Tyranny of Steel - Chapter 966

Khorijin gazed upon the city of Constantinople with intense anxiety in her dark eyes. Though the iron eagles which the spirits had forewarned her about had yet to reveal themselves. She knew it would be soon before her brother’s army fell, and along with it, any hope of the Golden Horde becoming a true power.

For whatever reason, smoke was in the air. Its origins appeared from within the ancient Roman Capital. The Mongol Princess did not know what form of civil unrest had been going on within the walls of Constantinople, but she could make a fair assessment. After all, she was more than just a pretty face.

However, she would not say a word, as her vow of silence was still in effect, instead she glared into the sky, waiting for the threat that would usher in a life of servitude to arrive. While this was happening, Chagadai merely laughed at his sister’s foolishness.

“You see! The only thing that separates us from the gates of Constantinople is the Bosporus itself, but there are no iron eagles who will bathe our forces in fire. Do you not feel foolish now, my dear sister?”

Despite his taunts, Khorijin did not even bother looking upon her scoundrel of a brother, and merely continued to watch the skies above. The act of which caused the great Khan to clench his teeth before giving an order out of frustration.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Begin the construction of ships at once. I want to cross this section of water as soon as possible!”

During the Golden Horde’s conquest of Georgia and Anatolia, many talented individuals had fallen into slavery, as a result, there were more than one shipwright, and plenty of slaves capable of manual labor to build a fleet to ferry the Golden Horde across the waterway which separated them from the mighty Theodosian walls.

Chagadai was an impatient man, especially since he desperately wanted to prove his sister’s ramblings false. Thus, he was a rather cruel taskmaster, as he ensured that those who failed to endure their brutal workload were whipped into shape.

—

Days passed since the Golden Horde arrived on the other end of the Bosporus, and in that time plenty of barges were constructed. Whatever trees they could find in the nearby land were chopped down and converted into timber.

While they reforged the weapons and armor that they had previously scavenged from the battlefield into nails. The effort of tens of thousands of slaves had constructed the vessels necessary to cross the Bosporus in merely a single week.

Thus, with his fleet constructed, Chagadai gave the order to sail, and lay siege to the mighty Theodosian walls, which had stood proudly for nearly a millennium. As Chagadai boarded the first barge, he gazed upon his younger sister and gave his soldiers a command that would ultimately save her life.

“Keep my dearest sister in my tent, under guard. I don’t trust her to enter the battlefield by my side.”

Khorijin merely sighed internally as she heard this, knowing from the spirits warning that this would ultimately be why she survived long enough to find herself in captivity, while her brother and the majority of his army died horribly in the flames of war. Yet she did not say a word to remind her brother of this fate, and merely abided by his commands, knowing that resistance to her fate was no longer an option.

A small squad of the Khan’s most elite warriors did as they were instructed, and locked up the Mongol Princess into her brother’s tent, ensuring that she could not escape. In fact, they felt rather irritated that they would not take part in the glorious conquest of Constantinople, yet they did not speak a word of their misgivings.

After securing his sister, Chagadai boarded the first barge, along with as many of his troops and their equipment that could fit on board. Several other barges set sail at the same time, as they slowly ferried the troops across the strait which connected the western world to the east.

Within a matter of hours, all one hundred thousand mongol horsemen were standing across from the gates of Constantinople, gazing savagely upon its glory. None more so than the Khan, who impatiently eyed the city, which would become the capital of his great empire. With a confident grin on his barbarous face, Chagadai spoke the words which he believed would be written in history until the end of time.

“These walls have stood defiantly for a thousand years, protecting the city’s inhabitants from the horrors of the outside world. I think it’s about time they came crumbling down. Unleash the cannons!”

With this command given, a series of cannons, which had mostly been scavenged from the scattered Byzantine and Georgian forces, were loaded and primed before the first barrage opened fire upon the mighty Theodosian walls.

There were three sections of walls which guarded the city from the outside world, and until now no hostile army had ever breached them. However, this was no longer the age of trebuchets and crossbows. This was the era of steel and shot. Because of this, Alexandros knew that they would not hold out for long.

Thus, in an act of desperation, the young Prince had ordered the German Marines who were stationed at the Embassy to deploy their machine guns to the inner wall. Assuming the Mongols were able to breach the first two sections of the City’s defenses, the only thing that would await them at their final destination would be a torrent of bullets.

During this past week, after the riots had been quelled, the German Marines had spent some time instructing Palladius’ legions on how to wield these modern weapons of war. Their training was brief, but not much was required to learn how to operate Berengar’s BuzzSaw from a static position.

The Marines brought out whatever 8x57mm munitions they had stored away within the embassy, and supplied them to the Byzantine machine gunners. All that remained to defend the German embassy were two machine guns and two thousand rounds of ammunition.

While the Mongol artillery pounded the outermost defenses. Alexandros stood on top of the inner wall with a hint of disdain on his youthful face. A small group of German Naval Special Forces, as well as Palladius and his elite guard, flanked him. The aging Byzantine General had but a single question on his mind as he asked the boy about his overall plan for defense.

“Do you really think we can hold out long enough for your father’s forces to arrive?”

Despite the young age of the child next to him, there was not a single hint of fear in the boy’s green eyes. Instead, he merely scoffed in response to this, before stating with the utmost confidence that there was not a reason to worry.

“My father’s forces are stationed in Cyprus, which is roughly 761 kilometers away from our current location. I have received word that they have already deployed and are en route as we speak. With a speed of roughly 400 kilometers per hour, it will take less than two hours for reinforcements to arrive. When they do, the enemy is as good as dead.

With our current defenses, and the weapons we wield, the enemy won’t even be able to breach the outer wall before the Luftwaffe arrives to save the day. You do not need to worry so much, Palladius, from the moment my father married my mother, the Byzantine Empire’s future was secured.

Just make sure your men stationed on the outer wall use their artillery to target the enemy’s cannons. If these barbarians actually manage to breach our second line of defense, then they will be walking straight into machine gun fire.

Now that I think about it, you haven’t had the chance to witness how affect my father’s weapons are, have you? If I’m not mistaken, my father defeated the Hungarian Army before you could arrive to witness their slaughter. If that’s the case, then you should treat this as a learning experience.”

Palladius had been stunned by how quickly the boy had taken charge of the city’s defenses and quelled the riots. He vowed from that moment on not to underestimate Alexandros simply because he was a child. If the boy had such confidence in this battle, then he need not worry. Ultimately, he could only sigh in defeat and express his true thoughts on the matter.

“I sure hope you are right.”

Thus, the Golden Horde had arrived at the gates of Constantinople, but they only had two hours to breach through three sets of walls before the Luftwaffe arrived. Whether they could accomplish their goals in this amount of time would ultimately decide whether or not the Khan and his horde of nomads would emerge victorious.