After dousing himself in diesel and lighting himself aflame, Berengar emerged from the fires completely unharmed. Word of this event spread rapidly across Europe, with many reacting in shock and disbelief.
Berengar had eliminated the leadership of the Papacy and was now marching his armies further south into the Kingdom of Naples, to eliminate its King and unify the region under the banner of the Kingdom of Lombardy.
However, on the other side of the world, the Empire of Japan was preparing for a brutal conflict. Itami had gathered her army in Heian-kyō where she stood atop the steps to her Palace looking over them. Tens of thousands of men dressed in military uniforms stood below with their rifles resting against their shoulders.
The fact that the War Goddess had gathered so many men could only mean one thing. War was about to be declared. Because of this, each soldier stood silently as they waited for the speech, which would reveal to them the identity of the enemy they would be facing.
Itami was dressed in her own military uniform, with all of her imperial honors boldly displayed on her breast. She gazed upon the soldiers of her army with her sword in hand. She unsheathed the blade and pointed it towards the sky in the direction of the Joseon Kingdom before making her bold declaration.
"Far to the West lies a great and mysterious power known as The German Empire. For the past ten years, a man by the name of Berengar von Kufstein has led his people to war, conquering his neighbors and uniting his people into a single Empire.
This man now calls himself Kaiser, and rules over the German people as their emperor. Unlike our neighbors, this Empire is no mere feudal state, armed with swords and spears. In actuality, it is a highly militaristic autocracy whose advancements in the field of science and industry are beyond even the scale of our mighty Empire.
I won't lie to you. I do not know this man's intentions, or if he will prove hostile to the people of Japan. However, I can say with certainty that should the German Empire declare war on us, we will not survive the tides of war.
It is because I have become aware of this threat in the West that I have decided to expand our Military Capabilities. From this day forward, the Empire of Japan shall dedicate its most brilliant minds to the fields of chemistry and engineering. We shall create an Army that can stand toe to toe with the Germans, and should they bare their fangs against us, we shall be ready to defeat them.
However, it is not only brilliant minds that our Empire needs, but natural resources. Something that our Island is severely lacking. Since we do not have the means to produce steel in our own lands, at least in the vast quantities required to expand our military. Then we will simply have to take it from our neighbors by force.
The Joseon have stood in defiance of our prowess for centuries. They deny us the trading rights to their vast iron deposits that we require. Partially in fear of what we have become. Under my reign, we have advanced in power and technology beyond our neighbors, and it is time we subject them to our rule.
I hereby declare war on the Joseon Dynasty, and intend to invade, conquer, and annex their lands. We shall make use of their iron deposits to fuel our war machine so that the land of the Rising Sun may forever remain independent of foreign influence! Now go forth, my armies, and bring glory to your homeland. Tennōheika Banzai!"
The Japanese soldiers were alarmed to hear that such a powerful state existed in the west, and were instantly driven with zeal towards their new objective. A war for natural resources needed no justification, especially if it was in preparation against a great threat that lie on the horizon.
The rise and fall of nations was a natural consequence of history. Humans would always fight for control over land and resources. However, only the strongest civilizations would survive. Rather than kneel before this Kaiser in the west, the Japanese soldiers decided to fight for a better future, one where they could defend their Empire's borders from all enemies. Thus it was no surprise that they instantly chanted Itami's last words.
"Tennōheika Banzai!"
After saying this, Itami led her troops to the shores, where her ships would ferry them across the North China Sea and into the Korean Peninsula. After landing in Busan, she intended to send forth her various brigades in different directions to capture as many strategic resources as possible.
As for the woman herself, she intended to lead the men on this campaign. Time was running out, and Itami's plans to supply the Bengals to keep Berengar's forces distracted could only last for so long. After all, she was certain the Germans would defeat her proxies. She just did not know how long it would take them to do so.
Itami was also wary of how far Berengar's Empire stretched. Now that the Suez Canal was open in this world, and controlled by the German Empire, his ships could reach the seas of Asia much quicker than it would take them should they sail around Africa.
The young Empress was unaware that Berengar was currently involved in a war with his neighbors, and that it would be a matter of months before he could get involved in India. Because of this, she had embarked on this campaign with far fewer forces than she had initially desired to take with her.
Roughly forty-five thousand Japanese soldiers were sailing to Busan to take part in this invasion. Though it was significantly less than Itami had initially desired to deploy, it was enough to conquer critical regions. Even if it wasn't enough to occupy the entire country.
Itami could only funnel more forces into the region as time passed, and her army grew in number. She simply did not have the massive Army that Berengar had at his disposal. Not yet anyway. Give her five years and she would have hundreds of thousands of troops beneath her command. Ten years and she would have a million.
Thus, the Invasion of Joseon had begun earlier than Itami had expected, entirely because she became aware of Berengar's existence, and was deeply afraid of the rumors she had heard about him. Until her agents could confirm the Bengal Emperor's words to be true, she had to operate under the assumption that the Kaiser was as wicked as he was portrayed.
