The Most Evil Kind.

Returning to the castle, they convened a meeting, after which messengers rode out to the two remaining knightly castles with a stern demand for the baron to immediately appear with his retinue at Castle Bark and punish the rebel.

—"If they don't come, I'll deal with this scum myself and pay a visit to them," promised the baron to everyone present, after which he ordered the sergeant to deploy the retinue.

—"By evening, Castle Bark must be under siege!"

The castle itself made a sorry impression. Its earth-and-wooden fortifications were more suited for... well, perhaps only for repelling an attack by a small band of bandits. The fortified villages on the other side of the river made a much better impression than what the vampire was observing now. Baron's retinue approached the castle in the approaching darkness and set up camp in the forest opposite the gates. The distance was short, and they could hope that none of the castle's inhabitants would escape their lord's wrath.

—"Forgive us, Alexander, that only such tents were found for you and your men, but I couldn't offer anything better."

When it became clear that they would have to march with the baron's retinue to the castle, the issue of expeditionary gear arose. They hadn't taken it when they left for the city. And why should they have taken it if there were plenty of places in the city where they could comfortably stay? The baron's steward solved the problem by fetching a dozen old tents from the warehouse. The vampires took them along and were now setting them up in the forest.

—"I'm not used to it, and I don't intend to stay here for more than one night, Baron."

—"Then good night, esteemed one. Rest well."

Alexander bowed and walked away to Leonid.

—"Place our guards."

—"I will do that. But what if tomorrow turns out to be a clear day?"

—"I have no intention of participating in the castle attack, even if tomorrow turns out to be another night instead of a day."

—"Then why are we here?"

—"Diplomacy. Showing our friendly disposition to the baron. At the same time, scaring his vassals."

Grumbling curses, the commander went to the gendarmes. They needed to set up posts and organize the hunting schedule. The day turned out to be clear. The vampires hid in the forest and wrapped themselves in cloaks. Blindly looking at the baron, Alexander greeted him.

—"Both Tanok and Falz will soon be here with their retinues. They got scared and hurried here, not even bothering to refuse their business," the man grinned carnivorously, "In two hours, my mage will also arrive, and then we can start the assault. What do you think?"

—"Baron, I think I don't want to participate in this assault. The castle is a pitiful semblance of fortifications. The mage will obliterate it with one tornado, and then you'll have complete numerical superiority."

—"But why don't you want to participate in the assault? Trophies, glory!"

—"I'm very sorry to remind you, but I'm not your vassal, Baron. And involving my soldiers in this assault isn't the best idea. I'll manage without trophies and glory. We'll watch from the forest this little skirmish, and if something goes wrong, we'll intervene."

The baron nodded.

—"You're right. I somehow forgot that you're not my vassal."

—"I hope this misunderstanding will be resolved soon, Baron."

—"Be that as it may, I already owe you."

The men parted, satisfied with each other. The conversation went much better than the vampire expected. Now, they could only hope that the assault itself would go as smoothly.

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