Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

No one could guarantee that they might be the bounty hunters who had come after hearing the news.

“You’ve bought us a day to run away, which is already very good. But in a broader sense, it’s only a matter of time before we’re tracked down. Once they’ve formed an encirclement, we’ll have no choice but to engage them in firefights on the open grasslands, which would be at a great disadvantage for us.”

Zhang Renfeng wholeheartedly agreed. His ability to single-handedly annihilate the enemy was due not only to his exceptional mobility but also to the terrain's advantages. He maneuvered around the town, constantly exploiting weaknesses in the enemy formation. Before they could react, he swiftly eliminated them, then immediately left the area to find new cover.

This is impossible on the open grasslands.

“Before you came, I told them we had to leave tomorrow morning.” Mike turned around, nodded slightly in the north direction, and said in a deep voice, “At times like these, we usually hide in remote places for a while, for about two or three weeks. The bounty hunters will return empty-handed, and their enthusiasm for hunting us will naturally diminish. It will be much easier to make plans after we have been hiding for a while.”

"Where exactly is it?" Alana asked curiously. "Why don't we go back to Scar Village and hide there? At least there are houses available to stay in."

“No… Scar Village is in the Gray Wolf Mountains, too far from here, it’s easy for something to happen.” Mike shook his head, turned around, and looked north.

As the view expands, a massive snow-capped mountain stretches across the sky, lying in the depths of the night like a crouching silver dragon.

"Let's go to the Snowfall Mountains!"

Chapter 65: I refuse to accept this kind of farewell! (Bounty still up for grabs - 6)

He poured boiling water into the kettle, and a drop of water splashed onto the table. Theon's thick eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he wiped it away with his finger.

Having accepted Jimmy's $100 "settlement fee," his life has improved slightly. While he's not quite rich, he can easily afford some small luxuries he wouldn't normally dare to buy, such as this bag of Arabica coffee powder touted as "Grand Valley Selection."

Inside the room, the weapons hanging on the walls were gleaming.

There was a knock on the door.

Knocking on the door at this hour somewhat disrupted his routine. He looked at the coffee grounds that hadn't been put into hot water yet, hesitated for a moment, then put on his hat and coat properly and got up to open the door.

It was already late, with only the last rays of sunset painting the azure horizon. Outside stood a tall, burly man; Theon recognized him—he was the renowned hunter of White Willow Town.

Back then, as the wolves disappeared, a large number of hunters withdrew from Scarface Village and returned to their homes, some of whom settled in Poplar Town.

If wolf hunting fails, hunters can rely on the mountains for sustenance, hunting deer, rabbits, and the like. Occasionally, a few hunters will form a small team and venture into more remote forests to try their luck. Since the Gray Wolf Mountains were taken over by the Thunder Gang, such activities have become less frequent.

The second time Theon saw the Tennessee horse the hunter was leading, his pupils dilated, and his throat seemed to choke, making it almost impossible for him to speak.

“This is your brother’s horse, isn’t it? I remember you asked me to keep an eye out for it a few weeks ago…” The hunter led the horse over, explaining, “I went hunting near the Gray Wolf Mountains, and on my way back, I suddenly saw a horse running towards White Poplar Town. I caught up with it, and it really was.”

"Grey Wolf Mountains?"

Thunder Strike Gang's territory!?

Theon's head buzzed as if he'd been hit with a hammer. But he quickly took a deep breath to calm himself and then asked, "Where's Leon? Have you seen him?"

The hunter looked troubled and shook his head.

The horse came back, but the person didn't.

Theon's heart sank into an ice cave, and he felt as if he was about to fall backward. He instinctively grabbed the door frame, and his breathing became heavy.

“Don’t be too anxious, Theon. I heard…” The hunter looked around, leaned close to Theon’s ear, and whispered, “The Thunder Fury Gang has been wiped out. Haven’t you noticed? Those thugs haven’t been seen on the streets for the past few days.”

"The entire gang, from top to bottom, nearly forty people, are all dead!"

Theon didn't care whether everyone was dead or not; he only cared about his younger brother.

“I have something to tell you, but don’t tell anyone. I heard it from you…” Seeing his anxiety, the hunter showed a hint of pity. He looked around to make sure no one else was listening, then lowered his voice and said, “This time, something really serious has happened. You know Tuku Zolael, right?”

“Tuku? Uh…you mean Tuku, is…” Theon was momentarily dazed, then regained his senses before connecting the name with his memories. After a moment’s thought, “Isn’t he the leader of the Thunder Fury Gang? His underlings often come down the mountain, and sometimes they come to me to buy weapons. From what they’ve said, he’s probably a capricious person.”

“Tucus is not the leader of the Thunder Gang. This gang has a powerful backer. It is said that a big shot in Mexico is protecting them. It is a transnational gang! Tucus is just a representative sent here by the Zola El family. Mexican families value family members the most. Now that he is dead, the family will definitely not let it go.”

"Someone else will be taking over the Gray Wolf Mountains soon, so if you want to do something..."

He patted Theon on the shoulder and gave him a look, everything understood without saying a word.

Theon pondered for a moment and quickly made a decision.

"By the way, who exactly killed Tuku?"

"I don't know the specifics, I only know that there were three people, and the leader was a foreigner. A few days ago, they went to Scarface Village, saying that they had discovered a gold mine at the foot of the Gray Wolf Mountains and wanted to develop it with the gang members. But somehow, nothing came of it. They were just some thugs from the periphery. I only heard that the gang was wiped out overnight, and they were afraid of being retaliated against, so they ran away overnight. I didn't ask too many questions."

“A gold mine?!” Theon’s pupils dilated slightly as he repeated, “A gold mine…”

----

Back inside, his hand trembled slightly as he closed the door. He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket. It contained only a few words, yet it had been read many times, the paper already somewhat wrinkled. In the dim light, the characters on the paper resembled tadpoles, winding and crooked, making them difficult to decipher.

……

Dear brother, please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. I hope you understand that this is not a decision I made in a fit of anger; it is something I have always wanted to do.

This is a magical land, full of opportunities, with vast tracts of gold buried beneath the surface, yet to be discovered. That's the life I yearn for, not like you, sitting indoors fiddling with metal objects. I don't mean to criticize your job, but as you know, with my personality, it's incredibly difficult for me to sit still for even a few minutes.

Perhaps I was born to belong to the outside world, to those beautiful grasslands and rivers, and I want to find my own opportunities on this fertile land.

Think about it, brother. Just one success, one kiss from Lady Luck, can bring us six months or even more in profits. Why not?

Anyway, I promised you I'd be home within a month. I think that's enough time for me to successfully strike gold. Be happy, you're about to become the older brother of a gold prospector.

I will always love you.

Leon Mislandil.

……

"Leon..."

Theon looked at the letter one last time, making sure he could recite every word, gritted his teeth, threw it into the fire, and burned it to ashes.

If I can find my younger brother on this trip up the mountain, then I won't need to keep it.

If he couldn't find it, he would absolutely not accept it; these were Leon's last words to himself.

He searched the house thoroughly, taking all the weapons he considered powerful—long guns, short guns, and cannons—he was fully armed to the teeth. He also took down the weapons hanging on the wall and inspected them one by one. Because they were regularly maintained, even after long periods of disuse, these weapons could still fire and possessed considerable lethality.

Opening the cabinet door, it truly lived up to its name as a "man's wardrobe," filled with all sorts of real weapons. Theon picked through them, choosing the Lancaster rifle with the smoothest feel for continuous fire, a sliding roller rifle for long-range sniping, and two revolvers.

The gun is a good gun, and the bullets are made with a unique secret formula, even rarer than hollow-point bullets, and have never been circulated on the market.

He loaded the bullets one by one into his revolver, the firelight reflecting off his beard, making him look like a rugged steel statue.

Inside the drawer, rows of neatly arranged spherical grenades gleamed with an alluring metallic sheen.

"..."

The outstretched hand hesitated for a moment.

But Theon quickly dismissed all distractions, grabbed two or three at a time, and put them into his belt.

He hung a gas lamp on his saddle, and under the cover of night, fully armed, he rode alone towards the Grey Wolf Mountains, his hooves kicking up clouds of dust.

Chapter 66: The Eyes of an Angel (Bounty Still Available - 7)

Theon had never been to Scar Village before, and the official members of the Thunder Clan usually wouldn't buy weapons from him; they seemed to have their own dedicated supply channels.

Only the petty thugs who roamed the town would occasionally come to his shop to buy trinkets and bring back snippets of information about the mountains. His entire understanding of Tuku Zolael came from this.

There was only one path leading up the mountain. Following it to its end, one could vaguely see the outlines of buildings. The journey was unexpectedly smooth; the mountain was incredibly quiet, and no one came to stop them. The once ostentatious Thunder Gang seemed to have truly vanished into thin air.

Theon turned off the gas lamp, dismounted, and took all the equipment he could carry with him.

The tranquil village hadn't even been entered before Theon's heart sank—the village was already in such ruins; even if his brother had been captured, his chances of survival were slim. After all, to a bandit gang that made its living by plunder, a gold prospector was of no value except for providing entertainment; they wouldn't take him with them even when fleeing.

The sudden noise made him quickly draw his Schofield revolver and assume a standard hip-fire position.

"Who?!"

……

"Help... help..."

A weak voice came from not far away. Theon dared not be careless and slowly approached. In such a dark place, someone was actually calling for help.

Wearing a red vest, a black suit, and spurs that gave him a particularly ruthless look, along with a flashy gun belt, he looked like a typical bounty hunter. He had been shot in the abdomen, and blood was flowing profusely, blending into his red vest. If it weren't for his contorted expression of pain, one might not have been able to tell.

Following the path of the crawling, one could see a trail of blood on the ground.

The wound is still very fresh; it happened within ten minutes!

Theon didn't stand on ceremony. Before the man was even dead, he started rummaging through his pockets and pulled out a bloodstained card. Squinting, he barely made out the words on it: "【The Blinking Dutchman】?"

They're at least not gang members; I've never seen gangsters carry one of these things.

Theon's expectations eased slightly, and he simply stated the facts calmly, "Save your energy, you're out in the middle of nowhere, your wound is beyond saving."

The man seemed to know his fate. Regardless of his past status, in the final moments of life, people always hope that others will remember their good qualities. He grabbed Theon's sleeve and, with his last strength, squeezed out a few words, "There's... something inside..."

"Tavern..."

As the last few sounds escaped his lips, his eyes dimmed and lost their luster.

Theon pried its fingers apart, held its breath, and confirmed that the bullet was chambered.

Although the man gave a hint at the end, it was too dark to tell which building was the tavern. Fortunately, Theon quickly found a solution: the corpse on the ground served as a signpost; the blood was still wet, and the time of death was probably within 20 minutes.

Following them, they came to another equally dilapidated building. Theon didn't even need to worry about how to peer inside, because there were many holes in the walls, and he didn't know how they were formed.

He witnessed a horrifying scene: in the moonlight, in the dilapidated tavern, a gentleman in a sharp suit and top hat sat alone at the empty bar, drinking by himself.

In the dilapidated bandit stronghold, there wasn't a soul in sight, let alone a ghost.

He sat there abruptly, his back ramrod straight, swirling the stem of his glass, like an elegant sommelier at a high-society dinner.

……

After finishing his drink, the gentleman dressed in English took out a handkerchief, wiped the glass, and carefully put it back into his satchel.

Then, without warning, he turned around and opened his eyes in Theon's direction!

Under the moonlight, the gentleman's eyes presented an odd, distorted appearance, one blue and one emerald. Within the blue pupil, a strange golden halo, like a rising sun, encircled the iris. At first glance, these eyes left a deep impression on Theon; they seemed like the eyes of an angel, beautiful yet eerie.

Those eyes, which seemed to belong to another world, held him firmly in place, rendering him unable to move.

The gentleman slowly drew his gun and fired a shot at him.

"boom!"

At the last moment, Theon finally pulled his leg out, the bullet whizzing past his ear.

"Hell..."

Before his back hit the ground, he used muscle memory to reach for the grenade in his satchel. He pulled out the pin, threw it with all his might, letting it trace a beautiful parabola in the darkness, rolling precisely into the room through a hole in the wall.

one second.

two seconds.

After falling to the ground, Theon practically scrambled away, trying to get as far away from the dilapidated building as possible.

"boom----!!"

The explosion shook the night sky, sending splinters of wood flying like shrapnel and raising a huge cloud of dust. The wooden houses in Scarface Village, hastily built by hunters who had settled there, couldn't withstand such an explosion and were instantly reduced to ruins. The aftershocks even caused two nearby wooden houses to tremble.

Theon was quite certain that the new weapon was just as effective as he had anticipated. When encountering complex cover, he could simply drop one in and blow it up!

However, just to be on the safe side, he gripped a revolver, pressed his thumb against the firing pin, ensuring he could fire at any moment, and slowly approached.

"Clap!"

He kicked away the wood chips blocking his view. In the dust and smoke, he could no longer see a single person, nor any severed limbs. This made him feel uneasy—the power of that weapon should have been enough to shred a human body.

Could it be... that he was buried under the piece of wood?

Theon felt a pang of unease. He didn't want to waste time on this guy, yet he was also afraid that his carelessness might cause him to miss any clues that might be related to his brother. Just as he was hesitating, a cold wind suddenly swept over him from behind, and a bright silver glint flashed in his eyes.

Fishing line?!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Theon decisively dropped the revolver and raised his dominant hand to shield his throat. But the fishing line tightened rapidly, its sharpness far exceeding his expectations, instantly digging into his flesh! Thanks to the thickness of his hand, Theon bought himself a few seconds, preventing him from being strangled instantly. However, he had lost control; most of his neck was constricted by the fishing line, and he tried to wriggle free.

However, it was no use. The hands behind him were incredibly steady, like a butcher slaughtering a sheep or a cow, having done it hundreds of times without any hesitation.

"Oh...ah..."

"Was that weapon you made yourself? It was quite impressive." The voice behind him seemed to come from different directions, but despite his conversation, his hands were still firmly on his heels. "It's normal to feel dizzy. Please cooperate with me; it will be over soon."

Such a calm and composed killing, in a sense, can be considered a form of end-of-life care.

But Theon didn't want this kind of care. Before he completely lost consciousness, he used his left hand to pull out his military knife, endured the pain in his right hand, and cut the fishing line with one stroke, finally freeing himself from it.

"Cough...cough..."

The several brushes with death left him no time to check the condition of his hands and throat. Unable to use his right hand, he threw the military knife in his left hand at his opponent, who dodged it by tilting his head, but at least he gained a fraction of a second!