Chapter 59 - War Strategy Formulation

"So who are we going to get rid of first?" asked Cederic, who kept staring at the three photos of the former great general of the legendary mafia syndicate Hendrick Brasco. Although his gaze was mostly towards Benedict Rivaro, David still preferred Isaac Dominic as his opponent.

There's nothing wrong with choosing an opponent that suits your revenge target. However, David is more concerned with mission success than personal feelings. And David believes, that Cederic is a person who thinks professionally and also logically.

Cederic and Isaac have similarities, namely mastering guerrilla tactics and being able to move behind the scenes. Although David is not sure whether Cederic will be able to face Isaac when it comes time to face each other in real combat. In other words, although Isaac had a habit of moving behind the scenes, his fighting ability really couldn't be underestimated.

It was easy for David to kill Isaac, but if he had to play strategy with Isaac, David would lose. Isaac has a super cunning brain. If members of the legendary mafia syndicate Hendrick Brasco wanted to destroy an enemy mafia gang, they would immediately attack him. But unlike Isaac Dominic, he can destroy two to three mafia groups at once without attacking them physically.

The way Isaac usually uses to destroy two or three mafia syndicate groups at the same time is a very classic and easy way, which is to make them attack each other. In other words, playing one against the other. When one of them wins, they will automatically receive quite a lot of damage after the war, making it unnecessary to spend extra energy to finish off the winning group after being pitted.

Kill two birds with one stone throw. Isaac's favorite activity. His way of thinking is completely beyond human reason. Or maybe more accurately, beyond humanity.

Despite his physical dexterity, Isaac is the weakest of the three great former generals of the legendary mafia syndicate Hendric Brasco, whose main strength is deception. And that's what makes Isaac can not be underestimated.

And never forget that Isaac was the one who introduced David to firearms for the first time. Even though Steve, who has always been David's rival in competing shooting skills.

And also Benedict, the guy who always made David his punching bag. Thanks to Benedict's rigorous physical training, David has a tremendous endurance.

Be it Isaac Dominic, Benedict Rivaro, or Steve Stiffler, the three of them are indirectly the people who make up the person of the now David Stockholm.

The three of them are people who have been instrumental in David's life. And the fact that they too were the ones who betrayed his adoptive father, Hendrick Brasco, the leader of the legendary mafia syndicate, it made David unable to accept it at all.

David took a black marker and circled one of the three photos on the transparent glass board. "First, we'll have a blatant confrontation with Isaac."

David drew a line from the circle and stopped it in the photo next to it, giving the line an arrow ending. "That way, Isaac's only choice is Benedict. Isaac is not stupid enough to accept our provocations outright. His cunning brain will definitely trap us to face Benedict head on. From the information I got, Benedict has gathered at least seven people who are experts of martial arts from all over the world whom he recruited to be his subordinate. With Benedict himself already like a fighting machine, fighting against him would certainly not be an easy one. "

Cederic nodded his head slightly, beginning to understand the big picture of what David was saying. Quite an interesting plan, but it is still not a good plan if it is not accompanied by sufficient information.

"Should I kill his men one by one?" asked Xiang, who now joined the conversation. "After all, I'm an assassin. It's easy for me to kill them all while they're off guard."

David shook his head. "You thought we were only going to fight them one by one?"

Hearing David's answer made Xiang frown, "What do you mean?"

David took a cigarette out of the pack, sandwiched the stick between his upper and lower lips then burned the tip of the nicotine stick and then inhaled deeply the pleasure smoke that became his calming morphine before blowing it into the air.

David then took back his black marker. It has circled the photo of Isaac and Benedict. David also makes two arrows and connects the two circles in the last one photo, which is Steve's photo and circle it too. "Benedict never obeyed Isaac's words even though Isaac always planned every move for Benedict. Their fighting style was completely different. But we can't ignore one more person, Steve."

Now Cederic is taking a step forward, starting to show more interest when David mentions the person he hates the most of the three people whose picture is on the glass board. "Steve Stiffler, the Grim Reaper. The one who becomes an ace in Hendrick Brasco's battles, right? What I know, he is always moving in the shadows. Even though his fighting style can be classified into the fighting style of an assassin like Xiang, he actually mastering all types of battlefields almost perfectly, whether it's close combat, medium or long range. Apart from David, Steve is the main key to turning things around if Hendrick Brasco is in a tight position. Isn't that right? "

Cederic's long babbling about Steve just now made David smile. Although the composition of members and the abilities of each legendary mafia syndicate Hendric Brasco is an open secret among mafias within the circles of the Underworld, Cederic still makes David satisfied because he can find out the role of each member down to the most detailed point.

Now David understands why Cederic could become the leader of Reus Coronam instead of Xiang. Maybe if Cederic had the same shooting accuracy and fighting power as David, David would be the loser if the two of them fought because the one thing that differentiates them is the mindset and also the guerrilla tactics.

David blew another puff of nicotine from his breath. "So, what do you think our first steps are?"

Now Cederic took another step forward, making David smile even more. Now Cederic is acting like a leader here. Should david punch him in the face once? Just to make Cederic aware of his position, that David is the only one in charge here, not him.

Cederic took one of the three photos pasted on the transparent glass board and showed it to David. "I think the first person we should get rid of is Steve."

"Didn't you already know that Steve is a person who always moves in the dark? Let me tell you one thing. Steve won't show himself unless he wants to. You think, how many years I've been looking for him but the results are still zero?" interrupted David, but Cederic smiled in an accent that David didn't understand.

Cederic also walked towards the only woman in the room and put his hands on her shoulders from behind. "That's why we have Bella on this team. She can penetrate the Pentagon's security network at a very young age. What's more, if it's only to find someone you can't find like Steve. Why do you think we could happen to be in that inn and meet you? Surely you must not be a person who believes in coincidences, right?"

Bella bit her own lower lip while putting on an expression full of lust as Cederic's palm touched the skin of her shoulder, while Marshall showed a sad face wishing he had done that to Bella, not Cederic.

David stared at Bella, "If this woman's greatness is half what you say, we can easily surprise Steve. But before that, I have one condition."

Xiang frowned. "What is that?"

David also smiled lopsidedly while showing his bloodthirsty expression which made the four of them swallow their own saliva. Nobody didn't feel scared when David made such an expression. The expression that David always showed every time he plunged into the battlefield that had a greater chance of him dying than the possibility of him surviving.

"When the time comes, I'll be the one to finish off Steve."

David can ensure that maybe Cederic will protest with the conditions that David gave it. From the start, Steve's eyes seemed unable to look in any other direction than at Steve's photo which was displayed on the glass board along with two other photos, namely photos of Isaac Dominic and Benedict Rivaro.

However, David did not expect, that Cederic did not show the slightest sign of rejection. Maybe Cederic also realized that without David, he would not be able to win against Steve, no matter how much and how good the preparations he made, he could never beat Steve without David by his side.

No one dared argue with David. The intensity of his gaze was truly intimidating and it pushed them mentally to rock bottom.

Now, David has finally started his revenge plan which had been halted.

***

Just a reminder:

- David formed an alliance with Reus Coronam consisting of Cederic Langford (Leader + Support), Xiang Quanmeng (Assassin), Marshall Dimington (Fighter + Tank), and Bella Park / Park Ga-young (Support).

- Catty forms an alliance with the former three major generals of the legendary mafia syndicate Hendrick Brasco, namely Isaac Dominic (Support), Benedict Rivaro (Tank + Fighter), and Steve Stiffler (Marksman + Assassin + Fighter)

Author's Note :

[1] Assassin : The person who plays the main assassin in the team, moves secretly and targets the opponent who is in the most pressing state.

[2] Fighter : A person who stands at the forefront and prioritizes physical strength and short-range combat strength, either with weapons or bare hands.

[3] Support : People who have a supporting role in the team. Support is very useful in teams because it can help determine the course of the battle. A role that is always underestimated, but is the main key to those on the front lines. Usually a support person always moves behind the scenes, but does not rule out the possibility to jump directly into the battlefield.

[4] Tank : People who are always relied on to block enemy attacks. Usually people with extraordinary physical strength. But sometimes this role can be filled with someone who is agile. It can also take the role of a tank in the team because it can distract the enemy while his other friends attack the enemy when their attention is distracted.

[5] Marksman : One who can fight from a considerable distance. Must be someone who has extraordinary shooting accuracy.. A very troublesome role for the opposing party because a marksman can move around and keep knocking them out of places they cannot reach.