Re: Blood and Iron-Chapter 432: Let the Games Begin

The next morning Bruno enjoyed a breakfast with his family, like he had done every single day since coming back from the war. That is when he was not called away to some other diplomatic visit that lasted more than a single day on his end.

Heidi seemed very much happy to be back in the old estate, not quite as happy as she would be had they been living in the old manor again, that was their first home, the place where their family was built, where their love blossomed beyond childhood naivety, and into a true marriage.

She was not the slightest bit upset that Bruno had given the home to their son Erwin so that he could do the same with Alya, she just wished, somewhere deep down in their heart their circumstances in this life never for forced them to move beyond such a humble and loving abode.

Either way, she seemed quite thrilled about the day's events, as the first of all major sporting events would be taking place. And since these games were being held in Berlin, the German Olympic Affairs Committee ensured that combat oriented games were to be held today.

Boxing, wrestling, kickboxing, fencing, archery, marksmanship, etc. These were the games that would be held at the start, and Bruno would not settle for total victory unless every single medal in every event and category went to Germany.

His athletes had been given the greatest training facilities on the planet. They lived, breathed, ate, drank, prayed, and trained. That was their entire life, with only minor exaggerations, as a member of the German National Olympic Team.

And today Bruno intended to showcase it. The Kaiser stood nervously in the VIP booth next to Bruno, quickly offering the man a drink, thinking perhaps he would be as anxious about the upcoming events as himself.

"Care for a glass of chardonnay? Or is merlot more you hue?"

Bruno couldn't help but chuckle as he took the drink and sipped from it no more than enough to make the Kaiser comfortable, after which he was quick to remind the man that today was their day.

"Your majesty, though I'm not your physician, I should remind you that you would do well to relax. The games have yet to begin, and trust me when I say, there are no surprises to be had today, at least not for the two of us.

Let the world watch as the greatest athletes are dominated in pure combat by our own. It is a mathematical impossibility that we will lose a single gold today and silvers? Highly unlikely. At most, we might lose a bronze or two, but even that is doubtful.

Just sit back and enjoy yourself. I'm going to go watch the first match with my family, so make sure to enjoy yourself."

After saying this Bruno patted the Kaiser on the back, before walking away, sitting down in between his two oldest daughters while their younger siblings watched with awe, the youngest of which was perhaps just old enough to have this be embedded as a core memory.

Elsa was the first to speak today, her voice cold and calculating as she watched the two boxers face off in the ring while the referee went over the rules with them.

"Thirteen seconds…"

Eva looked over at her younger sister and scoffed in disbelief, clearly understanding what she was implying, as if it was absurd.

"Thirteen seconds. Are you mad? How do you figure that?"

Eva was looking at the two fighters, one was from the UK, an old school gypsy boxer, no doubt having been through a variety of fights in the streets, bare knuckle, tough, aggressive, not afraid of going down, a do or die type.

The other was a young German athlete. His body was almost entirely devoid of scars, or any sign of roughness, especially in the face. Most thought this meant he was untested, a young pretty boy going against a legend in the ring.

But Elsa knew better. She knew exactly what it would take to get this far in the system that her father had made. The fact that the man looked virtually unscathed from being raised in the sport of boxing meant one of three things…

However, she didn't reveal these thoughts. Instead, she simply explained her reasoning to her elder sister with the mathematics she had used to come to this absurd calculation.

"The fight will last 13 seconds: 2 seconds for the approach, 1 second for the strike, 10 seconds for the referee's count. Fourteen seconds at the most, if the other guy throws first. And an additional second to counter and land a shot."

Eva scoffed and rolled her eyes at her sister's audacity, voicing her true thoughts aloud as she did so.

"You're actually insane…"

However, Elsa was undeterred, and simply shifted her head slightly so that she could look directly at the elder sister's eyes, staring coldly at them with absolute confidence and certainly in her own expressionless face.

"would you like to make a bet?"

Eva was slightly taken aback by her sister's unreasonable confidence, thinking for just a second that the girl might know something she didn't. But in the end it was simply too absurd, a single punch to end the fight at the start? Incredibly unlikely if possible, and thus she wagered the odds.

"Okay, fine, what's at stake?"

Heidi was about to intervene in the two girls and their sibling rivalry, believing that gambling was both a sin, and a vice young noble lady like themselves shouldn't be engaging in. But before she could do so, Bruno grabbed her hand that was reaching over his shoulder and kissed it, looking back at her and shaking his head with a subtle smirk.

At the same time, Elsa named her price.

"I'll say an entire year's allowance… This is the first Olympic game we are able to attend. Might as well make it memorable, right?"

That was a convincing enough reason for Eva to agree, and thus she reached her hand over to seal the deal with a shake.

The two sisters quickly sealed the deal in front of Bruno, who had been quietly watching their discussion with amusement, that is until Elsa leaned over and hugged him, showing more emotion than she ever did in front of anyone but her father as she begged like a child half her age for him to keep her older sister to her word.

"Daddy, you'll make sure Eva honors the wager when I win, won't you?"

Bruno, knowing full well she was playing him with her usual charm, couldn't help but break out into laughter as he pet her silky golden hair, assuring her he was indeed a witness and was a fair man.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

"Of course sweety, now you two quiet down. The fight is about to begin!"

Eva had a smug expression, while Elsa went back to being an ice princess he moment she was forced to let go of her father, and then it began, the crowd went silence as the two fighters approached one another, and just as Elsa had predicted the hyper aggressive gypsy style boxer from the UK threw a heavy shot, loading up on it in advance as he did so.

With the agility, reflexes, and nimbleness of a man half his size the German boxer effortlessly slipped past the punch bringing a loaded uppercut right into his opponent's jaw and dropping him cold on the spot.

Fourteen seconds, just as Elsa had predicted. Everyone was stunned in the arena, everyone except Elsa and Bruno, who knew just how capable his boxers were, and how underdeveloped boxing as a sport was in the rest of the world.

Elsa finally broke the silence with a smug smirk and a haughty tone.

"I told you so…"

Eva could only look over at her little sister as if she was some kind of monster, while Bruno couldn't help but to break out into laughter again. Even the girls' mother… couldn't help but giggle at how right her little angel was.

And thus Germany had shocked the world with the opening game at the 1918 Summer Olympics.