Tyranny of Steel

Itami sat within her war room with a frustrated expression on her pretty face. The war in Borneo had been going on for roughly two weeks at this point, and the losses she suffered were growing with each passing day. 

Still, the ground she gained was no meagre amount. Many of the Majapahit fortifications within the Northern portion of the island had been completely seized by the Imperial Japanese Army, and yet the gains she had made were met with new difficulties. 

In a shocking display of events, the anti-aircraft guns that the Japanese bombers had eliminated were quickly replaced, and once more Itami's planes were denied air superiority. Without the ability to safely launch reconnaissance aircraft in the skies above Borneo, it was anyone's guess at just how the Majapahit had been preparing their defenses. 

As if things couldn't get any worse, Itami was, of course, met with more bad news, as was spoken by an agent of Japanese Intelligence, who had a nervous expression on his chiseled face as he summarized the reports in his hands. 

"As a result of our conquest of the Northern Philippines, the Ming Emperor has officially condemned us, and cut off all trade as well as any diplomatic ties. Our merchants in China have been expelled, and we have lost contact with our intelligence agents in the area.

If that wasn't bad enough, Every Japanese citizen currently located within the Majapahit empire has been arrested and detained under suspicion of espionage and sabotage. Furthermore, we have received letters of condemnation from every major power that has signed the Vienna Accords.

In other news the German navy has secured the waters leading to Java and Sumatra, claiming they are protecting their trade routes to China and access to their colonies in the south. This means that attacking the Majapahit capital to end this war quickly will not be possible without going through them. So far, they have shown no direct aggression, but they are preventing us from attacking the supply lines which they are providing for the Borneo defenders.

This is actually how the anti-aircraft guns which we have destroyed were so quickly replaced. It would appear the Germans either have a bunch of these weapons lying around, or have an industrial capacity that we have sorely underestimated." 

Itami could only sigh in defeat. Even though the Germans were supplying her enemies, there was no way she would dare to give the order to attack German shipping. That would be counter productive. The entire reason she had invaded Borneo was to get her hands on aluminum which was required for more advanced aircraft. 

If the Germans were to become directly involved in this conflict, then it was truly only a matter of time before her forces were thoroughly defeated. The Japanese Empress had to think carefully about how she would move forward with her plans. If she made one wrong move, she would have to face the full fury of the reich. 

Itami sat in silence for several moments before dismissing the Intelligence Agent. Where she began to concoct the next phase of her offensive. 

---

While Itami was sitting back in her palace coordinating the war effort in Borneo, the Majapahit defenders were doing everything they could to hold the line. After years of listening to German propaganda against the Japanese, few men were willing to surrender willingly, and most units had fought to utter annihilating in the face of the Japanese advance. 

In the jungles of Borneo, a few camouflage men rushed through the woods with their weapons in hand. Suddenly the Sergeant of this squad raised his arm and immediately the unit halted in their tracks. They could hear the engines of the Type 4 medium tanks roaring in the distance, and thus the men slung their rifles over their shoulders, and replaced them with a peculiar weapon. 

Not only had the Germans been selling the Royal Majapahit Army dedicated anti-tank guns to be used in their trenches against the enemy armor, but they had also been selling Panzerfausts to the Majapahit Empire. Each man in this guerilla squad was equipped with one of these weapons, and thus they hid in the foliage, waiting for the enemy armor to reveal itself. 

Among these Majapahit guerillas was a boy no older than sixteen. He loaded his Panzerfaust two fifty and ensured it was ready to fire while aiming down its sights onto the dirt road in front of him. Soon enough, the tanks and APCs began to roll buy, where the sergeant of the squad gave the order to attack.

With the pull of a trigger, a series of rocket-propelled grenades flew through the woods before exploding against the enemy's armored vehicles. The damage was devastating, as the type 4 tanks in the front and rear of the formation were rendered inoperable. This forced the Japanese soldiers to bail from their APCs only to be welcomed by machine gun fire. 

Among these Majapahit guerillas was a man with an Mg27(t) light machine gun, who immediately began to spray lead into the Japanese ranks. Blood burst forth from the torsos as multiple bullets found their way into the bodies of the Japanese soldiers. 

Though they desperately tried to return fire, the Japanese were perfectly caught in an ambush, and those who left the safety of their vehicles were quickly slaughtered. As for those who did not dare to present themselves, they were unfortunate enough to die where they sat. As the Majapahit guerillas opened up the hatches to the armored vehicles and tossed stick grenades inside, which killed any living being contained within. 

It would be some time before the Japanese realized that this armored column was annihilated, and by the time they did, the guerillas who had taken it out would be long gone. The Majapahit guerillas looted whatever weapons and munitions they found useful from the corpses of the slain before hauling ass back to camp.

---

Berengar sat in his office, with the Majapahit Princess on his lap. Anggraini. was naturally deeply worried about her people, and had visited her lover to hear about the latest updates of the conflict in Borneo. 

The man had not said much, and instead stared at a document on his desk. The folder contained a detailed report about the Royal Majapahit Army's capabilities and was written by German field agents embedded in Borneo.  This caught Anggraini's glimpse who was quick to inquire just what her lover had been staring at. 

"What's in the folder?"

In truth, Berengar did not want to have to make an immediate decision on what was contained within the document, however since the woman had asked he was quick to give her the honest truth, especially when it was about her people. 

"It's a report about the ongoing conflict in Borneo. There are a few suggestions from my agents in the field on how to increase the zeal of the Majapahit defenders."

This caught Anggraini's curiosity, and thus she looked over at her man and interrogated him about his hesitation.

"Suggestions? Like what?"

Berengar sighed heavily before taking a large swig from his chalice. It was only after he felt the effects of the alcohol did he reveal what was troubling him. 

"One of my agents has suggested we introduce a bounty system where we would pay Majapahit soldiers for every Japanese soldier they kill. It's a minor sum really, but for them it would be quite a bit of money. This would, of course, increase morale and make your people more willing to engage in combat."

Anggraini did not understand why Berengar was hesitating to implement such a system, which she was quick to give voice to. 

"Is there any reason in particular you haven't yet agreed to this bounty system?"

The Kaiser could only sigh, and take another swig before announcing the issues he had with such a thing.

"Eventually my people will go to war with Japan, and if we were to introduce such a system against them in Borneo, then they would likely retaliate in kind. The last thing I need is for my soldiers to be dismembered for proof of a kill."

Though Anggraini understood Berengar's reasoning for hesitating, she still wanted to do everything she could for her people, and thus she pleaded with her man to take the risk and implement the bounty system. 

"I know I'm being selfish, but if this bounty system can help increase the morale of my people in their defense, then I think it is worth the risk. Won't you at least consider it?"

Berengar gazed over at the document once more and took another sip from his chalice before opening up the document and given his stamp of approval. He knew that this idea would compel the Majapahit defenders to begin hunting the Japanese soldiers as sport, and as long as he could deny that this was an idea of the Reich, then he could ensure that such a brutal system was not implemented against his own armies when the time came for war. 

Upon seeing her man stamp his approval on the document, Anggraini jumped with joy before kissing Berengar passionately on the lips. The two of them would spend the next few hours getting reacquainted with one another, as it had been some time since Anggraini had been intimate with her lover. 

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