The paladins, who charged forward and engaged in battle, prevented the enemy from reaching the mages at the beginning of the fight, but once the battle was underway, they could do little more. They were simply outnumbered, and the vampires from the rear ranks would leap over the fighting soldiers to reach the mages, and sometimes even the mages made mistakes, as was the case now, and found themselves defenseless. Casting repeated spells in an area where dozens of attacking and defensive spells had just intersected was suicidal.
Most of the rebels who had broken through to the rear were thrown back by magic. A simple "air fist" was effective in knocking targets down and sending them flying several meters away, as it was countered by a basic force shield that could not absorb such a blow, merely preventing it from reaching the body. The use of homogeneous spells did not create devastating magical disturbances.
Once the mages adapted to the enemy and realized they were not dealing with paladins, the situation on the battlefield changed dramatically. The Valerian paladins, performing their famous somersaults and other acrobatic maneuvers for which their fighting school was renowned, drove the remaining vampires into a small patch of land not covered in fire, while the mages kept the mysterious enemy at bay.
Some problems arose only for the cavalry, but the "Silver Spurs" were not considered one of the best regiments in Valeria for nothing. Lacking the speed and strength of the vampires or paladins, they had protective amulets, artifact weapons, numerical superiority, and extensive experience gained in border skirmishes. Like the mages, the cavalry sustained losses only in the first minute of the battle, then quickly suppressed the enemy's resistance and drove them away with cheerful whistles.
The last remaining attackers were dealt with by the magisters, a trio of whom appeared behind the mages as the battle approached its final stage. A dozen attackers were lifted off the ground and wrapped in chains of spells, rendering them safe and unable to escape.
Thus, the night battle ended, entering history as the first clash between humans and vampires. The vampires themselves considered the humans of yesterday, unaware that the real vampires referred to them very differently.
When Archmage Georg received information from the prisoners and realized he was dealing with something other than humans, he immediately ordered a retreat, thereby saving his army, as the main forces of the vampires, under Askol'd's command, were already rushing to meet them.
Leaving the province seized by the abhumans, the advisor first requested three additional army regiments, reasoning that such a magical component as that present in his army could not be found anywhere else in the world, and there was nothing more to strengthen there.
Instead, he could leave ordinary people to the vampires, whose time would be wasted killing them. The deaths of the guards during the night battle provided too good an example.
— "Magister, are you ready to report the results of the investigation?" — Advisor Bor, who had been effectively ruling the kingdom of Valeria alone for the past few years, sat tensely in his chair.
In the room were all other members of the Magical Council, except for Georg, who was absent from the capital, as well as the king and several priests. The presence of His Majesty Nadir was a mere formality; his position in the kingdom was purely nominal, with all his duties limited to signing decrees issued by the Council.
However, the presence of the two cardinals and four archbishops was very unsettling for many. The Church was not a force that even Valerian mages could dismiss lightly, and these specific priests had been sent to the country to conduct an investigation.
— "Yes, the investigation is complete."
— "So quickly?"
— "The picture is crystal clear, and even an in-depth study of all the circumstances only yields one answer."
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