Chapter 12

One of the attackers, thrown to the ground by a crossbow bolt that hit him in the head, calmly stood up and began to pull the iron projectile out of his skull. Some didn't notice the arrows had hit them at all. The lieutenant could have sworn that one of the arrows had been knocked back in mid-air altogether. Of course he had heard of such tricks and had even seen paladins or seasoned warriors do such things, but he had never thought it was possible with such a short distance between the shooter and the target.

Swords rang below and the screams of the wounded could be heard. The two battle mages hurled down a 'fire spear', apparently successfully. A few seconds later, they did it again, and then the head of one of them simply exploded, shattered by a rock that flew into it. The mysterious slingshot was nowhere to be found, and it was not even clear where it was.

At the gate, the captain took a report from the survivors. It turned out they were indeed from the town council. The whole city is captured, the citadel is the last stronghold of defense. But how long this state of affairs would last was impossible to say. Even a simple fight at the gate cost the lives of five soldiers. The creatures that filled the city were incredibly strong and fast.

Only paladins and mages could resist them, but all the paladins had died in the morning, and the mages, though they did damage, were not very effective in the narrow streets, where the convergence with the enemy was faster than it was possible to build a second spell. Fortunately the walls of the citadel were secure and one could hope to sit behind them until help arrived. The city was a pity, but one's own head was more important.

He who led or rather was the leader of the attackers looked at the walls of the citadel from the window of the house. Next to Fez was his beloved Jeanne and that very slinger, a seventy-year-old grandfather, who had survived the conversion into a ghoul and had once been one of the best masters of such a simple and effective weapon.

- Shoot the mages," the young man ordered him, and taking the girl under his arm he left the room.

- What are you planning to do?

- This night I have to take the fortress, but I don't know how.

The couple went outside. All the best units of their army were already here, having just taken the center of the city. How many thousands of people had been killed and how many turned into ghouls was yet to be counted.

- Sir, they want to talk to you, - yesterday's peasant, appointed centurion, clumsily approached Fez and simply pointed at the gray-haired latnik.

- What?

- Are you in command here?

- I'm in charge everywhere, I'm the chief vampire! - Fes said arrogantly.

- Well, I joined your ranks this morning.

- Then follow the orders of my officers and you'll get a lot of blood and power.

The veteran ignored these words and got to the point for which he had come here.

- Do you want to take the citadel?

- Yes, do you want to help?

- I do," the warrior said bluntly.

- And what business is it of yours? This morning you served those who hide there.

- I want to drink Master Josef's blood! I've got a score to settle with that bastard, - the lad wasn't lying, in the morning when he had a couple drops of blood in his mouth, he passed out. He would have liked to pass out, but the pain was tearing his gut, preventing his mind from drifting off into a salvific nothingness. When the torture stopped and the man rose to his feet, it turned out that the world around him had changed, or rather his perception of the world had changed.

And he was very thirsty for blood, the smell of which was in the air. It was quickly explained to him that he was now a vampire and it was normal to drink blood. He also had to avoid the rays of demur and silver, which burned more than fire, which he made sure of by taking a small coin out of his pocket and seeing with his own eyes how quickly his body healed the wound caused by the silver.

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