Under such circumstances the commander decided to reinforce the vanguard, not yet knowing of its destruction, and ordered it to occupy Savoyardi and fortify itself there. Infantry units were chosen to reinforce the vanguard, and having left the carts and shouldered a load of food for a dozen days, they marched forward. In order not to take any risks, this detachment was supplemented with ten mages and a unit of crossbowmen armed with artifact crossbows and enchanted bolts. No one doubted that they would meet the vanguard and feed themselves on the supplies they would get in the captured city.
The scouts had learned all this from a captured prisoner who had been dragged back to the camp alive. Leonid was happy. The squad didn't look formidable, especially now that all the vampires possessed rudimentary combat magic. In addition to thirty crossbowmen and ten mages, the squad included two hundred pikemen and a hundred swordsmen and a knight with a personal lance of twenty lancers. Paladins were not given to the squad of reinforcements.
- We should meet them on the hills, near the bridge over the Cursed, there is the only open place in the area, - Leonid told his plan in front of the village leadership, - I think we will be no more than a hundred. We'll meet in the open field, catching them on the march. We are few and they will definitely attack. Then it's a matter of technique. Their mages are no longer a threat to us. Protect our warriors from magic with "mirror" spells, from crossbow arrows - put up a "wall of air", everyone knows it, and we'll easily win.
- What the hell have they forgotten here in the north! - Oksana, new to the leadership, was unaware of their previous meetings.
- Well, they have a cunning strategic calculation, - Alexander began to explain, - they want to take the capital of the duchy of Kas, as it is poorly fortified, because of its rear location, and leave the entire army there for the winter. And in the spring it is supposed that the king of Elur will rush with his army to beat the city back, because from it there is a direct, though long road to the capital of the kingdom, and there are almost no well fortified castles and fortresses on the way to it. And that's if you go by land, and there's also a navigable river. Well, while in the spring the king and his army will have fun in the north, the Orodians wanted to strike from the west and take the border fortresses, and thus decide the outcome of the war in their favor.
- I wonder how much they drank when they made such a plan? - Leonidas smirked.
- When I see their king, I'll ask him, - Alexander answered him in the same way.
- What's not to like about the plan? - Oksana was clearly interested.
- Yes, it is unrealistic.
- Why? It's a good plan. They only made a mistake about the passes and goblins.
- Well, think about it! It takes a lot of things to make it work. And if one thing doesn't work, the whole plan goes to hell. And what's remarkable is that the plan didn't work at the very starting point - the whole army got stuck at the pass, and the vanguard faced reality in our face.
- Aha, and now our faces will have to fight for the locals, and to have the Orodians as enemies, - Alexander interrupted the warlord who had gone mad.
- It is better to agree with the baron that he should stay out of it and give us independence. Promise that we'll destroy the whole detachment ourselves, and we don't need his help.
The vampire lunged at his opponent and ran up, swinging his sword downward, hitting the base of his neck. The man in front of him put up his shield and flew backwards from the monstrous force of the blow.
"I'd have hit him better with a poleaxe!"
The sword was drawn out of habit, for leaving the camp, the sling being put on automatic. The wrist ached with a slight pain. The gap in the loose formation of the enemy gave an advantage that had to be taken advantage of immediately.
Quickly moving a step forward and poking the sword to the left, right into the side of the warrior who had so successfully settled on Sergey, he yells in pain and misses a new blow to the throat. The naked hand immediately reaches for it, and the blood of the fallen man fills his killer with strength.
A new enemy warrior jumps up from the right, rushing to close the hole in the ranks with his body and trying to blow Alexander's head off with his sword. He pulls his sword out of the side of the just-defeated fighter and turns this movement into a blow at the man rushing to kill him.
The vampire's speed is much faster than a human's, and the young man doesn't have time to realize how the sword of the enemy just sticking in the body of his coworker cuts off his arm and slits his throat. Alexander immediately pulls his free palm to the blood that generously gushed from the torn throat and....
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