The Most Evil Kind.

"Goblins are ahead by two leagues, marching in quite a long column. They have rats," Sergey's scout saluted and waited for further questions from the voivode.

Finding goblins wasn't particularly difficult. Having left the village at dawn, they certainly couldn't begin their journey home. The day was clear, the forest in the foothills sparse, and the goblins themselves were tired. Naturally, having retreated to a safe distance, the underground dwellers set up camp and fell asleep. Leonid, leading the vampires slightly askew, almost guessed right. Traces of the passage of several hundred creatures were clearly visible. The vampires trotted after them, while scouts ran ahead.

"Rats are bad. They might sniff us out beforehand."

The presence of such intelligent animals among goblins was surprising. In general, the goblins themselves were a surprise. From the humans' and vampires' point of view, they were pathetic creatures leading equally pathetic lives. The goblins themselves thought exactly the opposite.

They even called themselves the firstborn, based on the fact that they lived closer to the earth and even beneath it. But no matter how shocking the goblins' worldview was, they were aggressive, hostile, and malicious. Hence, they were perfect fodder for vampires without violating established rules regarding the killing of sentient beings.

"Should we establish permanent reconnaissance posts near their surface exits in the future?"

And now addressing the scout,

"Lead us in such a way that we end up parallel to them. Since their column is stretched out, we'll attack along its entire length."

The goblin family returning from an unsuccessful raid was wiped out in less than a minute. The column stretched across the forested foothills was attacked on the spot, but this time no one restricted the vampires in magic. A ratio of one to three? So what!

If one or even two out of those three are thrown back by an "air fist," and the third one is already giving his blood, seized by strong hands, and then it's the turn of those not yet recovered from the magical blow... No prisoners were taken. Or rather, they were fed to the children who were left in reserve and promised that if anyone from the herd escaped, they would be allowed to catch them on their own.

From the goblins' blood, they learned that another family from the clan wants to come out and attack the human settlement. In general, the goblins underground were experiencing a fertility crisis. All summer, not really growing properly, beginning in late autumn and throughout the winter, they produced huge broods.

The surplus of food led to an excessive growth in the offspring. And in the spring, the fungus stopped growing again. Hunger once again came to the goblin settlements. And it was this that drove them to the surface. Or rather, for now only the strongest and most numerous families were going, but soon the rest could be expected.

(*Horsh — the very thing that grows underground and feeds them, that same mushroom growing everywhere.)

(*Goblins always have the same number of offspring — twelve, but depending on the fullness of the mother during pregnancy, not all of them are born alive.)

"Olga will cut off all our balls if we devote another night to the hunt," Sergey did not hide his fear of the triumvir's wife, but he also wanted to go hunting.

Eugene thoughtfully scratched his cheek.

"Maybe not everyone's, but definitely mine."

"And so what? Letting go of such a delicious piece? Have you noticed that goblins are more well-fed than humans?" Konstantin was the only one who never doubted. Goblins had to be intercepted and consumed!

"Yes, I noticed," Maria vigorously nodded, "A goblin has about a third less blood than a human, but the strength derived from it will be twice as much."

"It doesn't matter right now," Leonid stood up, "We were sent with a specific task. We've accomplished it, and I'm leading everyone home. And then the Triumvirate will decide! If there's an order, I'll lead people on another raid, and to hell with the opinions of individual vampires. Decide that everyone is well-fed and should work, we'll work! So enough sitting around. Get up and let's go home!"

Eugene was the first to jump to his feet.

"You're absolutely right! Let's return."

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