Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat in line, waiting for one of the many trains to take him home to Kufstein. The war was over, and Berengar was now waiting along with his troops to return home. The trains were running nonstop, taking hundreds of thousands of men from one end of the reich to the other.

Despite being Kaiser and desperately wanting to return home to his family, Berengar did not abuse his position as the Kaiser to take the first train out of Hamburg. He was the Reichsmarschall, and as always, he lived and breathed under the same conditions as his soldiers. It was first come, first serve for the railcars, and as the man who had travelled to England and back to the fatherland, he was among the last in line.

Luckily for him, his National Railway project was completed, and thousands of rail cars existed to transport the soldiers across the Reich. Thus, after waiting several hours in silence, he could finally get on a railcar that was headed towards Kufstein.

Berengar sat on the train as he watched it rapidly propel through the borders of the fatherland. It was no longer just the Kingdom of Austria, which was an industrialized state. Hamburg was an important port city with one of the Reich's major Shipyards. The surrounding areas had fully mechanized agriculture, and the city itself had many factories.

The train passed through the individual kingdoms, Principalities, and Grand Duchies which formed the German Empire, and each major city appeared to have developed substantially over the years. Though electricity was a new feature that was unique to Austria, the era of steam prevailed across the major cities of the Reich.

The rapid urbanization of Germany was not as disastrous as one might expect. With relatively modern technology, houses and tenements could be rapidly constructed, and the cities were individually designed to complement these shifts in the population in the most efficient manner.

Berengar had set up an entire department of the State to achieve the most desirable results in the Fatherland's industrialization. Corruption was purged at the highest levels with lethal force, and criminal behavior was simply not tolerated. The harsh punitive justice of the Reich had deterred crime to a large degree, and because of this, the Prison population dwindled in comparison to the overall population growth.

After a long trek to the capital of his Empire, Berengar finally arrived in the city that had been built around the lands of his ancestors. He quickly stepped off the train, where he was greeted by several members of the Reichsgarde, who stood outside of an armored car designed to transport the Kaiser to his home.

The door was opened by one of these men, and Berengar quickly took a seat inside its fine leather interior. He gazed in astonishment at the vehicle. For the first time in ten years, he was finally reunited with the quintessential means of travel from his past life.

Though this car's aesthetics were designed after those used in Germany during the thirties and forties, it had a significantly more powerful engine. Allowing it to achieve much greater speeds. Despite this, his professional driver, who had received hundreds of hours of training with the vehicle since its creation, smoothly progressed through the streets and informed Berengar of what had happened in his absence.

"Your Majesty, things have been calm in the Capital, however you should know a guest from the Far East has arrived, and has been waiting for your return. He appears to have something important he wishes to discuss with you."

Berengar sighed heavily when he heard this, before pulling out his flask which was filled with whiskey, and drowning his fatigue in the savory substance.

"Of course... I just have to endure visitors upon my arrival home. Not a moment of rest for the Kaiser... Very well. I will entertain him when I return to the Palace. Is there anything else I should be made aware of?"

The driver scratched the back of his head awkwardly before making a suggestion to his Kaiser.

"My Kaiser, In all honesty you would be best asking your wife, the Empress knows far more about the happenings of the Reich than a simple soldier like myself. I just drive the Royal Family throughout the city. I'm not exactly aware of what goes on behind the scenes..."

Berengar nodded his head in silence and took what little time he had to relax before he arrived at the palace. As the automobile pulled into the driveway, he stepped out of its doors and slowly walked up the steps towards his palace.

Linde was standing in her most beautiful state, ready to greet her husband. The other wives were nowhere to be seen, which Berengar thought was odd. However, when Linde ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him, she whispered something in Berengar's ears that made him understand why they were alone.

"There has been some trouble in the east. Come to the study, and I will inform you of everything that has happened in your absence."

Berengar sighed heavily before following his wife to the study, where he sat down in his seat. The redheaded beauty shut the door behind her before sitting down across from her husband.

"Berengar, there is another reincarnator in the east."

After saying this, Linde did not wait for his reaction and handed him all the intelligence that her agents had gathered in India and the Ming Dynasty since she had first learned of Itami's existence.

"A nation known as the Japanese Empire has appeared with wooden steamships, single shot bolt action rifles, revolvers, and Gatling guns. The Japanese have already invaded the Joseon Kingdom and annexed its southern shores. Its army is marching north as we speak in an attempt to secure the Iron deposits in the north.

I believe the reincarnator is the young Empress of Japan, Itami Riyo. Approximately five years ago, she rose to prominence in Japan by succeeding her father and introducing new technologies that are in many ways similar to your own. Since then she defeated the Ashikaga Shogunate, and slaughtered the royal family, claiming the title of Empress for herself.

She appears to know of your existence and has armed the Bengal Empire with weapons to act as proxies in the Indian Subcontinent. I believe she hopes to buy herself some time so that she can conquer large swaths of East Asia, and industrialize her nation so that it can compete with the Reich militarily.

You can thank the Prince of the Ming Dynasty for this information. His father, the Emperor, appears to be worried about his Japanese neighbors and their aggressive expansion. I used my authority as director of intelligence to broker a non-aggression pact and a trade agreement. I also have convinced the Prince to allow our agents to smuggle weapons into the Korean peninsula to arm peasants in a fight against the Japanese invaders.

These plans are not yet fully agreed upon by the Ming Emperor, but the Prince is confident that he can convince his father to accept to our terms. As we speak, Hans is taking him on a journey throughout the city to show off the wealth and prestige of the reich."

Berengar silently looked over the information for several minutes before cursing under his breath.

"Fucking hell, I knew something was suspicious when I drank from the Well of Wyrd, and saw no information regarding East Asia in any of the potential timelines I gazed upon. I convinced myself that I never went that far, but it must have been blocked out by the existence of another reincarnator. What gods brought her here, and what is their purpose in doing so? Is this Itami Riyo even aware of the supernatural presence in this world?"

Linde lowered her head in defeat as she admitted she was truly ignorant regarding these questions.

"I'm afraid I don't have the means to answer those questions. However, I need clarification on what our plan is to deal with this bitch?"

Berengar chuckled as he placed the dossier on the table before breaking out the bottle of whiskey he kept inside his desk. He poured himself and his wife a stiff drink before answering the question.

"This Itami Riyo has already shown her hostility by creating a proxy in the Indian Subcontinent. We have no choice but to retaliate. I will send five thousand Jagdkommandos to the Korean Peninsula to arm and train the local peasant rabble into a capable guerilla force. That ought to give the bitch a proper headache.

As for India, it appears we have no time to waste. We must secure the throne for Dharya and establish an armed presence in the region to act as a deterrence for the Bengal Empire. Now that we have the combustion engine available to us, it is about time I introduce a new form of warfare to this world.

I had initially planned to defeat the Catholic World and take a step back from military advancements for the next decade. However, it appears that is no longer an option. If Itami Riyo seeks to buy time to modernize her forces, she has another thing coming. It appears we are at the dawn of a new arms race. With the blessing of the gods, we will emerge victorious!

When the Ming Prince returns from his brief tour with our little boy, I would very much like to have a word with him. In the meantime, I intend to relax. So the question is, Linde, how are you going to treat my stress?"

The busty redheaded beauty had a sultry smirk on her face as she walked around the desk and got down on her knees in front of her husband before responding to his question.

"I can think of a few ways..."