Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Golden Knife?" Alana asked curiously. "Who is that? They're so extravagant!"

“A formidable man surnamed Wang… It’s alright, I have an idea, it’s just that the details still need to be refined.” Zhang Renfeng was overjoyed, because he had already sensed the pleasant atmosphere.

The so-called "setting up a scheme" means that you have information that your opponent does not. Only by achieving an overwhelming victory on the information level can you truly manipulate them.

Truly brilliant strategies often begin with a flash of inspiration, taking only two or three seconds—that's enough to decide on the plan. The rest is simply a matter of adding, subtracting, and modifying details based on the actual situation.

"You're doing it again, aren't you..." Mike sighed. This was just like back in Scarface Village, when he caused a scene in the tavern in order to see Tuku quickly. It was all Zhang Renfeng's sudden idea. "Just to be on the safe side, let me ask you, what are the chances of success this time?"

Zhang Renfeng made a "three" gesture.

"Thirty percent?" Xiaomei's tone was somewhat surprised, and she whispered, "Mr. Hongzhong, wouldn't thirty percent be a bit...?"

"I...I'm going to take a nap." Zhang Renfeng didn't say anything more, got up on his own, and had a smile on his lips that seemed to indicate that he had the whole situation under control. "You guys keep an eye on things for me."

----

In the fortress's spacious hall, Igor was stammering as he recounted the origin of the empty bowls. He explained how Sandor and his men had forced him to cook a stew in the middle of the night, serving them a portion from the large pot. He also added the bowl Zhang Renfeng had eaten to the stew, figuring that since they ate day and night, one extra bowl or one less wouldn't make a difference.

Sandor and the others stood aside, listening to Igor's confession with disdain, clearly not taking it seriously.

After saying what needed to be said, the wolf shepherd nodded slightly and narrowed his already long and narrow eyes once more.

"Roar……"

At the same time, a threatening growl came from the main entrance of the hall. A lithe wolf with glossy gray fur slowly strode in through the wide-open door. It crouched low, its body leaning forward, deliberately baring its claws and teeth, as if it might pounce at any moment and bite through their necks.

The inexperienced underlings immediately cowered and returned to their standing-at-attention posture. Faced with wild animals, most of them's first reaction was to turn and run. At such close range, even with guns, there was a high probability they would be killed in a one-for-one fight by the wolves.

However, some long-time employees like Sandor, who had been with him for a long time, were not afraid of this at all. They simply shrugged and gave a cold smile. The same trick might seem impressive once or twice, but after seeing it many times, it was nothing special.

As one of the first members to follow the Wolfmen, Sandor naturally didn't take this threat seriously.

He shook his head and just laughed, "Boss, really? It's just that I ate a little early, are you going to nitpick about that? That's a bit too much..."

"Ow-!!"

Without warning, the gray wolf pounced, slashing his face with its claws. The claws deliberately avoided his eyes and nose, leaving only a few bloody claw marks on his cheek. Sandor was knocked to the ground, screaming in pain and instinctively covering his cheek. But the gray wolf didn't continue biting; instead, it moved closer, its open mouth near his neck.

The hot, foul-smelling breath sprayed onto his skin, causing him to instinctively hunch over.

A burning, stinging pain shot through his face; the wolf's kiss was pressed against his skin, ready to bite at any moment, making him truly realize his predicament.

“I’ve said it…more than once…we are one! A pack of wolves!” The wolf shepherd’s voice was still sharp and terrifying. He crouched down, like a jackal trapped inside a human body, his eyes gleaming with an eerie green light. “Do you know…what happens to a wolf in a pack that dares to choose its prey before the alpha wolf?”

"You'll get bitten to death."

Chapter 89: A Solo Journey to the Meeting (Western Limited Edition) - Returning the Bounty - 16

"Wait a minute, boss, boss, I was wrong!"

If he didn't back down now, his mouth would be useless. Even Sandor, who wasn't the brightest, understood now: the Wolfman didn't care when he ate breakfast; what he cared about was that he and his many followers had violated the rules Sandor had set.

This behavior seriously challenged his authority as the "Wolf King".

The current act is about regaining lost dignity in front of others. If he doesn't back down, this beast might really bite him to death.

"I just had a craving. After what happened yesterday, I had a few too many drinks with my buddies. I drank too much and my head went blank... It's all this half-man's fault! He asked me if I wanted some soup to sober up, and I was trying to clear my head, which is why I ended up like this!"

Suddenly dragged into this, Igor showed an incredulous expression, but he did not stand up to refute it and silently accepted this statement.

"Woo..."

The wolf sniffed his neck, as if confirming he had no intention of resisting, before calming itself and slowly walking to the wolf shepherd's side. It crouched down and scanned the crowd with its green eyes. Clearly a wild beast, it seemed to possess human-like intelligence, causing everyone to lower their heads, afraid to meet its gaze.

"In a wolf pack, there are rules. The alpha wolf has absolute authority!" The wolf shepherd, his voice hoarse, addressed the pack, issuing a warning and ultimatum. "I won't go into the consequences for anyone who disobeys my orders or acts on their own again. Rules are rules, and this will not be tolerated any longer!"

Sandor covered the scratches on his face and nodded repeatedly, but the resentment in his heart burned like oil on a raging fire.

Just then, a lookout running outside nearly tripped over the threshold. Upon entering, he was startled to see the gray wolves coiled around the wolf shepherd.

"what happened?"

“Boss, something…something’s happened. Someone’s come in and says he wants to see you, and he also said…” He swallowed hard, instinctively taking two steps back, as if afraid that if he let out the bad news, the wolf would become ferocious and bite him to death. “He’s in full charge of the Mini Traveler’s Shop matter.”

These words were like boiling oil poured into boiling water, instantly igniting an unprecedented uproar among the crowd! Surprise, anger, disbelief—a whole host of emotions were expressed.

For the Wolf Pack, this was almost a humiliating location—not only did they let their prey slip through their fingers, but they also lost five members in the process. To this day, Victor's body has not been found. They've tried to trace the tracks, but the heavy snow has almost completely covered everything—wheel tracks, hoofprints, all valuable clues—buried by the fine snow.

They were already seething with anger, and when someone suddenly appeared claiming responsibility for the matter, they were even more furious and volunteered to help.

"Damn it, I was just worried I couldn't find him, and he delivered himself right to my doorstep? He's asking for it!"

"Strip that guy naked and throw him to the wolves!"

"Let me chop him up piece by piece!"

……

The crowd was furious, but the wolf shepherd's tone remained unchanged as he stared intently at his messenger, "Besides this, what else did they say? Like, what's his name, and where does he go?"

He said that once you see him, you'll understand, and the rest is...

"Boss, this is clearly a provocation!" Sandor, ignoring the wound on his face, wiped his face and stood up, saying, "The one he killed was one of the Shepherd Wolf Gang's own brothers. If everyone could kill our people like him and not pay any price, how would the Shepherd Wolf Gang survive? Who would still be afraid of and respect us like they are now?"

"Therefore, I believe we must kill him! And not just any ordinary kill, but a death so agonizing that his final screams echo throughout Sparrow Mountain, reaching the ears of every onlooker! Only then can we..."

"Roar--!!"

The gray wolf suddenly bared its teeth, lowered its voice, and growled at him, cutting off the rest of his sentence.

In a sense, it is the embodiment of the wolf shepherd, expressing some of his inner thoughts that cannot be easily expressed.

"I understand." Those four simple words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the flames of revenge and leaving only a hissing puff of steam. "Prepare the horses!"

He left the hall without looking back, and the gray wolf nimbly leaped out of the window.

This time, the group began to waver: a few people followed without hesitation, while others stayed behind, looking at Sandor with a look of resentment on their faces as they watched his side cheek being scratched, seemingly waiting for him to say something.

In terms of numbers, it's roughly half and half.

"Sandor, your face..."

"It's nothing, not deep, just a superficial wound. We'll wrap it with gauze and press some ice on it, and it'll heal quickly." Sandor spat on the ground. "Alright, don't just stand there, hurry up and ride your horses. If you disobey him again, who knows what might happen."

"You've been with him for years, and you only ate breakfast early, and this is how you get treated?" one of his underlings said indignantly. "I was standing there watching, and I couldn't stand it anymore!"

"Is that so?" Sandor retorted with a sneer. "Then why didn't you help me shoot and kill that beast?"

"..." The younger brother realized he had flattered the wrong person, so he immediately shut up and didn't say a word.

“Get your act together, it’s not time yet,” Sandor repeated menacingly. “It’s not time yet.”

----

On the vast snow-covered plain, two groups of people faced each other.

The huddled Wolf Shepherds stood in stark contrast to the lone Red Center Gang. This time, they didn't enter while imitating wolf howls; perhaps the Wolf Shepherds themselves felt it was utterly foolish to howl like that all the way out of their own territory.

"It was you... I knew it, you did all of this!"

Sandor recognized him at a glance as the yellow man who had shared a carriage with the three fat sheep! He immediately clenched his teeth, filled with extreme resentment!

In his excitement, the bandage wrapped around his face came undone, and blood seeped out from the other side of the bandage, dripping onto the snow-covered ground.

Nevertheless, seeing that the wolfherd beside him made no move, he could only glare at him fiercely.

"Long time no see. Your name is 'Sandor,' right?" Zhang Renfeng, standing alone in the heart of the enemy lines, showed no fear and even mocked him, saying, "Is your face alright? Why don't you go down the mountain to the hospital? I've seen someone who was scratched by a rabid dog and died a few months later."

The enemy's sudden concern, like a whisper, tore away his last shred of dignity.

"what--!!"

With a furious roar, Sandor drew his gun, pressed the firing pin, and roared, "Let me shoot him, boss! Let me shoot him!"

"Look, he's in such a hurry again." Zhang Renfeng sat on his horse, grinning as he watched him, as if he were watching a clown performance.

Despite such blatant provocation, the wolf herder showed no intention of attacking. Instead, he squinted and carefully observed him with his sight and smell.

This time, we weren't in a carriage; we were face-to-face, and every detail was clearly visible.

He had seen it all clearly, but Sandor's anger and pronouncements just now were like ceramic pieces, shattering on the ground with a crisp sound. He had held the gun there for a long time, but in the end he just put it down in a huff, which made his face burn with pain, and he didn't know if it was because of the wolf claw marks.

"...Red Center".

After a long silence, the wolf shepherd finally spoke, his eyes cold and his demeanor like that of a sharp old wolf, "It's you, isn't it?"

"It's down."

On the back of the chestnut warhorse, Zhang Renfeng clasped his fists together, his eyelids slightly drooping, his left hand in a palm and his right hand in a fist, performing a salute that they considered quite imposing. "I've heard so much about you!"

Chapter 90: This is a scheme to deceive the heavens (Return of Bounty 17)

Upon hearing the name Hongzhong, several people showed surprise and their expressions changed slightly.

The unease in people's hearts is clearly reflected in the horses. The moment there is hesitation, the horse can immediately sense it through the reins, and its four hooves begin to thrash about. Thus, this large caravan begins to show subtle signs of restlessness and disorder.

To uninformed onlookers, Hong Zhong was hardly a person; he was more like an urban legend.

White Torch, Windblown Sands, Scarface Village—wherever he went, nothing grew. And he didn't care about ordinary people; he only killed those with names and titles—Colin Childel, the second son of the Childel family; Mark Durin, the sheriff of Windblown Sands; Tuku Zolael, and all the members of the Thunderfury Gang in Scarface Village; and the Nordlin family of White Torch, five generations—all wiped out.

If we were to summarize all the things Hong Zhong has done since his rise to power, we would be horrified to find that it is very difficult to summarize his principles for killing. He kills without hesitation, regardless of whether you are from the underworld or the legitimate world. As long as you cross his bottom line, it's just one word.

dead!

To date, information about Red Center is extremely scarce; his motives, background, and age are all unknown. All that is known is that he leaves a small wooden plaque with a square design engraved on it after each murder. Police departments in both states have been diligently studying the meaning of this design, but to no avail. This mysterious killer remains an enigma.

Nobody likes someone who doesn't play by the rules, whether they're in the underworld or the legitimate world.

When this unpredictable individual also possesses the ability to overturn the table, they become the most feared.

"Do you need me to prove it to you?" Zhang Renfeng asked calmly, sitting on the saddle.

"...No need, I can see you clearly." The wolfherd tightened the reins, grabbed the horse beneath him, and said in a chilling voice, "You killed my men, you deserve an explanation."

“They broke the rules.” Zhang Renfeng’s tone was very calm. To him, it was as if he hadn’t killed five people, but rather stepped on five insects. “In order to set up a trap, they first killed the couple at the Mini Traveler’s Shop. That shop is one of the few ‘safe spots’ that are tacitly recognized in the underworld.”

"When you're out and about, especially in the snowy mountains, the weather is unpredictable. Everyone has encountered times when they're short on supplies and have nowhere to stay. That's what a safe spot is for. People of any standing wouldn't bother with those who run safe spots, but they did..."

Zhang Renfeng's face darkened, and his smile became somewhat suppressed, as if killing these five instigators was still not enough to vent his anger.

"Since your men don't know the rules, I'll teach them a lesson on your behalf."

A seasoned veteran like Shepherd knew immediately that such a statement would only incite hatred and serve no other purpose. Realizing that Red Center was trying to provoke him, he became even more cautious.

Would someone who manages to escape unscathed from an encirclement of sheriffs from two states, mounted police, Pinkerton detectives, and bounty hunters be a fool?

If you use your brain, you'll know that the answer is definitely no.

His provocative intention was clear: to lure them into making the first move. This way, his retaliation would be perfectly logical, and no one could say a word against it. Unfortunately, his underlings were particularly susceptible to this tactic. A few words of provocation, and they immediately gritted their teeth in anger, drawing over a dozen guns and pointing them at the other side.

"Enough! Stop it—!!"

Catching the smile on Zhang Renfeng's lips, the Wolf Shepherd shouted sternly.

Everyone looked at him, their mouths slightly open, as if they wanted to say something but couldn't, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Didn't you hear me? Put your gun away. If you want to kill him, it's not a matter of now!" Seeing that no one obeyed, the wolf shepherd lowered his voice even further, and a few low growls of wild beasts escaped from his throat.

This time, everyone obediently did as instructed, but the sound of putting away their guns was sparse and not very coordinated.

"You've already killed him, so why are you still coming to visit?" The wolf shepherd's eyes suddenly widened, staring intently at him. "Just to humiliate us? If so, you've come to the wrong place... No one can humiliate a wolf pack and still leave alive!"

These words were somewhat encouraging, and the previously listless underlings also cooperated by raising their heads and howling, displaying their wildness to show that they were the real "wolf pack".

However, Zhang Renfeng noticed that there were also a few people who didn't open their mouths.

Sandor was one of them; they mingled in the middle of the group, their eyes cold, seemingly lost in thought.

"Hahahaha! Look at what you're saying, your perspective is too narrow." Zhang Renfeng shrugged, with an innocent smile on his face. "Continuing like this, talking in the midst of a strong wind and heavy snow, isn't that a bit inconsiderate?"

“You’re a ticking time bomb, Red Center! Hiss… hiss… hiss! Once the fuse burns out, you’ll explode. I’m not bringing this bomb into the house,” the Wolfman said coldly. “You might as well finish what you’re saying and go wherever you want, or go on a killing spree wherever you want. I don’t care.”

……

"This is your loss, Wolfherd. What I want to say is very simple... Everything that happened at the Mini Traveler's Shop wasn't all a personal grudge. I took their money, so I have to do the job well."

After a brief silence, Zhang Renfeng appeared indifferent, saying, "I am a member of the Mesvid family."

----

Of course, that's nonsense. Zhang Renfeng has absolutely no connection to the Mesvid family. Before coming here, he didn't even know the name of the family that was about to open a bank with Cheddar, but that didn't stop him from lying with a righteous expression.

Some people are very obvious when they lie: their face turns red, they blink more frequently, their eyes dart around, and their words become incoherent—they're instantly recognizable. But others are born with a thick skin; they can lie and deceive without batting an eye. Actually, it all comes down to a strong sense of conviction. As long as that conviction is there, even the most absurd lies will fall apart.