Tyranny of Steel

Weeks passed since the Battle of Busan had ended, and during this time, the German Army surprisingly did nothing. Naturally, Japan took advantage of this time to withdraw their civilians from Tsushima while replacing them with several armored divisions' worth of soldiers.

With the loss of Korea, the Imperial Japanese industry was now relying on the stockpiles of iron and coal that they had gained from their occupation of the region to further manufacture weapons of war. It was becoming increasingly clear to Itami that these supplies would not last another six months, and thus she was desperate to pump out as many weapons as she possibly could in this time frame.

Nearly two months passed before Itami finally heard word of the German's movements, and when she did, it came in the form of a direct message from the Kaiser himself. Berengar had reached out to Itami via the embassy in Beijing to personally request her surrender.

When Itami picked up the line, she was absolutely livid to hear from the man who had declared war on her only a few months after they both fought so hard to retain the fragile peace that previously existed between their two realms. She was quick to give the man a piece of her mind.

"Are you happy now? Hundreds of thousands of my people lie dead, my Empire is in ruins, and yet I am still l determined to fight for the continued survival of my people. Let it be known Berengar von Kufstein, if you send your forces to Japan, I will make them bleed for every inch of ground they steal!" 

Silence remained on the other end for some time until, finally, Itami heard a rather loud and forceful sigh. 

"If you and your men are so determined to fight to the bitter end, then so be it. I will give you three days to reconsider. If you fail to surrender to me in this time frame, then don't blame me for taking the gloves off. Until now, I have fought this war with a certain amount of chivalry. However, enough of my men have suffered for your greed and avarice. But no longer. This is your final warning. Surrender, or suffer the consequences. That is all I have to say on the matter."

Before Itami could even properly respond to this statement, Berengar had hung up the line, causing her to become furious at his actions. She vented her fury for some time, but ultimately ignored Berengar's orders. 

---

Three days passed, and Berengar stood in his war room, watching his wrist watch, waiting for the exact moment to give the order to attack. As the hands struck twelve, he sighed heavily in defeat before picking up the radio-phone, where he immediately contacted a man he had dispatched to Korea for a specific purpose.  The familiar voice of Berengar's Reichsgarde commander immediately resounded on the other side of the line as he spoke with a hint of malicious glee in his tone. 

"So, I'm assuming the bitch has still refused to surrender?"

Berengar silently nodded his head before realizing that Heimerich could not see his actions, and thus immediately gave voice to his thoughts.

"Indeed. You know what to do..."

After saying this, Berengar hung up before the man could respond, and swiftly retreated to his chair within the war room, where he sat down and stared out into space. Knowing full well what was just about to unfold and lamenting that things had ultimately come down to this. 

---

Somewhere in Korea, an attractive golden haired man smiled cruelly as he held a phone in his hand. He nimbly dialed the number that would connect him to his immediate subordinate. Who was standing by and waiting for the orders to begin their dastardly plot. The moment the line connected, Heimerich gave the order to initiate the attack.

"The Kaiser has given his approval to proceed as planned. I think it is about time we test our newest weapon on the battlefield."

The response to this statement was a brief reply, but with a stern tone in the voice. 

"Yes, Generalfeldmarschall."

Upon hearing this, Heimerich smiled, and hung up the phone, where he quickly proceeded out of the flaps of his tent, and onto the edge of a nearby cliff, where he gazed off into the distance to where Tsushima lied. He spoke only to himself as he aired his thoughts aloud. 

"If Empress Itami does not surrender even after this, then I fear I may be able to finally get my fill of enjoyment in this war after all..."

---

An entire wing of jet bombers flew high in the skies above the Korea Strait. They had launched from the German Air Base in Singapore, and had been travelling for the last few hours at high speeds and altitude. These were not the standard carrier borne Ar-234 light bombers. Instead, these were long range jet bombers of recent manufacture. 

The Messerschmitt P.1107 also known as the Me 462 was a long-range strategic jet bomber designed as a prototype by the Germans during the Second World War of Berengar's past life, and during the past two months, had recently entered production in this world. Currently, this plane was being mass produced to replace the aging Me 264s which were currently in widespread service. 

On board these strategic bombers was a special payload of a deadly ordinance, that Berengar had only decided to deploy now that the war was nearing completion. Initially Berengar was willing to give Itami a chance to surrender, but predictably she had stubbornly refused to do so, and thus brought a disastrous fate upon her troops. 

It was beginning to seem that this war was taking an awfully similar turn as the Pacific Theatre during Berengar's past life. Since he had not yet begun the refinement of nuclear material, and had no plans to develop nuclear weapons in this lifetime. Berengar had to make use of a different weapon of mass destruction to prove his point to the emboldened Empress, who would rather see her civilization destroyed, then surrender. 

The crew on board these bombers were rather hesitant to drop their payloads, knowing full well just what kind of horrific fate would await those affected by these weapons. However, they had been assured before this mission began that the Empire of Japan had evacuated all civilians from the Island of Tsushima, and thus an element of guilt that would otherwise grip their hearts was not present. 

Eventually, the bombers flew over Tsushima, where they dropped their payloads. Each aircraft carried four thousand kilograms worth of ordnance, for a grand total of three hundred and fourteen thousand kilograms. 

As the bombs fell from the skies above Tsushima, the Japanese Defenders rather instinctively took cover in their bunkers and tunnels. However, when the ordinance finally detonated, it was not, in fact, a fiery explosion that occurred, but rather a clear and colorless mist, which spread across the entire island, killing every living thing. 

What was dropped was not an explosive compound, but rather three hundred and fourteen thousand kilograms worth of sarin gas. Sarin was a deadly nerve agent, most notably used by German forces during the second world war of Berengar's past life. It was capable of absorbing through the skin, so even if one wore a gas mask, they would still die a brutal death. 

No bunker, tunnel, or armored vehicle could save the Japanese soldiers stationed in Tsushima from their horrific fate. In fact, the only thing that could possibly have spared them was a readily available CBRN suit, which Japan was utterly lacking the technological capability of creating, let alone mass producing. 

The mist surrounded the island for some time, killing every living creature who dwelled on Tsushima. The loss of life was not limited to humans alone. Instead, the entire ecosystem had been annihilated in a matter of minutes. Turning Tsushima into a barren wasteland, that would be incapable of supporting life for years to come. 

By the time the mist finally dissipated, Berengar was immediately alerted to the Attack's success where he swiftly got Itami on the line, who was entirely unaware of what had just occurred. Berengar's voice was grim as he spoke to Itami and if she didn't know any better, she could have sworn there was a hint of remorse in his tone. 

"I warned you what would happen if you refused to surrender. I will give you some time to discover what has become of your precious island stronghold, and those who dwell within it. After you realize the fate that has befallen your troops, I will give you another seventy-two hours to surrender. If you fail to do so in the allotted timeframe, I can promise you that Kyoto will be next."

After saying this, Berengar hung up the line once more, not giving Itami a chance to respond. When she finally realized what horrific fate her troops had suffered, any resistance she still had to the idea of surrender was immediately broken. What came next would be a conversation between herself and her most trusted General that would seal the fate of Japan's once mighty Empire. 

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