Chapter 151: War is Coming...

Chapter 151: War is Coming...



Bruno had more or less suspected that France would begin its propaganda efforts. War was more than looking like a certainty for the world as a whole as the years passed. And Germany had begun preparing long before anyone else.

While other nations were still focused on meeting recruitment quotas, Germany was in the process of developing advanced weapons. The latest of which were expected to see full scale production by 1912. Two years before the war would break out if all went according to planned.

Then again, Bruno had caused so many significant changes in this timeline that it was actually impossible to know when the War would break out, and what would be the cause. He often had thought to himself of a dreadful fate of irony, that his assassination by the Black Hand would spark the War without him, rather than the untimely death of Franz Ferdinand.

But believe it or not, Erich was very good at his job, and monitoring the ins and outs of the German Reich and those dangerous people residing within its borders, whether temporarily or permanently, was his bread and butter.

The Black Hand had, on more than one occasion, attempted to infiltrate the German Reich in a bid to try a second or third time to end Bruno's life. But each time they had found themselves buried in a shallow unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere. That is, of course, after being dragged to a Stasi black site for interrogation. Which, of course, did not officially exist in any record.

To put it simply, Bruno was rather satisfied with his investment in his friendship with Erich. Even though the man had long since been driven to a state of never-ending bloodlust, and absolute callousness towards life as a result of repeated exposure to the horrors of war. He was a useful bloodhound to send against his enemies.

And it was perhaps because of that the two men were meeting in a public setting within the City of Berlin at the moment. Erich and Bruno were both dressed in an expensive choice of attire, which Erich couldn't help but comment on knowing his friend's true nature.

"It must be killing you to wear that suit. You look the part of a proper nobleman, and I know how much you like to pretend to be humble..."

Bruno, like Erich, was smoking a cigarette while drinking from a cup of premium coffee with his free hand. He placed down the cup and looked Erich in the eyes. Not even bothering to make a statement of defense towards his humbler attitude towards life.

Instead, he smirked while accepting his friend's banter, as one would normally be inclined to do so.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"You must be loving this... Seeing me waste a ludicrous amount of money building lavish palaces, while surrounding myself in expensive clothing, shoes, and other accessories like this fucking tie that I want to rip off of my throat with every agonizing minute I am forced to wear such an absurdity!"

"Like what? The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an act which has the potential to cause all of Europe to break out into a major global war?"

Erich stared at Bruno with a daunted expression on his face. Bruno just announced a fear he had not even thought about. As if it was a natural occurrence. And it was only then that Erich began to understand just how far Bruno had been outmaneuvering his opponents. But the idea... was surreal.

Had Bruno been preparing for a global conflict since their days at the Academy when they were mere cadets? That was over a decade prior. Was this his whole reason for joining the Army? The mere thought was enough to drive Erich into madness.

He was just about to ask something when Bruno closed the folder and handed it back to him. After which Bruno raised a single question with a curt tone in his voice.

"Have you alerted Austro-Hungarian intelligence to what you have found?"

Erich silently shook his head, still trying to fathom the depths of Bruno's cunning and planning. But when Bruno smiled next, finishing his coffee with a sneer on his face, before standing up from his seat. Erich felt chills down his spine, especially as Bruno practically confirmed that things were going according to his plans.

"Good, make sure to keep it that way. We wouldn't want the Austrians to spoil our fun, now,

would we?"

Bruno was about to turn away when Erich abruptly stood up, catching the notice of several people from nearby. He quickly realized he couldn't speak his thoughts aloud in German or else the people who were now watching the two of them would hear his words. And thus, he whispered to Bruno in Russian his exact, and terrifying thoughts.

"Don't tell me... You have known all about this? For--"|

Bruno silenced Erich's interrogation as he leaned over and patted the man on the shoulder. His words sounded like the devil whispering sweet poison into his ears as he did so.

"A war is coming, my friend. It can't be avoided. Postponed perhaps, but either way there is nothing we can do to stop it. Isn't that what you have always wanted?"

Bruno then walked off without saying another word. Leaving Erich absolutely speechless. One thing was certain, Erich had grown ten times more afraid of Bruno than he had in the past. And was beginning to consider transferring back to the Army. As if Bruno's words were true, this war would be on a scale never before seen in human history, or at least not on the European continent. And like hell, he was going to miss out on all the fun!