Tyranny of Steel

Johan squeezed the trigger of his rifle, causing the needle to protrude through the paper cartridge, thus striking the percussion cap embedded within. This reaction ignited the gunpowder propelling the .451 caliber projectile down range and into the skull of an oncoming Crusader.

Crusader would be the most appropriate word, as these men were fighting a holy war against the Granadan Army and their reformist Austrian Allies. Despite being mere peasants who had picked up a weapon for the first time in the name of God, these fearless warriors of christ were genuinely deserving of the term.

The Colonel of the Austrian Regiment continued to fire upon the advancing enemy alongside his soldiers. However, no matter how many bullets were sent down or how many crusaders they killed in combat, the Catholics never seemed to run out of troops.

If not for the entrenched positions and their protective helmets, the volleys of arrows fired upon their location likely would have caused far more casualties than they currently had suffered. However, right as Johan thought about this, the crackle of gunfire and the smoke of gunpowder spewed into the air, as lead balls fell downrange and onto the Austrian positions.

From the other trench line roughly a hundred feet away, the Crusader Arkebusiers had begun to unleash a volley of fire. A single lead ball clanged against Johan ’s stahlhelm as he fell back from his position and hit the floor. He was heavily dazed as a nearby soldier checked on his condition.

Ultimately the steel helmet was removed from his head, where he gazed upon a massive dent on its surface with awe. If not for this standard-issue helmet, his life indeed would have been taken at that moment. After regaining his clarity of mind, Johan placed the dented helmet back upon his skull, where he shook off the soldier who was checking on his condition.