Tyranny of Steel
chapter-801

Berengar sat on a sofa inside the Palace of Kraków. After defeating the Kingdom of Hungary, he had rapidly transported his army to his Empire's eastern border with Poland via the Reich's national railway. After arriving at the border, he marched his army to his last remaining enemy's capital.

The King of Poland and his eldest son were dead, leaving a small child with the position. As for the Grand Duke of Lithuania, he was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, which was the same dynasty which ruled over Poland. Because of this, he was present in the Krakow palace, sitting across from Berengar with a nervous expression on his face. Currently, Berengar glared at the Grand Duke while stating his demands.

"The war is over, your armies are drowned in the Mediterranean. Your King is presumed dead, and Germany now occupies your capital without the slightest resistance. You have no power to resist my demands. Which is good, because they are quite simple.

Princess Natalia is to marry my son Hans when the two of them come of age. The heir of their union shall become the next king of Poland. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania is to be annexed by the Kingdom of Poland, and form a single Kingdom under the rule of my grandson.

In the meantime, I will place a man that I trust as the Steward of Poland, who shall rule until the next King comes of age to succeed the throne. There is no room for negotiations. You are all completely at my mercy, and I intend to make the most of it."

The Grand Duke of Lithuania grimaced when he heard the extent of the German demands. It was utterly humiliating. Not only had they suffered unimaginable losses in this war, but the dynasty that had ruled over Poland for centuries would be removed from power. In its place, a German Prince would become King and the von Kufstein dynasty would reign for the foreseeable future.

Though Berengar was right, he could not very well refuse, or else the German Army would unleash hell upon Kraków, just as they had done to Warsaw years prior. This was something that the Grand Duke had to avoid at all costs. Thus, he begrudgingly signed Berengar's horrendous peace treaty.

After seeing the man sign away the rights to his Kingdom, Berengar wore a cruel smile as he stood up and prepared to return to the borders of the Reich. With the surrender of Italy, Burgundy, Hungary, and Poland-Lithuania, there was only one Kingdom left who was foolish enough to side with the Papacy in this brutal conflict. Upon exiting the door to the room in which they had negotiated the treaty in, Berengar halted his steps and looked back one last time, before giving a sinister warning to the Grand Duke of Lithuania.

"Twice in one decade I have had to send my armies into Poland. If I have to do so again, I will burn this wretched backwood to the ground. Do I make myself clear?"

The Grand Duke of Poland turned pale when he heard this threat before nodding his head in obedience. Upon seeing this, Berengar departed from the palace and regrouped with his Army. When his officers gathered around him, he dispatched his orders.

"We will march back to the closest railway station. From there, we can send home the men in our army. The war is nearly over. All that is left is for me to cross via a train into Hamburg and set sail for Windsor. Where I will force whatever Pitiful Prince has succeeded that fool Lawrence into a similar treaty that Poland must endure."

Upon hearing these orders, the German officers quickly relayed them to the soldiers, who began the short trek back to the fatherland. They were all relieved to hear that after months of fighting, they would return home. As for Berengar, the moment he found the nearest train station, he rode all the way to Hamburg, where he boarded a frigate and sailed the Sixth Fleet across the North Sea and into the river Thames, where the men disembarked into the Palace at Windsor.

The Germans had already wiped out the English Army on the Sinai Peninsula, and what few troops remained as a garrison did not dare engage the German Marines in combat. Berengar marched his soldiers through the streets until they entered the Courtyard of Windsor Palace, where he entered the building along with a company of his Reichsgarde.

The current King was a teenage boy by the name of James. It petrified him when he saw the Germans enter his home unannounced. He had not been expecting them to so boldly land on the shores of England. James stared at the one eyed Kaiser in disbelief as he struggled to find the words to speak.

Berengar merely scoffed when he saw that the teenage boy was practically wetting himself in fear. He immediately motioned for the kid to sit down at a nearby table. James's legs were about to buckle in terror, and he was thankful that he was allowed to sit. Once the boy had taken his seat, Berengar sat across from him and glared in silence for several moments before uttering the words in his mind.

"I wonder... Do I need to kill you and replace you with someone who will accept my demands, or will you be wise enough to do as you're told? Let me make this abundantly clear to you. Your King is presumed dead. What remains of your army is being picked clean by jackals and carrions as we speak, and you have no ability to continue this fight. If you resist, I will order my warships to bombard this city until nothing remains.

Since you have no ability to resist my demands, I will state them outright, and if you refuse, I will shoot you in the head and drag out one of your siblings to sign my words into law. Am I understood?"

At this point, James could not contain his bladder anymore and wet his pants. When Berengar saw this, he felt enraged, as if the boy's actions were the ultimate disrespect. He grabbed the young man by the nape of his neck and slammed his head into the puddle he had left on the floor.

"You fucking cunt, do you have any idea how much these boots cost? You dare to dirty my feet with your urine? Clean it up, now!"

James whimpered and cried as he was forced to lick up his own mess. He wanted to throw up, but resisted the urge to do so, fearing that he might be forced to clean up such a mess himself. After literally licking Berengar's boots clean. Berengar released his hold over the boy and sat him down once again while letting him off with a warning.

"Do that again, and I will shoot you in the head. Now... where were we? Oh, right! My demands. As of this moment, the House of Lancaster shall cede all titles and holdings to the von Kufstein Dynasty. Specifically to my son Kristoffer. Until he comes of age, I will act as Regent of England, and leave a Steward to clean up this shithole of Kingdom and the mess that your father made.

As for your dynasty, I really don't care what you do, but should you dare to raise your banners in rebellion against my son, or even so much as make a drunken claim over England I will obliterate every member of your family and all of your cadet branches. Do I make myself clear?"

James was crying profusely, but he managed to nod his head and spoke up in agreement.

"Yes..."

Upon saying this, Berengar smiled and pat the boy on the head before reassuring him everything will be fine.

"Good, do not fret, clearly by the way you are acting, you would have never made a good King. You should take solace in the fact that a proper ruler will be guiding your people in the future."

After saying this, Berengar departed from Windsor and made the long voyage back to Kufstein. On this day, he had forced the last two of his remaining enemies into submission. He chuckled to himself when he realized the Scots were the only Catholic Kingdom that had been wise enough to stay out of the war. However, they would be dealt with in the coming years by his son, who would unify the British isles into a single Kingdom.

As of this moment, the war with the Papacy was over, and the German Empire held hegemony over all of Europe. After ten years, Berengar had finally finished his lifelong goal. Now he could spend the rest of his life in peace and prosperity. Or so he thought. Unfortunately for Berengar, another threat lay in the far east, one that would demand his attention for many years to come.