Steel Empire
The Unexpected Welcome

With the defeat of the skirmishers, Berengar and his army once again marched, and it did not take long for them to arrive at the city of Salzburg. However, when they arrived, they saw that the Bavarian forces had fled the scene, not a single siege attempt was in sight, and the camp they had left looked like it was being quickly abandoned.

Berengar was quite disappointed at the sight, seeing how he wanted to destroy the Bavarian army and spread fear among their ranks. However, it seems that they were already very intimidated, and as such, had left the region in its entirety, leaving it in the hands of Austria.

Although Berengar wanted to chase after the retreating Bavarians, he also had affairs to discuss with Wolfgang's younger brother. The man valiantly defended Salzburg with his best efforts, and Berengar like that approached the city gates with his bodyguards. House banner Von Kufstein fluttered behind him as he approached his destination. 

When the city garrison saw a large army approaching their gates, they were filled with trepidation; however, when they saw the friendship banners being hoisted by the approaching troops, their worries quickly diminished. As Berengar approached the gate, the gate was opened for his arrival, where he was greeted upon entry by the garrison commander.

"Count Berengar, we did not expect your arrival; now I understand why the Bavarians so quickly abandoned the siege against such a large number; it is not surprising that they would flee for their lives!"

Berengar smiled as he returned the compliment.

"Even if I am not on my way to help you, I feel that the brave men of Salzburg will be able to repulse the enemy forces. Tell me, is it possible for me to meet Adelbrand? I have a lot of things to discuss with me. That person."

Seeing that the Count of Tyrol is here on urgent matters, the garrison commander did not dare to hold him back anymore and quickly led Berengar to the Castle where he and his men entered his gate and proceeded to the large hall where Adelbrand, Wolfgang's little boy. the brother is currently acting as an authority in the region.

The man did not expect the arrival of Berengar. However, when he saw Berengar's charming appearance, he knew right then and there why the Bavarians had suddenly left the area. How could such a small force compare to the strength of Berengar and his Great Tyrol Army? Therefore, he extended his hand to greet Berengar as the two nobles quickly approached each other.

"Count Berengar, I must say I'm glad to see your appearance; I'm beginning to fear that you've decided to stay within your domain and wait for this war."

Berengar smiled when he heard such a statement and responded with a well-made statement.

"Unfortunately for the Bavarians, I decided to use my defense to buy time so that I could assemble a large army, able to completely annihilate the enemy and expel them from our land!"

Hearing this, Adelbrand immediately understood why Berengar had not been involved in the conflict for months; in the long run, such a strategy would definitely work, he said, although he had no idea how large the Berengar Army had produced during this period of time. Therefore, he immediately questioned Berengar about the size of his army.

"Say, Your Majesty, how big is the Army we're talking about here?"

Upon hearing this question, Berengar's lips curved into a satisfied grin in which he expressed the size of his army with forced humility.

"Oh, not much, just 30,000 people."

Adelbrand nodded his head and responded to Berengar

"30,000 people, it's not much. Wait a minute, you have thirty thousand soldiers!"

The young noble was quite surprised by this figure, such a large army was something that the Duchy or even the Kingdom could recruit from, but he had never heard of a County that had such a large army before. Maybe Lothar, but that was because he had spent a lot of money to get a lot of mercenaries. Upon seeing the man's expression, Berengar of course, smiled at him and nodded his head before explaining his plan.

"I have sent 10,000 of them with my Field Marshal Eckhard to Carinthia where he and the Count of Vorarlberg will regroup with Count Otto of Steiermark and forcibly seize the territory. After that, we will march to Upper and Lower Austria, where we will drive by force.The Bavarians are left of our land!"

Adelbrand could hardly believe Berengar's words, and then he suddenly realized that he was scared enough to ask. Nevertheless, he gathered his courage and revealed his thoughts.

"So that means you have 20,000 men sitting outside my city right now?"

Berengar nodded his head in response to this question, and Adelbrand instantly felt his knees slipping from underneath; he slowly staggered to his seat, where he was sitting. He was very grateful to God that Berengar was on his side, because he would never be able to fight such a large army. 

Berengar, however, wanted to shift the talks from talks about his battle plans to his long-term political goals and, thus, immediately change the course of the talks.

Adelbrand instantly became enraged at the mention of his brother's name; his eyes contained the anger of his soul, and he began to grit his teeth in anger. Therefore, he quietly growled before putting up the pleasant facade and asked Berengar about his encounter with the fool.

"Tell me, what do you think of my dear brother?"

Seeing the forced expression on Adelbrand's face, Berengar struggled to hold back his laughter; finally, he decided to step back and forth in front of the man before telling the truth.

"To be honest, he's stupid and cowardly. I'm much more impressed with your actions to defend your land. Although letting people on their fate is not the best idea, but I know you can't compete with the Bavarians on the pitch. If you meet them on the field, you will be defeated, and Salzburg will completely fall into the hands of the enemy."

Seeing the sad expression on Berengar's face, Adelbrand instantly began to fear the consequences of his actions and asked Berengar about what was happening in the County while he and the other royal lords hid behind their massive stone walls.

"How bad?"

Berengar clicked his tongue before replying.

"Kc... Most of the villages I met were slaughtered and burned to the ground; not even the fields or the livestock escaped..."

Adelbrand immediately felt deeply regret over this fact and slammed his fist into the armrest of his seat of power while clenching his teeth. He did not believe the Bavarians would be so cruel to do such a thing. So he screamed at the top of his lungs!

"Those bastards!"

There was not much the man could do to calm his nerves, but releasing his pent-up anxiety through violent expressions was the best he could do. Looking in the man's guise, Berengar knew that Adelbrand was a man who cared more about his land and the people in it than Wolfgang. So he was more likely to support Berengar's reforms, and therefore, Berengar wanted him as an ally. After realizing it, Berengar quickly put forward a plan that would benefit both of them.

"It's not your fault, the majority of your father's army is lost in Passau, and your brother is hiding with the rest of your elite unit in Steiermark. You are left with a lot of retribution and green horns to protect your land.It is best to protect your city and your territory's fortress. If anyone is to blame for this disaster, it's your brother Wolfgang!"

Hearing Berengar shift the blame for the calamity that befell Salzburg to his brother made Adelbrand more at peace with his next words; therefore, he raised his ear and listened to Berengar's plot.

"Continue..."

Berengar smiled wickedly when he realized that he had gained the man's attention, and thus he declared his intention.

"I have been appointed Regent of Duke Conrad of Austria, when we have reclaimed this land, I will hold your elder brother accountable for the events that occurred here in Salzburg and will declare him to have failed to fulfill the duties of his subordinates. I will strip him of his title and hand him over to you."

Adelbrand was surprised by this information, he was unaware that a government in exile had been formed in Kufstein, but hearing it gave him hope for the future. If he could replace his late father, instead of his foolish and incompetent older brother, then perhaps he could return Salzburg to its former state. However, he knew such a thing would not come without a price, and therefore he asked about Berengar's intentions.

"And what does the prayer say, that you receive from such a thing?"

Berengar once again smiled when he heard the man take the bait and thus further outlined his plans for the future.

"Well, for starters, I get competent subordinates, but more importantly, I will need your support later on. In the years to come, I have many reforms in mind to help build Austria as a serious power, and with that in mind, I'm going to need people from your position to support them without question. As long as you support my future efforts, the position of Prince Salzburg will be yours ... "

Adelbrand thought deeply about the matter for a while; however, in the end, he agreed to Berengar's request, and thus shook his hand, sealing the deal.

"All right, I'll agree to your terms. Whatever you need from me, you'll get it!"

Hearing the man accept his terms caused Berengar to grin with anticipation; soon, Austria would be his, and he could then focus on uniting the German Empire! Everything went according to his plan.