Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 642 - 648: The Horn of the Counterattack

Chapter 642: Chapter 648: The Horn of the Counterattack

Yang Yi followed Jethro to meet with Corkdor.

Among the people Yang Yi had met before, those sent by Deyo were either arrogant or egotistic, each looking as if their eyes wished to perch high in the heavens, but this Corkdor seemed uncharacteristically humble.

Yang Yi and Anton stood behind Jethro while two men similarly flanked Ferdinand. Having greeted Jethro and Ferdinand, Corkdor, accompanied by two bodyguards, faced his men with a tranquil expression and said, "This place is safe, you two wait outside for me."

Corkdor’s bodyguards left, but Jethro merely gestured, indicating Yang Yi and the other to step back slightly, yet he did not ask them to leave the room.

Ferdinand made the same choice.

Without understanding Corkdor’s intention, they certainly did not dare to let their bodyguards be too far away.

Once Corkdor took his seat, he seemed oblivious to the guard Jethro and Ferdinand were showing. He smiled faintly, but his expression then turned serious, "The boss has sent me here to take full control of everything. He also said that if I feel any of you are not fully committed to his tasks, I should take away your authority."

Getting straight to the point, Corkdor made his intentions clear.

Ferdinand’s face shifted slightly, but Jethro watched Corkdor impassively.

Corkdor smiled, then said in a solemn voice, "But I don’t plan to do that."

Jethro was fine, but Ferdinand asked in surprise, "What? What do you mean?"

Corkdor said gravely, "We have suffered consecutive failures in Ukraine, and progress has been slow. I personally believe it is because we cannot unite, although we are all in the same trench. What happened before? Before we fought against Big Ivan, we had to engage in an internal struggle first. How could we possibly win that way?"

Jethro nodded slightly.

With a solemn voice, Corkdor continued, "The Americans’ operation failed, but this might not be a bad thing. While it shows Big Ivan’s strength remains formidable, the Americans will surely commit more resources to strike against Big Ivan. This is, overall, good news for us."

Taking a new breath, Corkdor added, "We had achieved some success in Ukraine, but now, we are progressively losing the fruits of victory. Why is that? I believe it’s largely because we haven’t been able to focus all our strengths in the war against Big Ivan; a significant part of our power is lost in infighting. I can’t discuss these matters with the boss, but I have come here intending to prevent the continuation of such circumstances."

The simplest way to avoid fragmented control was to level all the hillocks.

Ferdinand looked somewhat vigilant, but Corkdor didn’t give them time to misunderstand and continued directly, "So, I’m not going to take any of your power this time. What I need is cooperation, collective effort between us."

After stating his position, Corkdor went on, "The Americans will continue to strike against Big Ivan, so we don’t really have to confront him head-on. What is our goal? It’s to seize the Ukrainian market. We can’t let the Americans do that for us; we have to do it ourselves. Therefore, I intend to change our current operational policies."

Jethro said in a deep voice, "Please, continue."

Calmly, Corkdor replied, "We will buy off Big Ivan’s men, and if we can’t buy them, we’ll eliminate them. We can’t find Big Ivan now, and we don’t need to kill him directly. What we need to do is to have the Ukrainian market in our hands by the time the Americans take down Big Ivan."

Jethro exhaled deeply, "That’s right, this is the correct approach."

Corkdor’s approach coincided with that of Jethro, which meant they were in sync.

Jethro seemed somewhat excited because he saw a glimmer of victory, not another round of internal conflict.

Corkdor smiled at Jethro, then spoke in a low voice, "The men here are all reliable, right?"

Jethro glanced at Yang Yi out of the corner of his eye and said seriously, "Yes, the people I brought are definitely reliable."

Ferdinand also said gravely, "Reliable, I guarantee their reliability."

Corkdor spoke seriously, "Good, by coming here, I have already established contact with Arseny, and I will work hard to open this line, which will be my main task in Ukraine."

With a gesture from top to bottom, Corkdor continued, "I intend to remove Big Ivan’s influence from the Ukrainian authorities, from top to bottom, but that is insufficient. We also need to control Big Ivan’s arms channels from the grassroots. Jethro, this cannot be done by one person alone, and I hope you can cooperate with me."

Jethro immediately responded, "No problem. You handle the top echelons, and I’ll take care of the grassroots, whether it’s purchasing, winning over, or eliminating. Whatever the method, we will make progress."

Corkdor looked pleased as he turned to Ferdinand with an earnest expression, "I brought some men, but it’s not enough, and both Jethro and I will need military support. Ferdinand, I hope you can cooperate with us. When we need military support, you and your men should be ready to step in. Don’t fear casualties; the boss will certainly send you more men."

Ferdinand, visibly stirred, assured, "Rest assured, this is my responsibility. I guarantee I won’t let the boss down."

Corkdor smiled, then said solemnly, "As long as we can let go of our wariness of each other, I believe we will be the victors in this war. Let’s keep in touch, and whenever anyone needs assistance, all three of us must respond as swiftly as possible."

Glancing at his watch, Corkdor stood up and, in a deep voice, said, "I must go now. I have a very important appointment. Gentlemen, we’ll discuss the specifics of our cooperation later. Stay in touch."

Corkdor came quickly and left just as fast, declaring his willingness to cooperate then immediately taking his leave. After Corkdor’s departure, Ferdinand turned to Jethro and said, "I think what he said makes sense."

Jethro smiled, "Yes, he’s right."

Deyo finally sent someone sensible, and for the first time, someone capable of unifying all resources because he thought not of seizing others’ power for himself but of cooperation.

Jethro was lost in thought for a while, then Ferdinand asked in a serious tone, "Buddy, do you have any plans?"

Jethro looked at Ferdinand and nodded, "I do, and it’s time to execute my plan."

Ferdinand excitedly rubbed his hands together, "Then let’s blow the horn of counterattack, I can hardly wait."