Impossible Mission

Luke led the members of the Howling Commandos from the East Coast, across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Strait of Gibraltar, and into Italy's territorial waters.

Since Spain was neutral during World War II, and there was a British naval base stationed nearby, their group encountered no obstruction.

After a long, rough voyage at sea and several routine identity checks along the way, Luke and the others arrived safely at Sicily and were about to land in Palermo.

The Howling Commandos could hardly believe that they had come right under the Axis Powers' noses!

Dum Dum Dugan could not help sighing. "This is the most thrilling and dangerous thing I've ever done in my life!"

The others all agreed. They were like lions walking into a pack of wolves.

No matter how strong an individual was, once their identities were exposed, they would still be torn to pieces by a swarm of wolves!

Perhaps when that time came, their commander Luke could escape alone with his formidable strength.

But the rest of them were destined to fall beneath Nazi guns.

"We've reached our destination. Someone will meet us shortly and provide a safe place."

A map of Sicily was spread out before Luke. He said, "Let me repeat myself. I am now Vito Corleone, a Sicilian who left his hometown in his early years. My identity is that of a smuggler, a speculative merchant trafficking supplies between the Allied Nations and the Axis Powers."

"However, that is only a cover for dealing with the Axis naval forces. In Brooklyn, New York, I personally captured a Hydra assassin named Gregg Nissen. The Strategic Scientific Reserve got quite a bit of intelligence from him."

"So, after I arrive in Sicily and meet the informant, my identity will be that of an envoy from Berlin, delivering the Fuhrer's orders to Mussolini—the British have cracked Enigma, and using radio communications to transmit important intelligence has become unreliable. Therefore, posing as a Berlin Envoy will not arouse suspicion."

"Our mission... is to go to Rome and assassinate Mussolini?"

Dum Dum Dugan's eyes widened as he wondered whether he had heard wrong.

This mission was simply too insane.

If Luke had not proven himself calm and reliable throughout the journey and earned the team's trust, Dugan would have thought he was joking!

"No, it's not that exaggerated. Mussolini's government is only a puppet. He himself was previously stripped of all authority by the King of Italy and imprisoned on Ponza. Later, Hitler sent his men to rescue him."

Seeing Luke shake his head in denial, the Howling Commandos let out a breath of relief.

At this time, Sicily had two German army armored divisions. If they tried to stir up any trouble, they would surely be gunned down.

As for assassinating Mussolini, that was even more of a fantasy!

God only knew how many guards surrounded that dictator!

"Our mission is to enter Rome, capture Mussolini alive, and assist the Allied Nations in landing on Sicily! We will become the first force to conquer Italy!"

Luke continued.

For the next few minutes, the entire cabin fell into dead silence.

Everyone stood with their mouths open, wearing blank expressions as though they did not know whether they had misheard or Luke had misspoken.

"Sir... are you serious?"

Dum Dum Dugan asked hesitantly.

He had discovered that this young captain always managed to surprise his team.

"Kidnapping the head of a government with just a few people and escaping successfully—I know it sounds absurd, no different from suicide."

Luke braced both hands against the table and leaned forward, his tall frame radiating an oppressive presence.

The team members who had wanted to voice their opinions instinctively lowered their voices and closed their mouths.

"But the actual situation isn't that bad! First of all, our opponents are Italian soldiers. I don't think I need to say much about that country's army. American newspapers say, 'If Italy remains neutral, the German army effectively gains five divisions. If Italy joins the Allied Nations, the German army effectively gains ten divisions. But if Italy joins the Axis Powers, the German army needs twenty divisions to protect them!'"

Luke's humorous tone eased the atmosphere somewhat.

"Compared to the forces of France, who raised the white flag after forty days, the forces of Italy were not much better. You probably don't know that during World War I, the British army once fought ten thousand Italian soldiers with twenty-five men and captured eight thousand of them. You probably also don't know that, when it came to warfare, they could not even defeat Ethiopia..."

Luke spoke with fervor, a faint glimmer in his eyes.

Most of the stories he mentioned were actually joking anecdotes he had seen in his previous life, and their authenticity was open to question.

For example, Ethiopia during World War II was not the primitive tribal nation many imagined. In fact, its army was known as the "Lions of East Africa" and was exceptionally brave in battle.

Had Italy not shamelessly used poison gas warfare during its second invasion, it might not have been able to occupy Ethiopia at all. It might even have suffered another Waterloo.

As for the Italian army, it was not actually so pathetic. Although it had indeed made many blunders, its military strength was not weak, and it also had some impressive performances during World War II.

For example, during the Second Battle of El Alamein, the 185th "Folgore" Parachute Division, at an absolute disadvantage of 1:13 in manpower and 1:70 in armor, used Molotov cocktails, anti-tank guns, mines, and explosives to halt the British army's armored offensive.

In short, everything Luke had said was meant to boost the Howling Commandos' morale and ease the team's fear.

Perhaps he could raid Rome alone and capture Mussolini alive, but he could not accomplish the subsequent task of assisting the Allied Nations' landing on Sicily by himself.

"But we won't just be facing the Italian army. There are Germans too!"

Dugan was wavering. As a soldier, he was supposed to obey orders, and Luke's speech had been quite persuasive.

At least now, the Howling Commandos all believed the Italian army was vulnerable, and advancing into Rome did not seem as difficult as they had imagined.

"The Allied Nations will handle them for us!"

Luke answered decisively.

The reason he had agreed to join Colonel Phillips's plan was not because he had acted on impulse, but because he had thought it through carefully.

According to the original World War II timeline, the Allied Nations had already concluded the North African campaign. Next, they would counterattack within Italy and open a new front.

In July, Allied landing forces would set sail from ports in North Africa and along the eastern Mediterranean coast, as well as Oran and Algiers.

Then, General Patton would lead the army straight toward Sicily.

And now, the day Mussolini's government collapsed and Italy surrendered was not far away.

Perhaps to others, raiding Rome and capturing a national leader alive was simply an impossible mission.

But Luke was confident, because he stood upon the thundering wheels of history rolling forward.

"How much reputation can I gain by becoming Italy's conqueror?"

Luke could not help thinking.

Spreading his name across the world—this nearly cheat-like method of farming reputation was impossible to achieve in a game.

"Everything will be done according to your orders, sir!"

After a long while, Dugan gritted his teeth and made his decision.

After all, he had already arrived in Sicily, surrounded entirely by enemies.

Only two paths lay before them: complete the mission and return home in glory, or bear the name of traitors and be sent before a military tribunal.

Seeing their leader Dugan speak this way, the remaining team members nodded firmly as well.

PS: I recommend a book, "A Treasure Map Every Day."

A satisfying system novel with frequent updates. Worth checking out~

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