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"Ah, Lefel... I have a terrible headache right now."
“I know… these people in the 45G zone take themselves too seriously.”
"I heard they treated their own people who didn't want to fight the same way when the Soviet Union and the United States invaded their territory? God, how am I supposed to stop them..."
"Well, there probably isn't a quick guide, because... Lieutenant Colonel, there's something good I might have to show you."
"Huh?" He could hardly believe the words on the document when he picked it up.
"Order from the Supreme Command of the 45th Expeditionary Force:"
"Due to the increasing demand for military personnel in all aspects of the situation in District 45, and upon the recommendation of Duke Sasler Etias, commander of the 45th Army Group, Lieutenant Colonel Thacus Caronville, commander of the Tokyo Concession Armed Security Corps, is hereby ordered to be prepared to be dispatched to the front line in District 45 at any time. His original position will be replaced during this period, and the plan for the transfer of key military personnel under his command has not yet been determined."
"The recipient of this letter has no right to refuse." Next to it was the personal signature of His Highness Prince Kyleley, the Supreme Commander of District 45.
"Uh... why does this feel like something that prince wrote?"
"It must have been written by her older sister. It's said that Her Highness Elizabeth often has her younger brother help her with these trivial matters."
"Okay, I knew it. These strong words just didn't match that weak little body."
"Ahem, sir, teasing those two siblings like that is......"
"It's not like the walls are overheard, can't you just let me enjoy this freedom a little longer?" The lieutenant colonel cried, "Damn it, Your Highness Elizabeth... I have a feeling that some things will be lost once we get there..."
"what?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing... But if I had to say something good, it would be great if I didn't have to sit on the sidelines anymore. Thank you for bringing me such great news."
Chapter 178, Section 248: The Sword's Edge Sprouts from the Bones of the Rhine's Offspring
"Oh, I remember now, it's called the Gransenau, right?"
Gdynia, a small coastal fishing village in northern Poland, has grown rapidly since the early 20th century, driven by various factors. By the outbreak of World War II, its port and shipyards had made it a jewel of the Gulf of Danzig, the lifeline of Polish maritime trade, and a major hub of the Polish maritime corridor.
Having endured the turmoil of the World War and six years of darkness following the fall of its nation, Gdynia will need a long time to recover from its wounds. At the very least, it must ensure that its maritime home remains unobstructed.
The passenger ship chartered by Sweden, carrying Ekaterina and Ilya, had traveled more than 200 nautical miles eastward from Rügen Island and had come to a stop in the port flying the Soviet flag. As they disembarked with the rest of the group, they did not forget to look back at the large ships blocking the port of Gdynia.
Measuring 234 meters long and 30 meters wide, with a maximum displacement of 2 tons, the German Navy's battlecruiser Gransenau was hit in the forward ammunition compartment during a Royal Air Force night raid on Kiel on February 26, 1942. To prevent the out-of-control fire from destroying the ship, the sailors had to partially scuttle it and extinguish the fire with seawater.
In 1943, she was transferred to Gdynia in preparation for her future journey to Norway. The Führer, who had once placed high hopes on her, ordered the dismantling of her armaments after long-term defeats in surface warfare. Her crew was sent to the underwater U-boat force, and her 280mm main guns and 150mm secondary guns were all taken down and used as shore-based gun emplacements. One of them is still rusting off the coast of Ottofurt, Norway.
With no fighting capability whatsoever, the Gransenau's ultimate fate was sealed when the Soviet Red Army entered the city at the end of March 1945. The last crew members who were still taking care of her food and shelter scuttled her in the port passage of Gdynia, swallowing their last tragic breath.
……
The Germans could never have imagined that sinking this warship would bring them more than just what they thought was "preserving their chastity." Their actions would later cause enormous trouble for Germany's enemies—the Gneisenau's massive size made it extremely difficult for the Russians to prevent it from monopolizing the harbor and to make it easier for ships to enter and leave.
What's even more ridiculous is that this time, the Soviet Union's enemy was not the Third Reich.
"Good heavens, is this what's keeping the Red Navy comrades' ships so restricted? Oh well, let's find a place to sit first."
Ekaterina wiped away the water that had vomited from seasickness and led Ilya to sit down by a pile of cargo on the dock—the garrison in the city and the suburbs wasn't in such a hurry, and the captain leading the group said they could rest for a while.
The two sat atop a stack of crates more than two meters high, watching the busy figures coming and going at the dock, and felt that something was amiss.
"Huh?" Something's wrong. Why are so many laborers wearing German Wehrmacht uniforms? "Where did all these fascists come from?"
That's not all. Why are there Soviet soldiers with guns everywhere on the dock, staring at these Wehrmacht animals? Cough, why did the two snipers' keen observation skills selectively fail? Maybe they were just tossed around by the boat.
"Hey! Comrade!" Ekaterina called over a sergeant in charge of guarding the camp. "When did Gdynia become a prisoner-of-war labor camp?"
"Haha, you might not know this, but this is Marshal Rokossovsky's order." The Grand Master paused. "I suppose you already knew on the ship what kind of enemy Motherland would be facing this time?"
"Well, then what?"
"Our motherland will not be defeated by the enemy, but our motherland must also admit that it is not inexhaustible. Now we must make full use of all available manpower. Look, on this ship that just came from Leningrad, our weapons were unloaded by these Germans."
"Ah, is that so... But what about the safety of these fascist lackeys..."
"Comrade Marshal clearly pointed out that SS soldiers and prisoners of war with a history of violence are absolutely not allowed to participate in manual labor. The Wehrmacht soldiers you see are only a portion of those we have recently selected. In fact, a large part of them, as you can see, are still civilians living in the city. However, it is estimated that we will be able to select more Germans suitable for work soon. The work pressure at the docks will not last long."
"That's really nice."
“But comrades, I don’t know if you’ll have that luck,” the sergeant said, leading the two women to several weapon crates. “I heard from our superiors that we’ll soon have new weapons in mass production. Then, a batch will be delivered to your comrades in the Third Assault Army for final combat testing. After all, it’s said that the ammunition for the new weapons isn’t the same as the Mosin-Nagant rifles you’re carrying, so it’ll take some time to reorganize the factory.”
……
"Come on, take a look. I wonder if any of you have seen this before."
The box in front of them contained an SKS semi-automatic rifle, which was shorter than the Mosin-Nagant rifles they carried.
"Is this... a replacement for the SVT?" The two took out a bullet and examined it. "Well, we don't know what the comrades in the Guards think, but this smaller bullet doesn't seem very appealing to us snipers. Anyway, it's definitely not for our job."
"Haha, maybe so, but I really like this one." Another box brought over contained an RPD light machine gun. "This will definitely make the Guards comrades very happy. If I had to choose between the DP and this one, the lighter and shorter one would definitely be better. Besides, this drum magazine can hold 100 rounds, so it lasts much longer."
"However, we're more worried about those giants roaming the ground. Isn't there anything we can easily deal with?"
"Oh, over here." The Bodhisattva opened another box. "Look, does it look familiar?"
"Isn't this Iron Fist?" A thin tube with a large bullet at one end, but painted grayish-green.
"We need to solve the current problems, and we also need to understand that relying solely on the rocket launchers of our so-called Western allies is not enough. If we build these cheap things based on the weapons of German fascism, according to them, we can each carry a T-34 tank and blast those scum to pieces."
"So, what should we call it?"
"Yeah, RPG-1, I'll give it a nickname, I don't know if you guys will like it—German sausage, haha."
Despite their laughter, the three men's expressions gradually turned cold. After all, upon closer reflection, it seemed that these things had been won by the German prisoners of war who passed by. As for what their targets were back then, there was no need to elaborate.
……
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Oder River, Elizabeth, still in Berlin, was watching with great interest as her brother helped her decorate her house.
"It's crooked, it's crooked." The older sister sat on a chair in the distance, while the younger brother stood on a stool holding a painting, with a hammer and nails between his hands. "Take a closer look, where were the points you marked before?"
“That’s the point you marked, sister! I’m not that tall, I can’t see it!” Kelly said, wobbling as she held up the picture frame. “Oh dear, it’s so heavy, I’ll get down first.”
"Stay up there! You've already hammered in the nail, are you just going to leave it hanging like that on one side? Do you want to break the nail or make the plaster fall off the wall?"
"5555555... Sister, you're too cruel."
"Your Highness, over here... oh?" At that moment, a general entered with a report. "Shouldn't Your Highness be shouting about something like this..."
"Never mind that, I did it on purpose."
"Emmmm...excuse my words, but His Highness Kelly is probably the least royal of all royals..."
"Let's get down to business!"
"Very well... Your Highness, according to reports from our troops in the northern Berlin region, the situation for civilians in Germany seems to be getting quite serious."
"how to say?"
"On the one hand, we cannot bring all the Germans found in the occupied territories back to District 11 in a short period of time. On the other hand, according to our statistics, a considerable number of them are not very suitable for physical labor. The space allocated to the people of District 45 in District 11 is not very sufficient. So, Your Highness may have to consider this carefully."
"Oh, so the containment pressure on Area 11 is too great, right?"
"Excuse my bluntness, Your Highness, but when you officially took over as Commander-in-Chief of District 45, someone reminded you about the problem of arresting too many civilians..."
“You need to understand that before we can make the most of these Germans, we need to understand them thoroughly. Putting them together indiscriminately is like putting bacteria in a petri dish.” Elizabeth smiled. “Now that you have a better understanding, let me give you a plan for the future.”
"please say."
"Regarding the 45 districts and towns that will be cleared in the future, cities and towns with a population of less than 4 will retain the original inhabitants and select those with labor capacity. As for cities with a population of more than 4, they will be completely cleared out! Then, those with labor capacity will be taken to District 11, while the disabled, the elderly and the infirm will all be expelled to small towns. As for their living conditions, we will not care."
"Understood, Your Highness. By the way, would you like to review the list of some of the expeditionary force family members who are being prepared to come to District 45?"
"Leave it there, I'll take a look when I have time. But I don't think the total number is too high. Clearing out so many cities would probably require an entire building for each person, haha. I just don't know if these bold ones can stand the fact that American planes are constantly bombing our land..."
"Well, Your Highness could probably say a word and they wouldn't dare to speak out, right? After all, they did it voluntarily."
"Ha, you think I'd worry about that? If someone can't adapt, can't they just leave? Oh, by the way, I heard there was some trouble in the Tokyo Concession recently, is that right?"
"Uh, yes, a German patrol that was recently formed carried out an extremely cruel execution of a group of people from Area 11..."
"Were they former German soldiers? Hmm, I wish I had a guard like theirs."
Chapter 179, Section 249: The Sunrise Hidden Beneath the Darkness
"Don't move, be quiet!"
He was pinned down by two arms, each holding a gun, and pressed tightly against a piece of translucent frosted glass.
They did that, but made no further move, and even then, they didn't dare to turn their heads.
Nobody knows what will happen next.
……
But then, on the other side of the frosted glass, five girls' bodies were pressed onto it one after another, using the same method he had just been treated.
“This…” Through the blurry light and shadows and the girls’ cries for help, one could vaguely make out who each person was. “Angelina? Ypel?! You…”
"Raise your gun! Aim! Ready!"
"No! Captain!"
A series of seemingly casual yet deafening gunshots marked the momentary, blood-red marks on the several girls struggling against the frosted glass. Bullets pierced their bodies, bursting their blood vessels and splashing blood into their eyes on the other side of the glass.
The blood and the already corpse-like body slowly slumped against the base of the glass wall.
"No...no no no..."
At that moment, I could clearly feel a tubular object pressing against the back of my head...
……
"Do not!--"
"Huh?" Griffin exclaimed in surprise, only to find himself lying on a bed. The ceiling in front of him belonged to the tent where he lived alone in the military camp. The curtains of the tent window were slightly ajar, and the sunlight that peeked in was just enough to outline most of the barracks.
"Phew..." Startled, he broke out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding for a while, but he vaguely sensed that the hand on his chest looked curious.
"Hmm? Griffin?" The blanket was pulled back a little, and a small head with long blond hair slowly crawled up from his shoulder and pressed him down. "What's wrong with you?"
"I had another nightmare, Angelie... By the way, can you imagine what it would be like if we all died one day?"
"Haha, I thought it was nothing serious." The girl smiled with relief and pressed her naked body against Griffin's chest. "Come on, try to feel the wound on my thigh."
"The time when we were bombed by American planes?"
“From then on, I silently envisioned the day you mentioned. At least thinking about it meant that when death came, I wouldn’t be so devastated that I would never want to live again.”
"'Living only for victory, unafraid to die on the battlefield, even if torn to pieces, I will still assassinate the enemy's soul in my dreams,' your description of the soldiers of District 45 was absolutely brilliant." He chuckled, then reached out and rubbed the girl's cheeks and head with satisfaction. "Ha, people say what they're like, just like your petite body. It's wonderful to be able to lie on top of me now... You were so cute last night."
"Alright, if you want to come again, we can talk about it later. Even when it's your turn to rest, you'll still get up on time." Angelie curled the corners of her mouth coquettishly and gently rubbed Griffin's wrist with her fingers. "Hmm... last night too, you made me feel really good."
"Come again next time? Huh?"
"Hehe, take this opportunity to unleash your imagination in bed. You lie down, I'll go draw the curtains."
She took off the blanket, got off the bed where the two of them were barely able to share, and wearing only her underwear, slowly walked to the curtains that were letting in sunlight, and slowly wrapped herself in them.
……
"Ah, Angelie's figure is absolutely amazing, hehe...wait, what?"
The curtains were drawn, and the tent was brightly lit, but where was the girl who had just woken up in bed with him?
"Captain Griffin, what are you dawdling for?" A scolding voice rushed in as the figure lifted the tent flap, arms crossed in dissatisfaction. "Shouldn't you teach him a lesson for his bad habit of sleeping in?"
"Uh, I..." What's going on? How come Angelie is all dressed up, from head to toe: coat, shirt, skirt, and boots?
"Get up!" she yelled even louder, grabbing Griffin's clothes from the hook and throwing them onto the bed.
"Ouch!" The stiff epaulettes hit him right in the eye. "Honey, what's wrong with you, acting one way in bed and another out of bed?! They say breaking up at dawn is the domain of jerks, but what about you..."
"Shut up, you rascal." Angelie put her hands on her hips, gave him one last glare, and turned to leave. "Lieutenant Shishian is waiting for us, hurry up!"
……
"Okay, sir, so you mean these Germans have been trying to escape all along?"
Meanwhile, Shishian was in an open area, chatting with another officer about the war situation.
“That’s right. It happened when we were advancing north. Whenever one of those Germans escaped, they would take the people from the next village with them. Apart from those who couldn’t leave at all, many times when we entered smaller villages, there was practically no one there. It was like fleeing from disaster in the old days. We would barely manage to capture an old woman and consider our mission complete, hah.”
"Where can they run to? They are the subjects of the defeated nations of their world's great war. Will the countries they invaded, and the countries that defeated them, accept their arrival?"