Mercenary’s War
Chapter 1266: One Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Nine: Chaos Upon Chaos

Chapter 1266: Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Nine: Chaos Upon Chaos

Gao Yang and the others were led into a room with a lit fireplace. An old man with graying beard sat at a table near the fireplace, drinking red tea. Besides him, there were two middle-aged men in suits with headscarves, their gazes unusually sharp.

Once the guards outside escorted them in, the man at the table stood up and smiled at Krulney, saying, “Did you bring anything inappropriate?”

Krulney smiled and said, “Of course not, this isn’t my first visit. But as always, let’s get started.”

Krulney pulled a phone from his pocket, turned it off, and casually handed it to Rafael. Then, extending his arms, he let someone with a portable metal detector sweep him from head to toe. After completing the check, the person nodded to the tea-drinking old man.

The old man pointed at Gao Yang and Rafael and said in a deep voice, “They stay here. Mr. Krulney, come with me.”

Krulney turned around and said to Gao Yang in a low voice, “Wait here.”

After speaking in English, Krulney left the room with the old man following behind.

Gao Yang and Rafael stood inside the room. No one bothered to search them. A man in a suit told them to sit and then ignored them entirely.

Gao Yang and Rafael sat on the only long sofa in the room, while several guards stood by the windows, keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding area. Although the terrain was treacherous, with only one pathway leading outside, the guards remained highly vigilant.

The guards outside didn’t carry rifles, but handguns for sure, and judging by the bulges at their sides, they probably had compact submachine guns on them too.

After waiting for over an hour, Gao Yang saw Krulney walking out alone from the window. Upon returning to the guard-filled room, Krulney extended his hand to Rafael with a blank expression and said, “Give me the phone. We’re leaving.”

Rafael handed the phone back to Krulney, who then waved his hand, and the three of them left the resort once again.

Back on the cable car, Krulney finally let out a sigh of relief and said softly, “Things have taken a turn. My plan won’t work anymore.”

Before Krulney could elaborate, Gao Yang raised his hand to stop him and pointed to a location, asking Rafael softly, “Do you think heavy weapons like a rocket launcher could be used there?”

Rafael gave a wry smile and replied, “Using one there might cause a catastrophic avalanche due to the explosion. That would be the worst-case scenario. Personally, I think it’s doable, but the risk is extremely high.”

Gao Yang waved his hand dismissively and gestured around, speaking in a low tone, “Then, is there anywhere nearby where we could safely use a rocket launcher?”

Rafael also waved his hand, saying, “Boss, if you’re planning to use heavy weapons for a direct assault, you might as well storm the place via the road. Honestly, it would be easier than trying to find new attack routes in the mountains here. Besides, this environment is entirely unsuitable for an assault. And if we do deploy weapons here, well… I suppose escaping via ski trails would be very convenient—if you know how to ski. Otherwise, apart from riding the cable car out, I really can’t think of any other viable option.”

Gao Yang shook his head helplessly and said, “Forget it. We’ll review this later. Alright, Krulney, let’s get back to your point. What did you mean when you said the plan won’t work?”

Krulney sighed, spreading his arms with an exasperated expression, and said, “I met Suharitan. The meeting did not go well. I was reprimanded, almost scolded really. I admitted that I couldn’t handle eliminating the Angel Mercenary Corps on my own. Then I took the opportunity to suggest Suharitan hire Satan to take over. But Suharitan rejected my proposal.”

Gao Yang looked disappointed and asked, “Why?”

Krulney shrugged and explained, “Suharitan asked me how many people Satan had. I told him about twenty—recently in the limelight, extraordinarily capable, unbeatable for their size, you know. Doing business with the Shah People requires a bit of exaggeration. Well, Suharitan seemed content with Satan’s capabilities, but he thought Satan didn’t have enough personnel.”

“And then?”

“Then Suharitan rejected my idea. He figured it would be a better move to have the entire Iron Madonna come out to wipe out the Angel Mercenary Corps. So he decided to have me reach out to Iron Madonna. Moreover, Suharitan is willing to pay two hundred million dollars to hire Iron Madonna.”

At this, Gao Yang’s lips twitched several times before he cursed hatefully, “Two hundred million! F**k! That’s some generosity.”

Krulney let out a breath and then smiled, “Not just generous—decisive. Our dear Prince has already agreed to pay an advance. By the time we’re off this cable car, the money will probably be in my account.”

Rafael murmured, “This is f**king insane. Fifty million in advance! F**k, is this what it means to have absurdly deep pockets?”

Krulney wagged his finger and said, “You’re mistaken. This isn’t just rich—this is being unreasonably, obscenely wealthy.”

Gao Yang nodded slightly at Krulney and asked in a serious tone, “If you can’t go with the original plan, what’s your next move?”

Krulney rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment before saying in a low voice, “I’ve sketched out a new plan. Here’s the deal: I’ll personally hire Iron Madonna and make it clear that the target is Angel. But I won’t have their entire force deployed. I’ll tell them the total payout is fifty million and pay them a ten-million-dollar advance. I can skim one million as a commission for introducing them. This way, Iron Madonna should send out thirty to fifty operatives—not more. Sending more wouldn’t be worth it for them.”

Rafael frowned and said, “I have a question. Angel is formidable—probably the most elite small-scale mercenary group in the industry. Is Iron Madonna really confident they can annihilate Angel with just thirty to fifty people? If that’s the case, Iron Madonna is ridiculously overconfident.”

Krulney chuckled and replied, “It’s not overconfidence. It’s faith—self-assurance. To be frank, guys, I’ve never seen a mercenary group as famous yet as low-key as Satan. In my opinion, arrogance bordering on hubris is typical for mercenaries. But you lot—you’re just way too modest. Honestly, if another group were in Satan’s position, they’d definitely take a shot at annihilating Angel.”

Gao Yang gave a bitter smile and said, “We’re not modest—we’re just chicken.”

Krulney looked utterly exasperated and said, “Chicken? You call yourselves chicken? Oh my god, that’s the worst joke I’ve ever heard. Think about all the insane stuff you’ve done, and you still have the nerve to say you’re chicken? Come on, right in front of me, you were just discussing taking down a powerful Shah prince, and you turn around to claim you’re scared?”

Gao Yang chuckled awkwardly. Indeed, his conversation with Rafael and their plotting seemed anything but cowardly.

Krulney waved them off as if shooing flies, saying wryly, “Enough, enough. You don’t do what typical mercenary groups do, but you seem to enjoy going full throttle on things no one else dares attempt. So stop pretending you’re chicken—you’re just understated.”

Rafael shrugged and said, “Keeping a low profile means staying alive.”

Krulney nodded in agreement and said, “That’s true. A top mercenary group might rise to No. 1 every year, but they rarely last two years before being replaced—because the previous No. 1 is usually wiped out. For instance, the only group that remained top-tier for a long time without many casualties—actually, almost none—was Aurora. Everyone else, including Iron Madonna, has gone through god knows how many iterations. Strictly speaking, this current Iron Madonna is the fourth generation. Most of its previous members are long dead. That’s the price of fame. As mercenaries, the bigger your reputation, the more business you get, the more money you earn—but the faster you die.”

Gao Yang waved his hand, saying in a low voice, “Let’s not dwell on that. Go on with your new plan.”

Clearing his throat, Krulney straightened up and said, “Currently, Iron Madonna is in Ukraine, and so is Angel. I told Suharitan that I’ve already tracked Angel’s location. Here’s what I’m thinking: have Iron Madonna deploy some of their men to Crimea and walk into your ambush. You eliminate the Iron Madonna operatives and stage their corpses as members of Angel. I just need to take some photos as proof. As for the specifics of setting up the trap, we can discuss that later.”

Gao Yang smiled and said, “So, in essence, we pose as Angel, lure Iron Madonna into a trap, eliminate them, and then pass off their corpses as Angel Mercenary Corps to wrap everything up for you. And the money? Iron Madonna gets a one-million-dollar advance, and we pocket the remaining one hundred ninety million. Is that about right?”

Krulney instantly beamed and said, “Precisely! Isn’t Suharitan’s idea genuinely brilliant?”

Gao Yang sighed and said slowly, “In the original plan, Satan fought Angel. In this new plan, Iron Madonna fights Angel. The amusing part is that the real Angel has nothing to do with any of this. They won’t even know Satan and Iron Madonna are taking turns impersonating them—one actively, the other posthumously.”

Rafael stared blankly, processing this for a moment, then shook his head and said, “That’s… so convoluted.”

Gao Yang chuckled and said, “It is messy. But I like it. Really, I love this plan. I’m just wondering—if Iron Madonna’s people found out about this plan, what would their expressions be? I bet their faces would look absolutely awful. And they’d probably be very, very angry.”

Rafael smirked and said, “The angrier Iron Madonna gets, the happier I’ll be. But I bet the Angel Mercenary Corps would be just as furious if they found out.”

Rubbing his face, Gao Yang mused aloud, “Oh, Angel will definitely be livid. I’m just thinking—since this plan is already so chaotic, why not drag Angel into it as well?” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read on m.qidian.com.)