Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 188 Soldiers of World War I
Vienna, January 23, 1912.

Next to an open-air art stall, paintings were displayed, held down by a piece of glass to prevent them from being damaged by ice and snow. Beside them, a poorly dressed young man sat on a small wooden stool, wrapped in a thick coat, covering himself completely, with only his eyes showing as he scanned the passersby.

He curled up to resist the onslaught of the lingering winter chill, with only the white mist exhaled from his mouth and nose proving his life.

People came and went around the art stall, but having just celebrated Christmas, they had no interest in looking at the works of an unknown painter. There were many such down-on-their-luck artists in Vienna. They hurried past the art stall one by one, from daytime to noon, without stopping at all.

The young man seemed to have gotten used to it. He looked at the glass that was gradually covered with a layer of frost. The painting under the glass was so obscured by the frost that it was almost impossible to see. He silently lowered his head.

Suddenly, a young couple passed by. The man caught sight of the painting stall, stopped, bent down to wipe the frost off the glass, and wanted to see what the paintings looked like.

A surge of joy welled up in his heart, and the young man quickly stood up and began to introduce his paintings to the man.

"Sir, please allow me to explain the concept behind this painting to you. This painting of mine..."

But before he could finish his joyful words, the man shook his head, straightened up, and said to his female companion beside him.

"Let's go."

A sense of loss filled the young man's heart. As he watched the man and woman who had not yet gone far away, he could still hear his female companion's curious questions.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to take another look?"

"I've seen it, the painting is too rigid..."

The owner of the voice walked further and further away, leaving only the silent young man, clenching his fists tightly. The once proud and confident young man was now filled with loss and inferiority.

Three years have passed, and I have still accomplished nothing in Vienna.

Instead of setting up a stall, the young man quietly packed up his paintings and prepared to head to his favorite café.

……

Coffee shops were extremely popular in Vienna at that time.

Vienna's prosperity attracted numerous artists and thinkers from around the world, whose habits and consumption patterns gave rise to a multitude of cafes. People from all walks of life, adhering to different ideologies, also discussed politics in this peaceful city.

Conspirators, politicians, scholars, physicians, scientists, artists... this population of nearly one million has collectively formed this bustling metropolis.

Café Central was quite famous among the many coffee shops because of its unique flavors, and Adolf loved it. Whenever he had some extra money, he would go there, because it was warm and cozy, a stark contrast to the cold outside.

In this café full of customers, the down-on-his-luck young man savored his coffee alone, pondering what to do next.

"Are you leaving Vienna?"

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

This thought was recent; during his three years in Vienna, he had lived a life of poverty, and occasionally he would think that perhaps things would be better elsewhere. But before he could fully process it in his mind, a commotion in the distance disrupted everything.
"gentlemen……"

Not far away, a middle-aged man dressed in shabby clothes was holding something in his arms, seemingly a merchant selling goods, and was speaking attentively to customers at other tables. However, the customers who were drinking coffee were suddenly disturbed, and their displeasure was understandable; they impatiently waved him away.

The middle-aged man was forced to rush from one table to another, eventually arriving at Adolf's table.

"Sir, please take a look at this thing of mine, this thing of mine..."

The middle-aged man spoke solicitously, lifting the cloth covering the things he was carrying. Adolf looked down with interest, then frowned, immediately understanding why none of the previous guests had shown any interest.

Within the coarse cloth was a rusty iron statue, vaguely recognizable as a young girl dressed in military uniform. It was clear it hadn't been maintained in a long time; even after a hasty wipe, many corners and edges remained covered in rust, making it utterly unappealing.

Seeing that Adolf showed no interest, the middle-aged man became anxious and hurriedly said...

“Sir, this was passed down from my grandfather. He was a great collector, possessing many treasures, and this was his most prized possession. You can ask Tobias if you don't believe me; many people still know his name. I just thought there were many artists here, and perhaps someone who would appreciate its value, so I came here to sell it…”

Tobias?

Upon hearing this, Adolf turned his head.

He had heard of this name before; it belonged to a well-known collector who was said to have amassed a large collection of famous paintings and treasures decades ago. But as he looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, he couldn't help but sneer.

"A great collector? His most treasured possession? I bet it's something that's been sitting in a corner for who knows how long, and you just dug it out?"

As he spoke, he scrutinized the middle-aged man again and stroked his chin.

"I heard that Tobias's family fell into poverty... Could you be his grandson?"

The middle-aged man's face stiffened, and he gave a somewhat awkward smile, an unnatural expression appearing on his face. All of this was captured by Adolf's eyes, but he remained unmoved. He could sense a morbid gambler's aura emanating from the middle-aged man, a temperament cultivated from long-term gambling addiction.

Adolf vaguely guessed something, but didn't say anything. Instead, he examined the iron statue again.

Undoubtedly, it was a rusty statue that looked like scrap metal, but Adolf's keen eye for art allowed him to detect some clues.

It was so exquisite. Although many parts were covered by rust, Adolf could still detect the traces of meticulous carving on the statue. The meticulousness and pursuit of perfection in the details of the armor, face, and even the fingertips were something that would not be found in ordinary sculptures.

As if sensing Adolf's gaze, the middle-aged man hurriedly spoke.

"I'll sell this to you for just one hundred crowns."

One hundred crowns was equivalent to two or three months' income for an ordinary worker, but Adolf just snorted coldly.

"Hmph, one hundred crowns? I think it's only worth two crowns."

Two crowns? How is that possible?

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man almost shouted angrily...

But after some haggling, the middle-aged man sold it to Adolf for five crowns, since no one else was willing to sell this piece of "scrap metal" except Adolf.

After receiving the money, the middle-aged man walked away happily to try and recoup his losses. Adolf, on the other hand, watched the figure, then looked down and touched his wallet. There was hardly any money left; only a few small bills and coins remained.

The five crowns he just spent were actually the last bit of money Adolf had this month; he almost couldn't afford the sculpture.

"Going to the soup kitchen again..." Adolf thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile, realizing he was becoming more and more like a beggar.

Even so, for some reason, he still inexplicably bought the sculpture; it was just a strange impulse driving him.

He stood up, paid at the table, and prepared to leave.

"Boom..."

Just as he was leaving the coffee shop, he suddenly felt someone bump into his shoulder. Turning around, he saw that the other person was also looking at him. It was a handsome young man with a mustache, who looked somewhat puzzled.

"Feel sorry."

The other person spoke first, his voice carrying a slight Russian accent.

Russians?
Adolf frowned but didn't answer. He simply walked away, while the young man watched his departing figure with a puzzled look on his face.

"JOJO, what are you looking at?"

"I can't believe it," a young man's companion asked.

The young man shook his head.

"No, it's nothing."

As they talked, the two walked into the Central Café together to discuss Russian politics and Bolshevism.

Between December 1912 and January 1913, a young Russian man named Stalin arrived in Vienna to discuss the communist cause in Russia with Trotsky. Because his name contained two JOs (Joseph Vissarionovich DJOgashvili), his alias at the time was JOJO…

……

In 1913, Adolf Hitler moved to Munich, Germany.

During this period, German politics were extremely turbulent. Decades earlier, the skillful diplomacy of German Chancellor Bismarck had enabled him to forge alliances across Europe, ultimately unifying a fragmented Germany amidst a continent of powerful nations.
From the latter half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, under the Iron Chancellor Bismarck, the unified German Empire experienced a period of rapid and comprehensive development. Utilizing the reparations from the Franco-Prussian War, the fruits of the Industrial Revolution were brought to their peak in the German Empire.

The massive influx of rural populations led to rapid urbanization, unprecedented improvements in national education and social security, and rapid advancements in science and technology transformed the life of this ancient empire. Until 1914, Germany had become the world's second-largest industrial power after the United States. Its formidable strength enabled it to challenge the British Empire at sea and also possess a powerful army capable of dominating Europe.

However, given the complex geopolitical relationships and the various royal families in Europe, Germany's territory appeared particularly small. But Bismarck was keenly aware that he could not easily challenge Britain's bottom line. At that time, Britain occupied one-third of the world's land and one-quarter of its population, and the whole world was full of British colonies. Therefore, Bismarck always maintained a high degree of vigilance and caution.

However, after the old emperor's death, the young and radical 29-year-old Emperor Wilhelm II was unwilling to be controlled by this prime minister. In the end, the iron-fisted prime minister, who was already over seventy years old, resigned in anger.

After getting rid of Bismarck, the young new emperor was able to unleash his ambitions.

"Germany's journey is to the stars!"

The ambitious young emperor proclaimed this.

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, Serbia, by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian youth. A month later, with German support, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, using the Sarajevo assassination as a pretext. Subsequently, Germany, Russia, France, Britain, and other countries joined the war…

World War I broke out.

In this unprecedented world war, an unremarkable young man chose to join the army.

……

On the Western Front, the German army advanced steadily, but was halted by the Anglo-French forces at the Marne River in France, where soldiers fought valiantly but could not break through. On the Eastern Front, Germany, having declared war first, held the advantage and advanced, occupying vast territories, before being hindered by the perilous environment of Russia.

The fighting on both the eastern and western fronts has reached a stalemate...

However, the brutality of modern warfare far exceeded people's imagination at the time. In the context of total war and overall warfare, the resources of the entire society were tilted towards the war. The large number of men enlisting in the army led to a shortage of manpower in the rear arsenals, and countries had to hire a large number of women to work in the factories, while children were forced to do light work such as shoveling snow.

The shortage of supplies, the pressure of being busy, and the heavy burden of life weighed heavily on everyone's shoulders. The soldiers on the front lines were rolling in blood, while the women in the rear were working overtime in the factories.

The initial enthusiasm at the start of the war was gone, and more and more doubts, demonstrations, and even anti-war sentiments arose.

However, there was also good news for Germany as a whole: the Soviet revolution in Russia forced Russia to cease hostilities with Germany, and with no fighting on the Eastern Front, Germany could concentrate all its energy on the Western Front, and the hope of victory seemed to have appeared.

however……

On October 25, 1918, an order from the German Naval Command reached Kiel.

"To fight the British...if we are defeated, we shall sink with honor..."

After the captain read out the entire order with a complex expression, the order itself was not complicated: to coordinate with the German counter-offensive on the Western Front, the Naval Command was forcing the fleet to set sail and engage the British forces; if defeated, they were not to retreat, even at the cost of their lives. But for these sailors, this was utterly unacceptable. They had already suffered heavy losses in the naval battle, and now being forced to set sail was not only futile against the menacing British fleet, but it was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

The sailors in front of them looked at each other, most of them were injured, some of them blind or missing limbs. After a long while, an angry voice rang out.

"To hell with orders!"

Soon after, the entire fleet erupted in chaos, with over 60,000 demoralized sailors disembarking and refusing to obey orders…

Sailors mutinied in Kiel.

……

This mutiny swept across the entire German Empire, and the massive demonstrations and protests ultimately forced the war to end. The German Emperor was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles with the Allied Powers. The seemingly blossoming hope of victory had withered before it could even fully bloom...

Germany was defeated.

Many Germans believe that Germany was not defeated because of the collapse at the front, but because of those who stabbed it in the back.

When news of the defeat reached a hospital, a soldier who had fought valiantly on the front lines and was recovering in the hospital had just learned of it.

"Do not!!!"

An angry and desperate voice rang out from the hospital bed.

Military Sub-Dimension's introduction to World War I and World War II is indeed very interesting. Since I am not familiar with World War I, I used some of Military Sub-Dimension's information in it. Please forgive me.

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(End of this chapter)