Chapter 421: Ghosts in the Night
Gunshots echoed through the vicinity of the palace. A battle was clearly being waged—and judging by the wounded among the brigand forces, dragged behind armored cars forming a perimeter around the entrance, it had been going on for some time.
Bruno and a company of his men weren’t far—held up in a two-story building with a balcony offering a clear vantage point over the targets below. This was the nearest strip of buildings to House von Luxemburg’s grand estate. The walls that once protected it had been breached by enemy armor.
Alongside Bruno was a squad armed to the teeth: an MG-42 machine gun team, a designated marksman, and riflemen wielding Sturmgewehr prototypes—each fitted with ZF-4 pattern optics equipped with ballistic drop compensator reticles.
Without the benefit of modern night optics, aiming these rifles in the dark would normally be difficult. But the estate’s floodlights projected illumination across the fields, making it remarkably easy to calculate range with a bit of math and the etched BDC reticles in the glass.
As confirmed by intelligence, there were ten armored cars—all pulled up around the palace entrance, shielding wounded brigands being attended to behind them. From what Bruno could see through his optic, a small rearguard had been left to protect the perimeter and alert the men inside of any approaching hostiles. Likely, they expected trouble only from a civilian uprising—not from trained reinforcements.
And clearly, they weren’t taking their job seriously.
Instead, the guards were drinking wine—no doubt confiscated from locals at gunpoint—and playing Five Finger Fillet with their boot knives to pass the time.
With the enemy’s lack of discipline now confirmed, Bruno crouched beside his radio operator and gave his orders.
"There are a handful of guards at the entrance. They’re drunk—probably on stolen wine. You five, follow me. We’ll take them out quickly and silently. You—" he motioned to the operator, "—relay to the rest of the unit. Prepare for silent infiltration and full encirclement of the enemy inside.
I want those armored cars destroyed before they can react. Keep anti-tank gunners on rooftops and balconies, and have them fire on my signal. Everyone else advances after we silence those drunken fools permanently."