Chapter 430 - Just Following Orders (2/2)

Unfortunately for the Portuguese soldiers, the Austrian Jaegers were camouflaged as they assaulted the village with only a plume of smoke to reveal their positions within the tree line. After the initial volley, a platoon of Jaegers advanced further towards the town while reloading their weapons. While they charged, the second platoon provided covering fire.

The two units combined their efforts to assault the village and the brigands who occupied it. Eventually, the Portuguese men at arms mustered their courage and charged towards the Austrian Jaegers; after all, they still outnumbered the enemy.

The villagers hid in their homes and tried not to get involved in the chaotic battle outside their doorsteps. As the wave of brigands charged towards the Austrian Jaegers, their lines were swiftly cut down from the rapid volley fire until less than a quarter of their numbers remained.

Despite the massive casualties, the Portuguese Men at Arms managed to reach melee combat with the Austrian Jaegers; unfortunately for them, the Austrians were well prepared for such a thing. Bayonets met swords in the middle of the field as the rear platoon rushed forth to join the fray.

While this was going on, the poor peasant girl was crying and hugging her father's corpse. She did not even see Jonas rush up to her; thus, when he grabbed ahold of her arm to make sure she was okay, the girl flinched in reaction.

Upon Seeing her naked flesh, Jonas blushed awkwardly before taking off his camouflage smock and throwing it towards the girl. As he did so, he spoke in German, which was a language she did not understand.

”Cover yourself, and hurry. It is not safe here!”

Though she could not comprehend the words, judging from the man's body language, she could make out the gist of what he said. Thus she quickly covered herself in the camouflage smock and grabbed ahold of Jonas hand before following him to safety.

The chaotic melee outside the village ultimately ended in the Jager's favor, as the men at arms lie dead in the fields, their blood fertilizing the soil that they had so ruthlessly trodden upon. The few survivors were brought forth into the center of the village, where the Portuguese villagers gazed upon the men who had turned from their protectors to common criminals with utter contempt in their eyes.  One of the brigands quickly pleaded with Jonas when he arrived with the peasant girl in his arms. He spoke in Latin to ensure that his captors could comprehend him.

”Please, spare us; we were just following orders!”

However, Jonas did not spare the man a second glance; he quickly reached into his holster and withdrew his 1422 Service revolver, where he squeezed the trigger, sending a round straight through the man's skull. After doing so, he ordered the Jaegers under his command to fulfill their duty.

”execute these brigands!”

After saying this, the Portuguese Men at arms were tossed into the center of the village, where they were executed via firing squad. With their deaths, this small farming village had now fallen into the hands of Austria.

Thus Jonas was presented with a difficult position. Their orders were to raid this village and plunder it for its worth before lighting it ablaze to ensure that the Portuguese Army could not utilize its resources.

However, the situation behind enemy lines was more chaotic than they were led to believe. There was no semblance of law and order at the border, and deserters roamed the lands as warlords and brigands.

Ultimately, Jonas looked over at the girl who was crying within his arms and felt his heart bleed; his conscience would not allow him to treat this village with any more cruelty than it had already suffered at the hands of the brigands.

Not wanting to be the same as the men who had claimed they were simply following orders, Jonas quickly decided to disregard his orders and instead entrench his position within this village, utilizing it as a forward outpost to relay information about the current condition of the Kingdom of Portugal back to the main Army. He would deal with the consequences of his disobedience when that time came. Thus with a heavy heart, he gave his commands to his soldiers.

”I want this village fortified and capable of being defended by nightfall. For the time being, this will be our forward outpost.”

The soldiers were confused; after all, such a command went against the orders they were given. However, most of them were not officers and thus were not trained to think but rather obey their officers' commands. Thus they saluted their Captain before responding in the affirmative.

”Yes, sir!”

Jonas had established a forward outpost behind the enemy lines with this act. The other units dispatched to the region would quickly report the chaos and devastation they witnessed in the field to their superiors. Thus the strategy on dealing with the volatile Portuguese border would ultimately follow a method similar to that which Jonas had opted to undertake on his own accord.

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