Steel Empire
Demanding Peace

The rest of the day was spent intimidating the garrison hiding behind the damaged castle's stone walls. Berengar had assigned his militia to oversee his father's professional forces and reported any suspicious activity to their NCOs. After the events that occurred the previous night, Berengar was much more cautious with the behavior of the people under his command. Lucky for him, the message was clear, and the knights and soldiers consisting of his father's army were actually intimidated into following orders. They knew the militia was loyal entirely to Berengar, and they had no chance of survival if they rebelled. Thus, the night was much more peaceful than the previous one.

As for Baron Guntrum and his troops, they continued to hide behind their walls, praying that Berengar's forces no longer had the capacity to bombard them. Damn for them, when the sun rose the next day, the bombardment continued. The solid steel balls constantly hit the stone walls, and slowly but surely, they began to collapse. It was not until noon when the castle gates were opened, and a man wearing knight plate armor wearing the color of von Kitzbuhel's house walked out of the entrance flanked by several guards. In his hand was a white flag of peace. After realizing this, Berengar ordered his artillery to stop their bombardment, taking out his own white flag, and marched with his grenades to meet the man he suspected to be Baron Guntrum von Kitzbuhel between the siege camp and the castle.

When Berengar finally arrived in front of Guntrum, the man let out a heavy sigh, he knew his castle walls would not last long, the damage done to them would cost him a lot of money to repair, his army was defeated, he said, his conscription had no strength.meaning to defend the Castle any longer, and he waited for the end of himself and his family, at least in this way he could negotiate with Berengar for the survival of his family.

"I've come to negotiate my surrender terms!"

Right now, Berengar and his grenade were standing across from Guntrum and his housekeeper. The early modern power scene, standing across from their medieval counterparts, would one day be brilliantly painted and become a staple of German Culture. The painting will be titled "When Two Worlds Collide" and will showcase the extraordinary power of Berengar's rise to power. Of course, neither of the two men knew such a thing would happen in the distant future, and as such, they simply behaved as they should.

Berengar smirked at Guntrum, although he had stated that he would act cruelly towards the arrogant Baron and his family during his declaration of war, it was all part of his negotiations. After all, the cost of rebuilding the castle and the impending resistance to the new dynasty placed in authority by it was not something Berengar wanted to face. What he wanted was Guntrum's obedience to subjugate him and his territory as a vassal state and to raise his family's status to that of Viscounty; Berengar spoke with the authority and tyranny of a conqueror who would accept nothing but unconditional surrender.

"Say your terms."

That was all Berengar said as he looked coldly at the once mighty Baron. This confused the man, but Guntrum tried to appear as if he was negotiating from a strong position.

"I'll return your steel and textiles. I will also offer compensation for the cost of this war. In return, I want you and your men to leave this land and my family in peace."

Berengar looked at Guntrum seriously before bursting into laughter; after a moment of awkwardness, he calmed down before saying his part.

"You must be kidding me. You realize that if we continue like this, your walls will collapse, and my men will invade your castle. At that time, I really won't save you or your family's life..."

"What do you want out of all this?"

Berengar moved closer to Guntrum, who immediately alerted his guards; however, he maintained sufficient distance to maintain a degree of decency.

"What do I want, you ask? I'd like you to accept your position as a follower of my family; I'd like to incorporate your territory into Kufstein and have my family's land recognized as Visounty with all the status and prestige that comes. with it. Now I can take this land by force, but in my opinion, there has been quite a lot of bloodshed. You have two choices; you can go back to your castle and wait for your death with your family. Or you can submit to me ruling and living to defend your land under my sovereignty. It is time to choose ... "

With Berengar's demands made, Guntrum was left with an ultimatum, where he knew Berengar could be fully enforced. Either way, Kitzbuhel will be incorporated into Kufstein; his choice will only determine whether he and his family will live to lead him or not. Pushed into a corner by the young Regent, Guntrum had no choice but to accept Berengar's condition.

"Based on these terms, I give up on you ... My lord."

Berengar smiled as he clasped Guntrum on the shoulder as if he was an old friend before saying his part.

"Swear faithfully to me, and I will accept your surrender."

Reluctantly Guntrum knelt down in front of Berengar and uttered the Oath of Allegiance

"I Baron Guntrum von Kitzbuhel promised in my belief that I would in the future be loyal to the Viscount of Kufstein, never to hurt him, never to do so, and will observe my reverence for him fully toward all men in good faith and without deceit."

With these words spoken, the war that everyone would know in the future as the First Kufstein Border War came to an end, with Berengar and his family rose to the title of Viscount and doubled the territory under their rule. This would be the first of many conquests that Tyrant of Steel would undertake on his way to becoming Emperor.