Chapter 750: Comfortable

Netherlands, Rotterdam, the former Queen’s Palace. Akado, accompanied by Frank Alston and surrounded by his SS Division 0 special service guards, entered the magnificent palace. As the Führer’s headquarters in the Netherlands, it still maintained a certain degree of luxury, though it was clear that most of the rooms had been closed off since the Queen’s departure.

Akado went straight to his room, then closed the door and refused all visitors. Several hours later, the Führer’s special express train finally arrived in the Netherlands. The officially recognized Führer had finally arrived.

An officer entered Akado’s room and, with his head bowed, reported the latest news: “My Führer, at the train station, those people sent an assassin. However, our surveillance indicates that this assassin was contacted by an army lieutenant general who has investments in the Netherlands. He and some others, due to their actions here, were forced to take a desperate risk.”

“The assassin was apprehended by our men while assembling a sniper rifle at the train station. The other party was no great character. We captured him alive and obtained a very detailed confession,” the officer said in a low voice. “Miss Anna has already handed the man over to General Heydrich’s men.”

“Did those idiots really make a move? They really tried to assassinate the Führer of the Empire? Do they think that in the current situation, they could make Germany the number one power in the world if they were in charge?” Akado sneered. He seemed to be asking these questions, but also seemed to be simply muttering to himself. He looked at the officer and then said coldly, “Since these people think they can break the rules, then I will let them know just who can break these rules!”

He stood up, walked to the officer’s side, and then, with a blank expression, gave the order: “Go, arrest all of them. There’s no need to look for any evidence. Execute them by firing squad directly in front of the palace. The reason will be conspiracy to sabotage the construction of the Empire and violation of imperial law! Do it in front of the Dutch people. Make it bloody and cruel! Then we will see who can’t sit still, and who knows they were wrong!”

…

An old man stood on a chair, surveying his room. He looked at the old woman who had already fallen to the ground, blood streaming from her nose and eyes, and sighed helplessly. His several sons and daughters stared at the poison in their hands, crying and huddling together. “Father! We don’t want to die! We don’t want to die! You were the one who sent people to assassinate the Führer, not us! We might still be able to live. We don’t want to take this!”

“Fools! Fools! Do you think that lackey Heydrich will let you go? Now you can at least choose your own way to die. When you’re captured by them, you’ll know that even death is a luxury!” the old man said, stomping his foot in anguish as he tried to persuade them.

Regret, oh, regret. He had been tempted by those bastards and had built a large number of factories in the Netherlands. He had been a first-class industrialist, and with a little more development, he could have become a famous businessman on par with the now-successful Frank Alston. But now…

Forget it. It was too late to say anything now. He didn’t know what had possessed him to actually fantasize about something like assassinating the Führer with those idiots. Now, not only did he have to die, but his entire family had to be buried with him. One misstep had truly become an eternal regret.

Thinking of this, he tied the rope hanging from the beam into a knot, forming a noose. He then put his head through it. He looked one last time at his children and grandchildren, who were still crying and refusing to take the poison, let out a mournful sigh, and then kicked away the chair beneath his feet.

Wealth and honor had quickly turned into passing clouds. The expensive, brightly polished leather shoe on his foot slipped off and fell to the floor with a clang as his body went limp. His stockinged foot swayed slightly with the creaking of the rope. Finally, everything became still.

A few minutes later, soldiers in SS uniforms rushed into the room. They surrounded the entire room along the walls, holding submachine guns and rifles, pointing them at the center. Several soldiers rushed forward and smashed a rifle butt into the face of a young man who was still crying out that he was not a criminal, and deftly handcuffed all of them.

“My father was the mastermind! We didn’t know anything! We only learned the truth today! We support the Führer!” a middle-aged man shouted, defending himself, hoping to make these ferocious SS men maintain some rationality. But his efforts were clearly in vain. He had only shouted a few sentences before a German SS officer walked over and kicked him in the face.

The originally clean face was instantly contorted. The dirt from the sole of the boot and the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth and his nostrils immediately shut the middle-aged man up. Before he could even realize he had been hit, he was pinned by two German soldiers, unable to struggle in the slightest.

“You can’t do this! We are citizens of the Third Reich, protected by the laws of the Empire,” a noblewoman screamed, seeing her husband’s face covered in blood.

The leading German officer snorted coldly and retorted with a mocking tone, “Oh? Is that so? We can’t? If you had obeyed the laws of the Empire, you would naturally be protected by the Empire. In that case, for me to bring my men here would indeed be a bit abrupt. But… assassinating the Führer of the Empire, that’s a crime you brought upon yourselves.”

Once this crime was confirmed, then everyone in this room would be finished. So of course, they would not admit to such a crime. A group of them began to clamor, “We didn’t know our father would do this. If we had known, we would have definitely stopped him! Believe us, we are all loyal to the Führer, believe us!”

To push the most fatal matter onto the already deceased former head of the family, to let a dead man bear the guilt for the entire family—this was something they had done more than once. Under normal circumstances, they could get away with it by pushing out a branch of the family to take the blame. In their hearts, this time they were showing great sincerity, using the death of the head of the family to cover up their crimes. There was no reason for them to still be held responsible.

The German officer nodded, and the hearts of everyone, which had been hanging in their throats, dropped. But the words he spoke next made them even more desperate. “I believe what you’re saying is right. But I still have to arrest all of you on orders. The orders from above are not to let a single one go.”

“I am just their daughter-in-law! Let me go! I am a direct descendant of the Kleiman family. I want to see my father! I want to see the Führer! I am very familiar with General Dek. He knows I am innocent!” a woman rushed forward, disregarding her image, and hugged the SS officer’s shiny leather boots, wailing. She was so forceful that she didn’t even notice that a large part of her chest was exposed.

If this were a normal banquet, her every smile could make those married men’s minds wander. Perhaps on the night the banquet ended, she could find a suitable person to spend a pleasant night with. But now, with her charms exposed, all the men present were looking at her with disdain. And it made sense—what idiot would have any improper thoughts about such an important prisoner at a time like this?

“What a coincidence. Your father, and that old lover of yours, General Dek, are both on the arrest list this time,” the officer said, very pleased with this matter. Ever since the Führer had issued the order banning trials without guilt, the SS had not acted with such impunity.

But this time, it seemed these idiots had really angered the Führer. At least for now, the Führer did not intend to waste any energy on these people. Not since the last large-scale action against the Junker nobility had such a large-scale purge, or rather, a direct conviction and trial, ever occurred.

“I think you still haven’t figured out the situation. Every cent you have is the property of the Empire. Every breakfast you waste is the blood and sweat of the people! Believe me, the only reason you’re not dead yet is because the Führer wants your death to be more valuable! Understand?” The officer was very satisfied that he could continue to do the work he was best at. He said with a smile on his face, “So the Führer feels that from today on, you will no longer have to waste the Empire’s resources.”

“You can’t treat us like this!” The man with the bloody face still wanted to struggle. The SS officer didn’t care what he wanted to say. He casually waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to act. “Beat him to death. Use your feet and rifle butts. Don’t hit his head. Don’t let him die easily.”

At this command, the ferocious SS immediately went to work. Rifle butts and the soles of leather boots rained down on the man. At first, his screams could be heard, and his struggles could be seen. But as more and more blood stained the floor, his cries grew weaker, and finally, he lay motionless on the ground, a pile of shredded meat.

“Drag them all out! Take them away!” a soldier shouted. And regardless of how the others in the room screamed, the SS soldiers grabbed these unlucky souls in handcuffs and dragged them out of the room in pairs. Not long after, the entire room fell silent.

The officer walked to the feet of the old man who was still hanging from the beam, looked up at his somewhat contorted face, and stared at it for a while. He then sighed with regret, as if somewhat dissatisfied with this corpse. “You really are a brave and smart man. You knew it would be more comfortable to die on your own.”

He turned and walked towards the distant door. He suddenly turned back, pulled out his pistol, and emptied his magazine into the old man’s body. “You damn bastard. Don’t think you can be comfortable just because you’re dead!”

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