Chapter 175: The Ark of the Last Days

Leaning against a pile of rubble, Lynn hurriedly loaded bullets into his shotgun as fast as possible. The May weather was no longer chilly, but the tense and continuous battle had left his hands sweaty. With the added grime and debris, bullets occasionally slipped during the loading process, but there was no time to retrieve them. After filling one shotgun with twenty rounds and the other with only ten, they quickly got up again under the urgent urging of the compact gunfire, covering their comrades as they advanced toward the street.

Although the failure of an ambush was more than just a "mountain-like defeat," the Soviet soldiers who stayed behind spontaneously or on orders were not all single-minded "diehards." Victory in the war was within sight, but facing such a fiercely combat-effective German armored unit, their main force was still retreating, and suddenly they found themselves surrounded by enemies. Only a few who believed their positions were concealed enough continued to wait for an opportunity, or persisted in the fight with a righteous mindset. These people became Lynn and their last "dinner."

In just the time it took to smoke no more than two cigarettes, accompanied by the final deafening blast of a long-handled grenade thrown towards the Soviet soldiers, the sparse gunfire on the battlefield quickly diminished. Soon, only the roar of the German tanks advancing remained in their ears. Making sure that his subordinates were all unharmed, Lynn shouted loudly from the rubble heap towards the street, "We are Berlin's 11th Night Raid Special Forces, comrades! We have suffered greatly in battle and need medical treatment and supplies!"

Soon, someone on the street responded, "Raise your weapons and come out!"

By this time, no one cared about the embarrassment of such a posture. Under Lynn's leadership, the remaining six soldiers got up one by one from the rubble, walking steadily and cautiously towards the road. Although it was only a dozen or twenty meters along the way, they were worried about being shot by residual Soviet forces at this moment, but fortunately, misfortune did not come. When Lynn and his team walked past the rubble on the street, several German soldiers with assault rifles came forward to verify their identities, and only then were they allowed to carry weapons again. Upon careful observation, Lynn found that these soldiers were all members of the Armed SS, and one of them had the badge of the "Fuhrer Guard Regiment" visible on his uniform cuff.

Could it be... Lynn was startled in his heart, and the speculation that followed far exceeded the records of orthodox historical data, reminding him of those rumors that were considered unfounded.

In a moment, a military officer wearing an M42 helmet and a "pea" combat uniform descended from the armored command vehicle parked on the side of the road. He bent over cautiously as he walked, looking around vigilantly as if he had just learned to cross the street.

When he approached Lynn and his team, the officer asked in a slightly hurried tone, "Was it you who knocked out the Soviet searchlights earlier?"

"Yes, sir!" Lynn replied immediately, introducing the two greatest heroes who knocked out the Soviet searchlights, "This is Noah, our anti-tank marksman. He not only destroyed the Soviet truck carrying the searchlights but also took out a T34! This is Tanze, our sniper. He shot out at least two searchlights! And..."

Before he could finish, the officer interrupted him suddenly, speaking as if he had discovered a new continent, "Lynn? Hey, Lynn Galgo, is it you!"

In the darkness, only the facial contours under the helmet were visible. When Lynn took a closer look, wasn't this Captain Kate Ziegenke, the staff officer of the "Vampire" Assault Team Headquarters?

In that well-equipped special operations headquarters, Captain Ziegenke and Lieutenant Lukas Motchig belonged to Bach's elite staff team. Their chief of staff was the resolute and outstanding Major Enke Waldes. It was said that Bach would personally select a few of the most capable command staff from each batch of trainees to enter the command headquarters. After long-term training, some of them could be promoted to staff lieutenants or even higher-ranking staff colonels. Others, like Lynn, transferred to combat units during their service.

"Ah! Sir! How come it's you?" Lynn's tone was half surprised and half joyful. Things would be much easier with a familiar face.

The former SS captain, now a major, had already worn the insignia of a major on his uniform. Ziegenke glanced at the soldiers standing behind Lynn, seeing either wounded or with grimy faces, and instructed a nearby SS soldier, "Take these brothers to the back of the car to treat their wounds and replenish their supplies!"

Immediately after, Ziegenke nodded to Lynn, "Follow me!"

Following this SS major across the street and climbing onto the armored command vehicle parked on the side of the road, Lynn immediately saw another old friend, Lieutenant Lukas Motchig. There were two radio sets on this vehicle, and besides the soldier on alert with the machine gun, there was only one corporal. So, Motchig had to personally take charge. He wore headphones and held a microphone, presumably coordinating the coordination of the armored vehicle convoy.

Before he finished his transmission, Ziegenke patted him on the shoulder, making him look at Lynn, who had just boarded the car.

At first glance, Motchig didn't recognize him, but when Lynn smiled and walked to his side, he widened his eyes and interrupted the last sentence into the microphone, quickly took off his headphones, and said excitedly, "Oh, isn't this our Lynn Galgo, the super combat hero? What are you doing here? Just now..."

"It's a long story!" Lynn naturally omitted his attempt to escape from Berlin, instead half-jokingly boasting, "My soldiers and I cleared a major obstacle for you this time. Not only did we take out the searchlights, but we also destroyed Soviet tanks and many Soviet soldiers. Shouldn't we be rewarded?"

"It was you guys! No wonder! Oh, this is not an ordinary achievement. Lynn, do you know what kind of convoy this is?" Motchig said, but was poked in the arm by Ziegenke. Lynn noticed this action and sat down against the car wall, taking out his shotgun and loading bullets into it, calmly saying:

"I guess, Colonel Bach must be in the convoy, so I led the team to attack the Soviets desperately. We almost lost our lives, but unfortunately... I'm just an outsider, aren't I?"

Motchig and Ziegenke looked at each other, Lynn's words and tone were not accusatory, but rather like the words of a half-grown child who couldn't get a toy, making it funny to listen to, but not angering. Motchig immediately took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it for Lynn, squatting down and whispering, "It's not that we don't treat you as our own, but there are some things we can't tell you without the Colonel's approval! You understand these rules, don't you?"

"I know that!" Lynn filled the shotgun with bullets and then looked into his bag, but there were only two bullets left in his pocket. He had to search in his backpack, but after the previous battle, there were few supplies left. So, he looked up and asked Ziegenke for help, "Sir, we originally had two sets of night vision equipment, but they couldn't be used because the batteries were exhausted. Do you have any spares in your convoy? Also, we are severely lacking in ammunition supplies. Could you provide us with some more?"

Motchig probably received a signal from Ziegenke through eye contact or facial expressions and had already returned to his position at the radio equipment. Ziegenke replied, "No need to worry, we'll report the situation to the Colonel right away and see how he decides!"

Lynn had nothing to argue about and listened silently as Motchig reported the current situation to someone on a tank or armored vehicle in the convoy. Finally, he briefed them on Lynn's squad. Since he couldn't hear any sound from the headphones, he could only speculate on what Colonel Bach had instructed his staff officers. Motchig kept saying "Understood," "Good," and "Yes." After a while, he took off his headphones and walked over, squatting down next to Lynn again, saying in a serious tone, "With the personal order of our Supreme Commander, Colonel Lawrence Bach, Galgo and his soldiers are approved to join this operation. Before revealing the following information, please, Lynn Galgo, swear allegiance to the Imperial Fuhrer once again!"

Since August 1934, every officer and soldier of the Wehrmacht had to swear allegiance to the Fuhrer when they joined the army, and the same was true for the SS and Waffen-SS soldiers. However, being asked to swear allegiance to the Fuhrer again at this moment made Lynn even more certain of his bold guess just now. Before the answer was revealed, he recited the famous oath without missing a word: "I solemnly swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler. I swear allegiance to him and my superiors. Adolf Hitler: Victory Forever!" (The SS oath differs slightly from that of the Wehrmacht) Motchig glanced at Ziegenke, who nodded in approval, then said solemnly to Lynn, "Alright, our combat hero and sincere friend, Lynn Galgo, from this moment on, you are officially part of the 'Aryan Ark' plan. You must keep all the secrets you see, hear, and know, and be willing to sacrifice your life for the Fuhrer at any moment! Later, you will follow the same procedure to make your soldiers swear and accept this supreme honor!"

Aryan Ark?

Lynn heard this term for the first time, and various rumors related to the Third Reich surged in his mind, such as the survival of the Fuhrer, flying saucers, Aryan cities, and so on. He didn't expect these absurd things to appear one after another in front of him. With his final guess, he asked Motchig softly:

"Who are we escorting and where are we going?"

Unfortunately, the SS captain did not intend to uncover all the mysteries at once—or perhaps, he himself didn't know much.

"Don't worry about that for now. Everything will be revealed when we reach our destination!"