Reborn in 1878: America's Number One Bandit

Chapter 11 Bloodbath in Wildfire Town
Night fell over Wildfire Town.

Eighteen fine horses, their rapid hoofbeats tearing through the silence of the wilderness.

The leader was still that red-haired, scarred-faced guy.

The eighteen Erscher robbers bent down and squeezed the horse's belly with their legs.

Horse hooves flew, kicking up clouds of dust.

They rushed toward the faintly visible lights in the distance.

The entrance to Wildfire Town.

A drowsy police officer was dozing off against a wooden guard post.

He seemed to hear something and groggily raised his head.

next second.

A flower of blood suddenly bloomed on his neck.

The gunshots of Winchester in 1873 were heard then.

The officer didn't even have time to see the enemy clearly before he collapsed to the ground.

His body twitched twice, then fell silent.

Without pausing, the eighteen knights charged straight toward the sheriff's office in the town.

"Fuck! Who the hell has the guts to do this?"

In the sheriff's office.

Little Bill was awakened by the gunshot and grabbed the shotgun beside his bed.

"Get up, all of you! Grab your weapons!"

Seven or eight equally disheveled police officers, still half asleep, rushed out of the various rooms, frantically searching for their weapons.

Skinny Jim the monkey and Bull Harry the bull also ran out.

"Bill! What's going on?"

"How the hell should I know!" Little Bill roared. "It's all your fault, you two bastards, that caused me all this trouble!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A hail of bullets shattered the windows of the police station.

Glass shards mixed with wood chips flew everywhere.

Two officers, who hadn't even realized what was happening, were instantly knocked to the ground by bullets.

Two bloody holes exploded in his chest.

"Take cover! Counterattack!"

Little Bill used a police officer's corpse as cover.

Hiding behind a thick oak table.

He raised his shotgun and fired a shot randomly out the window.

The remaining officers and cowboys also found cover.

Using the walls and furniture as cover, they engaged in a firefight with the outside.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of gunfire.

The wall was smashed, and wood chips flew everywhere.

The residents of Wildfire Town were all awakened by the fierce gunfight.

The timid people immediately blew out their kerosene lamps, covered their heads with blankets, and trembled.

The bolder ones quietly pushed open a crack in the window and spied on the midnight battle from afar.

Margaret and all the girls ran out from the corridor on the second floor of the Mermaid Tavern.

They clung tightly to the railing.

Excitement, tension, fear.

It's that young man!

It must have been someone he hired.

Margaret's heart was pounding.

She clasped her hands together and prayed incessantly.

Inside the police station, the battle situation has become one-sided.

Although Little Bill and his men had the advantage of terrain.

However, their marksmanship, teamwork, and fighting spirit were far inferior to those of the ruthless bandits outside.

"what!"

Another officer attempted to peek out and retaliate.

As soon as his head popped out...

He was hit precisely between the eyebrows by a bullet, and red and white substances splattered all over the wall.

"Fucking bastards!"

Little Bill was like a mad tiger, constantly roaring.

He fired his gun haphazardly.

He couldn't see how many enemies were outside; he only felt bullets being fired at him from all directions.

Harry the Bull hid behind a pillar, his massive body making him the most obvious target.

Several bullets grazed his body, leaving several bloody gashes.

“We’re surrounded! Bill! We have to get out!” Skinny Jim cried, hiding behind a corpse.

Unfortunately, they no longer have the chance.

"boom!"

With a loud crash, the door of the police station was rammed open by a warhorse.

Scarface rode in on horseback.

"Bang! Bang!"

Before Jim the skinny monkey and Harry the bull could even react, they were shot into the air by oncoming bullets.

He crashed heavily to the ground, his flesh and blood mangled.

The rest of the robbers surged in like a tide.

A close-quarters massacre ensued.

Gunshots, screams, and curses mingled together.

It was quelled in a very short time.

When the smoke clears.

All the police officers lay dead in pools of blood.

Little Bill was also lying on the ground, shot in the chest.

Fresh blood was gushing out.

Scarface dismounted and walked up to Little Bill.

"you……"

A look of resentment flashed in Bill's eyes.

Scarface waved his hand and said, "Drag those two cowboy corpses out and hang them on the flagpole by the door."

The two assassins dragged the corpses of Skinny Monkey and Wild Bull away like dead pigs.

A moment later, cheers and cries of women could be heard from outside.

The prostitutes on the second floor of the Mermaid Tavern.

I saw the two corpses hanging high up.

They embraced and wept.

Finally, revenge was achieved.

Scarface gently stepped on Little Bill's wound with the heel of his boot and rotated it.

"Woo..."

Little Bill let out a painful groan.

Lawson leaned down and whispered, "Quiet down, tough guy, you're going to die."

After saying that, he drew his Colt revolver from his waist.

"boom!"

Little Bill had a hole in his forehead and fell silent.

"Take all the guns and ammunition here."

The assassins immediately began their operation.

They looted all the rifles, pistols, bullets, and shotguns from the police station.

Do it all.

A loud, burly man from Erscher mounted his horse and galloped back and forth along the town's main street.

He loudly proclaimed to those tightly closed doors and windows:
"Listen up, you all!"
From this day forward, if anyone dares to treat them like dirt again, we will be back!

Put his head up his own ass!
FUCK YOU ALL!

A savage roar echoed through the silent night sky.

Then, just as they had arrived, the eighteen knights left the town, kicking up clouds of dust.

Margaret rode alone from a grove of trees outside Wildfire Town.

Sure enough, Robert was waiting there.

"Here's a thousand silver dollars." She handed over the cloth bag. "Thank you!"

Robert smiled as he accepted the money bag and counted it in front of him.

No mistake, not a single cent less.

He told Margaret, "If anyone bullies you again, go to the 'Wild Horse' tavern in Strawberry Town and find a guy named Rocky. He'll help you."

After saying that, he turned his horse around and caught up with the main force.

They disappeared into the wilderness.

Margaret stood there, staring blankly in the direction they had gone, and remained there for a long time.

The reward of one thousand silver dollars, plus the one thousand eight hundred dollars in compensation from the construction site. Two thousand eight hundred silver dollars.

For an ordinary Western pioneer, this amount of money was a huge sum of money, enough to settle down and start a small farm.

But for Lawson, that's far from enough.

We are still 200 dollars short of the 3,000 US dollars (approximately 3,000 US dollars) required to upgrade the core.

This doesn't even include the cost of purchasing weapons and ammunition, or the daily expenses of maintaining the suicide squad.

Lawson, with a blade of grass between his teeth, squinted at the azure sky.

"Where should we get some more?"

Think about it.

A large, obese figure resurfaced in his mind.

Coleman Parker.

The farmer whose leg he broke.

"I warned you not to call the police."

Lawson smirked coldly. "Looks like you really didn't take my words to heart."

During this time, through the intelligence network scattered around Strawberry Town, he had thoroughly investigated Pike's background.

This fatso is far richer than he appears.

He owns three thousand acres of land near Strawberry.

Three thousand acres.

In the vast expanse of California, this number might not even qualify as that of a super-farmer.

But the key point is that Parker's three thousand acres of land are real, fertile farmland irrigated by streams!

The reason he was so attached to Marlene O'Dell's little farm was...

It was because Marlene's land was right in the middle of his two large fields.

Once he takes over this area, he can connect all his farmland into one contiguous area.

Lawson's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing across them.

According to the Residential Land Act.

In theory, he could have every one of his British henchmen apply to the government for 160 acres of unclaimed land.

As long as he has enough henchmen, taking over the entire Marin County wouldn't be a problem.

The problem is that the Homestead Law grants land to undeveloped, virgin land.

That means...

You need to cut down the trees yourself.

Clearing shrubs, removing stones, reclaiming wasteland, building houses, digging irrigation ditches...

This is a long process that requires a continuous investment of a lot of money and manpower.

From application to land acquisition and actual revenue generation, even if everything goes smoothly, it takes at least two years.

During this period, the land was a bottomless pit that only took in but never gave out.

Coleman Parker's three thousand acres of fertile land, however, were entirely different.

That is a mature industry that has been fully developed, has complete supporting facilities, and can be cultivated and generate profits at any time.

Once you take over, you can start making a profit immediately.

"Since you like to steal other people's land."

Lawson spat out the grass stalk in his mouth. "You have to be prepared for someone to steal it from you."

Land is different from cash and gold.

Its transfer requires a series of complex and legal official procedures.

Simply committing murder and robbery will only make you a wanted criminal.

They are unable to become the legal owners of the land.

In Lawson's heart.

An even bolder plan began to quietly take shape.

at the same time.

At Coleman Parker's estate.

Parker leaned on his cane, his face grim.

The last night raid shattered his courage.

It's unrealistic to expect Barnes to protect you.

He can only rely on himself.

He spent a lot of money to hire seven or eight cowboys, known as quick-draw gunmen, from the town and several nearby camps.

Right now, these seven or eight cowboys are brazenly occupying his living room.

Some were polishing their rifles, some were playing cards, and some were enjoying their favorite whiskeys, eating and drinking without a care in the world.

Their eyes kept glancing at the woman in the silk dress with a voluptuous figure on the other side of the living room.

Parker's wife, Isabella.

A beautiful woman twenty years younger than Parker.

"Hey, look at the boss lady's big treasures." A cowboy with a full beard chuckled to his companion without any attempt to hide it.

“Yeah, I really want to know what it feels like to squeeze it,” another cowboy chimed in.

Parker saw and heard all of this.

He remained calm.

He now needs this group of outlaws to protect him.

"A bunch of lowlife idiots."

He cursed inwardly.

"Once we catch those damned Ersher thugs, you'll be of no use anymore."

"Then I'll show you what happens when you offend Coleman Parker."

The manor was brightly lit.

Seven or eight cowboy guards were divided into two shifts, taking turns patrolling and keeping watch inside and outside the manor.

At that moment, several dark figures silently scaled the manor's wall.

The two patrolling cowboys didn't even have time to give a warning.

Their mouths were covered by a hand that reached out from the darkness, and a sharp hunting knife cleanly and decisively slit their throats.

Immediately afterwards, the manor gates were opened from the inside.

The group of Erscher bandits, leading their horses, once again surged into the manor.

In the living room, the remaining cowboys were still drinking and playing cards.

Suddenly, the doors and windows were smashed open at the same time.

Good evening, gentlemen!

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The bursts of gunfire erupted like popping beans.

After a brief period of one-sided slaughter, the manor returned to silence.

On the ground, there were only a few more corpses still smoking.

Only two people were left alive.

Parker and his wife Isabelle huddled together, trembling with fear.

Scarface came out.

At this point, Lawson took over his body.

Good evening, Mr. Parker.

The Colt revolver in Lawson's hand was firmly pressed against Parker's fat forehead.

"We meet again."

Parker looked at the fierce-looking face in front of him and was so frightened that his body went limp, and a foul-smelling liquid flowed down his trouser leg.

"You've already robbed me of all my money, why are you back again?" His teeth chattered incessantly.

"is it?"

Lawson sneered, "But I remember telling you not to call the police. You didn't listen at all."

He lifted his foot and aimed at Parker's leg, which had only recently been reattached.

"No! No!" Pike screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

"Crack!"

Another sickening cracking sound rang out.

The same leg, in the same spot, was brutally broken again.

The intense pain caused Parker's vision to go black, and he almost fainted.

"This is just a small warning."

Lawson tilted his head slightly at his two subordinates behind him.

The two men immediately stepped forward, grabbed Isabella, and hoisted her onto their shoulders like a sack of flour.

"What are you doing? Let go of my wife!" Pike struggled to get up.

"take it easy."

Lawson tapped Parker's face with the barrel of his gun. "We'll borrow your wife for now. Prepare five thousand dollars in cash. I'll send someone to collect it within three days. If the money isn't ready, or if you try anything else..."

"I will sell you, my beautiful wife, to a brothel in the mines of Dublin."

Believe me, those dirty, smelly miners craved plump, wealthy women like her.

"no, do not want!"

Isabella struggled frantically on the assassin's shoulder, crying, "Coleman! Save me! You have to save me!"

Parker, tears streaming down his face, screamed, "I'll raise the money! I swear, I'll raise the money! Please, don't hurt my wife!"

(End of this chapter)