Tyranny of Steel

With the disastrous defeat that the Kingdom of Aragon and its supporting Crusader Armies had suffered outside the city of Granada. The Catholic world was practically turned on its head overnight. Adelbrand did not stand idly by and led his into the occupied Granadan territory to liberate it from the Catholic oppressors. 

Battle after battle, the superiority of his artillery and the individual soldiers under his command had utterly massacred the Iberian Forces. In doing so he had successfully rescued Arnulf and the remainder of the Granadan Royal Guard from their pursuers.

While the King of Aragon had successfully fled the sight of his soldier's slaughter, he was far from unscathed.  Physically he was fine; however, mentally, the man could not get over his fear; every time he closed his eyes, he could hear the roar of the Austrian artillery and the fiery explosions that resulted from its shells. His men being turned into nothing but meat paste had a particularly chilling effect on his mental state. 

If Austria had such fearsome weapons, when the Crusade arrived, he knew that only death awaited those who embarked on such a foolish venture. Despite this, he sent a warning to the Papacy about what he had witnessed on the field of battle. 

Pope Julius had just finished reading the letter written by King Felipe of Aragon; his hands were trembling in rage as he tore the document to pieces in a fit of fury. The King of Aragon had requested the Pope to gather all faithful Christian men and send them into Iberia. He believed there was no conceivable way for the Iberian Union to achieve victory.

The very idea that the King of Aragon felt that defeat was inevitable without sending countless men into the meat grinder brought an overwhelming sense of wrath to the Vicar of Christ. Just when the Catholics were about to win the centuries-long Reconquista; Berengar the accursed had deployed his forces in defense of the Moorish invaders! Austria blocked its path no matter what ploy for power the Papacy sought to achieve. 

"God damn you to hell Berengar von Kufstein! You are always one step ahead of me, no matter where I seek to strike! It is simply intolerable! What kind of devil are you to torment me in such a manner!"

If Berengar could hear the Pope's words right now, he would be smiling with a vicious grin genuinely befitting of the devil. The Papacy's greatest military supporter was on the verge of collapse. With the loss of Northern Italy and Switzerland, the Holy Roman Emperor was cut off from the rest of his Empire, which was currently fighting among themselves over a meaningless title. 

After a humiliating defeat to the Austrian Army, Balsamo Corsini had outright refused to aid the Papacy in its attempts to counter Berengar's rise in power; the man was too frightened even to risk the slightest chance of having the might of the Austria Military at his gates once more. 

With the ongoing construction of the major Naval Base on Malta, Berengar would soon have a prime location to strike at any power within the Mediterranean; the very idea that Austria controlled the land and seas with domineering fashion was enough to make the Pope wish death and damnation upon its entire populace. 

Julius was so worked up that he could no longer think straight; he somehow gained the brilliant idea of issuing a decree to all of the Catholic World in a state of mental turmoil. Thus he put on a calm facade as he walked out onto his balcony and announced to the people of Rome the supposed word of God.

"Any man who gives his life in pursuit of Reconquista shall surpass the depths of Purgatory and directly enter through the Gates of Heaven. To kill an infidel is to gain a higher status in the Lord's Kingdom. Go forth, righteous men of Christendom, and drive the Moors and their Austrian allies out of the Iberian Peninsula! God wills it!"

After saying this, the Pope immediately withdrew from his balcony. He returned to his Papal throne as he began cursing his enemies out loud, utterly unaware that the Cardinals were nearby watching his erratic behavior. 

"I don't care how many men must bleed to achieve it, but make no mistake Berengar von Kufstein, your wretched army shall be driven from the lands of Iberia, and the Catholics shall achieve their victory over your heresy! You will not replace the Church as the major power of the West!"

...

Weeks passed since the Pope's announcement calling upon all men of faith to march to Iberia in an attempt to eradicate the Granadans and their Austrian Allies. At this time, the various Kings of Europe reacted to the message differently.

Like the King of Hungary, some were eager to gain vengeance on Austria for past grievances and thus sent not only a detachment of their military but also tens of thousands of their peasants into the conflict. Others like the Kings of England and France were far too busy with their petty squabbles to bother sending troops to the Iberian Peninsula.

Despite this, many of their peasants who sought glory in the afterlife picked up whatever weapons they could manage and voluntarily traveled to the land that was supposed to guarantee a spot in the Kingdom of Heaven. After all, an eternity in the Lord's Domain was far better than the life of a serf.

Even Poland-Lithuania was affected by this decree; believing they were on the verge of victory with the Teutonic Order, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth sent 10,000 soldiers to the Iberian Peninsula and another 20,000 peasant levies. They had no idea that Berengar had set his sights on the rump state that was the Teutonic State and the lands that belonged to Prussia in his past life. 

Hundreds of thousands of Christians had taken up the Cross in an attempt to reclaim the lands that belonged to the Emirate of Granada. In response to this, Hasan Al-Fadl, the Sultan of Granada, began to panic as he stood within the War Room of his Royal Palace. 

By his side were three Generals of note, two of which were Austrian. General Arnulf von Thiersee, the Commander of the Austro-Granadan Coalition, spoke with confidence as he tried to assure the young Sultan that he need not worry.

"Your Majesty, you must remain calm. Even though hundreds of thousands of hostile forces will be marching upon these lands, you still have the support of the First Division! I am certain that his Majesty King Berengar is already planning to dispatch additional troops to Granada as we speak."

Adelbrand scoffed in response to this before commenting on his own.

"His Majesty will probably lead the charge himself after hearing that such a massive army is on its way. You know how King Berengar is; he likes to be in the thick of combat; I doubt he will miss such an opportunity to entertain his endless bloodlust."

Upon hearing that his ally would likely send further support, Hasan began to calm down a bit; to aid his nerves, he took a sip from the fortified wine that he had acquired from his trade with Austria. The man nearly choked on the liquid when he heard Adelbrand's further speculation.

"His Majesty may request the aid of the Byzantine Empire; after all, he has close ties to the Emperor, and our army is still in the process of being equipped with the newest weapons. Perhaps he will even bring the Bohemian Forces with him. After all, they have yet to be truly tested in battle."

Adelbrand nodded his head in agreement; Berengar did not form the Bohemian Royal Army so that they could sit back and defend its borders. As for the Byzantines, it was a bit of a stretch to get them involved considering their history with Muslim Nations. However, if anybody could convince the Emperor to send an Army to Granada to fight against the Catholics, it was Berengar.  When Hasan heard this, he immediately began to inquire how many troops would come to his support.

"Just how many men do you think Berengar will bring with him?"

Upon hearing this, Adelbrand and Arnulf looked at each other with complicated gazes, as if they were trying to figure out how their Liege's mind worked. Ultimately it was Arnulf who sighed before revealing his thoughts on the matter.

"His Majesty doesn't like to simply win wars; he aspires to dominate in every conflict; I wouldn't be surprised if he brought another division with him, and however many troops he has managed to raise in Bohemia. So most likely an additional 30,000 troops, which should be more than enough to handle the enemy. "

After hearing such a response, Hasan felt relieved and no longer worried about his future. He had seen the level of destruction that a single Austrian Division had done to an army twice its size. Thus if another were to arrive in Granada, he need not worry about the war any longer. All that was left to do now was drink and wait for the storm to arrive. 

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