Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Nocking an arrow.

Full string.

Rams stared intently at the jagged rocks in front of him. The fog had gradually dissipated, and the outlines in the distance could be seen.

"Weird..."

A quick glance revealed that Rams didn't see what he most wanted to see: his opponent's legs. As long as he was still standing, his legs would definitely be exposed, and a few inches up along the legs would allow him to pierce the heart with an arrow—his specialty.

But now, something's not right.

The fog had dissipated by about 60-70 percent, but the target was still nowhere in sight. As far as the eye could see, there were only rocks, barren land, and hot springs.

"how so……"

A chilly wind blew from behind him, making him feel a sudden cold.

……

Zhang Renfeng stood behind him, lowered his head slightly, and looked at him expressionlessly, like a god looking down on humanity.

"Are you looking for me?"

----

"??!"

Rams froze, his expression shifting dramatically in that instant: a horrified stare, a tense raised eyebrow, and finally, his entire face trembling. He clenched his teeth, seemingly filled with immense resentment at being completely manipulated.

All clever tricks and flashes of inspiration are as insignificant as childish mischief in the face of a monstrous opponent.

Even knowing the outcome, he still turned around, drew his bow to its fullest extent, and prepared to shoot the arrow.

Zhang Renfeng's large hand struck first, fingers spread wide, pressing down on the back of his head with lightning speed, and slamming it heavily against the stone in the center of the spring. What he didn't know was that this natural stone, located in the center of the spring and somewhat resembling a heart, was the "Holy Mother Stone" touted in the reports.

It was a fitting consequence for it to bear the brunt of Rams's devastating impact.

"boom--!!"

With a heavy blow, his head was broken and blood flowed; naturally, he could no longer hold the bow and arrow.

"No...this...this is impossible! How could you know?" Rams remained unconvinced. "I didn't make a single sound, not even a little!"

"Identifying enemy positions by sound is one of the fundamentals of martial arts. To deal with enemies appearing in situations where visibility is limited, one must be able to determine the opponent's location, number, and moves even without relying on sight. Furthermore..."

"Your illusion is so simplistic and low-level. It's just a cloud of mist. Didn't you consider that when you step into this hot spring, your shoes will inevitably splash water? The unnatural human noise is all too obvious."

Zhang Renfeng's tone was very calm, reminiscent of Zhuge Liang capturing Meng Huo, and it didn't even qualify as a proper confrontation.

However, he wouldn't use any of those cruel and inhumane methods on such a despicable person. Instead, he simply grabbed Rams's head and slammed it down onto the St. Mary's Rock.

"Boom!"

This time, a crack appeared in the heart-shaped stone.

Perhaps a hundred years from now, this place will become a famous tourist attraction.

Chapter 299: The toughest one has to be "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

"No...you can't kill me, you wouldn't dare!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, Rams uttered a line that was so classic it couldn't be more classic.

It was these two near-misses that made Zhang Renfeng realize, while leaving him battered and bruised, that he also understood the situation. Talking to this guy with empty rhetoric and roundabout ways was pointless; he wouldn't let him off easily. It was better to be tough; perhaps then he could find a way out.

Sure enough, as a result, Zhang Renfeng's hand, which had been holding his head, was now suspended in mid-air, and he no longer slammed it down three times.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Renfeng stopped what he was doing.

“I still have quite a few secrets inside me.” Rams closed his eyes, and under the pressure, a smile appeared on his lips. It was unclear whether he was enjoying the thrill of walking on the edge of life and death. He continued to use intelligence as a fulcrum in his game of wits. “Kill me, and you’ll never know these secrets for the rest of your life.”

……

“Yes.” Zhang Renfeng’s tone was calm, even with a hint of a smile. “I almost forgot about that.”

He suddenly changed his posture, grabbed Rams by the back of the neck, and dragged him along the ground like an animal.

Rams sensed something was wrong and struggled repeatedly, but in terms of strength, how could he possibly be a match for Zhang Renfeng?

They were semi-forcibly dragged to one of the springs, one of the geysers that had just erupted. Scalding steam and boiling water were spewing out from a hole about the size of a well opening. A strong smell of sulfur mixed with boiling steam still hissed.

"Wait a minute!" Perhaps sensing that something was wrong, Rams quickly spoke up, "I..."

"hiss----!!"

Zhang Renfeng didn't give him a chance to speak, directly pressing half of his face against the rock where the geyser had erupted. The rock surface still bore the intense heat of the geyser's eruption.

In an instant, his flesh was scalded and burned. Rams opened his mouth and closed his eyes, his whole body trembling, and let out a horrified scream.

"ah----!!!"

The heat penetrated his skin, instantly scorching his flesh. The most terrifying thing wasn't the sound, but the smell. He could clearly feel a part of his body melting away; his skin and flesh sizzled and crackled like squid on a teppanyaki grill. At first, Rams struggled a couple of times, but quickly lost his strength, becoming as if asleep, letting the heat devour the rest of his body.

But Zhang Renfeng wasn't so kind.

"Thorn--!"

He grabbed Rams by the back of the head, lifted him up sharply, and ripped the melted flesh that was stuck to the rock!

The pain is unimaginable.

"Ugh... Oh... Drink up—!!!"

Rams's face was half-burned beyond recognition, resembling melted wax, turning into a viscous shape, deep enough to expose the bone, and even smelling burnt. His current appearance bears a striking resemblance to a character called "Two-Face" a century later.

When he skinned others, he would always preserve the integrity of their faces and deliberately leave behind expressions of fear and despair on the faces of the victims.

Skinning is a form of execution, and while Rams himself enjoyed it, it cannot be denied that it was indeed very intimidating. However, he himself received the exact opposite treatment; only the skin on his head was burned, while the rest of his body remained intact.

“That’s right.” Zhang Renfeng was quite satisfied and nodded. “This is your true self.”

"..."

He finally rolled his eyes back and fainted.

----

When he opened his eyes again, the surroundings were pitch black. He blinked habitually, only to find that he could only see with his left eye.

Then came a sharp pain in the right side of my face.

"Ah... damn it, you skinned me..." Rams returned to his familiar raccoon den, where he was tied to a chair.

Zhang Renfeng stood in front of him, and beside him lay a large, slender hunting dog wagging its tail at him.

Upon witnessing this scene, for a brief few seconds, Rams even forgot his predicament, and opened his only remaining eyeball to its maximum extent.

"How did you do that? This one is the only one that ignores me no matter how I train it, and it bites off my men's fingers all the time," Rams muttered. "A hunting dog that can't help me hunt has no value. I was planning to boil it..."

As if it could understand, the black greyhound turned around, bared its teeth at Rams, and let out a threatening growl.

“I don’t know, I’ve been like this since I arrived.” Zhang Renfeng’s tone was very calm. “Want to talk? Or… do you want me to peel off the rest of your skin as well?”

Rams was silent for a moment, wanting to look around, but the sharp pain in his face only allowed him to turn his head about ninety degrees. "Where is my gang?"

“It’s done.” Theon leaned against the rock wall, assembling firearms and disassembling parts he could find acceptable as he spoke. “From this moment on, the Skinflint Gang is history.”

"Heh...haha..." Rams laughed heartily as if he had heard a joke, tilting his head back. "A gang of more than thirty people was wiped out by the five of you...you guys are really monsters."

"After I finish speaking, will I end up like them?"

"I can spare your life," Zhang Renfeng promised.

……

"What do you think I've relied on to run rampant in Fengxi Port for so many years without anyone interfering?"

"With this?" He tilted his head, raised his chin, and pointed to the diagonal cross used to restrain the tortured not far away.

"What do you mean by that?" He raised his chin again, pointing to the rows of guns piled up around Theon—their awareness of weapon maintenance was appallingly low. Perfectly good firearms, instead of being preserved, were just scattered haphazardly on the ground, greatly shortening their lifespan.

"Or is it that guy next to you, the one who only knows how to stick his tongue out at the enemy?"

"Get to the point," Zhang Renfeng said coldly. "I don't have time to play riddles with you."

"Heh... Red Center... You may be good at fighting, I admit that, but what good is being good at fighting? So far, the biggest opponent you've ever faced is the Pinkerton Detective Agency, isn't it?"

"The hardest thing in this cave isn't knives or spears, or clubs, but that!"

With all his might, he raised his finger and pointed in the direction of the raccoon den. A gleam shone in his remaining eye, as if by making this gesture, he had not failed, but had somehow achieved a great victory!

A flag hangs on the rock face.

Yellow background.

Blue border.

Dozens of dots are connected to form a cross shape.

In this dark and damp cave, everything seemed dirty and messy, except for this flag, which was exceptionally clean. It was clear that someone took it down and wiped it clean and maintained it periodically. Hanging high on the stone wall of the raccoon's cave, it gave them an invisible aura. As long as it was there, all evil deeds and misdeeds seemed to be cloaked in a sacred guise.

“Ironclad Army.” Theon frowned slightly. “Are you one of Ilyn Payne’s men?”

Chapter 300: I made a promise, but it didn't.

"Hahahaha...uh..."

He laughed halfway through, but the muscles on the other half of his face almost tore apart, so he stopped laughing, simply closing his eyes comfortably, waiting for his victory.

When the background was revealed, the other party suddenly realized what was happening, became terrified, and quickly lowered their stance to apologize—this kind of plot, typical of a protagonist in a wish-fulfillment novel, has happened before.

Bounty hunters had come to him before, and after learning the inside story, they practically knelt before Rams. He enjoyed the contrast; with his immense power, he could crush these ordinary people like ants.

……

But as he waited, the atmosphere seemed a bit off, and things weren't developing as he had expected.

Zhang Renfeng looked at the flag. "Who?"

"You don't know Ilyn Payne?!" Rams opened his eyes abruptly, as if he weren't speaking English. "How could you not know Ilyn Payne?!"

"He was a war hero during the Civil War, and once served in the Union Army, with his own marine army—the Iron Cross Army Group."

Theon tried to present this enemy in a fair and objective light: "After the war, he was awarded medals and extremely high honors. It is said that before he went to war, his family was very ordinary and he was just an ordinary person. Because of his bravery in battle, coupled with some coincidences, he gradually rose to prominence and was eventually given the title of 'war hero'."

"I guess you could say that I changed my fate because of this war."

A war hero?

Looking at the eerie Tanuki Cave, Xiaomei complained, "I don't see how he can be a hero..."

“I remember now.” A sudden thought flashed through Zhang Renfeng’s mind. “Mayor Mason invited this person to a dinner party.”

The only thing Angelodi provided for that dinner was the venue; everything else, including the guests, was handled by Mayor Mason. Being on his guest list meant that Ilyn Pine was indeed a member of high society.

"What's wrong with you people?!"

The unusual calm of the Red Center group made Rams somewhat defensive. Ignoring his own predicament, he shouted angrily, "Hey, you white guy! You've been in the military, haven't you? Then you should know what happens when you mess with people in the military! This isn't some small-time thing like the police or Pinkerton detectives, you understand..."

"Snapped!"

Zhang Renfeng grabbed his throat and pushed him backward, bringing the stool legs to a point of equilibrium where they were about to topple over.

“Woo…Woo!!”

The arrogance in Rams's single eye finally transformed into fear at this moment.

He doesn't understand.

The Red Gang's operational logic seems to suggest that "fear" is not ingrained in their very genes.

“I don’t need to know any of that. He’s a general, he’s the president, it has nothing to do with me. I just need his name.” Zhang Renfeng’s expressionless face slowly drew closer, carrying a terrifying sense of oppression. “Ilyn Payne, this man can take responsibility for everything you’ve done here, right or wrong?”

“He…” Rams swallowed hard. The aura in those black eyes was like a sword, making him afraid to look directly at them. In the end, he did not answer the question directly, but changed the subject, “He is a regular customer here.”

"A regular customer?"

Zhang Renfeng and Xi En exchanged a glance, both discerning a deeper meaning in each other's eyes.

at last.

Their approach is correct; after going through such a long and winding road, they've finally made some progress.

“The Red House.” Rams let out a sigh of relief. “It’s at the other end of Windhaven Harbor. Just walk along the railway tracks and you’ll see it. Usually, not many people visit it. But its renovation is particularly new, so you can recognize it at a glance. The person you’re looking for must be there… but whether they’re dead or alive is hard to say.”