Tyranny of Steel

"I'm sorry, the time for what?"

Tlexictli gazed upon Berengar with confusion in her deep brown eyes, she had no idea what he was talking about when he uttered the phrase

"The time has come..."

Berengar took some time to collect his thoughts before speaking of the news he had received. There was a smug expression on his face as he went into great details about his plans.

"My scouts report your father is mobilizing a great army with a single purpose. To investigate your disappearance and that of the others who have discovered our little settlement here on the coastline. It is my intention to lay waste to this army as a display of German Superiority. Only after I have gunned down your soldiers, will I use you as leverage in the following negotiations."

Tlexictli was shocked to hear Berengar's plots for control over her people, she had suspected he had come to these lands with ill intentions, but she never knew he wanted to enslave her people, thus she rose in from her seat in indignation and pressed Berengar against the cold stone wall. Despite the threatening gesture, Berengar only had a smug smirk on his face as he questioned her actions.

"You think it is a good idea to harm me? Did you forget you are my prisoner? With a single command, I could have your head removed..."

When Tlexictli heard this threat, she gazed at Berengar in shock before letting go of him. She swiftly sat back in her seat as Berengar adjusted his medals. After he had sat down across from the Aztec Princess, she began to question his motives.

"Why are you doing this?"

When Berengar heard this, he scoffed at the girl's naivety before lecturing her on the reality of the world.

"Why am I doing this? Why does anyone? My reasoning is simple. It is all about resources, and your people are sitting on a massive reserve of silver and gold that I desperately need. This is nothing personal, Tlexictli, and for what it's worth, I rather like you. You are far more civilized than I initially thought you would be. Besides, I think you are mistaken about what it is that I wish to accomplish here in your lands..."

The Aztec Princess scoffed as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, placing her bare feet on the table as she did so.

"Oh really? You don't wish to conquer our empire, enslave my people, and sacrifice us to your gods?"

Berengar broke out into a fit of laughter as he heard this, so much so that tears began to form in his eyes. The idea that the German people were so savage that they would commit human sacrifice was truly laughable to the man.

It had been nearly a millennium since the Germans last engaged in such a barbaric practice, and even then historians disputed whether such rituals were nothing more than anti-pagan propaganda preached by the Church to condemn their rivals. Ultimately, Berengar wiped a tear from his eye before responding to this absurd statement.

"No, to all of those things. I do not plan to conquer your people and annex your territory into my Empire. Nor do I intend to enslave a single person within your realm. As for human sacrifice, that is the last thing I would ever do in this world. My people are more civilized than yours. We do not engage is such brutal rituals."

This answer perplexed the Aztec Princess, as she did not know what else it would be that Berengar would demand of her father, until a certain idea rattled around in her mind, causing her to blush, and back away from Berengar, which caused the man to look at her strangely. Ultimately, she revealed what idea had caused her to react in such a way.

"I'll admit that I find you attractive, but I have no intentions of marrying you, Berengar von Kufstein."

In response to this, Berengar merely scoffed before shattering the girl's tsundere act.

"Oh please, German Law states I'm allowed one more marriage, and no offense, but I can do better than you. But... If you would like to be my mistress, I wouldn't mind it. After all, you have a sort of appeal that none of my other wives have..."

This response had caused Tlexictli to slam her head on the table in embarrassment. She could not believe she had thought this man wanted to marry her. She simply ignored everything else he had said, so devastated by the phrase "I can do better than you" that she had completely blocked out Berengar's suggestion.

Eventually, she recovered and was confused. If he did not want to conquer her people, and did not want her hand in marriage, then why the hell was he behaving so hostile towards her people? She could only ask, rather than jump to another assumption.

"Okay... fine... I'll bite. What is it that you do want?" Panda Novel

In response to this, a smug grin appeared on Berengar's face as he once more lectured the girl on his plans.

"Oh, it's very simple. I want to force your father to recognize the German Empire as his superior, so that he may offer tribute to us in exchange for our protection..."

A scowl formed on the Aztec princess's face as she heard this before stubbornly responding to Berengar's claim.

"Protection? We don't need your protection!"

In response to this, Berengar chuckled once more before revealing the truth of the matter.

"What, do you seriously think we Germans are the only ones across the Atlantic Ocean? We may be the mightiest Empire in this world, but there are plenty of other powerful states where I come from, any number of which could steamroll your pathetic and primitive empire. Yes, you do need our protection.

Unfortunately, I am well aware that you come from a proud warrior culture, and there is no way your father would agree to my demands without a brutal display of our overwhelming superiority. So yes, I will shed the blood of your armies, and then I will march into your capital as Conqueror, demanding that your father pay tribute in the form of gold, silver, oil, and whatever other resources I damn well please.

In exchange for this tribute, you, or what is left of your civilization when I am through with it, can continue to exist in the lands I designate as a tributary state under the protection of the mighty German Empire. Albeit in a far more civilized state. Now that you understand my plans, I have but one question to ask: Am I not merciful?"

Tlexictli did not respond to Berengar, rather she looked to the side with tears in her eyes. Realizing that the man who had saved her life would be the death of her people's sovereignty in this world. Had she fought to the death with Berengar in that river valley, then perhaps her people might be spared. Berengar, of course, did not take well to this defiance and raised from his seat, grabbing hold of the woman's face, forcing her to look into his eye as he screamed at her with his loudest voice.

"Am I not merciful!?!"

Such a vicious response provoked a sense of fear in the woman, causing her to instinctively flinch. She then bowed her head in submission with a silent nod. After seeing this, Berengar smirked and released the Aztec Princess's pretty face, before sitting back in his chair and commenting on her previous actions.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

After saying this, Berengar rose from his seat once more, before knocking on the steel door with three loud pounds of the fist. Immediately, the guards on the other side opened it, where Berengar stepped into the doorway, leaving one last remark to the Aztec Princess before departing.

"You should prepare yourself, as you have a role to play in all of this. Until then, sit back, and listening to the roaring thunder of my guns as they slaughter your father's army."

With that said, Berengar turned away, and the guards sealed the door behind him, leaving Tlexictli alone to sulk about everything she had heard. As for Berengar, he marched out into the courtyard and climbed the steps into the fortifications. Gazing off into the clearing that his soldiers had made. Soon the Aztec Army would arrive, and the German soldiers would defend their position.

It was this in mind that Berengar smirked as he gazed upon the Empire's flag, flapping in the wind. A symbol of the Reich's glory forever to stand on these shores until the end of time. Here he would make his stand, and in doing so, bring true civilization to this land of savages.

Perhaps in a few centuries, the Aztecs and the other Mexica people, who were under the yoke of their tyranny, would thank him for ending the barbaric rituals of slavery and human sacrifice. However, he severely doubted this, for in his past life, the people that the European Empires so graciously brought modern civilization to ended up despising them. These were the thoughts that flowed through Berengar's mind as he gazed into the distance and waited for the arrival of the Aztec Army.