Tyranny of Steel

Weeks had passed since Berengar first gave the Royal Edict to establish a special operations unit known as the Jagdkommandos. During this time, a small team of elite soldiers had been formed with a single purpose; to save Agent Jürgen.

To nobody's surprise, this team was made entirely of Berengar's most elite soldiers from his Jaeger Corps. At the moment, a small fireteam that made up this Task Force was sitting on a rowboat in the middle of the Vistula River, inching ever closer to their target.

Captain Andreas Jaeger was the current team leader of this specialty unit that would one day evolve into the infamous Jagdkommandos. Though there were many potential candidates for this position, after a thorough screening, ultimately, he was selected to lead this mission. At the moment, he was sharpening his bayonet as he sat within the boat used to approach their destination.

The likelihood of him and his men needing to use these weapons to eliminate their potential hostiles was undoubtedly high; after all, a single shot of their rifles would immediately alert the entire camp of their presence.

The man was currently dressed in what had been become known as an M22 Field Uniform; it had become the basis for all soldier's uniforms within the Kingdom of Austria and was nothing more than a replica of the Wehrmacht's M41 Field Uniform from Berengar's past life.

Over this uniform was a Splinter camo smock, and over that was his trusty trench armor, which was painted to match the camouflage smock. Attached to the breastplate was a set of black webgear in the form of six ammo pouches that contained his paper cartridges for his Needle Rifle. Though Austria had begun to manufacture bolt action rifles and semi-automatic pistols, they were not yet tested or approved for field use; because of this, the unit was still equipped with the standard-issue Needle Rifle.

Under this armor was a black leather belt that contained his bayonet, his entrenching tool, and his canteen. As for his footwear, it was a pair of black leather combat boots that went up to his ankles. Worn over the top of these boots were a pair of splinter camo puttees. Atop his head was an M21 Stahlhelm, which was the designation given to the helmet he had worn for some time, It was also painted in splinter camouflage.

For better concealment, he wore a ghillie cape that acted as faux foliage; it wrapped itself around his head, shoulders, and back. The only other remarkable feature of his kit was that his face was painted in a woodland pattern to obscure his pale skin that was likely to be seen in the dark.

As the boat approached their destination, Andreas sheathed his bayonet before grabbing ahold of his paddle, where he and his team silently brought it to shore. Once on dry land, Andreas quickly went over the plan one more time.

"The plan is simple; we infiltrate the camp and silently take out the guards. After doing so, we make our way to the tent that Royal Intelligence claims to be the current location of our missing field agent. Our objective is simple, extract Jürgen and bring him home!"

The men who comprised this particular unit silently nodded before Andreas ordered them to move out. After doing so, they silently began to approach the nearby encampment that was not far away from the Vistula.

Before long, Andreas and his team found themselves behind the backs of a pair of Golden Horde sentries. Andreas quickly slung his rifle over his shoulder and unleashed his bayonet. After placing his hand over the man's mouth, he quickly slid the dagger across his throat, ending the man's tragic life.

Blood spilled onto the ground forming a crimson pool. However, Before the other sentry could react, he was quickly taken out similarly by one of the men within Andreas' squad. Only after Andreas was sure the two men were genuinely dead did he and his team drag the warriors' bodies out of sight and hide them within the bushes.

While all of this was happening, a marksman was stationed on the hill above with his needle rifle in hand. He was gazing down into the encampment through the iron sights of his rifle. If shit hit the fan, he would have to cover his team's escape.

After hiding the bodies, Andreas took the point where he slowly and cautiously made his way between the tents. Luckily for him, it appeared to be some form of celebration tonight; because of this, many of the Mongol warriors drank themselves to sleep. Only a few hostiles were wandering through the camp, and they were intoxicated to such degree that they could not notice Andreas and his squad if they were to crouch down five yards in front of them.

Thus Andreas and his men swiftly made their way to the tent where Jürgen was supposedly held captive. Where they split into two groups, while Andreas and the medic rescued Jürgen, the others would search for his equipment. It was not a good idea to leave behind the gear that could Identify Austria as the assassins. After entering inside, they found their target tied to a post, with cuts and welts all over his body. He was missing his left hand and both of his eyes.

The fingernails on his right hand were completely removed, as were all his teeth. Evidently, when they weren't cutting away at his body, they beat him with blunt objects as there was substantial bruising across his torso, and multiple fractures in his limbs.

How he had managed to survive this long was utterly unknown to the veteran medic who accompanied Andreas and his team. Jürgen was clearly on the brink of death, and as such, The medic instantly began to treat what few wounds he could manage.

When there was nothing more to be done, the medic pulled out smelling salts and placed them under Jürgen's nose, which immediately awakened the poor man. All he could see was darkness out of the dark pits where his eyes used to be; however, despite his lack of sight, he could still sense that he was surrounded. Thus he immediately began to panic. However, before he could scream, his mouth was covered, and he heard the familiar words of his native tongue whisper in his ears.

"I am Captain Andreas Jaeger, of the Jaeger Corps. We are here to rescue you!"

Upon hearing this, Jürgen's brow immediately began to relax as he realized that aid had finally come for him. Afterward, Andreas removed his hand where Jürgen immediately began to speak.

"I... I said... nothing... Well... besides eat shit!"

After saying this, Jürgen began to chuckle, which immediately caused him to cough. Upon seeing this, the medic immediately cut him down. However, Jürgen was far too injured to walk. As he collapsed onto the ground, he began to chuckle once more before making a request.

"Water..."

Captain Andreas quickly pulled out his canteen and guided it to Jürgen's lips, where he hastily took a sip. After drowning the blood that had poled in his mouth with fresh water, the man sighed heavily before making one final request.

"Kill me... Please!"

Andreas was shocked when he heard this. However, the medic looked at him with a worrying gaze before whispering in his ear.

"His wounds are too severe; if we take him out of here, he will die before we make it to the boat. We should grant him his wish and put an end to his suffering."

Upon hearing this, Andreas' hands began to tremble. He began to realize that they were far too late. Jürge was as good as dead, and if they attempted to bring him back, they could easily be caught by the Golden Horde.

Despite this potential reality, he was undeterred; the veteran Captain refused to allow an Agent of the Crown to die in foreign lands and have his body tossed to the wolves or mutilated any further by those filthy savages. It was with this in mind that he made a solemn vow to Jürgen as the man gasped, struggling for breath.

"I promise you that I will have your body buried in Austrian soil."

At this point, Jürgen could no longer speak. Instead, he nodded his head with a stern expression on his face. After doing so, the medic pulled out a small capsule that contained a fast-acting and lethal poison. He slid it into Jürgen's mouth and messaged his throat so that he would swallow it.

With this act, the agent began to whimper until there was utter silence; not even the sound of him breathing remained as his soul entered eternal rest. Upon seeing this, Andreas sighed heavily before giving the new order.

"Cover me; I'm going to make sure Jürgen makes it home, even if it is as a corpse!"

After saying this, he slung the fallen agent's body over his soldier and drew his pistol, where his team immediately exited the tent with rifles in hand. For Andreas and his team of operators, the real difficulty was about to begin.