NOVEL NEXT RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 74-2: Military tour (Part 2) – Edited by Yovis
"Marshal, if you don't mind this old man asking," Rokossovsky speaks up while being led to one of the many test sites the Belkans have. "How will the aid supply trains be able to traverse to Asia now that Polania has sealed off their borders?"
Walking near the Rusviet, the Reich Marshal replies. "Fortunately for us and the people depending on the supplies, two new train tracks will soon be opened. One medium-load railway will run through Czechoslovakia and another heavy-duty track line will operate through the Balkan DMZ."
Rokossovsky nods at the Marshal's reply before reacting to the mention of the Balkan DMZ. "The Wildlife Sanctuary? I am surprised the Balkans are willing to open up their railway with how focused they are on being environmentally friendly."
The Marshal chuckles. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Even the Balkans themselves require food and medicine to survive, not to mention the rare exotic wildlife they're supposed to preserve. By allowing the Belkan trains to move through their territory, the Balkans are not just helping themselves but also boosting their reputation in the rest of the world. They're banking on the fact that people won't forget their name anytime soon, thus attracting investment and tourists when the pain caused by the Cataclysm fades away."
The Balkan DMZ, or Balkan Demilitarized Zone, otherwise best known as the Wildlife Sanctuary, is a group of territories in the Balkans that have banded together to form a natural reserve. Not to be confused with the Belkan Reich, the Balkan DMZ is an interesting piece of work. When Yggdrasil made landfall in Europe, the impact of the World Tree crashing into Europe sent the tumultuous Balkan Peninsula down into the pit of anarchy. It took some time, but throughout the First World War and the subsequent five years, the region changed significantly. This was a direct result of the missionaries from the Yggdrasil Pantheon conducting many trips to the region, thus spreading the faith. In a place that was left without hope for peace, the arrival of a new faith that seems very much visible and all-encompassing was like water in a drought. The people of the Balkans embraced the new religion, with many becoming ardent supporters of the Belkan Reich. However, having recently emerged from a bloodied World War, the Reich was not too keen on subsuming Southeast Europe and thus reigniting the war. That said, the Reich couldn't just ignore the voice of the Balkan people. To remedy the dilemma, Yggdrasil herself proposed a move that subverted all expectations, making the Balkans a politically neutral entity.
When Yggdrasil arrived, she carried with her not just surviving sapients from the Previous Era, but also exotic wildlife that were either extinct or did not even exist on Gaia. Most of this wildlife was put in stasis since the Reich at the time was unable to support these lifeforms, yet the Balkans proved to be a suitable alternative. It took some planning and a lot of petitioning to the scientific, archeological, and academic communities, but ultimately, the Balkans shed its old chaotic skin, changing into something new. With the support of intellectuals and wealthy entrepreneurs from all over the world, the Balkan DMZ and Wildlife Sanctuary was born.
An apolitical entity, the Sanctuary dedicates itself to the preservation of nature, academic pursuits, and tourism. Gone are those dark days, they're nothing but footnotes in the history pages of the region. Now, the Balkans are a haven for colorful flora and animals of all shapes and sizes, all thanks to a collaboration between Yggdrasil and Gaia themselves. After all, the Balkans weren't suited for some of the lifeforms Yggdrasil brought out and some subtle terraforming was required. When one visits the Sanctuary as a tourist, they may be able to view strange sights like a frozen desert or a Stegosaurus going about its day. Such are the weird, exciting treats the Sanctuary may offer... With a suitable price tag, of course, being environmentally friendly does come with a hefty fee.
Nevertheless, the DMZ is not the focus of today's business. What comes next is a shocking sight for the Rusviet delegation, yet it's something seemingly very common for the Belkans leading ahead. It's a tank, a big one, with the appropriate heft to match judging by the track marks left in its wake. If anything, the tank looks like a moving bunker. Just from a cursory scan, Rokossovsky can see that the tank seems to have taken the rhomboidal design of WW1 and modified it to the extreme. The tank is fitted with a turret, housing a large caliber artillery, while its hull has a thinner and longer cannon next to the driver seat. On its sides are sponsons, housing a short-barrelled cannon and mysterious coaxially-mounted weapon each. Capping it off, quite literally, is a pintle-mounted machine gun on the turret. It is heavily armed for a tank, something that packed much more firepower than the T-35 in the Rusviet Union.
Dryly gulping to himself, Rokossovsky turns to the Reich Marshal. "Marshal, this is..."
The Marshal in question just smirks. "This, General, is the future." She gestures toward the gigantic tank and its crew. "General Rokossovsky, may I introduce you to the Leman Russ Battle Tank. The tank is the proud brainchild of the Reich's military development, soon to be put into mass production since all the kinks were ironed out prior to your arrival."
The Marshal then salutes the crew before giving them the go-ahead to mount up. Shockingly enough, the tank seemingly requires only a crew of seven to operate despite all of its weaponry. Rokossovsky and his delegation watch on in muted shock as the Leman Russ roars its engine and speeds into the proving ground with an impressive start. Owing to its big tracks, good ground clearance, and powerful engine, the Leman Russ speeds through all the presented field obstacles with ease. When it comes to the demonstration of firepower, the Rusviets are given a jump scare when the Leman Russ' main gun comes alive.
The Marshal chuckles good-naturedly at their reactions. "Yeah, it happened to me too." She says while they gaze on at the ensuing obliteration of an old Ustian tank serving at target practice. "The main gun is a 150mm howitzer, suitable to obliterate anything that is not a battleship on land."
The Marshal's words send a shiver down the Rusviets' spines. She continues when the Leman Russ pushes forward through a trench line. "On the sides of the battle tank are two sponsons, each fitted with a 75mm cannon," One of the Leman Russ' sponsons fires its cannon, punching a clean hole through a thick steel plate. "and a flamethrower as a close-range assault weapon." Another sponson uses its secondary armament, bathing the trench in a stream of holy flame. "To further improve the anti-armor capability of the vehicle, there's a hull-mounted 57mm anti-tank gun with generous traverse." The 57mm cannon engages the targets ahead of the Leman Russ in a 45-degree cone, punching through them in quick succession. "In the event of the tank being surrounded or the commander just needing to pop out and take a breather, he will have access to a machine gun turret with full traverse. It's a perfect tool to let off some steam." The Marshal's words are punctuated by the Leman Russ' commander using the HMG to mow down a row of human-sized targets.
By this point, the Leman Russ tank has been doing everything much better and faster than what the T-35 back in the Union could accomplish. Something that brings a chill to the military members of the delegation, especially Rokossovsky himself. To try and make sense of the absurdity in front of him, Rokossovsky asks.
"Marshal, what about protection and crew comfort?"
"An average of 100 millimeters of protection all around the Leman Russ, it's the best figure I can give you without compromising much." The Marshal smiles dangerously while answering. "The size of the tank means the crew has ample space to relax despite all the weapons it carries. We have also designed the Leman Russ to be reliable and modifiable. The latter is that we can easily replace the weapons with something else entirely, depending on battlefield requirements. You will be surprised at what we can do with enough space around inside of the Leman Russ."
Rokossovsky gulps, already seeing the Leman Russ Battle Tank as the ultimate bane of the T-35. He thought the Union had the most modern tanks nowadays thanks to the Ural factory complex, but he was wrong. The only saving grace, if it even counts at all, is that the Marshal goes on to say.
"The only downside of a Leman Russ will be its cost to procure." Then the Marshal shrugs. "But with how rich Belka is these days, the cost is the last of our concerns, especially when we can update the tank whenever we see fit."
A part of Rokossovsky wished that what he was seeing right now was a hallucination induced by head trauma due to the wounds he received in Warsaw. Unfortunately, Rokossovsky still hasn't been able to wake up from the illusion when the Leman Russ comes to a stop next to them. The Marshal's chippy tone does pull the Rusviets back to reality, however.
"As you have seen, Belka is on a direct course to maintain our military power being unmatched. Sadly, we can't show you how the Leman Russ works just yet, but we can give you all a much closer look at another one of our Leman Russ specimens with slightly different armaments. Now then, if you fine gentlemen would follow me to the hangar area?"
The offer further drives home the fact that, indeed, Belka is dead set on mass manufacturing this metallic beast of war. Can Rokossovsky go home now, just to save his common sense and sanity if not reporting to Stalin expressively? He's already regret coming here, damn it.