Volume 1 Chapter 12: Volume End | The Final Push

AU: I am sorry for the late chapter. Had to do a few things. This volume is ending at this chapter. Expect to receive news of a new volume in 1-2 weeks. I am thankful for the 9000 collective views and I hope that this novel reaches more people. Shoutout to synncrytech3 and NZ_bd74 for encouraging me to continue to write this series early in my career.

September 3rd, 1941

Outskirts of Minas, The Kingdom of Epruilon

"I'm finally home."

Andrew stood on his elevated position which allowed his artillery to have free range to the city. Minas, the capital of the Kingdom of Eprulion. The Jewel of its Crown.

It was roughly the size of Manhattan, NY and built on an island like the American city. However there was a huge wall surrounding the city as well as eight bridges which led to it.

Andrew knew that those eight bridges weren't the only ways in. Nobility and royalty could use dragons and wyverns to enter the city on special harnesses. Boats did frequent the river surrounding the island so ferries were available.

"What a beautiful city. If I had ever got the chance to see NYC it would probably look like this."

Rommel stepped from the shadows of a low willow-like tree. Besides him were his personnel escorts.

Andrew had escorts of his own and they faced the escorts of the general.

"So you are the Kanonenprinz I've heard about. Enjoy the flak 41?"

"Yes very much. Its better than the siege artillery used in the Kingdom. The accuracy is expected but the power and range is phenomenal!"

"Yes, yes. I too used flak guns extensively. Especially in France."

Andrew didn't know what the general was talking about.

"So, do you think that we can take the city without extensive casualties?"

"No. The kingdom will not surrender their capital just like that. They will fight for every meter of land."

"Then how does a siege sound? We have the troops, time and air superiority to start one. I don't see this causing major damage to the city and us."

"But the people will suffer. I know for a fact that Joseph will not feed the populace. We must save as many of the citizens as possible."

"I understand your pain, I truly do. However we must capture the city quickly so a lengthy siege doesn't really fit. I will consult with General Heinz and send a report to the Kaiser. Expect to hear from me in half a day."

"Understood!"

Andrew watched Rommel melt into the shadow of the treeline. His black uniform practically made him invisible.

He turned and observed the city more. He reached for his binoculars and scanned the city.

He could see formations of the Kingdom's soldiers marching though the streets and people building barricades on the bridges. They were preparing for a siege.

"If they are preparing for a siege, then we don't besiege them. You!"

He turned to one of his bodyguards.

"Send this message to central command: the enemy expects a siege, don't give them one."

The last thing he wanted was a siege. He must asset or else they might consider one.

"Jawohl!"

The guard raced down the hill back to their camp which was hidden from the city by the lines of hills.

Then at midday he received the green light.

"Prepare the troops. We are going to liberate this city."

______________________________________

Berlin, Germany

Wilhelm walked out of his office. For the past few days he's been stuck working on his tab screen. He was sending wireless messages, managing inventory and even upgrading existing ships which were outdated.

It was only today that when he checked his decisions tab (AU: where you can click on those buttons with either no cost, pp cost or something else to do an action) and scrolled to the very bottom where he found a minimized decision named 'Gift'.

By clicking on 'Gift' Wilhelm was able to find the decision which was named 'Gift'.

[Gift]

+ 250% Research speed

(AU: research speed is calculated by (t/1x%) where t is time and % is percentage of bonus for time).

(This means that a research which takes 250 days to complete will be finished in 72 days).

"What! Why couldn't I find this earlier??? I could have had the Panzer V Panther by now!"

Wilhelm knew there was no reason to make a fuss over spilled tea. It's a great find which would make his life easier. Researches which take 200-300+ days will be completed in more or less than half that time.

"Ahhhh, this isn't bad."

Then Wilhelm noticed a urgent message pop up; captured VIPs were to arrive in Berlin in a few days.

"Good. Now that hero Allyssa might be willing to speak now."

Wilhelm dismissed the thought of the annoying brat of a hero. Did she not understand that they were at war? Causalities happen. Its unfortunate that her friends died in the naval battle but she was the enemy. She is lucky that he had launched the coup or they would have been at the mercy of the Nazi regime.

Enough of that. The fight for the capital is starting soon.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in."

Princess Adriana cracked the door open and paused. Then she opened it fully and walked in.

"Is there anything you need?"

"Do I need a reason to be with my husband?"

Well. She is not wrong.

"No, well you are just in time. The battle for the capital is about to begin."

Wilhelm walked over and turned a knob on a large box-shaped container. It was a long-distance radio.

"Ahem... mic check... ah okay. Transmission from central command to Berlin in 'live broadcasting session'. General Rommel and general Guderian lead the 7th and 4th Panzer divisions in a pincer attack around the flanks of the city. Of eight bridges the 8th flak division as destroyed five leaving three entry zones for the tanks."

The commentator kept describing more vague details, however Wilhelm wasn't listening. He was observing on his life feed on his tab screen which was more detailed. Adriana was listening as she could not see this screen

A heavy tank battalion commanded by general Manstien was leading the charge on the largest main bridge. Three Sturmpanzer experimental tanks were rolling in front of the Tigers. These were heavy assault tanks which boasted 100 mm of frontal armor and a large 15 cm StuH 43 L/12 cannon which was designed by the Czech Skoda company. Basically it was a breaching gun on wheels.

Wilhelm couldn't hear dialogue on the ground but he was able to watch as a blueish holographic diagram of the city was displayed in front of him and showed all known movements. He could only see a small amount of enemies. The majority of the city was unknown to him.

He watched a Sturmpanzer blew open the gate. Mechanized infantry in their vehicles charged through behind the Tigers.

The tanks soaked a lot of the damage. They were too heavily armored to be pierced by any of the magic spell which conjured elemental objects which broke on the tanks. Arrows were useless, even from more tougher crossbows and ballistae. These bounced off the armor.

Once the assault guns and heavy tanks cleared a section the mechanized infantry dismounted and started blitzing the city.

Aircraft from above kept any dragons and wyverns from taking flight and roasting the infantry. They were gunned down quickly by the swarms of Bf-109s and Fw 190s which flew overhead. Ju-87 stukas screeched into the scene and obliterated houses which were marked with flares from the ground troops.

Wilhelm then flinched. Adriana was pinching his sides.

"What are you staring at so intensely?"

"Ah, don't worry about it. I am concentrating on the radio."

He wasn't.

Then a red dot flashed. An enemy tank? Not possible.

After a few seconds the dot turned into an object. It was a dragon which was carrying a large cannon on its back.

""Looks like they learned a thing or two.""

Then Wilhelm saw the blinker of a stuka diving at the red dot. A short simulated explosion later and the red disappeared.

"So much for that dragon-tank."

"What?"

Oops. He spoke out loud.

"What dragon-tank? Is that a new German weapon you are hiding from me?"

(AU: for those who are confused, "" "" is internal thoughts and " " is dialogue).

""You have no idea how many secret German weapons I am hiding.""

"Well no. Its one of the Kingdom's new toys. Don't worry, we control the air."

"If you say so."

Wilhelm went back to his screen. Shit. He missed quite a lot. The had already panzergrenadiers dismounted and began cleared numerous buildings before approaching the main castle.

The main castle itself is a fort within a fort. It had its own walls, towers, gate and moat. The drawbridge was drawn so they couldn't get across.

Or so the enemy thought. This was a concern which was raised by staff at command and Berlin. Wilhelm ordered that several Brückenleger tanks, modified panzer IVs with mobile bridges, be sent with Erwin von Manstein's Tigers. These tanks placed bridges which allowed the Sturmpanzer to reach the gate.

After a single shot the gate collapsed. More tanks and infantry swarmed inside. The Kingdom put up a good fight. However in their minds they most likely did not station slave soldiers in the capital because it was their capital and they were stubborn. Fortunately for us we did not have to kill as many as before.

All of the nobility, royalty, clergy and other important people were apprehended inside the castle.

With the fall of the castle the defenders gave up fighting and surrendered in mass.

This was a crushing victory. Not only were no heavy equipment was lost in combat, the enemy leadership was captured, the capital was in German hands and most importantly they had suffered only 100 or so deaths out of 50000 attacking Germans.

The enemy lost all units to the Germans as casualties or POWs.

The numbers were staggering. It was an absolute win.

"We've done it. The kingdom is ours and the war is over."

Well the war was far from over. There will need to be a rebuilding time. Wilhelm knows that he needs to implement changes and rebuild the destroyed kingdom.

Adriana was crying. She has done well to hold in her emotions.

*sob*

"It's finally over."

*sob*

"Brother, we have avenged you."

Wilhelm watched with concern. Then he felt like it was the right time to wrap her in an embrace.

This caused her to cry more.

""Oh well.""

They sat on the couch for a few more minutes while the princess cried.

_____________________________________

Kaiser Wilhelm II International Airfield

Berlin, Germany

A Heinkel 111 plane touched down. Inside it carried several VIPs.

The plane taxied to a stop next to a convoy of armored trucks, cars and several light tanks.

The plane unloaded its cargo bay which held the general, association mages and four heroes plus the body of the fifth who died in the V1 strike.

The heroes were put into separate cars than the general and mages. They were all crammed into a staff car without restraints.

"Hey you."

Johan motioned to the officer who was keeping the door open for them.

He looked up with an indifferent look.

"Don't you need to bind us?"

"I don't have orders to."

Johan looked baffled as Christopher ushered him in the car.

The car had a very old look to it. The seats were covered in red velvet and a nice brass finishing was applied to the car.

"Oo... what a retro car."

"Stop that A-Young. Its a Mercedes-Benz. Don't know the model but it's an old one."

They didn't complain much more as they sat in the double bench of the car. One way was facing backwards to the rear of the car. The other was a distance apart facing the other bench.

A small window was located in the middle of the backwards bench in which the driver could peek through.

They four sat Hans and A-Young on the rear side and Johan and Christopher on the opposite side.

"Buckle up sires and ma'am. We are driving soon."

Johan looked out the window to a scene of General Nelson struggling with a few guards after they tried to force him into a truck. The taller guard hit him on the head with the butt of his rifle and the General stopped moving.

Johan couldn't not laugh.

"HAHAHAAHAHA. Look at that loser. Get shit on."

"Johan, stop with the profanity. We are not in the position to causally speak like that."

"Shut up Chris, that loser deserved the treatment he's getting."

Christopher shrugged and stopped lecturing Johan who kept jeering and laughing.

The car jolted to start moving. The four could hear the sounds of a busy city outside their car.

A-Young peered out the right window on her side. She saw stands selling street food, numerous shops, multi-story buildings, old-fashioned cars and tanks. A lot of tanks.

The driver noticed their curiosity and explained where they were.

"Welcome to Berlin Germany. This is one of the many plazas in the city. However the 5th armored brigade is currently on leave here hence the number of tanks. Don't worry, you are plenty protected from snipers."

Hans didn't even listen.

""Is this actually Germany? I mean I and not from Berlin but I've been here before. There are no skyscrapers but many of the historical buildings are still there.""

He continued to think about the similarities and differences between his Germany and this one.

He didn't even notice that they stopped already.

"Hans, we are here already."

"Wait what. Oh okay."

He got out of the car and stood in front of the Reichstag. This historical building was just as he remembered it.

Flanking the outskirts of the building were a great number of guards. Hans could make out MP40s and StG 44s. This meant that their technology was 1944 and above.

They were ushered into the building and stood in a main lobby.

Other government officials were rushing around and chatting with one another.

The heroes were not wearing their normal armor and gear at the moment.

The guys wore white shirts with a black vest with black shoes and pants. A-Young wore a short red dress and top.

No one really gave them much attention.

Suddenly all of the guards tensed up as a large man walked down the stairs.

He was about 6'5" with a large build. He was lean but not overly muscular. His black hair contrasted with his very startling blue eyes.

He stood out among the large number of blondes which populated the staff.

"Welcome to Berlin. I am Kaiser Wilhelm X of Germany. Please, follow me."

The man turned and walked down a corridor.

Hans could see Johan whisper to Christopher.

"Who is this?"

"He's the leader, like a president or emperor or something."

"Oh shit."

They entered a large conference room and they sat down around a round table.

Already sitting was Allyssa who was eager to meet up with them.

"So are finally here. Is there only four of you?"

"No. Carlos died in the battle."

There was an awkward silence.

Then the Kaiser spoke.

"Well then. I brought you all here to help me decide what to do with you heroes once the war is over. I presume that you guys are not from this world."

"That is correct."

Christopher replied. He didn't know how trustworthy this Kaiser was. He planned on revealing as little as possible.

"Then that makes two of us."

The Kaiser waved to his guards who then promptly left the room and closed the double doors.

"Well now that we are alone I can relax a bit."

The Kaiser unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and fanned himself.

"Hello. Let me introduce myself once more. I am Justin Wang, economics major NYC in the US."

The heroes were shocked. This was a huge revelation.

"Wait. So you come from our world?"

"I think so."

Hans then interrupted.

"Then is that why Germany exists in their world?"

"Correct. However this is Germany of the past. The people are randomly generated at the start. They will reproduce, die and live like normal people but they don't have a Earthly counterpart. However there are a few exceptions. You've met General Erwin Rommel, no?"

"Wait, hold up. That was Erwin Rommel???"

"Yes."

Hans couldn't believed it. He was near the famous German general and he didn't even notice.

Johan then spoke up.

"I'm not the smartest one here but I don't see how this is possible."

"I'm not sure either. I will not reveal more, I hope you understand."

They then sat for a few moments in silence. They were still processing what they just heard.

Then the Kaiser picked up a phone and muttered a few things. Then several maids came in through the doors with trays of food and drink.

On the plates put on the table were fruits, crackers, cold cut meats and cheese.

"Are you all of age?"

"Well no. None of us are 21 or older."

"Well I don't care. You are no on Earth right now. Also you are in Germany, the legal age is 18. Drink up."

Beer mugs were placed on the table. The Kaiser took one and chugged it.

Christopher and A-Young have never drank before. Hans and Johan have drank before. They took their mugs and drank.

"Oooo. Finally some good old-fashioned beer. The kingdom didn't have anything like this."

Johan downed one mug and started another.

Hans took a few sips. It reminded him of home. Well his Germany.

"So. I am willing to include you heroes as part of the enemy slave force in name so there will be more legal leniency towards you. It's not like you had the choice to fight."

The drinking stopped. The heroes knew that this was a generous thing for them since they would not need to face trial for the killings of the summons if they too were classified as summons.

"Okay. What do you want from us then?"

"I want you to all join my bureaucracy and use your powers to rebuild the destroyed Kingdom. I plan on incorporating it as part of Germany legally with my marriage to Princess Adriana."

The heroes hesitated. They remembered how the 4th prince and 2nd princess were described by the Junta. But again they did lie to them. They were still wary of her.

"Ah, I can probably guess what you are thinking. You can meet my wife."

The Kaiser motioned to a maid who left to fetch the princess. She returned shortly.

"Princess Adriana of the Kingdom of Epruilon and Empress of the German Empire entering."

An annoyed girl walked in the room cursing her handmaidens who were playfully laughing.

"Ah. Hello there, I am Princess Adriana. I presume that you four are the heroes?"

The princess was stunning. She was very beautiful and drew the attention of Christopher and Johan. Hans was indifferent since she looked like his sisters back home.

After introducing the heroes one by one she took a seat next to the Kaiser.

They discussed a bit more about guards, responsibilities, pay, lodging and rank.

In the end Johan was allowed to do what he did best. Start a football (AU: international version of soccer) club. He was given funds from the Kaiser to start.

A-Young was employed as part of the propaganda ministry due to her high linguistic and psychological experience in college. Hans joined the army as a independent sniper.

Christopher didn't really know what to do and went to follow Hans.

Allyssa agreed to use her abilities to upgrade their carriers. She was put on a joint research team

After the heroes left to their temporary lodging Wilhelm sat and sighed.

Adriana was clinging to his right arm while at the table.

"Once we sign a peace deal I will need to make a lot of changes."

"Mhm, I will just listen. I don't know a lot about what you are trying to do."

"That's fine. All you need to do is sway public opinion."

"That's my specialty."

Wilhelm sighed once again just imagining the fuck ton he will need to do. At least they had the funds now. Money can buy happiness and his happiness was the prosperity of his empire.