The Most Evil Kind.

The first to arrive at the siege were the men-at-arms of Sir Tanok, led by the knight himself. It was no surprise as his castle was nearby. He brought almost two dozen fighters with him, including all three of his sons.

—"I hasten to attest to you my loyalty, Baron. I could not remain on the sidelines upon learning of such a heinous act by my neighbor. I have come with my retinue at your command and am ready to serve you, Your Grace."

Leonid watched the scene with a smirk.

—"What are you grinning about?"

—"Have you noticed that this oaf brought men-at-arms but forgot to bring knights?"

Now Alexander paid attention to this. The knight's spear remained in his castle, and none of the best fighters answered the baron's call. Instead, here were all three sons, mere lads.

—"Well, well, our baron's vassals. One raises a revolt, following his desires. The other two ignore his commands."

The vampires didn't have time to continue discussing the merits and flaws of their neighbors. The cortege of the mage appeared. A carriage and four guards on horseback. The girl herself lightly jumped out of the still-moving carriage and immediately bowed to the baron.

—"Where is the vile enemy here?"

—"In the castle, my lady."

Critically surveying the walls from a distance, the mage unleashed a "heavenly lightning" upon them. The spell scattered logs in all directions.

—"Twenty minutes, and I'll demolish this parody of fortifications. They don't have stationary shields?"

—"No."

—"Then I'll proceed, or are we waiting for someone else, Baron?"

—"We wait, my dear. Rest while you can."

The girl bowed and, looking around, walked towards the nearest campfire. Almost reaching her goal, she noticed two figures in sturdy armor in the forest and hurried towards them. Bowing to the vampires, she smiled cheerfully.

—"I'm glad to greet fellow mages."

—"We are glad to see you, lady. Would you sit with us by the fire?"

—"With great pleasure, gentlemen."

The girl left a pleasant impression. Easily maintaining the conversation, she didn't seek to dominate it but also didn't allow the men to blush with awkward pauses. An ideal conversationalist. By the time the second knight's contingent arrived, everyone was already chatting like old friends. True, Martha Tap recounted stories from her life, while Alexander shared stories from the life of a captive archmage. However, the mage left a good impression on the vampires.

Sir Falz's knightly contingent differed from that of his colleague. All the knights were here, and he also brought both of his sons. He didn't weave verbal lace, limiting himself to the obligatory greetings.

The soldiers were deployed, and the mage began casting spells. Instead of the expected "tornado," she created a "storm front." The result remained unchanged. In a dozen minutes, the castle's fortifications were reduced to ruins, incapable of even holding back a peasant mob. The warriors easily overcame them. Watching the fight that had begun from the forest, the vampires openly felt bored. The only plus was the clouds summoned by the mage. The fog no longer stuck and posed no danger for some time.

Despite the complete destruction of the fortifications, the defenders resisted for almost an hour. During this time, the vampires were bored, amusing themselves with conversations and spinning tales. Finally, the banner of Baron Bark was lowered, and the flag of baronial victory began to wave over the fallen castle.

Now it was time to show their presence and congratulate the victors. Riding into the castle courtyard, the friends looked around in surprise. There were no bodies anywhere. And the scent of blood in the air wasn't strong enough to affect nerves greatly, not even a little. Hurrying inside, the vampires followed the directions of one of the men-at-arms. There they found the baron standing over the body of his son.

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