Tyranny of Steel

Itami sat in her great hall, gazing upon her advisors and the heads of various government sectors. In the months since she had developed the plans for her new naval vessels, she had been doing her best to modernize her armed forces and expand her influence across the realm. 

Because she had a smaller army than Berengar, she could arm them with the newest weapons that she had developed much more quickly than he could. Thirty thousand men had sworn their loyalty to the War Goddess, and now she was prepared to strike. 

However, before she could launch an invasion of her first target for Imperial expansion, some troubling news came from her trade minister, who laid a device on the table that had come from a merchant who had travelled to the land Itami knew as India.

This device was not a simple arkebuse, instead it was a rifled flintlock musket. How did the Indians get their hands on such devices? Via their trade with the Timurid Empire who, through internal corruption, sold some of the weapons that were meant to go to their troops engaged in the war against the Catholic Church.  Itami glared fiercely at the weapon that should not exist in this era and immediately questioned the minister of trade just how he obtained the weapon. 

"Kono-san! Where did you get this weapon!?!"

The elderly minister of trade known by the name Kono Masakuni feebly rose from his seat as he expressed what he knew about the rifled musket.

"I received this firearm from one of our Merchants who travelled to the Bengal Empire in the west, where, through contact with their western neighbors, the so called Anangpur Empire obtained this weapon by trade. It appears to be a more advanced form of the Tanegashima that we used to employ in our armies..

Initially, I would say that we should be concerned. However, thanks to the efforts of your majesty, our armies are now equipped with weapons far more advanced than these. Thus, I think we should simply consider the Bengal and Anangpur Empires to be near peers."

Despite the various heads of state agreeing with the Minister of Trade's opinion, Itami was unconvinced. Upon realizing that this weapon came from a foreign country, it instantly struck Itami with an overwhelming sense of panic. She had always believed that she was the only reincarnator in the world, thus giving her an enormous advantage. However, this weapon, that should not exist in the 15th century, was simple proof that somebody else had come to this world with a similar level of knowledge that she had.

She had no choice but to inspect the weapon for clues of its origins. The young woman cautiously picked up the rifle and carefully observed it. From the proof marks to the rifling in the barrel, Itami closely inspected the weapon for any clue of where and when it was manufactured. 

The early weapons that Berengar had developed were manufactured with a simple proof mark which was his coat of arms, and a serial number. As time passed, other information was written on them, such as the armory they were manufactured in, the name and model number of the weapon, etc. 

This particular rifled musket was a recent manufacture as part of German military aid to the Timurid Empire. Because of that, it had the most modern markings on it, and several improvements over the designs previously issued to the Austrian Army, such as a lighter weight stock.

The three major armories of Germany were currently located in Kufstein, Innsbruck, and Vienna. Kufstein exclusively manufactured arms for the German Army. While Innsbruck manufactured weapons for Germany's allies, and Vienna manufactured the most obsolete weapons for sale to any other potential buyers.

After Dharya and Priya arrived in Kufstein and informed Berengar of their uncle's actions, he cut off trade with the Anangpur Empire and publically announced that the Indian Emperor and his sister were under his protection. Thus, the actions of the Timurid Empire, which allowed this weapon to end up in the hands of the Indians, could be seen as violating German sanctions. 

Naturally, Itami was unaware of most of this information. All she could discover from these markings was the model number of the weapon, and when they were initially introduced to service, she could also guess what country they were from based upon the Innsbruck Royal Armory marking. Though she could not read Middle High German, she knew where Innsbruck was and could surmise that someone initially invented these weapons in 1417, retrofitted them in 1418, and they came from Austria. 

This meant that a reincarnator had entered this world at least three years before she did, and was located in Austria. Though Europe was a far distance away from Japan, and would not easily interfere with her immediate plans. This reincarnator, whoever he was, had an advantage of entering this world three whole years prior to herself. Itami could only guess the extent of this reincarnator's Empire, assuming he was as ambitious as she was. 

With this in mind, she gazed towards her minister, and questioned his motives. He had said the weapon originated in India, but these markings were clearly an early form of German. Because of this, she interrogated the man for more information on the item.

"Kono-san, you say this weapon comes from India? Are you sure about that? Perhaps it was traded to them by a foreign power?"

The elderly minister raised his brow when he heard this. He did not know how Itami could ascertain the truth about this information, which he had deliberately left out. The old geezer had to admit that he had underestimated this little girl and her knowledge of the world. He could only sigh in defeat and admit the information he knew about the weapon.

"I only know what the merchant has told me. Supposedly, these weapons were manufactured by a mysterious power in the far west. They have sold large quantities to their allies, and some of those weapons ended up being traded further east. Apparently, the Anangpur Empire has very few of these weapons, and makes use of an older weapon design similar to the Tanegashima we previously employed in our army."

Itami struggled to calm her heart. If there was truly someone in this world whose knowledge, experience, and ambitions rivaled her own, it could create serious conflict in the future. It might even lead to her death. She had no choice but to advance her invasion plans. Only by seizing Korea and its vast iron resources could she even hope to contend with this mysterious reincarnator in the west. 

"I have changed my mind. Initially, I planned to invade Hokkaido, and then the Ryukyu Kingdoms. However, knowing that there is a mysterious power in the far west capable of producing such weapons has emboldened my resolve.

We will invade Joseon by the year's end! I want all efforts on manufacturing to go towards my warships! I will also enact mandatory conscription for all young men aged sixteen to twenty. They shall serve a minimum of four years in the Imperial Army!"

The various military officers and heads of state gazed upon Itami with shock. They could not fathom why she was so terrified by the existence of this weapon when she herself had introduced more modern firearms. How could they know the fear the girl felt, knowing that there was someone else like her in this world with a three-year advantage over her?

However, Itami's mind was set. She would conquer the Joseon within the next year or two, and then use its iron to fuel her industries. Within five to ten years, she planned to have battleships, bolt action rifles, and machine guns. She would focus her efforts on military advancements, rather than civilian improvements. This was the only way she could compete with this mysterious reincarnator should their armies clash. 

Meanwhile, Berengar was blissfully unaware of another reincarnator existing in the world. Though he suspected the possibility, he also believed that if such a person existed, and could rival him on the global stage, they would have shown themselves by now. Thus, he was more focused on improving the lives of his civilians, now that his war technology had practically reached the era of the Great War. 

He did not know that thanks to the Timurid, and Anangpur Empires, his existence had been leaked to his greatest potential rival, who would stop at nothing to catch up to him in terms of military might. If the two reincarnators knew each other's true identities, they would likely peacefully negotiate through their differences. However, they didn't know, and as far as they were both concerned, there could only be one reincarnator in this world, so long as there was another, a threat to their Empires would be ever present. 

Thus, Itami had begun the long path of war, where she intended to conquer Joseon, Hokkaido, and the Ryukyu Kingdom as soon as possible. Since she had established herself as the Empress, and lorded over the Army, there was nobody who dared to stand against her ambitions. Soon North-East Asia would become embroiled in a series of wars that would spark the rise of a new global power.