291: Chapter 289: A Lifetime Enemy 291: Chapter 289: A Lifetime Enemy Gao Yang couldn’t quite identify his feelings, as the very target he had always intended to capture alive was now at the bottom of the river, ship and all, courtesy of the troop he had sent to cut off the escape route.
Looking at Gao Yang, who seemed as if he had swallowed a fly, Nate Schumacher shrugged his shoulders and smiled, “Hey, buddy, now it’s time for you to make a choice.
If you plan to annihilate us, I won’t mind.
We each go back, and then carry on fighting.
Oh, I can guarantee no attacks for half an hour—you can have another go with artillery preparation.”
“What’s the other choice?
Can we not fight?”
Nate Schumacher nodded and said, “Normally that wouldn’t be okay, but you’re quite interesting and I don’t want you to die so soon.
We can have a truce, you leave a path open, and we leave by boat.
Oh, and if you’re thinking about a truce, then we can have a longer chat, which is a good choice.”
Gao Yang immediately said, “Very well, a truce it is.
We can all make friends, right?”
Nate Schumacher laughed out loud, “Make friends?
Buddy, don’t joke.
The Angel Mercenary Corps only has enemies; what friends?
Pal, if you were tough enough right now, I would find a way to take down every single person in your Mercenary Group.
Sadly, you can’t yet ignite my passion to keep fighting, so let’s call it a day.
When your Mercenary Group is formidable enough, we’ll have ourselves a proper battle.”
Gao Yang said with a bitter smile, “You’re not crazy; you’re a freak.”
Nate Schumacher shook his forefinger at Gao Yang and earnestly said, “No, I’m not a freak.
I just like fighting, high-quality fighting.”
“Looks like I should be glad our combat strength isn’t strong enough.
Well, if you don’t mind, could you have your men step back from the front line?
I’d like to get my men in and end this fight sooner.”
With a wave of his hand, Nate Schumacher said, “Since we’ve reached an agreement, my men will leave right away.
Please wait a moment; it won’t be long.
We can continue chatting.
Once my men are aboard, you can take over the dock.”
“Sorry, I need to notify my men to clear a path to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.”
After Nate Schumacher gestured for him to proceed at will, Gao Yang said over the radio, “Everyone listen up, do not fire.
We have a truce.
They are leaving.
Mu He, take your men and clear a path.
Someone’s leaving.
I repeat, do not fire.”
After waiting for Mu He to clear the path and informing Gao Yang, Nate Schumacher raised his hand and waved, causing a man in camouflage to quickly approach.
Once he reached Nate Schumacher, Nate spoke solemnly, “Have the second group leave with the wounded first, followed by the third group.
Let them wait for us at sea.
I’ll stay a bit longer for a chat.
Gather the first group to wait for me; we will leave together.
Do not open fire; we have reached a ceasefire agreement.”
The man in camouflage stepped aside and conveyed the instructions via radio to the Angel Mercenary Corps.
Shortly after, the man spoke in a grave voice, “Lieutenant Colonel, the second group has embarked at the dock, and the third group is ready to move.”
Even though a truce was reached, the Angel Mercenary Corps certainly couldn’t all leave on the same boat; that would render them completely unable to deploy their combat strength.
Even if the Skull Gang’s combat capabilities were lacking, they could still send the Angel Mercenary Corps to the bottom of the sea with rocket launchers, so the Angel Mercenary Corps had no choice but to leave in turns.
Following the order to retreat, Nate Schumacher turned to Gao Yang with a light laugh, “The world is big, and there are many mercenaries, but not that many good ones.
For the best mercenaries, the world is quite small.
If you’re not planning on retiring anytime soon, then we’re bound to meet again.”
Gao Yang said with a bitter smile, “I seem to be someone who enjoys a thrill, but I’m not a death seeker.
So, if we meet again, I hope we can be comrades rather than enemies.
After all, I’m quite unambitious.
I don’t like seeking strong opponents to fight like you do.
I’d rather crush the enemy with an overwhelming advantage.”
Nate Schumacher laughed heartily, “If you want us to be comrades in arms, that’s easy.
If you find yourself in a tough battle, just give me a call.
I’d be more than glad to fight alongside you, no matter the mission, no matter who the opponent is.
As long as you think the enemy is formidable enough, call me; the fee is negotiable.”
After finishing, Nate Schumacher took out a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over.
Gao Yang took it and saw that it had a satellite phone number written on it.
“This is our Intelligence Officer, and our Business Officer’s contact number.
If you come across a challenging mission, just call them.
Oh, if it’s not challenging, then you’d better not call.
My Intelligence Officer isn’t the best-tempered person.”
Gao Yang shrugged his shoulders and said, “Seeing how you act, I really thought we were already friends.
It’s hard to imagine that our current situation is still at the stage of hostility.”
“No, I must explain this to you seriously, we are not friends, and we will never be friends, but we are not enemies either, do you understand what I mean?
We are just mercenaries, we don’t have our own position, the employer’s position is our position.
So whether we are enemies or friends depends on our respective employers.
We might be employed by the same person and fight side by side, or we could be employed by opposing sides and fight each other to the death.
So, remember your identity, you are just a mercenary, and you don’t have the qualifications to seek friends.”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “No, I have many friends who are also mercenaries.”
Nate Schumacher shook his head and said, “That means you’re not professional enough.
If you and your so-called friends meet on the battlefield and become hostile, what do you plan to do?”
Gao Yang didn’t hesitate and said, “What else can I do?
I won’t fight, that’s it.
I’ll just give up the money.
If becoming a mercenary means having no regard for family or friends, then don’t joke about it.”
Nate Schumacher, whose face had been very mild and calm all this while, now showed a look of disdain and said, “I am somewhat disappointed in you now.
As a soldier, as a mercenary, you must have brothers willing to die for each other, but you can’t have so-called friends.
If you talk about friendship as a mercenary, I can only say that it is stupid and unprofessional.
If you have this idea, then you will definitely not become the best.
You will never become the best.
To be the best, you have to abandon these trivial emotions.
Soldiers should have no emotions.”
After thinking seriously for a while, Gao Yang said very seriously to Nate Schumacher, “I do want Satan to become the best Mercenary Group, but I will make even more friends in the future.
Between interests and friends, I will choose friends.
I will go all out to help my friends, and if I run into problems, I will also ask for my friends’ help.”
Nate Schumacher seemed to suddenly lose interest in continuing the conversation.
He stood up, shook his head helplessly, and said, “It seems our philosophies are completely different.
I guarantee that your group will either disband or be wiped out before becoming the best Mercenary Group, while Angel will continue to exist alone.”
Gao Yang didn’t stand up; he just shook his head and said, “No, Satan will grow stronger and stronger until it reaches the height of the Angel Mercenary Corps, and then surpass it.”
After pondering for a moment, Nate Schumacher nodded and said, “Our views are completely opposed, even the names of our Mercenary Groups are hostile.
It’s the arrangement of fate.
I have a premonition that we will indeed become enemies in the future.”
After looking deeply into Gao Yang’s eyes with his green eyes, Nate Schumacher said meaningfully, “Your Satan is still very weak, but I feel that you will grow strong.
So you and your Mercenary Group have the potential to be Angel’s enemy, and I also hope you will qualify to be my enemy.
So get stronger quickly.
Angel Mercenary Corps has never had a true enemy, because no one has qualified.
I hope you can be the first.”
Gao Yang gave a bitter smile and said, “Can we really not be friends?
Alright, alright, just kidding.
Well, I really don’t want to create a powerful enemy for myself when I’m idle, but if you insist, then Satan will certainly become an enemy of Angel, a very powerful one, the kind that destiny pits against each other for a lifetime.”
Nate Schumacher gave a slight smile and said, “Good, I’ll be waiting for you.
Goodbye.”
After he finished speaking, Nate Schumacher turned and left.
At that moment, Gao Yang remembered something and quickly called out to Nate Schumacher’s retreating figure, “Hey, when I talk about enemies, I don’t mean the kind that must fight a decisive battle, what I mean is, um, the all-around kind.
The kind of hostility that involves competition in all aspects, say, to see whose Mercenary Group lasts to the end.”
Nate Schumacher stopped in his tracks, stood still for a moment, then turned around with a smile and said, “Alright, all-around competition sounds indeed more interesting.
Let’s agree on that, to see whose Mercenary Group lasts to the end.
However, you’d better pray not to encounter Angel on the battlefield.”
Gao Yang couldn’t show weakness at this point; he too smiled and said, “Even if we do meet on the battlefield, it isn’t necessarily a question of who will survive.
Of course, I admit that Satan is currently no match for Angel, but you’ve also said that we will definitely grow strong.
So don’t rush to conclusions.”
Nate Schumacher laughed heartily and said, “Alright, I’ll wait for you to grow strong.
If you encounter us before then, I’ll consider sparing your lives.”
“Thank you, and in return, when we’ve grown strong, if we meet on the battlefield, I will also consider sparing your lives.”
Nate Schumacher extended his hand to Gao Yang with a smile and said, “It’s a deal, although I don’t think you’ll ever pose a threat to me.”
Gao Yang grasped Nate Schumacher’s hand, shook it firmly twice, and smiled, “It’s a deal, and thanks for the coffee.” (To be continued.
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