Tyranny of Steel

Weeks had passed since the day that Berengar visited his favorite prisoner, and the time had finally arrived. In the clearing outside the German Fortress that acted as its primary settlement in Mesoamerica, an army of roughly twenty-five thousand Aztecs stood, gazing in shock at the fortifications that had seemingly sprung up overnight.

They did not know how such a thing could come to exist without them knowing, but it would explain the many disappearances that had occurred over the past few months. Still, with the overall size of the settlement, it did not appear that many people were inside of the fortress. At most, it had to be a thousand men.

While the Aztecs examined the large star fort, the Germans within stared back at the massive native army, ready to open fire at the first sign of hostilities. The golden-haired german soldiers acted as the guardians of their settlement in the new world. As far as they were concerned, this was German land, claimed by the Kaiser himself, and no force, no matter how large, would force them to depart.

The Aztecs could not believe their eyes. The men on the other side of the clearing were dressed in strange clothing, and wielded unique weapons, all while having an appearance that suggested divinity. Such a thing struck fear in to the hearts of the many warriors who had come in search of the reason for the many disappearances that had recently occurred in this part of their Empire.

The massive ships sitting within the docks suggested these men had indeed come from the across the great sea. Were they perhaps envoys of the feathered serpent? If so, why did they appear to be so hostile? There were many questions in the mind of the Aztec warriors as they struggled to muster the courage to approach the large star-shaped settlement.

While the Aztec host was debating on how to proceed. A German officer gazed through his binoculars before reporting his evaluation of the enemy army to his emperor.

"My Kaiser, it is of my belief that we will be able to hold this ground, but they do not appear to be hostile, rather they seem to behave in shock. Perhaps the glory of the Reich has stunned them into submission?"

Berengar looked towards his officer as if the man was an idiot. He could plainly see that they were reacting in shock. However, he did not respond condescendingly to the officer, and instead gave him an order on how to proceed.

"I don't care how they're reacting. Fire a warning shot. If they step one foot on the land that I have claimed, then I give you permission to open fire. This is not a matter of negotiation, this is a show of force!"

With that said, the officer hurried to relay his orders to the nearest artillery battery. In a matter of seconds, the shells were loaded into the guns and fired into the distance towards the Aztec Army. The shells detonated on the shores of the coast, far enough away from the Aztec army as to not actually harm them, but close enough so that they could feel the sting of the explosive blast.

When the Aztecs witnessed the series of explosions, they panicked, nearly breaking ranks at that exact moment. They had never seen such destructive power from anything other than the forces of nature. Yet such massive explosions had taken place right in front of their very eyes, and resulted from the foreigner's actions.

The leader of the Aztec army nearly fainted upon seeing such a powerful series of blasts. He had no desire to come any closer to the fortress. After all, he and his men had witnessed why so many people had disappeared over the past few months and, rather than risk such a thing happening to himself, he would rather retreat. He was about to issue this command when he heard a shriek from among his ranks.

The leader's own son had collapsed to the ground, bleeding through his padded armor. Evidently, a piece of shrapnel had embedded itself in the man's chest and had cut his aorta artery, killing the young man in a matter of seconds. When the leader of the Aztec army saw this, he was horrified, rushing over to the boy's side and grabbing hold of his lifeless body, begging for the gods to bring him back.

"This can't be. Wake up! Wake up, my boy! Gods, please spare him!"

The other Aztec soldiers tried to comfort their commander by grasping hold of his shoulder, but this only sparked a savage reaction as the man wiped the tears from his eyes and gazed towards the German fortress with such a hatred it threatened to swallow the world. No longer in a state of reason, he ordered an attack on the fortress.

"Kill these murderous bastards! I don't care if they are gods, or men, they must pay for what they have done to my boy!"

With the order given, thousands of Aztec warriors immediately questioned their orders. They would have to be mad to obey them. They had all seen the destructive power of these weapons with their very eyes. Whoever these foreigners were, they were capable of killing a man dozens of yards away from the explosive blast of their weapons. To charge the fortress would be to voluntarily forfeit one's life.

Still, despite this hesitation, they were enraged by the senseless death of the commander's son, as well as the fact that so many of their people had gone missing. Whether it was out of foolishness or pure hate, these thousands of men rushed towards the short stone walls of the star fort, screaming their war cries as they did so.

The moment this occurred, Berengar waved his hand, signalling for the rifled breechloaders, mortars, and revolving cannons, to open fire on the enemy. A combination of 75mm, 60mm, and 40mm shells landed upon the charging army, blasting every man within its radius apart.

Despite the massive casualties suffered from a single barrage, the Aztecs continued their advance, fueled with rage a screaming horde of Aztec warriors met with an overwhelming display of masterful artillery, as with each passing second the Germans fired another shell into the enemy ranks, blasting men into mincemeat as the shells detonated on the ground near their feet.

Blood-curdling screams filled the air, and yet the German artillery never once ceased their fire, raining explosive projectiles onto the Mesoamerica coastline. Reaping the lives of thousands of Aztec warriors who tried desperately to get into range so that they could launch their primitive stone atlatl.

Just when the Aztec war leader passed the danger close range of the German Artillery, the echo of rifle fire crackled in the air, as a .45-70 projectile embedded itself in the man's skull, blasting his head apart. Upon seeing his successful kill, an overeager German soldier cried out in joy as he pulled back the bolt of his weapon, ejecting his spent cartridge before reloading his rifle.

"Got one!"

When Berengar heard this, he chuckled as he gazed upon the senseless slaughter. This was not a battle, it was a massacre. Despite the bloody scene, Berengar was unphased, he had seen enough of war to where such excessive violence had longer affected him. As he watched the conflict unfold, he heard another soldier comment on how simple things were when compared to their previous wars.

"It's Like shooting fish in a barrel!"

With the enemy passing through the realm of danger close, the hand-cranked machine guns opened fire, sending thousands of rounds of lead down range in a matter of minutes. Those who were fortunate enough to survive the artillery barrage soon found their torsos blown apart by multiple rounds.

With the commander dead, and half their forces butchered on the field of battle, the remaining Aztec warriors wisely broke ranks and fled the scene. The Germans did not cease their fire until there was nothing left to shoot at.

In a matter of minutes, the battle had begun and ended with an overwhelming German victory. After the last shot echoed in the air, Berengar gazed upon his soldiers and called out to them, searching to see if he had suffered any casualties.

"Is anyone injured?"

The German soldiers took a quick body count and found that none of them had been harmed during the battle. Thus, a confident voice filled the air, as a marine officer responded to his emperor's question.

"Not a single casualty, my kaiser!"

Upon hearing this, Berengar smirked as he once more gazed upon the bloody scene. The smell of gunpowder blood filled the air as he reflected on the next phase of his operations. With a single order, the battle came to the close.

"Secure the area. Victory is ours!"

With this said, Berengar descended from the ramparts of his fortress and returned to the holding cell where the Aztec Princess lie in wait. He planned to flaunt his victory in her face before bringing her on his journey to conquer the Aztec Empire.