Chapter 172: Fields of Steiermark

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. 

Noticing that the battle had begun to shift in his favor, Otto continued his onslaught of the men in front of him with fierce determination. Surrounded by a group of disarmed knights, the courageous Count charged towards the enemy like an enraged tiger. Not all men at arms of the Bavarian army were equipped head to toe in brigandine and plate, and as such, the sword was still quite the effective weapon. With great finesse, Otto swiftly dodged an oncoming strike before lunging with his blade into the enemy's thigh, piercing through the femoral artery and causing the man to bleed out on the spot in rapid fashion. However, the Count did not have time to breathe as he was quickly rushed by another enemy, who immediately bound Otto's sword with his own. As the two were caught in a struggle, an oncoming lancer pierced through the backplate of the enemy, aiding Otto in his conflict. 

Sweat began to pool on Otto's forehead as he continued to exert his energy in the heat of battle; the Bavarian forces started to retreat after a while. Even though the enemy was routing, Otto did not pursue them. He feared he would fall into a trap similar to the late Duke Wilmar; as such, the surviving Bavarians fled back into Salzburg, which was primarily occupied by the Bavarians. By winning this battle, Otto had secured the County of Steiermark for a bit longer; however, if the Bavarians kept persisting in their attempts to invade his territory, sooner or later, his armies would falter.

Gazing at the losses on both sides, Otto began to lament the deaths of those brave soldiers who fought for their homeland. What he needed now was the aid of an ally. Unfortunately, most of his supporters were significantly weakened by the horrific loss at Passau and were themselves struggling to maintain their territory. The only one who was able to help the man was Berengar, and Otto did not fully trust his nephew. While Berengar had supplied Otto's forces with a great deal of equipment and resources, it became increasingly apparent that the young Count of Tyrol had no intentions to intervene in the war and merely sit it out in his well-defended territory.

What was even more suspicious was that the Bavarians were all equipped with a similar level of equipment that the Austrians were using. This led Otto to believe that Berengar was supplying both sides of the conflict as a war profiteer. The fact that the only action Berengar had taken during this conflict was defending his borders and that of his western neighbor further filled Otto's doubts of his nephew's loyalty. Though Berengar seemed to care for Otto's youngest daughter Adela unless the Bavarians threatened her life, Berengar was unlikely to aid Otto, and the man knew it. 

However, Otto also knew that Berengar was a man driven by self-interest. If that were the case, if he wanted to acquire his Nephew's help, precisely that of his armies, he would need to develop some incentive for him to do so. These were the issues Count Otto thought about as his soldiers began to clean up the battlefield. Eventually, one of the Count's commander's approached him and handed him a letter. 

"My liege, there is a letter for you which contains the seal of the von Habsburg dynasty."

Count Otto sighed heavily as he grabbed ahold of the letter and began to read its contents; he could already guess what information the letter contained. After reading the letter, Otto tore it up and cast the shredded remains into the wind. The action, of course, shocked his commander, and the man could not help but voice his concerns.

"Your excellency... What is it?"

Count Otto stared into the distance towards the direction of Vienna with a solemn expression before answering the man's question.

"Vienna is under siege once more, and Wilmar's heir requests our aid."

After receiving such news, the Count's actions further confused the commander, and as such, he asked the question on his mind.

"And we are not providing it?"

Count Otto then stared grimly into the commander's eyes before making his stance clear.

"With what army? The survivors of this battle need to defend Steiermark from further incursion; we do not have the men to spare if we wish to break the Siege of Vienna. I have already done enough for the Habsburgs; I need to think of my own family's safety."

Though the commander was initially shocked, he also understood Otto's thoughts on the matter. This was a war Austria was now fated to lose, and the Count of Steiermark had to think about his family's future. To prevent the most losses to his territory, he would have to abandon the Habsburgs to their fate. Of course, neither of the men had any idea that by doing this, they were playing into Berengar's plot to topple the Habsburg dynasty and place himself as Duke in the upcoming years. 

After cleaning up the battlefield and scavenging the equipment from the corpses that were buried in mass graves, the armies of Count Otto began to return to Graz, where they would rest, until a time where they were needed to defend their borders once more. Unfortunately for the von Graz family, they were not located in the mountainous region of Tyrol. As such, they were not afforded the natural barrier in which the Alps provided Berengar. Thus they would have to meet the enemy in the field every time they presented themselves. 

Thus with the Battle being completed and the von Graz family rejection of the Habsburg's request for aid, the war in Austria began to advance towards Berengar's interests. For now, Steiermark would remain free from Bavarian influence, but whether they could endure the tides of war long enough to be a part of Berengar's resistance to Bavarian authority was yet to be determined.