Fatal Strike: Paladins Mercenary Road

Chapter 909 Regional Situation
Mountain Eagle and his group of 20 people, traveling in three assault boats and led by several veterans from the Northern Brigade, headed south along a river into the Kosovo region.

In winter, the river flow is not very large, and the terrain on both sides of the river is relatively flat when it enters the Kosovo region. If it were daytime, the assault boat would be exposed to the surveillance of border reconnaissance personnel immediately.

This area is not under the control of Kosovo local armed groups, but rather under the control of NATO forces...

Mountain Eagle sat aboard the assault boat, steer the boat while listening to his boss, Duchamp, give his presentation…

“A NATO peacekeeping force of about 800 people is stationed in this area. Crossing this area to the east leads to the territory of the Kosovo Liberation Organization, which controls a large area in eastern Kosovo, including most of the remote rural areas.”

The Organization for the Liberation of Kosovo has nearly 4000 well-trained armed personnel, and the organization has a total membership of nearly 12,000. Apart from the armed personnel, most of the others are engaged in drug and human trafficking.

They have their own military bases, armored vehicles, armed helicopters, and even air defense and anti-tank weapons.

Because of their harassment, Serbs in the northeastern border region of Kosovo have been forced to abandon their land and move to northern cities or return to Serbia.

Therefore, large uninhabited areas have emerged in the northeastern border region near Kosovo, allowing them to produce and store drugs with impunity, while also serving as a transit center for human trafficking.

As Duchamp spoke, he was admiringly fiddling with his newly acquired infrared telescope. After explaining the basic situation, he glanced at Mountain Eagle, who was steering the boat, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I've checked the weapons you've prepared. Based on my experience, if it's a surprise assassination, with accurate intelligence support, completing the mission shouldn't be difficult."

However, capturing a person alive and successfully bringing him out of Kosovo presents a different challenge.

We can enter eastern Kosovo along the river, but it would be extremely difficult to bring people out through the river.

Because of the fixed route, once the enemy's helicopters take off, we won't even have a chance to escape.

Most importantly, even if we could shoot down the enemy helicopter with the Stinger, we wouldn't be able to cross NATO's defenses without alerting them..."

Mountain Eagle frowned and said curiously, "According to you, the Kosovo Liberation Organization is a ruthless Albanian gang warlord, and the purpose of NATO peacekeeping forces is to suppress them."

Are they completely indifferent to these gangsters and warlords?

Duchamp listened, his expression somewhat somber, and said, "Because they don't believe that a country and people they've bombed and divided would genuinely come closer to them."

Their goal is to reduce the Serbian population in Kosovo as much as possible, and then constantly create unrest, forcing Serbia to compromise, compromise, and compromise again and again…”

Upon hearing this, the mountain eagle sighed softly and said, "Politics has no conscience..."

Pro-Russian Serbia is a thorn in the side of the EU. Kosovo has been seeking independence because it is a key point in the EU's power struggle with Russia, and also a buffer between Serbia and Albania.

Serbia has been forced into this predicament, and Russia actually bears some responsibility for it. Being the big brother may really be difficult for them.

European integration seems to be progressing steadily, with Serbia being included. However, once Serbia reclaims Kosovo, you could easily move south and threaten Albania's energy pipeline to Italy.

As you should know, the EU's Southern Gas Corridor...

This is a major energy pipeline running from Azerbaijan (Shaadeniz oil field in the Caspian Sea) → Georgia → Turkey → Greece → Albania → Italy.

Before I came here, I did some research and found that the largest number of NATO peacekeeping troops stationed in Kosovo are Italians.

Kosovo serves as a strategic buffer for the EU because if the gas pipelines in Albania were cut off, several countries surrounding Italy would face gas shortages.

You might say you don't want war, but international politics and finance don't work that way...

Because once you take back Kosovo, as long as you make an offensive gesture to the south, or even just have some conflict with Albania, international natural gas prices will soar. The EU will not hand over such a crucial bargaining chip to Serbia.

Did you know that this natural gas corridor can only transport 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas into Europe each year? But Italy alone needs 700 billion cubic meters of natural gas every year, and the total demand for the whole of Europe reaches 4000 to 5000 billion cubic meters.

This pipeline is crucial because it can be readily connected to Iran's natural gas pipeline using Azerbaijani connections...

The Iranian nuclear issue has been fraught with uncertainty, Iranian President Ahmadinejad is anti-American and pro-European, Europe's stance between the US and Iran is ambiguous, Turkey is arrogant and domineering, and the hatred between Albanians and Serbs cannot be resolved. All of these situations owe a debt to this pipeline.

Not to mention your region, Azerbaijan, where the pipeline originates, is also a powder keg. Their conflict with their neighbor Armenia could explode at any moment, and the US and Russia hold the fuse.

Whenever these two countries clash, the EU will be the most anxious!
Do you know why the EU doesn't accept Serbia?
It's not because they destroyed you, but because Serbia has never given up on the idea of ​​reclaiming Kosovo.

As long as you don't give up, even if you bury your heads in the ground and let the EU trample on you, they will not accept you.

Turkey, a NATO member that can repeatedly switch between the US and Russia, has already given the EU enough trouble by controlling its energy lifeline.

They can no longer accept a pro-Russian Serbia…

It's estimated that no one had ever told Dushan about the core contradictions of Kosovo before. After listening to Mountain Eagle's account, Dushan said with disbelief, "They destroyed Yugoslavia just for a pipeline?"
For the sake of a pipeline, they condoned those Albanian thugs to attack and massacre Serbs at will.
Serbia has to endure endless pressure just for a pipeline?

What exactly do we need to do to satisfy them?

Seeing Duchamp's previously blank expression turn to anger, Mountain Eagle shook his head, pursed his lips, and said, "The current situation in the Balkans isn't simply due to a pipeline; there are many other reasons. Tito's bizarre actions—artificially dividing races, creating internal divisions, and weakening national identity to suppress the dominant Serbs—are something I, a 'Thai,' just can't understand. But they certainly demonstrate the shortsightedness of Europeans when it comes to ethnic issues."

The current situation in Serbia is partly due to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia itself, and partly due to the West's struggle for geopolitical advantage.

You ask me what I can do to make them happy?
I don't know, but based on my understanding...

The EU has a blood debt, and all the debtors probably hope their creditors will disappear.

After listening, Duchamp struggled to process the information for a long time, and finally said wearily, "So we have no way to get out of this predicament. What's the point of fighting for so many years?"

Dushan's words brought silence to the assault boat. Seeing Dushan and Theodore becoming dejected, Sangjia, who had been sitting to the side digesting what Mountain Eagle had said, glared at the innocent Mountain Eagle, then looked at Dushan and said in a deep voice: "The purpose of the Northern Brigade is to fight against those Albanian villains and to protect the persecuted Serbian and Muslim civilians."

We cannot save the country, nor can we change the world. Our purpose is to eliminate villains and protect those who need protection.

Duchamp's large nose twitched slightly. After a few minutes of silence, he nodded slightly and said, "If this is all we can do, and this is all the others allow us to do, then so be it..."

As he spoke, Duchamp looked into Sangjia's eyes and said earnestly, "Sangjia, if I ever die, please send my ashes back to my hometown..."

I didn't know how to win, but I tried my best!

Sang Jia didn't know how to respond to Du Shang's words. She glared at Mountain Eagle and said in a deep voice, "Is this what you wanted?"

Mountain Eagle shrugged and said, "Only by knowing exactly what happened can we fight back more effectively!"

Of course, if you think I'm wrong, I can apologize.

Upon hearing this, Sang Jia said irritably, "You've already said it yourself, there's no solution to this situation..."

The mountain eagle paused for a moment, then shook its head and said, "Who said there's no solution?"
In terms of warfare, even if the Kosovo authorities tied all their troops together, they wouldn't be enough to defeat Serbia. Without the protection of NATO troops, taking back Kosovo would be no difficult task for Serbia.

Sanjaya, the world situation is changing, and no one can remain powerful forever. The structure of the European Union and its military dependence on the United States determine that their influence will continue to weaken.

Britain has even dismantled its last steel mill, France lost Alstom, and Germany's backbone has long been broken. They are not only heavily dependent on external sources for industrial energy, but also have very little political autonomy.

The world will undergo tremendous changes once the interests of the United States and the European Union clash...

Serbia can find its place amidst the upheaval if it can understand its own position.

There's a reason why the Balkans are considered Europe's powder keg; their geographical location is extremely crucial...

This place was once the end of the ancient Silk Road and an essential route for modern energy transportation. Even though the Balkans have been fragmented, Serbia can still rely on the Danube River to run through the peninsula, connecting Central Europe and the Black Sea, making it a "golden waterway" for trade and military operations.

For Serbia, 'sea power' is just a fantasy, but 'land power,' especially the land trade route formed by the Central European Railway, can allow Serbia to turn the tide.

In order to circumvent the US maritime encirclement, Dongda University revived the 'Silk Road' and used railways to connect Dongda University with 11 Central Asian countries and 25 European countries.

Belgrade is a key city for Danube River water transport, which can cover most of Europe via the river.

That place was once the end of the Silk Road. If you look back at history, you'll see that every point along the Silk Road used to be profitable.

Serbia and the University of Southeast Asia have a traditional friendship. As long as you are willing to go all out and the transformation of public ideology can keep up, then development will no longer be a big problem.

Once you have money and power, will Kosovo still be a problem?

Provoking Kosovo will become a bargaining chip in your hands, which you can use to force the EU to make some concessions.

Sometimes it's not a bad thing to expose your weaknesses. When the enemy keeps their eyes on your weaknesses, as long as you remain restrained, you can gain time to develop.

Some things take time. When you have the ability, you'll find that everything will happen naturally.

After listening, Sang Jia looked at the mountain eagle with a strange expression and said, "Why are you telling me all this..."

Mountain Eagle spread his hands and said with a smile, "Because the Northern Brigade and the Tadic family that you are holding onto have enough potential!"
I don't know how far you can go, but the confident attitude you showed when we chatted before shows that the Tadic family still has enough influence around the copper mine.

Even for the sake of regional peace, the Serbian parliament must accept the Tadic family.

When you 'sell' the copper mine, you'll get support from Russian funds. If you can find some opportunities at Dongda University, you'll find that sometimes things are actually quite simple!
Let me remind you, Serbia has the second largest proven lithium reserves in Europe, and green energy would be a very good project!
You already have a supply chain foundation for auto parts. Once Dongda New Energy Vehicles builds a factory in Hungary to circumvent EU restrictions, you only need to secure a few projects in the supply chain to provide tens of thousands of high-value jobs.

Planning ahead can make your efforts twice as effective, not only allowing you to gain sufficient power in a short time, but also bringing other benefits..."

Sang Jia's interest was piqued, and she asked curiously, "I don't quite understand, what are these other benefits you're talking about?"

(End of this chapter)