Tyranny of Steel

Tlexictli stood upon a large rock overlooking the city in the valley below. The overlapping steel scales of her armored vest shimmered underneath the scorching sun. In one hand was a short spear, and in the other was a wooden round shield that had the hide of a jaguar covering the panels. Upon her waist was a sheathed machete, which was fashioned in the style used by Colombians in Berengar's past life.

The Aztec ambassador to the German Empire had returned to her homeland while the Kaiser was off at war with his neighbors. Upon her arrival, she found her people were engaged in a bloody campaign with their neighbors.

Not being one to fear conflict, Tlexictli quickly took up the spear and marched against her enemies. With the power of german steel in their hands, and the steeds of the fatherland at their command, the Aztec Army had transformed into a powerful entity that no other Mesoamerican civilization could contend with.

In her absence, the Aztecs had waged wars of conquest against all their neighbors. Now the only petty kingdom which remained was the Tututepec. After the Aztecs conquered this small kingdom, the only power that could oppose the might of their empire was the Mayans to the south.

Thrilled that his daughter had returned home, the Aztec Emperor tasked her with leading his forces to conquer their last sovereign neighbor. Upon witnessing the city preparing its meager defenses in fear of the Aztec army, Tlexictli could only sneer in disdain. The weapons that the Germans had sold to the Aztecs were beyond the limited capabilities of a stone age civilization. She quickly called out to the army, which stood within the hills and gave her commands.

"Charge!'

An army of ten thousand men and two thousand cavalry charged down the hills and towards the poorly defended city. Until now, the mesoamerican civilizations had no need for walls around their cities. That had proved to be the undoing of many of the Aztecs neighbors. After all, the Germans had taught their protectorate a new style of warfare, and the sieging of cities was one such aspect.

Tlexictli led her forces down the hill and into the front lines. A mix of steel scaled armor and jaguar hides clung tightly to her overly muscular body as she thrust her spear towards the first enemy she came into contact with.

The Aztec infantry crashed through the enemy's wicker shields as if they were a knife through butter. Meanwhile, the archers stood back at a distance and rained down a volley of arrows upon the city's defenders. Tlexictli cared little for the stone weapons of her enemies, after all her vital areas were well protected with steel scales, and because of that she madly dashed forward with her short spear, thrusting it through the shield of her opponent, and into his body.

The man cried out in agony as his blood and guts spilled to the floor, before Tlexictli ripped the spearhead from his flesh. All around her the Aztec infantry were cutting through their opponents like wheat to the scythe.

The short spear was Tlexictli's favorite weapon, a long, almost sword like spearhead sat upon a short wooden shaft. It could be wielded adeptly with one hand, and was capable of frightening lethality, especially against the poorly armored stone age opponents that she was facing.

Two men surrounded Tlexictli as she withdrew her spear. Despite the situation, she was not the least bit frightened. One of the men swung at her with a war club, however she simply lifted her wooden shield and deflected the blow upwards where she used her short spear to thrust into the man's heart.

The thin padded armor worn by her enemies had no chance of stopping the sharp steel short spear that the woman wielded. Once this man was dead, Tlexictli did not hesitate to shift her weapon towards the other man who had foolishly attacked her.

Blood splattered across the Aztec princess's steel clad torso and marred the shimmering scales with its filth. Despite this, there was no sense of disgust on Tlexictli's pretty face, only a savage smile as she jumped at her opponent and thrust into his neck with her weapon.

Tlexictli had to admit, as much as she despised Berengar for what he had done to her people, without his aid, the Aztec Empire would not be able to expand to its current state. Not only were the weapons they wielded greater, but they also had a massive increase in agricultural output.

While the woman was thinking about Berengar, an enemy combatant had launched a spear at her with his atlatl. It took Tlexictli but a moment to react as she quickly raised her shield, which caught the oncoming weapon. The man had thrown the weapon with such force that it had embedded itself in the wood, turning the Aztec princess's shield into a useless hunk of junk. She was quick to toss the shield aside and use her free hand to unleash the machete on her waist.

With a hint of fury in her eyes, Tlexictli rushed towards the man who had thrown the spear at her with both weapons in hand. With her right hand she thrust her short spear forward, which was parried by her opponent, only to come over the top of his weapon with her steel machete, which embedded itself in the man's neck, severing his carotid artery in the process.

Blood spewed from the man's neck as Tlexictli continued to hack at the wound with her machete until the head was completely severed from the man's shoulders. The Aztec princess let out a loud roar as if she was the very animal whose skin she wore before leading her forces forward into the enemy's crumbling ranks.

When fighting against steel armor and weapons with stone age technology, who would emerge victorious was obvious. Quickly, the forces of the Kingdom of Tututepec scattered and fell back. The moment they realized the battle was lost, they sought to flee the city with their families. Though they did not know where they would seek shelter from the Aztecs, they knew anything was better than being enslaved by the mighty empire.

Though human sacrifice had been abolished within the Aztec Empire, the extensive slave trade was larger than ever. Most of the slaves ended up producing cocoa and latex for the Germans. However, the extremely unlucky ones would be sent to the gold mines to extract enough of the material to pay tribute to the Reich.

Thus, it was no wonder that these men fled for their lives rather than be captured. The moment the rear ranks broke away and collapsed, the Aztec Army crashed over the city like a giant tidal wave. The warriors of the Empire slew their enemies with steel in hand as they took control of the city.

Within the hour, the last bit of resistance had fallen, and the inhabitants of Tututepec were brought out to the city's center. Tlexictli gazed upon their sunken expressions and declared the annexation of the Tututepec Kingdom.

"I am Princess Tlexictli of the Aztec Empire, daughter of Itzcoatl, and ambassador to the Empire of the Gods. As of today, the Kingdom of Tututepec ceases to exist as a sovereign state. With this conquest, you are now all citizens of the Aztec Empire. Those who resisted our rule shall be enslaved. As for the rest of you, you shall now pay tribute to Tenochtitlan as your overlords.

Obey our rule and we shall be merciful. Resist further, and a life of pain and misery awaits you. I shall leave a garrison here to protect your lands from the Mayans. As for who shall preside over you, I will let you choose a representative from among your people to act as the governor of this city and the surrounding regions. If your tribute to Tenochtitlan is late, you can expect harsh reprisal."

After saying this, Tlexictli turned her head and climbed upon the back of a nearby horse. She and the rest of her army, who were not selected as members of the local garrison, rode off in the capital's direction. The last of the petty kingdoms that surrounded the Aztec Empire had fallen. All that remained was to determine who was more powerful. The Aztecs or the Mayans.

Tlexictli knew with the help of the Germans there was no force in the new world who was capable of defeating her people. All her people had to do was kneel before the Kaiser and pay tribute to his realm. She had to admit, compared to what was happening across Europe at the moment, her people had suffered very little in the wake of Berengar's conquest.

She thought about the man's graceful appearance as he marched off to war. She swore that when he returned home, she would wrestle with him. After all, she had been spending each and every day in Kufstein learning the artform known as submission grappling. She was confident in her abilities that she would be able to beat the man. Thus, Tlexictli had a new goal as she returned to the heart of the Aztec Empire as a conquering hero.