Chapter 431: Just Following Orders

Within the borders of the Kingdom of Portugal, there was a unit of Austrian Jaegers embedded deep behind enemy lines. While the peace accords between the Austro-Granadan alliance were underway in the Duchy of Aquitaine, the orders the Austrian soldiers had received were quite simple. 

Hold the line at any cost! With this in mind, General Adelbrand had issued a decree to utilize specialized units such as the Jaeger Regiment and the Grenadier Guards to advance into Portugal and disrupt their operations via sabotage and outright raiding. 

The company of nearly a hundred Jaegers was gazing through their binoculars at the sight of the Portuguese village, which had been supplying the enemy with the grain needed to sustain their ranks. However, the scene that the Jaeger's witnessed when they entered the vicinity of the village was out of their expectations.

With the treasury raided by corrupt officials fleeing the Kingdom, and the marshal nowhere in sight, the Portuguese Military had fallen to a state of complete and total chaos.  The only regions with any semblance of a lawful order were the cities, where what remained of the Portuguese Army that had not outright deserted contained the last vestige of civilization within the borders of the Kingdom of Portugal.

The soldiers of the Portuguese Army had deserted en masse over the past few weeks; those who remained within the borders of the Kingdom had begun to act as brigands forcing the local villagers to give up their supplies and wealth under the guise of protection. 

As for the Local Lords, they were abandoning the Kingdom and heading towards Castile or Morrocco with whatever wealth they could carry with them—leaving their territory in a state of lawlessness, where Brigands ruled and might be right. 

At the moment, a Warband of roughly two hundred and fifty men at arms, led by a single knight, was basking within the village. Here, at the end of days, they were kings in their own right. Capable of doing whatever, and whoever they wanted. 

These men were aware that the Kingdom of Portugal was coming to an end and were merely taking advantage of the chaos to increase their wealth before following the example of their former masters and fleeing the borders of the collapsing realm.

Considering Captain Andreas Jaeger was currently undergoing Special Forces training, his command over the Jaeger Company had been replaced by an officer named Captain Jonas Giering who witnessed the abuse and humiliation that the local peasants were suffering as he clicked his tongue in disgust. These ruffians were better off eliminated in their entirety. Unfortunately, as a light infantry unit, they severely lacked any form of artillery to support their efforts. 

Thus they would have to rely entirely upon their Needle rifles to take down these enemies; it was with this in mind that the veteran Captain pulled back the bolt on his weapon before placing a paper cartridge in its chamber. After slamming the bolt home, he rested his finger on the trigger guard waiting for the opportune moment to fire his shot. 

He looked back towards the soldiers under his command who blended into the landscape before ordering a full-scale assault on the village. His orders were to raid this village and disrupt the enemy supply lines. However, Jonas could not in good conscience sit idly by and let the people within this village suffer under the yoke of barbarism. Thus, he quickly raised his voice and ordered the men beneath his command. 

"Get into flanking positions and open fire on the enemy; I want these brigands taken out as quickly as possible!"

The men within this company of Jaegers saluted their superior officer before responding in the affirmative.

"Yes, sir!"

After saying this, they rushed into positions, making sure to use the local terrain as cover while blending in with their surroundings. The enemy had no way of knowing that the legendary Austrian Ghosts were moving on their position.

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Within the center of the village, a knight in full plate armor with a garish surcoat had his arm wrapped around a local peasant woman; his gauntlet was removed as he forced its way through her dress where it grasped ahold of her small but soft breasts. 

The young woman winced in displeasure as she was molested by the Knight, who had a toothy grin beneath his bearded and scarred face. Her father lay dead on the ground in front of her with a split open skull while the Knight's soldiers snickered at sight. Tears streamed down the peasant girl's eyes as she waited for her horrible fate at the hands of the Knight, who now acted as a mere brigand.

The man stuck out his tongue and licked her face before stripping the girl naked and tossing her down on the ground next to her deceased father. After doing so, he stood up from his seat and made a bold declaration.

"Men, enjoy yourselves with the soft flesh of this young beauty! Once you have finished having your fun with her, we will move out to the next village; after all, there is more fortune to be had before we depart for Castile!"

After saying this, the men at arms beneath his command began to roar with laughter and cheers as they surrounded the young woman with menacing gazes. She instantly began to scream in terror as the soldiers pounced at her. 

However, a booming echo resounded in the air in the next moment, and the soldiers stared in shock as the Knight's head was blown apart. They immediately realized that they had come under fire and fled behind cover, leaving the poor village girl in the center of the field crying next to her dead father. 

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Smoke plumed out from the barrel of Jonas' rifle as he pulled back the bolt and reloaded his weapon. Within seconds his sights had acquired another target where he proceeded to squeeze the trigger, thus sending another round down range and into the torso of one of the brigands who thought he could hide from the unknown enemy. 

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.

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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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