Chapter 180: Long Live the Empire

Until nightfall, the German armored column, which had rested for a whole day, cautiously left the birch forest and proceeded northward along the relatively rugged wilderness roads—Lin En determined the direction with his military compass. This meant they were heading towards the ports in the northern part of Germany that had not yet been occupied by the Allies, rather than the Bavarian mountains as most people might have thought.

Perhaps considering the continued dangers ahead or not wanting his innocent children to be around an injured SS officer all day, Goebbels and his family switched to a more defensively capable means of transportation—the "Panther" tank. According to Bruhl's observation, this family of eight split into two, with Goebbels taking three children aboard the front vehicle, while his wife took the other three aboard the rear one. In this light, the "Panther" tank they had previously traveled in had indeed been specially modified, otherwise, how could it accommodate so many people?

With the important people gone, it was easier for Lin En and his soldiers to converse. Combining his own observations, Bruhl made some important analyses, such as although the 12th Army had sent tanks, armored vehicles, and combat personnel to rendezvous, while the armored column was resting in the birch forest, their vehicles and personnel could only stay in the distance, with only a few vehicles providing fuel and supplies allowed to approach. Thus, even General Winkler, the commander of the 12th Army, was likely unaware of the situation of this armored column and its escort targets, instead acting on the orders of the High Command. After the armored column resumed its journey, these combat units, subordinate to the Wehrmacht, rejoined the escort queue, including several "Hunter" light tank destroyers, several Sturmgeschütz III assault guns, and some armored personnel carriers and trucks carrying combat infantry.

After two relatively slow hours of travel, the armored column reached a road with a mostly intact surface but bridges destroyed beyond repair, which significantly increased their speed. In ordinary streams and lowlands, the defending forces had sent people to explore the terrain in advance, with soldiers stationed there guiding the tanks and armored vehicles in the convoy to slow down, while on wider river surfaces, they either erected temporary bridges or stationed guards to guide the convoy around. Overall, this route was much easier than the breakout from Berlin.

Due to the limited journey, after midnight, the tanks in the column gradually ran out of fuel, and the accompanying armored vehicles also stopped. Supply vehicles sent by General Winkler arrived almost on time, and the drivers began busy refueling and performing corresponding maintenance on their vehicles. With the support vehicles sent by the 12th Army, the entire armored column had more than fifty tanks and armored vehicles, which could be considered "unprecedented" in scale, but compared to the formidable German armored force that once dominated the continent, it was far from enough. Although the order was well-maintained, this refueling process still consumed a precious hour and a half of the night. This was a mixed blessing: the tanks and armored vehicles with malfunctions or on the verge of breaking down were able to continue, and the two Panther tanks that had fallen behind due to mechanical failures caught up. However, with only a little over two hours left until dawn, this delay was costly. Although the sound of gunfire from inside Berlin couldn't be heard, the German soldiers in the convoy knew very well that waves of comrades were falling on the defensive positions, and every minute and every second witnessed a large number of heroes falling in defense. Every inch of land in the city of Berlin had already been soaked in the blood of these warriors!

The bumps and jolts of the vehicles exacerbated Lin En's wounds, making it almost impossible for him to sleep all night. When dawn broke, he could already smell the salty sea breeze in the air.

"Sir, the sign says it's 40 kilometers to Stralsund. Are we going to Rugen Island?" Techimel's words reminded Lin En of the question Kassiri asked when they retreated to Königsberg. He closed his eyes, recalling Kassiri's innocence and Alice's mature charm. Heading north like this, closer to Denmark, he felt not nostalgia but a kind of longing that was difficult to categorize as either familial or romantic, like soldiers craving cigarettes or cats yearning for fish. Giving up wouldn't harm his body or mind, but it brought about an indescribable sense of emptiness... Regarding Techimel's question, Bruhl answered for Lin En, "If the convoy continues north, naturally we are going to Rugen, but... I think our ultimate destination is not that resort!"

"Oh! That makes sense. So, are we going to take a ship out to sea? Is the ultimate destination Denmark, Norway, or somewhere even farther away?" Perhaps having eaten and rested well, Techimel's demeanor of incessant chatter was quite different from the shy and timid guy he was at first—after becoming familiar, his mischievous curiosity was fully revealed.

These questions were ones that even Bruhl probably couldn't answer. However, shortly after, Techimel asked in a low voice again, "It's dawn. Will enemy planes appear? Are we going to hide in the forest all day again?"

Lin En didn't feel like talking, just disdainfully retorted, "Let them come! Let them all go to hell!"

A moment later, Techimel exclaimed in surprise, "Sir, it's not good! They're here!"

"Ah? Allied planes?" Lin En suddenly got up upon hearing this, but ended up aggravating his shoulder wound, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.

"It seems like..." Techimel's words were cut off by Wolfrum, who was also startled.

"Hey! Don't you listen to the sound? Those are our fighters, our 'Swallows'!"

"'Swallows'?"

Lin En turned his head and saw, in the faint light of dawn, a sleek and graceful gray fighter jet with the distinctive roar of a jet engine streaking across from a distance. This was another classic from the German aviation industry dedicated to World War II, leading the way into the jet age—the Me262a. This lone fighter jet didn't continue flying southwest but turned east shortly after passing over the convoy, and the morning glow just gave the front fuselage and wings a faint red hue. In the poignant atmosphere of the imminent collapse of the Third Reich, how beautiful this scene was!

"It is said that this area is close to our largest aviation test field and research base, so it's normal to have elite fighter squadrons here!" Bruhl speculated.

Regarding Germany's geographical distribution, Lin En could only be said to "know something." He roughly knew the orientation of some major cities and the directions of major rivers and mountain ranges, but of course, he couldn't speak as confidently about some small towns and special places as native Germans could. He thought for a moment, and the "largest aviation test field" Bruhl mentioned should be Peenemünde Base, the pinnacle of German aviation and rocket technology, isn't it close to the headquarters of the "Vampire" Assault Team?

This question was only known to Mottke and his team. In a blink of an eye, several piston-powered single-wing aircraft suddenly appeared in the western airspace, and the outlines of the American-made "Mustang" fighters were also easily recognizable. Instead of avoiding them, the German fighters came aggressively towards them. The lone "Swallow" showed no fear, skillfully turned again, and with a loud roar, charged straight towards the Allied aircraft.

With only a kilometer left, the Allied fighters fired rockets ahead, creating a spectacular scene. The German fighters immediately pulled up their noses, effortlessly evading the rocket attacks triggered by mechanical fuses, then swiftly circled at high speed. Taking advantage of their power, they easily outmaneuvered their opponents, swooping in on the flank and rear of the "Mustang" formation. The first short burst took down one of the planes. In no time, another Me262 came from the east, and the two "Swallows" would soon converge. They seemed like a pair of swallows before a storm, or a duo on an ice rink, coordinating with each other tacitly, turning the airspace into a grand stage for their charm.

As the dogfight ensued, the armored column quietly turned eastward and soon entered the forested area. By the time the intense battle between the two fighter planes ended, the convoy continued its journey under the bright daylight. After about 40 minutes, they arrived at Graifswalde, a small seaport facing the Baltic Sea. Despite its long history, the port was small, with relatively simple facilities. When the armored column finally stopped at the dock area, Lynn saw several black "Sharks" floating near the shore. Their streamlined bodies looked particularly compact, like swords hidden in the water. Among them, one shark was notably longer and larger than the others, with a modern-looking conning tower on its curved deck, free from the common submarine guns, appearing clean and generous, without a trace of dirt.

Surveying the surroundings, all the buildings in the port area were tightly closed, and not a civilian could be seen on the empty streets. There was no strict guard post every few steps, as if it were an abandoned airport for some terrible reason. Only the highlands around could see the gun positions concealed by camouflage nets, but with such dense ground anti-aircraft firepower, they could hardly drive away the Allied fighters prowling like wolves and tigers. After the officers got off the vehicles, they immediately instructed the soldiers to set up a tight inner cordon around the dock. Woflrum was temporarily appointed to lead the soldiers in executing the mission, while Lynn and Tank sat by the armored vehicle, both with leg injuries. In his line of sight, several Panthers were parked at the edge of the dock, and the robust SS soldiers were busy helping special passengers off the vehicles, while sailors from the submarine came ashore to assist. Across a distance of twenty to thirty meters, Lynn vaguely saw soldiers carrying a stretcher onto the submarine, followed closely by two army medical officers, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Goebbels and their children, and a lady in a light blue dress. Her figure flashed by and was soon surrounded by soldiers as she boarded the brand-new large submarine.

Finally, Lynn saw Lawrence Bach. In such weather, he still wore that black leather jacket, with the brim of his hat pressed down low. But his tall figure, handsome face, and extraordinary demeanor were still conspicuous. Watching the important figures board one by one, he turned on the spot and scanned around silently, urging the soldiers to hasten their pace. Finally, his gaze met Lynn's expectant eyes. He paused, raised his right hand to his hat brim, appearing as if adjusting his military cap, or it could be understood as a traditional military salute. Lynn stood up resolutely, standing at attention with his head held high and his chest out, offering a one-armed salute. At this moment, all the previous heaviness, sorrow, confusion, and fatigue were swept away, and his mind was like the harbor behind Lawrence Bach, passing through the narrow channel out to the boundless blue sea beyond.