Chapter 520: He's Here
Krupp smiled and looked at Akado. “The biggest favorite to win, the Messerschmitt company, hasn’t even flown yet, and you’re already placing your bet so early. You clearly want us to win this money.”
Bosch, at his side, was even more blunt. He held up five fingers and kicked him while he was down. “I’ll bet on the Messerschmitt company to win, 50 marks!”
“100! 100 marks!” Air Force Commander Kesselring, who was sitting in the back row, had clearly heard the Führer’s bet and was very confident in the performance of the glider designed by the Messerschmitt company. He immediately chimed in, “My Führer! I’ll bet 100 marks! The Messerschmitt company wins!” The air force generals around him also began to place their bets, and soon Akado’s 20 marks were up against a challenge of over 1,500.
It was clear that as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Kesselring had a certain understanding of the technical reserves of his country’s aviation enterprises. The Messerschmitt company had won the championship at the competition three consecutive times. With its strong technology and unique designs, it was clearly not something other companies could compare to.
“I’ll bet 20 marks that the Führer wins!” Raeder, as the Grand Admiral of the Navy, had always been this way. He placed the same amount as the Führer, taking Akado’s side.
However, in the grand scheme of things, not many people were optimistic about Akado’s chances. Just as the Chief of the Naval General Staff and the Grand Admiral were racking their brains to support the Führer, the First Lady naturally kicked him while he was down. Mercedes held up a finger and, the moment she spoke, showed her true colors as the richest woman in Germany. “10,000 marks. I’ll bet on the Messerschmitt company to win.”
With such a leading force against him, everyone began to see this bet as a pure game. They all generously placed their bets, making Akado unsure whether to laugh or cry. The poor man discovered that even Anna had placed a bet on the Messerschmitt company. The current betting ratio was an astonishing 40 marks against 13,790.
In other words, even if the side with more money won, they would get almost nothing, while if they lost, Führer Akado and Raeder would split a pot of over ten thousand marks.
Akado gave a wry smile and rubbed his nose, then began to laugh happily. From another perspective, this bet represented a good thing: his subordinate officials and generals still had the courage to question the Führer. For Akado, who had always tried to avoid arbitrary decision-making, this was definitely good news.
And in the distance, the young man named Hartmann, who was laughing with several girls, had no idea what kind of impression his spectacular flight had left on the Führer. At this moment, he was smiling brilliantly, as if without a care in the world.
A German SS officer walked up to the young man. Due to the aura of his uniform, the surroundings fell silent at once. The SS officer showed a smile, trying his best to appear amiable, and then said, “Mr. Hartmann? The Führer would like to meet with you. If you have the time, please come with me now.”
“Oh!” An excited cheer immediately broke out from the crowd. Everyone was congratulating Hartmann. To be received by Führer Akado was a great honor for any German.
Hartmann quickly nodded and, holding the flowers in his hands, followed the German SS officer up the slope of the mountain. Along the way, he passed one soldier after another holding assault rifles, and Hartmann couldn’t help but be infected by the solemn atmosphere.
Soon, the pavilion at the top of the mountain came into view. And the tall but somewhat thin Führer was standing on the grass, watching him with a smile. Following the SS officer, getting closer and closer to the Führer, Hartmann didn’t even know if he was moving his left leg or his right. He just walked forward mechanically, only stopping when he was right in front of Akado.
After he had stood still, he realized that he still had a wreath around his neck and was holding flowers in his hands. In this state, there was no way he could give a proper German salute.
Just as he was in a dilemma, the SS officer who had brought him here stood at attention and saluted. “My Führer! Hartmann has been brought.”
In his haste, Hartmann quickly dropped the flowers in his hands, stood at attention, raised his arm high, and, in a voice that trembled with nervousness, greeted the man he admired most. “Führer… Long live Akado Rudolph!”
Akado smiled, revealing a set of white, neat teeth. He walked over to Hartmann, bent down, picked up the several bouquets of flowers that Hartmann had dropped at his feet, and handed them back to him. “They are your honor. Never casually discard your honor at any time.”
“Yes, sir!” Hartmann replied quickly.
“Don’t be so nervous, and don’t be so formal,” Akado said, patting Hartmann’s shoulder and continuing to smile. He was almost 40 years old, and Hartmann was just over 17. In Akado’s eyes, this god of air combat from his previous life was still just a child.
“Your flying skills are not bad. Where did you train?” Akado asked, seeing that Hartmann had recovered somewhat. He clasped his hands behind his back and led him forward for a walk.
“My Führer, my mother opened a private flying club. I am a member there. I now have a pilot’s license and can fly many types of aircraft. My flying skills were all trained there,” Hartmann replied.
Akado nodded. As someone who knew Hartmann’s family background from his previous life, he naturally knew that what Hartmann said was true. His family was very wealthy, at least well-off enough not to worry about food and clothing. “Are you willing to join the fighter force?”
“I am willing!” Hartmann nodded without a second thought.
“Think carefully. After you join the army, you will be in constant danger,” Akado said, glancing at the still-youthful young man.
“My Führer! I want to become an air force pilot. This is my dream,” Hartmann replied solemnly. “I am very confident in my flying skills, but because of the performance of the aircraft, I can never win the championship that belongs to me… So I really want to join the air force, where everyone flies the same fighter jet. Then I can win my first place in the fairest environment.”
Akado nodded. “To become the king of air combat, that is truly a great dream. I really envy young people like you… If you really become the king of the air force, I will personally award you your medal!”
“Like that tank ace, Rein?” Hartmann’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked. Rein had been publicized as one of the few tank aces in all of Germany. His posters were plastered everywhere, and he was now a household name.
Akado was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s not the same. You are you, Hartmann of the Air Force. He is him, Rein. But I hope you can become the pride of the Air Force, just as Wittmann and Rein are the pride of the Army.”
Soon, a satisfied Hartmann bid farewell to Akado and walked down the slope with his air force dream. He was going to report to the air force, to serve as a fighter pilot in the skies of the Eastern Front, to forge his own legend with his own hands.
Akado, with his hands behind his back, walked back to the pavilion at the top of the mountain alone. But his mind was still filled with the images of Hartmann and Rein. This was truly an age of heroes. The war had wiped out countless brilliant civilizations, but it had also nurtured countless brilliant fruits. Germany had produced countless outstanding talents in the war, and the combat histories of these heroes were the epitome of the entire war.
Since I have already decided to make the whole world different here, and since I have come this far and there is no turning back, then I will stand firm in my beliefs and continue to walk towards my goal, to a future that no one has ever seen!
He hardened his heart and also thought of Rein, whom he considered a friend. The young man who had been tempered on the battlefield for over a year was not yet 19, about the same age as Hartmann whom he had just met. But he was clearly already a true god of the battlefield, a true German warrior.
Akado walked up the slope and beckoned to Brauchitsch. The Chief of the Army General Staff stood up and walked over to Akado. The two men, who had not spoken for a long time, walked back and forth on this gentle, wind-swept slope, shoulder to shoulder.
“How is the situation on the Eastern Front?” Akado asked, getting straight to the topic he was most concerned about.
“The operational objective of encircling Kiev has been achieved, but it seems that Stalin is not buying your strategic policy of using war to promote peace,” Brauchitsch replied. “Our preparations, as you predicted, were indeed insufficient. The situation is not in our favor right now.”
Akado nodded. This was the same as his initial prediction and the estimate of most of the generals in the Wehrmacht. There was no problem. So he thought for a moment and said, “Let the infantry attack Kiev. Try to preserve the industrial production capacity as much as possible and transport these facilities back to Poland in the short term.”
“These are all in progress, without any delay,” Brauchitsch replied. “Krupp is in charge. He is very familiar with this kind of thing, so there won’t be any trouble. I’m more worried that the army won’t be able to hold off the Soviet counter-attack.”
“In terms of our current troop strength, there shouldn’t be any problem,” Akado said, clearly very confident in the army’s combat effectiveness. “By the way, I hear you are personally going to promote Rein to captain? When is he returning to Berlin?”
“He is on his way back to Berlin now, my Führer. It is estimated that he will arrive at the Berlin railway station tomorrow,” Brauchitsch replied with a smile.
Author’s Note: Regarding the issue with Chapter 518, the reason was that Long Ling got the chapter name wrong, not that a chapter was missing. Please don’t panic…
Published: 2025-09-01T04:07:47.000+00:00
Last Edited: 2025-12-09T19:29:33.000+00:00
URL: https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair/posts/mtr-c520-hes-137832537
Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com