Chapter 182: The Red Baron Part II
Manfred von Richthofen was a legendary figure from Bruno's past life. He was among the first aviators in world history and had scored a resounding number of kills, making him also
among humanity's greatest fighter aces.
Due to his heritage as a minor nobleman and the awards he had been granted in his life for his service to Kaiser and Fatherland, there were some romantics among historians who fondly referred to the man as the "Last Knight of the Sky."
But it would be many a year before Manfred gained such a prestigious reputation. The Great War was still at most three years away, and it would take even longer before Germany's rivals could properly field fighter pilots and planes.
Instead, Manfred was just nineteen years old at the moment. He was barely an adult by modern standards, and by the standards of the era, he had yet to even qualify for that, as the age of majority within the German Reich was 21 years.
Even so, he was already an active-duty serviceman within the German Army and a full- fledged officer in the Kaiser's service as a fighter pilot. Yet when Bruno approached him, the atmosphere could only be described as "weird."
Both men had a similar reaction. Bruno himself was gazing upon a legendary figure from his past life, one he had never had the opportunity to meet, as he was born decades after Manfred's death. The Red Baron was a figure who invoked a sense of respect on levels that almost bordered on reverence.
Yet Manfred had done nothing to earn this degree of respect from Bruno. Thus, he had to force his naturally anxious heart to remain as calm as a tranquil forest. And though Bruno didn't realize it, Manfred felt a similar level of admiration for Bruno.
Bruno was already quite the legendary and iconic figure in the German Reich. He was the youngest Generaloberst in history. Born from a family of Junkers, he rose to become a prominent figure not just in Germany but on the global stage. His image was carved into the minds of young men who wished to prove themselves in war.
Barely into his thirties, Bruno held the third-highest rank a man could obtain in the German Army. In addition to this, he was a veteran of three wars, performing admirably in each of them, so much so that the Tsar had awarded him the noble title of Prince within the Russian Empire.
His military achievements were only outmatched by his pursuits in business, amassing a substantial fortune that would put the royal treasuries of several minor kingdoms to shame, and in only the span of a decade, no less. Bruno was considered a philanthropist, a patron of the arts, and a large supporter of the Church.
To a young man like Manfred, who was just starting his military career, it was an equally daunting task to stand before Bruno, whom he held in such regard as a role model. Bruno decided to break the awkward silence as he saluted the man and tried his best to instill a sense of calmness within himself as he met one of the men he had admired since the childhood of his past life.