Author Notes:
This new RM chapter took me more time than I would like to get it out haha. Seriously, irl matters always know how to stump me, ahh...
With that said, I won't be keeping you all from enjoying the new chapter any longer. Have fun reading, and do check out my P-atreon and Discord either for benefits or for constructive conversations! Thank you so much!
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https://www.webnovel.com/book/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich_23809095505377305
https://www.webnovel.com/book/in-the-grimdark-sector-with-a-system_31596105108346205
https://www.webnovel.com/book/my-soul.-occupied-body---please-the-other-me...!_35377211308783905
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/2271569/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich/
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OBOM Visual Guide:
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Perhaps it is to be expected that the rest of Polania, Warsaw, and Kraków, included, fell in quick succession upon the abandonment of not just General Talius's group but also the rest of their high-ranking leadership.
When the words about the cowardly disappearance of the Revolutionary Command Council were spread by an unseen hand, the total collapse of morale and fighting strength among the surviving Polanian defenders occurred within hours. The Rusviets, for all of their lopsided effectiveness since the start of this war, were able to capitalize on the evaporation of the Polanians' will to resist and steamrolled what was left of their bunkers and trench lines. Eventually, even Katowice, the city that General Talius and his ragtag band of convoy escaped to, was captured, as was Warsaw. However, by that point, the Polanian General had long since disappeared with the majority of the city's population and movable resources. Between the Rusviet and Belka, General Talius understandably chose the latter to surrender his people to. At the very least, what awaits them all won't be a gulag and harsh labor.
Ultimately, with the collapse of the Polanian banner and the rising of the Rusviet and Belkan flags, Polania as we know it is divided into two unequal halves. Western Polania remains under the control of the Belkan Reich, starting from Gdańsk to the Southern reach of Wrocław. This leaves the rest of the Polanian country well beneath the Union's rule. Having rendered a concord and needing time to digest their claims, the Rusviet Union sticks to honoring what was agreed upon with the Reich all that time ago. The old borders, once again, are silently wiped, and new borders are drawn by cartographers. Each drop of ink on the new world map is no doubt stained with the blood of many martyrs, those who believed their causes were just... Time has proven that, thus far, only the Belkans and the Rusviets are winners in this long-standing conflict in Europe.
Still, with how the rest of the world is still reeling from the collapse of the Kingdom of Erusea and its colonies and tributaries, the defeat of Polania seems like a mere footnote on the final page of today's newspaper at best. The front page is already occupied with the scent of gunpowder in the sea that separates China and Japan, while in North America, the United States is raising the banner of justice, freedom, and democracy along its border with Canada. If Europe is expected to enter a period of post-war recovery, then Asia and North America are poised to be at each other's throats, if not at gunpoint. Such is the chaotic time before the year 1940.
With the Reich winning two wars back-to-back, though, it's expected that Belka's annual Victory Day will have to be brought up ahead of schedule. Winning against the old Loyalist Ustians doesn't have the same impact as defeating both the hateful Eruseans and Polanians. That said, any and all attempts at making yet another grand military parade nationwide must be postponed until the smaller, yet politically important joint victory parade in Polania is over. Indeed, much like some have expected, Stalin has seized upon marching around seized Polanian land as if he's always owned the place like a fish to water. The Secretary General of the Union even invited the ally due West of his nation, the Belkan Reich, for a shared, massive propaganda show that will surely stun the world for years to come.
Or at the very least, Stalin hopes to pressure the Reich's invincible standing by showing that, yes, the Rusviet Union is catching up to them.
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Boarding the illustrious Thomas the Armored Train, I make myself comfortable in the well-fitted-out kitchen area of its passenger area. Much to Bryn's mild exasperation, I soon cart out a whole multi-dish Rusviet-styled meal to the window-side table. With a cheeky wink and a smirk, I start serving the first plates onto the table as Bryn fixes me with a wry look, her arms crossed.
"If you keep hogging the kitchen, the cooks on Thomas will go out of business after this trip." Bryn lightly reprimands me. "I know you like to cook for me and the others, but there are places and times for it."
Bryn closes her eyes, sighing. "I didn't prepare your attire and hair personally this morning just so you can ruffle it with that chef coat, apron, and hat over the entire ensemble."
Then my Valkyrie opens one eye, her lips curling upward. "But then again, I can never stop you from spoiling us rotten, am I right?"
I giggle, nodding. "Righto~! Now then, may I present the lovely personage that is you, with your meal today?"
"I can't be any more grateful if you do so, Yuki." Bryn replies with a slight smile, eyeing my hand as I remove the covers from the plates.
I start introducing the food, putting on my best impression of a restaurant chef as I do so.
"Given that we're about to meet the person who gave me the cookbook that he supposedly penned and that you haven't gotten the chance to enjoy my Rusviet-styled dishes, I reckon there's no better time than this to have a serious Rusviet meal. While I can't guarantee the taste, I do believe I have managed to faithfully recreate the Rusviet atmosphere here, on this jostling car. For an appetizer, we shall have the savory Salo, cured pork fat, served thinly sliced, sprinkled with pepper, alongside a palette of sauces. Salo goes well with rye bread."
Bryn carefully appraises the appetizer on the tablecloth, seeing the carefully cut and portioned slices of fat and the fancy way I have presented the sauces that go with the Salo. The Valkyrie ponders how I could have sequestered a clean artist's palette to serve as the plate for the colorful sauces as the aroma of the appetizer soon hit her nose.
"Won't you join me for this meal, Yuki?" Bryn asks, gesturing to the open spot on her cushioned chair.
I giggle.
"Knowing you, you won't take no for an answer... Pardon my intrusion then." I take up on Bryn's offer, sitting and scooting myself right by her side.
Bryn smiles, feeling the warmth of my body next to her. She then leans in to kiss me on the corner of my lips before picking up the silverware and piercing a slice of cured pork fat. After dipping the thinly sliced fat into a delectable yellow sauce, Bryn carefully places the food in front of my mouth.
Tilting her head, Bryn gently says. "Say, ah~." She gives me a warm, expectant look, a stark contrast to her cool demeanor on the battlefield.
I blush slightly, being reminded of the simpler time in my youth, being lovingly tended to by the mother figures around me. I must admit I do enjoy the feeling of being cared for by my lovers. Perhaps this is why I love to return that feeling countless times over to the women in my life, hoping that they too shall feel the joy that they gave me.
I open my mouth, allowing Bryn to gently place the well-seasoned cured fat atop my tongue.
"Oh my~! Salo is something you really need to eat to understand its greatness." I comment after savoring the bite of food.
Afterward, I pick up a fresh set of silverware from the food cart, take and dip a piece of Salo in sauce, before returning the favor of feeding Bryn. My Valkyrie gives me a grateful smile before accepting the offer. Upon chewing and swallowing the bite of pork, Bryn nods in agreement with my earlier assessment.
"Indeed, some food may sound off-putting at first, but there is tastiness to be uncovered beneath the facade."
Bryn then picks up a small piece of rye bread and Salo before prepping it to feed me once more. Understandably, we take turns feeding one another, accompanied by the light jostling of the train car and its reverberation, until the appetizer is squeaky clean. Afterward, I hop to my feet, clean the empty plates and bread basket, before plating more dishes onto the dining table under Bryn's appreciative gaze.
"For salads, we shall have Vinegret; a simple mix of boiled vegetables with sunflower oil as dressing. Boiled beetroots give the salad its distinct bright red color, while pickled cabbage adds a sour punch. The soup to the side is Ukha, a fish soup made with clear stock to tame the flavor of the Vinegret and Salo."
Smiling knowingly at one another as I sit down once more, Bryn and I pick up the spoons to, again, take turns helping ourselves to the hearty meals. The lightly seasoned soup goes well to cleanse our palate after enjoying the fatty Salo and flavorful and brightly colored Vinegret. Bryn giggles softly when I accidentally give myself a red-colored mustache after I dive for Bryn's offered spoon of Vinegret a bit too eagerly. Bryn's tenderly wiping my mouth with a tissue makes me feel like it's worth it, making a cute little fool out of myself for once. When even the salads and soup are gone, I go on to present Bryn with the main course.
"Beef Stroganoff. Thinly sliced pieces of beef tenderloin are cooked in sour cream and served over buckwheat and alongside pickled vegetables."
As expected, the Beef Stroganoff is very enjoyable, and I can swear that the already soft tenderloin is even more delicate whenever I eat it from Bryn's fork. I don't usually eat my meal like this, being fed by my lover with every single bite, but I am loving the feeling very much. Bryn can for sure infer this from my contented expression, so I can hazard a guess that in the near future, I will be doted on quite a lot by the others whenever dinner comes.
After enjoying the Beef Stroganoff to the fullest, I introduce my dear Valkyrie to the baked goodies of the Rusviet Union.
"This, right here, is Pirozhki. These are small pies made out of yeasted dough and are baked with an egg filling. They are perfect as a segue to the coming dessert."
Picking up the small pie, Bryn breaks off a small chunk with golden-looking egg on it and offers it to me. I take the piece of pie into my mouth before mischievously grabbing her hand and giving her fingers a few licks that are borderline sexually suggestive. A tinge of red appears on Bryn's cheeks as she smiles and stares at me meaningfully.
"You are being a very naughty girl, you know? Perhaps I should mark this transgression down for later when we get back to Berlin, no? It's been a while since we last organized a... Family gathering."
I wink at her as I unknowingly lick my lips like the little Devil that I am. "Don't make me an offer I can't refuse..."
"We shall see about that, Yuki." Bryn replies as the air around us is charged with the aura of unspoken words and promises before it all returns to normal as swiftly as it appears.
When we finish the Pirozhki, I then reveal the last plate alongside the tagalong drink.
"This is Ptichye moloko, meaning Bird's Milk. But fear not, there are no funky ingredients in this cake. Only the softest, fluffiest soufflé, layers of sponge cake, and chocolate ganache. And the drink to the side is a tea infusion with berries and herbs, a happy ending to what's hopefully a fulfilling course meal that is made on the fly."
My final introduction ends with a loving kiss from Bryn as she pulls me well onto her lap.
"Oh, my~!" I exclaim in mild surprise as I am rested against Bryn's well-endowed and toned figure. "It seems that my dear Valkyrie has an opinion about the chef."
Bryn smiles as she caresses my lips, only after she has cleaned her fingers, of course. My Valkyrie has manners.
"I believe the chef has wantonly made my heart hasten its beats. I would like to lodge a complaint that the chef should stop making my heart throb so much, so many times, since..." Bryn leans in to claim my lips once more in a deeper kiss. Upon breaking contact, a string of saliva connects the two of us. "Even I won't be able to keep my composure and may just sequester the chef somewhere... Safer."
We both silently look into each other's eyes after Bryn finishes her heavy, meaningful sentences. The silence is broken when we both suddenly chuckle at the same time, feeling the rush of joy and more after we're done with our impromptu roleplay. And just like that, with me in her arms, Bryn and I enjoy our dessert and cool, aromatic tea and the rushing scenery right outside the window. For the time being, Bryn and I selectively forget about the strategic and political concerns that have arisen upon the defeat of Polania and whatnot. There are only the two of us, enjoying the jostle and rustle as Thomas the Armored Train cuts through the terrain like a black dragon.
This marks a strangely calm and poetic end to what can only be described as a long 40 days of tears, bloodshed, and upending of expectations... Honestly, people will kill to be on my side of the front, after all that's happened.
"I think I am experiencing what those writers back home called sugar overdose, Lola." Erika dryly mutters to Lola, causing the dwarven girl to force down a chuckle at the former's expense.
Indeed, throughout the entire meal, Bryn and I have force-fed Erika and Lola, my loyal bodyguards who have been inside the car all this time, a lot of our sweet, sweet love. It's to the point that the similar meal sets I cooked for Erika and Lola turned conceptually sickeningly sweet in Erika's mouth.
"Admit it, you're just jealous that I couldn't give you the same treatment as what Yuki is giving the General." Lola smirks, shrugging. "I can cook up boomsticks, but I doubt you would enjoy their chemical taste."
Erika fixes Lola with a look of mixed feelings, not knowing the correct response to the dwarf's words. Eventually, the trusted bodyguard of Yuki sighs.
"Once this is all over, do you think we can ask if Yuki can treat us to something like that? For curiosity's sake, of course."
"I don't see why it won't be possible. But mark my words, the meal will end atop a bed if General Bryn has anything to say about it."