Chapter 89

Wandering through the city, Alexander was primarily thinking about the Archmage. When King Orod dispatched the army for the campaign, he had planned extensively. Valuable artifacts were entrusted to the army, but it didn't stop there. Archmage Godius, nicknamed "the King's Fiery Hammer" for his role in suppressing recent rebellions, was also assigned to accompany the expedition through the Nalim Range.

From the prisoners, it was known that the army had lost a lot of treasures and soldiers at the passes, but an Archmage isn't the type of creature to simply perish under goblin attacks. Therefore, in the upcoming battle, it must be taken into account that the enemy will have insanely powerful magical support.

Should this information be reported to the Duke? Among the vampires, there was no consensus on this matter. They only agreed that the Archmage must be taken alive. But how to accomplish this? And will the battle even take place if the Duke learns about it?

In the kingdom of Elur, there were only two Archmages, one of whom lived exclusively in the fortress city of Zalon. As the governor, he received substantial shares in the extraction of pure moon silver.

The kingdom of Orod boasted four Archmages, none of whom were so firmly tied to a specific place. However, they lacked moon silver and artifacts made from it.

No, of course, they had them, but the quantity and value... Moon silver was the best material for making artifacts. If it were replaced with another, such as mithril, not only would the size of the item increase, but its efficiency would decrease. For example, an amulet for protection against medium-power spells would be a simple brooch if made from moon silver, and a cumbersome plate weighing nearly a kilogram if made from mithril. Naturally, the two states in the world with moon silver mines—Elur and the Empire—were not eager to trade it or artifacts made from it, especially of military nature.

Archmages from other countries were forced to either buy the necessary amulets made from moon silver on the black market or officially purchase artifacts of civilian purpose containing this much-needed material and extract it from them, after which they would create the desired artifact. The cost, in either case, was astronomical.

Despite having fewer Archmages, Elur had a complete superiority in artifacts. It's scary to say, but the same medium protection amulets were possessed by all royal guards of Elur, while in Orod, there was only one for the king and the heir.

"Well, let Leonid deal with his headache about the Archmage, he's the commander, he's got the cards. And whether to report to the Duke about him or not, let him decide for himself. We'll have to push this decision through the triumvirate and not deal with this problem anymore. Then, either we capture him in battle, or Sergey will kidnap him later. What should I do in the city?"

The man stopped in front of the church entrance. None of the vampires bothered to enter here. The local religion was quite militant and even fascist, implying no pacifism or love for one's neighbor. Purifying fire and excruciating death for everyone, especially those not born human. And people believed in this and sincerely supported the bright fathers.

Looking at the fiery sphere with rays, the symbol of faith painted on the doors of the local temple, Alexander took a decisive step. It was long overdue to get better acquainted with this side of their new world's life.

Inside, it was warm and smelled of hay. Sitting on a bench, the vampire simply surveyed the interior. He knew how to behave in a church and could withstand the most rigorous interrogation by a priest, but... In his previous life, he never thought about God. If asked whether he was a believer, the answer would be unequivocally "yes." But God? Church? What is that?

It was this question that occupied his mind now. Not for others—for himself.

Before he could gather his thoughts, the local bishop approached him.

"May your fire never extinguish, son of light!"

"May your fire pour upon all, bright father."

Shaded by the fire all around him, Alexander stood before the local high priest.

"I am glad to finally see you here, elder. It has been over a week since you settled in our lands, and you haven't visited the temple of light even once."

"There was much to do, but as soon as I found a free moment, I came here!"

"It is gratifying, but you should have done this sooner."

"What are you leading to, you son of a bitch?"

I've got more interesting stuff on patreon

patreon.com/Chill76