Tyranny of Steel

Captain Jonas sighed heavily as he stood within the village chapel, which now acted as the command post for his unit. Three days and nights had passed since his company of Jaegers first occupied this position. By now, the entire village was fortified with makeshift defenses such as trenches and watchtowers.

A report had been rushed towards the main Austrian Army regarding the general case of lawlessness that had consumed Portugal as it awaited the invasion of the Triple Alliance. When requesting further clarification on his orders, High Command had responded with a simple objective, fortify their position, and conduct basic reconnaissance operations throughout the countryside. 

Despite being in the middle of summer, a freakish storm had consumed the Kingdom of Portugal, and its torrent was unleashed upon the Portuguese-Granadan border. From the perspective of the Portuguese people, it was indeed the end of days. 

Jonas heard a knock on the door as he observed the map that had been sprawled out across a table set within the chapel. Assuming one of his men brought him the newest reconnaissance report, he quickly answered in his native tongue.

"Come in!"

The young officer was surprised to see the appearance of the village girl he had saved from a group of brigands a few days prior. She was now dressed in a peasant's gown and held his camouflage smock, which was neatly folded up. 

She had an anxious expression on her face as she handed the article of clothing back to its master. This gesture had completely caught Jonas off guard as he observed the farm girl with curiosity. She was relatively pretty despite her humble appearance. Jonas quickly approached the young woman and gently grasped the smock, where he proceeded to don it over his field tunic. He smiled before nodding his head and responding with the words.

"Thank you!"

She had washed the smock and cared for it over the past few days with the intent to return it to its rightful owner. Though the girl did not understand the german tongue, she could tell that the foreign soldier was thanking her, and thus she wore a pretty smile as she responded in kind.

"You're welcome."

After saying this, she departed from the chapel, leaving the Austrian Captain by his lonesome. It was a pity that they did not speak the same language because he would not mind wooing such a cute girl and taking her back to Austria as a war bride. However, some things were not meant to be, so he quickly got back to work. 

---

Outside of the village that currently acted as a forward operating base for the Austrian soldiers was a small fireteam of Jaegers. These men were the foremost recon experts within Jonas' company. They were currently withstanding the apocalyptic storm while seeking refuge from the elements within an improvised dug-out shelter that the team had built into the earth. 

If one did not observe the structure closely, one might mistake it for a natural mound. However, contained within this shelter was an elite team of soldiers from the Kingdom of Austria. Among these men was the soldier named Corporal Lach Wickten, who was cursing his luck as he dried off his wet body next to the fire.

"Just my fucking luck, I get chosen for a recon mission deep behind enemy lines, and I am stuck in the middle of the fucking wilderness during a world-ending storm!"

One of the soldiers next to him immediately scoffed before rebuking the Corporal.

"Quit your bitching; you are alive, warm, and have ample rations to survive on! Seriously, you have the honor to serve in one of the most distinguished units in the Royal Austrian Army, and all you ever do is bitch about it! If you hadn't already earned yourself a Wound Badge, I wouldn't put up with your shit."

Lach did not seem to mind the harsh criticism; after all, these soldiers were used to busting each other's balls; instead, he used the fork in his mess kit to dig into the canned beef that he had warmed up by the fire. With a shit-eating grin on his face, he returned fire to the other soldier.

"At least I can hit what I'm aiming at! 90% of the time you fire a shot, you miss your target. I am seriously considering writing a complaint to the high command so that they start charging you for the munitions that you waste!"

The squad leader chuckled when he heard this before commenting on the statement.

"He's got you there Brandt, I have seen recruits with better accuracy than you. Seriously, do you pull the trigger before you properly align your sights?"

The soldier named Brandt immediately began to curse out his squad members as he took a bite from his canned pork.

"Fuck you guys! I'll have you know that I scored expert marksman back in basic!"

Lach began to chuckle when he heard this before adding salt to the wound.

"Yeah, but those targets don't shoot back at you or move, for that matter. The moment anyone isn't standing still like a frightened rabbit, you miss your mark. You do know you are supposed to lead your target with your sights when they're sprinting, right?"

Once more, Brandt responded with a classy retort

"Oh fuck all of you!" 

The five members of the Austrian Jaegers enjoyed their time together with some less than friendly banter as they waited out the storm. When it finally dispersed the following day, they would continue their mission towards the nearest central township to ascertain the degree of authority that the Crown of Portugal still had over its lands. 

---

General Arnulf stood alongside Strategos Palladius as the two men stood in the middle of the muddied trenches battered by the storm. If not for the hemp raincoats, which aided in repelling the water which poured down on them, they likely would have succumbed to the weather already.

Instead, the two men watched across the border of Granada and Portugal from a frontline position. The men beneath their command were huddled in their fortifications, waiting out the storm. Palladius broke the silence between the two generals as he spoke about the report he had read earlier in the day.

"Your Jaegers seem to have reported a mass sense of lawlessness within the borders of the Kingdom of Portugal. It appears that the men beneath the King's command have begun to desert en masse and ransack the country they were supposed to protect. 

Do you think we will even face resistance when we march into their lands? Or will the Portuguese people think of us as liberators from the predators who roam freely across their realm?"

Arnulf scoffed as he heard this before presenting his gloomy outlook on the conflict that had yet to reach its climax. 

"I think no matter what we do, the people of Portugal will resist us. After all, the Portuguese are devout Catholics, and the Pope has practically made King Berengar out to be the anti-christ. I would not be surprised if the people of Portugal blame us for what is currently going on in their Kingdom. 

When the Reichsmarschall learns of the lawlessness that prevails in Portugal, I believe that he will personally lead the charge and fight through every village, town, and city until the people of Portugal have bent the knee to the Granadans, and by extension himself."

Upon hearing this, Palladius had a smug grin on his face, which did not go unnoticed by Arnulf; as such, the German General quickly crossed his arms as he spoke towards the Byzantine Strategos with a sense of hostility.

"You don't agree?"

Palladius continued to smile as he shook his head before revealing his thoughts on the matter, the rain pouring down upon his weathered face as he did so.

"Not at all, though I may not have known your King for long; I believe I understand his character well enough to accurately predict his reaction to the ongoing chaos across the border."

Upon hearing this, Arnulf got mildly defensive and shrugged his shoulders before responding to the General from the East.

"Well, go ahead enlighten me..."

The veteran Strategos continued to smile as he began to make his prediction about Berengar's upcoming actions when he returned from the Peace Accords in Aquitaine. 

"I think your King has grown weary of this war; after all, it is not a conflict he wanted to be directly involved in, to begin with. I also know that he fancies the Granadan Princess. Thus, I think it is highly probable that he will retire to the Capital of Granada for the remainder of this conflict. Where he will delegate the training of the next generation of Granadan soldiers to us. 

Once the Granadans have sufficient numbers, training, and equipment, he will dispatch them into Portgual with a minor degree of assistance in the form of artillery and reconnaissance units. For the most part, Berengar will begin to withdraw his forces back to Austria while leaving support units to continue aiding the Granadans in a war they will be by then capable of winning themselves."

When Arnulf heard this, he believed it was an equally plausible theory; as such, he proposed an entertaining idea. 

"Your theory is interesting; how about we make a friendly wager?"

Palladius chuckled as he heard this before inquiring about the details.

"What are the stakes?"

Arnulf smiled as he spoke about the details in a casual manner.

"Nothing serious, I assure you. How about we say whoever loses this little bet of ours will owe the other a favor in the future?"

Upon hearing these terms, Palladius scratched his beard in contemplation for a few moments before nodding his head in acceptance.

"Deal!"

With this, the two Generals had begun to gamble on which of their predictions were correct. 

---

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