Tyranny of Steel

A week had passed since Berengar's meetings with Ludwig and Ludolf. During this time, Ludwig had fully set up a small-scale production line for the arkebuse firearms intended to be sold to the Byzantines.

His troops who were assigned to demonstrate the effectiveness of the weapons had spent some time getting accustomed to the different actions, but for the most part, the loading procedure was the same.

As such, Arethas and Berengar were now standing in the audience of one of his testing fields. In the center of the field, there were straw targets set up where they were equipped with mirror pattern armor to represent the soldiers of the Mamluke Sultanate, the current enemies of the Empire.

Seeing Berengar's troops rapidly load the arkebuse firearms in a span of a little over 20 seconds brought a question to Arethas's mind, and thus he voiced his concerns.

"If it takes so long to reload, how would I protect my troops from the enemy closing the distance and entering into melee combat?"

Arethas was unaware of the existence of bayonets, and Berengar did not plan on selling this technology. Thus he smiled as he responded to the Strategos of Ionia's questions.

"Ideally, you would have a unit of pikemen alongside them to keep the enemy soldiers at bay while your arkebusiers reload their weapons. Once they are loaded and prepared to fire, you would pull your pikeman back to prevent friendly fire. After the volley has been unleashed, you would repeat the process."

Hearing this strategy, Arethas could envision it in his mind and nodded his head in approval; he could not wait to see the effects of these arkebuses. Thus after loading the weapons, the soldiers who were test firing the equipment aimed the firearms at their targets roughly 20 yards away.

The arkebuse that Berengar designed was shorter and lighter weight than the longer barreled variants; there were two reasons for this. The first one being that he hated the idea of using forks to act as a support to fire the weapon appropriately.

The second one being a shorter barrel created less velocity and thus posed a significantly lower threat to his forces. After all, the higher the speed of the projectile, the more likely the weapons were to pierce through his own troops' armor. The troops began to unleash their volley with a command by the officer who led the small platoon of soldiers numbering thirty in total.

"Fire!"

Upon uttering the order, thunder echoed in the air, and the thirty arquebus balls were sent downrange, most of which found their targets and pierced through the mirror style armor that the Empire's enemies were equipped with.

After the weapons were fired, they were checked for function before being put back on the weapons rack where they would later be cleaned, and after negotiations, hopefully, be sold to the Byzantine Empire as the first batch of such weapons.

Seeing the display from afar was a marvelous sight, and Arethas had a broad smile on his face like a kid on Christmas. After the area was deemed safe for inspection, Berengar posed a question to Arethas.

"Would you like to inspect the damage up close?"

Arethas was instantly intrigued by this offer and silently nodded his head before standing up and following Berengar down to the field below, where the straw dummies were resting, most of which were knocked over by the impact of the arkebuse balls and had to be reset to standing position.

Upon closer inspection, the arkebuse balls had thoroughly penetrated past the mirror pattern armor, into the straw dummy, and out the other side of the armor. It was indeed an effective weapon against the popular armor patterns of the period.

Arethas was surprised by the efficiency of the weapons and no longer needed convincing in regards to purchasing the equipment. Thus he began the negotiations for the acquirement of such weapons.

"I am thoroughly convinced such weapons are superior to anything else I have seen, aside from maybe the weapons your forces use. Tell me, Berengar, what price would you desire for these magnificent firearms?"

Berengar had come up with a plan in the past week to get the most advantages out of the Byzantine Empire's vast trade network with the East while simultaneously appearing generous. Thus he decided to put on a facade about intensely thinking over the matter before expressing his idea.

"Normally, I would charge five hyperpyrons per arquebus, but under certain conditions, I could make a deal and give you a twenty percent discount."

Arethas immediately took the bait upon hearing such an offer existed.

"What conditions might those be?"

Berengar put on a graceful smile as he answered Arethas' question.

"Since we have become such good friends, I will place a 20% discount on each Arkebuse sold to the Empire, under the condition that you sell me saltpeter at an equally discounted price."

Berengar's nitraries were having difficulty keeping up with the demand of saltpeter that he needed to fuel his armies. Knowing that the Byzantines had access to an ample and cheap supply of saltpeter from their trades with India, Berengar wanted to take advantage of this to get ahold of vast quantities of the material for a low price.

Even with the 20% discount, he would still be making a fortune off of the Arkebuse trade, and in doing so, would be able to invest a fraction of it into cheap saltpeter. This would allow him to continue the rapid growth of his armies and supply them with the gunpowder they needed to dominate the European battlefields.

After careful deliberation, Arethas spoke his thoughts on the matter

"I can agree to such terms, but in return for the discount, I would like the Empire to take priority in the sale of such firearms."

Arethas began to wonder if he was too greedy with his demands, but to his surprise, Berengar smiled and nodded his head before replying.

"That is not a problem. So long as we can produce these weapons, I can agree to have the Empire take priority in their purchase."

With this, an agreement had been made, and the two men shook hands before drafting up a formal trade agreement, one that they both signed with their signatures and seals of their houses. Afterward, Berengar posed an invitation to Arethas.

"It is getting late. Would you like to dine with my family and me tonight?"

Arethas saw no reason to refuse, especially since the cuisine cooked by Berengar's chefs was always delicious. Thus, he nodded his head in agreement before responding.

"It would be an honor."

With that said, the two men returned to Berengar's castle, where they sat down at the dining table. Linde, as per usual, took her place next to Berengar, and Henrietta sat across from her. As for Arethas, he sat across from Berengar and Conrad next to him.

The boy had grown quite irritable over the last week, as Arethas, an essential dignitary from the East, paid no attention to him, despite Conrad officially being the Duke of Austria. Thus he was visibly scowling while sitting at the table. An action that did not go unnoticed by the others sitting at the table.

Berengar ignored the boy; Conrad was already being slowly poisoned and would finally croak within a few years without anyone being the wiser. Thus he just had to manage the kid's outbursts for the time being before he could seize the title of Duke for himself.

Arethas also ignored the boy as he was well aware of who the real power in Austria was. Thus he decided to ask Berengar about his plans for the future. Despite the actual Duke of Austria sitting right next to him.

"So, Berengar, now that you have driven the Bavarians from your lands and established a relative peace. What do you intend to do in this time?"

Berengar drank the beer from his skull chalice before responding to the nobleman from the East.

"Despite being victorious, large swaths of Austria were negatively impacted by the invasion, entire villages massacred, fields destroyed, and livestock butchered. It will take a substantial effort to recover from such a pyrrhic victory. I will spend the next few years stabilizing the region to the best of my ability and bringing vast fortune to my people."

Seeing that Berengar had no immediate plans for future conquest, Arethas sighed in relief; at the rate, Berengar's power was growing, one day he could potentially be a threat to the Empire, and it was better to foster a friendly relationship with the man than to make an enemy out of him. Such an approach would undoubtedly take time.

As such, Arethas drank from his chalice before asking another question on his mind.

"I hear you are trying to implement many economic, military, and agricultural reforms. Do you not fear an uprising by the nobility of Austria? Or greater yet a grand coalition of your neighbors?"

However, Berengar's answer greatly surpassed his imaginations; Berengar had a calm, maybe even cruel smile on his face as he drank from his skull chalice. After wiping his mouth with his napkin, he responded as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Of course! Those stuck in their traditions will never fully embrace my reforms; they will inevitably scheme against me; in fact, many of the noblemen throughout not only Austria but also Tyrol are currently planning such a thing as we speak. Yet, I do not fear rebellion. Instead, I welcome it, for a great purge is needed to usher in the new era, and when my enemies finally bear their fangs I will be well prepared for it."

Arethas and Conrad alike were shocked by this answer, Berengar was fully expecting a rebellion, or possibly two, and he was already preparing for such an eventuality. The man clearly had foresight, but what was even more frightening was that he had stated he welcomed the rebellion so that he would be able to purge the malcontents in his society.

After hearing such a bold statement, Arethas felt like he should not question the mind of a Tyrant and quickly got back to eating his food; Conrad, on the other hand, looked as pale as a ghost, as if he finally realized he had appointed a monster as his regent, one that he had no power to stop.

As for Linde and Henrietta, they were merely enjoying their meal, as if Berengar's words were the most natural thing in the world; they were well accustomed to his proclamations of his grand ambitions and the cruelty he would go through to achieve them. Thus the dinner went on in awkward silence for some time before finally coming to an end.

Arethas would soon return to the Empire with the first batch of arkebuse firearms, and Berengar would greatly profit from it. As for the future, it was in the hands of God; if one believed in such a thing, that is.