Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar and the others were settling into Kufstein after their long journey, Eckhard was busy acting as the commander of the border forces stationed at Kitzbühel; he had been overseeing the defense of the northeastern borders of Tyrol since he was first deployed to the region. Unlike the Northwest front, which had devolved into a stalemate, where the attackers refused to advance.

The commander of the Northeast Bavarian Army constantly threw men at the walls of the Star Fortress. However, no matter what they attempted to do, it ultimately met in failure. At the moment, Eckhard was inside one of the buildings constructed inside the fort that acted as an HQ for the officers who manned its garrison.

Currently, Eckhard was conversing with the officers under his command about the constant threat outside their border. A well-armored officer dressed in a three-quarter plate was the first to speak up about the current situation.

"If they keep attacking at such a pace, we will eventually run out of munitions. The next resupply from Kufstein is still a week out. Someone needs to inform Berengar that we are running out of munitions and to expedite the delivery!"

By now, thousands of bodies lie riddled with bullets, and shrapnel outside the fort, rotting in the area strictly labeled by the enemy army as the "kill zone." Anything that entered the area would be battered by musket fire and artillery barrages.. It was indeed a nightmare to get past.

Eckhard nodded his head in agreement as he took a sip from his mug, which was filled with beer. If there was one thing Berengar had made sure while he was recovering from his injury and attending to matters of the state, it was that his troops were well supplied with high-quality rations. It was only after the grizzled veteran had quenched his parched throat with the delectable taste of Oktoberfest beer that he began to speak his piece.

"We will send a carrier pigeon to Kufstein to ensure that the shipment of our munitions and other supplies will be expedited. As for the situation at the border itself, how are we doing?"

Another officer, who was roughly the same age as Eckhard and had been a Knight of Kufstein for many years, quickly began his account of the ongoing efforts to defend the border.

"A patrol recently caught a unit of men at arms no greater than 250 trying to cross through the mountains and into Kufstein. They were most likely tasked with sabotage. However, they were effectively gunned down by our patrols before they could do any damage. As for the walls themselves, they are holding. The enemy cannot harm our fortress, at least not at the moment!"

Eckhard nodded in silence. Aside from running low on supplies, there was not much to worry about when it came to the defense of the Northeast border of Tyrol. However, for whatever reason, Eckhard felt a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that the Bavarians were going to try something drastic. Thus he gave his officers an order before concluding the meeting.

"Double the nightly watch and the ongoing patrols; I do not want any Bavarians slipping past our border!"

The officers all saluted Eckhard by pounding their steel breastplates with their fists before answering in the affirmative.

"Yes, sir!"

with that, Eckhard turned his back on them and gave one final order for the night.

"Dismissed!"

Hearing their orders, the men finally departed from the fort's HQ and were set upon their tasks. As for Eckhard, he stared at the map in front of him and pondered about the actions that the Bavarians might take. The number of men they threw at his wall was unbelievable; despite setback after setback, they still attacked at regular intervals. They were doing this in an attempt to lower his guard, but he did not know what for.

Ultimately Eckhard sighed before he decided to give up on predicting the enemy's plan; he would never be able to guess what devious plot the Bavarians were up to; he would do best to adapt when such a scheme reared its ugly head. As such, he left the HQ and entered his quarters, where he climbed into his cot and slept peacefully for the night.

...

Hours had passed, and it was roughly midnight; the new moon in the sky provided excellent cover for the Bavarian's latest plot to break through the mighty star fortress. Since they could not pierce through its defenses during the day, they had been wasting men's lives over the past few weeks at regular intervals to lower the guard of their opponent.

Now the time had come for them to unleash the plot that they had long since planned for. Under the cover of darkness, Bavarian soldiers slowly moved the horses into position, keeping the creatures calm to the best of their ability.

The carts the horses dragged behind them carried large, iron tubes, which resembled primitive cannons. However, unlike the 12 and 24 lb artillery that Berengar's forces used, these massive cannons fired large stone balls that were bigger than most men's torsos.

Slowly but surely, the devices known as Bombards made their way into firing position where they were set up, entirely shrouded by the lack of illumination which this particular night provided. During the loading process, one of the large stone balls fell from the cannon's mouth and crashed on the ground, creating a loud thud.

One of the soldiers instantly scolded the man who had screwed up the loading procedure in a hushed tone.

"Fool! You are going to alert the Tyroleans!"

However, after several seconds, it became apparent that the guards on the walls nearby did not notice the commotion. As such, the men sighed before restarting the loading procedure. In total, there were three of these monumental devices. It was all that Duke Dietger could afford; he had not even brought such masterpieces to Vienna. Yet here at the Borders of Tyrol against a small star fortress, the Bavarians were forced to unleash their mightiest weapon.

Eventually, the Cannons were lit, and after several seconds a loud thunderous noise echoed in the air before the massive stone cannonballs found their way into the fortress walls. The Bavarian army began to cheer outside the walls as they believed such a small bombardment was fully capable of dealing significant damage to the Tyrolean walls.

However, when the dust settled, all that such a thing managed to accomplish was alert the Tyrolean defenders, who rapidly climbed to their positions where they began to load their 24 lb siege cannons and aim them at the bombards. When the Bavarian commander gazed at the wall sections only to realize that they were still mostly intact his jaw dropped.

The man had no way of knowing that the low and thick walls of a star fortress were explicitly designed to mitigate the destructive power of cannons. Since these walls were made of steel-reinforced concrete bricks, they were far more resilient than anything outside Tyrol.

Eckhard quickly rushed out of bed and entered the scene, where he saw his men rapidly loading the 24 lb guns mounted on the walls. When he arrived, they quickly stopped what they were doing and saluted the man before waiting for the Field Marshal to speak.

Eckhard quickly assessed the damage before a wicked grin formed on his face.

"Show these fools what real artillery bombardment looks like!"

The Tyrolean defenders quickly responded with a salute and the battle cry they were so well known for.

"God with us!"

Afterward, the 24 lb cannons that were mounted in the direction of the bombards were fired, and a dozen of 24 lb explosive shells landed upon the bombards, destroying the devices and shredding the fools who had marched right into the kill zone.

However, the battle did not end there, as the cannons were rapidly reloaded and fired once more, this time aimed at the siege camp the Bavarians had foolishly erected within firing range of the mighty artillery that Berengar's forces possessed.

Until now, they had been fighting a war of attrition, but Eckhard was fully aware of Berengar's ongoing plans and had decided to wipe out the army who approached the Northeastern border on this night. He was thoroughly outraged that the fools would bring cannons against him. As such, he wanted to teach the Bavarians a valuable lesson about who the true master of artillery was!

Thus the Tyrolean defenders retaliated and began to bombard the Enemy encampment throughout the entirety of the night. Blood-curdling screams filled the air, alongside the sounds of explosions detonating upon the enemy position. As the enemy commander gazed upon the destruction of his encampment, he quickly saw a projectile heading straight for him and cursed under his breath.

"God damn it..."

with that, the shell landed on top of him, and the explosive blast engulfed his figure, rendering him into nothing more than mincemeat. The thunderous echoes of a dozen cannons would continue to fire off throughout the night, long after the Bavarian Army had been utterly destroyed.