Mercenary’s War
Chapter 1264: 1247: Previous Station

Chapter 1264: Chapter 1247: Previous Station

Some employers choose to meet mercenary groups directly, while others do not. For someone of Prince Ben Suharitan’s caliber, it would be laughable if he had to personally step out just to hire a few mercenaries.

It’s precisely because of employers like Prince Ben Suharitan that intermediary agencies exist, creating the space for individuals like Tomler and Krulney to operate. This also provides Krulney and his ilk the opportunity to exploit both ends during a transaction.

The process works like this: Prince Ben Suharitan hires Tomler to find mercenaries for a specific task. Tomler, in turn, contacts a mercenary group to execute Prince Ben Suharitan’s request. Once the full payment is received, Tomler skims off a portion and hands the remainder to the mercenary group. That concludes the transaction.

Without intermediaries, securing lucrative deals wouldn’t be possible. Most mercenary groups know the implications of working with a large intermediary company like Tomler’s, but they often have no choice.

This is a textbook example of the saying “The bigger the shop, the harder it is on the client.” When intermediaries hold the upper hand, mercenaries have no choice but to let them bleed them dry. On the other hand, if the mercenary group has the upper hand, they naturally wouldn’t need to bow to the intermediary’s demands.

As for the current situation between Gao Yang and Krulney, they can’t even really be called partners. It’s more like Krulney, after surrendering, handed Gao Yang his token of allegiance in order to save his own life. Krulney has no choice but to obey Gao Yang’s every command unconditionally because Gao Yang is holding too much leverage that could destroy him in an instant.

Once you decide to surrender, any ideas about so-called dignity and freedom should be thrown out the window. Otherwise, what’s the point of surrender existing as a concept?

As far as Krulney’s character is concerned, Gao Yang doesn’t trust him at all. In Gao Yang’s eyes, someone as fickle as Krulney, who betrayed his former comrades to surrender, would just as easily jump ship again if the tides turned. Trusting Krulney unconditionally was out of the question. Being cautious and holding the leverage to wipe out Krulney and his entire family at any moment was the most effective card Gao Yang could play to keep him in check.

That said, a man as opportunistic as Krulney also had his advantages. Because he was both afraid of death and highly intelligent, he would naturally figure out how to stay alive. Even if death was inevitable, he’d choose the most favorable way to die. After all, there are many ways to die.

In the end, despite not fully trusting Krulney, Gao Yang still had to rely on him to arrange the meeting with Prince Ben Suharitan.

Although it was highly likely that Prince Ben Suharitan wouldn’t meet Gao Yang directly, Gao Yang still had to try everything he could, using every possible excuse. The reason was simple: after closing the deal and getting the money from Prince Ben Suharitan, the next step would be figuring out how to assassinate him…

There were plenty of reasons to kill Prince Ben Suharitan. First, he was one of the main culprits behind Bruce’s death. Second, his mere existence posed a continued threat to Satan. Lastly, Karima was very likely to be by Prince Ben Suharitan’s side, making it essential for Number Thirteen to eliminate him as well.

To facilitate an assassination later, Gao Yang needed to get as close to Prince Ben Suharitan as possible. Even if they couldn’t meet, observing the surroundings and studying the security arrangements would be massively beneficial for the assassination plan.

In truth, investigative reconnaissance and assassination tasks were best left to Number Thirteen. However, since Gao Yang and Yake still couldn’t get in touch with him, Gao Yang had to take on the investigation himself until they could determine when Number Thirteen might be ready to act again.

Reconnaissance is a skill—it’s not just about counting the number of people or surveying the terrain. As a general rule, the closer you get, the more effective the mission will be.

Gao Yang first flew to Vienna with Rafael. After meeting Krulney in Vienna, the three of them drove together to Austria’s famed St. Anton Ski Resort.

“Prince Ben Suharitan is at St. Anton. It’s a very large ski resort. I know he’s there, but I don’t know his exact location. Once we arrive, we should be able to find out, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get to meet him. Most likely, you’ll have to wait outside while I go in,” Krulney said, his expression tinged with nervousness.

It was no surprise Krulney seemed anxious. Gao Yang’s intentions for meeting Suharitan were anything but innocent, and if something went wrong, Gao Yang’s head wasn’t the only one on the chopping block—Krulney would go down with him.

Gao Yang, however, appeared quite at ease. Leaning slightly toward Krulney, who was sitting next to him in the backseat, he asked softly, “The most important question is, how long will he be staying at the ski resort?”

Krulney thought for a long while before shaking his head. “It’s hard to say. It all depends on Suharitan’s mood. He might stay until the end of the ski season, or he might leave as soon as tomorrow. For people like him, it’s all up to their whims.”

If Prince Ben Suharitan stayed at the ski resort for an extended period, reconnaissance would be more impactful. If he left soon, the scouting wouldn’t be as significant, though still somewhat useful. For instance, Suharitan was unlikely to overhaul his security detail on short notice, meaning any information gathered about the guards’ size and habits would still be relevant as long as he remained in Europe.

Truthfully, Gao Yang preferred not to assassinate Suharitan in Austria. The reason was simple: alpine operations in cold, mountainous regions were not within Satan’s expertise, Rafael being the sole exception. Launching an ambush in the high-altitude Alps was something Gao Yang wanted to avoid at all costs.

Gao Yang’s habit was to prepare in advance. Regardless of whether the preparations were eventually used, the groundwork had to be laid. However, because he didn’t intend to strike in Austria, he only brought Rafael along for reconnaissance. Otherwise, he would’ve gathered Satan’s full team to familiarize themselves with the terrain.

Along the way, Gao Yang kept busy. After extracting every bit of information about Suharitan from Krulney, they started rehearsing their story to ensure total consistency. If, by chance, they did manage a meeting with Suharitan, they couldn’t afford to slip up. Such lapses could not be overlooked, so they had to consider every possible detail to minimize the risks.

Extorting money from a Saudi prince was one thing—it was relatively easy. But assassinating a prince? That was an entirely different beast. A prince being rich and dim-witted wasn’t the same as a prince being rich and easy to kill. Understanding this distinction was critical.

At this point, Gao Yang couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of nostalgia for Number Thirteen. Compared to Satan’s brute-force approach, assassination missions were a breeze for Number Thirteen.

Although contact with Number Thirteen was still temporarily lost, Gao Yang wasn’t too worried about his safety. So, Gao Yang’s confidence this time rested on the fact that all he needed to do was scout ahead. Once Number Thirteen was back in the game, even if they had to wait for him to recover from any injuries before making a move, it didn’t matter. One day sooner or later wouldn’t make a difference—what mattered was that Suharitan was doomed.