Tyranny of Steel

Hours had passed since the tournament began, and currently Harthman was fighting in the finals against the man who held the National Openweight Title. These two men were bound to square off sooner or later, but only one would emerge victorious and claim the vaunted Victory Day championship belt.

Harthman was pinned on the ground, and suffering from a barrage of strikes on his face. He tried to cover with his hands, but there was only so much that could be done. Fists, elbows, and headbutts all rained down upon his face as the referee watched closely, about to call off the fight. A verbal warning was given to the man just to make this point clear.

"Fight back!"

With this said, Harthman knew defeat was imminent. Thus, he decided to go all out. He grabbed hold of one of his opponent's arms with both hands and pinned it to his chest. While simultaneously blocking the man's leg, and knee with his elbow, and leg. After suffering a few more headshots, he bridged his hips into the air, and rolled over into a reversed position with what was called the upa escape.

After doing so, Harthman got out of his opponent's guard, and stood up where he landed an axe kick on his rival's face, before stomping it repeatedly. The crowd was going wild at the sudden reversal of fortune. After taking a few shots to the head, while he was lying on the ground, the opponent struggled to get to his feet with a technical standup, however he was instantly countered with a roundhouse kick to the head which sent him tumbling back to the ground.

To finish the fight, Harthman landed a well-placed soccer kick to his opponent's head, which knocked the man out completely. The ref immediately got in Harthman's way and called off the fight. Causing Harthman to roar like a lion and punched his chest like an ape as the thousands of German citizens cried out and cheered for him. The man had showed true heart by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and the audience knew it.

Even Hans was impressed by this performance, and cheered for the man from his VIP booth. As the boy looked up at his father, he saw Berengar standing up from his spot, and descending down from the staircase before entering the ring himself. Beautiful ring girls surrounded the champion, as the Kaiser took the stage with the exquisite championship belt in his hand.

The belt was made of fine black crocodile leather, solid gold, and platinum. In the center was an ornate golden plaque which had an additional hexagonal plaque in the center, which was made of platinum with diamond edges. In the middle of this hexagon was a pair of diamond eagle wings, with a solid letter S in the middle, that was made out of rubies. The S stood for Sieg, or in other words, Victory.

Below this Winged S symbol, was the words Victory Day National Grand Prix Openweight Champion engraved into the golden plaque. Outside of this hexagon was an outline of diamonds which took the same shape,

On the sides of this center plaque were a total of two smaller rectangular plaques per side, each took the same style as the center plaque, though instead of a Winged S, they had the shape of the fatherland carved out of solid gold, and imposed upon a hexagon of platinum. The overall inspiration for the belt design was one from Berengar's past life, that belonged to an organization that was bought out in 2011 by the world's biggest MMA promotion, and shut down in 2013.

The people gazed upon this exquisite belt and cheered for the man who had earned it. As a reuslt, Berengar raised his hand to calm them down before taking the microphone from the announcer and saying a few words about the event.

"Harthman Sackweber, you put on a performance tonight that few men in this world are capable of. You have more than earned the right to call yourself the Victory Day National Grand Prix champion, and it is my esteemed honor to present you with this championship belt. How are you feeling right now?"

The fighter, who had fought through five opponents in one night, was exhausted beyond measure, and panted heavily into the microphone, as he answered Berengar's question with overwhelming pride displayed on his face and a cheeky grin.

"If I'm being honest, I feel a little lightheaded. But that's probably just from the sheer amount of punches I took to the head tonight. So nothing serious, right?"

In response to this, Berengar chuckled, as did the entire audience. It was good to see that the champion had a sense of humor. Berengar looked into his eyes to make sure he was truly okay, and the man seemed fine. Thus, he wrapped the belt around Harthman's waist and thanked him for his performance.

"On behalf of all of Germany, I want to thank you for the performance you put on tonight, as well as all of our athletes who participated in this monumental event. For the people who take this man's words seriously, do not worry, there are doctors on standby, ready to treat all the fighters here tonight. Now to all the brave men who have displayed their strength, honor, and courage on this night, go and rest, you have more than earned it!

As for the People of Germany, I hope you all celebrate the rest of this night with some fine cooking. I know in the city of Kufstein, as well as the other major urban areas, there are an ongoing feasts that will continue well into the night. Where you can all enjoy some fine German cuisine at my expense. So enjoy yourselves!"

After saying this, Berengar shook hands with the tournament winner, before departing towards his palace with his son, and guards in tow. With the tournament over, he would have to entertain his many guests. Most of which were unbelievably shocked by what they witnessed in the parade.

To no one's surprise, upon returning to the Palace, Berengar was surrounded by his guests. Among them was his father-in-law, Emperor Vetranis, who had a happy smile on his face as he approached the Kaiser before anyone else could gather his attention.

Though the man was smiling, he was far from happy. In fact, he was utterly terrified by what he had witnessed during the day. Airships and armored vehicles. The idea that Germany now controlled the Land, sea, and skies was truly a frightening prospect. Though he kept such thoughts to himself and instead asked for a minute of Berengar's time.

"It was a wonderful ceremony. I can tell you put a lot of work into this, and I assure you, that the Byzantine Empire has no ideas about settling this new world that you revealed to exist across the atlantic. We wouldn't want to step on the toes of our favorite ally. If you have a minute, I'd like to speak with you about something important regarding the future of our two realms. It will only take a minute."

Berengar smiled and nodded his head while he gripped Vetranis's shoulder in a display of dominance. Whatever the Byzantine Emperor was about to request of him, it was going to be big, and thus, Berengar had to show from the start that he was the man in charge. Thus, he led the man into a secluded area where they could discuss their business together.

After sitting down, a servant poured the two men a couple of drinks. Which Berengar tasted before asking what was on his father-in-law's mind.

"So, what could possibly be so important that you must take me away from my beloved guests? I suppose this is about Egypt and Palestine, is it not?"

Vetranis had a guilty look on his face as he nodded his head in silence. It appeared that Berengar had seen through him entirely, and thus he was about to speak his terms when Berengar raised one finger to silence the man.

Like a beaten dog, Vetranis quickly obeyed. After all, Germany had decimated the crusader forces, who he had surrendered to a few months prior. If Germany could devastate the entire Catholic World to such a degree, what hope did Byzantium have to compete? As for Berengar, once Vetranis was obedient, he stated his terms.

"I will return Egypt and Palestine to your rule, with the exception of the Sinai Peninsula under two conditions. For starters, I want you to evacuate Cyprus and hand it over to the Reich. This condition is non-negotiable.

Second, you must establish the region of Syria-Palestine as an autonomous zone, which allows the peaceful co-existence of Christians and Muslims alike. The last thing I need is for you to find yourself in another war with your Muslim neighbors. If you agree to these terms, you can consider the aforementioned regions a part of the Byzantine Empire once more. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Vetranis thought about these conditions in silence for several moments. When compared with Egypt and Palestine, Cyprus was an insignificant region. However, it was clear to the man that Berengar wanted to create a naval base there and possibly an air base if such a thing could exist.

This would undoubtedly be quite troublesome for the Byzantine Empire. However, if Berengar truly desired the island, he could simply occupy it with force, and there was really nothing Vetranis could do about it. Thus, after several moments of contemplation, the Byzantine emperor nodded his head and submitted to Berengar's demands.

"Very well. If that is the price I must pay, so be it..."

Upon hearing this, Berengar smiled, and patted the man on the back, before standing up from his seat. There was much to celebrate, and he did not want to spend any more time secluded in this tiny room with his father-in-law.

"Come, enjoy the festivities. There is much conversation to be had, and little time to do it in. I trust you will enjoy yourself."

With this said, Berengar and Vetranis returned to the feast. Cyprus would be evacuated in the coming days, where a naval base and an air base would be established, which would secure Berengar's absolute dominance over the Mediterranean. As for Egypt and Palestine, they would return to the hands of the Byzantine Empire, with a small section on the Sinai Peninsula under the control of the Reich.