Tyranny of Steel

Eckhard gazed upon the bloody scene of his battle and sighed heavily. All he wanted in this world was a peaceful retirement. For the briefest of moments, he had achieved this aim. Unfortunately, the land that Berengar gave him was filled with mutinous nobles, and thus, he was forced to take up the blade once more. 

The echo of gunfire had long since ceased, and the smoke vanished, to reveal the scene of 25,000 corpses riddled with bullet holes. Those that were less lucky had been blasted to bits by artillery fire, leaving piles of mincemeat in their place. 

The scent of blood and bile filled the air, but this was something the retired General was all too used to. As he lamented the wasteful loss of life, his eyes glanced upon the horrified visage of his fiancee who lay petrified from fright across the battlefield. With the death of her father, and his army, she was now without protection in this cruel world.

Eckhard sneered in disgust as he walked through the mountains of bodies and rivers of blood to reach the other side of the battlefield, where Martha was trembling. When he finally approached the woman, he stared at her beautiful figure with a gaze filled with contempt. 

The young woman struggled to speak, and just when she was about to say her first word since witnessing her father's death at the hands of the Prussian Army, she felt a sting on her cheek, as her fiance fiercely backhanded her across the face. She gazed in horror as she realized she had just been struck and merely whimpered as Eckhard chastised her.

"If I didn't need your bloodline to cement my legacy as the Grand Duke of Prussia, I would end your miserable existence here and now! Thank the Lord that I am a merciful man. In exchange for your life, I expect you and your family to come to heel. You will marry me, and bear my children, and you will do so with complete and utter loyalty to me and my house. Failure to do so will result in your immediate termination. Do I make myself understood?"

The girl gazed in disbelief at the retired General who she had just moments ago mocked alongside her father. The grand army of Brandenburg was no match for the overwhelming firepower that Austria and its puppets wielded. All she could do was lower her head in disgrace and accept these terms that were presented to her.

Upon seeing that his fiancee had become docile in defeat, Eckhard smiled viciously before presenting his hand to the woman, lifting her from the dirt and up to his level. He chose not to comfort the woman, for she was undeserving of such kindness. Instead, he merely brought her back to the army which were digging the graves of the fallen nobles who had dared to resist the rule of Grand Duke of Prussia, and by extension the Crown of Austria. 

Martha remained in complete and utter silence as she reflected on her lot in life. Her father lie dead, her brother would succeed him and he was just a 14-year-old boy. Eckhard had won, and he would force Brandenburg to submit. While she was coming to terms with her fate, Eckhard ordered the horses to be brought forth. 

It was a long journey to Marienburg, and he wanted to waste no further time here on the field of battle. Thus he climbed atop his horse, and dragged his fiancee behind him, before riding off with a contingent of household guards. There was still much to be done, and the war for German Unification meant that he would be dreadfully busy supporting his master.

---

While Eckhard achieved a minor victory in Brandenburg, the same could be said for Berengar far to the west. Luxembourg had attempted to pull back its armies to its capital to fight a brutal urban campaign against their invaders. In doing so, they had given orders to destroy any infrastructure of value, and to burn the fields in their retreat. 

Despite this, the Blitzkrieg of Austria's armies quickly overran the units who were to engage in such scorched earth tactics. Resulting in massive losses to the Luxembourg war machine. Currently, Berengar and his host were twenty-five miles from the capital of the Duchy. Victory was near, and he had fought no battle larger than a minor skirmish. 

As the Austrian Army enclosed around the capital of his enemy, Hartman stood within the confines of his palace, fervently biting his nails in panic. By his side was his advisor Hilmar, who read from a pamphlet which had been widely distributed across the Duchy of Luxembourg. 

"King Berengar von Kufstein has declared that he shall grant a pardon to any soldier who lays down his arms and surrenders to the South German Confederation. However, this only applies to those who refuse to follow the orders given by Hartman von Luxembourg. Any man caught engaging in acts of sabotage, slaughter, or scorched earth tactics will be sentenced to death and immediately executed by firing squad upon capture. Austrian victory is inevitable. Do not waste your lives in defense of a bastard!"

When Hartman heard these words, he could hardly contain the wrath in his heart, however somehow he endured. In doing so, he calmed himself with some heavy breathing before asking in his mind. 

"How many of my soldiers have defected to the enemy?"

Hilmar sighed heavily before responding to this question.

"There is no way to no for certain, but from what little intelligence I have gathered, it is likely that thousands of our soldiers have surrendered without a fight. If we take the whole Norther Alliance into account, it is highly probable that the numbers are in the tens of thousands... To put it simply, our soldiers are well aware of firepower that Austria wields, and are unwilling to walk into a slaughter."

Hilmar failed to inform the man that these numbers were reported to him via his contact with Austrian Royal Intelligence. After all, to do so was to reveal that he was a spy, and thus he kept his mouth shut rather than expose himself. 

Hartman did not want to hear these words, and struggled to remain calm. Knowing that the Austrian Army was nearly on the borders of his capital, Hartman made a decision that he never thought would be necessary. 

"Very well, Berengar is about to arrive here in Luxembourg, when he does, we fill fight him until the bitter end. However, I know how vengeful the man can be. Because of what I have done to his sister, he will surely inflict greater suffering on my blood relatives. Tell my sisters to pack only what is necessary and immediately depart to the Duchy of Burgundy. They will be safe there while I make my last stand!"

Hilmar immediately bowed in respect before responding to these orders.

"Very well. If there is nothing else, I will get to that immediately."

Hartman remained silent and merely waved the man off, where he quickly proceeded down the halls and into the Duke's eldest sister's room. Hartman was a bastard, and because his father had sired no trueborn sons, he was legitimized in life, and made his successor. However, this did not mean that the old man did not have any progeny with his wife. In fact, all of Hartman's sisters were half-sisters that were a product of his father's legitimate marriage. 

Thus, they were all elder sisters, and when Hilmar knocked upon the door, all three of them answered with anxious expressions. When the Duke's advisor spotted the three beautiful young women gathered in one place, he bowed his head to them before relaying their brother's orders.

"Your Brother, the Duke of Luxembourg, had ordered for you to pack up only what is necessary and depart within the hour to the Duchy of Burgundy. He has brokered an agreement with the Duke of Burgundy for you to remain safe there while he oversees the defense of the city."

The three women glanced at each other for a few moments in silence before nodding their heads in agreement. They knew it was no longer safe within the city of Luxembourg, and thus quickly got to task preparing for their departure. 

As for Hilmar, immediately after informing these three girls of their task, he departed from the Palace and headed into the city intending to visit a local tavern. Despite the imminent siege, this tavern continued to serve drinks to anyone who will drink them. His reason for visiting this location was because there was an important contact for him to meet with, and he figured that woman would be interested in the Bastard of Luxembourg's attempt to get his sisters to safety. 

Thus, Hilmar sat down at his table, and ordered two drinks, while he waited for his contact to arrive. He would remain sitting in the tavern, drinking for several hours before the mature beauty that was his contact arrived.