The magical kingdom rarely deployed regular infantry from cities for battles. Instead, there were specially equipped regiments in the army fortresses, whose protective amulets and enchanted weapons could offer some resistance to mages and paladins. Therefore, everything had to be improvised on the spot, recalling scant tales overheard in taverns or at feasts.
Though, of course, this was only of limited help. Valeria hadn't fought with neighboring kingdoms for over a hundred years. However, this situation was typical for other kingdoms as well. The Church strongly disapproved of hostility between nations, and full-scale wars were rare.
Usually, conflicts ended with small border skirmishes. But despite all its power, the Church could not quell the infighting among the aristocracy, so there was some experience to draw from, though it was not extensive.
The first squad of rebels was dispatched like kittens. Three hundred vampires had inexplicably ventured into an open field, where they were nearly completely burned without even engaging in battle. The few survivors of this massacre managed to relay what they had seen directly to the Supreme Vampire. He made adjustments to his plans for destroying the army.
However, the "wild hundreds" intervened—an uncontrollable squad of a thousand vampires attacked the army. The commander wanted to demonstrate his prowess and, by gaining respect through defeating the enemy, challenge Askold's leadership.
Such desires were quite natural in conditions of anarchy, where power was defined by personal strength rather than common sense or tradition. But this attack had more significant consequences for the fate of the vampires than initially anticipated.
The Council's army, under the command of Advisor Georg, camped in a small field and represented a formidable force by the standards of any state. Using his authority, the archmage did not rush and, before moving out to suppress the absurd rebellion, which had already claimed the lives of dozens of mages, gathered as many troops and mages as possible under his command.
He even didn't hesitate to take one of the two regiments from the capital garrison, soldiers whom no one in Valeria had considered fighters for many years. Besides this regiment, he also took another, a real one—the "Silver Spurs" from the north, the best cavalry in Valeria, seasoned by constant border skirmishes with the kingdom of Tor.
Two regiments received magical support from assembled units of eighteen magical orders. Nearly a thousand battle mages and paladins, plus five masters, as a hefty cherry on top. Archmage Georg did not even count himself, wisely assuming that he would not have to engage in battle.
The sleeping army was saved by sentry spells. When hundreds of living beings intrude on the area of enchantments, even the most inattentive mage will be alerted. Master Karlov was not inattentive, and as soon as the vampires disturbed the threads of the spell, he immediately roused the camp. By coincidence, the first to come under attack were the positions of the capital guard regiment.
Despite its proud designation as a guard regiment, it mainly performed ceremonial functions, appearing at numerous ceremonies that the advisors loved to hold. The service was not strenuous, and many nobles tried to secure comfortable positions for their children in the capital, close to those in power. The soldiers and officers, unaccustomed to fighting, slowly and grumblingly left their tents and pavilions upon hearing the alarm.
Many didn't even pick up their weapons, as they saw their participation in suppressing the rebellion only in grand entries into liberated towns. It was these "soldiers" who first encountered the vampires, who were no longer trying to stay quiet and were simply aiming to quickly reach the enemy's throat. This was what determined the outcome of the battle.
All other squads sent to suppress the uprisings in the provinces were destroyed at night. People cannot see in the dark, and no one suspected that the rebels had long been erased from the human race. Therefore, while the night skirmishes inflicted damage on the vampire population, they always ended with the complete destruction of the punitive squad, as the bloodsuckers had no desire to turn their enemies into their own kind.
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