Chapter 341: Half the Sky

Another fresh morning, another fine day. Like the days before, this was a beautiful moment when countless people woke from their sweet dreams, and also a tragic instant when thousands of soldiers died on the battlefield.

Akado opened his eyes and smiled at his side. There, Anna was tickling his cheek with her hair. He sat up gently, taking the snow-white, soft, cloud-like quilt with him, revealing Anna’s upper body.

The scene was not fragrant, because Anna’s body, especially her shoulder, was still wrapped in a thick bandage. The two of them had not made love in the night. After all, Anna’s injured body did not yet allow for any strenuous exercise. Akado had just slept here, accompanying Anna through her days of injury and helplessness.

“When did you wake up?” Akado asked with a smile as he put on his white shirt.

“I just woke up too. Since I was injured, I’ve also become more and more lazy,” Anna said with some annoyance. “I’ve gained 8 kg. I feel like my whole body has rusted.”

“Rest well! Don’t think about messy things,” Akado said, fastening his trousers and turning his head. “Mercedes asked me to tell you that she is very grateful to you for saving me. She said that if there is a chance, she would like to have breakfast with you again.”

“Hehe, please thank sister Mercedes for me. I know that she has paid a lot to accept me, so I am even more grateful to her,” Anna said, her face blushing. Mercedes was currently in Poland, inspecting the farm base under the White Orchid Group there. Before she had left, she had had a long talk with Anna and had personally told her that she was willing for the two of them to live with Akado together.

It could be said that the proud Mercedes had finally compromised with reality. It is hard to imagine that such a near-perfect goddess would be willing to share her man with others. Because of Anna’s self-sacrificing act during the explosion, Mercedes had completely accepted this woman who was like a love rival or a third party.

So theoretically, Akado could now be considered to have broken the glorious tradition of monogamy in Europe and to have taken a solid step in the direction of a man’s paradise. Not only had he theoretically completed the feat of one dragon with two phoenixes, but he had also conquered the hearts of the two women, making them willing to “serve one husband together.”

Of course, this was only in theory—Anna had not yet been able to go to the final step with Akado, because her injuries really did not allow the two of them to be reckless.

Akado finished dressing, helped Anna cover herself with the quilt, and the two of them were intimate for a while. Then they had breakfast together by the bed. A little while later, a knock came at the door from his work secretary, Cindra.

“Heil Führer Akado Rudolph!” Cindra saluted at attention and then reported with a serious expression, “The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Dick, returned to Berlin from the Dutch front this morning and wants to report on the results of the bombing of London. In addition, in the northwestern suburbs of the city of Bremen, a British long-range reconnaissance plane was shot down. There were no survivors.”

“I know,” Akado nodded, bent down, and gently kissed Anna’s forehead. “I’ll be back to have lunch with you.”

After he had finished speaking, he turned and walked out. Cindra glanced at Anna, who had come to Akado’s side with her, saw the happy smile on her face, sighed, shook her head, and followed Akado out of the room.

“Why the sigh and the shake of the head?” Akado asked with a smile as he walked along the long corridor. “Do you regret getting a boyfriend so early?”

“I admit that if we judge you by your personal achievements, then you can undoubtedly be said to be one of the greatest leaders in German history. Based on your current merits, it would not be an exaggeration to compare you to Alexander or Caesar,” Cindra said, glancing at Akado out of the corner of her eye, and then continued her evaluation. “But if we judge you as a man, then you are just a bastard who is two-timing.”

Akado awkwardly touched his nose, then shrugged. “Miss Cindra, I have to say, what you said is very well put.”

“But I think that at least Miss Anna and Miss Mercedes are both happy. I have chatted with them in private. They both love you with all their hearts. Even including Miss Fanny, they should all love you deeply,” Cindra said in a helpless, low voice. “As women, their sacrifice is huge, which is also the reason why I think you are a bastard.”

“Yes, I also feel that I have let these good girls down,” Akado said, walking to a door and stopping. He turned his head to look at Cindra. “So I try my best not to hurt them, to give them happiness with everything I have.”

Akado suddenly smiled as he said this. “Yes, happiness! I will do everything I can to make them feel happy. This is the only thing I can give them in return. Although it is humble, and although it cannot change the fact that I am a philanderer, I will do my best.”

“Alright, as a superior, you are a person worthy of my respect,” Cindra said noncommittally. “As a man I know, you are still a bastard. A… a bastard that one cannot bring oneself to hate.”

“Alright, work, work! As for being friends, we can talk about that some other day when I have dinner with you and your husband,” Akado said with a smile. He then, as Cindra pushed open the main door, strode into the room.

“Huala!” Several of the air force generals in the room all stood up, stood at attention and saluted Akado, and shouted, “Heil Führer Akado Rudolph!”

Akado walked to his seat and pressed down with both hands. “Please be seated.” He then sat down on the sofa first. Only then did the other generals dare to sit down. These were all high-ranking generals of the air force. There was Lieutenant General Walther Wever, who was in charge of technology; the Chief of Staff, Kesselring, who had been the de facto commander of the German Air Force in Berlin; and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Dick, who had rushed back to Berlin from the Dutch front.

“Let’s hear it. I’m waiting for the results,” Akado said, taking the lead.

“My Führer, the bombing was undoubtedly a victory…” Dick began his introduction with great confidence.

“I know that. From the furious speech of that King of England yesterday afternoon, and the passionate declaration of victory by the new Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, one can know how successful your bombing was,” Akado said, interrupting Dick’s introduction with a hearty laugh. “I bet the face of the commander of their home defense air force has turned green.”

“Yes, my Führer,” Dick said with a nod. “All of our bombers returned safely. The losses were very minor… but our army caused considerable damage to London. The British are now desperately trying to investigate the data and intelligence of our new bombers through various channels.”

“This bombing was very successful, but you must strengthen the defense over Berlin. The anti-aircraft units must be used in conjunction with the radar units. I am worried that the British Air Force will take retaliatory measures,” Akado said with a nod.

“The Reich Air Force’s home defense units are always on standby. The skies over Berlin are very safe,” Kesselring added.

“I hear there were still some casualties?” Akado did not say much more, but changed the subject and suddenly asked. He had already read the report on this air raid last night. Today was just a detailed summary of the whole process.

“Yes, my Führer!” Dick nodded. “One female gunner and one male gunner were killed in action. Another gunner was seriously wounded—these three were on the same plane. In addition, one person was shot in the leg, but it was not a serious injury,” Dick reported. “Führer, I have always felt that female pilots and female gunners are not the first choice for the air force…”

“Dick! We are a great nation! This nation is developing with equality and love as its core! Men and women are both crucial in this nation! We cannot subjectively exclude our women! Because they have also made their own contributions to the rise of Germany,” Akado said, interrupting Dick with a wave of his hand. “There are already 700,000 women working day and night in the factories of the Reich, and more than 500,000 women are serving in the armed forces of the Reich.”

“They are working hard for the industry, agriculture, education, finance, and so on of the Reich. Their achievements cannot be erased!” Akado said firmly. “In the future, we will use a large number of female soldiers in the high-tech branches such as the navy and the air force to make up for the insufficiency of the Reich’s military strength! This is a settled plan of the Reich, and no questioning of it will be allowed!”

“In that case, my Führer,” Kesselring said from the side. “If possible, I suggest that when female soldiers are trained and enlisted, they should be as strict as possible. After all, the loss of any equipment is a result that we are unwilling to see.”

“I agree with that. If possible, I suggest that female soldiers be allowed to carry out some firing squad missions,” Dick said. “This way, on the front line, similar problems will not occur.”

“I agree with that too!” Wever also agreed.

“Since everyone is in agreement, then in the training plan for these female soldiers, include as much training content as possible for carrying out firing squads,” Akado said to Cindra behind him. “In addition, the principle of voluntarism must be adopted. If a woman is not willing to go to the front line to fight, then these female soldiers should be assigned to work in the rear as much as possible.”

“Oh, and also,” Akado thought for a moment and then added, “The number of bombers must be increased to about 500 as soon as possible. We will not produce any more Do-217s within this year. Some of the large-scale bombing missions will be handed over to the strategic bomber units.”

“As you command!” everyone replied with a nod.

“In addition, the problem of the long-range escort fighter must be stepped up. After all, we will need to use long-range bombing tactics in many places,” Akado said finally, standing up. “I will use the Air Force to completely destroy Britain’s war potential!”