Steel Empire
Inside the Cave

By dawn, Berengar was awake and working hard to supervise the construction of the mine. He acted like a true watchdog as he issued orders left and right. If one path was around him, he could feel the ground shaking and the sound of explosions as he ordered the manpower he was carrying to blow their way through the solid section of rock with a gunpowder coffin. The debris is quickly cleaned, and a buffer beam is installed to prevent collapse. This was how Berengar spent all his time during the first week after his arrival. He would personally go to the mining shaft to check the progress several times a day periodically.

Berengar has personally led these people through the current mine overhaul and has championed their goals for better working conditions. Therefore, he felt as if he was safe among these hardworking people, because in their eyes there was a level of sincere respect that was rarely given to someone with Berengar status by ordinary people. It was the same gaze that the Kufstein people gave Berengar every time they saw him. Berengar was pleased to learn that he had made a positive impact in the lives of the people under the rule of his family. He did not think for a second that the people whose lives he had fixed would turn to him. After all, who would jeopardize their benefactor?

Ulrich had visited the mine several times throughout the week and was amazed by Berengar's progress. If all goes according to plan, Berengar will be able to complete the project in a total of three weeks, which is slightly above his initial projections. Nevertheless, it gave Berengar enough time to prepare for his upcoming engagement ceremony, during which he personally handed his invitation to Ulrich. Everything seemed to go according to plan, which was until three days after the second week of the project began. One afternoon while Berengar was undergoing one of his routine inspections, he was led deep enough into the mine by the foreman he had placed in charge. Nonetheless, he initially felt no danger; after all, this man was one of the many people who had benefited directly from Berengar's labor reforms.

By the time Berengar reached the end of the mine pit, he began to feel a little suspicious. He had never met a miner for the past three hundred yards aside from the foreman traveling with him. After arriving at the volatile part of the mine shaft, the supervisor turned around while holding his safety light; a bright flame lit up the eerie smile that spread across the man's lips as he said those words.

"Your brother Lambert sends you his greetings."

As soon as the man said those words, Berengar instantly realized that he had been herded into a trap. He had been surrounded by allies for too long and had forgotten the precious life lessons of his previous life. Greed and greed will always prevail over good and virtue; as long as the price is right, even the most honorable will do the least. He had no way of knowing it at the time, but this man under Berengar's guidance had seen his life, he said, and his much-improved family had been paid large sums by Lambert to lead Berengar to his death. Before Berengar could react, the man ran behind him towards the exit; a second after passing through, an explosion exploded, collapsing the tunnel on the young master, then everything darkened.

Hours passed before Berengar regained consciousness; he was wedged under a giant rock and had trouble breathing. His body ached, and he could feel blood dripping from his forehead. There was no light or sound, only pain that resounded throughout his body. Debris filled the air causing the young master to choke as he cursed himself for being foolish enough to follow the man alone into the pit of the mine.

"God damn! This is what I get by trusting people so easily..."

After venting his frustration, Berengar tried to lift the stone lying on his chest. The huge stone must have weighed 150 pounds, and under such circumstances, he had trouble lifting it from his chest. Luckily for him, he has used the bench press extensively over the past few months and has made significant gains at the time. Through much effort, he was able to lift the stone from his chest and slide it to the side. Give him enough room to breathe.

When the young master looked around to straighten out his position, he could only see a little; however, a few meters away, he could see a light shining through the cave, which gave him hope. At least there is fresh air circulating through the cut-off region. Hopefully, the others will realize that he is missing and send a rescue squad. The biggest problem he was facing right now was that he had nothing to drink, which meant that if the search party could not find him in three days, then he was doomed to die again, which meant that if the search party could not find him in three days, and before long, he was reincarnated in this world. That was, of course, assuming that a search party would be sent to pursue him; after all, if the foreman betrayed him, who said the others were also not involved. Things were not looking good for Berengar at the moment; thus, he spent the next thirty minutes looking for a way out. When he finds out that he is fine and completely trapped, he can only rely on God's grace for his salvation.

...

The night after Berengar was trapped in a mine shaft, Lambert opened a letter in his room addressed to him by Lord Ulrich von Wildschonau. The contents of the letter are as follows.

"Lambert son of the beloved Sieghard von Kufstein and legitimate heir of the Barony of Kufstein. With pleasure, I'm telling you that your brother has been trapped inside the mine pit and currently has no way to escape. It's only a matter of days until you're officially recognized as the heir to your family's land. I congratulate you from the very beginning on succeeding your father and earning the title of Baron of Kufstein. I'll make sure to be present at your wedding in the coming months. I'm sure you know what to do with this letter once you're done reading it.

Sincerely, Ulrich von Wildschonau"

After reading the letter, Lambert lit a candle and was about to light it as Linde walked through the door to her bedroom; saw what the young man was going to do; and; he felt as if something was amiss and immediately asked the details of his latest scheme.

"Is that a letter from my father?"

Lambert pulled the letter from the fire and handed it to Linde with a satisfied smile sprawled on his lips.

"Better, this is a letter from the Ruler of Wildschonau telling me that it has solved our little problem."

Linde barely listened to Lambert's little narrative as she studied the contents of the letter. When he read about Berengar's precarious situation, he couldn't help but cry, which Lambert immediately realized. The confused and suspicious Lambert got up and approached his fiancee with a worried face.

"What's wrong? Are you all right?"

Finally realizing that she was holding back tears with her hands free to cover her mouth, Lind began wiping tears from her eyes and did her best to regain her composure, despite her indecisive heart.

"Yes... Of course, these are tears of happiness. We are one step closer to our goal!"

Lambert though initially suspicious, ended up trusting the act of heavenly beauty. However, before he could advance their relationship further, he threw the letter and pushed Lambert aside.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to write to my father about our success."

...

Ludwig stood in his shop, operating a travel hammer while pounding a high-carbon steel bar into the shape of a sword. Although it had been many years since the last time he made a sword, it was something he would never forget how to do. The design of the masterpiece he was working on was referenced in many Berengar records as a side sword. A design that would not normally be made for the next hundred years, but due to the many projects Berengar had spent designing, it only existed in the form of a blueprint until now. Initially, when Berengar started learning swordplay, he wanted a sword designed for himself. Although he later etched the idea, the design still existed within the confines of the old engineer's shop.

Ludwig and his team of blacksmiths, engineers, and metalworkers have banded together to make a wedding gift for Berengar; though it's years away, they rarely have any leisure time, but, so after hours, they would spend a little time each day working on their masterpieces to present the young master as a token of their appreciation for all that he had done in their lives. Here at Kufstein, Lambert had no allies among the general public, and the level of respect they had for Berengar went beyond the simple way of bribery.

Everything was quiet and silent this evening, and only Ludwig who was currently in the shop was working on a beautiful sword production design. Just for Berengar, he had made weapons out of steel containers; due to Berengar's innovation, he created small container furnaces solely for the production of fine steel containers for use in sword grade presentations. Crucible steel is not common in European countries in both time lines but is mostly used by eastern civilizations. Variations that have different names, such as Damascus steel or wootz. Berengar had always mentioned how beautiful the steel sword of the container was and desperately wanted it for himself, although he felt the sword would soon become largely ceremonial.

While Ludwig was in the process of making a sword blade, he heard the door of his shop open and immediately looked towards the disturbance. Linde, the heavenly beauty, Lambert's fiancee, stood in the doorway with tears streaming down her face and a nervous expression as she shouted at Ludwig in a pleading tone.

"You have to help him! You have to save Berengar!"

This puzzled Louis, for the man had heard several times while drinking with Berengar that there was a secret cabal of nobles conspiring against him to get him out of his inheritance, and it was all led by Lambert. He did not understand why Lambert's fiancee said such a thing and was immediately suspicious. He instantly stopped what he was doing and retreated from the girl who had a crazy expression in her eyes.

"Help him how? Save her from what?"

Linde struggles to find the words to say and tries to calm herself down. After a few seconds he was able to articulate his thoughts properly.

"Lambert, he told the Lord of Wildschonau to tear down the mines on the cave hill; he may be dead..."

Ludwig could see a sincere expression of concern on the pretty girl's face and was very confused by this. He unintentionally let his thoughts slip through his tongue.

"You're Lambert's fiancee; why do you want to save Berengar?"

Linde instantly realizes that Ludwig knew about her fiance's intention to kill Berengar and could not give a reason for his actions. As he stared at the old man waiting patiently for his answer, he had no choice but to tell the truth; after all, Ludwig was a good friend of Berengar and could be trusted, right?

"Because I love him!"

Ludwig heard this and could only murmur softly

"Fucking nobleman ..."

However, he could tell from his doll-like facial expression that he was telling the truth, and because of that, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, I'll go round up the kids. If he's still alive, we'll save him; if he doesn't, well, don't think about it."

With that said, Ludwig rushed to gather the people and supplies he needed to carry out the rescue expedition. If the Ruler of Wildschonau was on Lambert's side, then there was no way his own men, the miners, would help in the search for the young master. He had no hope other than to gather as many people as possible as slow as possible. His first stop was Eckhard Berengar's second stop as militia commander. They need to be united and fast. If Ulrich were really on Lambert's side, he would not have allowed the excavations to take place, and the rescue forces needed troops loyal to Berengar to protect them in case of bloodshed. If he were to report the matter to Sieghard, he would need evidence to get his help; even if he could convince the Baron, it would be a political battle between the Baron and his followers, by the time the help arrived,

When Eckhard heard the news from Ludwig, he did not hesitate to deploy the militia; at midnight, an army of 600 men and 6 cannons were marching towards the Lordship of Wildschonau, where they were still present, together with hundreds of volunteers who aim to save Berengar. Just as the young master was about to lose faith in the bond he had sewn with the commoners, they would reward him in a greater capacity than he could ask of them.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE!!

Tomorrow Up is a bit late because the author's full lecture schedule tomorrow, at most 2 chapters