Published at 17th of February 2026 7:13 am

Chapter 868: The Price of Freedom

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Aung San stood in the center of a village in the jungles of Burma. Around him lie bodies scattered in the hundreds, perhaps even thousands. He stood not in the ceremonial dress uniform of a parade general. But the fatigues of a field commander.

In his hand rested an old Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" pistol, its muzzle pointed to the forehead of a disarmed combatant.

"You and your kind are a plague.... And how do we get rid of plagues?"

*bang*

The gunshot echoed throughout the treeline as the body fell limp to the floor, blood and grey matter splattered through a mix of bone across the tall grass.

As Aung San gazed at his handiwork, he heard a voice erupt behind him.

"We excise it...."

Aung An looked back, not pleased that someone had answered his question. There he saw a young junior officer, who retreated a few steps back when he saw the fury in his general’s eyes.

"What did you just say?"

The soldier could retreat no further as he ran into the wall that was his fellow soldiers of the Burmese National Army.

He stammered in fear as the general closed in on him.

"I.... You... You asked how we get rid of plagues, and I said we excise it...."

*Smack*

A loud slap rang throughout the vicinity as Aung San knocked the junior officer to the floor.

"It was rhetorical! He knew what I meant, and if he didn’t who the hell cares? He’s dead just like the rest of these damned fools! Four fucking years we’ve been crawling through these jungles, chasing rebels and separatists back to their fucking villages. And you decide in the moment of a rare and earned sense of catharsis to violate it!"

The soldiers didn’t dare interfere in their general’s fit of rage. They too were on edge after four years of fighting, four years of repeated ambushes, four years of stalking through these endless jungles.

They couldn’t blame their general for his sudden and violent outburst. After finally achieving a decisive victory against one of the six factions fighting for control over Burma. The junior officer just had to run his mouth.

What surprised them though was that Aung San took a deep breath before pulling the kid up to his feet. Grabbing the back of his head, the man dragged him into his embrace and patted him on the back.

"I’m sorry... Truly, that was unbecoming of me... It’s just... It’s the damn Thai... Ever since their war in the Philippines ended, they have been up my ass pushing for a conclusive end to this conflict."

The mere mention of the Thai caused the soldiers of the Burmese National Army to feel shivers down their spines.

The moment the British Empire collapsed, and the Raj fell with it, Burma had been in a state of war. And Aung San had founded the Burmese National Army to gain control over the region.

They had been funded, trained, and supplied by the Thai Royal Army who wanted the chaos on their western border to end as swiftly as possible.

There was just one problem: the moment Aung San announced he was taking over the country, opposition formed and began arming themselves in any way possible.

Worse yet were the cross raids from their western borders with India. Whom was in its own state of turmoil as the Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists fought over who was in charge of their own region.

The chaos from India often spilled into Burma’s western corridors. After four years of low-intensity combat and counterinsurgency operations, the Burmese National Army and its military junta had seized control over the urban zones and their surrounding areas but had utterly failed to pacify most of the countryside.

And with the Second World War coming to an end, Aung San was now under more pressure than ever from his Thai backers to gain conclusive results.

The junior officer could not truly blame the General for his violent outburst, especially as he continued to apologize.

I’ll tell you what... I’ll make it up to you... Lord knows I need someone who is capable of thinking back in Yangon, keeping those halfwits from trying to usurp my command while I’m out here in the field fixing their fucking mess. You can be my personal representative in the Junta while I’m away."

The junior officer was shocked by the sudden promotion, and was quick to thank Aung San for the privilege with an enthusiastic salute.

"Thank you, sir! I won’t let you down!"

Aung San patted the young man on the shoulder before dismissing him.

"I know you won’t. Now go. The transport will take you back to the city. I expect to hear from you soon about your results."

The junior officer ran off, while Aung San’s generosity instantly faded; he instantly pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. Taking a deep drag before breathing a plume straight into the air.

One of the nearby soldiers was quick to question his actions just now.

"Sir... I don’t mean to offend, but...."

He was quickly cut off by Aung San’s almost monotone voice.

"An idiot like that will get himself killed in three months at the latest. Yangon is a den of vipers; why do you think I’m out here with you all? Those bastards keep stabbing each other in the back trying to figure out who really gets to wear the crown. All the while I’m out here crushing our enemies one village at a time... Burn it...."

He walked off after tossing his cigarette onto a nearby haystack. The embers catching flame, starting a slow but steady spread of fire.

These soldiers didn’t question the orders of their general; they simply sneered as they gazed in the direction the junior officer had run off to, before lighting the village aflame with their flamethrowers.

The world had not become a safer place with a German victory. Bruno had no desire for the Reich to become a global peacekeeping force. Instead, he had shattered the chains of the old world and left the other continents to fend for themselves.

In doing so, Bruno had created a world where the fatherland was secure, and Europe with it. But everywhere else was left to rebuild from the ashes of imperialism on their own terms.

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