Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 899 Buying Gifts

As Mountain Eagle spoke, the burly man who was leading the group, wearing only a jacket despite the cold weather, walked up to Mountain Eagle with his men...

The guy looked the mountain eagle up and down, then said in a gruff voice, "You're the mountain eagle?"

Mountain Eagle shoved Kobe aside, sized up the group of burly men who looked like they were there to cause trouble, and seeing that they weren't carrying any weapons, he withdrew his right hand from his waist...

Galahad and Robin, who were in a distant corner, also stood up and followed some of the more timid customers in the restaurant to the entrance, which was to the side and behind these big men.

Seeing Robin's questioning look, Mountain Eagle shook his head slightly, signaling them not to make the first move. Then he stepped forward, stared into the eyes of the burly man in the lead, and said, "I am Mountain Eagle. Who are you?"

The burly man at the head of the group had a menacing look in his eyes. When he realized he couldn't intimidate the mountain eagle, he grinned and said in a gruff voice, "My boss wants to see you..."

Mountain Eagle spread his hands, looking puzzled, and asked, "Who are you? And who is your boss?"

The burly man grinned and extended his hand to the mountain eagle, saying, "My name is Sakho, but everyone calls me 'Armor'..."

Mountain Eagle looked at the burly man's prominently bony right hand, shook his head slightly, and then reached out to shake hands with the man...

The strong man was also over 1.9 meters tall, but because his horizontal proportions were exaggerated, he looked much stronger than the mountain eagle, but a few centimeters shorter.

The moment their hands met, the burly man's expression changed...

He used to be a professional boxer, so having great strength was a natural thing for him. But when he gripped Mountain Eagle's right hand, it felt like he was holding a vise. No matter how hard he tried, Mountain Eagle would just slowly increase his strength without making a sound...

The standoff lasted less than a minute before the burly man's forehead began to sweat!

Mountain Eagle knew the personalities of these Europeans and Americans well. Instead of letting go voluntarily, he continued to slowly increase the pressure, stepping on their tolerance threshold, until they began to violently pull their right hand away. Only then did he smile and release his grip, saying, "Now can I know who your boss is?"

The burly man's face twitched as he clenched his right hand behind his back a few times, then, his face flushed, he said in a deep voice, "My boss is Colonel Tadic of the 'Northern Brigade,' and he invites you to our camp."

Mountain Eagle had a rough idea of ​​what was going on. Before he came, he had heard Blood Fox and the others say that they were going to visit an old friend and ask for some help with their operations.

This 'old friend' might be Colonel Tadic, whom the burly man Sarko mentioned.

He had also heard that the 'Northern Brigade' was a Serbian community armed group specifically targeting gang warlords like the Kosovo Liberation Organization in the Kosovo region.

It is rumored online that the "Northern Brigade" receives official funding from Serbia and is active in the border areas of the region, providing assistance to Serbs in northern Kosovo.

Out of the simple camaraderie that Dongda students have for Serbia, Mountain Eagle is definitely biased towards Serbia emotionally. However, the behavior of Sakho, who is standing in front of him now, is too reckless, which makes him question this "Northern Brigade".

Is there no one available?

Or was Colonel Tadic indirectly refusing?
Seeing the defiant expression on Sakho's fleshy face, Mountain Eagle frowned, shook his head, and took out his phone, saying, "I don't know your boss, so I need to make a call to confirm..."

Perhaps there's a misunderstanding between us, or maybe you've simply contacted the wrong person!

Upon hearing this, Sakho seemed to finally remember his mission. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "No need to make any more calls. If you're looking for a few old men, let me tell you, they're all drunk."

Colonel Tadic specifically instructed me to pick you up and take you to our base. Our car is right outside…”

As he spoke, Sako stared into the mountain eagle's eyes and said with a hint of provocation, "You have a lot of strength in your hands, but I wonder what your other abilities are like?"
An old man named Eddie said you were the best shooter, and my brothers and I wanted to see what the best shooter was like!

As soon as Mountain Eagle heard this, he felt that Eddie was the kind of person who would say such a thing...

Seeing the group of burly Serbian men staring at him menacingly, Mountain Eagle pinched the bridge of his nose with a bit of annoyance and said, "Let's go then. I need to keep an eye on those old men; they do look a bit drunk!"

As he spoke, Mountain Eagle gestured to Galahad and Robin, who were guarding the door. Seeing that Sakko only then realized he had a companion outside and his face showed surprise, Mountain Eagle sighed, turned to Kobe, who had a strange expression on his face, and whispered, "You go first..."

Kobe looked at the group of amateur militiamen in the restaurant who couldn't even pass for gangsters properly, and said with some concern, "Are you sure you haven't picked the wrong people?"
them……"

Seeing that Sakho's expression was rather unpleasant, Mountain Eagle nudged Kobe's arm, signaling him to leave quickly...

Mountain Eagle himself didn't really think highly of the group in front of him, because he seemed too closed-minded.

Nowadays, how could anyone who's in the underworld not know the infamous Mountain Eagle?

This group of people seemed tough, but in reality, they revealed most of their true colors...

They may be good soldiers, but that's about it!

However, when it comes to finding help, Mountain Eagle has absolute confidence in Blood Fox... The old guy is extremely experienced. When the core of solving a problem narrows down to dealing with a specific person, Blood Fox, a veteran from the KGB, is like a fish in water, because his entire career after leaving the KGB has revolved around fighting...

This old man is clearly out of touch with modern society in terms of macro perspectives and modern business issues, but when it comes to dealing with specific problems, especially when it comes to dealing with a particular person, he is still a top expert!
Mountain Eagle watched Kobe leave through the restaurant's main entrance and get into a car. Then he smiled at the burly Sakho and said, "It's a bit impolite to visit so abruptly. There are a few shops nearby; I'll go prepare some gifts."

If I may ask, what does your boss, Colonel Tadic, usually like to do?
Coffee? Cigar? Wine?

Sako paused for a moment, then blurted out instinctively, "The Colonel likes strong liquor," before looking at Mountain Eagle with a slightly awkward expression and saying, "No gifts needed, the Colonel wants to see you..."

Mountain Eagle immediately guessed that these people were probably having a hard time. He smiled and said, "Wait a few minutes, I'll buy the things quickly."

It's a tradition at Dongda University to never arrive empty-handed, otherwise I'd feel awkward..."

The mountain eagle's attitude left the farmer-like Sako somewhat at a loss. Even if the mountain eagle had acted tough and irritable, Sako would have known what to do. But the mountain eagle's approach of first inflicting pain and then lowering his stance to demonstrate proper manners left Sako unsure of what to do.

Watching Mountain Eagle smugly squeeze past his staff and leave the restaurant, making sure to pay for his coffee along with the tip as he went, Sakho felt that his behavior had been rather low-class...

A guy wearing a biker jacket and a beanie sidled up to Sakho and whispered, "Boss, what do we do next?"

Seeing his underlings' furtive manner, Sako glared at them with displeasure and said, "What are we going to do? You guys get in the car and wait, I'm going to buy some things..."

After saying that, Sakho pushed his underling aside and walked to the restaurant entrance. Then, as if realizing something, he turned back to look at his men and said stiffly, "I forgot to bring any money when I left home. Does anyone have any money? I need to buy a few kegs of beer to take back."

The underlings, who had been so arrogant just minutes before, exchanged glances upon hearing this, and then, in a show of loyalty, emptied their pockets, scraping together over 30,000 dinars for their boss...

Mountain Eagle had no idea what had happened on Sakho's side. The first thing he saw when he went out was several dilapidated cars covered in mud and a very old-looking truck.

Of course, Serbia is not a particularly wealthy country, and Novi Pazar is not a major city, so it's normal for it to be a bit poor...

However, the 'Northern Brigade' is supposedly a civilian anti-separatist armed group in Europe, and it is said to have official funding and policy support, yet it doesn't even have decent vehicles, which seems too shabby.

Sakho and his gang weren't particularly friendly, but their 'poverty-stricken' attitude made Mountain Eagle feel a little favorably toward them.

For no other reason than the fact that they have guns and yet live such miserable lives, it shows that they have no intention of inflicting power and violence on civilians.

The Northern Brigade is a well-known force in the Balkans. If they wanted to, they could quickly accumulate wealth through smuggling, extortion, or even robbery.

Their main adversary, the Kosovo Liberation Organization, did exactly that, and had even progressed to the point where they could cooperate with the powerful middleman, the "White Whale," which gives you an idea of ​​how much money they made.

In contrast, the behavior of the "Northern Brigade" group seemed to embody the spirit of "being poor but determined, and not losing sight of their lofty ambitions"...

The sudden surge of goodwill prompted Mountain Eagle to adjust his gift-giving strategy.

Next to the restaurant was a fairly large shop. After wandering around inside, Mountain Eagle found a waiter, asked him what the most popular drinks and cigarettes were in the area, and then swiped his card to clear out the store's stock of several types of alcohol and cigarettes.

Because he acted so quickly, Sakho only entered the store after swiping his card to pay...

The burly man saw Mountain Eagle standing at the checkout counter, his eyes fixed on the expensive cigarettes and alcohol on the shelf. He walked over and shook his head, saying, "Those are things women like. Our boss only likes strong liquor..."

After finishing his sentence, Sako went inside the store, looked around the liquor shelves, picked up four bottles of Serbian fruit brandy in one hand and two bottles of whiskey in the other, and went to the checkout...

He slammed the drinks on the counter and then said gruffly to the clerk inside, "Check, four kegs of beer and a carton of Marlboro cigarettes..."

The clerk was a little afraid of Sacco. He glanced at the mountain eagle, then swallowed hard, pointed to the two bottles of whiskey on the counter, and said awkwardly to Sacco, "Sir, the gentleman next to you has already bought all the Marlboro, brandy, and beer in our store."

"You have no problem getting the whiskey, but you might need to give me a little time to get the rest from the warehouse."

Sako, clutching a dinar in his hand, stared in astonishment at the mountain eagle…

"what?"

Mountain Eagle spread his hands and smiled, saying, "I see you have a truck, so..."

Why not?

I want to make a good impression on everyone, and these things don't cost much, right?

Sakho instinctively clenched the dinar in his hand, then glared at the tycoon in front of him with his bull-like eyes, and, true to his nature, stubbornly said, "We don't need these!"

(End of this chapter)