Tyranny of Steel

Berengar stood in his war room, with the exiled Anangpur Emperor Dharya Tomara by his side. Aside from Berengar, there were also German Officers from each branch of the military, along with Intelligence Agents who relayed the latest information from the field.

Emperor Asha Sarkar of the Bengal Empire had officially marched his army into his western neighbor, known as the Ganga Dynasty. In doing so, he had proclaimed that the Anangpur Empire would be the last of his conquests of the Indian Subcontinent, but the most brutal of them all.

This gave Berengar the perfect opportunity to wage war against Chandra Tomara and place the rightful emperor back on the throne, but as a puppet beneath the control of the Reich. Berengar was now within his palace's war room, discussing the invasion plan with his officers.

Dharya was permitted to attend since he was the man who would be established as the new ruler of the Anangpur Empire. The room was in chaos, as locations were constantly being marked on the map that contained reported zones of conflict within the Indian subcontinent.

While this chaos was unfolding within the war room, Berengar moved a bunch of figures which represented a carrier strike group, and the attached landing craft near the shores of the Anangpur Empire.

Three years had passed since Berengar began his Pax Germania, and the first batch of Germany's Carrier strike groups were now operational and deployed around the globe to project power in different spheres of influence. The one that was being dispatched to the Indian Subcontinent was currently located at the Naval Base in the Malacca strait. After moving his pieces to their correct locations, Berengar boldly states his plan for the invasion of the Anangpur Empire.

"We will dispatch the Sixth Fleet to the shores of the Anangpur Empire, where our dive bombers on board the Carrier will attack vital military outposts and garrisons from the skies above. As this occurs, we will send our marines onto the shores who will make their way to the Capital here in Anangpur. It will be a long trek, but by the time they arrive, the Palace will have already fallen, and the false emperor will be captured!"

Dharya was in a state of disbelief when he saw the strategy Berengar had come up with. It took him several moments to understand everything that was in play, and when he did, he had one simple question in his mind.

"How do you intend to take the capital before the main force can plow their way through the half of the Empire?"

In response to this, Berengar merely snickered before moving another group of models from the island of Cyprus straight towards the Capital of the Anangpur Empire. These models were Ju 390s, and were meant to represent troop transports. When Dharya figured this out, he quickly asked another question, but was cut off before he could finish.

"You don't mean to-"

Berengar smiled, nodded his head, and patted the young man on the back with approval before responding.

"It is exactly as you are thinking. I will air drop two battalion's worth of Jaegers into the Capital, who will secure the Palace, and the city, while the Marines push through the rest of the Empire. With such overwhelming firepower in their hands, along with the knowledge and experience to properly wield it, even your uncle's most elite soldiers will not stop them."

A hint of excitement appeared on Dharya's face as he realized after all these years, he was finally about to gain his vengeance against his uncle, who usurped his position and poisoned his sister. He gazed fondly upon the man in front of him before cracking a joke at Berengar's expense.

"My Uncle always feared an ancient and obscure prophesy. He believed that the Anangpur Princess would seduce a one eyed devil from the west into invading her homeland, and destroying it. However, looking at you now, you have two eyes, don't you?"

Berengar chuckled when he heard this remark before commenting on it with his fucked up sense of humor.

"If you want, I can remove this eye and take your sister as my mistress. Would that make you feel better?"

Dharya stared at Berengar in silence for a few moments, knowing the man's personality. It was entirely possible he would do something so outrageous, just to add an additional layer of icing to the cake, so to speak. However, he simply shook his head in response, and denied Berengar's solution to a non-existent problem.

"Nah, I think it would be best if you did neither of those two things..."

In response to this, the two men broke out into a shared laughter, which lasted for several seconds. After calming themselves, Dharya shifted to a more serious topic, and asked the most important question on his mind.

"So, when do we begin?"

Berengar cocked a brow at the boy emperor before responding to his question.

"Didn't I already tell you? This is already in motion. Within six hours, your uncle's reign will come to an end, and your throne will be returned to you. You will be able to return to your homeland and restore your dynasty to its former glory."

Dharya had an excited expression on his face as he nodded his head in agreement. That is, until the moment the Kaiser opened his mouth once more.

"Of course, Priya will stay here in Kufstein with me."

The moment the exiled emperor heard these words, his excitement turned to fury as he glared daggers at his benefactor, who had a smug smile on his face. Dharya was not willing to accept this outcome and immediately rejected the very notion of Priya staying with Berengar.

"Absolutely not. I will never allow such a thing to come to pass. Priya belongs with me in our home! What gives you the right to keep her here under lock and key?"

It was at this moment, Berengar's smug smirk turned to a frown, as he walked up to Dharya and stared down at him. There was a fierce glint in the Kaiser's mismatched eyes as his voice echoed with the authority of a tyrant.

"I swore to protect your sister from any and all threats. You may be Emperor of Anangpur once more, but that does not mean that it is safe for your sister back in your ancestral home. If your uncle believes this prophecy, then how many of his followers do as I well? Will they not strike at her from the shadows as they have done in the past?

I assure you, I will treat the girl the same way I have treated her for years, as if she were one of my loved ones. However, she's not returning with you to Anangpur. You can bitch and moan all you want, but in the end, we both know you will agree to my demands. You can think of this as assurance..."

Dharya had always known that Berengar was never helping him and his sister out of the kindness of his own heart, but he never expected the man to make such an outrageous demand. If Berengar wanted Priya to stay in Kufstein, he should have married the girl, like was once suggested to him. Yet he declined this offer, thus the exiled emperor could only ask the question that was currently plaguing his mind.

"What kind of assurance?"

A wicked grin appeared on Berengar's handsome face as he leaned over and whispered into Dharya's ear.

"So long as your sister lives with me, I can be assured that you will toe the line. After all, the last thing I need is a puppet who does not obey his master. So long as you obey yourself, I won't coerce the girl into joining my bed.

But if she just so happens to decide that is what she desires on her own, I won't reject her. After all, she has grown into such a beautiful young woman. As a man, how could I send her away when she's begging for my love?"

Dharya clenched his fists in response to this. He had every urge in his body to strike the Kaiser, and yet, his fear prevented him from doing so. All he could say was once simple phrase.

"You bastard!"

Berengar merely feigned offense as he corrected the errant youth for his poor choice of words.

"Bastard? No, I'm afraid I am something far worse. You really should have listened to your uncle. I may not be the devil, but I am the closest thing in this world to it. Now run along and let the men handle this operation. You just need to look pretty for your triumphant return."

With this said, Berengar turned his back to Dharya, leaving the young man to fume in his rage. Despite Dharya's reservations, Berengar was correct in everything he said. In the end, the boy emperor did nothing, and agreed to the Kaiser's demands. No matter how much he wished he could refuse.