Chapter 347: Rewarded Beyond One’s Greatest Imaginations
The transfer from Milan to the Western Front was one that would require a lot of moving parts and time to do so. As a result, the 8th Army who had engaged in most of the fighting up until this point had been ordered a brief leave of absence.
This gave time to the King of England, and his cousins Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to reach some form of understanding regarding Britain’s future in the war. The battle of Ypres itself had frozen.
Leaving Bruno time to return to the fatherland and gain some much needed rest. Bruno, unencumbered by past trauma and the grim darkness of war, had a rather excitable expression on his face as he stepped off the train in Berlin.
Only for it to vanish completely the moment he realizes that the first person to gain his attention was a member of the General Staff. An adjutant to General Ludendorff, who had replaced Paul von Hindenburg after the debacle that was his plans to entrap and obliterate the Allied army using Luxemburg as the bait.
Despite this man being a subordinate of another general, he was not currently acting on behalf of his current master. Instead, the invitation that the man was tasked with giving Bruno belonged to the House of Hohenzollern, more specifically its current master, who demanded to speak with Bruno as soon as possible.
Not one to keep his liege waiting, Bruno sighed heavily and shook his head before speaking an old expression as he marched to the Palace where the Kaiser and his family resided.
"So the chickens have come home to roost, eh?"
Bruno figured this royal summons was about the shit he pulled in the alps, faking radiocommunications to continue with his assault, and in doing so ignoring direct orders from the crown.
But the moment he stepped into the Kaiser’s personal study and saw the man sitting in his seat with two drinks in his hands, quickly standing up to hand Bruno one while proposing a toast to another victory, Bruno realized he had completely misunderstood the Kaiser’s intentions. Especially as the man began to speak.
"To a glorious victory over the least of a great power! Though Italy may be among the least of the Great Powers, they still are a Great Power, nonetheless! You should be proud of what you have accomplished! Two theaters of war, concluded in two years!
Countless enemies slain, and the nations broken by your fortitude, and will! Your abilities in the field can no longer be denied, even amongst your most harsh critics. And no doubt, this is one of the reasons I have summoned you here to see me so soon after returning home from war.
Do forgive me for delaying your much awaited reunion with your beloved family, but I’m afraid these matters can no longer wait... Please sit. There is something I wish to show you..."