Steel Empire
Building a Siege Camp

The enemy marshal had managed to return to Baron Guntrum and told him of his great defeat before the enemy forces arrived at the city of Kitzbuhel. Baron Guntrum could not believe his ears as he listened to an almost fantastic tale of how easily his army was torn apart by Berengar's troops and the thunderous weapons they used.

"My friend, our army is defeated; the survivors of our army are few in number and have already begun to flee from the ground. It won't be long before the enemy encircles us, and we're under siege! Tell me, sire, what is your order?"

Baron Guntrum was still shocked by the news and really did not know how to react to this situation. The best he could do was hope that his walls could withstand the firing of the Berengar artillery cannon. After all, of course his marshal overestimated its effectiveness? Upon regaining consciousness, Guntrum gave his decree.

"I want every man and child who is able to take up arms on the walls of this castle to defend it with their lives! If necessary, send a garrison to the village to gather the necessary strength to achieve this, and do it quickly before the enemy arrives! "

For once in his life, the marshal hoped his subordinates would demand peace. Unfortunately, he could not voice such concerns because his orders had already been given; therefore, the man quickly gathered the Castle troops and climbed into the village, where he was, obliging anyone capable of carrying weapons to their troops to defend the castle walls. It didn't matter if they had never used a bow before; just having the body necessary to launch a missile shot at an enemy attacker was good enough for the Baron, though, who became desperate after his recent defeat.

Berengar climbed on the back of his mighty horse as he and his army marched into the city of Kitzbuhel; the local castle lay in the hills above, overlooking the valley and the people within, and the, demonstrate the authority of the mighty ruler in the region. Berengar had no free time to secure the township and simply ordered his troops to move past it so that they could set up a siege camp around the Castle. The siege was a long-term effort, but he thought he could tear down a large stone wall fairly quickly due to his superior firepower. Therefore, he shouted orders at his troops who heeded his orders.

"I want the siege camp to be established and completely fortified by Dusk! Make sure it's out of range of enemy missile fire!"

"It will be done, my lord."

The local townspeople who remained after the recent massive conscription quickly left their homes when they saw the soldiers arrive; they were afraid of the potential action that the enemy forces would take against them now that they themselves had been defeated on the battlefield. Many women and children wept at the loss of their husbands, fathers, and sons, torn to shreds by the overwhelming might of Berengar's army. Very few Baron soldiers escaped the fury of their enemies. Those lucky enough to survive start fleeing with their families towards one of the other villages in Barony. After witnessing the terrifying display of their enemy's strength, they had no hope of gathering behind the Castle's walls and successfully defending against the siege.

Berengar ensured his men were fully disciplined as they marched through the village. He had explained to his men earlier that the people of this region should not be persecuted, and as long as his supervision was on them, they managed to behave well. Whether they can maintain this level of professionalism during a prolonged siege is a different story. Berengar set up his siege camp beyond the range of the enemy's defenses. However, Berengar's forces were still within attack range, and as such, they could successfully bombard enemy defenses with cannons and rifles throughout the period.

The effective range is basically only 300 feet, and their bows have a maximum range of 328 yards. Even the once mighty steel arrow only had an effective range of 380 yards. In comparison, the effective range of the Berengar gun was approximately 1618 yards. His long shotgun, when in the hands of an effective sniper, was roughly 500 yards away. Thus, by placing their siege camp roughly 400 yards away from the enemy castle, they could effectively attack their enemies from dawn to dusk without a single enemy attack on their troops.

It took some time; however, the Siege Camp had been fully established and fortified effectively by night. Weapons had been loaded and started bombarding them; they would not stop until the next morning. The Napoleon-style 12-pound cannon was already a sturdy and powerful cannon design in his previous life, mostly made of bronze. However, the Berengar cannon was made of high-quality steel, and as such, could withstand the pressure with a steady rate of fire throughout the night. Thus, the Thunder weapon echoed through the night while a twelve-pound steel cannonball struck the stone wall of the enemy fortress, slowly destroying the enemy's defenses.

The defenders who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast were torn apart by enemy bombardment. Fragments of rocks constantly spit out the areas hit by continued bombardment and acted as shrapnel against the defense forces. Despite being only 12 weapons, they were able to effectively bombard enemy defenses to the point of suppressing them completely; even if they were within firing range of the defenders, they were able to attack them, those behind the castle walls would not be able to cause much damage to their enemies. The power of steel and gunfire had shown itself as Berengar sat in his tent drinking from a glass of wine. Tomorrow he will let the gunners rest and give a little reprieve to his enemy. He will continue his bombing the next morning.