Baron von der Zaitsev. Book 2

Winter of 1409. Livonia is buried in snow, and the wars never end. The Lithuanians and Samogitians are back at the gates, and the barony is on the brink of destruction. The twelve-year-old transmigrant Ivan Fyodorovich, who wakes up in the body of the young Johann von der Zaitzev, has neither an army nor magic—only desperate ingenuity, knowledge from the 21st century, and… a wooden cannon.

The second book in the series is even more brutal, dynamic, and dark. The hero no longer plays at being a “progressor.” War forces him to grow up instantly. The peasants flee into the forests, the castle stands empty, enemies number in the hundreds, and the defenders are only a couple dozen untrained boys. The only advantage is gunpowder, ingenuity, and the ability to use what’s close at hand.

But “improving the world” is thwarted not only by the Lithuanians. In Riga, nuns appear with predatory eyes—ready to seize the barony through court and intrigues. And in the monasteries, a plan ripens, one that will make even the most cynical reader break out in goosebumps. Johann understands: to survive, you have to play dirty. Rye, poisoned flour, hallucinogenic mushrooms—he uses everything he knows about medieval cruelty.

Against the backdrop of grim political machinations—blood, snow, the ring of steel, and the searing cold of the Baltic—miracles are not believed in here. Only the smart survive, the cruel, and those who know how to wait.

For those who love history without embellishment, transmigrants without magic, and heroes who are forced to become villains to save their own.