The Most Evil Kind.

"What happened, soldiers?"

"Goblins."

"Informative. Can you give more details?"

"They will all come now, and I will tell."

They had to wait a few minutes until the other triumvirs gathered.

"A messenger arrived."

"I thought I smelled a human!"

Oleg gave Kostya (Konstantin) a reproachful look; he raised his hands apologetically.

"I'll keep silent."

"In short, Peski is under siege by goblins."

"How did the messenger get through the siege to us?"

"Will you let me tell the story?!"

Angrily surveying all the Triumvirate representatives and ensuring no one else wanted to speak, Oleg continued.

"This time the goblins didn't wait for nightfall. They attacked in the middle of the day. Naturally, the village gates were open, and many people were outside. Our messenger, not quite a messenger, was walking towards the quarry when he saw the attacking goblins and ran to us at full speed. He swears the gates were closed in time, but I didn't find such memories in his blood. So Peski may already be overrun. There are about five hundred goblins. The peasant himself is in the guest house under Stephanie's protection."

Alexander looked at the warlord.

"It's your time, Leonid! Command. We need to help our neighbors."

The other triumvirs nodded in agreement.

Leonid did not raise the alarm or call for a general assembly. He decided that fifty vampires could easily deal with the goblins. But the bustle in the village woke almost everyone up, and upon learning the reason for the upcoming campaign, many demanded to participate. Naturally, there was no talk of mutual aid or friendly assistance.

The motives of the majority were purely pragmatic. No one wanted to miss such a hunt! Just as the goblins couldn't resist so much meat passing through the passes last year, the vampires, upon learning of such a quantity of blood nearby, unanimously volunteered to help their neighbors. To feed...

The squad leaving the village immediately after sunset commanded respect. Full plate armor, no leather. Weapons that almost matched, swords and axes. No spears or strange clubs that usually stood out in the militias of ordinary villages. The few remaining guards and sentries watched them leave with sadness. Among those seeing them off were two standouts. A young girl, the only one wearing a dress in the village, and a ragged-looking peasant, who watched everything with bewilderment.

"Why did they take those old women with them? And dressed them up in armor too."

The girl didn't dignify him with a response, merely casting a scornful glance and silently wishing luck to those departing.

They reached the neighboring village as quickly as they could. Scouts sent ahead reported that things weren't as bad as they could have been. The gates had indeed been closed in time. But since it was the height of the workday, many men were at the quarry, mining sand.

A large part of them had managed to barricade themselves inside the quarry building, and now the goblins were trying to break in. The main mass of goblins, however, was preparing to storm the village. Leonid quickly assessed the situation and issued a battle plan.

A dozen gendarmes burst into the crowd of goblins preparing to storm the quarry, causing a massacre right before the eyes of desperate peasants trying to survive. Fortunately, night had already taken hold, and in complete darkness, they could see only goblins and vampires.

The latter didn't use magic, relying solely on their physical abilities. Dozens of goblins were dying, and if not for the need to drink blood, the vampires would have destroyed this hundred-strong attacking force quite quickly. But their task was somewhat different.

Most of the goblins were under the village walls, where it was lit. Naturally, it wasn't the light of lanterns, but torches on the walls that provided some visibility to the peasants. It was very little, but why give reason for rumors? A dozen gendarmes were not so much to save the peasants in the quarry as to force the goblins outside the village to go to the aid of their dying relatives.

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