Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 276 Milton is too extreme

Rainbow Street.

The boy, covered in strange tattoos, stared with hatred at an infantry fighting vehicle driving down the street in the distance.

Beside him was a hollow bronze bull from which people had just been burned at the stake, and several of his fellow believers.

“Milton…”

“One day, I will stuff you and your army in there and burn them alive.”

The boy had no idea that the government forces would retreat so quickly. He had originally planned to either go to the front lines and fight Milton's men himself, or retreat with the main force.

However, some government soldiers told him that he should stay in the city, develop slowly, and spread the right ideas so that he could cause Milton as much trouble as possible.

To ensure optimal concealment, the government forces took precious time before their hasty retreat to distribute submachine guns, ammunition, and explosives to the troops.

"Let's go!"

The boy waved his hand, intending to lead those who had been ensnared by horrific ideas back into the house to continue the execution of another person.

She was also a mother of three, but her children were at an age where they knew nothing and had just begun to develop many of their survival instincts.

After Arsu intentionally introduced terrorism as a defense line, many people succumbed to it in a short period of time, especially some children who had not yet established their own worldview... But there are always some tough guys, and they become the targets of public "execution".

I glanced at them when the army passed by, but they seemed to be in a hurry, so I didn't pay them any attention.

One of the cult members also looked away and asked, "Shouldn't we hide for a while?"

The boy touched the submachine gun he had hidden and shook his head: "No need. Milton's biggest concern right now is how to take over the city. We haven't launched any attacks on his army, so they won't bother with these trivial matters."

“Our operations will be more difficult once he has complete control of the city.”

"Remember, make sure to hide all the firearms and ammunition."

The boy was even more emboldened by the prospect of Milton holding those responsible for this "execution" accountable—so many people, including so many young children, had participated in the execution, could Milton really kill them all?
The saying "the law does not punish the masses" applies to situations where terrorism has spread to an area, making it extremely difficult to deal with when everyone is an accomplice. How can the government arrest everyone?

Can Milton do it?
Soon, a woman with a face full of despair and disheveled clothes was dragged out of the house. The rough ground quickly wore away a large piece of her clothes, revealing bruised flesh underneath.

The boy stepped over, picked up a stick from the ground, and without hesitation raised his hand to brutally beat the woman.

The others pulled up the makeshift iron gate made of inferior sheet metal to prevent any passing troops from seeing the scene.

The woman was covered in wounds when she was dragged to the bronze bull.

The eldest daughter watched the scene with a blank expression, her eyes reflecting the same emotions as those around her. She didn't know what her mother had done wrong, but she simply believed that her mother was wrong.

state!
With difficulty, she picked up a wooden stick and smashed it down on the woman's head, making a sound that wasn't exactly crisp.

The daughter was clearly not as strong as the others, and the force of the blow was obviously not great, but after being hit, the woman showed unprecedented pain and never tried to get up again.

In this most desperate moment, the woman, her vision already blurred, saw a familiar small figure swaying as it walked towards her.

A glimmer of hope flashed in the woman's eyes. She thought her child had finally stopped watching and was finally going to lend her a helping hand... At this moment, she wanted to speak up and tell the child not to be so foolish, to disguise himself properly, and to wait for an opportunity to escape.

state!
However, the touch on her head interrupted all her thoughts.

This boy, who probably needs a bit of effort even to suckle, held a small wooden stick in his hand and hit the woman's head several times with great seriousness.

Then, he placed the wooden stick under the bronze bull, looked expectantly at their leader, and awaited the execution they had been most looking forward to.

Ignoring the deepest despair, confusion, and pain in the woman's eyes, she was stuffed into the bronze bull.

Next…

boom! boom! boom!
Three gunshots rang out almost simultaneously. Right before everyone's eyes, the most brutal and insane boy, who had sent his own mother to the Bronze Bull and was even qualified to speak directly with a lieutenant general, had his head explode into a cloud of blood mist on the spot!
The hard skull seemed to exist without any trace!
The other two men who had already taken out their submachine guns suffered the same fate.

The body, with its neck already empty, hadn't even fallen yet, and those around it hadn't had time to react; they only felt the still-warm blood splashing on their faces.

"what!!!"

"what--"

Several breaths passed before the scene was filled with screams and gasps.

Those who had just been preparing to execute a woman in the most cruel way scattered like birds and beasts, screaming and running away as if they were not the ones who had just planned to do those cruel things.

On a rooftop, Milton put down his M24, took out a walkie-talkie, and confirmed the results with Ishimaya, who was elsewhere.

Two seconds later, Milton nodded, turned and gave the others the order: "Charge! Take them down! I mean all of them!"

Flora muttered, "I thought we'd run into some crazy lunatics who put up a stubborn resistance like before... Why are you being so cowardly?"

“That’s what’s scary, okay?” Milton turned and went downstairs. “These people who seem perfectly fine normally, who even greet you with a kind smile when you pass by, only show their extreme side when something special happens.”

"He might greet you with a smile as he passes by today, but tomorrow he could shove you into the bronze bull and burn you alive for something that seems perfectly normal to you!"

"And they themselves don't think there's anything wrong with their behavior and thoughts; in their view, this is just normal survival logic."

"These malignant tumors must be eradicated."

"Hmm... thinking about it this way, it really is terrifying."

"..."

After Milton came downstairs, the scene had become chaotic. Except for a few core members who were still running away and trying to find the enemy's location, everyone else had scattered.

The army, which had already surrounded the entire community, was now facing not the cultists who had picked up submachine guns to resist, but a large group of people who appeared unarmed, panicked at the sight of the soldiers, and looked just like "civilians".

Milton's soldiers had seen that expression countless times.

In the past, when warlords entered the city, many of them would show this expression when they saw their troops marching in this way.

Now they have become one of the highest machines of violence, and most civilians look at them with the same eyes when they conquer other cities.

Because everyone knows that the fate of civilians depends solely on what this army thinks.

Right before their eyes, these people, who looked exactly like the other civilians in the city and seemed to pose no threat whatsoever, were desperately fleeing, trembling with fear at the sight of the tank's terrifying cannon barrel.

Then one of the officers hesitated, and he took out his walkie-talkie: "'Godfather,' what should we do with these people?"

Milton sneered, "Don't be fooled by their appearance. They are cultists, not civilians."

"Didn't you see that just now? They were beating their mother with their child, and they even tried to burn her alive! Have you ever seen civilians like this?"

"They may have been coerced, but they are certainly not innocent. These people are like cancer cells; we absolutely cannot let them spread."

“Give them only one order: everyone kneel down and wait to be arrested. If they refuse to cooperate, shoot them without warning—not fire into the air, but execute them directly.”

Without hesitation, the officer turned to face the enemy and sternly ordered, "Everyone, raise your hands, kneel on the ground with your backs to us, and do not make any other unnecessary movements! Otherwise, we will open fire!"

A small number of people hesitated for a moment before choosing to do as instructed.

But most people ignored the warnings and, with fear on their faces, tried to escape the community that was now surrounded by the army.

Some of them even started running and frantically tried to escape.

The officer hesitated only for a moment, then said, "Fire!"

Everyone unconditionally believed that the "Hell Tax Collector" was absolutely right, and that countless battles had proven that his orders were always reasonable and that they should simply be obeyed.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!
The tank's 7.62mm commander's machine gun suddenly spat fire, sweeping across the chaotic crowd. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and people fell in droves like harvested wheat.

At such close range, firing at a crowd of defenseless people is incredibly effective; with just one volley, at least 10 people fell into pools of blood.

The sounds of other machine guns firing could also be heard from different places.

Almost at the same moment, the crowd miraculously disappeared, either disappearing into alleys or hiding in buildings; the scene of them trying to rush out just moments before vanished.

The officer was stunned for a moment, then felt a wave of fear wash over him, thankful that he had unconditionally believed the "hellish tax collector."

Milton continued issuing orders: "Advance! Take control of everyone here, and remember, I said everyone!"

Boom boom boom…

With tanks leading the way and infantry protecting them, the community had absolutely no ability to resist, and their human defenses were breached almost instantly!

Several extremists attempted to draw their guns in retaliation, but they were either instantly killed by the infantry protecting the tank or futilely used pistol bullets to strike the tank's thick armor, posing no threat whatsoever.

Armed cult members kept falling, and the tanks quickly reached a position close to the center.

That is, the location of the execution.

At this moment, the woman was still trapped inside the bronze bull, with a large amount of wood piled up below her!

Just as Milton was about to continue directing the tanks forward, a roar suddenly came from the small building ahead, reaching Milton's ears.

Clearly, there is a loudspeaker-like amplification device.

"'Hellish tax collectors'! Get out of here!"

"This is our custom, this is our culture, this is our way of life. We all accept this way of life, and we don't need you to change it!"

"Respect our culture, take your people and leave... We will not oppose your rule! We will pay you taxes regularly!"

"leave!"

After this statement was made, protests began to erupt from many nearby buildings.

"leave here!"

"We don't need you to teach us how to live!"

"If the entire city's way of life is different from yours, are you going to kill everyone?" "..."

The shouts formed a wave, one wave higher than the next, as if to completely engulf the powerful armored forces on the road.

Milton listened to these voices, sighed, and looked at Flora with a helpless expression: "You see, this is the consequence of poor information transmission... Don't they read newspapers?"

In Milton's case, there was never any principle of "the law does not punish the masses."

Such behavior will not only fail to deter Milton, but will also completely ignite his murderous intent.

Even if we were to reason with them, Milton could find a lot of loopholes in their words—for example, that he had received many requests for help, that the land had not yet been ravaged too much, and that many people had not yet been completely coerced.

But Milton also knew that arguing was pointless.

Besides, the principles are in his hands now.

"Ignore it and continue."

However, at that moment, gunshots rang out again from inside the building!

56 Charge!
Boom boom boom!
The bullets all hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, but caused no damage.

But the message these extremists conveyed to Milton was also very clear—if they took another step forward, it would be street fighting, and they would resist to the end.

An officer flew into a rage, all remaining sympathy vanishing completely. He looked at Milton and said, "'Godfather,' I'll lead the team in and guarantee we'll take them all down within two hours!"

Milton looked on with interest and waved his hand: "No need for that. Let the tanks back down first."

"what?!"

"Okay, move the tanks back to make room for my self-propelled gun," Milton said slowly. "Drive the self-propelled gun in and blow up the building."

The officer was taken aback.

Just drag the howitzer over and use it, use the 152mm caliber giant cannon to blast the house to pieces?

At this distance, it's not much different from pressing the cannon barrel directly into the enemy's face!

"……Yes."

buzzing...

The lead Type 59 tanks received orders to halt their advance.

The two tracks rotated in opposite directions, and the tank quickly turned around and left, making the alley much emptier.

The cult members were immediately excited when they saw this scene—it was no use to be tough with the "Hell Tax Collector," but it was definitely effective to be gentle!

Milton will certainly compromise in order to maintain his rule in Solora!
The originally unified shouts suddenly turned into a noisy buzzing sound, and the people inside the building seemed to start whispering to each other.

Milton ignored them; he was busy getting his 2S5 in.

But inside the building, that annoying loudspeaker started playing again.

“Very well… ‘Hell Tax Collector,’ you’ve chosen to leave, and we’ll still pay you taxes—as long as your people stop interfering with our normal operations… What are you doing?! Didn’t we tell you to leave?”

A 2S5 tank carrying a giant cannon, under the protection of several soldiers, had arrived next to the small building.

Milton ignored the voice, stretched out his hand, and pointed in the direction from which the sound came from the loudspeaker in the small building.

The artillerymen understood immediately, and the huge cannon barrels slowly rose, aiming at the loudspeaker.

There was no pre-firing data report, no fancy procedures, as if it were just a sniper rifle with a larger caliber.

"you……"

The sound from the loudspeaker was drowned out.

No matter how loud a horn is, it can't outdo the sound of a cannon firing.

boom!
Huge fireworks and smoke instantly filled the narrow street, and a fireball expanded at the muzzle of the cannon, forcefully pushing a 152mm shell out.

The shell spun as it flew out, penetrating the first wall without hindrance and entering the room.

Large-caliber howitzers fired into the room.

boom! ! !
A deafening explosion resounded throughout the building, with flames desperately escaping from the windows, wall cracks, and doors, attempting to relieve the high pressure inside.

However, such high pressure in such a short period of time cannot be released by these "loopholes" alone.

The walls of the small building could not withstand the strain in an extremely short time, and huge cracks appeared before it collapsed completely, rolling to the ground amidst a cloud of dust.

After the shelling, the scene was completely silent.

The once noisy community could now only hear the sound of sand and debris rolling onto the ground.

Good thing, those noisy noises have finally disappeared.

Milton glanced around, feeling the fearful gazes, and looked at the small building already covered in smoke. He reached out, picked up a shell, loaded it into the barrel, and pulled the breech.

"Go on, I don't want to see this building again."

"Yes!"

The artillerymen adjusted their firing angle slightly.

boom!
Another large-caliber howitzer shell was fired, and this time the shell hit the load-bearing wall and beam on the middle floor of the building directly!

The powerful shockwave pulverized the load-bearing column without resistance, breaking the already sparse and extremely thin steel bars inside into several sections, with the remaining ones bent inside the wall, teetering on the verge of collapse.

As for the lives inside the building?
There is no one alive in this building anymore.

Wow…

After holding on for four or five seconds, the small building collapsed with a crash, leaving only ruins on the ground.

Milton watched this scene calmly and slowly said to the extremist, "Two choices: get out here, or die."

"Of course, the next time you won't die so easily. Next time, I'll use napalm to roast you all and process you into pig feed."

This time, finally no one wasted any more words.

Many people still hiding inside the building, including extremists, cautiously came out and looked at Milton as if he were a madman.

Damn it, Milton is definitely more extreme when it comes to extremes.

I only gave him a couple of tactful criticisms, and he immediately started bombarding the building with cannons? And he even turned people into pig feed?
The woman locked in the bronze bull burst into tears upon seeing Milton approaching, crying out, "'Hell Tax Collector,' you must be 'Hell Tax Collector'! Please, save my children! They're in that building over there. They were such good children. It's all my fault, all my fault... I was always trying to earn money to support them, and I didn't realize they'd gone astray, sob sob sob..."

“Take everyone under control and remove them.” Milton waved his hand. “Also, get that woman out of the Charging Bull…”

Before the words were finished, amidst the smoke and dust, a small figure appeared in the building next to the collapsed building.

The soldiers, who had gradually become "veterans" through repeated combat, almost simultaneously raised their guns and aimed in that direction.

However, even Milton's pupils shrank sharply after he saw the figure clearly.

That person looks like one of the woman's children who was trapped inside the bronze bull!
He was holding a shell that was much larger than himself—and Milton immediately noticed that the impact fuse of the shell had been modified using rudimentary methods, making it much bulkier than normal.

It is also much more sensitive.

The child, using all his strength to support himself, staggered out of the house, trying to approach Milton's army.

Milton tries to rescue his mother, but instead picks up a bomb.

"Retreat first!"

"'The Godfather' Mr."

"Child, please, no...no!"

"..."

The mother was still pleading desperately when faced with her child who wanted to burn her alive.

Milton thought for a moment and said, "Step back a little, and wait until you're at a safe distance where you won't harm innocent bystanders before you fire..."

Before he could finish speaking, the child tripped over a piece of steel that flew by.

He stumbled and fell down beside his mother, along with the cannonball in his hand.

Immediately afterwards, the fireball exploded.

boom!
"..."

When the smoke cleared, there was no one left in the shell crater, and only a pile of broken flesh and blood remained in the bronze bull.

Milton watched this scene in silence for a moment.

"Has the renovation company arrived yet?"

"Yes, they're waiting outside... They wouldn't dare move without your orders."

Milton turned and walked away: "Let them in and paint all the walls here."

The officer paused, pointed to the crowd that wasn't completely under control, and asked, "Uh, Mr. 'Godfather,' what about these people? What should we do with them next?"

Milton didn't stop walking: "Who are you? I only see a bunch of scumbags."

P.S.: Milton is really envious of all the alien technology on display at the military parade.

(End of this chapter)