Chapter 1001: No Aura of a King

Driving back to the Führer’s residence, the scenes along the way were all of peace and industry. The once chaotic and dilapidated Berlin, the Berlin of defeat, had now been completely forgotten. What remained was this Berlin, which had become the heart of Europe.

The weather in Berlin in May was already very pleasant, and as the end of June approached, the temperature here was very comfortable. Unknown flowers were in bloom, but the high-ranking officials from various departments, in their black or gray-green uniforms, coming and going, added a touch of tension to the air.

“Let’s have dinner together in a bit. I had originally intended for the Army to promote you directly to Lieutenant Colonel, but the man in charge of the school you’re going to is only a Lieutenant Colonel… so I changed the plan at the last minute and only gave you the rank of Major,” Akado said to Rein in the swaying car.

The car they were in was a luxury Mercedes that could seat six people. The interior was quite spacious. Alice had been assigned to another car, and sitting next to Rein was a young, ordinary-looking military officer.

The security department had no reason to let someone who had once made a mistake regarding the Führer’s safety into the Führer’s car. To ensure Akado’s personal safety was foolproof, besides Anna, his personal bodyguard, a guard had been deliberately arranged in the Führer’s car.

Counting the driver and the adjutant in the front passenger seat, this was barely enough to ensure that the Führer would not be harmed by a suddenly-gone-rogue Rein. Although Akado felt that this was completely unnecessary, he was indeed not just one person now, but represented many, many people in an entire empire. The Führer’s safety was related to the future of the Empire, which, in the hearts of others, was no joke.

“It makes no difference. Rank, to me, is something I can take or leave,” Rein replied magnanimously. “To be given such a good job, so that I don’t have to rely on killing to find a sense of existence, is already enough to satisfy me.”

The car stopped at the main entrance of the Führer’s residence. An officer came forward and pulled open the heavy car door for Akado. The dozen or so soldiers standing at the door all stood at attention, raised their arms, and saluted. “Heil Akado Rudolph, my Führer!”

Akado jumped out of the car, gave a casual wave of his hand, signaling everyone to be at ease. He motioned for Rein and Anna, who had gotten out of the car first, to go in together, and then he strode into the most core, most powerful, and most mysterious place in all of Germany.

At this moment, a man who looked like an officer hurried over, then deliberately slowed his pace when he was still a good distance from Akado. Several guards who were already prepared had already fixed their gazes on this seemingly out-of-place visitor, but he had slowed down in time, allaying most of their vigilance.

“Heil Akado Rudolph, my Führer!” The officer saluted at attention, then walked to Akado’s side, leaned close to his ear, and whispered a shocking piece of news. “My Führer, a message just came in. At the Army Intelligence Department, General Rokossovsky has committed suicide.”

Akado was stunned. He then looked at the officer, his face filled with shock. “What did you say? Say it again! What kind of joke is this? Didn’t I give orders to watch him closely?”

Rein, who was standing by Akado’s side, although he had not heard clearly what the news was, could see from Akado’s expression that this was something that had made the Führer very angry. So he smiled, walked to Akado’s side, and said, “We can have dinner any day. If you have something urgent today, then another day is fine.”

“My apologies! I must go over immediately! After all, this is a matter that I need to resolve,” Akado said, shifting his angry gaze from the army intelligence officer. He managed to calm himself down and then said to Rein, “Anna, arrange a car to send Rein and Alice off. Get a car ready. I’m going to the Army Intelligence Headquarters!”

There was no doubt, as long as one wasn’t a complete idiot, one could imagine what a big deal the Americans and the Soviets would make of this. A high-ranking Soviet general who had led his men to surrender had died an unclear death in Berlin. This in itself would have a huge impact on future German acceptances of surrender.

Those officers who were originally about to surrender would probably have to think about whether their own heads were as valuable as General Rokossovsky’s. As long as the number of people surrendering was reduced by even a tenth, then Rokossovsky’s death could be considered more than worth its price.

And that was not even including the part where the media of other countries would sling mud at Germany. If they deliberately sensationalized Rokossovsky’s death, then the various versions of rumors would be enough to make people collapse for a while. Slaughtering prisoners, mistreating surrendered officers—a pile of such big hats would be enough to cause a heavy loss to the credibility of the German government.

Another thing that angered Akado was that his absorption and use of enemy generals had been too much of a failure. Apart from General Vlasov, whose character had already been proven in history, of all the generals the German army had captured in its foreign wars of expansion, very few had defected to the German camp.

Who had decreed that in the novels, the male protagonist just had to unleash his “kingly aura” and those famous and fierce generals and wise advisors from history would all become his little brothers, bowing their heads in submission? Why could those guys in the stories, who led countless famous historical figures to sweep across the world, do it so easily? And why couldn’t he?

Back then, Marshal Tukhachevsky, he had sent people to rescue him, but the other had preferred death to leaving the Soviet Union. On the North African front, he had finally captured the famous general Montgomery. The result was that this big brother had played the trick of becoming a hermit, ignoring all the benefits Germany had given him, and had just refused to participate in the Axis military and political system. Now, after all the trouble to capture a Rokossovsky, he had taken his eyes off him for a moment, and he had committed suicide…

These damn famous generals, were they all made of steel? Were their blood vessels made of dragon’s liver and phoenix’s gallbladder alloy? Why were they so stubbornly unyielding, preferring death? Logically speaking, shouldn’t the German high command just have to say a few words of persuasion, just to make a show, and these generals would be willing to unite around this big family of the Axis, to contribute to the “Four Modernizations” of Greater Europe?

The car came to a steady stop in front of the Army Intelligence Headquarters building. Akado, accompanied by Anna, stepped into the building. Gascoigne was already standing at the entrance to welcome him. The row of officers behind him all stood at attention and raised their hands in salute as Akado passed.

“Alright! People who can salute and shout slogans, I can find them anywhere. What I want are those who can reduce the trouble for the Empire…” Akado said, ignoring the apprehensive officers. He strode into the building. The people he had left behind looked ashamed. After all, they had indeed failed to handle the matter of using Rokossovsky.

Walking into the cell for special prisoners, Akado saw General Rokossovsky, whose death was a very ugly sight. He had taken off his trousers, had used his belt to hang himself from the door-beam of the room’s partition, had kicked away the books he had been standing on, and had hanged himself in this well-conditioned, luxurious cell.

“This person… why is he still hanging here?” Akado asked, looking at this hero of the Soviet people in another timeline. He frowned and did not speak for a long time. After a long while, he finally remembered something and turned to ask the people behind him.

“I’m sorry! My Führer. Because we knew you were coming to inspect in person, we did not move the scene…” Gascoigne said, bowing his head and quickly answering Akado’s question. The man had died on his watch. He also had an inescapable responsibility in this matter.

Who would have thought that this Rokossovsky, who had been so cooperative in finishing his frontline work, had even helped to sort out a lot of the shells and grain that had been buried under Stalingrad, now called Saint Rudolph. He had been obediently escorted back to Germany from the front and had then lived obediently for many days. He ate and slept at regular times, and even joked and chatted with the people around him. Who would have thought that such a high-ranking general, who had not been mistreated in any way, would commit suicide so without warning?

“Have you no brains? Get him down immediately. Clean up the wound and have the autopsy department prepare a good-looking autopsy report!” Akado said through clenched teeth, reminding his trusted subordinate. “Remember! This was a suicide… Prepare a complete story, and when you’ve rehearsed it to the point where you believe it yourself, release the news immediately!”

“Understood! Please rest assured, my Führer! I will personally oversee this matter!” Gascoigne quickly agreed. He knew this matter had caused a lot of trouble for his idol, Führer Akado, so his own mood was not very good right now. If Akado hadn’t been in such a hurry to get here, he would probably be in his own office, cursing people out.

Akado waved his hand and then turned to look at the intelligence department officers behind Gascoigne. He then extended his hand and beckoned a middle-aged man who looked relatively steady. “I’ll leave this matter to you! If anything goes wrong, I’ll find someone to replace all your duties, understand?”

“Yes! My Führer!” The middle-aged officer’s face showed his excitement. He quickly stood at attention, saluted, and answered loudly.

Akado nodded and then looked at the somewhat astonished Gascoigne, explaining, “I have no doubt that if you were to handle this personally, you could do it well. But if the entire intelligence department, without you, Gascoigne, can’t get things done, then what do I need this department for? Wouldn’t you alone be enough?”

He pointed to the body of General Rokossovsky, which had already been placed on the floor and was lying there quietly. In the end, he sighed and continued, “After everything is arranged, leave the photos and evidence, and then find a good place and bury him!”

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