Steel Empire
Lothar's Death

The weeks passed, and while Berengar adapted to Kufstein's peaceful environment after fighting for so long. Count Lothar and his rebel supporters were dragged to Munich, which was recently captured by Duke Wilmar, where they awaited the return of Count Otto before marching on Landshut.

Inside the carriage designed to hold prisoners, Lothar sat in a corner, his back leaning against the cold iron bars as he struggled for warmth. The ice-cold air of winter permeated between the gaps of the iron bars and sucked heat from his body. Beside him were his followers who had supported him in his rebellion, or at least some who had survived the devastating siege of Vienna. Lothar's face had not changed since his arrest; he had been pouting ever since, thinking of what he could do to clinch victory.

As he gazed into the sky, he heard the knight in charge of escorting his prison carriage, mocking him.

"Mighty Count Lothar, look at him now. Defeated in Vienna, his lands were seized by the fledgling Viscount, even his own Son and heir denounced him and his actions. It's pathetic..."

These words roused Lothar from his stupor; he was unaware of what was happening outside Vienna as he and his troops were trapped inside the city walls during most of Berengar's conquest of Tyrol. He quickly got up from his seat and climbed up to the area where the guards were talking, peering towards them. However, the flat part of the sword quickly hit his hand as he grasped the iron bars, forcing him back into the cage.

This action instantly provoked the laughter of the Knights as they poked fun at the depressing position of the once mighty Count Lothar. However, Lothar did not care about that; he needed to know what was going on with his house. Therefore, he quickly asked the Knights about the information.

"What you said ... Is that true?"

The Knights nodded and grinned as they punished Lothair for his failure; they were all too happy to give him information about what happened in his home while he was trapped in Vienna.

"Some people refer to Berengar as a War Saint. The man led a small army of 5,000 men and conquered the entire Tyrol and the nearby Prince-Bishop of Trent in less than two months. Innsbruck was the second place he conquered. After arresting your family and dragging them back to Kufstein, your son Liutbert denounced you and your betrayal; he even pledged his loyalty to Berengar, go further by proclaiming him a man worthy of your title! Your own family thinks you're nothing more than a traitorous bastard!"

Naturally, rumors had inflated Berengar's victory; if not for the conscription adding 5,000 men to his army and the thousands of retribution that fought alongside him, he wouldn't have taken that territory so quickly. However, it was still quite a feat, which was mostly achieved through superior firepower.

Count Lothar let out a heavy sigh; he was fully aware of the mistakes he had made in this war. They came from a combination of being a poor father, underestimating his enemies, and immediately going to the enemy capital without building a supply line. Only now did he realize why Berengar sold him high-quality equipment at a reasonable price. Because Berengar had equipped his own army with some form of armor and weaponry that was far superior to what he was selling. Berengar had surpassed him at every turn. The worst part of it all was that Count Lothar was not even angry; what he felt was an overwhelming respect for how Berengar played him from the start.

After pondering his life choices in silence for some time, the Train finally stopped at the Munich city square, where a platform was built in the middle of the area, soldiers and civilians gathered to watch the event, and upon seeing the platform, Lothar instantly realized what was waiting for him. He and his allies will be beheaded in public for everyone to witness. The moment the carriage stopped, the other Sovereigns within the cell started to panic and struggle, yet they were all pulled out one by one by the Knights and taken to the platform. Although they could not see the results, everyone knew what was happening, and because of that, they were doing all they could to escape. All except Lothair, who was sitting in his corner with cold eyes and died. He has accepted what is coming.

More than an hour passed, and finally, only he was left in the carriage; when the guards came to escort him, he did not even fight back in the slightest. He staggered onto the platform with a defeated expression and looked at the crowd who scorned him and threw the produce and the cow pie at him. By the time he reached the cutting board, he was already covered in dirt, not because he was in clean condition before.

Standing among the crowd was Duke Wilmar, who was fully armored and surrounded by his House Guards; a cold smile surfaced on his face as he looked into the lifeless eyes of Count Lothar as the man was placed first on the cutting board.

Finally, Count Otto began to read out his indictment, which announced his crimes to the world and his sentence.

"Count Lothar, For the crime of rebelling against Liege and besieging his land in an attempt to seize his position, you are hereby found guilty and sentenced to death! You and your lands and family titles are hereby lost, where they will be hereafter given to Viscount Berengar von Kufstein and his family for all eternity. May God have mercy on your soul!"

Hearing that last part, a bitter smile formed on Lothar's face as he looked into Duke Wilmar's eyes. In the end, Lothar had lost everything, and the young Viscount, who had started out as the son of the Baron, whom Lothar once believed to be a sickly fool, inherited his position. That was a really fitting end. The last thing Lothar saw as the executioner's sword swung down his neck was the sight of the crowd cursing at him with curses and shocked expressions on Wilmar's face when he realized that Lothar was smiling.

After that, everything went black for Count Lothar, and his head separated from his shoulder; his blood pooled out from the gaping hole in his neck where his head used to be. The rebellion had ended, Berengar had won, and was now officially declared Count. Lothair will forever be remembered as a stepping stone in Berengar's rise to power.