The Duke's blood memory added to the vampires' knowledge of global politics. The world map turned out to be quite amusing in that countries with different approaches to central authority were at odds with each other. The Orod, where royal power was strong and absolute, had long been rivals with Elur, where the king was almost "first among equals." Valeria, where the king was no more than a figurehead, had been at daggers drawn with Thor for centuries, where the royal dynasty was firmly established and numerous.
The Kingdom of Ilkhori, lying to the east of Elur, was in conflict with Shorez, located to the south of Elur. Moreover, the two countries did not even share a land border, and their skirmishes occurred only at sea. However, the two latter powers were poor examples; the weak royal authority there was replaced by strong and firm rulers, and in both kingdoms, everything depended on the individual on the throne, which did not prevent the states from genuinely disliking each other.
And this applied to all human countries on the continent. Every major kingdom had its long-standing rival. Someone was clearly pitting the powers against each other, and this had been going on for centuries.
Deciding not to burden himself with grand politics, the vampire carefully handed over the Duke's body to the servants and went to his own tent, where the mercenaries should have already set up his tent and prepared dinner. This time, he had taken a lot of human food with him; an entire wagon was filled only with his belongings.
The sergeant of the mercenaries, chosen for this campaign, met his temporary commander near the tent, where a small fire was cheerfully crackling. A joyful smile appeared on the veteran's smooth-shaven face as soon as he saw the knight.
— Your Excellency! The mages are bullying the common soldiers and demanding that they serve them, — he reported immediately.
Instead of dinner and sleep, he had to deal with the squad's issues. These turned out to be less significant than the vampire had imagined after the sergeant's words. The people hired by Konstantin were a wild mix of individual fighters and mages, rather than a cohesive unit forged in battle.
However, there were many of them, and almost all were professionals. There were no problems with the professionals; even the solitary mercenaries understood what discipline was and why it was needed. But there was one group of five mages who had no experience in joint expeditions. They had no practical experience at all. Graduates of this year from different combat schools, they had all decided to try their luck in the north.
In Cas, they found each other and bonded over shared drinking sessions at taverns. Three combat mages and two paladins, all of the same age and with similar future plans, eagerly joined the squad created by the free village. They had heard little about the campaign to Zalona, or perhaps they did not want to listen. Coming from peasant backgrounds, upon hearing the term "free village," they might have simply overlooked the rest, already imagining how splendid it would be to have fun in such a village unprotected by any noble with his squad.
Therefore, upon sobering up and learning that the promised lively widows were not forthcoming, and that a long journey and serious battle awaited them, the entire group became despondent and initially tried to cancel their mercenary contract. But such matters were taken seriously here, and mercenaries could not alter or cancel the terms of their hire at their discretion. Even the death of the employer did not release a mercenary from the contract. Realizing their fate, the mages initially quieted down. Then they began to demand special conditions.
Initially, intending to give the troublemakers a few preventive punches, the vampire changed his mind after talking to the fools. It was possible to knock some sense into them, but something told him that this group would not easily take such beatings.
Rubbing his neck, Alexander issued an order prohibiting anyone in the squad from assisting the troublemakers, and ordered that they must walk for the next two days instead of riding. Violating a direct order from one's commander was punishable by death, regardless of when and where the violation occurred; any employer who learned of such a fact about their mercenary was obligated to execute them.
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