Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 728 - 734: Deterrence

Chapter 728: Chapter 734: Deterrence

Anton and the other two left, whether they can catch the tail of the Black Devil depends on them now.

Catching the tail of the Black Devil is a prerequisite for success, but to actually accomplish the mission objectives, it ultimately depends on Yang Yi and his team.

Finding the enemy’s traces is a good start. In most cases, you could say you’ve already succeeded by half, but this principle does not quite apply to the Black Devil, because even if you find the Black Devil, if you can’t overpower them in a direct confrontation, it’s like delivering your head on a platter from a thousand miles away.

Yang Yi remembered that black hood again, there was no helping it, it was an inherent fear, a lingering shadow.

"If Anton and his team can find the Black Devil, um... and then find Big Ivan, how should we act?"

Yang Yi finally brought up the most difficult issue.

Jethro, without any hesitation, said, "Heavy firepower, we’ve already agreed on that, right? Now we can mobilize tanks, even artillery if needed. I’m in charge here and as long as there is solid evidence of Big Ivan’s whereabouts, no, even if it just proves that Big Ivan’s subordinates are there, I can get the CIA to work with us. As for the military, forget it, they’re unreliable."

First, Jethro was unaware of Yang Yi and his team’s true objectives; the Organization of Water didn’t care about eliminating Big Ivan, but, of course, this wouldn’t be something to discuss with Jethro.

Secondly, Jethro truly didn’t understand the power of the Black Devil. Mobilize heavy weapons? Unless they bomb from beyond the line of sight, aside from whether that would be successful, direct bombing would turn the Black Devil to ashes and then where would Brian find the one haunting his dreams?

Still with an excited expression, Jethro continued, "If we can find Big Ivan... uh, the Black Devil as you call him, the CIA would definitely be interested. They might even initiate an airstrike. We could entirely just provide intel and then watch the show from the sidelines."

Yang Yi replied with a bitter smile, "Buddy, can you command the CIA? Or the Ukrainian military?"

"No, of course not. At most I can ask for their cooperation, no, request their cooperation."

"The strength of Black Devil is beyond your imagination. They won’t give you too much time to gather the military. It is very possible that just after we find the Black Devil’s whereabouts, they will have vanished once again before we can catch up. Therefore, our action must be swift, as swift as possible. So, unless you can have the CIA and military on standby here right now, it would be better for us to handle it ourselves."

There were no flaws in Jethro’s words; indeed, from his perspective, and even from Deyo’s, getting the CIA and Ukrainian military to take action was the best choice. But now Jethro was collaborating with Yang Yi; he couldn’t just consider his own interests, he had to satisfy Yang Yi’s demands as well.

Jethro spread his hands and asked, "Then what do you guys think is the best course of action?"

Brian spoke in a heavy tone, "Flexible heavy firepower, a rocket launcher will suffice, but to capture a Black Devil for questioning, we can’t just blow them to the heavens with a rocket launcher. So we need to surround the Black Devil, not giving them any chance to escape! Push them into a corner!"

Jethro paused for a moment and then said, "Interrogation? Alright, finding out Big Ivan’s whereabouts and capturing a... the Black Devil alive is indeed the best choice, but how do we do it?"

Yang Yi also frowned and said, "Yeah, how do we do it? To capture them alive, we must first shoot down that one with the black hood, otherwise, once they react and have a chance to retaliate, uh..."

Why was Yang Yi shocked by Big Ivan’s subordinate wearing the black hood? The reason is simple.

A super marksman has little use in conventional warfare under modern combat conditions because flesh and blood cannot stand against steel. A problem a squad of infantry can’t solve can be handled with a call for artillery support, or if they’re American soldiers, even air support with bombs dropped from above.

But for mercenaries, spies, and anyone lacking heavy firepower and armored vehicle protection, only capable of engaging in lightly-armed, low-intensity combat, a super marksman can dominate the battlefield and be a source of despair.

Yang Yi had always wanted to use tanks and artillery, and these indeed became accessible once Jethro was in charge. But if he brought in tanks, he would lose control of the situation. With tanks at his disposal, Jethro could obliterate the Black Devil if he wished, and Yang Yi truly couldn’t stop him.

We can’t simply kill all of the Black Devils, we need to surround them, and we also have to seize the initiative; we can’t let Jethro and Francois make the decisions. These demands are too difficult to achieve.

As long as the Black Devils release that black mask, how can we surround them? They’ll shoot us one by one, they might even not give us a chance to fire a rocket launcher; how to surround them?

Using human lives to fill in the blanks is no problem, but if there are not enough lives, that is a big problem.

If the Black Devils didn’t have that black mask, why would we be so passive, so challenged? But with that black mask, with a sharpshooter who you dare not face directly, Yang Yi didn’t dare to go all out even under the premise of the enemy being visible and us hidden; this is the deterrent power of a super sharpshooter.

Yang Yi was perplexed, but Brian just smiled slightly and said, "Simple, you’re overlooking a very simple and ancient method, we can lay mines."

Yang Yi was stunned for a moment and asked, "Lay mines?"

Zhang Yong slapped his hand and said loudly, "Yes! Bury landmines. As long as we know where those guys are, we can lay mines in circles around them, pushing in from the outside. They run? There’s nowhere to run!"

Yang Yi wasn’t a mercenary, so he thought using landmines to besiege the Black Devils seemed a bit too idealistic.

Brian, still full of confidence, said, "Mines are the nightmare of infantry, and indeed, everyone’s nightmare. Unless they can fly out, they will absolutely be unable to break through the minefield. We can use directional mines, bouncing mines; what does it matter if the Black Devils can see them? Dare they rush through?"

Yang Yi still couldn’t imagine how powerful a mere landmine could be, but seeing Brian and Zhang Yong both so confident, he could only say softly, "But won’t laying mines be very slow and troublesome?"

"It is slow, and it is troublesome, but no matter, as long as they can’t escape, we can slowly tighten the encirclement. Then we only need to guard one main route. However, using mines to besiege the Black Devils requires a large number of mines, so we also need simple, portable bombs that can be quickly laid and allow for fast advancement."

After finishing, Brian looked at Jethro and smiled, saying, "Is it possible to keep this a secret so that the Fearless Mercenary Corps doesn’t learn our tactics? And let’s not let them know the power of that black mask, how about that?"

Jethro was stunned for a moment and said, "Is that necessary?"

Brian spread his hands and said, "I think it’s necessary; well, somebody has to attack the Black Devils, and I really don’t want to face the barrel of that black mask, so why not let us lay mines in the back and have the Fearless Mercenary Corps launch the attack. Things like this always require some sacrifice. Since the Fearless Mercenary Corps have taken so much money, let them do it."

Jethro frowned and said, "That would be using the Fearless Mercenary Corps as cannon fodder."

"It’s better than us being the cannon fodder."

After pondering for a moment, Jethro shook his head and said, "No, that won’t work. If the Fearless Mercenary Corps doesn’t know how formidable the Black Devils are and are willing to attack on their own, that’s one thing, but hiding the truth from them and deceiving them into attacking, even keeping them unaware of the mines, that’s another matter entirely."

After a moment of thought, Brian nodded and said, "Alright then, let’s initiate the attack. Tell the Fearless Mercenary Corps the real situation, and just let them be responsible for laying mines and surrounding the enemy. That’s not an excessive request, right? Also, since Deyo’s direct troops can be completely controlled by you, how about handing them over for us to command, how about that?"

Jethro couldn’t believe his ears; he looked at Brian, astonished, and said, "What do you mean, that’s too..."

"Too good, isn’t it? No choice. If we feel we can’t deceive the Fearless into being cannon fodder, then we’ll have to take on more risk ourselves. Someone’s got to do it."

Jethro exhaled and said, "I think Francois will definitely accept this condition."