Steel Empire
Caught In Action

Berengar stared at the musketeer standing on the testing grounds. In his hand was a small round steel device with fuses sticking out from above it. In his other hand was a slow match in which the soldier used to light his wick. After the ignition was successful, the man threw the ball device to a safe distance and quickly sought shelter behind the provided cover. Within seconds, a thunderous explosion occurred, and shrapnel was sent in all directions, shredding the dense straw doll where it landed nearby.

After such a shocking scene, the sound of a slow clap could be heard from afar as Berengar showed his mark of approval towards the new weapon. What this brave man has just tested is a prototype hand grenade. It wouldn't be long before he could send this to his army in large numbers and build grenades into his ranks. However, this revolutionary weapon of war is not the most exciting innovation that is being tested to this day. Eckhard was filled with anticipation as the artillery crew loaded a strange-looking device into the 1417 Pattern 12 lb cannon hole. The old knight prayed to the father in heaven for this device to explode unhindered.

After a relatively smooth loading of the cannon, the powder was discarded, and the cannon used linstock to ignite the fuse. After a while, the roar of the familiar 12-pound cannon resounded through the air. However, what really surprised those lucky enough to witness this secret test, was that when the projectile landed, it exploded with a collision into many shards, sending shards of steel in all directions. The results were far more damaging than the hand grenades tested before.

This time a rumble of applause rang out from the spectators as they watched the new era of artillery being born before their own eyes. Berengar had an evil smile on his face. He finally did; he had created the first explosive shell. Although solid balls still had their uses; against infantry, there was nothing more devastating than explosive bullets. In the timeline of earlier life, explosive shells were not discovered until the 16th century. However, the shell he uses today was modeled after that used by Napoleon's 12-pound cannon by Union troops in the American Civil War; it was a much more efficient shell than previous designs.

Eckhard saluted Berengar and congratulated him on his latest innovation; with this, their militia was even scarier than a month ago at the Battle of the Mining City.

"Commander, let me be the first to congratulate you on the success of this truly revolutionary design! With these bullets, our artillery will take control of the battlefield."

Berengar smiled and paid his respects to the second commander. However, one thing feels missing from his army, the third branch consisting of all the early modern soldiers for centuries. The cavalry, though he would not be able to raise cavalry for his militia until he took over his father's position. Either as regent or as Baron himself. Nevertheless, this was truly a monumental event; with bullets and tubes fired from a 12-pound cannon, he could strike a force far greater than his own on the battlefield.

As his militia further completed their training and equipped themselves with better equipment, Berengar believed that it would not be long before he could begin his conquest of Germany. It might take several years for him to succeed his father; in his eyes, Baron Kufstein could not possibly survive the coming war. By the time the war was over and the various feudal forces of the Kingdom were exhausted in the bloody conflict, he would rise from the ashes and stake his claim with his superior army. With the right of conquest, one day, he will become the Emperor of the German people!

After testing the new weapon, Berengar wanted it to be mass-produced as quickly as possible; thus, he placed it in order of priority, Berengar said, he would train the Artillery to use the new bullets effectively and would form the strongest and most elite infantry force into the Grenadier. Of course, all weapons operations were strictly confidential; therefore, they had to use the new testing field Berengar had prepared, away from unwanted eye sight.

After testing the weapon successfully and giving his new orders, Berengar returns to the Castle, which takes quite some time, considering he must travel from his secret testing facility. When he returned, he saw Adela and Henrietta playing in the castle corridor. Their age is not too far away and get along well. On the other hand, Linde has a strained relationship with Henrietta; the little girl has good intuition and feels there is something going on between Lambert and Berengar's fiancee. A feeling of intuition that the men in the family do not seem to have. Because of this, the little loli constantly ran away from Linde whenever she tried to get along with the family.

Of course, Linde's most strained relationship is with her Berengar mother, Gisela. Gisela is a shrewd and proud Baroness who has long suspected an affair*han between Berengar and Linde, practically from the first night when Linde arrives at the Castle. However, she sees how Linde treats Lambert and sees this secret as a way to break off her second son's engagement. If Berengar wants a lover to hold him until he marries Adela, then he will allow his selfishness, provided that he can later use it as a means to get rid of the young vixe* for good.

Although she was not fully aware of Linde's abuse of Lambert, she knew it was at least an abusive and verbally unhealthy relationship. Especially since the night of Berengar and Adela's engagement ceremony and Lambert's alleged actions. The growing closeness between Berengar and Linde under the guise of Count Lothar's transactions did not diminish the Baroness' hostility towards the young woman. Berengar realized how his mother looked at the two of them and had long known about his suspicions, but as long as his mother did not intervene, he would not say anything to her about his relationship with her lover. Of course, if Gisela found out that Linde was pregnant with Berengar's child, she would make every effort to separate the two of them.

When Adela saw that Berengar had returned home, she ran and hugged him; Berengar responded to this by gently stroking his head. It's nice to have two women with completely different personalities to take care of her. He swore that he would never let go of this lifestyle and never complicate it any further by adding more women to the mix. She takes care of both women equally, as they both carry out their own unique roles in her life. After a while, Adela let go of Berengar and asked the question in her mind.

"Are you done with today's work?"

Berengar smiled and nodded at his little fiancee before realizing Henrietta was coming at him with a timid expression.

"Sister, will you play with us?"

"My hero..."

At this point, even Berengar felt ashamed, because he was not mentally prepared for such a thing. He didn't know what to say, so he picked a cheap one-liner and smiled at Adela and said in a serious tone.

"I will always protect you, my little girl!"

The scene was sickening for Linde as she looked at the corner; only when Adela's eyes met with an angry look, did she look at the, the young beauty realizes that her little rival has realized her presence and that Adela is deliberately doing this to mark her territory. Linde thought it was funny that the little girl thought the little kec*pan on the b*bir was a kiss. Clearly, Linde had to leave her own mark on Berengar that night to make up for it.

Upon seeing Linde witness her entire appearance, Berengar's heart instantly exploded. He sincerely hoped that no one would watch what was considered il*gal activity in his previous life. However she was caught b*sah by her own lover, she would never lose this moment, and she could tell from the grin on Linde's face that she would remember this moment forever. Berengar tried to defuse the situation and asked an important question to Linde, who immediately got a sharp look from the two little girls.

"Do you want to join us, Linde?"

The heavenly beauty immediately scoffed at the idea and glared at Adela

"No, thank you Berengar, I've long been an adult beyond the need to play such a childish game. A piece of advice, if you keep playing games like this with little girls, people will probably believe you're a pervert."

And with that said, Linde turned around and walked away with a satisfied expression on her face. Before Adela or Berengar could even give a response, he had already turned the corner and disappeared from sight. The couple then stared at each other awkwardly while Adela was still in Berengar's arms. Henrietta, of course, lay on the floor pretending to be killed, but she still managed to hear the conversation, and as a result, her disdain for Linde grew even greater. After Linde's departure, there was an awkward silence moments before Berengar finally released Adela from his embrace. Embarrassed by the entire situation, the young man scratched the back of his head before stopping for the night.

"I think we should end it here... We can play again next time!"

Adela nodded; she was also quite embarrassed after Linde's harsh words. On the other hand, Henrietta pouted; she wanted to play again with her older brother and future sister-in-law. It was rare that he could play around with Berengar these days. Nevertheless, he agreed to their conditions. Either way, he would hold his elder brother to his words that they would definitely play together later.

Afterwards, Berengar had dinner with his family, it was a civil conversation, and the enmity between him and Lambert was less than usual. Berengar was well aware that Lambert was preparing a conspiracy against him; after all, it had been a long time since Berengar had been given the title of regent, and Lambert had not acted. What Lambert did not know was that Berengar was also conspiring against his brother. His plan will not only disrupt Lambert's plans but also actively take on one of the boy's greatest allies.

After dinner, Berengar sneaked into the town where he entered the newly built chemical lab today. Tonight he will complete the production of white arsenic, which will allow him to begin his plot to kill his father's marshal, who is a staunch supporter of Lambert. Of course, he had to make sure of such a thing before acting rashly. While some of his spies obtained materials to make arsenic, others gathered information about a possible alliance with Lambert. In the process, Berengar uncovers Lambert's plan to act against Berengar, and traps him and his militia for various crimes, and uses the marshal as a witness. Unfortunately for the teenage boys, the marshal will soon become very ill and die.

Berengar started laughing sadistically when he saw the arsenic powder created overnight. He would give many spies strict instructions to mix Marshal wine with poison in small doses for the next week; once the man was seriously ill, Berengar would increase his dose, he said, which effectively ended the man's life. As far as anyone knew, the marshal would fall ill and die from the disease shortly afterwards. Even if one was expecting a pemb*nuhan, no one could prove it. Just like that, Berengar had taken this war of intrigue to the next level. Lambert will soon be left alone, cut off from any support, and when Berengar finally has a brother with his loneliness and authority to pursue justice, then, he,

After distributing the poison to his pemb*nya, Berengar secretly returned to the Castle. He made sure that his absence was not noticed. When he finally returned, he saw the familiar sight of Linde waiting for him. He immediately ran to the pel*nya and grilled her with ga*rah, as if he was trying to remove the marks that Adela had left before. Exactly like that, Berengar and Linde spent the rest of the m*lam*dead full v*gai*rah with each other.