King of the Sea

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

After defeating the enemy army, his troops broke out into cheers and celebrations. The enemy army had been annihilated, with only a pile of corpses remaining from their ranks. Due to the archers being decimated at the start of the battle, and the heavy cavalry taken out early on, the most serious injury was some minor lacerations caused by the brave souls who were lucky enough to get past the pike wall. If this had been a larger army he was forced to fight, Berengar was unsure if he would get the same results. However, against an army of equal size, The weapons and tactics Berengar employed were too advanced for his enemy to even contend with.

The men within the ranks of the professional army were stupefied beyond belief at how effective the muskets were; these were obviously not ordinary hand cannons. If not for the fact that they were veteran soldiers with plenty of experience, they may have failed in their duty to protect the militiamen while they reloaded due to shock.

Berengar, on the other hand, was impressed with the performance. Once more, his victory was overwhelming. Who in this feudal era could contend with the power of steel and shot? While his troops were cheering, he reloaded his pistols while Eckhard approached him.

"Congratulations on another overwhelming victory, my Lord!"

Berengar smiled and accepted the gesture before staring down at Eckhard, who stood below his mighty steed.

"We may have won the battle, but the war is still waging. Get the army on the march; I want a siege camp built outside their Castle walls before dusk!"

With his orders being given out, the army quickly began to march into the nearby town, where they would begin the lengthy process of laying siege to the enemy's remaining forces hiding cowardly behind the Castle's walls.

: Establishing a Siege Camp

: Establishing a Siege Camp

: Establishing a Siege Camp

The enemy Marshal had made it back to Baron Guntrum and informed him of his massive defeat before the enemy forces had arrived in the town of Kitzbuhel. Baron Guntrum could not believe his ears as he listened to the near fantastical tale of how easily his armies were torn apart by Berengar's forces and the thunderous weapons they wielded.

"My liege, Our armies are defeated; the survivors of our forces are few in numbers and have already begun to flee the land. It will not be long before the enemy has us surrounded, and we are besieged! Tell me, sire, what are your orders?"

Baron Guntrum was still shocked by the news and truly did not know how to react to this situation. The best he could do was hope his walls could withstand the cannon fire of Berengar's artillery. After all, surely his marshal was exaggerating their effectiveness? After regaining his senses, Guntrum gave his decree.

"I want every man and child capable of bearing arms atop these castle walls defending it with their lives! If you have to, send the garrison into the village to gather the forces necessary to achieve this, and do it swiftly before the enemy arrives!"

For once in his life, the marshal wished his Liege would sue for peace. Unfortunately, he could not voice such concerns as his orders were already given; as such, the man quickly gathered the Castle's forces and rode into the village, conscripting anyone capable of bearing arms into their forces to defend the Castle's walls. It did not matter if they had never used a bow before; simply having the bodies necessary to launch missile fire at the enemy attackers was good enough for the Baron, who had grown desperate after his recent defeat.

Berengar rode atop the back of his mighty steed as he and his forces marched into the town of Kitzbuhel; the local castle lay in the hills above, overlooking the valley and the people within it, displaying the authority of the mighty overlord of the region. Berengar had no time to spare with securing the township and merely ordered his troops to move through it so they could set up a siege camp within the vicinity of the Castle. Sieges were long-lasting endeavors, but he figured he could bring down the large stone walls fairly quickly due to his superior firepower. As such, he barked commands at his troops who heeded his commands.

"I want a siege camp set up and fully fortified by Dusk! Make sure it is out of the range of enemy missile fire!"

Eckhard, who was marching in command of the infantry forces, quickly pounded his breastplate as he saluted Berengar while responding to his orders.

"It will be done, my Lord."

The local townsfolk who remained after the massive conscription which had just taken place quickly fled their s as they saw the army arrive; they were frightful of the potential actions which the enemy forces would take against them now that their own had been defeated in the field of battle. Many women and children wept for the loss of their husbands, fathers, and sons, who were torn to shreds by the overwhelming might of Berengar's forces. Very few of the Baron's soldiers had escaped the wrath of their enemy. Those who were lucky enough to survive had begun to flee with their families towards one of the other villages in the Barony. After witnessing the frightening display of their enemy's power, they had no hope in rallying behind the Castle walls and successfully defending against the siege.

Berengar made sure his men were fully disciplined as they marched through the village. He had made it abundantly clear to his men beforehand that the people of this region were not to be mistreated, and as long as his watchful eye cast over them, they managed to behave themselves. Whether they would be able to maintain this degree of professionalism during a protracted siege was a different story. Berengar set his siege camp up just out of range of the enemy defenders. However, Berengar's forces were still in range of attack, and as such, they could successfully bombard the enemy defenders with cannons and rifles throughout the entire period.

The effective range was essentially a mere feet, and their longbows had a maximum range of yards. Even the once-mighty steel crossbow had a mere yards of effective range. In comparison, the effective range of Berengar's cannons was roughly yards. His Long rifles, while in the hands of effective marksmen, were roughly yards in range. As such, by placing their siege camp roughly yards away from the enemy castle, they were able to effectively attack their enemy from dawn to dusk without a single enemy attack on their forces.

It took quite some time; however, the Siege Camp was fully set up and effectively fortified by the evening. The guns had been loaded and begun their bombardment; they would not stop until the next morning. The Napoleon-style lb cannon was already a sturdy and robust cannon design in his previous life, mostly made of bronze. However, Berengar's cannons were made of high-quality steel, and as such, could withstand the pressures of a steady firing rate throughout the night. As such, the Thunder of guns echoed throughout the entirety of the night while the twelve-pound solid steel cannonballs battered the mighty stone walls of the enemy's castle, slowly chipping away at the enemy's defenses.

Those defenders unfortunate enough to get caught in the blast were torn apart by the enemy bombardment. Stone shards constantly spat out the areas affected by the continued bombardment and acted as shrapnel against the defending forces. Though it was only guns, they were able to effectively bombard the enemy defenders to the point of suppressing them completely; even if they were within firing range of the defenders, those who lie behind the castle walls would not be able to cause much harm upon their foes. The might of steel and shot had shown itself as Berengar sat in his tent drinking from a goblet of wine. Tomorrow he would allow the cannoneers to rest and give his enemy a slight reprieve. He would resume his bombardment the following morning.

: Throw them to the Wolves!

: Throw them to the Wolves!

: Throw them to the Wolves!

The dawn had risen, and Baron Guntrum and his family had not been able to get a wink of sleep. Instead, they were huddled in the great hall listening to the near-constant thunder of guns while shivering in fear. Baron Guntrum's -year-old daughter was particularly frightened by the thunder that echoed throughout the night and held onto her father's hand firmly.

"Daddy, I'm scared..."

The look on Baron Guntrum's face was not reassuring; after all, in his declaration of war, Berengar had promised to show no mercy to Guntrum or his family. If the walls crumbled and the enemy forces rushed into his keep, there was no chance of survival. As such, he had begun to regret his decision to provoke Berengar in the name of the Church. Why was God testing him in such a manner? What had he done to deserve this fate? Those were the questions the pious noblemen asked himself as the echoes of the cannons continued to bombard his castle.

However, shortly after praying to the Lord, the thunder of the guns had ceased; after waiting nearly half an hour for the bombardment to resume, there was still only silence from his enemies. As if his prayers had been Answered, Guntrum rushed outside to see for himself what was transpiring. After standing atop the walls, which had been greatly diminished by the night of bombardment, he could see the Besieging forces standing idly by in their siege camp below. He could not help but wonder if they had run out of munitions.

At the next moment, a small lead projectile whizzed past his face, and the thunder of the rifle which had fired it echoed in the distance. He quickly ducked below the ramparts and hid from the enemy fire. Just what kind of weapon was that? Seeing that his men were cowering in fear beneath the protection of the walls, he could not help but empathize with their pain. As such, he quickly returned to the keep, where he hid with his family once more, though the cannons may have stopped the hand cannons in which the enemies used posed a significant threat to anyone stupid enough to expose themselves.

...

Berengar was currently standing in the middle of his siege camp in front of three men who were stripped of their arms and armor and currently wearing nothing more than the gambeson they wore beneath it. These three men were of his father's forces, and they were currently bound and kneeling in front of him. During the night, these men had abandoned their posts and raided the local town; they had even r***d a local teenage girl who was ever so slightly older than Adela, which Berengar found disgusting and unforgivable. However, they did not pull this off on their lonesome. Clearly, there were other people involved. However, only these three men were caught, and they were not willing to rat out their brothers in arms.

Berengar strode back and forth in front of the men and glared menacingly at them. His fury exuded from the very depths of his soul as he lectured the surrounding army, which was forced to bear witness to this scene.