Steel Empire
Trapped by Diwina

While Berengar and his army fought in South Tyrol, Prince Lothair was besieged by his enemies. At this time Lothair and his army were sandwiched between Count Otto's forces besieging the city, and the Castle garrison gallantly continued to defend the Castle walls from Lothair's onslaught.

Worse, just before he was trapped within the city limits, he was told that his troops sent to Kufstein had been completely obliterated. Though, he did not know to what extent Berengar had quelled his rebellion in his home region, because if he did, the man would completely lose all hope of survival.

Because of this, Prince Lothar is currently surrounded by his followers who have traveled with him to Vienna, where they engage in discussions on how to move forward. They were not in a good position; Count Otto's forces were though depleted by friction, and, it still far outnumbers its own forces now that they have lost a quarter of their troops in Kufstein and have been fighting a siege for over a month.

As the nobles talked about their situation, blood-curdling screams erupted from the walls, as the defenders continued to die by the dozens of people defending their positions within the city, the source said, thus adding a great level of intimidation to the hearts of the nobles who had followed them. Liege seemed to be to the gates of hell itself. One such noble was speaking at a gathering of Lords as he voiced his opinion on their choice.

“It has become increasingly clear that there are only two options, stay inside the city and continue to besiege the Castle while simultaneously protecting the city walls! If we can succeed, we can use the Duke's family as hostages to negotiate Otto's surrender! The only other option was to move forward in a desperate attempt to break through the encircling forces and return to Tyrol, where the, where can we hold our own against Duke's army when he returns from his conquest of Bavaria!"

Having said this, the meeting erupted into chaos when two factions were formed, those in favor of staying in Vienna and fighting for what they had accomplished with hard work, and those who want to return to Tyrol and oppose Wilmar's rule while maintaining their power. Of course, those who wanted to return to Tyrol had no way of knowing that by the time they arrived, it would be in Berengar's hands, Berengar said, and the main cities will be filled with large garrisons of men, with their walls armed with cannons.

Count Lothair was completely unwilling to surrender to Vienna; he knew in his heart that if they fought their way out of this mess and returned to Innsbruck to lick their wounds, they would lose the war, he said, they might be able to survive for several years in a desperate struggle against the Duke's forces, but in the end, they would be brought to ruin. Their families will pay the price for their insubordination.

Finally, the Count raised his hand to silence his Master, and only after their argument completely stopped did he voice his decision.

"I will not admit defeat! I will not retreat to Tyrol and spend the rest of my days fighting against the Duke and his army! We'll take Vienna, or we'll die trying! If we ignore our siege, only death and destruction await our household. Tell the people of the city walls to defend it with their lives, for the siege of the Castle, double our efforts. We can't fail!"

Eventually every God present for the siege agreed with Lothair; they would remain trapped in the city to the point where the enemy forces were exhausted, or until they captured the Castle, where they would then use the Duke family as hostages to enforce their demands. It was a risky choice, but Lothar was right; if they returned to Tyrol and ended their campaign, in the end, only death would await them and their families.

Thus, the siege of Vienna continued, with Lothair's forces caught between enemy forces, fighting on two fronts. With the arrival of Otto's troops, the defenders of the Castle became emboldened, and their morale that collapsed had been restored to its peak. If they could survive a little longer, Lothair's army would collapse, and they would be saved. For now, it was a battle of will to see who would break up first.

Therefore, Gautbehrt, the son and heir of Duke Wilmar, gazed from the top of the castle down to the city below with a smile on his face. Before long, this battle would end, and at this moment, it was in his favor. The young regent hoped to see the look on Lothar's face when he realized he was trapped inside the city, with no way out.

Just now, he saw an increase in the intensity of the siege of his family's castle and therefore began to lower his face armor to protect his face from the approaching missile fire. The young man shook his head as he voiced his thoughts out loud.

"It seems that Count Lothar realized that he was running out of time!"

Therefore, Gautbehrt drew his sword and raised it into the air as he shouted to the defenders with a heroic defense speech.

"Friends, all of you have worked hard this past month to ensure your subordinate Castle, the legitimate Duke of Austria, and his family remain unharmed. Over the next few days, Lothar will give all he has to us, but we cannot let this Castle fall! Because if the castle falls, the suffering of the citizens of this city will be in vain! Hold queue! Hold the queue as if your soul depended on it!"

With these words spoken, the defenders gathered behind the Commander of their troops. They shouted into the air, allowing all the anxiety and misery they had experienced over the past month to escape from the confines of their hearts. With this speech, a new sense of passion was formed among the defenders, the, that would hopefully allow them to survive through the hardships that would follow and successfully defend their positions until Count Lothair's forces were destroyed by Otto's forces. With these events, the Siege of Vienna had reached its climax and was about to end; who won the battle was solely determined by the Castle garrison and their desire to continue defending its mighty stone walls.