Re: Blood and Iron-Chapter 396: Full Moon

The full moon hung above the city of berlin at just the right angle, and pitch that Bruno could gaze upon it while standing on his balcony. The only thing concealing his naked form from the world beyond his estate's gates was a bathrobe.

Tonight did not go entirely as he had anticipated it to. What was supposed to be only the slightest of playful teasing towards his wife's more jealous tendencies resulted in a rollercoaster emotions that affected them both so great that they spent the entire night in their bedroom rather than on the streets of Berlin like they had planned.

Heidi had already fallen asleep, but Bruno was as alert as ever. It was a habit of his long and sleepless night was actually a norm when critical events around the world were happening.

The perpetual itch in the back of his mind, the nagging that there might be a telegram or a phone call that he needed to answer with haste, lest all will come crumbling down around him.

Paranoia? Maybe, or perhaps it was the instincts of a man who had spent his entire life forged and tempered in the flames of war? Either way, Bruno stood beneath the light of the blue moon, gazing upon its beauty and grace in the background, as if it were some benevolent spirit radiating an aura of healing upon him.

One that did not affect the wounds of the flesh, but rather the spirit and the mind. Which were the hardest afflictions to get rid of that a man must bear in this life. In the end, his silent admiration of the world's beauty was interrupted by the sound of his wife's bare feet bouncing off the cold stone tile.

She had tried to be stealthy, perhaps as a romantic gesture, but was a woman of noble birth really going to catch a soldier who had spent years in the trenches off guard? I think not. No, Bruno immediately spoke his thoughts aloud with an almost embarrassed scoff as Heidi reached her graceful yet dainty hands upwards in a poor attempt to reach his back.

"You know it is incredibly unwise to sneak up behind a veteran and try to touch him… Men have been struck by much less egregious offenses."

Heidi's hand froze midair, as she clutched the fine white silk bedsheets that were the only thing concealing her immaculate and divine figure from being fully revealed to the world. She pouted at first, in silence, an act that which Bruno did not turn around to personally witness, could still see nonetheless, perhaps with his mind's eye as he simply smiled and shook his head.

In the end, his wife revealed her true thoughts, as she immediately recognized the direction her husband was staring at lost in thought for so long, that even he himself didn't realize how long he had been standing at the edge of the balcony gazing off into the darkness of the German heartland.

"You know this isn't your war, right? I just got you back… Two years Bruno… Two years you were gone… Yes you came home from time to time, but you and I both know your brief visits only served to further intensify the pain in my heart, the sharpness of my breath, the agony I felt every time I dared to think about what you were up to over there…

I know you don't want to hear this, but you have already done everything you can… So please…. Come back to me… Please come home already!"

A long silence persisted between the couple, and the more it went on the more Heidi's delicate shoulders that appeared to have been sculpted from a pristine block of jade by Michelangelo himself began to sink in depression.

In the end, Bruno shocked the woman, turning around with a smile on his face, not one of charm, but pure bliss, as he grabbed hold of her dainty cheek and looked her straight in the eyes. Her eyes which were more beautiful and pristine than even the blue moon above.

His words were laced not with the venom of despair that had overcome him for so long, and that he had fought so hard to endure and move beyond. But with the optimism of a man who could see his entire future ahead of him.

"You're absolutely right… This isn't my war to fight…. Not in the slightest… Whatever happens, it is now a matter for history to decide… So come my darling, let us get some proper rest!"

Bruno did not wait for Heidi to respond, rather he lifted her up effortlessly, a perfect display of the vast disparity of their height, weight, and strength as he carried the woman like a princess, no…. a Goddess bathed in the ethereal light of the moon into their bed, before hugging her tightly and brushing her silky golden hair.

The warmth of his wife's body, and her flowery scent, no doubt from the bath she had taken prior to their initial attempt at proper slumber combined into an intoxicating effect lulled Bruno into the first truly deep sleep that he had experienced since he was an innocent child free from the turmoil and strife that came with the burden of being a hero.

Hero? Of what novel? No! That was not Bruno, rather he was just a soldier who had spent far too much time away from home… And now finally he was exactly where he was always meant to be.

---

Bruno's fears that he had finally let go of were truly manifested in the city of Vienna. It had only been a year since the war had begun, but Austro-Hungary had been consumed by every vice, sin, and destructive behavior imaginable.

In the Balkans, nationalistic and religious paramilitary organizations, forged from the bonds of soldiers that had once waved the banners of the dual monarchy into battle now waged war against each other.

The violence, bloodshed, and destruction only further fueled the despair of those caught within its boundaries, increasing the demand for black market illicit substances which now flooded the country.

We're not talking about pure pharmaceutical grade methamphetamine, cocaine, or heroin… No, "street grade" alternatives flooded the country, sinking their claws into everyone who was desperate or foolish enough to dare their temptation.

Mothers and fathers sold their own bodies and that of their children for another hit, while the cartels which fostered such disgraceful behavior fought against one another, and the paramilitary organizations that threatened to cut into their profits.

Only fanning the flames that continued to burn everything in their path. But there was truly one savior that the lands of the Austrian Crown could be thankful for. Or… They would be if this heroic army didn't come in the form of ravenous wolves who only disguised themselves as men.

The Werwolf Brigade had two objectives in this war of theirs. The first was their official reason for fighting, establishing security, and stability in the face of an ever increasing total collapse of law and order.

However, as noble as this first goal was, it was completely muted by the fact that their second hidden goal was far more sinister. Bruno's ability to persuade the Austrian Emperor to agree to a form of payment that came only after the services had been rendered and the numbers had been properly added up was the perfect excuse for the Werwolf Brigade to run wild.

Every bullet fired, every ounce of medicine used, every gallon fuel consumed, and every soldier slain in pursuit of stabilization was a cost to be added to the final bill of sale.

And the demand for "revolutionaries, brigands, and thugs" far outweighed their actual supply. Because of this, these soldiers began manufacturing enemies of the state, in some grand crusade against the degeneracy that was poisoning the soul of Vienna and by extent all of Austria.

Currently, a company of the Werwolf Brigade was shooting out the lock of a cellar, the breacher utilizing the browning auto 5 semi-automatic shotgun that as a result of Bruno's interference in the timeline had become a standard issue in the German Army.

After completely obliterating the locks and hinges, the breacher cleared the doorway allowing the soldiers beneath his command, who by now were experts in urban warfare thanks the training they went through after the Great War had come to an end, began to clear the basement of a rather wealthy building with their automatic rifles in hand.

This cellar had been confirmed as a center of illegal trade, operating as both a brothel and a drug den, and the men soldiers who entered the room were quick to witness just how wicked these people had become.

It wasn't just women for sale in this room as they began to panic at the sound of gunshots, screams, and the storming of armed soldiers into the room. No, their daughters were fully on display for a price as well, an act so sickening that the soldiers couldn't help but round up everyone in the room, and begin to arrest them all.

Putting a bullet in the brain of anyone who dared resist ,or perhaps gut them with a bayonet to the stomach. Either way, blood had spilled, and shots resounded throughout the street during the process.

After a hard-fought struggle, the Company of soldiers dragged dozens of criminals out into the streets from multiple cellars operating in a similar way. The commander of the unit was an older soldier. His sleeves not only bore the insignia of the Werwolf Brigade on one side, but the Iron Division on the other.

He was smoking a cigarette as he silently tilted his head, causing all but one of the soldiers beneath his command to raise their rifles, and ruthlessly gun down the prostitutes, pimps, and drug dealers in the streets.

However, one soldier hesitated, looking mortified at the young girl, who was no doubt a victim of her own parents' addiction and wickedness. She was crying, perhaps no older than fifteen, as she begged for mercy.

As if sickened by the hesitation this low grunt was showing in the face of duty, the officer pulled out his sidearm and walked in front of the man, who only realized what was happening before it was too late.

The officer pulled the trigger, a resounding crackle of gunfire breaking the sound barrier as the young girl fell to the floor, completely lifeless as her dead eyes stared at the young soldier who had failed to save her in disbelief and despair.

The soldier instantly broke out into a fit of fury as he screamed in disbelief at his commander.

"Why the hell did you do that!?! She was innocent!"

The commander pointed his sidearm at the rebellious soldier's head, a look of utter calm, and callousness in his eyes, as the muzzle of his pistol was still smoking from the execution he had just performed not a minute prior. His words were as cold, and sharp as freshly forge steel blade, cutting equally deep into the heart of the soldier beneath his command.

"You're not in the business of questioning orders. I give you a command, you obey it without question! This is your one warning: insubordination will not be tolerated in this outfit.

We are here to cleanse this city of its transgressions, and on this night no sinner shall escape our might. You would do well to remember the identity of the man who is signing your paycheck..."

After saying this, the commander stuffed his sidearm away in his holster and walked away from the hesitant mercenary without saying another word, leaving the man to stare at the wake of the bloodshed they had caused, wondering what the hell he was doing in Austria to begin with… Why was he even here?

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