The martial spirit of Prussia lived on

"Clop, clop, clop."

The crisp sound of hoofbeats reached the frontline trenches, where the soldiers of the German Empire solemnly watched their emperor approach.

His Majesty Eitel rode a tall, pure-black warhorse, inspecting the soldiers who had fought alongside him.

Whenever he came before a soldier, that soldier gave him the imperial military salute.

Looking at the soldiers of the German Empire, their faces filled with resolve, Eitel tightened the reins and brought his horse to a halt.

"Soldiers, you are all outstanding men who endured battle and hardship to stand here."

"You are the backbone of the German Empire!"

Eitel's impassioned words gradually set the blood of every soldier of the German Empire present boiling, and they could not help shouting in unison.

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"

Konstantin watched all this with admiration in his eyes. Even the Fifth Army's previous commander-in-chief, His Highness the Crown Prince, had failed to win the affection of these proud soldiers.

Yet His Majesty Eitel had won over every unit along the Meuse River Line in just a few short days.

The comparison made it immediately clear who was superior!

Only His Majesty Eitel commanded everyone's hopes; only he was the salvation of the German Empire.

Only once the cheers subsided did Eitel slowly speak.

"Today, we achieved a great victory."

"At a time when the Allied armies are watching us hungrily, bent on devouring our great empire piece by piece."

"This victory is all the more precious. It will increase our German Empire's international influence!"

As he spoke, Eitel raised his hand high.

"Behind us lies the territory of the German Empire. Behind us lies Berlin!"

"Once they break through our defenses, they will march straight into the heartland of our German Empire!"

At this, Eitel drew a deep breath.

"Germany may be vast, but we have nowhere left to retreat! For our families, we can only fight to the death!"

As though stirred by His Majesty Eitel's words, every soldier present raised his weapon high.

"Fight to the death! Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

The thunderous cries of "fight to the death" echoed across the position as several Allied scouts nearby watched the fanatical soldiers in the German lines.

Their faces were filled with horror. They had never seen such cohesion before.

"Get back and report this intelligence immediately! This is urgent! Go!"

Soon, the scout was brought to the Allied command post. When he pushed the door open and entered, every Allied general present turned to look at him.

Having never been watched by so many big shots before, the scout instantly grew nervous.

His lips trembling, he delivered his report, and every commander who heard it knitted his brows.

At this stage of the war, apart from some warmongers and those eager to win distinction through warfare,

most soldiers and generals no longer wanted to fight. After all, if the fighting continued, their entire younger generation would die.

With all the young people dead, how could a country develop?

After dismissing the scout, Commander Pershing, his expression dark, looked at the commanders beside him.

"Speak up, all of you. What should we do next?"

There was a trace of barely suppressed anger in Commander Pershing's words. Ever since those meddlesome reporters had spread news of that day's fighting to countries around the world,

their American army had been subjected to considerable ridicule. Just moments earlier, President Wilson had furiously berated him.

They had entered the war very late, and the uneven quality of their troops had left them with little say among the Allies.

On top of that, this defeat had made America a complete laughingstock among those European countries.

This was highly detrimental to their efforts to secure a voice in world affairs. Now, like Germany, they desperately needed overseas colonies and sufficient international prestige.

The former was for dumping their products, while the latter was to raise America's national prestige, thereby securing enough say at the Versailles Conference.

After all, their goods had some minor shortcomings in quality compared with those of the European countries. Those merchants would rather buy English goods than American ones.

So Commander Pershing was very displeased as well, but there was little he could do. He had indeed underestimated these German soldiers.

Now he only wanted some way to remedy the situation, but even after a long wait, no one answered him.

The French generals had already received reliable intelligence that the Allies were now working to advance the Versailles Conference, and the war would soon end.

At this critical juncture, there was no reason for them to sacrifice their own soldiers for America. These soldiers were precious manpower for rebuilding France after the war.

Moreover, the current situation also showed that the German army remained as valiant as ever. As a country that had fought the German Empire from beginning to end, they had already done what they ought to do.

They would leave these problems for the Americans to worry about.

Meanwhile, the American commanders all kept their heads lowered without saying a word. After all, they knew their own troops inside out.

Apart from a few units, most were soldiers who had been rushed onto the battlefield after just a month of makeshift training.

Never mind the other Allies looking down on them-even they felt these soldiers were nothing to show off. In fact, every success they had achieved so far had been bought with sheer numbers of lives.

Now that they had encountered unprecedented resistance here, all their army's weaknesses had been exposed.

Without the help of French soldiers, they absolutely could not break through the German army's Meuse River Line on their own.

Commander Pershing coldly surveyed all the commanders present, taking in every one of their expressions.

At this point, he understood as well.

After a helpless sigh, Commander Pershing could only order the entire army to hold its current defensive line and refrain from rash action until the situation changed.

Meanwhile, His Majesty Eitel had arrived at the place where the Stormtroopers were resting.

"Assemble all the Stormtroopers."

Eitel gave Konstantin the order. Konstantin nodded respectfully, then headed into the Stormtroopers' rest quarters.

Five minutes later, all the Stormtroopers had assembled, standing in an open area for His Majesty Eitel's inspection.

"Soldiers, I am about to begin the journey home, but I am certainly not doing so to escape the war."

"To repel external enemies, we must first secure stability within. This time, we are returning home to stabilize Germany's rear."

"The journey is certain to be fraught with danger, so I will take the German Empire's finest soldiers back with me-you, the Stormtroopers."

Although the Stormtroopers had only just begun to rest, at this moment, His Majesty Eitel's orders meant everything to them.

Even if God stood before them, they would still obey their emperor's orders without hesitation.