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The boat ride from Sicily to Rome took less than half a day, and Luke arrived at his destination in no time.
Standing on the ship's prow, he could see Italy's capital surrounded by various large and small hills, known as the City of Seven Hills.
The walls of the city are irregular in shape, like a crouching lion, staring down at the Apennines.
Rome's city is arguably one of the oldest cities in history, located in the Latin Plains of the Apennines in the middle of the Mediterranean.
It had experienced two periods: Republic and Empire. It is the birthplace of ancient Roman mythology and has a glorious history and cultural heritage.
Luke disembarked from the port in a dignified manner and presented his long-prepared documents. His cold face matched his sharp military uniform, exuding the momentum of a superior who just no one can approach.
This made it difficult for the soldiers who questioned him, making them unable to examine him too carefully, afraid they would offend this young senior officer.
After taking a general look at the documents and checking his identity, they let them go respectfully.
If this were Berlin, the Gestapo wouldn't have been so easily fooled.
"Dugan, we will succeed in conquering this country and gaining unprecedented glory."
Luke entered Rome, the heart of Italy and the center of Mussolini's rule.
After winning World War I, the Roman Papacy witnessed the strength of the Italian forces led by Mussolini.
So, the two sides signed the Lateran Treaty, which recognized Rome as Italy's capital, while the Italian government recognized the Roman Papacy's sovereignty over the Vatican.
After that, the ambitious Mussolini wasn't satisfied.
He led an army to Rome's city and declared a union with Nazi Germany to form the Franco-Spanish Axis.
Many people thought that Hitler was the founder of the Fascist Doctrine.
But it was Mussolini who opened this Pandora Box.
To a certain extent, he could be considered the teacher of the Third Reich's Führer.
After the First World War, the European landscape was reshuffled, and the people of Italy felt a deep sense of loss over the uneven distribution of benefits after the war.
This, coupled with a stagnant domestic economy and a difficult life for the people, Mussolini found a political entry point.
He initiated the 'Fascist Movement' in Milan and established the first 'Republican Fascist Party' globally.
However, this politician, who was bent on being a dictator, was essentially an opportunist. At least in terms of speeches and stirring up emotions, he had no outstanding ability than his student Hitler.
Initially, in the Axis camp, Mussolini was on an equal footing with the Third Reich Führer, and even Hitler maintained a respectful attitude toward him.
But who knew, the Italian army's performance was abysmal, either surrendering, falling without fighting, or calling on the German team members to come to the rescue.
Mussolini even summoned Hitler, a 'student', to help him out when he had problems.
The Führer grew to despise this man and almost called him a 'trash' on the phone!
Especially after Mussolini was placed under house arrest by the King of Italy and then rescued was by Hitler's special forces.
This once ambitious dictator was reduced entirely to a puppet manipulated by Germany.
"Captain, you always create miracles that we can't imagine!"
Dugan stood behind Luke and remarked confidently.
After getting along these few days, even if Luke said that he would fly to Berlin, bring Hitler out and end the war that was sweeping the world, he probably wouldn't doubt it.
The two arrived at Venice Square, where Luke gazed at the vast and magnificent palace.
That was the Venice Palace, founded by the Pope of Rome.
And right now, it's the political center where Mussolini ruled over 40 million Italians and the most heavily guarded part of the city.
Tomorrow, the first shot to conquer Italy will be fired here!
…
London, Allied Command.
At the secret base of the SSR team. A busy, hot, and tense atmosphere.
A month has passed and the Allied Forces' intelligence department had begun a fierce battle with Hydra.
The spies and agents of both sides are active in the major cities in the rear.
Such as the Axis Powers' Berlin and the Allies' London, New York, and Poland.
People on both sides keep intercepting each other's intelligence. Although the Strategic Science Reserve had gathered all the elites from the Allies, it's still at a disadvantage in the face of Hydra, whose actions were more secretive and powerful.
"So far, we haven't found the exact location of the Hydra base! Where were the captured Allied soldiers sent? What experiments were the German Nazis conducting in secret? We don't know anything!"
Colonel Philips roared loudly, and harsh reprimands echoed in the room, which silenced the people below.
"In just one month, we sacrificed thirteen agents, and four spies embedded in the Axis countries were discovered ... This is the greatest loss the Strategic Scientific Reserve has suffered since its inception! Allied Command is disappointed in us! And I'm disappointed in you!"
Colonel Phillips was angry, and one of the reasons is he got a call from President Roosevelt yesterday.
Although the man in charge of the White House hadn't expressed any opinions about the Strategic Science Reserve, but from his tone of voice, the Colonel could recognize the implicit message of accountability.
Initially, the Allied forces gradually advanced on the battlefield, and many people felt that the Axis Powers had lost their momentum.
But no one expected that the Red Skull, who got the Tesseract, used Hydra's scientific reserves to develop potent energy weapons and applied them to guns, tanks, and other heavy weaponry.
Powerful technology beyond this era had brought the Axis Powers from a state of collapsing to a standstill.
The situation of losing ground and falling into disadvantage had also eased.
On the contrary, the Allies began to show weakness in Eastern Europe's battlefield, and the established defensive front was in jeopardy.
For a series of reasons, the Strategic Science Reserve was under tremendous pressure.
They weren't able to figure out the technical basis behind the energy weapons that Hydra has mastered yet.
The military factory's exact location and the secret base of Hydra's, they didn't even have the slightest clue.
Hydra's agents had long infiltrated the Allies' top and bottom, making it impossible to avoid them. This situation made the team led by Colonel Philips reactive in terms of intelligence.
"Have you heard from Luke?"