Tyranny of Steel

Itami stared at the map, which displayed the most recent information about her current operations overseas, with a gaze of disbelief on her immaculate face. She did not understand how this had occurred.

For six months she had kept her plans to invade Borneo as an absolute secret, so much so that the majority of the troops who were sent to conquer the Island had no idea they were headed to Borneo until the day of their assault.

Instead, all effort was directed towards the Northern Philippines being her target. And yet, the Majapahit Empire not only knew she would be attacking, they had made ample preparations. While Itami had known for some time that Germany was supplying and training the Majapahit Army. She had assumed it was at a technological level on par with the Anangpur and Bengal armies.

Never in her wildest dreams would she have expected heavy machine guns, light machine guns, semiautomatic rifles, antitank guns, flak guns, and advanced artillery to spread across the islands. Let alone ocean mines protecting the Majapahit capital from her fleets.

The war had only just begun, and in a single day, Itami had lost roughly ten thousand troops, twenty-four armored vehicles, six floatplanes, and two destroyers. All for a measly fifty square kilometers of land in Borneo.

Luckily, the operation in the Northern Philippines had gone off as planned. Within a single day, the Imperial Japanese Army completely occupied the entire region, and Itami had half a mind to conscript the locals and send them into Borneo in order to replenish her losses.

Ultimately, Itami was forced to halt her advance in Borneo and rethink her strategy. It had become abundantly clear that a single division was not enough to defeat her enemies in the region. She would have to send at least fifty thousand men if she wanted to take Borneo, and that was a low estimate. As the albino beauty was wallowing in her losses, further distress entered the room, as one of her statesmen interrupted her brooding session to add to her pile of disappointments.

"Tennoheika sama... The Ming Dynasty has responded to our invasion of the Northern Philippines, they have placed economic sanctions against our Empire. As of right now, we have no trading partners."

A murderous glare appeared in the Japanese Empress's blood-red eyes as she heard this news. She knew this was a possibility, but she at the very least expected a diplomatic discussion about her surprise invasion.

To just outright sanction her over this minor offense, there was only one man responsible, and she knew exactly who to blame. Through her gritted teeth, Itami hissed the name of her greatest enemy.

"Berengar von Kufstein..."

Itami's mind was already at its limits of stress, and when she heard this news, she could not help but shriek at her Generals as if she was a banshee.

"Everyone out! Now!"

Not wanting to upset the Empress, every man and woman who stood in Itami's war room fled, as if nerve gas had flooded the room. Once they were gone, and the door was shut behind her, the Albino beauty flew into a fit or rage, knocking the wooden pieces which represented the factions at war off the map with a swipe of her hand.

While she gazed upon the scattered figures, she felt a deep sense of calm overwhelm her enraged heart, as if the arms of her most beloved had wrapped themselves around her. In Itami's mind, she heard the words of a man she knew did not exist in this world.

"My love, what is wrong? So your plans did not go your way. Such a thing is natural in life. What you should be doing is adapting to your circumstances, and thinking how best to make your counter attack.

If the enemy is heavily entrenched in the jungles, with weapons that are capable of halting your advance, then there is really only one solution, is there not? Did you not prepare the DH.98 Mosquito specifically for this possibility?"

Itami sighed heavily, as she looked behind her, and gazed upon the figure of her past life's love interest, which she knew was only a figment of her imagination, and yet in her mind it was so vivid, as if he was truly standing right there in front of her.

"But, Julian! They have sufficient anti-air capabilities, and I don't have any carriers! How am I supposed to get enough bombers into the air above Borneo to perfectly bombard their entrenched positions?"

The ghost of Julian grabbed hold of Itami's dainty chin and wiped the tears from her eyes while he assured her that such a thing was entirely within her power.

"As usual, my love, you are overthinking things. Your bombers have a range 2,400 kilometers, and you have already established air bases in the southern Philippines. You have more than enough mosquitos for a round trip. Sure, you might lose a few of your bombers, but your industry is more than capable of replacing them, especially since they're largely made out of wood!

There's a reason you invested into aircraft like the Ki-106, and the DH.98 Mosquito, it's because you know that you lack access to bauxite. However, you can mass produce wooden planes at a quicker rate than the Germans can manufacture their aluminum ones, and thus you have the advantage in terms of how many aircraft you can spam against your enemies.

The solution to your problem is simple. First, you must flatten the enemy bunkers and trenches, and then, when they are reeling from the damage, you should advance your armor and infantry from all sides. Once they are surrounded, and their most heavy weapons are destroyed, they will fold like a paper tiger."

The tears in Itami's eyes had long since dried, and a smile appeared on her lips as she thanked the spectral image of her dead love interest before attempting a kiss.

"Thank you Julian, I don't know what I would do without you!"

However, just when the Japanese Empress was about to kiss the figure in front of her, he disappeared, leaving her all alone in the war room. A slight pout emerged on Itami's lips, as she realized yet again she wasn't able to fulfill her desire. However, she quickly snapped out of it, and summoned her forces into the room, where she relayed 'Julian's' orders to the lot of them.

With this strategy in place, Itami had planned her second offensive. One that she felt she would have much more success in. As for Berengar, when he learned of how quickly the woman was able to adapt against him, his opinion of the Japanese Empress would raise ever so slightly.