Tyranny of Steel

Before the world could even react to the utter destruction of the Jalayirid Sultanate's army outside the city of Ascalon. The Bombers had already returned to Cyprus, where they quickly rearmed and refueled before taking flight again.

This rapid action was unbeknownst to the Mamluk Sultan, who sat on his steed outside the city of Alexandria with a wide grin on his face. He was confident that with the city's fall, the rest of the region would quickly surrender to his might. Thus, he was boastful and arrogant as he spoke to his eldest son, who sat by his side waiting to take part in the conquest.

"You see how the walls crumble before the overwhelming might of my artillery? Sultan Salan once said to me that in a world where man has yet to reach mastery over the skies, that artillery is king on the battlefield. 

At first I thought that old bastard was simply peddling me bullshit so that I would purchase more of his cannons. However, it appears as if the Byzantine defenders truly do not have an answer for our artillery! Before long, the city will fall, and we shall claim Egypt for our empire once more!"

The Mamluk Prince merely sat back on his horse and gazed upon the battlefield with a stoic expression. Much like how the Jalayirids had chosen to fight in Palestine, the Mamluk army simply sat back at a far enough distance that the Byzantines could not harm them, and bombarded the city's walls. Waiting for them to crumble before advancing into the city itself and slaughtering its pitiful defenders. 

There was no joy, excitement, or even wrath visible on the young man's face. Instead, if there was any emotion that could be discerned, it was that of pity. Pity for the Byzantines who, just a few years prior, had driven his father's armies to a state of desperation. Now they could not even defend a single city. 

His father was right to sit back and wait for the christians to fight among themselves. For what remained afterwards was a shadow of the Byzantine Empire's former glory. Now, after nearly a decade, his people would finally reclaim Egypt, a land of wealth and prosperity. 

The first section of the city's walls collapsed not long after, where the Muslim soldiers of the Mamluk Sultanate shouted their battlecries before charging towards the gaps in the city's defenses.

"Allahu Akbar!"

The moment the walls came down, the Mamluk Sultan broke out into a state of laughter as he proclaimed his victory over his ancient rivals all but imminent.

"Ha! You see how the stones crumble against our might! It is only a matter of time before our banners fly over Cairo!"

It was at this moment that something peculiar was spotted in the distance. At first, the Mamluk Prince thought that it was perhaps a massive flock of birds. However, as the peculiarity rapidly closed in on their position, he realized that it was something else entirely. 

For the first time since stepping foot in Byzantine Egypt, the Mamluk Prince had expressed something other than pity. While his father was enjoying his upcoming victory, the Prince tugged on the man's shoulder and pointed towards the sky with absolute fear in his dark eyes.

"Umm... Royal Father?"

Perhaps it was because he was so filled with excitement, but the Sultan did not see the one hundred planes that were rapidly approaching his army. It was not until his son said something, where he began to notice. 

"By Allah, what is that?"

While the Mamluk Sultan and his eldest son were gazing towards the sky in terror. A German pilot looked down on the field below where the hostile army was located. His headset was playing the music composed by the Kaiserin Adela von Kufstein. This track was known as the Ride of the Valkyries, and was one of Wagner's most popular songs during Berengar's past life.  A sadistic grin appeared on the man's face as he gave a strict order to the crew of his strategic bomber.

"Bombs away, lads!"

With the pull of a lever, the hatch opened, and hundreds of bombs fell free from the aircraft, down towards the enemy troops below. The ninety-nine other aircraft followed his lead and unleashed their payloads, with thousands of explosive projectiles raining from the sky like a group of avenging angels. 

On the ground below, the Mamluk Sultan gazed in terror. He did not know what was happening at this moment, but in the next second, the first of the bombs detonated, and lit up the front lines of his army with hellish flames. 

The screams of his soldiers filled the air, as the men were quickly melted into ash. Before the army could even react to the fires of Armageddon, the next line of bombs reached their targets and quickly burned away another section of the army. 

With each passing second, the sacred flames of divine judgement rapidly approached where the Sultan and his son were located. The last thoughts of the once proud monarch were cursing out his Jalayirid ally for convincing him to join in on this conquest. 

'Why the hell did I listen to that bastard? What kind of hellish nightmare is this?"

In the next second, the flames of purgatory reached the Mamluk Sultan and devoured his entire being. His scream lasted long enough to signal his death, before rapidly turning to ash, along with his eldest son and heir. 

With the Bulk of the Army defeated in a matter of seconds, and their payloads dropped. The German pilots turned their aircraft around and headed back to Cyprus, where they would rearm and refuel before launching their attack on their next target. 

Meanwhile, the city's defenders gazed upon the ashen wasteland that was left behind from the German attack, and prayed to their God in heaven, thanking him for sending his angels to save them from their imminent destruction. 

---

In the city of Kufstein, Berengar sat in his office, while signing away his signature onto a piece of legislation. One that would establish government subsidized orphanages across the Reich. This law would not only send out propaganda across the Nation to encourage the adoption of parentless children, but would make the process easy, swift, and affordable. 

Berengar himself had taken in a few children over the years as his wards, which in reality were adopted in everything but name. He intended to use this as propaganda, to lead by example so that those poor unfortunate children, who for whatever reason were left alone in this world without parents, would have a family and home to call their own. 

It was during this act that the sound of the intercom erupted within the Kaiser's office. Berengar's secretary voiced the arrival of someone that he was not expecting.

"Your Majesty, Field Marshal Adelbrand is here to see you. Shall I send him in?'

Berengar finished signing his name on the document before pressing the button on the intercom and speaking to his secretary, who sat on the other side of his office. 

"Thanks doll, you can send him in now..."

In the next moment, the door to Berengar's home office swung open, and a man in his early thirties dressed in a military uniform stood before his Kaiser with a stoic expression on his face. It was not until Berengar rose from his seat, and embraced the man as his brother, did Adelbrand finally begin to smile. 

"Adelbrand, it is good to see you, my friend. Come sit down and share a drink with me!"

Upon saying this, Berengar rushed over to his wine rack and pulled out a fine vintage before pouring it into a pair of crystal glasses. He handed one off to his General before sitting back down in his seat. Adelbrand took one sip of the substance before placing his glass on the table while handing over a folder to his Kaiser. After doing so, he began to summarize its contents.

"The Armies of the Jalayirid and Mamluk sultanates have been extinguished in the fires of war. The locals are saying that it was an act of divine intervention. All that remains is to deal with the golden horde. Shall we do so in a similar manner?" 

Berengar merely smirked when he heard this and nodded his head before giving his honest opinion on the matter.

"Of course! What's the use of having stockpiled so many napalm bombs, if we don't use them against the primitive formations of our enemies? Honestly, these barbarians make it far too easy for us to eliminate them. 

Deal with the Golden Horde as you see fit, however I want you to launch the attack when they have approached the city of Constantinople so that our allies will know just how powerful the Reich really is. Divine intervention? What a joke! This is the power of mankind himself!"

Adelbrand merely smirked and shook his head in pity for the Reich's enemies before responding to his Kaiser's orders.

"Very well, I will inform the General in charge of the Cyprus Air Base of your orders. However, once we have defeated the Golden Horde, our attention will need to be focused on India. It won't be long before the Bengal Army reaches the capital of the Yadava Dynasty."

Berengar took another sip from his glass and nodded before dismissing his greatest General.

"Of course, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, focus on annihilating the Golden Horde." 

Adelbrand stood up and saluted Berengar, leaving one last statement before departing from the room.

"As you command my Kaiser!"

---

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