the size of a chicken egg will toss and blow up several dozen fighters. Even those clad in brunet-the knightly army-will be among them."
  The Duchess exclaimed:
  - This is wonderful! Can you make eggs like this?
  Elfaraya answered with a smile:
  - Of course I can! But just take the chains off me and set me free.
  The noblewoman objected:
  - You can escape! We won't unchain you for safety reasons.
  The countess stamped her bare foot angrily:
  - Then I won't do anything for you! I demand freedom!
  The Duchess laughed:
  "The slave demands her freedom! I'll call the executioner right now, and he'll quickly teach you not to bargain!"
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  "I can tune out pain and localize it. There are certain techniques!"
  The noblewoman giggled:
  - Yes! But in this case, we'll test it. For example, we'll break your toes and fry your heels!
  The elf countess said bravely:
  - I'm ready to test myself!
  The Duchess added:
  - What if we gouge out your eyes?
  The hobbit boy exclaimed:
  - Do you really have enough anger, madam, to cripple such beauty?
  The noble cat declared decisively, stamping her heel on the slab:
  - I won't hurt you! They'll torture this insolent hobbit.
  Call the executioner! Roast the boy's heels!
  Elfaraya thought about it. Ultimately, she had to survive somehow. And in any case, she couldn't fight the entire planet. Maybe she really should pretend to be a meek lamb, and then, seizing the right moment, break free. And it wouldn't hurt to meet Trollead, too. Where is he now? Probably in captivity, too.
  The executioner is already entering the door. In this case, it's a dwarf, accompanied by three assistants-also hobbits who look so much like boys. They are also half-naked and in swimming trunks, but with red masks over their faces. They are carrying a special torture device, rods in a mortar, and several types of tongs and drills. Apparently, the executioner was nearby, and the duchess foresaw that she would have to resort to torture.
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  - Don't torment the boy! I'll show you how to make grenades using coal dust!
  The Duchess nodded:
  - Well, that's good! You'll certainly show it. But the boy will still get ten lashes.
  The slave boy obediently lay on his stomach. The blows were administered not by the dwarf executioner himself, but by his assistant. You can't tell a hobbits' age by sight-they seem like eternal children, dying without aging or maturing. But the blows were hard enough to break the skin. The young hobbit gritted his teeth and endured. Indeed, what else could he do?
  And he even managed a pitiful half-smile.
  Then he rose and bowed, even though blood, so brightly scarlet, dripped from his lacerated back in streams. Even the small feet of the slave, so childlike, though the hobbit could be a thousand years old, left graceful marks.
  The Duchess ordered:
  - Come on, make grenades!
  Elfaraya answered with a smile:
  - Well, not in a cell! Come on, take me to the forge, I'll show you how and what to do. And besides coal, we need materials.
  The noble cat objected:
  - You can escape on the way!
  The elf countess objected:
  - Where would I go, alone on a planet that is alien to me?
  The Duchess winced and replied:
  - You may be right. But still, we'll lead you away in chains.
  And the lady cat growled:
  - Executioner, put the pendant on her.
  A barefoot, half-naked, but red-masked hobbit boy ran up and brought a rather heavy chain with a strong collar, capable of holding an elephant.
  Dwarves are stronger than cats, so it's understandable that they trusted him to lead Elfarai. The nearly naked, muscular girl felt pleasure as the slave boys removed the chains from her ankles and wrists, too. But her neck was only temporarily freed. Then they shackled her again, heavy and chafing. However, while elves and trolls have soft, clear skin, like that of adolescents, it's actually stronger and more resilient than humans, and heals faster. Plus, both the elf and the troll had been bioengineered. So they're not exactly easy to handle.
  Elfaraya moved with pleasure. It was nice to stretch her legs after her confinement. She even touched the chain with her hands, as if wondering if she could break it. But surely such metal would hold even a rabid mammoth.
  Elfaraya padded barefoot, and when they emerged from the dungeon, the marble tiles there had become warmer, which was pleasant. Now that was really cool.
  The Duchess asked with a smile:
  "What else can you do? In other worlds, for example, there are muskets, but they require gunpowder, and they're not much better than arrows!"
  The man in the knight's uniform replied:
  "A bow fires faster than a musket and is more accurate. It's just that it penetrates armor better, though you could use a crossbow with a bolt!"
  Elfaraya noted:
  "You can make a crossbow that fires like a machine gun. We've seen this in the history of wars. And it doesn't require gunpowder."
  The Duchess muttered:
  - Well, that's impressive. Or rather, it has potential. But we'll see how it plays out in practice.
  When they left the castle, Elfarae, accustomed to the cool dungeon, even felt hot. She shook beads of sweat from her forehead.
  The executioner noted:
  "I've been alive for two thousand years. And I know she's an elf from a distant world. They're beautiful, but very cunning!"
  The Duchess remarked:
  - So maybe I should fry my heels after all? Or start breaking my toes with hot pliers, starting with the little toe?
  The gnome muttered, licking his lips:
  - Not the worst idea! But even better would be to apply a wide piece of red-hot iron to her bare sole. Now she'll howl!
  The Duchess nodded:
  - I'm leaning towards that! Indeed, the smell of scorched, tender skin is so good, it's like roasting a pig.
  But then they approached the forges. There, too, mostly hobbit boys and a few hobbit girls worked. The cats merely gave orders. The boys, as always, wore only swimming trunks, albeit aprons. And barefoot, too, but the soles of hobbits are so calloused that they're not afraid of metal splashes, even if it's white with heat.
  Elfaraya found herself in the center. She desperately wanted to see Trollead, but the young man was nowhere to be seen. So she decided to resort to trickery.
  "Please release my partner with the aquiline nose," she asked ingratiatingly.
  The Duchess objected:
  "No, it's dangerous to leave two such smart people alone. We need something safer."
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  - I only know part of the technology for producing carbon grenades, and Trollead knows the other part!
  The gnome executioner muttered:
  - She's lying! It's time to fry her heels. Or maybe even her breasts. Her scarlet nipples under the fire - that would be awesome!
  Elfaraya clenched her fists:
  - Just try it!
  The Duchess said in a conciliatory tone:
  - No, she doesn't need to burn anything. Let her make grenades. And don't use the madhouse. In the meantime, give her some more wine.
  The hobbit boys brought Elfara another glass. And the girl, who was especially warm in the large forge where the fire was blazing, drank it with pleasure.
  After which, she felt a surge of freedom within herself. And she began to speak passionately. And the slave boys began to bring the necessary ingredients and grind the coal into dust. And the work began.
  The gnome executioner noted:
  "Skin like hers is quite pleasant to burn with fire and hot iron. Now, I'd like to try pricking it with needles."
  The Duchess noted:
  - Yes, torture, it's very pleasant! And we'll put her through hell again!
  Elfaraya sighed heavily. What a vile bitch she is. You help her, and she wants to torture you. Is that even fair?
  I wish I could play some nasty trick on her.
  The gnome executioner noted:
  "Grenades can also be made from ceramics. The main thing is to not delay the discovery for too long, lest others copy it from us."
  The Duchess remarked:
  "I've been preparing for war for a long time; we have a strong and disciplined army. And as for the king, I don't give a damn about him! And in this case, it's time to become empress!"
  The gnome executioner remarked with irony:
  - Just don't become a goddess. In the end, everyone is mortal!
  The Duchess muttered:
  "You gnomes live a long time, though. What's your secret?"
  Here Elfaraya interjected:
  "This is how the demiurge gods and the Supreme Absolute created us! It's humans who are unlucky."
  The gnome executioner nodded:
  - Yes, people... They really do live short lives and, as they grow old, they become decrepit. We gnomes, for example, although we add wrinkles and gray hair, our physical strength does not diminish with age and our health is oh, oh, oh! But humans, in this regard, are insignificant creatures.
  The Duchess remarked:
  - And she looks like a human female. I've seen people in portraits.
  Elfaraya was indignant:
  - Not at all, I don"t look like those freaks, especially the old women, and don"t insult me!
  The gnome executioner noted:
  "We should at least spank her. She's acting so brazenly. Or drive red-hot metal needles under her fingernails. Then she'll sing really well!"
  The Duchess replied in a serious tone:
  "If the grenades work well, then maybe I'll even grant her nobility and give her some position at court. That way she'll be a better person!"
  Elfaraya answered confidently:
  - The grenades will pay off, your majesty!
  And she continued her work. Indeed, this weapon is simple, but extremely effective. Especially for the Middle Ages.
  Slave girls and boys began making the first, fairly simple detonators that could spray coal dust and detonate it with a spark. These were quite reliable technologies.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - With new weapons, we will be invincible! When we are united, we are invincible!
  And the elven countess energetically stamped her bare, chiseled, very beautiful and seductive foot. Her eyes sparkled like emeralds and sapphires. This girl is simply superb.
  Ceramic grenades are gradually becoming available. The trick is to pulverize the coal. This will create a bigger explosion than TNT, but will be cheaper and easier to produce.
  Here is the first grenade in the hand of a beautiful and almost naked girl.
  Then the second one appeared, and the third one - pretty cool warriors.
  The Duchess hissed:
  - Throw a grenade, let's see how it works!
  The gnome executioner suggested:
  - Let's put up some wooden blocks first, so we can see how the energy flows of real fighters will scatter!
  The noble cat confirmed:
  - Of course, we'll do that!
  The slave boys and girls rushed to the carpenter's shop to gather boards and warrior models. And they did so with great energy.
  Elfaraya, meanwhile, weighed the grenade and wondered where Trollead was. Had he already been finished off, or starved to death?
  The elven countess even felt sorry for the boy. It was all really so absurd. He'd probably been tortured, and it would be a shame to be left alone in this world, so cruel and alien. It wasn't the most pleasant situation.
  The girl tried to imagine something pleasant.
  For example, how she fought enemies together with her very beautiful and sexy elf warrior.
  Olivia, pounding her bare feet on the control panel, exclaims capriciously:
  - What a way you express yourself... People only get pissed in the toilet, but we're annihilating the Death Star, dispersing it into quarks across the vastness of the universe!
  One of the last destroyers in the rebel fleet exploded right next to them. The Millennium Falcon shook. Another warrior in a bikini (the black Fdendo loved pretty women, especially blondes!), twisted her head and slammed her head into the control panel.
  Luckily for her, the carbon fiber held up, and the beauty, slightly deafened, landed with her plump butt on the scaly surface of the starship.
  Olivia encouraged her partner:
  - Don't sit on Elfarai's photon, everything is under control!
  However, the intensifying aroma of ozone and streams of hot air bursting in from every crack indicated that the Millennium Falcon had already received a wound incompatible with long life.
  Both beauties, barely covered in bikinis, fell upon Fdendo. Their golden-olive bodies glistened with sweat, as if oiled, and exuded the scent of honey, nutmeg, and tropical wildflowers.
  The girl whispered in chorus to the black man:
  - Fly away, cloud, fly away!
  Fdendo tried to free himself and throw off his hands, pleading:
  "Our ship is the only chance for rebellion. Otherwise, all the sacrifices will be in vain!"
  In response, Elfaraya grabbed the joystick with the graceful, bare toes of her strong, nimble feet. She tossed the gravionic control panel, catching it with her chiseled, springy sole. And Olivia, with her long, yet even and harmonious toes, began to control the Millennium Falcon.
  The high-class businessman Fdendo tried to take the remote control away, but Elfarai's sweet lips found his and sealed a deep kiss. The intoxicating narcotic was so sweet and enticing that the black man's head spun. Meanwhile, Olivia had already begun unbuckling his belt, her pink tongue twitching seductively.
  Both girls are turned on, they are so hot and lustful, and at the same time skillful, like priestesses of the seraglio.
  Nevertheless, the intense heat of lovemaking didn't stop their bare, slender fingers from controlling the Millennium Falcon with the gravionic joystick. The warriors pressed the buttons one by one, trusting not observation, but their intuition and the inimitable magic of Eros!
  And the small ship skillfully flew past the fiery stripes of ultralasers.
  But the Ewoks, those funny little bears, had nowhere to retreat. Now walking tanks and tracked transports were approaching from all sides. Tens of thousands of Imperial soldiers and hundreds of walking tanks, plus the triple-headed colossi... The jungle was ablaze...
  Several ultrablaster beams pierced the rebel-captured walking tank. The turret exploded like a glass of gunpowder. All that remained were the mechanical legs, gleaming like charred iron. The black man was dead. And since he was a space Muslim and fell in battle, his soul rushed to Jannat along with thousands of beautiful and eternally youthful houris.
  The warrior princess whispered:
  - We will preserve honor if life cannot be saved!
  The royal girl tore off the last of her clothes. Her naked, strong, slender body, which had acquired a chocolate tan on Entatouine, stood out like amber against the bluish grass. The princess's bare soles left graceful marks in the powdered, bloody dust left by the fallen Ewoks and rebels.
  Elfaraya woke from her pleasant fantasy. The dwarf executioner tugged at the chain attached to her collar and growled:
  - Everything is ready!
  Indeed, there are boards with images of warriors and wooden figurines, also painted, lined up. It all looks wonderful.
  One of the slave boys even jokingly exclaimed:
  The troops are ready, madam,
  We will destroy everything!
  The Duchess advised:
  - Come on, throw it! Let's see if this isn't a bluff!
  Elfaraya tossed the ceramic grenade from her hand and caught it with her bare toes. And then, suddenly, she threw it.
  The death gift flew in an arc and crashed into a cluster of pieces and boards.
  The blast exploded with great force. Splinters of wood and broken planks flew in all directions. Even the hobbit boys were knocked off their feet.
  Elfaraya and the Duchess were also shaken and doused with the blast wave and dust. The noble cat muttered:
  - This is amazing! And it hits. Like a colossal giant with a club the size of a house!
  The elf countess pulled a splinter out of her bare, round heel.
  The dwarf executioner, who was so powerful that he didn"t even flinch, remarked with a grin:
  - Not a bad thing! Although there are more powerful bombs in distant worlds!
  The Duchess answered logically:
  "Right now, I'm only interested in my world. The planet is big, there are many countries, and we'll have plenty to conquer!"
  Elfaraya giggled and noted with a chuckle:
  - What hands, such greedy hands, a big grabber is coming, and we'll hit him under the chair!
  The gnome executioner grinned and suggested:
  "What if we held a brazier to her bare feet and lit a hot fire? First, of course, we'd oil her feet to prevent the roast from burning!"
  The Duchess remarked angrily:
  "Your kitchen, executioner, is so monotonous! I've decided to do something different. Since she's prepared weapons for us, I'm taking her into my service. She'll be my armorer. And we'll start wars. Until we conquer the entire planet!"
  The gnome executioner asked:
  - And once we conquer the planet, what next?
  The noble cat replied:
  - We'll see! Although, maybe this devil will be able to build ships capable of flying between worlds!
  Elfaraya noted:
  "It's very complex. It requires knowledge of a wide range of technologies and a high level of development."
  The gnome executioner muttered:
  - There are logical ideas here!
  The Duchess stated:
  "Come on, make grenades! We need a lot of them. At the same time, I'll announce a troop rally for my vassals. We'll definitely start a big war."
  The hobbit boy exclaimed:
  - Glory to the Empress!
  Elfaraya noted:
  "We need to make some kind of device for throwing gifts of annihilation. You can't throw them very well with your hands, and your own people might get hurt!"
  The Duchess growled:
  - So you make them! Come on, draw them, and our blacksmiths and carpenters will reproduce them.
  Elfaraya started drawing a catapult. This world already had ballistas and catapults, but they needed to be more sophisticated. And the girl tensed up. Indeed, if you're going to do something, do it right.
  And she drew pictures to make it interesting. What a genius girl.
  And she drew, and the slave boys began to tinker with the drawing. Their bare, muscular, tanned legs flashed. And their bodies, dry and sinewy, glistened with tan.
  Elfaraya worked and sang:
  When the war ends-
  And paradise will come from heaven...
  The dream will remain alone -
  Keep count of the years forever!
  And then the thought came again: "Where is Trolleadu?" Indeed, she had already begun to miss this young man. After all, one could say she had truly fallen in love with him.
  Even in my head I heard:
  Love is that, love is that,
  What happens in adult films!
  And in life it happens, they say,
  But this, but this, of course, is a secret for the guys!
  Elfaraya watched the hobbit boys skillfully construct a catapult from her designs. It was funny how this race resembled children. But hobbits were also strong and agile. A hobbit resembling a ten-year-old boy could easily bury a pair of grown human men, or perhaps even two.
  Elfarae even found this a little amusing. And what couldn't she do? She could do everything, actually.
  Better to curry favor with the duchess, and then, if necessary, gain your freedom. Those same hobbit slaves, for example, could rebel, and they'd have plenty of strength to fight!
  And now the first catapult is ready. It has blades like a propeller. And it throws everything, and launches everything wonderfully.
  The Duchess ordered tests to be carried out.
  The catapult was dragged out into the yard. First, they simply fired an empty pot. It flew high into the air and flew in an arc. After flying over many houses, it crashed into the wall behind the fortress.
  The gnome executioner noted:
  - Long-range thing!
  The Duchess remarked with a satisfied look:
  - With such weapons, we can easily take over the whole world!
  Elfaraya noted:
  - If the other powers unite against you, then you won"t be able to take over the world so easily!
  The noble cat growled contemptuously:
  "You're too smart, and smart beyond your years! Although, if you look at hobbits, age has nothing to do with it! They're in eternal childhood."
  The gnome executioner noted with a satisfied look:
  - It seems we weren't mistaken about her! She lives up to expectations.
  The Duchess ordered the other cat:
  "Write a decree declaring a general mobilization. All my vassals are to gather as many troops as possible. Those who fail to appear will be hanged or, at best, fined!"
  The cat secretary wrote the decree, and the duchess signed it, then the slave boy ran up with the seal, and the ruler slapped the brand.
  And licking her lips, she noted:
  "I think this elf deserves a reward! Bring her some wine for her dear guests."
  And again, like hare's feet, the bare, small, round, slightly dusty heels of the slave boys flashed by.
  Elfaraya smiled and asked:
  - Can't you take the collar off my neck? Otherwise I look like a little dog.
  The Duchess nodded:
  "We can take it off. She deserves it. Perhaps, after conquering the planet, I'll give her a county, or even a duchy!"
  The elf girl asked:
  - Where is my friend with the aquiline nose, Trollead? Will you bring him to me?
  The gnome executioner noted:
  "I treated him so badly that he's unconscious! Specifically, I broke all his toes and fried his heels. So if he's not dead yet, he won't be recovering anytime soon."
  Elfaraya noted with a sigh:
  - Elves and trolls are very resilient, and I hope he recovers quickly!
  So I hope...
  The Duchess giggled and remarked:
  - Maybe I should put you through the torture too, for symmetry? Not a bad idea, my tormentor?
  The gnome executioner nodded with a carnivorous smile:
  - I would be very happy to torment such a beautiful and appetizing body with hot tongs and a whip made of barbed wire!
  Then the hobbit boys came running in. They brought wine in a vessel of bright orange metal and golden goblets.
  The Duchess replied with a smile:
  "Don't be afraid of the executioner! He's just itching to torture someone. Better drink to our victory!"
  Elfaraya offered with a sweet look:
  - Perhaps you would like to have a drink with me, Your Highness?
  The noble cat growled:
  "Do you still want my executioner to deal with you? Then drink, or you don't respect me!"
  The elven countess took a glass, the hobbit slaves poured it for her, and the girl drank. The wine was sweet and intoxicating.
  Elfaraya said with pathos:
  - For our great victory, for the happiness of all intelligent beings in the universe!
  And then the elf countess felt dizzy and passed out.
  CHAPTER No 12.
  In any case, the girl's eyes closed and she fell asleep.
  She dreams that she's walking along a red brick path. She carries a quiver, bow, and arrows on her back. Her bare feet feel the warmth of the surface, heated by three suns.
  Barefoot Elfaraya wears a short skirt, her chest covered only by a thin strip of fabric.
  She is carrying out some important task.
  She doesn't know what exactly. But it's clearly something special, like saving the elven civilization.
  And some creature comes out to meet her. It's the size of a good-sized tank, and its shell sparkles with diamonds.
  The elf bowed to him and chirped:
  - I'm glad to meet you!
  The giant horned turtle wheezed:
  - Don't rejoice prematurely! What are you looking for?
  Elfaraya shrugged and replied:
  - I don't know myself. But I only know that it is very important to save the elven civilization.
  The bully noted:
  - Really, you don't know yourself? Don't you have a king in your head?
  The elf took and sang:
  There are no clear limits in life,
  There are no clear limits in life...
  And a lot of unnecessary, boring fuss...
  And I always lack something,
  And I always lack something,
  In winter summer, in winter summer, in autumn spring!
  The turtle grinned and replied, flashing its diamond shell:
  "I see you're a frivolous person, flashing your bare, pink heels on the brick. So, if you want to be let through, answer this question..."
  Elfaraya nodded:
  - I'm ready to answer any questions!
  The bully chirped:
  - Who is this guy who seems cool, but is actually bad?
  The elf giggled and muttered:
  - Troll!
  The turtle burst into laughter, and its shell sparkled even more brightly with diamonds that shimmered in the three suns. And it said:
  - No! You guessed wrong! You will be punished for this.
  The elf jumped up in response and took off running. Her pink heels literally sparkled, and her bare, tanned legs flashed like propeller blades.
  The girl roared:
  - The elf is racing, the stormy horses,
  I must admit, the devil will kill you!
  They won't catch us, they won't catch us!
  In response, two tall, goat-headed giants appeared. They rushed after the elf, stamping their hooves. Quite muscular fellows.
  Elfaraya, while gobbling up the food, took it and began to sing:
  - I got carried away, carried away, carried away!
  The penalty has grown, grown, grown!
  And behind her, horned gorillas with broad shoulders and thick arms and legs raced.
  It's, as they say, either a race for the leader or persecution for criticism.
  The elf's bare feet were light and nimble. The two thugs couldn't close the distance and were already gasping for breath.
  But then a rider on a black horse and clad in black armor appeared before Elfaraya. He flashed a long sword, which glowed brightly, as if made of stars.
  This black warrior thundered:
  - Where are you running, girl?
  Elfaraya answered in a frightened voice:
  - I'm being chased, if you're a true knight, then help me!
  The rider, clad in ink-colored armor, waved his hand. Two enormous goat-headed warriors froze in midair. The elf woman froze as well. It was as if they were frozen in thick ice, unable to move.
  The black warrior asked with a smile:
  - So, what's all this fuss about?
  Two goat-headed warriors roared in unison:
  - She answered the question incorrectly, and our hostess must pay for it!
  The knight asked:
  - And who is your mistress?
  The goat warriors answered in chorus:
  - Turtle Fortila!
  The warrior in black armor nodded:
  - I know her! She's wise and fair. And what do you expect from a girl for that?
  The goat warriors answered in chorus:
  - Nine blows with sticks on the bare heels, that's all!
  The warrior in black armor confirmed:
  - Okay, it"s not fatal, but at least justice will be done.
  Elfaraya asked capriciously:
  - And you will allow a girl to beat the bare sole of my graceful, beautiful foot with sticks?
  The warrior smiled and suggested:
  - Maybe I should let you get even? What do you think about that?
  The goat warriors nodded in unison:
  - It's possible! But only once. And if she loses, then there will be twenty blows on her bare heels.
  The knight in black armor nodded:
  - All the better! Let's go!
  The goat-headed gorillas gurgled:
  - What is smaller than a poppy seed and larger than the universe?
  Elfaraya shrugged and replied:
  - Can we think about it?
  The goat warriors growled:
  - No time to think!
  The girl frowned and replied:
  - Probably the troll's conceit. It's smaller than a poppy seed, and yet, it's inflated beyond the universe!
  The goat-headed gorillas giggled:
  - You guessed wrong! Now you'll get a slap on the heels with a stick.
  The warrior in black armor asked:
  - Do you know the answer yourself?
  The goat warriors nodded:
  - Yes! These are the laws of the universe. They can fit into a container smaller than a poppy seed, and at the same time, there's little room for them in the universe!
  The Black Knight nodded:
  - Excellent! Therefore, get to your duty.
  The warrior goats freed themselves and approached Elfarae. She tried unsuccessfully to move.
  They grabbed the girl by the elbows and pushed her onto her back. Then, they took a special device out of their backpacks.
  They stuck the elf's bare feet in there and fastened them tightly. Then one of the goats broke off a bamboo stick and swung it through the air. And it whistled.
  Elfaraya lay on her back. Pebbles pricked her sharp shoulder blades. Her bare, tanned legs were tightly clasped. And she couldn't move them.
  And then the bamboo stick whistled and fell upon the girl"s bare, pink heel, with its graceful curve.
  The elf felt a sharp pain that radiated from her feet to the back of her head.
  The second goat held the device and counted at the same time:
  - Once!
  Once again the blow of the stick fell on the girl's bare heels.
  - Two!
  Elfaraya screamed in pain. How cruel and unpleasant it was. And the stick kept whistling and striking with all its might against the beauty's bare, pink, graceful sole.
  First one, then the other. Elfaraya moaned loudly and cried out how excruciating and painful it was.
  The black warrior noted:
  - I hope you won't hurt her?
  The big goat answered confidently:
  - We have a lot of experience in this!
  Another horned one said:
  - Elves, in general, have a very strong and resilient body.
  When the blows ceased, the goat warriors removed the device from the girl's bare feet and, bowing, departed. They did, however, leave with a loud stomp.
  Elfaraya stopped moaning and tried to stand. But her legs, bruised and blue by the sticks, were in such pain that she screamed. She crawled onto all fours, like a dog.
  The girl muttered:
  - My heels are sore, how will I walk now?
  The black warrior noted:
  - Try walking on your toes. It'll be easier!
  Elfaraya carefully stood on her tiptoes, but it was still very painful. The girl began to whine:
  - Oh, to receive great torment on the heels,
  No one in the world can understand...
  I'm a girl, not just a bitch,
  And believe me, I can give back!
  The black warrior answered confidently:
  "It'll heal soon, don't worry! In the meantime, you probably want to save your elven people from destruction?"
  The girl was surprised:
  - Why do you think so?
  The knight in black replied:
  - He who walks the red brick road is sure to try to save someone!
  The elf nodded and confirmed:
  - Yes, that's true! And what can you offer me?
  The black warrior replied:
  - Nothing special. You don't even know what you're looking for. But I do!
  Elfaraya grinned and asked:
  - And what do you know?
  The Black Knight replied:
  "You're looking for a red dragon statue. It's supposed to protect your people from the very real, seven-headed dragon."
  The elf replied with a sigh:
  - True warrior. But can you really help me?
  - I can, if you fight a vampire with swords and manage to defeat him!
  Elfaraya stated:
  "Vampires are incredibly strong. And it's extremely difficult to stand up to them. Perhaps you could provide me with an easier opponent?"
  Black nodded:
  - Yes? Do you want to fight, for example, a person?
  The elf nodded with a smile:
  - With great pleasure!
  The knight suggested:
  - Will you answer riddles?
  The girl looked at her bruised legs and answered with a sigh:
  - I wouldn't want to! I've already been pretty beaten down. Maybe you could offer me something else?
  The Black Knight nodded:
  - Okay, if so... Then sing something!
  Barefoot Elfaraya nodded and chirped:
  - It is possible!
  The elf cleared her throat and began to sing:
  In my hands is the sharpest sword,
  I chop off heads, easily with a swing...
  I can cut off any one, believe me,
  Knowing neither shame nor fear!
  
  Terrible news in a cruel war,
  The girl who is loved forever!
  Thrown into the jaws of the fiend Satan,
  Where, Lord, is justice and mercy?!
    
  The Elf Maiden went barefoot,
  Feet were pounding on the dusty paths!
  For the sins that the springs flowed,
  She had the chance to march to distant lands!
    
  In early spring I set out on my journey,
  My feet are so blue from the cold!
  You can't even bite a piece of meat,
  Only the firs nod in the frost!
    
  So on the road full of stones,
  The girl's feet were covered in blood!
  And the villain passes by Elfia,
  Towards the city of kings, Jerusalem!
    
  Favkaz Mountains, ridges covered in snow,
  Sharp stones prick the soles of your feet!
  But you fed on the power of the earth,
  Having chosen the difficult Hajj to the city of God!
    
  Summer, desert, evil sun,
  Like girls' legs in a frying pan!
  The sacred city became close,
  Everyone bears an infinite burden!
    
  There at the grave of God-Christ,
  The maiden bowed her knees in supplication!
  Where, great one, is the measure of sin,
  Where do I draw strength from in righteousness?
    
  God said to her, frowning,
  You can't change this world with prayer alone!
  Elves are destined to rule for centuries,
  Serve her faithfully without asking for money!
    
  The virgin nodded: I believe in Christ,
  You chose Elf as the savior of the world!
  I will spread the truth about this to everyone,
  The message of Jesus the idol God!
    
  The way back was easy and quick,
  My bare feet have become strong!
  God stretched out His hand with grace,
  Muscles and will as if made of steel!
    
  And you joined the army,
  She became a pilot and fought in the Trollwaffe!
  There she showed the height of beauty,
  Troll destroyer, rushing on a land mine!
    
  A dashing warrior, a brave fighter,
  Devoted to the party - to the cause of the Soviets!
  I believe in the end, victorious over the scum,
  Throw the demonic pack up to the wall and answer for it!
    
  Why was the fighter jet shot down?
  You didn't have time to release the straps!
  And the shield turned out to be defective,
  And the evil troll bastard suddenly became brothers with the nanny!
    
  The war became unequal and cruel,
  At least I'm a girl, I'm crying, I'm crying bitterly!
  As if in trouble we had to dive to the bottom,
  After all, luck has left the Fatherland!
    
  My cry to God: Almighty, why?
  You separated me from my beloved boyfriend!
  I didn't even wear a coat in the cold,
  And she beat me for three enemies!
    
  Doesn't she deserve it?
  Celebrate victory with me and flowers!
  Bake generous pies for the holiday,
  And I hope to come to the parade!
    
  The stern Lord answered gloomily:
  Who in the world is happy, who is doing well?
  The flesh will suffer and groan with pain,
  After all, the elf community is disgusting, sinful!
    
  Well, and then, when I come in glory,
  I will throw into Gehenna those who are not worthy of life!
  I will resurrect you and the guy of my dreams,
  Then you won"t want a better fate!
  As she sang, a dozen beautiful, heavenly angels appeared in the sky. They clapped their hands enthusiastically, confirming that they had thoroughly enjoyed the beauty's singing.
  The black warrior nodded his head in approval and roared:
  "Excellent, you have excellent vocal skills! However, to obtain the red dragon statuette, you must also be an excellent swordsman."
  Elfaraya bowed and winced as she said:
  - With such damaged legs, it"s practically impossible to fight, even with such an insignificant opponent as a human!
  The knight in black armor swung his sword, glittering in the stars. A greenish wave, like the reflection of grass, passed from it. And the girl's toned, chiseled, graceful legs became whole again.
  The elf bowed, stamped her bare foot with great confidence and said:
  "Now, give me a man! I'll smash him to pieces, even if he's a giant as tall as a fathom!"
  Black confirmed:
  - You'll have a rival just what you need!
  And he made a figure eight with his sword. A boy suddenly appeared before the elven girl. He was wearing only swimming trunks, a child of eleven or twelve. Thin, tanned, but wiry. His shoulder blades were sharp, his ribs showed through his tanned skin, and his back and sides were covered in scars, now healed, from whips and lashes.
  Although he was only a boy with a childish face, he looked proud. The slave's blond hair, tanned chocolate brown from the sun, seemed neatly trimmed, and his chin gave his face a masculine expression.
  Elfaraya muttered in confusion:
  "I won't fight with a child. Especially since I think he's a slave boy."
  The black warrior confirmed:
  "Yes, he's a slave boy who toiled in the quarries, barefoot and wearing only swimming trunks, for more than two-thirds of the day, doing the hardest work. But on the other hand, he was born a prince. And he ended up in slavery, which hardened him, but didn't break him."
  The slave boy stamped his bare foot angrily, crushing a pebble with his calloused heel, and shouted:
  - I'm ready to fight you, noble lady! I hope you're of good birth, because fighting a commoner is too much for me!
  The black warrior nodded:
  - On one side of the table you will have a statue of a red dragon, and on the other, your freedom, boy!
  The young warrior shook his not very long, but sharp sword, and said:
  For the Fatherland and freedom until the end,
  Making hearts beat in unison!
  The elf countess answered confidently:
  - It will be an unequal fight!
  And she swung her much longer and heavier sword. Both warriors moved together. They had one thing in common: they were barefoot. But the boy's feet, though small, were already calloused from constantly walking barefoot on the sharp stones of the quarries. The elven girl, on the other hand, had softer, pink soles with a graceful arch to her bare heel.
  The swords clashed, and sparks flew. The Countess, of course, as a noblewoman, practiced fencing. Even in the space age, it wasn't considered a top priority. For an elf, she was tall, large, and muscular, and she expected to defeat some half-naked, skinny boy from the quarries with ease.
  But she came across a persistent and dexterous boy who had learned fencing lessons in early childhood and hadn't forgotten them in the mines, breaking rocks with a crowbar and pushing mine carts.
  At first, Elfaraya felt sorry for the child and attacked him halfheartedly. He was truly so tiny, and he'd clearly had his share of abuse in the quarries. Look how his ribs were showing through, and his skin was covered in abrasions and bruises.
  The boy, however, was quick and scratched the girl on the knee with his sword. Blood appeared.
  Elfaraya hit the boy in response, shouting:
  - Little louse!
  Although the slave boy parried, he was knocked off his feet. But he immediately jumped up and pounced on the elf like a little devil. And in his thin, yet strong and nimble hands, the sword flickered like a mosquito's wings.
  And then the swift and thin boy scratched Elfaraya again.
  The girl, having received a wound on her leg, chirped:
  Girls will never give up,
  And theirs will be, know, a glorious victory...
  The boy will not prevail, Satan,
  Who obviously hasn't had lunch for a long time!
  The boy continued his attacks in response. He was as swift as a grasshopper. And his sword was very fast. It seemed smaller, but at least it was light. The boy himself, though he had carried heavy boulders and smashed things with a sledgehammer, hadn't managed to gain weight due to the poor nutrition in the quarry, and remained very wiry and agile.
  Elfaraya couldn't get into his lean, agile, muscular body. She tried several times, but it never worked.
  The countess began to sweat. Her tanned, strong bikini-clad body was covered in sweat, looking like polished bronze. Her breathing became heavier.
  Elfaraya struck with all her might, but the boy leaped nimbly, even briefly standing barefoot on the blade. He struck Elfaraya in the chest. The elf's blood began to flow more intensely. The girl cried out in pain. And she tried to attack again.
  But it's hard to hit when the target is small and shorter than you, and also moving.
  The slave boy, fighting, also began to sweat and shimmer. He sang along:
  Spartacus is a great valiant fighter,
  He raised his enemies against the evil yoke...
  But the uprising came to an end,
  Freedom lasted only for a fraction of a moment!
  
  But the boy is from a different time now,
  Decided to fight for a just cause...
  He looks small and doesn't seem to be strong,
  But he knows how to fight very skillfully!
  The knight in black armor nodded:
  "Yes, this prince is not so simple! The quarries only hardened him, but they did not break him. And if you want to defeat him, you'll have to try hard."
  The slave boy exclaimed:
  - I either win or die! Without freedom, life isn't worth living!
  Elfaraya hissed:
  - And I am fighting for the future of my nation.
  And the girl swung again and tried to hit her young vis-à-vis.
  However, her blow was unsuccessful. What's more, the nimble imp went and stabbed the elven girl in the stomach, leaving another bloody hole.
  Elfaraya became more cautious. It was truly humiliating to fight a human child. And to lose, too. She had never touched him yet.
  A very nimble, barefoot, wiry slave boy. And he jumps like a grasshopper.
  Elfaraya sang:
  There was a grasshopper sitting in the grass,
  There was a grasshopper sitting in the grass,
  Just like a cucumber,
  He was green!
  But then the elf came,
  Which beat everyone...
  She made him rich,
  And ate the blacksmith!
  This made it funnier, but it didn't add any strength. The boy periodically inflicted shallow, but numerous and painful, wounds on the elf. From the loss of blood, Elfaraya began to weaken and slow down.
  And her opponent was even more resilient. Indeed, sixteen or seventeen hours of work a day would either kill or harden anyone. And the boy's body was unusually strong and capable of withstanding any strain.
  At the same time, carrying heavy boulders for days on end did not make the muscles stiff, but on the contrary, made them stronger and more agile.
  Then the boy-prince hit her under the knee with his sword, and Elfaraya bent over, and she was so twisted that she could no longer turn around properly.
  And the slave boy pressed on, humming cheerfully and playfully, and jabbed the girl in the stomach again. And this time much deeper.
  Elfaraya began to gasp. She jerked her foot, but the tip of the sword struck her right in the heel of her bare foot, piercing it noticeably. This not only caused pain but also made it difficult to stand.
  The elf fell on her side and cooed:
  - I will not surrender to the enemies of Satan - the executioners,
  I will show courage under torture...
  Though the fire blazes and the whip beats on the shoulders,
  I love my Elf with a passionate ardor!
  The slave boy grinned and responded by kicking the girl in the nose with his bare heel. He hit her hard, breaking her breathing apparatus, and sang:
  - Freedom is paradise,
  There is no joy in chains...
  Fight and dare,
  Reject the pitiful fear!
  And the boy struck even harder with his sword, knocking it from Elfarai's weakened hands. The girl reached out to pick it up. But the blade's tip immediately sank between her shoulder blades. And blood flowed again.
  The girl fell and grabbed her sword by the hilt. But the half-naked boy's blade struck her right across the wrist, severing the tendon. The sword fell, and Elfaraya was disarmed.
  The slave boy let out a cry of joy and struck the elf in the temple with the butt of his sword. She kicked her bare, long-suffering legs and collapsed, completely knocked out.
  The prince placed his bare foot, which had not seen shoes for several years, on the girls" heavily heaving chest.
  And letting out a cry of victory, he said:
  - Long live light and freedom!
  And then he turned to the black warrior:
  - Finish her off?
  The knight in black armor answered confidently:
  - No! You've already defeated her. Now you're free and have thrown off the chains of slavery.
  The boy, now a former slave, asked:
  - And now can I be restored to my former title of prince?
  The warrior in black armor answered decisively:
  - No! Your country has been conquered. But you've proven yourself an excellent fighter. You'll join the army and become a scout. You'll command a squad of boys just like yourself. And that will be your reward for defeating the elven countess.
  The young prince bowed and said with a smile:
  - Thank you! I won't go back to those stinking quarries.
  The knight in black armor waved his sword, and the victorious boy disappeared.
  Elfaraya opened her eyes with difficulty. Her head ached. She stood up unsteadily and asked haltingly:
  - What's wrong with me?!
  The black warrior answered with sadness in his voice:
  - You lost! The boy won and got his freedom.
  The elf said with a sigh:
  - So what, will my people perish now?
  The knight in black armor answered confidently:
  "Of course not! If anything happens, you have a chance to fight again. Only this time, you'll have to fight the one you rejected the first time. Not a human, but a vampire!"
  Elfaraya replied with a sigh:
  "I'd agree with a vampire, too. But I'm all wounded and I have no strength. Is there a way to heal my wounds so I'm ready for battle?"
  The knight in black armor said:
  "There's only one way. You must guess the riddle. Answer it correctly, and all your wounds will be healed at once."
  The elf pleaded:
  "Your riddles are so complex that they're simply impossible to answer. Maybe there's another way? Well, if you want, I'll sing to you!"
  The warrior in black replied:
  "You'll sing to me, of course, no matter what! But to heal your wounds, you must answer my question. Everything comes at a price."
  The angels flying above the knight's head immediately confirmed, ringing in a chorus of voices:
  - You have to pay for everything!
  The knight in black armor remarked:
  "But I'll be kind to you and let you think about the question. And you're a smart girl, and I think you'll definitely figure out the right answer."
  Elfaraya noted:
  - It is impossible to know everything in the world.
  The warrior with the shining sword nodded:
  - True! But any answer to any question can be logically calculated.
  The elf replied with a sigh:
  - Okay, fine. I'm ready.
  The knight in black armor said:
  - What comes without coming, and goes without leaving!
  Elfaraya whistled, her sapphire eyes widening.
  - Wow! What a question.
  The warrior in black nodded:
  - Think! Try to figure it out logically!
  The elf countess furrowed her brow and began to think out loud:
  Maybe it's money? It does seem to come, but there's never enough of it, so you could say it comes without ever arriving in the quantities it should. On the other hand, it goes away as if it never left, as if it weren't there.
  Elfaraya touched her wounded heel with her index finger and continued her reasoning;
  Or maybe these are problems. They seem to come, but they were always there, so they come without actually coming. And the problems seem to have gone away, but in reality, they remain.
  Elfaraya scratched the back of her head again and continued her discussion on the given topic.
  For example, maybe this is life. They say life has come, but it was there before. On the other hand, they say life has gone. But it remains, and the soul is immortal, after all.
  Yes, there are so many more options to offer. My eyes are literally dazzled by the various possible answers. They gave her time. But in reality, the more I think about it, the more confused I become, and a whole host of possible answers emerge. And time isn't helping either...
  Then it dawned on Elfara and she said:
  - I'm ready to give an answer!
  The warrior in black nodded his head, shining like ebony:
  - Well, speak up!
  Elfaraya stated decisively:
  Time comes without coming! They say time has come, but it has already happened! And time also goes without going. They say time has gone, but it still remains!
  The knight in black armor chuckled and replied:
  "Well, the answer is generally correct, and it can be counted. Although, the standard answer is memories! But time is also a perfectly possible option."
  The black-robed warrior made a figure eight with his gleaming sword. And a few seconds later, all of Erimiada's wounds and injuries vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
  The elf girl smiled and said:
  - Thank you! Now can I take advantage of my second chance?
  The knight in black armor answered in a thunderous voice:
  - You can! But this time you'll have to fight a vampire. Are you ready for such a challenge?
  Elfaraya answered decisively:
  - If I have no choice, then yes! I'm ready!
  The warrior raised his sword, but then the angels fluttering above his black helmet began to cry out in unison:
  - Let her sing for us! She has such a wonderful voice!
  The knight in black armor nodded:
  - Sing, beauty! My retinue demands it.
  Elfaraya nodded reluctantly and remarked:
  - I'm out of voice!
  The angels cried out with laughter:
  - No need! You're wonderful! Come on, don't be shy!
  The elf took a deep breath and sang with delight:
  Glory to the country that blooms in the sky,
  Glory to the great, sacred Elfia...
  No, there will be no silence in eternity -
  The stars of the field have sprinkled pearls!
    
  The great Supreme Svarog is with us,
  Son of the Almighty formidable Rod...
  So that this warrior could help in battle,
  We must glorify the elves' light of God!
    
  The girls have no doubts, believe me,
  The girls furiously attack the horde...
  Will be torn to pieces, mad beast,
  And the enemy will get a punch in the nose!
    
  No, don't try to break the elves,
  The enemy will not bring us to our knees...
  We will defeat you, evil thief,
  Great grandfather Elin is with us!
    
  No, never, never give in to enemies,
  The barefoot girls fought under Elfa...
  We will not show weakness and shame,
  Let's deal with the big Satan!
    
  God allowed me to finish my battles,
  And to destroy the hordes of the Wehrmacht with flying colors...
  So that we don"t end up with zeros,
  So that it is not quiet in the cemetery!
    
  Give the girls freedom, fighters,
  So the orcs will have something like this...
  Our fathers will be proud of us,
  The enemy won't milk us like cows!
    
  It is true that spring will come soon,
  The ears of grain in the fields will turn golden...
  I believe our dream will come true,
  If you have to fight for the truth!
    
  God, this means all people love,
  Faithful, strong, eternal in joy...
  Even though violent blood is shed,
  The girl is often carefree!
    
  We crush the enemy in battle,
  Doing something so airy...
  Even though a storm rages over the worlds,
  And a sultry eclipse comes!
    
  No, the elves will stand until the grave,
  And they won't give in to the erkhists one bit...
  You write down the boys in a notebook,
  And sharpen all your sabers for battle!
    
  Yes, it is true that the dawn will be without boundaries,
  Believe me, everyone will find joy...
  We are opening another, believe me, light-
  The girl's hand reaches up into the sky!
    
  We can do it, we can do it, believe me,
  Something we don"t even dare to dream about...
  We see clearly the brightest goal,
  No, don't talk nonsense, fighters!
    
  And we need to fly, jokingly, to Mars,
  We'll open fields there, practically, of rubies...
  And we'll shoot the okroshists right in the eye,
  Hordes of cherubs hover above us!
    
  Yes, the elven country is famous,
  What Elvenism gave to the peoples...
  She is given to us by our family forever -
  For the Motherland, for happiness, for freedom!
    
  In Elfia, every warrior is from the nursery,
  The baby reaches for the gun...
  Therefore, you tremble, villain,
  We call the monster to account!
    
  Yes, ours will be a friendly family,
  What Elfinism will build in the universe...
  We will become, you know, true friends,
  And our business will be creation!
    
  After all, Elfinism is forever given by the Family,
  So that adults and children are happy...
  The boy also reads syllable by syllable,
  But the flame of the demiurge shines in the eyes!
    
  Yes, there will be joy for people forever,
  Who fight together for the cause of Svarog...
  We will soon see the shores of Folgi,
  And we will be in God's place of honor!
    
  Yes, the Elf cannot be broken by the enemies of the Fatherland,
  It will be stronger even than steel...
  Elfia, you are a dear mother to the children,
  And our father, believe me, is the wise Phtalin!
    
  There are no barriers for the Fatherland, believe me,
  She goes forward without stopping...
  The king of hell will soon be checkmated,
  At least he has tattoos on his hands!
    
  We will give our hearts for our Motherland,
  We will climb higher than all the mountains, believe me...
  We girls have a lot of strength,
  Sometimes it even blows your mind!
    
  The boy also gave a subscription for Elf,
  He said he would fight fiercely...
  There is glittering metal in his eyes,
  And the RPG is hidden securely in the backpack!
    
  So let's not play the fool,
  Or better yet, let's all stand together as a wall...
  Passing exams with only A's,
  May Abel rule, and not the evil Cain!
    
  In short, there will be happiness for people,
  And the power of Svarog over the sacred world...
  You, playfully, defeat the Orcs,
  Let Lada be your happiness and idol!
  The elf girl finished singing with great enthusiasm. She bowed, stamped her bare foot, and said:
  - Merci!
  The knight in black armor confirmed:
  "This is a worthy song! It warms the heart and soul. So, I'll give you some advice: do a figure eight with your legs, and you'll gain strength. And you'll be able to handle even a monster like a vampire!"
  Elfaraya bowed and replied:
  - The world should respect us, fear us.
  The soldiers' exploits are countless...
  Elves have always known how to fight.
  We will destroy the orcs to the ground!
  The warrior in black armor made a circle with his sword, and music like the shimmering of icicles could be heard.
  And a silhouette appeared in the sky. It was a handsome but pale young man in a top hat and leather suit. His hands were clad in black leather gloves, while his boots, by contrast, were red. He held a sword. Fangs protruded from his mouth.
  Elfaraya exclaimed, baring her teeth:
  - This is a vampire! He looks quite cute.
  The young man shook his head, adjusted his top hat, and then landed, planting his feet firmly on the ground.
  He bowed to the girl and remarked:
  - She is almost naked and barefoot, like a slave!
  The black warrior replied:
  "This is a beautiful countess from a very noble family. And she wants to obtain the statue of the red dragon to save her people from destruction."
  The vampire boy replied:
  - In any case, I have to defeat her! I'll try to keep her alive if I can.
  Elfaraya answered with a smile:
  "I don't want to kill you either. But if I have to, I'll fight with all my might."
  The black warrior nodded:
  - You will fight with swords. The weapons are equal, and everything will be fair.
  The vampire bowed and replied:
  - It is a great honor for me to cross swords with such a girl.
  Elfaraya winked and chirped:
  - We will go into battle boldly,
  For the cause of the elves...
  We will defeat all the orcs,
  Fight, don't drift!
  The girl and boy took up shining, glittering swords and prepared to fight. Their minds were set on total annihilation.
  The signal sounded. The vampire youth rushed at Elfaraya with wild fury. She met him with a sword strike, parrying the attack. The girl felt much more confident and parried the attempt again, using a barrel roll.
  Then, Elfaraya kicked her opponent between the legs with her bare foot. The vampire managed to block the blow, but it still left him reeling.
  The elf chirped:
  - The enemy does not yet know our strength,
  They didn't use all their power...
  Attacks babies and women,
  I'll kill you anyway, vampire!
  In response, the young man lifted himself slightly off the surface and tried to approach Elfaraya like a stormtrooper.
  The girl then stabbed the enemy in the stomach with the tip of her sword. He received a painful sting, and blood began to flow. The elf performed a butterfly attack and caught the vampire's boot, after which she chirped:
  I will crush the enemy with one blow,
  I, an elf, am brave for a reason!
  Meanwhile, the fight continued. The vampire tried to fly, but Elfaraya kept jumping up and catching him. Droplets of scarlet blood flew.
  The bloodsucker youth noted:
  - You've learned a lot! But you couldn't handle the boy.
  The elf noticed, baring her teeth in a smile:
  - You have to start somewhere. We all learned a little, and don't sin, vampire, before God.
  The vampire suddenly sped up, but his sword missed its target, and Elfaraya struck the bloodsucker on the wrist. More ruby-colored splashes and groans.
  The vampire noted:
  - You, she-devil!
  The elf objected:
  - I serve the forces of good!
  The bloodsucker boy noticed:
  - What's the difference between good and evil?! Even the gods of light kill and show no mercy to their enemies.
  Elfaraya shrugged and chirped:
  The flower petal is fragile,
  If it was torn off a long time ago...
  Even though the world around us is cruel,
  I want to do good!
  The vampire tried to accelerate again and charged the girl. He performed a pitchfork maneuver, but unexpectedly, the elf girl's blade sank into his throat. A stream of blood sprayed out. The vampire jumped back, shaking off the red droplets, and remarked:
  - Indeed, a she-devil!
  Elfaraya leaped, throwing all her strength into the blow. Her bare, round heel caught the vampire squarely on the chin. He collapsed, arms flailing. Several broken teeth flew from the bloodsucker's mouth.
  Elfaraya placed her bare, graceful, tanned and very muscular foot on his chest, raised her hands up and exclaimed:
  - Victory!
  The black warrior asked her:
  - Will you finish me off?
  Elfaraya stated decisively:
  - No!
  The knight in black armor nodded:
  - The red dragon figurine is yours!
  And he made a triangle with his gleaming sword. Immediately, the air flared, and the image of a colorful, powerful dragon appeared, flying toward Elfara. The girl involuntarily cringed.
  Then a small flash, and the dragon turned into a small statue, which floated into the elf girl's hands. She took it and sang:
  - Elves, elves, elves,
  Our youth will be eternal...
  Elves, elves, elves,
  Let us be in eternal happiness!
  CHAPTER 13
  Trolleada was indeed tortured nearly to death by the dwarf executioner and his barefoot slave assistants. They tortured him in every way imaginable.
  They lifted him up to the ceiling, then released the rope, and he fell back down, where it tightened as he reached the floor. It was terribly painful, injuring his joints. Then they broke all his toes with red-hot pincers, and cauterized his feet and chest. Then they scorched the handsome young troll with fire, scorching him from all sides.
  They beat him up and disfigured him so much that he passed out from pain shock and lost consciousness.
  However, even after the shutdown, his brain worked and very vivid visions continued.
  Guard Colonel Marquis de Trolleade, a member of a noble and ancient troll family, was, in his own way, a very fortunate individual. In a world where there are twelve eternally youthful and beautiful girls for every man, life for the males is akin to paradise. There are plenty of representatives of the fair sex who will throw themselves at you. And it's easy to find a girl with a rich dowry.
  And if you yourself are a titled person and very rich, then you have only one problem: not getting killed in a protracted space war.
  Trollead was almost happy, but something was missing. Namely, that great, incomprehensible, dizzying love that only happens in movies. Or in romantic novels.
  But that's just a side effect. Besides, sometimes I thought the war was getting boring. And unnecessary. Someone was making money off of it. But there were no gains, no losses.
  Everything seemed frozen in some kind of tidal wave, like the waves of the sea and their eternal splashing.
  And elves and trolls die, although not in large numbers, thanks to various kinds of protective talismans and charms.
  Trollead was a very handsome youth with a graceful, aquiline nose. He, of course, like all trolls, remained young so he could live a thousand years and depart for the next world without illness or fear. And death was still a long way off. And if you didn't think about it, the end wasn't at all sad.
  But there are many good things in life. And war is also a kind of entertainment. Moreover, magical medicine is so advanced that there are no cripples on either side. And what about death?
  So the soul is immortal... Maybe...
  Although there is, of course, controversy here. For example, even ghosts are not eternal, and sooner or later they disappear somewhere.
  Trollead had his own opinion on this matter.
  But in the last few hours, something else had intrigued him. The captive elf. He found her unusually beautiful and attractive.
  Although trolls generally consider elves to be ugly, especially with their animal-like ears and noses like those of humans, whom trolls despise.
  The latter, by the way, don't smell very much. So many stinking people, even the young. And in old age, people are disgusting and ugly. You can tell right away they're runts. But elves and trolls are always beautiful and youthful!
  Trollead once shot an old woman with a mag-blaster. She was so ugly, and it really infuriated the troll. Such an abomination wasn't fit to live! She was so hunchbacked, toothless, and wrinkled.
  Yes, people, how he hates them! Especially since they don't even know how to heal their own wounds. Such ugly scars remain on their bodies. And how many cripples!?
  The dwarves, for example, may be getting old, but there are no cripples among them, nor among the hobbits. The latter, however, are very childlike and always go barefoot.
  Okay, females, they even fight with their bare toes. But for a male, going barefoot is inappropriate and unsightly. Although, of course, fighting barefoot has its advantages.
  There are many races in the universe. Hobbits live, roughly like elves and trolls, for about a thousand years, never leaving childhood. True, they are not the most developed or respected race. They are often sold into slavery, like humans. And although they are small, they are strong. And far more resilient and hardy than humans.
  Hobbits are especially good in mines and shafts. There, they can slip through the narrowest tunnels and adits. And they are far more resistant to the poisonous gases of the mines than humans.
  That's a big plus for hobbits. They make good slaves. But humans aren't so resilient, especially the old ones. And their children aren't so great either.
  Yes, Trollead simply hated these people. It's the same way children often hate their peers who are weaker or more cowardly. There is, for example, such a thing. Although, it seems, there is no reason for hatred. But instead of sympathy, children often feel a fierce hatred for the crippled, or those who are not particularly smart, and so on.
  One can only sympathize with the humans. Trollead thought it would be a good idea to wipe them off the face of the universe altogether. However, humanism and morality forbid this. Especially since trolls, like elves, are supposedly civilized individuals.
  There are also some truly nasty and evil creatures-orcs. Elves, trolls, dwarves, and hobbits hate them fiercely. Orcs are strong, live for two hundred years, sometimes more, but are quite stupid. Their intelligence level is too low to create a space empire. They are also smelly and ugly, regardless of age. And they are evil, prone to eating each other and other intelligent creatures.
  And their slaves are disobedient and dangerous. Unlike hobbits, who are obedient and smiling in slavery, put up with it, and even rarely escape.
  And people are different. Some are quite obedient slaves, while others are rebels. Yes, human women are not bad-looking when they're young, but after thirty they lose their marketable appearance. And men very quickly cover their faces with unsightly hair. Dwarves, of course, have beards, but on humans they look completely unsightly.
  Trolled sighed... And thought of the elf again. What was so appealing about her?
  It seems to be her eyes. Yes, her eyes are a mixture of sapphire and emerald-not quite ordinary. Usually, females, both trolls and elves, have eyes that are either pure emerald or sapphire.
  But that's no reason to get worked up and freak out. She's a beautiful girl, and she has a great figure. In fact, the bodies of elf and troll women are remarkably similar. Muscular, defined, slender, with graceful curves. And there are practically no women of either race with an unattractive figure.
  This is indeed true.
  But there's something special about this girl, too. And why does she keep popping into his head?
  In delirium, everything is very natural and realistic, and Trollead began to eat a dish of roast goose with pineapples, and tried to think about something else.
  For example, there's also a vampire race in the universe. It's a separate branch. And there's a misconception that anyone can become a vampire. But that's not true. Vampires are separate creatures, a different order.
  And they truly command respect. They're incredibly strong physically, surpassing even dwarves. Elves and trolls are nothing to speak of. They're fast and can fly without magic. Vampires can even heal wounds and regrow severed limbs without magic.
  An elf's or troll's wounds will heal completely without magic, albeit more slowly than a vampire's. But if an arm or leg is torn off, it can only be restored with high-level magic.
  A vampire, however, is far more phenomenal in this regard. Vampires have their own, very powerful magic. Fortunately, they reproduce very slowly, and their race is not very numerous. Otherwise, they would have overwhelmed everyone in the universe. But they live as long as dwarves, up to ten thousand years, and unlike dwarves, they don't age.
  Of all those Trolled knew, not counting the incomprehensible demiurge gods, Koschei the Deathless lives the longest. No one knows how old he is.
  But, of course, he too was born sometime. And the demiurge gods also have a beginning and, of course, an end. Even if they live for millions of years.
  It's sad, of course, to think that you'll one day be gone. And who knows where souls go.
  Necromancers and sorcerers can still summon them, but only for the first two or three centuries. And then what? Fog!
  Indeed, it's interesting to know what awaits after death. Some troll sorcerers even know how to temporarily separate the soul from the body, and use this in military intelligence. However, the soul can only remain outside the body for so long, otherwise it will never return.
  But the fact is a fact and is undeniable: the soul exists and is capable of being aware of itself outside the body, and seeing, and hearing, and feeling, and moving.
  So after the body dies, consciousness won't fade. The brain will deteriorate, but the memory will remain.
  In this regard, you can rest assured. But after death, there's the unknown. Necromancers can't summon all souls. And mostly, these are those stuck in the interworld. Recalling a soul from the afterlife is more difficult. And that's only if it hasn't found another body. But if a soul has a body in the afterlife, you can't summon it.
  Troll Heidemara, seeing that Trolled had a thoughtful look, asked:
  - Why are you so gloomy?
  The Troll Marquis replied:
  - Yes, I think I've fallen in love!
  Gaidemara smiled and asked:
  - Into whom?
  Trollead shrugged.
  - I don't know myself. And it's better not to talk about it.
  The female troll noted:
  "You men aren't exactly the most amorous. Love and attention come easily to you. It's more difficult for us in this world!"
  Trollead snorted contemptuously:
  - Humans have equal numbers of males and females. You can envy them.
  Gaidemara whistled:
  - Oh yeah! These people are so disgusting. Does it matter that at fifty their women are so beautiful that you want to shoot them! Admit it, "human" sounds disgusting. But "troll"-that's proud! And soon there will be magic that will allow us to live forever.
  Trollead replied with a sigh:
  "I'd love for such magic to appear. But it's not a reality yet. The fact that there's still a soul is another matter. And that, of course, says something."
  Gaidemara sang:
  Your soul aspired upward,
  You will be born again with a dream...
  But if you lived like a pig,
  You'll remain a pig!
  Trollead nodded with a smile:
  - That's well said. But believe me, I've always had lofty thoughts! And what I really wanted was romance.
  Gaidemara remarked with a sigh:
  - We all want something bright and eternal... But, to be honest, I want to get something more than just war and entertainment, something like...
  The Troll Marquis jumped up and sang:
  I don't know what I want in all conscience,
  But there is a gaping emptiness in my heart...
  I want to find a place in paradise,
  But the noise and bustle absorbs!
  Gaidemara nodded and sang:
  Let life be, perhaps, an eternal May,
  Success will come without unnecessary fuss...
  But I always feel like something is missing,
  But I always feel like something is missing...
  In the winter of summer, in the winter of summer -
  In the autumn of spring!
  And the girl clapped her hands. The troll marquis looked at her. Yes, she's a beautiful girl. The years go by, and the trolls are still beautiful. Both male and female. And that's great. Why isn't life eternal? It's hard to want to die when you're healthy and full of strength. It's a different story with people. They just waste air and are worthless workers.
  Hobbits are a different matter. Beautiful children who will promise to be obedient slaves, and they don't need to be tied up or chained. They'll keep their word.
  And generally speaking, elves and trolls almost always keep their word. Exceptions are extremely rare, and creatures who break their word are despised for centuries. But humans... They lie constantly, even their children. And they make up all sorts of nonsense.
  And let's also assume that the same gnome might lie for profit. They're incredibly greedy and money-hungry. Humans often lie without any benefit to themselves, and even to their own detriment. And how unreliable their words are. They even often break their oaths.
  Gaidemara asked:
  - What are you thinking about?
  Trollead noted:
  - It's disgusting to think about, but people are probably the most vile creatures in the universe.
  The troll officer noted:
  - Well, not exactly! For example, their young men are still quite good. When they're teenagers, they actually look a lot like trolls, except maybe their noses have gotten a little shaky!
  The Troll Marquis nodded:
  "Orcs aren't exactly a piece of cake either. But they're practically half-animal and barely even speak, with only a few dozen words. And humans are morally repugnant and very talkative."
  Gaidemara agreed:
  - True! But sometimes they can compose pretty good songs. Or even tell stories. And sometimes, they're smart and inventive! No, they're much smarter than orcs.
  Trollead nodded in agreement:
  - Smarter, yes, but not more honest!
  The troll girl noted:
  "Sometimes we suffer from honesty. Besides, there's such a thing as military cunning."
  The Troll Marquis sang:
  Lie in moderation, respecting honor,
  So as not to be caught at my word...
  After all, there is a saving lie,
  And yes, it"s an empty lie!
  The troll girl agreed:
  - Yes, it"s an empty lie!
  And she suggested:
  - Let's fly a little, like feathers.
  Trollead nodded:
  - That's not a bad idea.
  And the two of them headed to the single-seater cars, which were comfortable to ride in.
  Nearby was a troll city. These creatures weren't as evil and gloomy as in human fairy tales. Quite the opposite, like elves, they were cheerful and fun-loving.
  And they have plenty of attractions. As, incidentally, does their love of fountains and other decorations. Yes, trolls are quite imposing creatures, and their noses are not at all ugly. Humans sometimes have larger noses and much more repulsive shapes.
  Gaidemara and Trollead flew above the city. And there were other flying machines too. They were powered by both technology and magic. More precisely, technomagic. And the air seemed saturated with magic.
  Troll children were also visible in the city. They looked like humans, only with aquiline noses. They were cute, cheerful, and healthy. The children were dressed smartly, many barefoot, but some wore sandals. Some of them even flew on grav-magic boards.
  Everything here seemed peaceful and idyllic.
  There were human children here too. They wore collars and usually swept the streets or carried things. The girls wore short gray tunics, and the boys only shorts. And they were thin. Their bare feet were dusty and bruised. There were no adult human slaves in sight.
  They are usually assigned heavier work. Only young women and girls, as well as handsome young men, are allowed to serve as domestic slaves. And even then, if the young men grow beards, they usually face a more arduous daily routine.
  Women in general seem to be quite good, but how quickly age or pregnancy spoils them.
  Trolls, like elves, dislike anything unsightly. That's just the way their races are. The demiurge gods endowed them with beauty, eternal youth, and the ability to heal quickly. Humans and many animals, however, are the ones left behind in this regard.
  And they carry water on the offended!
  Trolleadd wondered why the demiurge had neglected humans so much. For example, knock out an elf's or troll's, or even a dwarf's, tooth, and a new one will grow in a couple of days. But it's not like that with humans. At best, you'll get a denture. What's more, humans' teeth fall out and become cavities on their own.
  Elves, trolls, hobbits, and dwarves have good teeth at any age. Even dwarves only age outwardly. Well, they get wrinkles on their faces, their long beards turn gray, sometimes, although bald spots do happen. But they still have all their teeth and are still in great health, wow!
  And what about people? Even orcs of any age are strong and practically never get sick. And how many different ailments these people have. It's simply terrifying.
  Even the most stupid and primitive animals don't get sick like this. This is truly a breed.
  Trollead sighed. And found himself on the verge of tears. However, crying over people is rather foolish.
  More precisely, I would even say it is very stupid!
  Gaidemara noted:
  "What cities we have! True, the elves build just as well. Sometimes you even wonder what we have to share in the universe."
  Trollead nodded:
  - I don't like this war either. Definitely, I really don't like it. But how can we stop it?
  The female troll noted:
  - To do this, we need to... Simply agree on peace. But this is extremely difficult to do. Everyone is too accustomed to confrontation.
  Trollead chuckled:
  - How do people get used to moonshine?
  Gaidemara nodded:
  - Something like that! Moonshine stinks terribly and tastes incredibly nasty and bitter. Yet, people drink it with pleasure, turning into complete pigs.
  The Troll Marquis nodded:
  "Yes, moonshine is a very nasty thing. Unlike the sweet wine that trolls and elves drink! We love pleasure, but people... It's disgusting to even talk about them."
  The troll girl noted:
  - Well, moonshine is not the worst part. But they also smoke. It's so disgusting. I even shot one of them for it. Tobacco is disgusting. And its smell is like mustard gas - a chemical weapon. And people poison themselves with it. Is that sensible?
  Trollead shrugged and remarked:
  - Aren't we talking too much about people?
  Gaidemara answered confidently:
  - This is so as not to follow their example!
  The Troll Marquis noted:
  - And who will follow the example of slaves and those who mutilate themselves? Isn't that stupid, what do you think?
  Gaidemara noted:
  "There's one planet, or rather, an entire system, where people aren't nearly as stupid and primitive as ours. And they've already achieved a lot. There's even talk about sending a space fleet there!"
  Trollead asked:
  - Do you mean Earth?
  The female troll nodded:
  - Exactly! A serious civilization is emerging there. They say the people there have something we don't have! And yet our civilization is far older than human civilization.
  The Troll Marquis remarked:
  "If they come to us, we'll immediately make peace with the elves. And together with them, we'll strike at the humans."
  Heidemara objected:
  - What if the elves unite with people against us?
  Trollead muttered:
  - It would be a disaster! But I don't think it will happen.
  The troll girl noted:
  "You can never be sure of anything. Especially when it comes to our sworn enemies, the elves."
  The Troll Marquis suggested:
  - And what if, on the contrary, we unite with people against the elves?
  Gaidemara giggled and noted:
  - Then, finally, our victory will be.
  Trollead sang:
  In the holy war -
  Our victory will be...
  And the end of the Horde,
  We'll kill our neighbor!
  And they fell palm to palm!
  The pair's flight continued. Here, for example, you can see a building shaped like a chess knight, and it stands on a large artificial crystal that sparkles in the starlight. It looks wonderful and quite beautiful.
  Gaidemara noted:
  - By the way, they say that chess was invented by people.
  Trollead was surprised:
  - Really? Or maybe it's just rumors?!
  The troll girl objected:
  - No! Although it's really hard to believe. But people can be incredibly inventive at times. And among them, for example, there are those who can calculate numbers in their heads faster than trolls.
  The Troll Marquis objected:
  - They are dumber than us!
  Gaidemara nodded:
  - On average, yes! But there are some very smart specimens. Including those with a rare memory. That's when you understand, something unique and incomprehensible arises!
  Trollead sang:
  To those who teach trolls,
  It's high time to understand...
  We'll give you a good beating,
  And let's go for a walk!
  The troll girl laughed and sang back:
  - We can comprehend everything,
  To survive anything...
  And to die like a hero,
  And the hawk will become game!
  More troll girls flew past them. One lifted her foot and showed off her bare, pink, gracefully curved heel. She looked at Trollead invitingly.
  He blew her a kiss in return. It's wonderful that there are so many females and so few males relative to each other. The girls are so wonderful and smell of expensive, very fragrant, and exotic perfume.
  And this smell makes my head spin. How exciting and captivating it is.
  The girls, it should be noted, sang:
  Trolls, trolls, it's in your power,
  To save the universe in battle...
  We are for peace, for friendship, for the smiles of loved ones,
  For the warmth of our meetings!
  And the girls, it must be said, are truly the cutest and most fabulously beautiful. Although they are all so beautiful here.
  But the elven captive appeared before Trollead's mind's eye again. And it was unbearable. So magnificent that words could not describe her.
  Gaidemara took it and chirped:
  I always dreamed about this young man,
  Because he is handsome, smart and educated...
  We have roughly similar years,
  And the guy is clearly savvy in business!
  Trollead nodded his bright head with a smile:
  - Yes, I'm a master of business with a capital M! Or rather, not really a master. But I left behind a large inheritance.
  Gaidemara nodded and chirped:
  I inherited it from my grandfather,
  Inheritance, inheritance...
  Left only a rusty pistol...
  Why do I need this gun?
  Why do I need this gun?
  When there is no ammunition for it!
  Trollead nodded with a smile:
  - Yes, such situations happen... But let's not cry, friends.
  The girl nodded with a big, radiant smile:
  - On this flying ball,
  From which you can"t jump...
  We are girls in battle, comrades,
  And let's not cry, friends!
  Although luck is rare,
  And the path is not embroidered with roses,
  And everything that happens in the world,
  It doesn't depend on us at all!
  Trollead sang with enthusiasm:
  - Everything that exists in the world depends on it,
  From the heights of heaven...
  But our honor, but our honor,
  It depends on us alone!
  After which, he and the girl bumped fists. And the mood became more cheerful.
  Here's another building. It looks like three aster buds standing on top of each other. At the entrance stands a pair of hobbit slaves. They, unlike the human children, are dressed more luxuriously, though they are also barefoot. A boy and girl of this people bow to everyone. And it looks absolutely wonderful. The hobbits wave their hands in greeting. And their collars are made of silver.
  Yes, these are our own people, you could say.
  Gaidemara asked the troll major:
  - Would you like to become a hobbit?
  Trollead laughed:
  - For what reason?
  The troll girl noted:
  - And with this! To crawl into small holes.
  The Troll Marquis noted:
  "I'd prefer to be a vampire. They fly, for example, without magic, it's just an ability."
  Gaidemara confirmed:
  - And they live very long lives without aging! That's also an incredibly cool achievement.
  Trollead nodded and remarked:
  I don't know where the myth came from that vampires can't stand starlight. But many people believe it.
  The troll girl giggled:
  - People are stupid. And that really is their weakness. They are full of all sorts of nonsense.
  A dwarf suddenly flew out to meet them in a flying machine. He's not a handsome man, of course, but he inspires respect. Especially since dwarves live so long.
  And shaking his still black and long beard, the dwarf sang:
  That the lovers hung their heads,
  Or the trolls are sad under the moon...
  The girls here are barefoot,
  Sometimes I just want to be alone!
  And the gnome winked at the trolls.
  Trollead asked:
  - Do you have a magic wand?
  The dwarf shrugged his broad shoulders and replied:
  "It's very difficult to obtain such a thing. In this case, you become like a demiurge god, or even more powerful! So, I think it's just people's imagination."
  Gaidemara was surprised:
  - And this was also invented by people?
  The dwarf nodded:
  - Yes, although they are stupid and have a weak memory, they are quite imaginative!
  Trolleyad whistled:
  - Wow! This is not cool, this is super cool!
  And then he added sullenly:
  - Isn't it too much for people?
  The gnome gurgled:
  "Man is a flawed and weak creature, but his imagination and fantasy are unusually strong. Therefore, people are not as unfortunate as they seem at first glance."
  Gaidemara sang:
  I believe that a great day will come,
  When dreams come true instantly...
  And then we won"t be lazy at all,
  We will certainly become in stormy happiness!
  Trollead noted coldly:
  - In any case, we need to take a closer look at people and remember that they really don"t like being slaves.
  Gaidemara squeaked:
  - Do you think hobbits like being in captivity?
  The troll marquis muttered:
  - Of course not! Freedom is light!
  Then Gaidemara waved her hand and went about her business.
  Just then the blue tail flashed.
  Elfaraya, however, was subjected to various procedures before being released from the women's prison for prisoners of war and sent to meet the troll marquis.
  And they tousled her hair, making the elf look shaggy. However, her hair is the color of gold leaf and very thick.
  After this torment, she was finally led beyond the prison gates. And the elf finally found herself in the troll city.
  Everything here resembled elven structures. The houses were graceful in form, varied in variety, and brightly painted. And the roofing moved. There were also many flowers, and a plethora of wonderful, pleasant scents.
  Trollead hadn't arrived yet, and two guards remained near Elfarai. They stood on either side of her.
  One asked:
  - How are you doing here?
  The elf girl answered honestly:
  "It's not bad for a prison, a separate, clean cell. But you're getting on my nerves with the searches. Do you really enjoy groping a girl that much?"
  The warden laughed and replied:
  - You are very beautiful even for an elf, like you are so beautiful that you can"t even touch or stroke her!
  Another warden remarked:
  "And it's even more pleasant to search a young elf... But don't be so bold, or we'll strip you naked in front of everyone and start searching you. Do you want to end up completely naked on the street in front of everyone?"
  Elfaraya laughed and answered cheekily:
  - Well, that's an adventure too!
  The guards smiled. But they didn't undress the girl. Instead, they led her through the city. Traveling on foot was, of course, an anachronism. And then they handcuffed Elfaraya. And she felt very ashamed.
  The warden asked Elfaraya as she walked:
  - Are you really a noble countess?
  The girl answered with a smile:
  - Do you doubt it?
  The female troll noted:
  "I think you're a noble person, if they're letting you into town, and with a guards officer, no less!"
  Elfaraya took it and sang, baring her teeth:
  - Officers, officers, your hearts are in the crosshairs! For Elfia and freedom to the end!
  And they quickened their pace. Now the uncomfortable, cheap shoes issued in the women's prison were rubbing their feet quite hard. The girl felt genuinely unwell. But taking them off seemed humiliating. In the troll city, cars flew through the air. A group of teenagers sped along on anti-gravity boards. Although, the only differences between teenagers and adults were their slightly shorter stature and perhaps slightly rounder faces. Neither trolls nor elves grow beards. It must be said, it's convenient for men-they don't have to waste time shaving. And the females don't have to worry about getting stubbled when kissing.
  One of the buildings resembled an ancient alarm clock with its hands. It looked quite interesting, and its roof was domed and gilded.
  Even more intriguing was the fountain shaped like an exotic animal. It looked like a hybrid of a unicorn, a turtle, and a butterfly with platinum wings. The jet shot a couple of hundred meters into the air.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - And yours is beautiful!
  The warden sang with a grin:
  - And you thought we were just savages?
  The elf countess shook her head:
  - No! I didn't think so. It's just that the enemy always seems more brutal and cruel than you are.
  The warden grinned:
  - You have strength and pressure against the enemy,
  But you're in the bull's skin, that's all there is to it!
  A rather large plane with swept wings and cannons mounted on its belly flew overhead. The trolls greeted it with boisterous cheers.
  Elfaraya noted:
  - The boy sees a machine gun in his dreams,
  For him, a tank is the best machine, you know...
  The layout learned from birth,
  That in the world only force wins!
  Finally, a gravcycle approached them. It was a small, motorcycle-like flying machine. A young man with the characteristic troll aquiline nose and mirrored glasses sat on it. On his shoulders were the epaulettes of a guard major, or a colonel for regular troops. He had medals, even a knight's cross, testifying to the great valor of this particular troll.
  He greeted the guards and said with a smile:
  - Would you like to go for a ride?
  They answered in chorus:
  - You can take the prisoner. But remember, you are responsible for her.
  Trollead nodded:
  - Of course. Jump to me!
  Elfaraya hopped onto the soft seat of the gravity bike. The vehicle began to move smoothly and gain altitude.
  The elf asked her new vis-à-vis:
  - Do you want me to tell you some important secret?
  The Troll Marquis answered confidently:
  - I don't count on it!
  Elfaraya then remarked:
  - Then what's the point?
  Trollead replied:
  - It's better to admire the city from a bird's eye view.
  The girl followed the advice. Indeed, from above, the troll city seemed even more beautiful. However, for the elves, trolls are long-standing enemies, and they are considered freaks.
  Although, in reality... There's little difference between them. And that must be acknowledged.
  For example, both races love fountains and gilding. And beautiful statues, bright colors, and flowers. Seriously, why would they fight? Why destroy when they can build and create!?
  Elfaraya asked Trollead:
  - Why are we fighting?
  The troll marquis wasn't expecting this question and didn't answer right away. But he did answer:
  - I think for the same reason that unreasonable animals fight with each other!
  The elf laughed and remarked:
  "Animals usually fight over food and females. And we have plenty of both. There are twelve females for every male-what more do you want?"
  Trollead laughed and replied:
  - Sometimes one girl is more valuable than a hundred other females!
  Elfaraya agreed with this:
  - It's true, you can't argue with that!
  They flew in silence for a while. One of the fountains was very ornate, shooting seven jets of different colors into the sky. It was quite beautiful and unique.
  Besides trolls, you'd also encounter humans in the streets, working as slaves. These were mostly children. And not necessarily young. A person can be slowed down with spells in childhood. Or in adolescence, when boys don't yet have facial hair. Trolls and elves find beards quite repulsive. Although Elfaraya logically assumed that head hair was an adornment, why did it look so disgusting on a beard?
  It would seem like a small difference. Generally, of course, elves and trolls find hairy chests unpleasant, much less hairy legs or arms. Therefore, they prefer to send grown men and old women far away, where they don't live long. But if you also delay magic at an age when a boy can do serious work but still hasn't shaved, that's just right.
  So, indeed, magic can bestow certain qualities upon a person. But still, eternal adolescents don't live past a hundred years. They just don't suffer from age-related illnesses. Furthermore, the magic of eternal youth needs to be renewed almost every year, which is troublesome. Unless, perhaps, more sophisticated spells are invented in the future. Incidentally, gravity visors are products of technomagic. Without magic, you can't fly them, just like you can't fly starships.
  Elfaraya sang:
  I ask that no one be surprised,
  If magic happens!
  If it happens! If it happens!
  If magic happens!
  Trolleada nodded in agreement:
  "Yes, you sang well. But magic, for all its power, didn't make either trolls or elves immortal."
  The girl noticed:
  - What about the soul?
  The Troll Marquis replied with a sigh:
  "The soul flies off to a parallel universe within forty days. And no one knows how or what happens there."
  Elfaraya nodded in agreement:
  - Yes, he doesn't know... And necromancers are banned. But why, I still don't understand.
  Trollead answered reluctantly:
  "Because spirits can be of different levels. And some, if summoned, can cause considerable harm to trolls and elves."
  The elf sang:
  - But believe me, we are stronger in spirit,
  And from the ruins we will rise again...
  Elven warrior, take the sword quickly,
  We will stand firm and win again!
  The Troll Marquis nodded his head:
  - Not bad! You elves are interesting creatures. Honestly, sometimes it seems to me that war with you is some kind of game for entertainment.
  Elfaraya nodded:
  - Perhaps that's how it is. That our life is a game!
  Trollead sang:
  Fortune's Hour -
  It's time to play...
  Fortune's Hour -
  Try not to waste this hour!
  The elf girl picked up:
  - It happens like this,
  It happens like this...
  What separates you from success is just a trifle!
  It can't help but lead us,
  Believe me, fortune is on our way!
  And both representatives of the fairy-tale creatures laughed.
  Here they were, approaching the most expensive and prestigious restaurant in this metropolis. Everything about it sparkled with artificial diamonds, gold leaf, and other metals.
  There was a guard at the entrance. They eyed the modestly dressed elf with suspicion. Then Trollead showed them his secret police credentials. He and his charming companion were allowed inside.
  The restaurant was luxurious, and a large number of girls were dancing, sometimes undressing, sometimes getting dressed again. And not just trolls. There were human female slaves there, too.
  Elfaraya noted with surprise:
  - People can be beautiful too!
  Trollead nodded with a smile:
  "Yes, especially if you selectively breed them! Many of their girls are still quite good. And with magic, you can select people, and they become less flawed. And you can keep them at a wonderful age."
  Elfaraya agreed:
  - Yes, people who are only worthy of being slaves should be ruled.
  The Troll Marquis nodded:
  "People are clearly offended by the higher gods. So let's not talk about them. Maybe we should eat instead?"
  The elf girl confirmed:
  - With pleasure! The food in prison isn't very good. It's both small in quantity and poor in quality.
  Trolled placed his order. Beautiful human slaves, their bare heels flashing, served the delicacies on golden platters. The girls were tanned and muscular. Their legs were completely exposed by short skirts, and their breasts were covered only by a thin strip of glass-studded fabric. The slaves smelled of expensive perfume and smiled with pearly teeth.
  They resembled elven women, if a little heavier. Elfaraya examined the human slaves with interest. She found them pleasing to look at. Especially since the slaves' manes were thick, hiding their ears.
  The food was also luxurious and aromatic. The trolls were as good cooks as the elves. For example, the goose, pineapple, and strawberry ice cream hybrid was simply delicious. However, the fly agarics in chocolate and on sponge cake, mixed with blueberries, were also delightful.
  And the wine here is so sweet, aromatic, and pleasantly tickles the tongue. It's simply unique.
  Elfaraya ate eagerly and with pleasure. Trollead also saluted the table, but showed less enthusiasm.
  And he asked:
  - Do you like our world?
  The elf answered honestly:
  "You're doing quite well. But saying 'I like it' when there's a war going on is tantamount to treason."
  Trollead noted:
  - But you have to admit, the universe is big, and there is no point in us shedding blood and killing each other!
  The elf agreed with a smile that held sadness:
  - Yes, it's pointless. But it's not us who decide that, it's the higher authorities.
  The Troll Marquis nodded and said:
  - So let's drink to peace, and for such madness to stop.
  Elfaraya didn't object. They clinked their diamond goblets together, then tipped the emerald-colored liquid into their mouths.
  The elf noted:
  "Basically, thanks to protective spells, not many elves and trolls die. And war has become a kind of sport and entertainment."
  Trolleada nodded:
  "Partly, yes. It really has become a form of sport, or a technological and magical competition. But in reality, intelligent beings die, and there is destruction, and there are expenses. So it's a double-edged sword."
  Elfaraya smiled and remarked:
  - Love is a ring, and a ring, as everyone knows, has no end!
  The Troll Marquis clarified:
  - Maybe you wanted to say war?
  The elf nodded her head in agreement:
  "Perhaps, but it slipped out subconsciously, 'love!' In any case, it's so simple - it can't be stopped!"
  Trolleada took and began to sing in his youthful voice:
  I was born in those hard times,
  What the country suffered in chaos...
  Our radiant Trollia,
  I almost died in the fire of war!
    
  There were many thunderstorms and extortion,
  The edge of the trolls blazed like a candle...
  And sometimes it was really mean,
  Life, of course, is simply not paradise!
    
  I was a very nimble boy, of course,
  Lively, cheerful, just a spark...
  In the company of friends, you know, you're just a sweetheart,
  Such a cute boy!
    
  But evil people imprisoned the boy,
  The boy was thrown into prison at once...
  The policemen there beat me very hard,
  I don"t understand where their conscience went!
    
  The boy's bare heels were whipped,
  And they burned him with electricity, harshly and intensely...
  They hit me in the kidneys with truncheons,
  They couldn't even make things worse!
    
  Then he was sent to the zone,
  Work like a mean wolf boy...
  But the boy retained his pride in captivity,
  And a real thief turned out!
    
  But life can also have problems,
  Don't rush straight to the axe...
  Let there be big changes ahead -
  The boy has become stronger since ancient times!
    
  Now he is an officer, a great fighter,
  He fought bravely - a valiant soldier...
  He stopped the onslaught of this wild horde,
  Sending battalions of the evil to hell!
    
  He managed to create a new freedom,
  Although he was once an evil criminal...
  And it is actually promoting a different fashion,
  This man is huge and big!
    
  Well, the troll spirit knows how to fight,
  And I believe he will definitely win...
  He is not a knight with a soul, consider him a clown,
  He has a blade and a strong shield!
    
  So now, this officer is the coolest,
  I decided to help Fuisky in the battles...
  He will playfully patch up the gaps -
  Will show colossal power!
    
  The elves and evil dwarves will not defeat us,
  And to the others, who suddenly attacked Trollia...
  Glorious updates will come to the Fatherland,
  And the enemy is hit right in the eye!
    
  We will achieve that which the mighty king,
  He will be able to make a present to the Motherland...
  The wind will disperse the clouds over Trollia,
  Machine guns are firing a swarm of belts!
    
  Let the Fuiskys now rule the Fatherland,
  We will conquer the whole world in battle...
  And he can strike very fiercely,
  And after the battle we will have a sumptuous feast!
  CHAPTER 14
  Elfaraya came to. She was in the dungeon again. And her hands, feet, and neck were shackled.
  What else can you expect from the Duchess, she is too cunning.
  He really doesn't trust anyone. It must be said that cats are very cunning creatures.
  Elfaraya forced a smile. Her head ached, as if from a severe hangover.
  Yes, she's in trouble. Maybe she shouldn't have cooperated?
  On the other hand, what else could she do? They would have subjected her to cruel torture, too. And she would have achieved nothing, only further suffering and, at best, a dignified death. Although even here, there are options.
  The fact that elves live so long without aging or getting sick, that they have no desire to die, is simply a desire to cling to life. And no one will judge them for this.
  Elfaraya sat for a moment, then began rubbing the chain links together again. It was chilly below ground level, after all, and she needed to warm up. And the elven girl worked energetically. She even felt happier.
  Some plans started to flicker through my head. I'd actually saw through the chains and attack the guards when they tried to enter. And then...
  Then things just didn't work out. Unless we started a hobbit rebellion. Then there would have been some chance, but it would have been slim. You can't stand alone against the entire planet.
  The elven girl, a noble countess, was in a quandary. At any rate, the chains needed to be sawed through. And then we'd see. Perhaps the eternal children of hobbits could join her. That is, work and fight for freedom.
  The girl rubbed the links of a thick chain. The metal was quite strong, though the iron used for prisoners could have been worse. But apparently this cell was for the most honored guests. The elf rubbed, hoping she had enough time.
  That was great. And the elven countess continued rubbing, so that she not only warmed up but even began to sweat.
  As time went on and the movements became monotonous and uniform, Elfaraya began to imagine an interesting picture and a continuation of the previous dream.
  Having mowed down most of the landing party, the girls began shooting the survivors. For them, it was enough to see the slightest fragment of a body and plant a charge there.
  "As we can see, it's much easier this way!" Elfaraya said.
  And then there were attempts to shoot down grenades. But for the girls who were shooting down butterflies and marked flies at a distance of two hundred meters, this wasn't such a terrifying target. The only thing is, there are too many targets to shoot down at once.
  "Holy God, have mercy on their souls," Elfarai's lips whispered. "Their sinful path on earth is interrupted. So much the better, less hellish torment."
  Drachma, shooting without much sentimentality, remarked:
  - The enemy is the enemy, and he must be destroyed.
  Elfaraya, rubbing the bare sole of her tanned, seductive foot, asked:
  - Mercilessly?
  The nymph countess blurted out:
  - Yes!
  "I can't do this! If I kill you, I'll definitely regret it, that's the kind of person I am." A pearly tear ran down the scout's cheek.
  "Your leap is a thunderstorm, and your words a blow! Only the tears of a star will appreciate God's gift!" sang Drachma.
  Elfaraya knocked five grenades out of the air, causing them to detonate. Among those detonated were needle-shaped grenades. The spread wasn't as wide as two hundred meters, but the density of damage was much greater. When a needle hits, it spins, tearing tissue, causing horrific injuries. Now the paratroopers were experiencing it firsthand. Those who weren't killed immediately suffered terribly. Especially when it hit the eye, it was a real knockout, crippling.
  "Well, well!" Elfaraya declared, crushing a nasty cockroach with her bare toes. "It looks like the enemy alarm clocks have gone silent."
  Drachma confirmed in a confident tone:
  - Yes, my dear! The organs of death are suppressed.
  The major survived, and Shafranik met an easy death. The girls ran up to the groaning officer. Drachma stepped with her bare heel on Fob Dowell's outstretched leg.
  The nymph countess growled:
  - Well, tell me what you know! Otherwise it will be a black hole!
  And the squeal of a wounded piglet in response:
  - I know everything! I'll tell you everything!
  Here you need to ask the right questions. Choose the right set. At the same time, give the enemy a few stimulating injections lubricated with a solution to get him talking. The major, however, knew surprisingly little, and the girls spat and stopped their physical assault.
  "Interrogating a fool is like beating water in a mortar, torturing him is like whipping a donkey!" Drachma declared.
  "You're right about that, my friend!" Elfaraya agreed. "So let's do something more useful."
  The girls ran with all their might, flashing their bare soles, shining like mirrors, with the graceful curve of their bare heels to make up for the time lost.
  Only on approach did they slow down a little, so that one of the guards wouldn"t start shooting out of fear.
  The girls were welcomed with joy, and they were eager to share their knowledge. As Academician Kforurchatov informed them, the first computer microchip had already been assembled and a transistor-based computer was ready.
  - Wonderful! - Said the very beautiful seven-colored Drachma. - I see you are not wasting any time.
  "Of course!" Kforurchatov handed the girl a cigar. She declined it.
  - Smoking narrows the blood vessels in the brain, which means it harms thought processes.
  He gurgled:
  - On the contrary, it helps me.
  Drachma, with an expression in her emerald eyes, objected energetically:
  "It's an illusion and self-hypnosis induced by the drug nicotine. I suggest the following: electrotherapy sessions, acupuncture, combined with chemical medications. This should help you specifically. It will improve thought processes not only for you, but for the students as well."
  The officer asked:
  - What, do you already have methods?
  Drachma answered confidently:
  "Some of it has been mapped out, but for now, it's just the beginning. The scope of the research will grow even further in the future. We'll develop new methods, because we're only at the very beginning. The human body is full of reserves. A person only utilizes one hundred-thousandth of their brain's potential, and one to two percent of their physical potential. Even we, Terminator girls, are far from utilizing our abilities 100 percent."
  An exclamation of astonishment in response:
  - Wow, this opens up wide prospects!
  A very large and gorgeously beautiful girl rubbed one bare foot against the other and chirped:
  - You can't even imagine! Just think about it. Or rather, don't think, just act!
  The professors eagerly read what the beauties had written; they were amazed by the depth and meticulousness of such seemingly young creatures.
  "Brilliant!" said Fabricosov. "Are your bodies functioning at one hundred percent?"
  "Unfortunately, no! But we will increase our own potential," said Drachma. "God molded the elf from clay, but that's no reason to remain a pot."
  Fabricosov encouraged:
  "Very witty! But actually..." He lowered his voice. "Although it's not customary in our empire, I don't believe in God."
  The nymph countess chirped:
  - Likewise! And my friend has become obsessed with religion. In fact, she's starting to lean toward Adventism.
  "Don't lie, Drachma!" Elfaraya exploded. "I never said anything like that."
  And she stamped her bare, tanned, muscular and graceful foot.
  The nymph-countess said:
  "But I did think about it! It's a trifle, though. I have some ideas on how to combine the wide spread of the AM-200 grenade with the density of the American needle-nosed versions."
  The professor asked:
  - It's complicated?
  "No, it's quite simple. We won't have to change production lines," said the magnificent Drachma, bouncing on her tanned, muscular legs.
  Elfaraya did not remain in debt:
  - And I have some ideas on how to increase the initial speed of the bullet of the Fobolensky assault rifle, increasing the aiming ability and breaking through body armor.
  The professor muttered:
  - Well, that's not bad either. Are the changes significant?
  The blonde terminator blurted out:
  - Minimal!
  The logical answer is:
  - Then it won't be too expensive.
  "There are also ways to significantly increase the explosive power of dynamite. Minor additives," the girls began.
  "New methods of alloying steel and strengthening armor. Technologies of the future," Elfaraya declared.
  The girls gave the professors a task. Their minds remembered everything down to the smallest detail. While even among ordinary people there are phenomenal individuals who forget nothing and quickly memorize information, genetically enhanced individuals are even more capable of this.
  Fabricosov noted:
  "I trained my memory for a long time. Generally, an elf or a troll, especially under hypnosis, can recall everything, even their time in the womb. Or after a series of special exercises, but I never reached such heights. You, however, seem to have made great progress."
  "They helped us! The ELFSB has accumulated enormous intellectual potential. They have various training methods for special forces and scientists, as well as advanced pharmacology. They are capable of renewing not only the body, but also the mind," Drachma declared.
  Fabricosov made some notes in his notebook. Elfaraya noticed:
  - In my time, you would have just loaded it into the computer.
  The professor sighed:
  - It's too bulky.
  - In my time, the power of an entire electronic echelon would fit in a watch case.
  - Elfaraya showed the computer bracelet on her wrist. And snapped her bare toes.
  Drachma confirmed:
  - Soon you'll be able to make one too. We'll help. Do you understand microchips?
  The professor replied with a sigh:
  "We're trying! It's not easy to put something like this into industrial production. It probably took a long time to get there in your world, too!"
  Elfaraya answered with pathos:
  - True! And to be honest, most of the technologies were developed by Americans. We've also made significant progress in recent years, thanks to petrodollars.
  Drachma hastened to add, and her bare toes on her nimble feet worked real miracles:
  "Scientists have stopped fleeing abroad. However, we were developed when the country was still relatively poor. But there were patriotic scientists who weren't afraid of difficulties."
  Fabricosov, curious, asked:
  - And who exactly was it?
  "This information was kept from us. The reason is unknown," Drachma stated. "But it may be too important a secret to be trusted even to us."
  The professor nodded his slightly graying head:
  - Alright, girls, go ahead and invent! Do you need human subjects for your experiments?
  "It won't hurt," Elfaraya said.
  The girls wrote very quickly, not only with their hands but also with their feet, and for two hours they shared their techniques and methods. The ever-so-smart Drachma remarked:
  "It's strange that all these developments are being so sluggishly implemented, including in our homeland. After all, the level of our entire army could be significantly improved. And the people could do with some intellectual growth." The nymph girl raised her leg and twirled her nimble, polished-nailed bare toes at her temple. "And many students think the Battle of the Ice is a match between Elfia and Fanad."
  "Fanada! It's a province of the CSA now. Those poor people, at least half the population, or rather sixty percent, are imprisoned in concentration camps," Professor Fabricosov declared. "However, in your world, it's probably a perfectly civilized country."
  "And quite rich! They even managed to push us aside at the Olympics." Elfaraya clicked her tongue. "But that's because the officials stole too much. During the crisis, they stole even more. Even though I'm a Christian, I think corrupt government officials should be impaled."
  And the girl clicked again, this time with her bare toes, so hard that the mosquito fell down dead.
  "A good idea, although fear alone isn't enough!" the professor remarked. "In particular, officials should be well-off, then the need to steal will disappear."
  Drachma continued writing with both her hands and, what was also impressive, her graceful legs, nimble as a monkey's paws:
  - I know the latest hypnosis techniques.
  "It's a scientific phenomenon, but it requires a certain gift," Fabricosov declared. "But your psyche is too stable to put girls into a trance. However, I recommend self-hypnosis; it will awaken additional abilities in you."
  "That's a great idea, we'll definitely try it out," Elfaraya said. "Our abilities will grow."
  The girls had to explain certain details, both about microchips and aircraft technology. Specifically, what ultra-reactive engines are, the proportions of armor additives, how dynamic protection works, and much more. The devil is in the details, just as science fiction writers once tried to describe the operating principles of a time machine while glossing over the most important details. One might also recall Marxist theory, where the most important criteria for selecting the elite working vanguard were not spelled out. Efenin wrote fifty-five volumes, but omitted the most important details. Phtalin, on the other hand, acted clumsily, although, overall, his goals were correct. In general, the market economy has exhausted itself; a planned economy is far more effective. World War II proved this, although not entirely. The Americans, for example, produced almost three times as many aircraft as the Soviet Union, and more expensive ones at that. But the CSA has several times less ammunition and tanks, if you count self-propelled guns, but the ELSSSR has an advantage in artillery and mortars, but about half as many machine guns.
  Drachma drew a diagram:
  "These monoplanes can be made from foam. They're inexpensive and controlled by a simple joystick. The control system is very advanced, making airplanes and tanks even more efficient. Specifically, it's quicker to respond-no need to reach for the lever; a simple push of a button is all it takes. You've already mastered it."
  The professor nodded vigorously:
  - Yes, it looks progressive.
  "Besides, Ferushev's dream of growing corn in the Arctic Circle became a reality after the seal gene was transplanted into an ear. I know its formula and how it's synthesized." Drachma, with the bare toes of her nimble, tanned feet, popped a piece of gum into her mouth. It was doubly satisfying to show off her intelligence while simultaneously tasting something firm and sweet on her tongue.
  "Isn"t this dangerous for the human body?" the professor asked.
  This time Elfaraya answered, clicking her bare toes:
  - No! Especially since a pig gene was introduced into corn, which made it grow faster and contain more nutrients.
  The insightful scientist Fabricosov asked:
  - And the rat gene for fertility?
  The blonde girl noticed:
  "In this case, locusts would be better. It would be more effective. Generally speaking, gene mixing is a huge step forward. I've even considered working on myself."
  The professor was slightly surprised:
  - Anything specifically I could improve? You're already perfect. Especially in appearance!
  Elfaraya explained:
  - Change the protein structure itself. Our protein isn't exactly a regular one; it's modified, but it's still quite a vulnerable structure.
  Fabricosov frowned:
  - Well done, girls. Can you make me look younger?
  The blonde girl nodded in agreement:
  - Theoretically, something like this is entirely within the capabilities of science.
  "Boredom-science is more than capable of decorating Filich's bald spot!" Drachma said jokingly, an anti-Soviet saying.
  The professor was surprised:
  - Eflenina?
  The nymph countess chirped with a smile:
  - Yes, they even named Elftrograd in his honor. There's even a ditty.
  Fenin writes from the grave, don't call Feningrad, it was Felt the Great who built it, not me, a bald bastard!
  Elfaraya added:
  - Even in Theblia it is said about Phoenicia: - And the bald madman will say that there is no God.
  And then the blonde thought, maybe they were talking about someone else, but also bald and bloody!
  The girls relaxed a little and started dancing, but the idyll was interrupted by an unexpected challenge.
  - Marshal Elfasilevsky wants to talk to you.
  Elfaraya and Drachma nodded:
  - We can do it! I think we've kept you busy enough?
  Fabricosov confirmed:
  - Beyond all reason. My head is splitting. Such smart girls. I especially liked the transplantation of animal genes into plants. But it's possible that genetic glitches could occur in the person themselves.
  "We'll fix everything," Drachma said, making an expressive gesture. "Nature is crooked, but the human mind is a straightener!"
  "This is against God!" Elfaraya looked menacing.
  The nymph countess logically objected:
  "It's against stupidity! However, as I've already said, the very fact of our existence is against God. Progress has the ability to elevate man, and therefore, bring him closer to the Almighty!"
  The blonde girl clarified:
  - You take this too literally.
  Fabricosov drove them:
  "It's not nice to keep yourself waiting for a superior officer. I'll give you the newest 800th Fercedes."
  - No need, we'll get there quickly, - said Elfaraya.
  The professor was surprised:
  -Can you overtake a car?
  In response, Drachma sang playfully:
  - Well, why, why, why,
  Was the traffic light green?
  All because, because, because,
  That he was in love with life!
  In the age of speed, electronic lights,
  It turned on by itself,
  So that my love is the hottest,
  The green light has come!
  And both girls stamped their bare, graceful, muscular feet and sang:
  And everyone runs, runs, runs, runs,
  And it shines!
  And everyone runs, runs, runs, runs,
  And it's on fire!
  And the warriors took it and hit each other with their bare heels, and from this, sparks of all the colors of the rainbow literally rained down.
  Drachma quickly said:
  Honesty is a selective concept, deception is universal!
  What is the difference between chess and politics?
  In chess the game is equal, but in politics the government always has a head start!
  In chess, time trouble is at the end of the game, but in politics it"s always there!
  In chess, sacrifices are voluntary, but in politics they are always forced!
  In chess, the pieces are moved one by one, but in politics, whenever the authorities want!
  In chess you can't take back moves, but in politics, it's done at every turn!
  A ruler surrounded by nonentities is like a stone in a lousy setting; its value will fall and inevitably fade.
  The throne, unlike the bed, is shared only by weaklings!
  EPILOGUE.
  Finally, the first link in the chain snapped, and Elfaraya freed her neck. However, both her hands and bare feet were shackled with sturdy steel. She couldn't escape far like that. Moreover, the chain stretched and was embedded in the wall, both her hands and feet.
  And the elven countess continued to rub these chain links. And this could take quite a while.
  Elfaraya chuckled and remarked philosophically:
  - We can't carry it, we can't transport it!
  In the midst of the work, the door to the cell creaked again; someone was opening the lock.
  The elf countess jumped back and silently prayed that they would not notice that she had sawed through one of the chains.
  The Duchess entered, followed by the guards, the dwarf executioner, and another of that kind, apparently a gunsmith, and the slave boys.
  The Duchess looked at Elfaraya, glanced at the broken chain and noted:
  "You haven't wasted any time! But neither have we. The weapons are ready and the army is ready to march. I think we have enough resources and technological superiority to take over the planet. And you, in this case, are not only no longer needed, but even dangerous."
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  "I know a lot, I have many more ideas! I can create a weapon that will conquer not only the world, but the entire universe!"
  The cat-duchess grinned and replied:
  "We don't need that. Too much technological superiority will make war boring. And I like it when battles are entertaining! Therefore, your fate is sealed."
  The gnome executioner suggested:
  - Give her to me. We'll torture her to death. It'll be a pleasure for me, and her death won't be easy at all.
  The Duchess replied:
  "Her death will certainly be difficult! But a little different. We'll burn her alive at the stake, along with the charming young man. And we'll gather the people for the execution."
  The gnome executioner grinned and licked his thick lips with his tongue:
  - That's a good idea! Well, good luck.
  The noble cat growled:
  "I've already given the order to build a fire and gather the people. We mustn't delay, or this creature will come up with some trick to escape. Chain her up tighter!"
  The hobbit boys rushed to obey the order. Elfarai shouted:
  - Stop! Do you really want to be bullied by these nasty cats any longer? Come on, hobbits, beat them!
  The slave boys slowed slightly. The Duchess shouted:
  "Don't even think about it! Each of you bears the mark of obedience on your shoulder, and if you turn against your masters, you will face not only physical death, but also eternal hell for your soul!"
  The slave boys sped up and began to put Elfaraya in shackles, or rather, they disconnected her from the stone wall and put a new chain around her neck, and additionally added several layers of steel and barbed wire.
  It was not only humiliating for Elfarai, but also really painful.
  Then they put another collar on her, almost strangling her. And the second dwarf took hold of the chain.
  The girl was dragged away. Almost naked, wrapped in wire, chains, shackles, and twisted. It was clear the Duchess was terrified that the elven Countess would escape. Indeed, Elfaraya was very fast and strong. The girl was in great pain. She was hungry and thirsty.
  And then the Duchess ordered:
  - Fry her heels!
  A slave boy ran up to Elfarae with a torch and raised the flame to her bare soles. The flames licked greedily at the girl's round, bare heel. She screamed, but with an effort of will, she clenched her teeth and held back her moans. The air filled with the smell of barbecue. The young hobbit held the flame to her bare, shackled feet for a moment, but then, at a gesture from the duchess, he drew back the flame. Blisters remained on the elf's feet.
  And they dragged her away again.
  Here she was already on the street. They practically carried Elfaraya in their arms. And the elven girl was in pain. Along the way, the slave boys, on the Duchess's orders, began beating her with sticks on the burnt soles of her feet. This added to the pain, but not only did she not break, but she even began to sing:
  I will not surrender to the enemies, the executioners of Satan,
  I will show fortitude under torture!
  Though the fire blazes and the whip beats on the shoulders,
  And the soul hung like a shaky thread!
  
  Homeland, I am ready to die in the prime of life,
  Because the Lord gives strength!
  The homeland gave me a gentle light,
  Having risen, having dispersed the darkness of the grave!
  
  Those who do not believe are overcome with melancholy,
  He suffers in soul and mortal body!
  And on the coffin a board is nailed with nails,
  You will never rise again as yellow chalk!
  
  Who fought, forgetting the vile base fear,
  He will die without knowing the emptiness of evil hearts!
  And even though the deceased warrior was also in sin,
  God will forgive and place a sacred crown!
  Now you can see the fire, the stacked logs. And the huge crowd filling the square. And all around, so many knights and guards. And several dwarves, and cats, and even one of the vampire race. A whole army, and catapults are ready to open fire. And they're bringing another cart with Trollead. The young troll was tortured again. Tortured so brutally that he couldn't walk. And they're carrying him, shackled, too. And they didn't leave a single spot on the marquis. He's covered in burns, scars, beaten and torn, and it looks like he's even unconscious.
  Elfaraya took it and shouted:
  - You are such scum!
  Now they're getting closer and closer to the scaffold. They've even carried him to the chopping block. They've started tying him to the posts with wire. The young troll's entire face is battered, bruised, and scarred, and his eyes are swollen shut. But then they shake him, and Trollead comes to. And he mutters:
  - Elfarai!
  She replied:
  - I'm with you, Trollead!
  The Marquis answered, wheezing and gasping for breath:
  - I am at the gates of eternity, I sincerely say - I love you with all my heart!
  Elfaraya exclaimed:
  - And I love you too! With all my heart!
  After being tied with wire and chains, the prisoners were doused with tar. This, too, was painful; the tar was hot and scorching. Sulfur was added to help the wood burn better.
  Then the herald of the cat clan began to read out the accusation.
  Here they were accused of witchcraft, espionage, sabotage, theft, and so on.
  The Duchess even interrupted him:
  - Enough! Come on, executioner, light it faster!
  Elfaraya remembered that in movies, something usually happens at this point. Either an angel flies in, or the swan brothers, or time-travelers, aliens, fighters from the future, or other creatures appear. Maybe even now, some flying disc will descend and pick them up and save them!
  But the dwarven executioner approaches, holding a torch to the sulfur- and resin-soaked wood. His movements seem to move in slow motion, and the girl wants to confess her sins. And then the flames burst into flame. Their purple and green tongues run across the wood, the straw, the sulfur-soaked resin. And then they reach Elfarai and Trollead. And then waves of fire run over the naked and tortured bodies of the elf and the troll, entangled in wire and chains. It seemed like garlands on a Christmas tree.
  And the burning began unbearably. It hurt, it really did. But Elfaraya clenched her teeth. In her final, mortal hour, she would not debase herself with pleas and tears. Moreover, she began to sing with all her might, in her full-bodied voice:
  On the rack, naked, the joints are torn out of the shoulders,
  I'm hanging under the blows, my back is breaking!
  And the executioner, with a grin, sprinkles salt on the wounds,
  The beast got drunk on intoxicating wine!
  
  But I"m not just a slave, but a royal diva,
  Ruler and earthly sister of the gods!
  And if I suffer, then I suffer beautifully,
  I will not express fear before the terrible grin of fangs!
  
  A red-hot piece touched my bare feet,
  The scorched smoke tickles the nostril with disgust!
  What did I give up my innocent royal youth for?
  Why am I suffering so much? I just can"t understand the fate of my destiny!
  
  But the warrior maidens, I know, are rushing to help,
  Swords crush evil monsters, throwing evil into the dirt!
  Know that we thickly pave the way with vile corpses,
  After all, with us is a mighty warrior prince with courage!
  
  The enemy backed away, I see the shit is retreating,
  Cruel executioner, you are no king in battle, no master!
  The destroyed will bloom like cherry trees in May,
  Whoever damaged and burned everything will get it in the snout!
  
  And what else is more radiant and beautiful than the Fatherland,
  What is higher than her, and the simplest calling is honor?!
  I am ready to give up the rest of my life for this,
  Who should read the holy prayer before the battle!
  
  Of course, there is such a word, it is precious,
  It sparkles radiantly, eclipsing the luminaries of diamonds!
  After all, the Motherland is the understanding of love, absolutely,
  It is limitless, including the entire universal world!
  
  After all, for her sake I didn"t groan in pain on the rack,
  It would be a sin for a princess of the sublunary world to break down!
  Let us bow low to the holy Fatherland,
  Snow fell at home and it became white as white!
  
  Now my word to future descendants,
  Don't be afraid, victory always comes!
  All that will remain of all the enemies will be only fragments,
  And the teeth of the one who opened his greedy mouth will fly out!
  At the last sentence, thousands of photo-blitzes flashed, and Elfaraya passed out from the painful shock of burning flesh. A starry sky flashed before her, seemingly thickly strewn with diamonds, topazes, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and agates-extraordinarily bright.
  And then Elfaraya woke up. She was lying in some kind of capsule, and next to her was another body. The elven countess turned over. The young man in swimming trunks and a transparent battlesuit seemed strangely familiar to her.
  She saw how the hellish flame of the cat inquisition still stood before her, and the fire brutally tormented her flesh.
  But now there was no pain in her body. She felt healthy and refreshed. The young man beside her woke up and turned to face her.
  Even one in a million would recognize Elfaraya's aquiline-nosed face!
  - Trollead! - She cried.
  - Elfarai! - the young man shouted.
  They looked at each other for several minutes, while the escape capsule they were in vibrated and floated in space like a buoy on the water.
  Trollead remarked with a sigh:
  - This is not a dream at all!
  Elfaraya answered confidently:
  - Science says that two different people cannot dream the same dream at the same time. Unless their souls are traveling to mental worlds!
  The young man and the girl extended their hands to each other, shook them, and, feeling the flesh, noted:
  - This is clearly not the spirit world!
  Trollead noted with surprise:
  - I don't understand what it was! It felt like it was real, and the pain, I must say, was genuine.
  Elfaraya suggested:
  "It's a transition to other worlds. After the thermopreon bomb exploded, our bodies and souls either found themselves in a parallel universe or were thrown far away in our own. And when we were incinerated, we returned!"
  They fell silent and looked at each other for a long, long time. Then the elf asked:
  - And was it said sincerely that you love me with all your heart and soul?
  Trollead confirmed with enthusiasm:
  - Very sincerely! Literally with all my heart! And did you answer me just as honestly?
  Elfaraya nodded fervently:
  - Yes, exactly as honestly! And I love you with all my heart!
  The boy and girl fell silent again. Then their faces moved toward each other, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. Then they began to embrace each other more deeply, shedding their transparent combat suits and revealing their eternally youthful, harmoniously developed, muscular bodies.
  Elfarai's bare finger pressed the joystick button and a beautiful song performed by an elf was heard.
  The cosmos is painted in a black, gloomy light,
  And it seems that the stars have dimmed in their orbits!
  I want love, but the answer I hear is no,
  The hearts of lovers are broken into pieces !
  
  I beg you, my prince, come to me,
  I cried oceans of tears in grief!
  Break all the chains of prejudice,
  I want you to convey the truth to the people!
  
  Love is more important than duty and crowns,
  If you need it, I will betray my fatherland!
  And I will put my beloved on the throne,
  After all, my prince is more precious to me than life!
  It seemed as if the Goddess of love Aphrodite herself was singing, the words were so soulful and the melody was performed magnificently with a marvelous, simply magical voice.
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