Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 793 The Second Stage of the Capture

The eagle stood on Ruby's open kitchen terrace and tossed a dismembered reindeer into a large soup pot...

Looking at the soup pot with blood foam floating on it and a strong muttony smell, Mountain Eagle was somewhat distracted for some reason, so much so that he didn't even react when the huge steamer next to him whistled.

Old Ruby, looking quite energetic, walked over with his cane, turned down the vent of the wood-burning stove under the steamer, and then put a few handfuls of snow into the steamer...

The steam rising from the melting snow, mixed with the sweet aroma of rice, began to spread across the terrace.

Old Ruby, who was used to hardship, sniffed, then glanced at the warehouse in the distance and said with some dissatisfaction, "Boss, there's no need to feed them such good food. Back in the Vietnam War, our prisoners of war could survive on dog poop, so they should be able to too."

Mountain Eagle paused for a moment, then looked at Old Ruby, the Living Yama, with awe, and gave him a thumbs up, saying, "I think you're absolutely right. The only downside is that feeding prisoners dog poop affects my glorious image."

Now that we're feeding and taking good care of them, it'll be easier for us to ask their bosses for money...

Besides, I still have a use for these guys; dog poop doesn't provide enough nutrition!

After listening, Old Ruby walked over to the soup pot and, while watching Mountain Eagle speak, kept skimming off the floating blood foam...

The old man licked his lips, shook his head, and said, "Boss, I admit your skills are excellent, but doing it this way will cause the food to lose its original flavor..."

"Why don't I do it? It's just making a pot of soup, no need to go to all that trouble!"

Mountain Eagle didn't have the habit of making an old man who could die at any moment do any work. He smiled, sprinkled a handful of spices into the soup pot, then put the lid on and said, "Old Ruby, have you ever seen anyone make soup in a bathtub?"

Old Ruby paused for a moment, frowned as he looked at the 'talking nonsense' Mountain Eagle, and said, "Boss, what are you saying?"
If you think this soup pot isn't big enough, you can have Dalia bring an even bigger one..."

Mountain Eagle bent down and waved his hand, adding a few pieces of firewood to the wood-burning stove. Then he lifted the lid of the giant oil drum-turned-roof oven next to him and haphazardly sprinkled some seasonings onto the charred reindeer meat inside.

Then he poured a large basket of green vegetables into boiling water, stirred it a few times like cooking pig feed, and quickly scooped it into a large plastic basin.

Seeing Old Ruby staring at him, Mountain Eagle laughed and said, "It's nothing, I was just talking nonsense."

Have Ruby bring the car over. The venison is almost cooked. Take this to the prisoners.

This time, we don't need to deliver food to them individually; let them come out and get their own food, and it'll give them some exercise too...

The warehouse smells awful right now. Let's air it out while they're eating; someone's coming to visit this afternoon, and we need to make a good impression!

Old Ruby didn't understand what his boss was doing; he just stubbornly believed that the boss was wasting money by treating the prisoners too well, but he still obeyed orders...

So the old man picked up the radio and gruffly called his son, Ruby, and the two of them drove a tractor to the warehouse door with the prepared food...

Little Ruby recently harbored some resentment towards his boss because his goddess Dalia was being bullied by him. After being reprimanded by his father a few times, his attitude improved considerably, but he was still reluctant to talk to Mountain Eagle. He put his things on the tractor and turned to leave...

The mountain eagle was amused by the guy's attitude. Looking at old Ruby, who was also left behind, the mountain eagle couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "Where did your son get the idea that Dalia is a pitiful person?"
He's so stupid, he'll be swindled out of everything by a woman sooner or later!

Old Ruby stomped his cane angrily as he walked towards the warehouse, muttering, "That idiot will never have the chance to try skydiving in his life..."

Mountain Eagle pointed to the kitchen terrace where the butcher and his men were coming to collect their food, where he had prepared roasted beef and mutton soup...

Then he caught up with old Ruby to prevent him from falling and killing himself while walking too fast...

Upon hearing Old Ruby's complaints about skydiving, Mountain Eagle laughed heartily and said, "I think with Little Ruby's intelligence, he'd be shot before he even puts on the parachute..."

Old Ruby sighed and quickened his pace...

They were telling a joke, or rather, a proverb; a similar proverb circulates in Western military circles...

Marriage is like skydiving; some people will find that their parachute won't open and they'll crash and die.

This is a sarcastic remark by the soldiers about the persistently high divorce and infidelity rates among military personnel, and also a reminder to younger generations not to rush into marriage unless they are very confident.

Old Ruby, provoked by the eagle's malicious reminder, angrily chased after Little Ruby to the warehouse door and swung his cane at him several times...

Seeing Ruby clutching his head and howling in pain, the mountain eagle smiled smugly...

You little idiot, you dare to give the boss attitude? You deserve it!

Standing there watching little Ruby get beaten up, and when old Ruby seemed to have less strength left, Mountain Eagle stepped forward with a smile and stopped the old guy who was starting to pant heavily...

"That's enough for today. I'll save my energy and beat him up for another five minutes tomorrow..." After saying that, Mountain Eagle walked to the warehouse door, unlatched the makeshift latch, and then forcefully pulled open the warehouse door...

The moment the door opened, a complex stench of various smells rushed out, a strange odor that resembled fermented, boiled, old socks, causing Mountain Eagle to involuntarily take a few steps back.

After the cold wind blew into the warehouse, a commotion arose inside...

General Sid, leaning on a cane, slowly walked out of the warehouse with a few men. Looking at the food on the tractor, he actually nodded in satisfaction, then waved to his men to maintain order.

Then nearly two hundred prisoners began to line up obediently for food...

A spoonful of steamed rice, a piece of roasted venison, a spoonful of green vegetables, a bowl of hot soup...

To be honest, the mountain eagles didn't put much effort into preparing these things, but these guys actually seemed quite satisfied with their meal.

Although General Sid's gunshot wound to the knee did not worsen, he would definitely be lame for the rest of his life.

However, this guy was a veteran who had weathered many storms. After surrendering, he did whatever Mountain Eagle told him to do without hesitation. He even took the initiative to act as a maintainer of order and managed the prisoner-of-war camp in an orderly manner in less than a week.

Mountain Eagle wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but General Sid actually seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment when he was managing the POW camp...

While the prisoners were getting their own food, Mountain Eagle walked up to General Sid and said with a smile, "I'm planning to distribute tents to all the prisoners this afternoon..."

You've made my warehouse stink so badly that it's uninhabitable. I've prepared over twenty 'tupikes,' each of which can house ten people. This afternoon, you'll be in charge of dividing them into teams and collecting materials to set up your own 'tupikes' in the open space next door..."

General Sid paused for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "You're the only person I've ever met who lets prisoners set up their own tents..."

Sir, aren't you afraid that some of them might run away?
Although there are no women or children in the camp now, you must understand that you are holding dangerous mercenaries...

Mountain Eagle glanced at the Mackenzie wolf pack and two large cougars feeding in another location, and said nonchalantly, "This is Alaska. There's only one indigenous village within a 50-kilometer radius. I won't stop them if they want to run away, and they're welcome to cause trouble if they want..."

There aren't any entertainment options at the campsite at night, so if these people are brave enough, I wouldn't mind letting them get some exercise.

Once the tents are set up, a leader will be chosen from each tent to collect food and firewood from Little Ruby at set times each day.

Winter here lasts for another four months, so I won't have time to take care of your meals. You'll need to fend for yourselves.

Remember to tell them that if they want to eat better, they can ask their boss and family to send money or work in exchange for more food.

Otherwise, you will only receive rations of rice and potatoes for the next few months.

As he spoke, Mountain Eagle looked at General Sid, who looked helpless, and said, "Of course, we're on the same side now, so you and your men will get some preferential treatment..."

I'll cover your food and drink and your people's expenses. I'll have Little Ruby list out the winter labor projects for the camp and give them to you, then you can assign and manage them.

I have only one requirement: they must not be idle and must work a full 12 hours every day.

If you can't do that, then you can eat rice and potatoes with them!

General Sid listened, smiled wryly, and nodded. He knew what Mountain Eagle was up to...

The first round of 'confinement' had already broken the morale of all the prisoners. Next, he wanted to break everyone's will through high-intensity labor, and incidentally, film and post videos of them working in harsh conditions.

This practice is extremely malicious!
Because the mountain eagles do not prohibit prisoners from calling their families or bosses, this practice not only fails to improve their situation but also accelerates their breakdown.

Since becoming prisoners of war, each of these people has accumulated a debt of up to $20!
And this $20 wasn't for ransom, but rather for so-called 'medical expenses'...

According to the Mountain Eagle, these prisoners were rescued from the Alaskan wilderness at great expense, and their owners and families should bear the rescue costs. Until this money is settled, the ransom negotiations cannot even begin.

Moreover, this debt has accumulated to around $30 over the past month...

The boss of the Mountain Eagles delivered meals to the prisoners at fixed times every day, and even took photos to check in. The meals, which included meat, vegetables, and soup, were priced at a "reasonable" price. On top of that, there were "accommodation fees" and "garbage disposal fees," as well as interest rates that were even more terrifying than American student loans, causing the prisoners' debts to keep growing.

The international intermediary company's website now features a detailed table and a website link at the top. The table lists the names and photos of these prisoners, followed by a number that changes daily.

The website link leads directly to a video website, through which the prisoners' condition can be observed in real time, much like the surveillance system used in the University of Tokyo's kindergarten.

The mountain eagle's creative approach has taken the art of extortion to its extreme!
(End of this chapter)