Mercenary’s War
Chapter 1286: One Thousand Two Hundred Sixty-Nine: Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake

Chapter 1286: Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred Sixty-Nine: Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake

The pit is ready, and the next step is naturally waiting for Iron Madonna to fall into the trap. But, they refused to come.

“Sorry, Iron Madonna declined.”

“Why?”

“Iron Madonna believes that their primary mission right now is to capture or eliminate Victor, because there’s only one chance. Once Victor reaches Russia, it will be impossible to catch him again. If they launch an attack on you, Victor will inevitably be startled and flee Feodosia. Therefore, eliminating Angel will have to be postponed.”

“Can we apply pressure?”

“There’s still one chance to apply pressure. Iron Madonna is close to Feodosia now. My advice was to gather more information first and contact Iron Madonna later. So, I can apply pressure again during the next contact, but I think it’s unlikely Iron Madonna will agree.”

It was expected, and it made sense. Iron Madonna’s decision wasn’t wrong. If Gao Yang were the decision-maker for Iron Madonna, he would have made the same choice.

Gao Yang once again felt that playing mind games was really difficult. Maybe some people enjoy slowly luring enemies into traps, but he didn’t. He didn’t like engaging in operations filled with too many uncertainties.

This was a hastily put-together plan to begin with—a trap that wasn’t inevitable for the enemy to fall into. What Gao Yang was doing was something with even just a sliver of hope; he had to go all in. He needed to fully prepare everything before throwing out the bait. If the enemy took the bait, he’d reel them in; if they didn’t, he’d have to find another opportunity and another location to set everything up again.

The logic was simple, and Gao Yang understood it. Still, he didn’t want to dismantle everything after working so hard and then start all over again.

Gao Yang glanced at his watch. It was already 1:40 a.m. The directional mines and C4 were still being set up. Apart from his job of maintaining contact, everyone else had now become engineers. The mine-laying job would be completed quickly, but if Iron Madonna couldn’t be lured in, the next step would be to remove all the painstakingly placed mines.

After thinking for a moment, Gao Yang sighed in frustration and then said in a low voice, “Where’s Iron Madonna now?”

“Feodosia, on the outskirts of the city. They just arrived, but I don’t know Iron Madonna’s plan. They would never tell me, and I don’t know where Victor is hiding either. Iron Madonna might know, or they might not. After rejecting the trap, their next move—whether they’ll attack Victor tonight or have other plans—is something I can’t judge at all.”

Gao Yang pondered seriously for a long time, then spoke in a deep voice: “Alright, pressure Iron Madonna. Tell them they’d better complete the mission of eliminating Angel Mercenary Corps as soon as possible. You handle this with your discretion; I can’t ask you to risk exposing yourself by pressuring Iron Madonna. But do your best. As for everything else, I’ll take care of it.”

“What are you planning to do?”

Gao Yang sighed and said, “Even if it doesn’t work this time, we’ll face the same situation next time. We never have a guaranteed chance of Iron Madonna taking the bait, and I’m not willing to keep waiting endlessly. I intend to take measures to make Iron Madonna have no choice but to attack us.”

“Hmm, let me think. You’re planning to go after Victor? To make Iron Madonna lose the chance to deal with Victor, forcing them to attack you in order to avoid leaving empty-handed?”

Krulney’s mind was too sharp. Gao Yang had hoped to keep his strategy under wraps, but Krulney immediately saw through his intentions.

When it came to enemies, Gao Yang preferred those who were less intelligent. Although Krulney wasn’t exactly an enemy right now, he certainly wasn’t a friend.

In that instant, Gao Yang had a fleeting thought that Krulney couldn’t be allowed to stay. This guy was too clever and loved playing games of trickery. Gao Yang honestly worried whether he’d be outmaneuvered by him someday.

Although he felt Krulney was quite dangerous and shouldn’t be kept around, the thought passed quickly. Right now, Krulney was an ally, and Gao Yang didn’t have the time to worry about the threat Krulney posed.

“Yes, I plan to cause trouble for Victor. Iron Madonna is reluctant to attack because they don’t want to lose the chance to deal with Victor. So, we’ll shake things up and scare Victor away. This plan might not succeed, but it’s better than doing nothing.”

Krulney paused for a moment before speaking softly: “I don’t think this is a good idea. According to the original plan, you were aiming to take out no more than fifty people, ideally a team of thirty or fewer. But if Iron Madonna loses their primary objective and focuses solely on dealing with you, the most likely outcome is a full-scale operation. That risk is uncontrollable.”

Gao Yang replied in a low voice: “We’ll play it by ear. If we can’t handle it, we’ll retreat. This operation will be canceled. Even if it’s canceled, at least we’ll have disrupted Iron Madonna’s plans. They’ll lose their chance to capture Victor. Honestly, anything that frustrates Iron Madonna is something I’m happy to do.”

Krulney chuckled and said, “Alright, you’re the boss. Have it your way. I’ll call Iron Madonna in 20 minutes to apply pressure. As for what happens next… well, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Gao Yang hung up the phone, curled his lips, and then said in a deep voice over the radio: “Guys, the plan has changed. Iron Madonna refuses to come, so we need to do something to force them.”

Nobody paused their work; the meeting continued over the radio. Glolov said in a deep voice: “What are you planning to do?”

“I’m considering hitting Victor. Iron Madonna doesn’t want to come because they don’t want to lose the chance to eliminate Victor. So, we’ll make them lose that chance, and I imagine their attention will shift to us instead.”

Frey spoke anxiously: “Boss, but we don’t know where Victor is, and can we even handle Victor’s Guard Squad?”

Gao Yang chuckled and said, “Who said we have to eliminate Victor? All we need to do is scare him. Just make him feel threatened. Right now, Victor is staying in Feodosia because he still has hope. Let’s go rattle him and make him think Feodosia isn’t safe. That’ll do. This is what’s called stirring the grass to scare the snake. Well, not quite the original meaning, but if it achieves what we need, it works.”

Glolov laughed and said, “Alright, it’s a shameless plan, but I like it. So, where are we going to scare Victor?”

Gao Yang thought for a moment and then said, “Let’s head to City Hall. Doesn’t matter where Victor is; we’ll create enough noise at City Hall to make him feel unsafe. Alright, get ready. We’re going on the offensive.”

(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets! Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)