Chapter 139 - Lothar's Defeat
Chapter 139 – Lothar’s Defeat
It had been over a week since the Siege of Trent, and the entire region fell into Berengar's hands, but to Count Lothar, who was trapped in Vienna with no way out, he had no way of knowing that he had completely lost the home front. At this point, he was desperate to escape the city and flee towards his home, where he planned to rally the local forces and defend Innsbruck until every man, woman, and child had expended their lives in its defense. He would do whatever was necessary to ensure his own survival for as long as possible.
Count Otto's forces had broken through the gates, and the City was once more thrust into chaos as Otto and his men began fighting their way through the battle-worn soldiers of Lothar's army or what remained of it. Count Lothar, at the moment, was battling with a knight under Otto's command who was clad in full steel plate armor; the two men were both similarly equipped. However, Lothar was at a disadvantage. At the moment, he only had a longsword in his hands which was not the most effective weapon against a Knight encased in full plate. As for the Knight held a halberd in his hands and had a sword sheathed on his waist.
Lothar wielded his sword with excellent skill, deflecting the oncoming blows of the polearm and rushing forward, trying to get into the gaps between the enemy armor. However, the Knight was equally adept and had a significant advantage in reach. Before Lothar knew it, he found himself being pushed back by the Knights advance; luckily for him, some of his nearby men rushed forward to aid him. However, when they arrived to help their Lord, they soon realized that he had disappeared; The moment the men had come to his aid and began to distract the Knight, Lothar ran off in the opposite direction in a desperate attempt to flee from the city. .
Lothar did not have time to disguise himself, war was waging around him, and enemy forces could capture him at any moment. Thankfully the Chaos provided some anonymity in the crowd, though he wore a tabard over his breastplate which signified his house, there were many other Lords and Knights each bearing their own Coat of Arms. As such, the man took advantage of the Chaos and fled to the Eastern Gate, which, as far he knew, was still under his force's control. However, the man did not get far, as he was sprinting in the direction of the Gate Cavalry began to ride into the City. These Knights and lancers on horseback belonged to Count Otto; riding at the front of the group was the loyal Count himself. They noticed a heavily armed man bearing Lothar's coat of arms running away.
Though it could not be seen beneath his great bascinet's visor, Otto was grinning with excitement he had finally found the traitor, and if he could be captured alive, the battle would end sooner. Thus Otto and his Knights quickly rode down any resistance in the way and rapidly caught up to Lothar. Before the traitorous Count could regroup with his forces at the Eastern Gate, he was surrounded by Otto and his heavily armored Knights.
Otto did not allow for a single gap for the traitor to escape and confirm the man's identity; he called out to him.
"Running away, are you? In the face of defeat, you do not have the courage to face your own death in glorious battle! For a traitor, you are quite pathetic!"
Lothar was resigned to his fate; steel-clad horses and knights surrounded him. There was no path to victory nor escape. He could merely sigh and face captivity; if lady luck were on his side, he would be able to escape from his predicament, though he feared this was not the case. As such, he did not respond to Otto's insults. Instead, he admitted his defeat.
"I know when I am beaten, well played, Otto. I did not expect you to overcome my defenses so quickly. You can rest assured knowing that I was never capable of penetrating the Castle's defenses. As far as I am aware, the Duke's family is safe and sound."
Beneath the visor of his great bascinet, Count Otto sneered in disgust at the man before him, a man he once considered his own hubris now brought down his rival as such; Otto expressed his contempt for Lothar he ordered his arrest.
"You should have been content with your lot in life! Men arrest this traitor!"
With his weapon no longer in his hands, and the heavily armored knights cautiously approaching Lothar, he quickly restrained the man and cuffed him into iron shackles. They then removed his helmet to stare at the man so bold as to revolt against his liege during a time of crisis. However, what revealed itself was a haggard man, driven to exhaustion by the war he started. Lothar was merely a shadow of his former self at this point, and his appearance showed it.
Otto then brought him before the fighting armies and blew a horn which gathered everyone's attention. Lothar's forces quickly saw that their liege had been captured and knew they were defeated; there was no longer a purpose in fighting. Lothar's Rebellion and the War in Tyrol were over! As such, Count Otto boldly declared for all the men to hear.
"I have captured your Liege, surrender now, and hand over the other traitorous Lords, and you will be allowed to return to your homes peacefully!"
The various noblemen who had followed Lothar into battle were frightened at this news and looked around anxiously; through the open face bascinets and the kettle helmets of the man at arms, they could see in their eyes the desire to betray their masters. As such, a skirmish quickly ensued, and Lothar's forces turned on their masters in an attempt to save their own hides. Very quickly, the ringleaders of Lothar's rebellion were either killed in the last stand against their own forces or brought forward to Count Otto, where the remainder of Lothar's forces surrendered their arms willingly.
Count Otto fully intended to bring these captives to Duke Wilmar at Munich, where they would be punished accordingly by their rightful Liege. He did not want to take the credit for ending the rebellion, because after all, it was his future son-in-law who had done the majority of the work. By rapidly conquering Tyrol, Berengar cut off any form of support or reinforcements in which Lothar might receive on his quest to become Duke of Austria. This was not Berengar's only noteworthy feat, for the young Viscount had also managed to send significant material aid to Otto's forces as he laid siege to Lothar's defenses. If not for this aid, he would not have been able to so swiftly retake the city, which was the Duke's seat of power. The impression of his future son-in-law grew exponentially in Otto's heart, and he had at this point practically forgiven Berengar's infidelity.
As the Siege of Vienna ended and the traitors captured, so too did the War in Austria. For now, Austria would find some semblance of peace in the upcoming months. With the entire German world at war and the conflict spreading to the rest of the Empire, it would only be a matter of time before violence found its way back into the Duchy of Austria. When that happened, Berengar's position would be in a far better position to confront any army which entered the lands of Austria.