Chapter 401: Power Play
Just as Bruno was about to get off work for the day, he found himself facing an official summons by the General Staff and its chief assembly. The leaders of the German Army were calling him in?
Was this some attempt by those ancient vampires—whose family legacies were older than God himself—to stir a coup against him? Or was this an inquiry about his involvement with the Werwolf Brigade and its unsavory affairs south of the German border?
Either way, Bruno had only one means of finding out. He quickly got to his feet and approached the room where such private matters were held.
He was surprised to find the Kaiser himself personally sitting at the head of the table, with powerful and prestigious figures like von Mackensen and Ludendorff waiting coldly.
Each Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army was present for the meeting, Bruno himself included, standing at attention.
Ultimately, it was the Kaiser who spoke first, as Bruno cautiously gazed at the vultures who were eyeing him as if he were a meal—starving voraciously for the mere chance to pick him apart.
Yet, despite the tension in the room—so sharp it could sever a head with the slightest pressure—Bruno remained undisturbed, emotionless, as stoic as the ancient philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius himself.
And, just as expected, the Kaiser spoke of exactly what Bruno had anticipated.
"I have summoned you here to answer a formal inquiry into your relationship with the mercenary group known as the Werwolf Brigade.
According to the latest reports, they have been burning the Austrian countryside, spearheading the loyalist forces of the Habsburg Empire against more than just revolutionaries and brigands.