Re: Blood and Iron

Chapter 136: Orchestrating a New Alliance



Bruno was by no means a sadist. He did not particularly enjoy taking the lives of his enemies. Killing when done righteously was no different from a chore. But there was a certain kind of enemy that Bruno would admit if he was in the mood to do so, that he took great enjoyment in putting down.

Those types of enemies were the ones who had caused incalculable human suffering in his past life and had either directly or indirectly contributed to the state of the world he had found himself in at the time of his death.

It was perhaps because the Black Hand was partially to blame for both of these things that Bruno had an unusually sinister smirk on his face as he aimed down the sights of his MP-34 Submachine gun and waited for the door to open. After all, simply spraying lead through the door without confirming his target was both irresponsible and dangerously reckless.

Nobody but the operatives of the Black Hand needed to die tonight. And because of this, he watched and waited even as the cries of terror erupted from the other side of the door. Naturally, the Black Hand felt the same. They had, after all, concealed their identities with facemasks, and were slowly working their way through the train cars, robbing the people inside in order to conceal their true intentions.

Finally, the men stacked up at the entrance to Bruno's private car, and the words they spoke immediately revealed their identities. After all, they chose to conceal their nationality by speaking in Russian, a language Bruno was exceptionally proficient in.

"This is it, this the one... Are you ready, boys!?!"

After a brief voice of agreement by two other distinctive voices, the car door opened, where the men held semi-automatic pocket pistols in their hands. If Bruno had to guess, they were probably chambered in the .25 ACP cartridge, which was.... Laughable.

Of course, the moment the men saw Bruno standing there, with a weapon that should not exist aimed down at their torsos, their eyes bulged wide. But before they could properly aim down their sights, Bruno squeezed the trigger and held it down, adjusting the aim to spray multiple bullets into the three men's torsos, painting the doorway red with their blood as he did so.

The screams of the passengers as the thunderous echoes of automatic gunfire filled the car. But there was no collateral damage. Bruno's aim was immaculate, and the tool in his hands was perhaps the most well-crafted and precise submachine gun ever made.

The bullets hit their marks and caused the assassin's bodies to drop to the floor, as they quickly faded away into the afterlife, where the devil would keep their souls for all eternity. After killing the three members of the black hand, Bruno swapped out his magazine, though it was not completely depleted, there were not enough rounds left within it to ensure his safety, should another member of the Black hand be hiding among the civilians within the train.

Instead, Bruno assured the frightened and panicked passengers that they would remain unharmed so long as they did not approach his car.

"Do not fret. Please calm down. I assure you all, I am a Prince of Russia, and a Field Marshal in its army. The authorities are on their way to secure the scene and investigate this crime. As for you all, if you have no ties to these men who so brazenly robbed you all of your personal property, then you will be safely escorted to Saint Petersburg after the investigation is complete!"

After saying this, Bruno recovered the weapons from the dead bodies, before returning to his car, where he shut himself inside. Waiting for the Russian Secret Police to arrive who were already on standby, waiting for the attack to happen.

The entire affair took several hours to conclude, but after a thorough investigation of all passengers, several suspicious individuals were indeed found embedded among the passengers and were apprehended by the agents of the Okhrana. They were interrogated, rather ruthlessly at that, and compelled to confess to their crimes.

Whether it was their ties to the mysterious Black Hand, or the fact that they were active officers in the Serbian Military conducting an attack on Russian Soil against a Russian Prince under the orders of the Serbian King. Everything came to light when one knew how to apply the right pressure to their victim- I mean a prisoner...n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

And when it came to the Okhrana, few men in history were better in the prestigious arts of interrogation. Because of this, the Tsar learned very quickly what had happened, and who was responsible, thoroughly outraging him to the point where he denounced the Serbian Royal Family, and its government as murderers, conspirators, and brigands.

After which he placed economic sanctions on the nation. Which would have unintended consequences on the timeline. Either way, as far as Russia was concerned, their ties to Serbia had officially come to an end, leaving them as prime real estate for the Austro-Hungarians to move into.

As well as concluded the sole reason for the feud between the House of Habsburg and the House of Romanov. Naturally, the Kaisers of Germany and Austria were equally swift in condemning the attack, and had quickly begun to make advances in this regard. Bruno's primary objective had been completed. Serbia would be forced to concede to this fault, and in doing so held several lower-ranking members of the Black Hand responsible, executing them publicly. In addition to this, the Serbians would be forced to concede on the Pig War, and the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina annexation by the Habsburgs. Frankly speaking, this was a political disaster of epic proportions that Bruno had deliberately baited the Serbians into. For if they did not concede on these issues, then war between three of the major powers and the Kingdom of Serbia would be inevitable.

As a result, Bruno got what he wanted. Soon, a conference would be held between Kasier Wilhelm II, Kaiser Franz Joseph I, Tsar Nicholas II, and Emperor Meiji of Japan, where the four of them would officially sign the League of the Four Emperors into effect. And in doing so, replacing the term "Central Powers" from the history books.

Italy, however, would not look favorably on this alliance. As they suspected due to the diplomatic negotiations that took place shortly before the attack by what the Serbian King decried as "Rogue Elements of the Serbian Army." King Victor Emmanuel III believed that Bruno had conspired with the House of Habsburg to provoke this attack in order to force Serbia to concede on these matters.

Because of this, relations between Italy and the League of the Four Emperors had deteriorated to an all-time low. To the point where Italy would begin approaching France with an offer of military allegiance should war break out between them and this new faction of the United Imperial Powers.

The world was quickly progressing towards a state of Global Warfare, even if many people were still ignorant of the fact. However, unlike Bruno's past life, where the deck was heavily stacked against Germany, in this new timeline, as a result of his own actions, the German Reich appeared to be the one most favored to win.

Either way, Bruno thanked the Tsar and the Okhrana for their aid on that night before retiring back to his home in Germany. His estate was still unfinished, and as a result, he currently lived with his wife and children in their family manor. One that they would cherish each passing day until the time for them to move into a more elaborate home arrived.

One thing was certain, the MP-34, or the MP-05 as it was known in this life, had been perfectly crafted by Waffenwerke von Zehntner, and it had finally seen its first test of "combat." Instantly gaining favorability by the other generals of the German Reich, who, until now, had been skeptical of Bruno's attempts to thoroughly reorganize the German

Army.

Thus, for the few days of peace that were left in the world, Bruno appeared to be enjoying himself quite well.