Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 783 A Meeting of Madmen

San Salvador...

Inside a sprawling French manor...

As Matthias walked along the corridor, he passed a mosaic window and, through a small mirror, saw a few gray hairs appearing at his temples. He paused for a moment, then sighed softly…

What is it like to be surrounded by a group of deranged serial killers?
Matthias found it hard to describe the thrill of walking on thin ice; he felt he should write a book, perhaps titled 'One Hundred Days with a Serial Killer'...

He knew very well that he wasn't a normal person either, but after becoming the temporary manager of a group of lunatics, he felt that he had a hard time suppressing his abnormal side.

The news from Alaska thrilled Matthias, not because the Mountain Eagle had won, but because he could finally get rid of these lunatics.

Matthias didn't know what was going on, but ever since he met the Mountain Eagle, his career started to go wrong. Even though he wanted to retire, the Mountain Eagle dragged him from the retirement line to another track...

An incompetent political broker!

An incompetent manager!
Matthias even felt that he was no longer a qualified assassin because he had too many trivial things on his mind.

"what……"

Lost in thought as he noticed his sudden appearance of white hair, Matthias heard an angry roar coming from the courtyard. He sighed and quickened his pace to the lawn in the backyard of the manor…

This French-style manor is located on a cliff by the sea in San Salvador. The backyard is a huge green space planted with tropical plants. You can walk to the edge of the cliff and stand on the cliff to watch the surging sea and enjoy the breathtaking sunset.

A makeshift iron staircase led down the cliff to the shore below, and Depp, the escaped seal, stood on the edge of the staircase, roaring angrily at the people below...

"I don't want to hear anything you say. If you, you son of a bitch, keep spouting that nonsense, I'll kill you, kill you..."

Did you fucking hear me?

Depp, a man who grew up in America's traditional Rust Belt, was unusually irritable at this moment.

When Matthias saw an old man in linen casual clothes slowly walking up the stairs with a little girl in his arms, the tough assassin sighed helplessly...

Albert Skinner, an old man who spent more than 20 years in the Elizabeth Hospital.

Ever since this old man came to El Salvador, Matthias's job has become exponentially more difficult...

Because this old man was very interested in those crazy and abnormal people, he was able to use professional conversation skills to manipulate their emotions and even control their 'onset time' to some extent.

Several horrific murders have occurred in San Salvador over the past week…

A minor boss of the notorious yakuza group 'MS-13' was turned into a lavish meal in someone's home...

This guy's men were drugged, kidnapped, injected with muscle relaxants, castrated, and turned into puppets.

And they changed into the clothes from the famous 'Last Supper' painting and sat around the long dining table, watching helplessly as their boss was dismembered by a chef wearing a smiling mask and turned into a delicious meal...

This is a masterpiece created by three true serial killers: 'Chef' Julian, 'Soup Maker' Carlos, and 'Egg Fryer' Gonzalez, inspired by Albert!
The crime scene was discovered three days later, and then many police officers and gang members appeared in the churches of San Salvador to confess. The police and gang members tacitly tried to cover up the news, but many photos of the scene circulated online.

Matthias knew that Albert changed into his priest's robes every day and went to San Salvador; the old man was conducting a psychological experiment...

Matthias didn't know the specifics of the experiment, nor did he want to ask...

He simply sneaked into the old man's room at night, pointed a gun at the back of his head, and forced him to write a pledge promising not to use his professional skills on those lunatics anymore.

Every serial killer is highly intelligent. People like Chef Julian are actually very aware that Albert is using behavior and language to incite their killing desires, but they don't care at all because Albert is providing 'stimulants' or 'accelerants'...

The exhilarating feeling that came from igniting their desires made these guys extremely happy!
They thoroughly enjoyed the social unrest and the fear it spawned.

Matthias didn't care about the lives of those gang members. Those guys had actually killed more people than these serial killers combined, so they deserved to die no matter what...

Matthias cared about his own peace, so he cut off Albert, the 'source of his emotions,' and hoped they could have some peace and quiet for a while.

Unexpectedly, the old man did not provoke any more serial killers, but instead turned his attention to several escaped seals...

Sniper duo Roland and Javier, along with Sam, Rondo, and Depp from Charlie's squad...

These seals are very proud because they have all undergone professional and meticulous training and are extremely wary of psychological intervention.

When Albert turned to them, the group completely disregarded him; they were far more wary of a few freaks than of the old man. But the result was clear: in just two days, Depp was on the verge of a breakdown!

Perhaps because he was born near an American military base in eastern Germany, Matthias felt indifferent to the SEALs' profession and experience, and even occasionally found the soldiers' rudeness annoying.

So when he realized it was Depp who was breaking down, he slowed his pace. As he passed a vibrant flowerbed, he paused, took a step back, and sat down on a bench...

After Matthias sat down, he turned to look at a thin Mexican youth at the other end of the bench...

The color of his clothes and his posture, combined with his relatively short stature, made him easy to overlook, even giving the impression that he might disappear from your sight at any moment.

Matthias was filled with curiosity about this guy from the very first day he arrived, because he sensed a true sense of camaraderie from him.

When he saw the guy's 'mechanic' profile, he appreciated him even more.

Seeing the man staring blankly at the flowerbed in front of him, Matthias frowned and said, "Kane, what are you thinking about?"

Mechanic Kane turned his unfocused eyes to Matthias and said in a monotone voice, "I'm wondering if I'll get into trouble if I kill that old man."

That old guy has the ability to see through people's hearts, and I don't like his eyes that are always trying to pry into people's minds.

If your boss wants to assemble an assassination squad out of lunatics, then that old man is a destabilizing factor.

I see a shadow of an old-school Stasi in you. If you were truly trained in the Stasi system, you should know better than I do that the old man is an unstable element…”

Matthias paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "You don't need any professional skills to see that Albert is an unstable factor."

Your fear is actually a bit strange to me...

One more thing I want to reiterate: that guy named Mountain Eagle is your boss, but he's not my boss...

"We only have a temporary working relationship, and I will be returning to Germany soon..."

Kane nodded expressionlessly and said, "Most people think they're just playing around when they first start a relationship, but after accumulating too many sunk costs, they find they can't live without it."

Matthias paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I'm just doing my job for money; you're the ones who can't do without me..."

Kane's lifeless eyes swept across Matthias's face. He shook his head and said, "Whatever you say, goes!"

As Kane spoke, he glanced at Sam, the seal who was loudly calling out to everyone not far away, and a middle-aged Slavic man with a bald head who looked extremely sophisticated...

"They look more like leaders than you do, but I don't like them, especially that Mikhailovic..."

He's the real madman, but you're all pretending you don't know anything!

Matthias stood up, dusted off imaginary dust, and gestured to Kane, saying, "Come on, your boss has won a war in Alaska, and your internship assignment has begun."

I'm reminding you to take your internship tasks seriously. If you fail, you'll be back to square one.

After speaking, Matthias strode to the barbecue area in the backyard. He took a seat to the left of the head of the table, giving the head seat to Mihajlovic, the leader chosen by Great White Shark Sofia for the team…

Mihajlovic was somewhat surprised by Matthias's sudden display of humility, or rather, deference. However, being a man accustomed to the role of the superior, he readily accepted Matthias's offer and took the seat of honor, waiting for everyone else to sit down...

The groups on either side of the long table were clearly separated: on one side was the five escaped SEALs, snipers Roland and Javier, along with Sam, Rondo, and Depp from Charlie's team.

On the other side are Albert, chef Julian, soup maker Carlos, bomb maker Gonzalez, and mechanic Kane...

Matthias sat to one side of the seal, opposite Julian's sister Amber, the girl who had accompanied Albert to the beach...

Amber is a genius with an exceptional memory. She's not like her brother Julian, who's a born psychopath, but she was once kidnapped and abused by gangsters...

Her exceptional memory prevented her from forgetting the details of her ordeal. This is the story of a genius girl driven mad by hatred. Her brother, Julian, was, in a way, driven to madness by her.
The girl's condition did not improve until Albert appeared.

After everyone was seated, Mihajlovic glanced at Matthias with an inquiring look, and after receiving a reply, he passed the documents he was holding out...

"These are our targets; you can choose whichever you prefer..."

(End of this chapter)