Chapter 246
In Belgrade, Jaccon was, and in Paris, Tsar Bomba was dropped.
Giant mushroom clouds rose up in both cities.
The Air Defense Command forces, watching from a distance, could only gasp at the destructive power.
And Pétain, deep on the frontline confronting the Commune forces, could do nothing but collapse at the immense explosion that occurred in Paris.
It was over 100 kilometers away, yet it was visible.
What kind of weapon is this?
The shockwave of the nuclear bomb could be felt from this distance.
“The city of art, Paris. Our capital of France. Is in that giant mushroom cloud.”
The soldiers of Free France had to witness their capital melting away in the heat of a nuclear detonation.
Pétain lost the strength in his legs and sank down as he watched the scene.
I don’t know what kind of power that mushroom cloud possesses, but one thing is for sure: all the citizens of Paris must be dead.
“I have fallen for the whispers of the devil! It was the Saint of Death! Paris, which contains the entirety of French history!”
I’ve heard that the accomplishments of Tsarina Anastasia of Russia are comparable to those of Joan of Arc.
What if the burned Joan of Arc was reborn as Anastasia to take revenge on France?
Suddenly, all sorts of imaginations flooded my mind.
“General, you must hold on to your sanity!”
De Gaulle was standing by, but all that was before his eyes was the beautifully rising mushroom cloud over Paris.
So that Empress called for the end using the strength of France.
At least that way, she wouldn’t be blamed later on.
Pétain would be reported to have borrowed weapons from Russia to destroy the Commune of Paris by the hands of the French.
But if we think coldly, was there any other option? The answer is no.
The British Army is coming from the north, leading the Commonwealth Army like a century ago, the Spanish and Italian Federal Army are moving from the south, and Russia would have physically destroyed the Commune to completely tear France apart.
It’s not a bad transaction to end the war and the Commune by obliterating a single city, but the responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Paris will remain.
At least they say that most of the citizens of Belgrade left when the king abandoned the country. But the casualties in Paris are too terrifying to even count.
“Yes. Perhaps this is better. If a single city can maintain a country, it’s not too bad. My days are numbered. I will take everything with me. De Gaulle. You’ll have to govern the next France well. There will be a tough time not only from the war but also for unification.”
“General.”
Why must I still be alive to witness such a horrifying scene with my own eyes?
It’s all because of Thorez and those Communist bastards.
Right. It’s right to take responsibility for smashing Paris before I die.
Even if Paris is erased, at least the Free French government will be recognized as the legitimate government, and somehow they will maintain the mainland.
There, I must find satisfaction.
“Does that mean Russia has obtained the power of God?”
This was the response given by Louis Mountbatten, who joined the British forces on the Belgian front, after witnessing that overwhelming destruction.
Though he hadn’t seen it directly due to the warning from the Empress, there was a massive flash of light, and after a while, Paris was trapped in a giant mushroom-shaped cloud.
At first, it seemed like witnessing a kind of art, but despite the unfamiliar sight, he was convinced that all the Parisians present had met their demise.
What would the Prime Minister of London think if he saw this scene?
Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind.
The military of the lowland country that had reclaimed its homeland couldn’t help but fall silent at the horrendous situation happening next door.
Of course, France had been the traitor in this war, but the very existence of the Free French government and the shocking scene of a city obliterated was unavoidable.
Having already detonated in Belgrade, this proved that there was more than one of such weapons.
Though it was authorized by Pétain and detonated by the Free French pilot, the bomb was of Russian origin.
Russia has “supported weaponry” for Free France, but it was a choice made by Pétain, who was forced to maintain the country under the Empress’s threats.
But no one can speak of it carelessly.
“Countries that defy the Tsar will vanish from the map.”
All the responsibility will fall onto Pétain.
The White Army of Russia murmured in the face of such incredible power.
It was fortunate that Russia had obtained such a weapon first. This is the might of Tsar. Their mother, not wishing for the deaths of her children, unleashed the power of God.
However, everyone implicitly felt one thing.
This war was over.
A headless trunk cannot move forward.
Even if they fight desperately, the Commune forces under Gamleyn must know that the leadership in Paris has been wiped out. They can’t even make contact with Paris now. Given that the White Army soldiers are this shocked, how much more would Gamleyn, who witnessed the explosion in Paris up close, be?
While the command staff was still in shock due to the mushroom cloud that had risen over Paris, only Anastasia remained calm.
She was more composed than ever, her expression seeming devoid of all human emotion, cold as ice.
The beautiful face, still retaining the appearance of a twenty-something, displayed no surprise at the destructive power, being unfazed and indifferent as if she already knew, sending chills down the spines of every commander present except for the White Army commander.
It was as if she had already experienced such destructive force before.
Could someone erase an entire city and remain unscathed?
Overwhelming fear and terror. Yet, on the other hand, there was no sense of guilt on that emotionless face, inspiring even reverence.
In the midst of this inexplicable atmosphere, the Tsar turned his gaze toward his nails, speaking softly.
“Belgrade is originally a sacrificial lamb. It doesn’t matter.”
Yugoslavia was a victim from the start.
This was a consensus agreed upon by all the Air Defense Command forces.
The Yugoslav army was in a position of continuous retreat, only trying to hold back in Belgrade. Now, they are destined to completely vanish.
“Um, yes. The commander of the Commune forces is Maurice Gamleyn, and the commander of the Communist German forces is Wilhelm List of Group A.”
“Demand their surrender. If they do not comply, I will authorize the detonation of the third bomb, Grozny, directly above their heads. This is their last chance to evolve from insects to humans.”
Given that there was already a name for the bomb, it suggested that a third one was awaiting readiness.
The Tsar, who holds absolute power in this war, commanded the demand for submission from the enemy.
It was a request to throw away all weapons for self-defense and the defense of the country, and to surrender instead.
The Tsar posed the final dilemma of whether they would become insects or humans.
If those guys act like Reds again, then the hundreds of thousands of Red frontline troops guarding the line will crumble.
The somewhat sympathetic Allied commander must hastily inform the enemies of their last chance to become human.
As Paris descends into hell, all lines of communication are cut, leaving them with no choice.
Desperate resistance is possible only if there is a will to fight.
“I will surrender.”
The Red Front troops lost their will to fight at the sight of that giant mushroom cloud over Paris, and consequently, the command had to decide on surrender.
“Your Majesty. They have surrendered.”
At the news of their surrender, the Tsar began to fold his fingers one by one.
“Those insect bastards need to be taught a lesson. Entering Paris? Hmm, two weeks from now would be best. It will be contaminated and become the city of hell for a while. If our soldiers enter now, they won’t be caught in the explosions, but they will face some side effects. Let them enter later.”
If they enter directly into the explosion site without understanding the risks of radiation, they might get irradiated.
Knowledge about the dangers of radiation only became known long after the Second World War.
Those who do not understand this grudgingly listened to the Tsar’s words.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Two weeks later. The timing has been precisely set.
The Tsar knows all of this. Until the time is granted for the living to step into the hell that is Paris, where death reigns.
The Tsar kindly informed them about the dangers of the radiation that created that hell.
While everyone was attentively listening to the Tsar’s words, he turned his gaze to Louis Mountbatten, the commander of the British forces in Belgium, who was too frightened to even raise his head.
“Louis Mountbatten. Commander of the Belgian forces.”
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty.”
“Tell the British Army to keep their position only until Normandy. Don’t be foolish and venture into Paris, lest you die unnecessarily.”
It wouldn’t mean anything to win the war and then die.
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
For that moment, it seemed as if Mountbatten was not just a servant of the King of Britain, but of the Tsar as well, as he bowed his head low.
“Perhaps Thorez and Goebbels are in the bunker, so if that bunker is very well made, they might still be alive. Before we enter, mobilize the Spetsnaz to drag those two out.”
Setting an exact time to enter.
As if he had anticipated all of this so naturally.
As expected from a city of art, Paris had presented a hellish art form that it was unreasonable for people to enter directly.
“Your Majesty. There are very few civilians who evacuated. The majority of the civilians seem to have been caught in this attack.”
Drozdovsky reported that there had been no refugees leaving Paris despite several reconnaissance flights, indicating massive civilian casualties.
But still, the Tsar coldly sneered.
As if mocking the deaths of Parisian citizens. The Russian Joan of Arc is only the Russian Joan of Arc. She is not the saint of France.
“Not evacuating means they chose to live like insects, and thinking they could endure this war by relying on our mercy stems from a vile notion, doesn’t it? Not fleeing is their own fate. This is none of our concern. We exterminated insects, not captured humans.”
Only insects were captured.
The commanders of Free France had grievances, but there was nothing they could say.
If they rebutted, the Tsar would likely treat them like the Communists had labeled those with differing ideologies as reactionaries, and would seem ready to kill them.
Above all, now is the time to submit if they want to reclaim even a tiny piece of their mainland.
But.
“There must be those who couldn’t escape due to threats from the People’s Army! This is!”
Unable to hold back any longer, De Gaulle ultimately decided to rise up.
But the Tsar merely gazed at him coldly.
As if to say, “What do you intend to do about it?”
“General De Gaulle. Isn’t the specialty of revolutionary France revolution itself? You should have overturned things again this time. This complacent thought that the People’s Army can hold out means they have surrendered to intimidation, doesn’t it?”
The Russian Saint declared that all of this is the fate of the citizens who didn’t flee Paris.
No one could dare to refute that statement.
The people who had suffered under the Red Front’s attacks were not a few.
Above all, the Tsar had directly experienced the civil war and had been the figure who prevented the communist revolution.
Wasn’t he someone who viewed the end of communism as his own ambition? No one could dare contradict her who possessed the power of God.
“I am the Tsar of Russia, and each and every one of my soldiers’ lives is precious. Even if a definitive victory is in sight, I cannot throw away my soldiers’ lives for those arrogant Reds. The life of a single soldier, armed with the anti-communist spirit, is more valuable than the lives of hundreds of thousands of insects from the Paris Commune.”
The enemies of Russia are treated mercilessly as non-human insects.
You declare that the life of one of your children, the White Army soldier, is worth more than thousands of souls.
If that’s the case, then so be it.
Who dares to say otherwise?
“I already feel sorry for having brought my children from the frozen lands to this France only for them to die; must I also spare the lives of Communist bastards? What you sow, you shall reap. The French shall get back as they have sown. General De Gaulle, while I have refrained from carrying out my civil war grievances until now, if you dare to say that you will have my soldiers die to protect Paris, I can’t overlook it any longer.”
That’s right. Not using nuclear weapons means first crossing over the front line that those venomous Reds are guarding, and second, it implies that even when entering Paris, there will be urban combat with the Reds.
The bloodshed in Berlin was significant; it cannot happen here again.
Isn’t it true that rage management is naturally regulated in the presence of the strong?
All De Gaulle could do was sit still.
“And.”
The Tsar’s words were not yet finished.
What would he say next? The generals from various nations leaned in to listen.
“The one responsible for killing hundreds of thousands and destroying the city of tradition and art, Paris, are the French themselves. It’s not me.”
That statement was also correct.
In the end, it was Pétain who authorized it, and to ensure the absolute annihilation of the Commune, the French pilot dropped the new weapon on Paris.
The choice was ultimately made by Free France, not the Tsar, drawing a firm line.
Now all that remains is to hope for the mercy or crumbs from the granter of absolute power.
The power of nuclear weapons surpassed imagination.