Tyranny of Steel

While the war between Germany and Japan continued to wage in full intensity, Berengar was sitting back in his palace's war room with a stoic expression on his face. He had just now heard from Adelbrand about the breakthroughs that the German soldiers had made in both Korea and Borneo.

While Berengar's heart with heavy, after hearing that in both combined fronts, the Germans had lost nearly ten thousand soldiers within the first week of the war. The casualties inflicted upon the Japanese were two to three times the number, at the very least. While men and machines could be replaced, every drop of German blood which was spilled in this war was seen as a monumental waste by the Kaiser.

Still, that did not deter him from doing what was necessary. Thus, he had been sitting in his war room, waiting for the most recent reports from the battlefield. He was almost in a trance as he took in the various information that was being discussed by the agents of Military Intelligence, along with the Military officers who ran each major branch.

This trance was eventually broken by a particularly gleeful shriek which occurred in the Luftwaffe's dedicated section of the war room. Before he could even acquire as to what had just happened, a familiar face appeared before him.

Anne von Wittelsbach, the youngest princess of Bavaria, and the fiancee to Berengar's eldest son, had entered into service shortly after graduating from the Aerial Warfare Academy. She had opted to become a leading part of the Luftwaffe's Cryptanalysis department, whose entire task until this point was to break through the Japanese code of encryption. After much effort, the day had finally come, and Anne rushed forward towards the Kaiser with a translated document in her hand.

"My Kaiser, please take a look at this!"

Berengar swiftly looked over the document and was surprised to see the report from Japanese High command to its Naval forces.

"Priority Command: To the Admirals of the first and second fleets, by order of the Empress herself. You must eliminate the German fleet stationed outside the southern tip of Borneo by any means necessary!"

Berengar had suspected for some time that Itami was targeting his Carrier Strike Group which was currently conducting operations off the coast of Borneo. However, he had no idea where the Japanese fleet was located, or how many ships would be involved in the battle.

The document further continued with commands of each ship. In total, the Japanese had dispatched roughly twice as many ships to defeat Berengar as he had in a single carrier strike group. This was definitely concerned, but judging by the fact that Itami had only a few years to prepare her Navy, Berengar suspected that this was at most 2/3s of her entire Navy, if not all of it. Thus, he had a sadistic grin on his face as he gave a command to Anne that she would relay to the Sixth Carrier Strike Group.

"Order Admiral Nolthe Schriber to withdraw the CSG from Borneo's coastline, and force the Japanese fleet to give chase to midway. By the time he and his fleet reach there, they should have the full support of the 8th and 10th CSGs. It's time that Japan learns just how outmatched they are in this war!"

Anne did as she was instructed and quickly relayed Berengar's commands to the three Carrier Strike Groups stationed in the Pacific. Though she was internally worried, knowing that Hans would be partaking in the massive naval battle that was sure to occur as a result of these orders.

While Berengar was making plans to entrap the Japanese fleets, Itami was blissfully unware that her codes of encryption had already been cracked by the Agents of the Reich. Currently, she was facing a crisis like no other.

Barely a week had passed since the war had begun, and already she had lost anywhere between thirty and fifty thousand men, over a thousand armored vehicles, six destroyers, and a quarter of her transport ships. This was frankly a disastrous start to the war, and was made even worse by the fact that most of her best pilots had been shot out of the skies above Borneo and Korea.

Planes could be swiftly replaced, but pilots took two years of training, and she knew in her heart that she did not have that much time to end this war. Especially as her front lines had already collapsed in both major theaters of combat.

Berengar had chosen the most optimal time to declare war, she had at most three days from the start of the war, to take what little remained of Majapahit Borneo, while also reinforcing the beaches to withstand a full-scale german invasion. Unfortunately for the Japanese, less Germans died in the landings of Borneo than Americans did on D-Day in her past life.

Itami knew that if the war continued on like this, it would be a matter of months before her army was isolated on the Japanese mainland, awaiting a German invasion from all sides. Once that had occurred, there was no hope of victory.

Currently, the Albino beauty was looking over the maps within her palace's war room, intensely focused on the figures which represented the German carrier strike group. Any minute now, the first major naval battle of the war would occur, outside that small incident off the coasts of Korea, where her transport convoy had been sunk.

She knew Japan had to win this battle, or else there was no conceivable way she would be able to build enough ships to replace her losses. Which seemed to be a common theme for Japan at the moment. Thus, she patiently waited for her Admirals to inform her of the battle's status.

Naturally, it came as a monumental surprise when the Admiral looked up at her with a rather grim look on his face. Itami could not believe that two of her fleets had been sunk so quickly, and quick to bark at the timid Admiral, every word she spoke was laced with venom.

"What is it!?!"

The Admiral tried his best to gain his composure, but his voice still cracked as he gave the news he knew would enrage the young empress.

"Tenno-heika sama... The German fleet has taken off in the opposite direction. Should we pursue the fleet or bombard the German position on Borneo?"

Itami knew that the one fleet in Singapore was not the Reich's full naval strength, and she was also aware that if they stopped their pursuit of even a moment, it was entirely possible for the German fleet to regroup with another. If such a thing occurred, her chances of total naval supremacy would come to a swift end. Thus, she did not hesitate to give the order to hunt down the German fleet.

"Under no circumstances are our fleets to halt their pursuit. I want the German fleet sunk before they have time to regroup with their allies. Do you understand me?!!?"

Naturally, the Admiral nodded his head in agreement before relaying the Empress's orders to the two fleets in question. The room remained dreadfully silent as Itami glared at the map, waiting for the moment the decisive naval battle had begun. A single questioned escaped her lips as she did so.

"Just where are you headed?"