Chapter 338: The Holy Roman Empire Surrenders (1/2)
After securing the Medici Bank and its vast fortune, Berengar personally led his troops to the crumbling Imperial Palace, which was Emperor Balsamo Corsini's personal home within the City of Florence. Much like the Medici Bank, only parts of the building were collapsed; however, it remained intact for the most part.
The Austrian artillery was more trained than Berengar had initially thought; In contrast, he had given them instructions to spare the Medici Bank and the Imperial Palace. He never thought they would manage to achieve it.
Nearly everything within the City had been completely obliterated, with few exceptions. Berengar was quite impressed with how effective his artillery was, despite its primitive nature. He could only imagine the destruction he could cause if he were equipped with more modern equipment like rifled breech-loading cannons.
Berengar thought about this as he strolled through the ruins of Florence. The roads, the houses, the public baths, the cultural icons, everything within the City had been smashed into ruin by the overwhelming bombardment of artillery shells that Berengar had launched onto the City over the past couple of months.
So much so that Berengar felt saddened, not for the loss of life, but the destruction of history that had occurred in such an ancient and magnificent City. Though he was not a historian by trade in his past life, he was highly knowledgeable on the subject and had a passion for it. To see his war cause such devastation to the City that was supposed to play a prominent role in the Renaissance nearly brought a tear to the young Monarch's eye as he marched ever closer to the Palace.
Eventually, Berengar reached the crumbling steps of the dilapidated Imperial Palace; upon closer inspection, it seemed to be in a very fragile state, so much so that he felt it could collapse at any moment. With this in mind, he sent his soldiers in to investigate the building before he entered.
If the Emperor were wise, he would have fled to the wine cellar, as that was his best chance of survival; as such, Berengar's troops quickly advanced through the building, making sure each room was clear of potential hostiles.
They did not find a single living soul within the upper levels, though there were a few corpses of guards and servants that the collapsed parts of the building had crushed. Yet, none resembled the description of the Emperor.
Eventually, Berengar's soldiers found the entrance to the cellar; it was a long staircase that led some ways underground; as such, the unit sent a soldier out to inform Berengar of their discovery. The young soldier was clad in the basic blackened plate armor, with the flashy attire beneath it. However, it had been thoroughly stained with grime from the months of trench warfare that the man had endured, and as such, His uniform looked as if it would blend in with the mud.
”Your Majesty, the building is clear, aside from the cellar. With your permission, we will breach its entrance and see if we can find any sign of the Emperor and his family.”
Berengar silently nodded his head as he followed the soldier back inside, where he gave the order to the Veteran Grenadiers who made up his Bodyguard.
”If the Emperor and his family are still breathing, I want them captured Alive. As for any other survivors? Do whatever you feel to be necessary!”
After saying this, an entire squad of grenadiers went down the staircase. Shortly after, Berengar began his descent, where along the way, he heard gunshots resound from the cellar below. With this in mind, he quickly made his way into the basement, where he found the Emperor and his family cowered in the corner, their last bodyguards lying dead on the ground, bleeding from the bullet wounds that tore their chests apart. They were shot dead by the Austrian Grenadiers. As such, Berengar quickly asked for a status report from the squad leader.
”What happened here?”
The Grandier instantly saluted Berengar before describing the events that had transpired mere moments before.
”We came into the room as we were ordered; immediately upon entering, the guards rushed at us with their blades, so we gunned them down! Do not worry, your majesty the Emperor and his family has been spared.”
Upon hearing this, Berengar remained silent as he nodded in affirmation of the Grenadier's actions; after doing so, he slowly approached the Emperor, who was kneeling while shivering in fright like a small child. Berengar proceeded to stand in front of the man with a wicked grin on his face. Every word uttered by Berengar came from a position of overwhelming strength as if he were bullying the weak.