A convoy slowly drove along the mountain road, entering the vicinity of Neuschwanstein Castle.
At the end of the road stood Neuschwanstein Castle.
However, since the entire castle was situated on a cliff, the road led to its side. One had to circle around to reach the front gate.
But just as the convoy reached the end of the road, two machine gun bunkers appeared at the junction. Not far behind the bunkers, in front of the castle, several jeeps and military trucks were parked.
"Who are you people!" Seeing the convoy approach, a U.S. soldier emerged from the machine gun bunker, weapon at the ready, and stopped the convoy.
From the bald eagle patch on his shoulder and the spade symbol on his helmet, it was clear that he was a member of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, Easy Company.
It was simple why Easy Company was here. When the "Return to the Eagle's Nest" operation was launched, Josh had already given a heads-up to General Taylor.
As long as the main strategic objective of the "Return to the Eagle's Nest" operation was completed, troops were to be dispatched to secure this location.
Even though the Eagle's Nest itself didn't hold high strategic value, due to the symbolic nature of the operation, it still became one of the Allies' targets for occupation. The 2nd Battalion of the 506th Regiment, where Winters served, was responsible for the task.
And since Neuschwanstein Castle was located less than 100 kilometers from the Eagle's Nest and wasn't a strategic stronghold, it was relatively easy to occupy.
Thus, General Taylor smoothly issued the order to the 506th Regiment to take Neuschwanstein Castle as well.
Colonel Sink, commander of the 506th Regiment and well aware of Josh's relationship with Winters and Aldo, naturally assigned the mission to a certain unit—no explanation needed.
After verifying some documents and papers handed over by the front vehicle's bodyguard, the soldier spoke briefly to him.
Then the two of them walked over to the vehicle Josh was in.
"What's going on?" Vito, seated in the front passenger seat, immediately got out and asked.
"Boss, Sergeant Martin here says the main gate of the castle has been blown up and is currently impassable. We'll need to enter through the side gate." The bodyguard from the front car explained.
"John Martin?" At this point, Josh rolled down his window and asked the American soldier. Upon hearing the name Sergeant Martin, Josh already knew who he was.
Although he was familiar with Easy Company, Josh didn't know everyone—there were over a hundred of them. But he did have an impression of a few soldiers, and he had indeed met this John Martin a few times at the Rainbow Club in London.
"Yes, Mr. Kane!" Sergeant Martin saluted happily, clearly pleased that such a prominent figure remembered him.
Although Josh wasn't in the military hierarchy, most of the soldiers in Easy Company knew of this important man.
"You just said the main gate was blown up—what happened?" Josh asked, naturally concerned since this place was about to become his property.
"Well, sir, when we arrived, the castle had been occupied by a Hydra research unit. There weren't many of them—only a few dozen—but they were stubborn. They blew up the gate to try to resist using the terrain. We didn't have many breaching methods at the time, but that very night, our company commander infiltrated the castle alone and eliminated most of the Hydra soldiers resisting inside. God knows how he pulled it off!" Martin explained vividly.
Josh suddenly understood—it had to be Aldo who used the beast transformation serum he'd given him. Otherwise, there was no way he could have stormed such a heavily defended castle solo and killed dozens of Hydra soldiers.
Thankfully, only the gate was destroyed, and the main structure remained intact.
But…why was there a Hydra base here?
"Thanks for the information, Sergeant Martin. Is now a good time to take me to see Aldo?" Josh asked.
"Of course, sir. Please follow me!" Sergeant Martin nodded, called out briefly to the three comrades remaining in the bunkers, then led Josh and his group toward the castle's side gate.
Through the side gate and winding through the castle's complex corridors, they finally found Aldo on the second floor, writing something.
"Josh! I've been waiting for you. It's great to see you!" Seeing Josh arrive, Aldo quickly got up and gave him a bear hug.
"I'm glad to see you too. I heard you stormed into a tiger's den and single-handedly took down the Hydra soldiers stationed here. That's seriously impressive." Josh patted his shoulders and said with a laugh.
"Hey, others might not know what's going on, but you do!" Aldo shook his head and said in a low voice. Then he glanced at Ophelia behind Josh and asked, "Why is she here too?"
"Haha, let's not talk about that for now. I brought a lot of good stuff from Vienna—all in the car. Send someone to get it." Josh said.
"Oh? That's great news! There'd better be good booze. This place is too remote—even the nearby town doesn't have a decent bottle!" Aldo's eyes lit up.
"Of course! Not just good wine, but also fresh fruit, as well as freshly bought beef and vegetables from the nearby town!" Josh nodded.
"Martin, have 2nd Platoon go unload the supplies. We're celebrating tonight!" Aldo ordered Sergeant John Martin.
"Yes, sir!" Martin saluted and quickly left.
"I heard from Martin that there was a Hydra research base here. What's that about?" After Martin left, only Josh, Aldo, and Ophelia remained.
"You haven't said what this woman's doing here yet." Aldo looked at Ophelia, displeased, and asked Josh.
He still held a grudge over being captured and mind-controlled by her in the past.
"My apologies, Lieutenant Aldo. Back then, we were on opposing sides, and I had no choice. I sincerely apologize. But now we all work for Mr. Kane, so there's no need to dwell on the past, right?" Ophelia smiled and apologized after seeing Josh's signal.
"Shit, Josh, is this true?" Aldo looked at Josh in disbelief.
"Yes. Ophelia is one of us now. She can be trusted." Josh confirmed.
Aldo looked at Ophelia, then at the collar around her neck, and silently gave Josh a thumbs-up.
"It's simple. At the beginning of the war, this place was used by the little mustache as a warehouse for looted French art. After Bavaria fell to Hydra, they turned it into a small research base. A major led a garrison of a few dozen troops here, along with a dozen or so researchers studying some strange stuff. We're just a bunch of grunts in Easy Company, no one understood what they were doing." Aldo shrugged.
"Did you know there was a research facility here?" Josh looked at Ophelia.
"No, I never heard of it." Ophelia shook her head.
"You didn't report this?" Josh turned to Aldo.
"Of course I did. I sent a brief report to battalion HQ. But clearly, they didn't take it seriously!" Aldo grinned and winked at Josh.
Josh immediately understood and gave a satisfied smile. "Then take us to see it!"
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