Tyranny of Steel

The German army arrived on the borders of Hungary, crossing through the safe passage that had previously been established for the purpose of trade. After all, it would be suicide to march through their own minefield. Berengar sat on Horseback as he led the cavalry past the bridge. 

Surprisingly, the Hungarian Kingdom had decided to meet him at the border. He was prepared to open fire on them and eliminate what remained of their army. However, they were flying white flags symbolizing that they had come to discuss peace. 

Berengar did not desire to end the war so swiftly, he still had to place his puppet on the throne of Hungary. He was prepared to deny any and all conditions that the Hungarian emissary presented to him. However, to his surprise, the man he had in mind to take the place of the new King, held the old king as a hostage. 

The Hungarian monarch was bound and chained as he was dragged out to meet with Berengar. Who gazed upon the scene with a cautious glare. Viktor pulled out the Hungarian crown from his satchel and knelt before the German kaiser as he presented it. 

"Kaiser Berengar von Kufstein, I along with my compatriots, have overthrown our monarch, and now present the crown to you. We wish to halt the bloodshed before any more of our men are killed in this pointless crusade. The Papacy is dead, the Kings of Europe have all either perished or gone missing. The throne of Hungary is yours. Please do with it as you wish!"

Berengar scoffed as he grabbed hold of the Hungarian Crown. The last thing he wanted was to merge Germany and Hungary. He knew the results of such a diverse Empire and did not want the internal strife such a thing would create. Instead, the Kaiser asked the man a question while holding onto the crown with hesitation.

"Are you Vászoly Viktor?"

The Hungarian nobleman raised his head in shock as he heard these words. He did not expect someone as powerful as the kaiser to know his name. He quickly nodded his head thrice before responding to the question that was presented to him.

"Yes, your majesty. I'm surprised that you know my name?"

Berengar smiled gently before placing the crown on the young man's head, which shocked the Hungarian army as they witnessed the event. 

"Vászoly Viktor, I name you the King of Hungary. From this day forward, your Kingdom shall pay tribute to the Reich as a protectorate. In order to cement this suzerainty, you will agree to betrothing your sister Noemi to my first son, Hans. From this day forward, the Vászoly family shall reign as the monarchs of Hungary. Now rise King Vászoly Viktor!"

It took a few moments for Berengar's words to register in Viktor's mind, however after a few moments of silence, he raised to a standing position and swore a vow of loyalty to the Kaiser. 

"I King Vászoly Viktor of Hungary, hereby swear eternal loyalty to the German Empire and the von Kufstein dynasty. From this day until the end of days, the people of Hungary shall pay tribute to the Reich in exchange for your protection."

The Hungarian Army remained silent as they lamented their loss of sovereignty. They knew when they initiated their coup that they would have to exchange something in order to spare their lives. They just did not know that they would be forced to become a tributary of the Reich. However, this meant that they, at the very least, would not starve in the coming years.

Over a million young men lie dead across Europe, others were stranded in the far corners of the Mediterranean with no way home. Most of the European Kingdoms would have difficulty maintaining their fields, and would surely suffer from famine in the near future. By becoming a tributary of the Reich, Hungary could rely on the ever-increasing food stores of Germany to survive. Albeit they would have to pay a fair price, but it was better than starvation.

After remaining silent for some time, Berengar spoke up. It quite surprised him that the Hungarian nobles had rebelled against their king and gift-wrapped the man for Berengar's vengeance. Berengar gazed into the eyes of the shivering monarch with a cruel smirk on his face as he questioned how he would execute the man. 

"I must say, you have been a thorn in my side since you first sent troops into Bohemia all those years ago. However, now that I finally have you, I am completely undecided about how I should kill you. You know what? I think I might just boil you in pitch. That should be a suiting end to your reign of terror. You fucking Catholic bootlicker!"

The Hungarian King pleaded for mercy, but it was no use. Berengar had decided to execute the man. It would send the message that the era of Catholicism had ended. With this monarch's death, the only Catholic King who would be left in the world was Aubry, and he was not exactly a symbol to rally behind. 

"Please... My kaiser, have mercy on me! I swear I will do whatever you ask of me so long as you spare my worthless life!"

Berengar sneered in disdain when he heard the man begging him. Where was his resolve to enter the pearly gates of heaven? As a result, Berengar kicked the man in the head and ordered his guards to take the former monarch away.

"Take this coward away. The man is not even worth his weight in piss!"

The Hungarian Army watched as the soldiers of the Reich carried the former king of Hungary away. However, their attention was quickly diverted when Berengar addressed the new King with a modicum of respect.

"King Vászoly, you may return home with your men in peace. You have much work to do if you wish to recover from the substantial losses that your people have suffered in this senseless conflict. I will send an emissary in the coming days who will negotiate your official surrender. As for your sister, consider her a ward under my protection until the day my son comes of age and marries her. You can trust that she will be well provided so long as she lives in Germany."

Viktor bowed his head with the utmost respect as he responded to Berengar's orders in the most courteous way possible.

"As you wish, your Majesty. I will be happy to accept whatever terms you present to me. I thank you for your benevolence in this regard."

After saying that, the Hungarian King departed back to his capital. He indeed had much to do in the coming days if he wished to recover from this disaster of a crusade.  As for Berengar, he looked north towards Poland and ordered his troops to deploy to their next target. 

"The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth has been an eyesore for too long. It is time we humble them. It is a shame the Polish King is dead. I suppose the Grand Duke of Lithuania will suffice as a tribute to our conquest." 

With this said, the German Army marched into its eastern neighbors. Their purpose was twofold. Dissolve the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth into two separate states and impose puppets on both thrones.

After all, it would be nice to have a buffer state between the lands of the Reich, and that of the Rus. Though Berengar did not intend to allow the Rus to unify in his lifetime, it was impossible to say whether or not they would eventually get their shit together and unite against his successors. 

The Kaiser figured he would have to come up with a long-term plan to prevent Russian unification from ever happening in this world. Thus, as Berengar was marching his army east into Poland-Lithuania, he was conceiving a devilish plot to disrupt Russia's natural progress from happening. 

With Hungary's surrender, the war was entering its ending stages. All that was left was to defeat the remnants of the Polish-Lithuanian Army and those of Burgundy. Once he had installed his puppets in those two regions, the war would be officially over, and the era of German Hegemony would come to fruition. 

Once the war was over, Berengar planned to relax for a few years, and focus on civil development. Unfortunately for him, the Rise of the Japanese Empire was around the corner, and the moment he returned home, he would be bombarded with the intelligence Linde had collected on this matter. 

There was truly no rest for the Kaiser in his life. After defeating one enemy, he would be thrust into another theater of war. Such was his life for the past ten years, and for the foreseeable future. Of course, he did not know about the existence of the Japanese Empire, or their plans for the Indian Subcontinent, and because of that, he was able to look forward to a peaceful future he foolishly thought was on the horizon.