xymnovel Chapter 129 The Price of Steel
Chapter 129 The Price of Steel
That scream tore through the morning mist of Phoenix Mountain, carrying with it an uncontrollable anger and terror.
Hermann Schmidt rushed out of the makeshift wooden hut, his eyes bloodshot. He knelt on the ground, his hands trembling as he cradled the pile of twisted brass and broken lenses. The precision theodolite he had personally packed and brought from Essen, Germany, was now nothing but a cold pile of junk.
"Who! Who did this!" The old engineer's roar echoed across the empty construction site, an extreme expression of anger at the desecration of professionalism and order.
Then, an even greater panic erupted.
A worker in charge of logistics drew a bucket of water from the well, and a pungent odor wafted out. He dipped his finger in the water, smelled it, and his expression changed drastically.
"The water is poisoned! Don't drink it!"
Panic spread like wildfire among the newly assembled workers and German engineers. Construction came to a standstill. The Germans huddled together, arguing fiercely in German, their faces filled with anger and unease. The Greek workers kept their distance, whispering amongst themselves, their eyes filled with fear.
Behind the silent wall of people in the village below the mountain, several burly men hidden among the crowd exchanged a smug look. They were the thugs sent by "Jackal," their confidence boosted by last night's "masterpiece." Today, they would add fuel to the fire, thoroughly scaring these Germans back to their hometowns.
"The Germans want to seize our land and poison us!"
Suddenly, a burly man jumped out from the crowd, picked up a stone, and shouted in a inflammatory tone.
"They destroyed our olive trees, and now they want to destroy our people! We can't tolerate this any longer!"
Before he finished speaking, dozens of thugs who had been waiting in the wings attacked simultaneously. They tore off their masks from the docile villagers, pulled out wooden sticks and stones they had hidden behind them, and charged toward the makeshift gate of the construction site like rabid dogs released from their cages.
"Get out, Germans!"
Down with the factory!
The slogans were deafening, engulfing the villagers who were unaware of the truth and blinded by fear and anger, forming a chaotic torrent.
At the construction site entrance, Metaxus and his dozens of guards were caught off guard. They were facing a mob mixed among the villagers, and fearing for their lives, they were forced to retreat repeatedly.
The area is closed.
Stones rained down on the construction site, striking the brand-new steel components with a clanging sound.
Hermann Schmidt had just carried the wreckage of the theodolite into his office when he heard the commotion outside. He rushed to the door and saw a thug holding a torch, trying to set fire to a pile of engineering drawings lying to the side.
"No!"
Schmidt's eyes widened in fury. It was the culmination of countless engineers' hard work, the very soul of the factory. Without a second thought, like an aged lion, he pounced, clutching the roll of blueprints tightly to his chest.
The thug was taken aback, then a sinister smile spread across his face. Ignoring the blueprints, he pushed with all his might.
Schmidt, being quite old, was thrown backward by the force of the impact.
His head slammed heavily against the sharp edge of an H-beam that had just been removed and had not yet been installed.
"Thump!"
A dull, teeth-grinding thud.
Schmidt froze, still clutching the roll of blueprints tightly in his arms, his eyes lifeless. Blood gushed from his gray hair, quickly staining the ground beneath him.
He didn't utter a sound and immediately fainted.
"Murder! A German has been killed!"
Someone shouted, and the entire scene fell silent for a second. Then, an even greater panic erupted. Seeing that things were going badly, the thugs threw down their clubs and mingled with the panicked villagers, fleeing quickly down the mountain.
The news flashed across the Athenian sky like a black lightning bolt.
Germany's chief engineer was attacked and seriously injured at the Phoenix Mountain construction site! His life is in critical condition!
Half an hour later, the iron gates of the German Embassy in Athens were slammed shut by an angry diplomatic attaché. A diplomatic note, signed by the ambassador and with harsh wording that bordered on an ultimatum, was delivered to the Greek Foreign Minister's desk.
The note demanded that the Greek government immediately, unconditionally, and severely punish the perpetrators, and, on behalf of the German Reich, demanded that Greece provide the highest level of assurance regarding the personal safety of all German citizens in Greece. Otherwise, the German Reich would have to reassess its "friendly relations" with the Kingdom of Greece, as well as all ongoing cooperative projects.
A single drop of blood pushed the fragile alliance to the brink of collapse.
Inside the royal study.
Constantine listened to Alexandros's urgent report without saying a word.
He slowly stood up and walked to his desk.
next second.
"Bang!"
He slammed his fist on the desk. The heavy desk, crafted from fine oak and capable of withstanding centuries of wind and rain, groaned under its weight. The ink bottle on the desk jumped up and crashed to the ground, splattering black ink like a blooming flower of death.
The atmosphere in the study instantly became cold and oppressive.
Constantine raised his hand, his knuckles a bloody mess, but he seemed oblivious to the pain. His face held no fury, only a chilling calm. But within his blue eyes swirled a chilling rage capable of devouring everything.
The enemy did not hesitate to provoke diplomatic disputes and undermine the foundation of the nation in order to thwart his plans.
This is no longer a provocation.
This is a declaration of war.
The Prime Minister and several cabinet ministers stumbled into the study, their faces ashen.
"Your Highness! This disturbance must be quelled immediately!" Prime Minister Deripes' voice trembled. "I suggest we immediately dispatch an infantry regiment to blockade Phoenix Hill and arrest all the rioters! Give the Germans an explanation!"
"Using the army against villagers offering olive branches?" Constantine turned around, his voice devoid of warmth. "Turning a criminal case into a civil war? Isn't that exactly the script those opponents want to see?"
His words silenced everyone's suggestions.
He ignored the panicked ministers and turned his gaze to the two men who had been standing in the shadows.
One of them was his attendant, Alexandros.
The other was the lame veteran, Stavros Vlahopoulos, the president of the workers' association.
"Alexandros".
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Go to the Royal Special Investigation Bureau and have them begin investigating this place and the surrounding nobles, starting today. They must find every single snake hiding beneath Phoenix Mountain. Alive."
"Yes, sir." Alexandros's reply was brief and forceful.
Constantine's gaze shifted to Stavros.
Stavros.
"Your Highness!" The old soldier straightened his chest, a bloodthirsty glint in his single eye.
"How many of your workers' association members are the toughest fighters on the docks?"
"Three hundred and twenty-seven men, Your Highness. Each of them could overturn a bull with their bare hands."
"Very well." Constantine's lips curled into a cold smile. "Tonight, let them have a good meal and a good night's sleep. Tomorrow morning, we'll show the gentlemen of Athens just how tough the iron fist of the working class really is."
He will repay them tenfold, in the same way as the enemy.
He doesn't want peace.
It is war.
A "workers' civil war" led by him, conducted according to the rules he set, and with all obstacles removed.
He looked out the window towards Phoenix Mountain, where dark clouds covered the sky.
"Pass on my orders," he said finally, his voice echoing in the empty study, "From this moment on, the Phoenix Mountain Industrial Zone is on high alert. Anyone from outside the mountain who dares to approach will be killed without exception."