Tyranny of Steel

While Lukas had invaded the land that was once known as Ghana in Berengar's past life, his half-Brother Ghazi had begun to expand his borders, which currently resided in North Africa southward. And while a substantial force of British soldiers were in Ghana, rapidly expanding with each passing day. A second fleet of the British Navy headed towards the coasts of the Mali Empire, which, unbeknownst to their Emperor, was currently being invaded by the Iberians in the northeast.

The British General who lead the Army as it landed off the coasts of the Mali Empire was a member of the previous ruling dynasty of England. John Lancaster was dressed in his military uniform with his semi-automatic pistol in hand as he watched his army deploy across the sandy shores of Mali.

For some time now, the Mali had been in fear that the western powers would come for them, and that day had finally arrived. Thus, while the Iberian Empire invaded from the northeast, the British Empire invaded from the southwestern corner of the petty African Empire.

Like the Iberian Army, the British army was primarily carried across the primitive landscape with horse-drawn carriages, many of which had a heavy machine gun mounted in the back. And While neither of the two European Empires had officially declared war on the Mali Empire, as they did not consider it a state worthy of such a response, both had deployed tens of thousands of men to the region. And it was now a race against time to see who would come out on top.

John Lancaster led his men three the territory of the Mali Empire, showing no mercy to the native population. They simply fired at any moving target, regardless of the age or gender.

At the moment, the British General was riding in the back of a carriage with his pistol pointed out the window, as he fired a few shots at some fleeing locals. Hitting a woman square in the back, and ending her life, and that of her unborn child.

To the British Empire, which had only advanced so quickly with the aid of the Germans, these people were anything but. More akin to wild animals than human beings, and because of this, they did not have a shred of remorse for their vicious actions as they conquered the land which they saw as rightfully theirs.

It was not until the British Army had advanced halfway through the Mali Empire, and after razing every town and village they had come across, until they met an opposing force which was capable of not only resisting their aggression but also giving them a challenge.

Yes, that's right, the Iberian Army had advanced just as quickly as their British Rivals, and had engaged in a campaign equally brutal. Thus, both sides were rather surprised when they came across an opposing force that was equally armed and trained.

Perhaps it was a mistake on the part of an English soldier who was only just a few years ago a filthy peasant who had never seen an Arab before, or perhaps it was an Iberian soldier who had taken his orders to kill everybody they came across a bit too literally. For whatever reason, a single gunshot was fired within the engagement zone between the two armies, which immediately had a domino effect.

All of a sudden, both armies were ducking for cover, and exchanging machine gun fire with each other. As their bullets ripped through the torsos of their enemies, and thus claiming their lives. Nobody knew how the massacre had begun, but soon, even General Lancaster took a bullet to the gut, for which he immediately began to blow the whistle to cease fire.

Once one whistle was blown, the General of the opposing side did the same, who was also struck by gunfire, whether it was his own man's or the enemy's nobody really knew, as the battlefield had turned so chaotic so quickly, but by the time the bullets had ceased flying, over three thousand men lie dead in the African soil, with many more wounded.

General Lancaster quickly made use of a white flag as he struggled through the no-man's-land, which was littered with corpses, while applying pressure to his stomach, which was bleeding profusely.

He was not alone in this regard, as the Iberian General did the same, before both men met in the middle of their two armies who were in the midst of reloading their weapons, and waiting for another conflict to occur.

After so many years of German dominance, the language of the Reich had become the standard for international trade across the world, and thus the Moorish General spoke in the German tongue as he greeted the British General as an equal.

"We were not expecting the British to be here in Mali. Why have you come here?"

General Lancaster chuckled as he heard this before coughing a little. He then looked at his Iberian counterpart before making a rather grim joke.

"I see we got you too..."

Apparently, the Moorish general did not appreciate Johns' sense of humor, and was quick to reiterate his previous question.

"Why have you come here to Mali?"

Seeing as he had no other option but to answer the question, General Lancaster chuckled once more before responding in a defeated tone.

"The same reason as you. For land and resources. The Byzantines have taken the Ivory Coast, so it was our monarch's brilliant idea to seize Mali above them and encircle their territory, leaving them no way to trade with the rest of their Empire except through our colonies. Which we would naturally impose a tax upon them for travelling through our territory."

The Moorish general scoffed as he heard this before responding with a phrase that left General Lancaster surprised.

"I wonder if it would be better if you did... Still, I have my orders to seize Mali for the Iberian Empire, after all, there is quite a bit of gold here, and the Sultan would be re missed if he did not take advantage of it. I humbly request that you and your men withdraw back to whatever portion of this god forsaken Continent that you are currently occupying, and leave this land to us..."

Despite the polite request made by the Iberian General, General Lancaster sighed and shook his head before responding with a bit of pity in his voice.

"I am afraid I can't do that...."

While General Lancaster continued to apply pressure to his wound, now with the white flag he had brought with him. His Iberian counterpart scoffed as he did the same.

"So what now? Are we to resume firing upon one another, and leave this land to the last whoever is left standing at the end of it all? You and I both know the only one who benefits from such heavy losses would be the Byzantines. So unless you have a compromise in mind, I fear that is our only option."

General Lancaster wore a wry smile as he made another joke about the whole situation they were in.

"Or you could just surrender...."

This time, the Moorish General actually laughed at the joke, as the two men stood in a field of corpses while applying pressure to their bullet wounds via the use of their white flags.

After several moments of silent thought, General Lancaster proposed an idea to his Iberian counterpart.

"I suppose we should get on our radios and request clarification on our orders from our superiors. Wouldn't you agree?"

The Iberian General sighed heavily as he nodded his head in agreement with this proposal before voicing his support of the idea.

"That is beginning to seem like our best options. Shall we have a ceasefire until we receive word about what to do about this whole mess?"

General Lancaster slowly nodded his head in agreement with these terms before the two men shook hands on it. Afterward they slowly approached their own forces, before getting on the radio, where they would contact their respective monarchs about how they should proceed with this troublesome situation.

Thus, without anyone being prepared for it, a stalemate now existed among the ruins of the Mali Empire, where two European powers fought for supremacy in the region. Whether or not it would escalate into a full-scale war, or this brief exchange of gunfire was simply the worst if it, nobody would know until Ghazi and Lukas could respond.

I wanted to thank you all for supporting Tyranny of Steel up to this point. From here on out, until the very end of the novel, updates are going to be less frequent with one chapter a day. Instead, I would like to invite all of you to read my new novel Interstellar Age, at https://www.webnovel.com/book/interstellar-age_ 26235247006730205

Which will be receiving my primary attention from here on out. Thank you all for the support you have shown me, and I look forward to writing novels for you all for years to come!