Tyranny of Steel

In the fields of Steiermark, near the border of Salzburg, two armies had met. On the side of the Austrians, Count Otto was facing off against the Bavarians who had the gall to enter his lands. Though the nearby regions were set ablaze from the ongoing invasion, Steiermark had been one of the few Counties capable of defending itself for the time being. The reason for this was simple, Count Otto and his armies escaped from the fields of Passau primarily intact, and as such, he had the most significant remaining professional force within the entirety of Austria. Outside of Berengar ’s army, that is. As such, the man was able to competently defend his territory, though that did not stop the Bavarians from trying to force him into submission.

While the battle waged, Count Otto found himself dismounted and engaging with the enemy forces in melee combat. While he did so, a few bolts flew past the Count ’s face which was covered in a great bascinet, one of these bolts even directly collided with his throat plate. however, it was effortlessly deflected by the sturdy steel helmet. Like most of his army ’s equipment, the armor Count Otto was equipped had been provided by the man ’s nephew. Berengar had not cut corners when creating Count Otto ’s plate armor, and though it was not as advanced as the designs of full plate armor in which Berengar had access, it was made with the finest materials and by the greatest craftsmen of his realm. As such, Count Otto was adequately protected against the enemy ’s missile fire.

After his armor deflected the oncoming bolts with ease, Count Otto found himself engaging in a swordfight with a relatively well-equipped man at arms. Wielding his longsword with excellent skill, Otto quickly disarmed the enemy opponent before gripping the blade of his sword in a technique that is is referred to as half swording, where he drove the tip of the blade into the gaps in the enemy ’s armor. The opponent grunted in pain as his shoulder was pierced, and Otto followed up with a murder stroke, smashing the pommel of his sword against the opponent ’s helmet, acting as a makeshift mace. After a few mighty swings, the enemy collapsed, his skull thoroughly crushed by Otto ’s onslaught.

After ending his opponent ’s miserable existence, Otto gazed upon the battlefield and noticed that the tide had begun to turn in his favor. Though the Bavarians were more significant in number, Otto was an experienced commander and easily outmaneuvered the hostile army. While he was engaging the enemy forces as the commander of the vanguard, His cavalry which was led by one of his vassals had passed beyond the enemy ’s flanks and smashed into them with their lances like an unstoppable tidal wave; in doing so, the cavalry broke the enemy formation and forced them to regroup. This was the strategy Duke Wilmar had attempted to use at Passau. However, this time, it worked as intended. Mainly because the Bavarians were not prepared for another feigned retreat, with their flanks smashed and the survivors beginning to route, the enemy lines quickly began to crumble.