November 17th, 1799

Once the supply route with their homeland was stablished, and the nearby towns were completely emptied of valuable resources, a makeshift wooden fortress was built by Lugo's men. The idea was to create a shelter they could run to if they were forced to retreat before reaching the capital.

Commander Auckner —who usually worked under major general Munsch— stayed behind alongside with his regiment of one thousand men, to protect the city and the fortress. Oberst Shemetev  —one of the rogue Ruhmnian officers— also did the same, with the surviving members of his regiment  —about six hundred eighty-eight men in total—.

The rest of the troops left the ruins of Patolovsk on the 10th of November. After walking endlessly, they reached the outskirts of the capital, Petrovak, seven days later.

The cold was getting unbearable. The weather, even more hostile and cruel. But their mission still wasn't accomplished.

They had yet to conquer the city.

Prince Grösik  —a renowned member of one of the many royal families that comprised the Ruhm empire—, was in charge of the 4th Corps of the Ruhmnian army. And, according to Divisionäri Kottac, him and his soldiers had stablished an outpost right outside of Petrovak, which they needed to conquer before they could attempt to storm the city.

The 4th Corps and their leader were stationed there for at least a year and a half by now, since the prince did not want to fight at the border. Stradtprotektor Viktor Feder, a senior statesman and policeman, also did not want him to go, because he knew his own soldiers were poorly trained alcoholics, who couldn't tell left from right.

So, the two needed each other. Grösik needed the emperor to believe his presence in Petrovak was necessary, and Feder needed the prince's eternal protection from foreign attacks.

—If we want the capital to be ours, we needed to capture Grösik first —Kottac said to the republican high ranking officers, which were having yet another meeting at Lugo's tent.

—Or we could split our forces, and attack both objectives at once —Linières commented, then pointed at the map—. We could concentrate most of our troops in the Kallegan castle, where the prince is hiding, and send a few of our men to fight against Feder inside of Petrovak.

—The cavalry would be useful to take over the city —Obermann pointed out—. While our heavy artillery blows up the castle, that is.

—The idea of splitting up has worked before, but our men are tired, and they can easily be defeated if they work in small groups —Lugo said—. I like Kottac's idea better.

Obermann and Linières tried to convince the marshal that his strategy was faulty, and that by splitting up they had better chances of winning, but their superior officer would not listen. And so, they were all forced to march towards the castle, in lines.

They were instantly attacked by their enemies' cannons. Earth was thrown into the air, soldiers were exploded into pieces, and a greyish fog began to obscure their camp of vision. But still, they kept advancing.

The entrance to the castle was destroyed by their own heavy artillery and soon, the red and black coats of the Ruhmnian empire were spotted leaving their base, and walking towards them.

—Monsieur, please grant me permission to charge, so I can clear the path for our infantry and allow them to enter the castle —Luckner asked Lugo, but the marshal shook his head.

—Not yet. We need all of them to come out of the castle.

—They aren't going to, monsieur. They are in a favorable position —Obermann pointed out—. Let us attack at once!

—No! Just... wait.

And wait they did. But it was clear as day that the marshal did not know what he was saying, or doing. Most of the Ruhmnians would not leave the castle, not even if their lives depended on it.

—Prince Grösik is a coward, monsieur. We will not move his corps to the field, major general Obermann is right—. Kottac pointed out.

Right then, a cannonball flew past them and exploded on the ground behind their backs. Lugo nearly jumped out of his horse. And that's when Luckner lost it. He removed his saber out of his scabbard, shook his head, and trotted forwards, going against the marshal's orders and charging anyway.

Lugo was an amazing administrator, that was undeniable. But he wasn't as skilled in battlefield strategies as his other officers were. And, since he was terrified of death and of losing people —specially his bastard son, Arquette— he had a tendency to freeze when all he had to do was move.

So, Luckner and Obermann took control of the situation. The cuirassier general, as promised, cleared the doorway. His riders were shot at through the arrowslits of the castle, almost hit with hot oil that was poured on a murder-hole, but even if slightly wounded, they pulled through. Then, Obermann led the first charge of the infantry, followed by the strikes of generals Arquette, Santerre, and major general Munsch.

Francis was the last one to enter the castle. He helped Obermann secure the north tower and took control over the cannons and mortars in there.

All battles are a mess —this was something the general knew very well—. Blood, guts, and bones were things he had grown used to see every day, ever since he joined the army.

But after the fight was over, and the fortress was officially theirs, Francis had the chance to explore the dungeons. And in there, he saw something he had never expected to. Prisoners of war —some dead, some alive— of different nationalities, hanging from the ceiling by their ankles, with their eyes covered by pieces of cloth and their starved bodies completely battered and bruised.

—Get these men down, now! —he gave the order to his soldiers, then proceeded to follow his own instructions.

The dead were separated from the living. The latter were sat down, warmed up with blankets and with food —never mind the shortage—, and then field marshal Lugo was called, to inspect the situation himself.

—God all mighty —the officer whispered under his breath, once he saw the carnage downstairs—. The prince will have to answer for this.

—And what do we do with all of these men, monsieur? —Francis asked.

—Tell commander Desaix to take them back to Patolovsk, so they can receive proper medical care. They can't be left here to die.

Francis nodded and walked away from the marshal, to find Jacques. And he did so quite easily, since his friend was crouched down next to one of the prisoners, speaking to him while he tended to his wounds.

—Hey... I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but marshal Lugo asked me to give you new orders. Take all of the injured back to Patolovsk.

—Me?

—Yes. And take captain Torrence and captain Lanne with you. I'll stay here with captain Brau, Frietz and Norris.

—Alright —Jacques nodded, as Francis patted his back and ran away to search for his other commander.

—Charlie!

—Over here! —the man shouted, and the general headed to the stairs.

Charles was also helping a prisoner.

—Jacques will take every single one of these men back to Patolovsk, with the help of captain Torrence and captain Lanne. His other three captains will come with us —Francis informed.

—Us?

—Yes. We have to move to the capital. Gather your own men, and meet me upstairs.

---

With Jacques using 2.000 soldiers to translate the prisoners back to Patolovsk, general Forestier was left with approximately 8.000 to work with. (And the "approximately" is important to emphasize, since he did not know how many had actually died during the storming of the castle).

He split the number in half, and gave Charlie control over 4.000, whilst he led 4.000 himself.

The march to Petrovak was more organized and less costly than the one to the castle had been. Viktor Feder's troops were, as Kottac had rightfully said, unskilled, undisciplined, and slow as snails.

The capital fell after three hours of fighting. Both the prince and the Stradtprotektor were arrested and locked up in the "Gemeindehaus" —the city hall—.

Feder woke up dead the next morning. The republican officers knew Kottac was the murderer, but they all decided to blame the prince for the death. That way, they saved the Divisionäri from the eyes of the law, and allowed him to live another day.

The price would be executed in the following days. Kottac was never charged for his crime.