Chapter 326: Near Effortless Victory (2/2)

Sieges would not always be this easy, and as such, he had to savor the swift victories while still managing to achieve them. When he returned from this war, he desperately needed to begin the industrialization process of Austria; he had already advanced to the limits of pre-industrial society. If he wanted to maintain his dominance, the era of steel and steam would need to occur.

As he was thinking about such things, the cannons began to echo in the distance as they unleashed their fury onto the gatehouses of the City of Milan; with his current prowess, Berengar estimated that at most it would take an hour before the city gates were brought to ruin and his soldiers could swarm the city like an army of locusts.

As such, Berengar spent the remaining time of the bombardment within his command tent, overgoing his plans. The longer this war dragged out, the less beneficial it was for Berengar; he needed to quickly make his way to Bologna. However, there were several small cities in between, such as Parma, which he needed to pass through first.

After doing so, he would head to Florence to capture the Medici's wealth and bring down the Imperial Crown. If things kept going as planned, this war would take at most last a few months. As Berengar was making these plans, an officer arrived within the tent, where he informed Berengar of their progress.

”Your majesty, the gates have crumbled, and our soldiers have begun to advance into the city!”

As Berengar heard this, he smiled before grabbing ahold of his burgonet and placing it upon his head. An army of roughly 50,000 men was rushing into the city and ransacking it for its worth; it would be a matter of hours before they began to depart. As such Berengar intended to enjoy the sights and take a stroll through the city. With this in mind, he informed the officer of his decision.

”Gather my guard; I will be entering the city...”

The officer nodded before departing from the tent; his guard was already established when Berengar entered the camp a few minutes later. Most of these men were among their respective units' elites and had formed a rudimentary protection unit for some time now.

When Berengar saw this, he realized that he was now a King and needed a dedicated unit to protect himself and his family; he decided that after this war was over, he would establish a proper Royal Guard.

After gazing fondly upon his soldiers, Berengar mounted his steed where the unit tasked with his protection followed suit; after seeing that the team was prepared to enter the city, Berengar called out his commands.

”Forward march!”

With this said, the King of Austria and his Guard marched into the burning city as conquerors. As they passed through the gatehouse that was now nothing more than splinters and debris, Berengar noticed the pile of corpses, which mainly consisted of the Italian Defenders. The rear echelon of his forces was already piling the bodies up into wagons so they could be properly disposed of.

The scent of smoke and blood filled the air as Berengar advanced further into the city; what he saw was his troops looting everything of value and restraining the citizens so that they could not resist.  It became increasingly clear that the level of resistance Berengar's army faced after entering the city was practically non-existent. Aside from a few hundred Italian Defenders held up within the City's Castle, the rest of Milan had already surrendered peacefully.

The city's citizens gazed upon Berengar with a mix of awe, and hatred, as they saw the legendary figure in the flesh, striding forth on horseback as if conquering their city, was as natural as breathing air.

In just a few hours, the once-mighty city of Milan had fallen, and its riches plundered by the Austrian invaders. Despite this, no citizens chose to resist; they were well aware of the futility of fighting against the Royal Austrian Army.

News of the defeat of Verona had already spread across Northern Italy, as well as the disastrous defeat in the Adriatic that sent the remainder of their navy to the depths of the Mediterranean. In the eyes of many Italian citizens, this war was already over, and the Empire had lost.

Despite this, the Emperor did not offer terms of surrender, nor would Berengar accept them, not until he had seized Florence and taken the vast fortune of the Medicis for himself. In doing so, he would cripple his most giant enemy financially, and that was the Catholic Church.

With this in mind, the City of Milan fell in a near-effortless victory for the Austrian Royal Army; what could have taken days of brutal conflict lasted a mere matter of hours. This would not be the last time Berengar ransacked a city in such a manner; after all, the will of the Italian people to fight against such an overwhelming foe who wanted nothing more than independence was waning by the day.

---

If you want to support me so that I can commission art of the characters in my novel, as well as maps, coat of arms, and other important illustrations, please visit my Patreon page at

All of the art will be released within my discord server for free.