Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

The estate in San Salvador!!!

Matthias sat impatiently in a deckchair, the azure sea and warm sunshine in the distance unable to wash away the gloom on his face.

Wearing beach shorts, Mountain Eagle led Dalia, who was dressed like a secretary despite the sweltering heat, carrying an ice bucket full of beer and a bottle of sunscreen, to a deck chair next to Matthias and sat down.

The mountain eagle, having put down the ice bucket, squeezed out a large dollop of sunscreen and smeared it on his front. Then he handed the sunscreen to Dalia and said with a smile, "Help me rub this on my back. This unfortunate place is great in every way, except the sun is a bit too intense."

My wife and child are coming over in a few days, and I need to make a good impression on them.

After saying that, Mountain Eagle opened a bottle of beer and handed it to Matthias, smiling as he said, "Buddy, you look a little unhappy. What happened? Can you tell me to cheer me up?"

Matthias coldly observed the Mountain Eagle's boss-like demeanor and said unhappily, "Now that you're here, our cooperation should be over. When can I leave this wretched place?"

The eagle turned its neck and surveyed its surroundings...

The entire estate was kept very tidy. Every coconut tree and every clump of flowers and grass seemed to be in the right place. Even the height of the lawn on the ground seemed to have been carefully calculated, just enough to cover the feet and provide the best foot feel.

Wherever you are on the estate’s huge lawn overlooking the sea, you can find a comfortable deck chair in the shade of a coconut tree canopy at any time of day.

Due to certain special needs, this estate only has five permanent workers, all of whom are elderly German men and women.

With Matthias and six others in total, managing a estate covering more than ten hectares to this extent requires a tremendous investment of energy and physical strength.

Although Matthias said he wanted to leave, his backside was glued to the recliner...

Mountain Eagle smiled and raised his beer to Matthias, saying, "Just say what you want to say. I don't usually refuse a friend's request for help!"

Matthias instinctively raised his beer and clinked it against the mountain eagle's, then thought for a moment and said, "I bought this estate..."

"But it was my money that was spent..."

Feeling that Matthias was trying to get rid of him, Mountain Eagle said somewhat unhappily, "Brother, I haven't shortchanged you a single penny of the commission I paid you. This manor was built with my money."

The look on your face is like that of a terrifying housewife getting divorced and fighting her husband for assets. Do I owe you anything?

After a moment of silence, Matthias said with a displeased expression, "I thought this place would become a secret base, but now it has become a gathering place for American agents."

This makes some people uneasy, and it will affect some things about me...

As he spoke, Matthias looked at the mountain eagle and said impatiently, "I've spent too much time trying to help you deal with this wretched place, El Salvador, which has prevented me from doing many things back home."

Some of my friends are in trouble right now, and they need a safe place to stay...

CIA and Department of Homeland Security personnel are now present here daily…

Upon hearing this, Mountain Eagle asked curiously, "Who are your troublesome friends?"

Let me tell you, because I captured the 'Angel of Death' alive, I still have some influence with the upper echelons of the United States. If the troubles you mentioned are related to the United States, then I can try to mediate.

Of course, this can't be for free, since you always get paid to do the work for me!

Matthias was a gentleman at heart, but when it came to the mountain eagle, he could never suppress his temper...

From the moment he met this guy, Matthias felt like he had been led by the nose for a long time. When he finally realized what was happening and wanted to turn back, he found that it would take a long time to get back to the previous fork in the road.

Seeing the ever-present air of entitlement on the mountain eagle, Matthias remained silent for a long time, clearly annoyed. He finally finished his beer in one gulp and said in a somber tone, "Some people I know orchestrated an unsuccessful coup in Germany. They're now facing retribution and need a safe place..."

"Pfft...a coup? In Germany?"

Mountain Eagle spat out the beer in his mouth and said incredulously, "Someone actually staged a coup in Germany?"

Are you a member of a far-right group? What do you want to change?
"Aren't Germany's welfare benefits good enough?"

"That's because you haven't been to East Germany and haven't really understood Germany..."

Matthias said somewhat awkwardly, "My father was a high-ranking official in East Germany, and I started working for the Stasi after graduating from university. Unfortunately, the Berlin Wall fell a few years later, and the Stasi collapsed." Mountain Eagle spread his hands, looking at Matthias with a strange expression, and asked curiously, "I thought the fall of the Berlin Wall should be a great political event; it made Germany a unified whole again. What's wrong with that?"

Matthias said somewhat impatiently, "Tokyo University's per capita GDP reached $8800 this year. Does that mean there are no poor people there anymore?"

Merkel's Green Party is the party property of the American Democratic Party. She took most of the profits with the help of German capital groups, but failed to redistribute them fairly and justly. Moreover, she has repeatedly harmed German interests to meet the political needs of the United States. Isn't it normal for some people inside the party to be dissatisfied?
You don't need to know the specifics of what happened; the gist is that the coup failed, and some people need a place to settle down.

Seeing Matthias's impatient expression, Mountain Eagle suddenly realized something and said with a smile, "You said you used to be a 'Stasi,' so are those people you mentioned who need to seek asylum also Stasi agents?"

Matthias paused for a moment, then said helplessly, "The Stasi have been gone for so many years, where are there any real Stasi agents left?"

As he spoke, he pointed to an old man in overalls who was trimming flowerbeds not far away and said, "His name is Hans. He used to be a Stasi intelligence analyst. He is the real Stasi agent."

Compared to Hans, the American agents who have been coming and going here lately are like Boy Scouts!
As for those who need to 'flee'...

They're just a bunch of fools being used as pawns. I promised my father I'd look after them, but because I was helping you, I didn't have time to pay attention to them, which led to them being used as pawns by far-right politicians.

They kidnapped several judges and key figures in the Green Party, only to have those politicians sell them out after the Green Party agreed to give them the green light to run for office.

Upon hearing this, Mountain Eagle exclaimed in amazement, "Then they really are quite foolish. In a country like Germany, there is basically no basis for a coup, because you can't incite more than 50% of the people to follow you."

"It wasn't us, it was them..."

Matthias said with dissatisfaction, "I have no interest in changing the status quo. I even want to leave that lousy organization."

Seeing that Matthias was indeed a little unhappy, Mountain Eagle lay down on the beach chair, looked at the distant sea, and said with a smile, "This world is so wonderful. There are all kinds of people, and anything can happen."

Matthias, there's no future in staging a coup in Germany. Tell me the truth, what are those guys who need to flee capable of?
If their abilities are up to par, then send them to report to Dalia...

The Stasi are known for their 'surveillance' and 'repression'. With new elections coming up in El Salvador, I do need some relatively professional people to deal with our allies' political enemies, and also to monitor the gangs so they don't disrupt my projects.

"Let me tell you, my big business in El Salvador is very important. If those people are reliable, they should be able to get good salaries."

Matthias, annoyed, replied, "What kind of 'good salary' are you talking about? 2000 euros? 3000 euros?"

Mountain Eagle reached out and patted the somewhat excited Dalia, signaling her not to get too close to the boss, then looked at Matthias with disdain and said, "What's wrong with two or three thousand euros? There's no tax here, and the prices are much better than in Germany."

They're just losers. If I were ruthless, I should make them work for me for free in exchange for my protection.

But for your sake, I'm willing to take them in!
I did all this for you. Without me, you probably would never have been able to get rid of these dim-witted losers in your life.

Think about it, if they come to you every time they encounter a problem, even if you're made of iron, how many nails can you hammer?

Matthias seemed to realize something, and he suddenly shivered, saying, "You're right, it's time to end this. I hate my situation..."

After finishing his sentence, Matthias looked at Dalia, who was standing proudly beside him, and sighed. He said, "Be a little kinder to them. They just chose the wrong path, but their abilities are still quite good."

Dalia looked Matthias up and down with the same scrutinizing gaze one might give a 'loser', then suddenly smiled and said, "It's not that simple. The boss promised to give them a chance, but whether they can pass my test is still an unknown."

"If they want me to take them in, then until they prove their worth, I need the five old men and women on the estate to work for me for a while."

As she spoke, Dalia looked at Matthias, whose expression was as if he had eaten shit, and said with a smile, "Don't always look at my boss. He's only responsible for giving orders. I'm the one who carries them out."

"You come from an intelligence agency, so you should know very well that 'finding a job' is a two-way street. But when you're facing a desperate situation, you'll have to face the scrutinizing eyes of a new boss."

When Mountain Eagle saw Matthias looking at him, he spread his hands and said, "I think Dalia is right..."

If you think her conditions are too demanding, then I need some hardworking laborers at my two camps in Alaska…”

Matthias waved his hand with a displeased look and said, "Then it's settled. But you have to deal with those American intelligence agents. At the very least, don't let them come here to 'work' like clocking in every day!"
"It takes them this long to create a 'Death Angel,' they're not that great..."

Just as Matthias was speaking, Dalia's phone suddenly rang, and her expression became incredibly interesting after she answered it... (End of Chapter)