Tyranny of Steel

Hans stood in formation alongside a bunch of other young boys his age. They were dressed in military-style uniforms, and each held a rifle in their arms. The Prince of Germany was given no special treatment as he trained alongside his fellow cadets in the use of firearms. Since the age of seven, Hans, as well as every other boy in Germany, had begun military training in some small capacity.

They mostly learned things such as marching in formation, survival skills, shooting weapons, hand to hand combat, and physical fitness. The establishment of the German Cadet Corps was loosely based upon the Prussian Cadet Corps from Berengar's past life. However, it was more spartan in nature than it was Prussian.

The Purpose of the German Cadet Corps was twofold. For starters, its purpose was to ensure that the youth of Germany were well prepared for their eventual military service once they reached adulthood. However, it served as another important aspect in German society, and that was the idea that Germany must be militaristic if it wished to maintain global dominance. 

The red-haired prince did not care about any of this, and instead, he focused on the task at hand. Hans aimed down the tangent sights of his rifle before acquiring his target at a distance of three hundred yards. After taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger, sending the copper jacketed Spitzer projectile down range and straight into the steel target's chest. An audible clang resounded in the air as the bullet hit its mark. 

This was the twentieth target that Hans had hit in the last two minutes, earning him his expert marksman badge. The young boy released his breath as he quickly pulled back the bolt on his rifle, ejecting the spent cartridge, before placing the rifle safely on the rack. The instructor who witnessed the boy's excellent marks could not help but sigh as he handed the boy his badge.

"Corporal Hans, it is my greatest honor to award you the expert marksmanship badge. Make sure to continue training with you rifle, and act as an example to the other boys!"

Hans smiled as he grabbed hold of the badge and pinned it to the breast of his uniform. He had a sense of overwhelming pride in his heart as he saluted his instructor. Unlike everything else he owned in this world, this badge represented his personal worth as a cadet, and not just a pampered Prince.

Despite being Royalty Hans was treated no differently from any of the other boys in the Cadet Corps, having to climb from the same lowly rank to the top. Everything he accomplished in the Cadet Corps was because of his own merit. Despite the sense of fulfilment that Hans felt, he wore stoic expression as he thanked the Sergeant for the award. 

"Thank you Sergeant, I will do my best!"

The sergeant nodded his head before giving the prince his next task.

"You can wait around for the other boys to finish, or you can proceed to your next task. Remember, the sooner you complete your daily objectives, the sooner you can return home."

Hans nodded and gazed at the other boys, who were still shooting their targets. Clearly the Prince had a head start in shooting, as his father had personally been instructing him in some capacity since he was five years old. However, there were other boys who concluded their rounds shortly after Hans.

After all, the National Militia permitted men to possess arms in their own homes so long as they served. This meant there were other boys who trained with their fathers on how to shoot and how to hunt at a young age. 

Upon seeing that he was beaten once again, a young blonde boy by the name of Claus approached the Prince and congratulated him on another victory.

"Good job, Hans, but next time I swear I will beat you!"

Here in the Cadet Corps, all boys were equal, no matter the status of their families. It was because of this that a commoner such as Claus could refer to Hans by his first name. Hans merely nodded his head in silence before shifting his gaze towards the ongoing shooting competition.

Many boys failed to hit their targets. After all, the targets were set at varying distances. The boys were only allowed twenty rounds to complete the task. In order to reach expert marksman, one had to hit all twenty targets in under three minutes. 

After completing his Rifle Assignment, and setting the record, Hans walked off from the area, no longer interested in the results that the other boys in his unit would achieve. Instead, he focused on his next task for the day, which was grappling. 

Hans walked into a large gymnasium where he noticed a bunch of boys wrestling for position before working into submissions. The rules were simple: the fight would go on until one boy tapped, or could no longer continue.

Sparing not a single moment, the prince quickly stripped out of his uniform and put on some athletic attire before stepping onto the large mat, where he was immediately greeted by a nine-year-old boy by the name of Johannes. Johannes had a smug expression on his ace as he took an aggressive stance. 

"Hans, come to taste defeat yet again! There's no way a little runt like you could defeat me!"

Hans was not small in the slightest, at least not for his age, but Johnnes was older and larger. The boy always abused his size and strength to get the best of Hans. Despite this, Hans always accepted the boy's challenge and quickly took his own stance.

"We'll see about that!"

The two boys circled one another for a while, grabbing each other's wrists and ripping them away. Eventually the duo tied up, where Hans had one hand on the back of the boy's neck, and one on his forearm, Hans quickly pulled the larger boy forward, forcing him to step towards the Prince. Upon seeing an opening, Hans dropped to his knee and grabbed hold of the Johannes's ankle, lifting it into the air while pushing the boy forward.

A broad smirk appeared on the prince's face as he had succeeded in taking the boy down with the ankle pick he had learned from his father. Hans did not hesitate, and neither did Johannes. The larger and stronger boy realized he had been taken down and quickly tried to catch the prince in a classic guard, however Hans was faster. He grabbed hold of the boy's two legs and used a pressure pass to get by Johannes guard and into side control. 

Hans wasted no time as he quickly transitioned into a full mount where fished for a submission. He quickly grabbed hold of Johannes' forearm and pinned it to the ground in an attempt to lock up the Americana. However, the boy realized what Hans was doing, and grabbed hold of his arm while blocking his leg. He bridged into the air and reversed the position with Hans now on the ground. 

Hans grunted as he used his legs to push the boy forward into his guard while clamping his head down with his hand. Johannes struggled to break out of Han's guard, but in doing so, he left an opening for the prince to snatch a triangle choke on him.

After Hans had sunk the submission in, the boy had two options: tap out or pass out. Refusing to admit defeat to the boy he had bullied for some time, Johannes went to sleep in a matter of seconds, desperately struggling to break out of the choke during the countdown. 

It was only after Johannes went limp that Hans released his grip and tossed him to the side. After several seconds, the boy gasped and looked around in shock. The blood rapidly returned to his head as he tried to get his bearings, forgetting how he had passed out in the first place. 

For the first time, Hans had beaten Johannes and revealed the boy's weak spot, though he was a good wrestler. Once taken down, the boy's ground game was severely lacking, walking straight into Han's triangle choke. Despite being defeated, Johannes was not discouraged. He quickly stood up and signalled for the two to start again. 

Hans and Johannes grappled for several rounds, however, after the prince had learned his rival's weakness, he only lost once. Having been unable to escape the larger boy's pressure until the coach's whistle blew, and the round was over. 

Hans would then switch to a new partner and grapple for several more rounds until the entire grappling session was over. With each defeat, he learned from his opponents, and improved his game, never slacking off in the slightest.

The coach gazed upon the crown prince and shuddered. Though he was only seven, he was quickly learning how to defeat his opponents in hand to hand combat. He knew that by the time this boy concluded his cadet training, he would be ready for combat. Though what the battlefields would look like by then, the instructor did not know. 

Thus, Hans continued to fulfill his daily tasks before returning home, while covered in sweat and grime. When his mother laid eyes on him, she quickly ordered the servants to prepare a bath for the Prince where he relaxed after a hard day's work. Thus was the daily life of the young Prince.