Steel Empire
Taking the City

Upon arrival at Innsbruck, Berengar and his troops immediately set up a decent siege camp, which was well guarded and placed beyond the reach of enemy weapons. However, unlike the siege led by Berengar earlier, this bombing was short-lived, and was not concentrated on the weak points of the City's defense. This action was to preserve the integrity of the wall as there was a much more sinister plot going on, which would allow him to seize the city without the need to tear down the wall.

Berengar's gunmen continued to fire on the enemy defenders until sunset. The defenders of the enemy were unfamiliar with such weapons and considered this a common tactic used; therefore, they were unaware of Berengar's true intentions. It was not until late at night that Berengar had gathered a group of over two dozen grenades on the edge of the siege camp. These were his most elite troops within his infantry battalion, and they would soon follow him behind enemy lines.

In cahoots with Adelheid, the agent cell within the city walls, and even the castle itself, Berengar did not need to besiege the city as he had done before. Instead, he and his grenade were waiting for a diversion that would be a signal to approach the port sally on the city wall, where a spy would personally allow him and some of his men to the city where they would fight to open the gates.

Eckhard stood beside Berengar; although he would not take part in the operation, he wanted to voice his concerns over the current plan in which Berengar would take part.

"My lord, I really want you to rethink this... Participating in this operation itself is a huge risk not only to your own life but also to the success of the army."

Despite his Deputy Commander's complaints, Berengar remained unfazed; he would never order his men to undergo such a dangerous operation if he himself was unwilling to take the risk. Therefore, he clasped Eckhard's shoulder and smiled at him, with a confident look.

“Don't worry, my friend; I promise, in a matter of minutes, the main gate of the city will open, and the army will be able to secure the area with few casualties! Don't worry, 'cause I'm gonna hang on, like I always do."

Eckhard wanted to argue further with Berengar about his actions. However, he had no chance to do so, due to the huge explosion when it came out from within the city and attracted the attention of the defenders, who rushed to extinguish the spreading fire. By smuggling TNT into the city and into the hands of its spy network, they were able to sabotage barns and attract the attention of guards who would leave the walls relatively unguarded.

Berengar released Eckhard's shoulder and lifted his rifle into the air; as he went into the city with a small amount, he decided to arm himself with the right shotgun for this operation and a pair of grenades. He immediately started rushing towards the nearest port sally and ordered his troops to follow.

"That's the signal! Just go! just go! go!"

The figure was a young lady, but one could only tell because of her high voice.

"Hurry, get the gate! The guards will soon realize something is missing, and will be on their guard!"

With that said, Berengar and his grenades rushed to the main city gate, where several dozen defenders stood guard. Berengar immediately gave the order to throw their grenade.

"Get out!"

A series of grenades were thrown into enemy positions and rolled under their feet. Defenders of the city looked carefully at the strange device whose fuses lit up just before they were swallowed by the explosion and shrapnel provided by the device's steel shell. No one on guard survived the grenade explosion, and the grenades quickly took a defensive stance as several men began to open the gates. Seeing another explosion near the gate, a group of garrisons quickly rushed towards him where they walked straight into the firing line; Berengar gave the order to shoot while they were within firing range.

"Fire!"

with his words, two dozen rifles exploded in unison, shredding the steel brigandine armor of the advancing army company. Although it was only enough to kill about a dozen people and the many remaining enemies, although they were initially surprised by the mysterious weapon and its destructive power; when they saw the second volley was not fired, they were not fired, they started moving forward once again. As the gate slowly rose, Berengar and his troops did not bother to refill their rifles. Instead, they threw their spare grenade into the crowd, which immediately exploded, smashing the advancing company into pieces. By the time the second wave of grenades exploded, not a single soldier among the enemy companies remained standing.

Berengar once again gave the order to reload; now that they had run out of grenades, they would rely on volley and melee shots to defend the gate until the gate opened completely. It did not take long for another group of enemies to arrive, where another shotgun shot once again shot them down. However, this time, the gate was open enough for Berengar's troops to break through, and several dozen infantry soldiers quickly formed a line and opened fire on the approaching enemy.

Before long, his entire army had entered through the city gates of Innsbruck and started hunting down the enemy as they pushed towards the castle. Count Lothar's son and heir, as well as Linde's older brother, were fast asleep as his town collapsed around him. Unaware of the slightest bit of the ongoing situation, Innsbruck Castle was quickly besieged by Berengar's forces. Where he would prepare a similar tactic the following night, by the time the Regent realized that the city had fallen, it was too late to mount a defense.