Steel Empire
The Disterzing Camp

Berengar sat on his flagship horse Erwin, the muscular black destroyer gallantly stepping on the front of the Army where Berengar was currently leading. In addition to the thousands of infantry he had on his back, the man also led the several thousand levies collected from the Lords and Regents of the South Tyrol section that supported Berengar and his campaign. Beside him were the unit commanders who were mostly based on this retribution; they wore knight armor in a design suitable for that period of time.

This army was one of three that began marching in three critical areas, acting as the center of a rebellion against Duke Wilmar in the Tyrol region. By besieging these areas, Berengar would effectively bring South Tyrol under his control in one fell swoop. Because of this, Berengar smiled as the people in his army sang Erika's marching song from his previous life; it had become one of the favorites of the people in his army.

The levies and nobles who marched beside Berengar and his army were quite confused about the more chatty nature of Berengar's army. The Berengar army veterans knew that so far the casualty count among their troops was low, and now they had plenty of retribution for absorbing enemy arrows and bolts. Thus they were in a perfect mood; as for the conscripts who had just joined the army, they followed in the footsteps of their seniors.

Before long, Berengar's forces had arrived in the town of Sterzing and were once again making camp out of the range of enemy fire but well within their own range. Although he only had three cannons in this army, as he had split the battalion between the three troops, if concentrated on one wall, it was not, it would be more than enough to open a gap for his troops to invade.

The cannons, who at this moment were used to carrying out the siege, quickly set up weapons behind several defensive barriers and started firing at the city walls. When the thunder of weapons echoed into the night sky, many of the levies became frightened, not knowing how to react to such a thing. Seeing the look of despair on the faces of the levies, the veterans and conscripts of Berengar's army all started laughing at the men and pitiful expressions on their faces.

If this levy looked like it was going to throw bricks, they could only imagine the face of the enemy that was currently bombarded with explosive bullets. Berengar decided to take a moment to comment on the situation.

"Is there anything more beautiful than the echoes of artillery batteries and the smell of gunpowder in the middle of the sunset in winter?"

He spoke to his officers and the nobles who had gathered to support him. If Eckhard was here at the moment, he would probably sigh and think that Berengar was enjoying himself too much in this campaign. As for the other officers under Berengar's command, they all stared at the sunset like Berengar and took a moment to listen to the thunder of weapons and the screams bombarded among the beautiful scenery.

One of his officers spoke to Berengar and his strange idea of beauty

Berengar only chuckled at the man's comments and smiled as he took a deep breath, enjoying the scene before his eyes. After returning to reality after a while, Berengar gave the order to the officer.

"Well, what are you all standing by and waiting for? Make sure the camp is set up properly, and the guards are set on schedule!" We don't want a repeat of what happened at Schwaz, do we?"

Fearing a counterattack from their Master and Commander, the officers quickly got the task of assembling the siege camp. Under the setting sun, thousands of black and gold tents were quickly erected, with a series of trenches supported by sandbags and barbed wire erected around it. Guard towers are on all sides to keep an eye out for potential enemy arrivals.

Berengar failed to use the trench system outside Schwaz, which was his fault. By excavating a semi-modern trench system around the campground, it was able to provide a far superior defensive line against an impending attacker, which can fully use several hundred rifles in its troops and the superiority of their range.

As the sun faded and the moon replaced it in the sky above, Berengar decided to take the first hour. So he grabbed a rifle, filled it, and climbed into the trench system where several guards stood guard. Seeing their Master and Commander jumping into the pit with them, this new conscription was quite shocked. They expected Berengar to be in a large tent, with a blazing fire and perhaps even a woman by his side. Yet here he was, taking the first hour in the ditch beside them.

Berengar gazed into the distance as he looked at the city walls, which were under almost constant bombardment. It took several days for the wall to collapse, and when it did, the resistance in the South would end quickly during the other sieges as well. Despite his tactics, and the enemy's lack of understanding towards them, he wasn't afraid of losing this war.

It will be long enough before other European powers will start fielding firearms en masse. However, his victory in this war will certainly trigger the development of advanced weapons. Due to Berengar's influence on these timelines events, match locks would appear much earlier than in his past life.

When that happened, Berengar would eventually face a tougher resistance than his opponents, but for now, the advantage that firearms provided was too great to be defeated by his enemies. Military historians will study Berengar's campaign on Tyrol for future generations. This war in which Berengar fought would symbolize the end of an era, as soon as the entire world realized that the age of knights and knights had long passed. The era of steel and gunfire has just begun!