Reinhard leads his fleets to contest for the starzones around Geiersburg Fortress. Reuenthal, unwilling to fight a battle of attrition against the Lippstadt forces led by Willibald Joachim von Merkatz, makes a tactical withdrawal, killing his own man in order to escape. An uprising has taken place in Westerland, one of Braunschweig's territories, and one of his nephews is killed in the process. Enraged, Braunschweig orders to kill all the inhabitants of Westerland via a nuclear strike.