Chapter 202: Troubles at the Byzantine Court (1/2)

While Berengar was fighting in Austria, events that would impact Berengar's future were occurring on the other side of the Christian World. In the east within the ancient city of Constantinople, Arethas Maniakes was kneeling within the Royal Palace before the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He was questioning the man about a particular area of interest.

Emperor Vetranis Palaiologos was the current Emperor of the Byzantine Empire; his ancestors had ruled over the Eastern Roman Empire for over a hundred years. He was in his early forties and already had a gray head of hair with a matching beard. The stress of overseeing the war with the Mamluke Sultanate, which reached a stalemate, had aged him drastically these past ten years.

However, for the first time in a long time, there was hope to turn the tides of war to his favor. Recently there had been developments in an obscure part of Europe, where the Count of Tyrol had developed an advanced industry and sold special equipment for a fair price to the Empire's forces.

Emperor Vetranis had no idea how Berengar von Kufstein had managed to create such a massive stockpile of high-quality steel, and yet he had personally witnessed the results. The enormous output that Berengar's factories were able to produce Mirror-Pattern armor was the likes that the Emperor had never seen before, and he had greatly desired to see Berengar's facilities for himself.

However, he could not very well travel to Kufstein, and thus he had to hear the details from his Strategos of Ionia, Arethas Maniakes, who had just entered the palace at the Emperor's request. Thus the two men were face to face within the Palace of Constantinople for the sole reason as to inquire about Berengar's production capabilities.

Strategos Arethas, it has been a while since I have last seen you. How have you been?”

Arethas was permitted to stand, and as such, he rose from his kneeling position as the Emperor approached him. It had been some time since he last saw the Emperor face-to-face, and thus he was incredibly thankful for the current opportunity.

The young Strategos grinned before returning the Emperor's greeting.

”I have been well since the last time we spoke; how are you faring, your majesty?”

The two men were quite friendly with one another as Emperor Vetranis immediately began complaining about his life.

”I have been better; for starters, my daughter grows more beautiful by the day, her charm has managed to attract the attention of suitors across not only the Christian world but the Islamic world as well. I swear the number of princes she has declined over the past year must be in the dozens. She seems to have high ambitions for her future husband and won't listen to my suggestions! Raising a daughter is too much of a hassle for this old heart of mine to bear!”

Arethas immediately began to laugh at the Emperor's comment and tried to cheer him up.

”You are not that old, your majesty; you are only forty-three!”

However, the Emperor merely scoffed before chastising Arethas

”If I were a commoner, I would be close to death by now!”

Hearing such a response, Arethas began to laugh before patting the Emperor on the back.

”Well, then we are lucky you are not, in fact, a commoner!”

As the two men walked through the palace and continued their conversation, Emperor Vetranis eventually brought up the topic he wanted to discuss.

”Arethas I wanted to discuss with you about your visit to Kufstein. Tell me, how is that upstart Count capable of producing so much steel?”

Arethas sighed heavily as he shook his head, his brunette hair glimmered under the light of the sun, as he cast a downtrodden expression before speaking.

”I genuinely wish I could tell you, but I was not allowed to see how he produced the steel, merely the facilities he used to transform it into arms and armor. It was a level of production I had never seen before. Even our national armories can not compare to the efficiency that the Tyroleans are capable of. ”

The Emperor sighed when he heard this news; he began to speak in a regretful tone.

”Well, that is a shame; I was hoping we could learn something from the Count of Tyrol. I hear he is currently involved in a war for control of Austria. Do you know how that is going?”

Arethas kept close contact with Berengar; after all, the trade they shared was very lucrative for both parties. With the war for Austria going on, the man was greatly concerned about Berengar's safety. Thus he nodded his head and informed the Emperor a bit of what he knew.

”Berengar's armies are far better equipped than any force I have seen. When I was visiting, his city guards were equipped with plate armor that covered their heads, necks, torsos, and thighs. They also wielded strange hand cannon variants which were of an unknown design. If his boasts are true and all of his troops are equipped to such a degree, then the likelihood of him winning this war is huge. He also appeared to have mounted dozens of cannons on his city walls. So he seems to be capable of mass-producing such devastating weapons as well.”

Emperor Vetranis was shocked when he heard such information, and thus he quickly asked Arethas about a new possibility that had formed in his mind.