The Most Evil Kind.

Rising from the campfire last, Konstantin smirked sarcastically.

"So we don't know what decision the Triumvirate will make!" he quietly muttered.

The Triumvirate made the right decision, and the returning vampires were sent to sleep, only to set out on another campaign at sunset. Olga didn't shout or get angry. She just watched everyone as if they were enemies of the people and also joined the campaign. This time, they didn't leave lightly.

They took tents with them. Although the location of the goblin family's exit was precisely known, the time remained a mystery, and they might have to wait for the enemy to appear for a day or two. But the blood obtained as a result, along with the strength it brought, outweighed such minor inconveniences as living in the forest. Everyone had gotten used to the latter, and fresh blood delighted them as if for the first time.

The forest underwent significant changes. The warm southeast wind simply melted all the snow, even under the canopy of trees. During the day, the temperature reached twenty degrees Celsius, or more. At night, it didn't drop below ten, or even fifteen degrees. Such a sharp transition from winter to almost summer was typical for the eastern foothills of the Nalim Ridge.

Walking through the blooming spring forest was very pleasant. The nighttime scents stirred their blood; it seemed that life itself was hastening to take control after a long winter. Even the tranquility of the night was merely a slight annoying hindrance to this. The world around them desired eternal day, disregarding the physical laws by which the planet orbited the star.

Some couples stopped and, stepping aside, began to kiss passionately. Olga herself was not averse to dragging her husband into the bushes and engaging in something more serious than just kissing, but status and reputation prevented it. Spring had infiltrated the minds of the vampires. All that remained was not to succumb to this chaotic riot of life.

They reached the designated location quickly. And then a problem arose: how to control the moment the goblins emerged? They had to let them all come to the surface. But goblins could be anything but suicidal. Before the entire family emerged from the caves, the area around was carefully surveyed by scouts with rats.

And the rats' sense of smell could easily compete with that of the vampires. Unfortunately, all non-magical methods to eliminate the scent failed. Even a vampire wrapped in goblin skins was easily detected by his own kind. Not to mention the horribly smelly skins in which it was unpleasant to be. Magic had to be employed.

The locals didn't have specific spells, or the captured archmage didn't know them. So personal magic remained the only option. But how to formulate the required spell correctly? Air impermeability? How would they breathe themselves? Leave a small tube just for breathing? Excuse me, but if your backside doesn't smell, why did you think your mouth wouldn't?

It took some time to come up with the right filters. The resulting sphere was perfect. A vampire inside it couldn't be detected by smell. However, everything has its price. In this case, it was high energy consumption. But everyone was well-fed, even more than necessary, and the scouts were directed towards the caves. Though their number was reduced from four to two.

The goblins didn't appear the first night. The vampires standing by the camp were left to their own devices. For the first time since arriving in this world, people had an entire day of free time. Out of habit, Olga wanted to keep everyone busy with some work, but she was stopped by her husband, who simply led her into a tent and didn't let her speak further.

Many couples followed their example. Those left idle could only quietly envy and fall asleep unsatisfied.

The vampires' weekend outing continued. However, this time it wasn't as provocative as the previous night. Leonid engaged many girls to practice and hone their weapon skills. Many men joined them. Meanwhile, some magically enhanced their weapons and armor.

By almost morning, reconnaissance reported on the advance squads of goblins, and everyone was fairly tired after such an active night.

"We sleep," Leonid didn't even hesitate. "We'll catch them at night and wipe them out like the previous ones."

As always, reality intervened in their military plans. Several hundred goblins who emerged on the surface set out on a journey instead of establishing a camp near the caves. And their path led directly through the camp of sleeping vampires. Naturally, they caught everyone off guard, and the vampires even managed to prepare, but it was too late to hide the camp.

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