Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"So?" Logan wasn't fooled and continued to ask in an icy tone, "You're telling me it's an accident? Were the people of Tianma Town and Rongma Town also affected by this 'accident'?"

"Is the water they drink also poisonous?"

This seemingly casual remark was like a spark falling into a powder keg, instantly igniting it, because the answer was obvious.

“That’s right! Master Zolael, when you were living in your mansions and smoking cigars, why didn’t you ever think about drinking poisoned water?!”

"You've caused such a huge mess, and if it hadn't been exposed, you wouldn't have even bothered to deal with it. Did you even utter a single word?"

"Heartbroken? Heartbroken my ass! The money that's due still isn't less than a cent, is it? You've collected so much protection money, and you've been protecting your own as a bastard!"

"Kill them! Kill these Zolael pigs!"

……

Faced with the furious roar, Rancho frowned, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He could sense that even the gang members standing behind him were losing their resolve.

So……

Should we start fighting?

Now? Facing this enraged mob?

Is it 100% possible to win?

Rancho stroked the rough surface of the double-headed warhammer, gritted his teeth, and said in a deep voice, "Regarding this matter, my opinion doesn't count. In the end, as the town mayor, I'm only managing things on behalf of the family. I... I need to go back to Rongma Town... to consult with Lord Hector. How to resolve this matter is up to him. Is that alright?"

"can."

Surprisingly, Logan nodded and agreed to his request.

Just as Rancho was wondering what was going on, he continued, "But don't misunderstand... if you're going back, it has to be just you. All your subordinates must stay here and be under our supervision. This is the best condition I can offer. Is that a deal?"

----

"you……"

Rancho wasn't stupid; in a split second, he understood the significance of Logan's change of tactics.

Logan didn't want to take action unless absolutely necessary—once he did, there would be no room for negotiation, and he would have to fight his way in, all the way to Tianma Town and Rongma Town. Despite the large and imposing crowd, if a fight broke out here first, the casualties would be considerable, and even if he won in the end, further advance would become a pipe dream.

Logan's previous attack on Tianma Town failed because he lacked stamina; his men were exhausted from fighting in Numa Town and couldn't sustain the battle. Thus, at Tianma Town, the Zorael family's second line of defense was defeated.

So this time, he adopted a more advanced strategy: surround, but don't attack, thus preserving his fighting strength! On the contrary, he also made concessions that were in his best interest.

Life.

If a real fight breaks out, it's a 50/50 situation for both sides, and the outcome is hard to predict. But for now, as long as he nods, he can at least save his life, no matter what.

After successfully returning to Tianma Town, as long as the situation is reported truthfully, the worst that can happen is a minor punishment for negligence. After that, the person responsible for confronting Logan will definitely be replaced by the family's main force, Laro, and my burden can finally be lifted.

only……

Such a meticulous plan could not have been conceived in a day or two.

"Heh, old friend, you really are a master of surprises when you finally make a move." Rancho shrugged and sneered, "You've finally lived up to your expectations."

"Stop talking nonsense," Logan said in a deep voice. "YES? Or NO?"

"..."

----

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, answering the question in place of Rancho.

The bullet whizzed through the crowd from a tricky angle, striking Black Palm squarely in the left shoulder, splattering blood. He screamed and collapsed to the ground.

……

Rancho's pupils widened instantly, and he turned around, roaring, "Who?! Who fired the shot!"

In a flash, Logan realized something was wrong and turned back to the shocked and angry crowd, saying, "Wait..."

……

“They’re shooting!”

"Black Palm! It's Black Palm! He's been shot! They killed Black Palm!"

"Damn Thunder Fury Gang, I knew it! Kill them all!!"

……

However, the anger surged up instantly, spreading like wildfire, and could no longer be contained.

A second before the battle broke out, Amy looked in the direction of the gunfire and saw a shadow under a tree not far away...

The tall, thin man was leisurely watching this scene; he also had a pair of unusual pupils.

Chapter 347: Your story ends today.

"Hell..."

Logan dodged and rolled, not having time to draw his gun, he twirled his curved knife and severed the neck of a gang member.

"laugh--!!"

Blood spurted out, and a look of shock and despair flashed across the man's face before he collapsed limply to the ground, futilely clutching his neck, but blood still gushed from between his fingers. Perhaps it was because he had lived a few years of peace and hadn't killed anyone in so long, but a sense of repulsion welled up inside him.

It has begun.

After the first shot was fired, negotiations between the town's civilians and gang members completely fell apart, and the two sides engaged in a brutal and extremely brutal battle at such close range. The roar of gunfire and the screams of the people were now mingled together.

Dust billowed in the streets. This was the town of Numa, known for its fierce and warlike people, none of whom were afraid of bloodshed. When anger reached its peak, they weren't even afraid of death. But as the instigator of this uprising, Logan had to consider something far more profound—now that he had vented his anger and satisfied his rage, what about the next five or ten days?

After much deliberation, only one path remained: to ensure continued fighting, he had to end the battle as quickly as possible before casualties became too severe. The so-called bandits were nothing but a rabble; once their leader was dead, they would scatter like birds and beasts!

In other words, he had to kill Rancho immediately.

Interestingly, the leaders on both sides have remarkably similar ideas on this point.

"Thump—!!"

The heavy hammer swung down with a dull thud, slamming into a man's lower abdomen. The powerful blow caused his ribs to cave in and break. Bones meant to protect internal organs were now embedded in them, causing massive internal bleeding.

He didn't even get a chance to scream before he was tossed high into the air like a baseball hit by a ball, landing with a thud right in front of Logan. His eyes bulged out, and he was barely clinging to life, but Logan, with his vast experience, could tell at a glance that the man was beyond saving.

Let alone being unarmored, even if one's abdomen were covered by plate armor, taking this blow would not end well.

"boom!"

Logan shook his head and fired a bullet into the man's forehead, freeing him from endless suffering.

"Steppenwolf, Logan... I've heard so much about you. I've been wanting to see what you're capable of for a long time."

Rancho weighed the warhammer in his hand, a somewhat terrifying smile spreading across his face. "The last time you trotted into Tianma Town, I was still working for [Old Man]. I only heard that some tough guy, carrying two watermelon knives, led a large group of people, slaughtering his way in from Numa Town like cutting melons and vegetables. What a show of power!"

"Thank you for your kind words." Logan wasn't in a hurry. He put a cigarette in his mouth, lit it, took a puff, and casually turned the hilt of his knife. "If you were to say this ten years from now, I wouldn't be able to fight anymore. Now is just right."

"Hahaha, yeah!" Rancho slammed his warhammer into the ground, unbuttoned his shirt, and grinned maliciously. "Shall we play around without guns for now?"

"Just having some fun." Logan exhaled a puff of smoke, flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, and his gaze suddenly turned cold. "I'm not in a hurry to go home for dinner."

……

The two men reached a consensus, took a deep breath, lowered their center of gravity, and gripped their weapons. They stood out awkwardly among the gunmen exchanging fire, yet both seemed to share a unique understanding. No one disturbed them; in fact, some even moved aside to give them space to fight.

A moment of unbearable silence followed.

Then, almost at the same time, Logan pulled out his pistol from his boot, and Rancho pulled out his revolver from his belt.

"boom--!!"

The moment the firing began, both men dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding each other's bullets. Rancho scrambled to his feet, grabbed his hammer, and rolled behind a protruding corner of the manor wall. A shotgun shell grazed his head, shattering the brick wall and scattering debris all over him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

After firing two shots from his pistol, it was Rancho's turn to attack. He raised his gun without hesitation and emptied the magazine in one go.

Logan, however, had already dodged and curled up behind a wooden crate on the side of the street. Only a few splinters of wood that had been flung into his arm were embedded in his skin. In such a tense confrontation, with his adrenaline pumping, he didn't even feel the pain.

"Ha...hahaha—!!" Rancho burst into laughter, picked up his warhammer, and strode towards the wooden crate where Logan was hiding. "Looks like I understand why I'm so fond of you, Logan..."

"You're just like me, almost exactly the same, only a little smaller!"

"boom----!!"

The hammer traced a cold arc as it smashed into the wooden crate, shattering the bullet-riddled box into pieces. Logan let out a low growl, his crouched figure suddenly leaping out, wielding his twin blades and unleashing a flurry of slashes at Logan's legs, each strike aimed directly at his calves!

"Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da!"

Amidst the clanging of metal, Rancho was forced to retreat repeatedly, while Logan's momentum surged. After unleashing a series of attacks on the lower body, he twisted his wrist, changing the trajectory of the blade and thrusting it towards Rancho's face!

The advantage of a scimitar lies in this: the unique curve of the blade is very counterintuitive for those accustomed to daggers and longswords. When it slashes, you need to think about where it will land before your hand can follow up. In that less than half a second, many things can be decided.

"Zheng—!!"

The warhammer blocked the scimitar, but the curved blade still crossed the line and slashed Rancho's face, forcing him to take another step back.

A drop of blood rolled onto the cold blade.

Two strong men, like two bulls, butted each other's horns together, every muscle in their bodies tense, locked in a continuous struggle.

“You and I have nothing in common, Rancho.” Logan glared, his muscles tensing, his voice growing harsher. “You’re an assassin. For your family’s benefit, you wouldn’t hesitate for a second to crush a newborn baby with this hammer!”

“You’re right, Logan, I am an assassin.” The wounds on his face only made Rancho’s smile more sinister. “The entire Zolael family is built on piles of corpses. You bunch of ignorant fools are the next ones to be killed!”

"only……"

"Don't righteously declare that I'm a killer, and then pretend that you're all just nice guys!"

With a furious roar, Rancho finally got his wish, engaging Steppenwolf in a true man's wrestling match and emerging victorious. Using the explosive strength from his arms, he first broke free from the grip of the twin swords, then, with a swing of his hammer, completely shattered the twin sword stance!

The weight difference between weapons is ultimately insurmountable.

With a single blow, the scimitar in Logan's hand was chipped and slipped from his grasp. His defensive stance was also easily broken; he took the blow head-on, immediately feeling a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath. As he landed, he managed to roll once to dissipate the immense force.

"Bastard..." Just as he was about to grit his teeth and get up, a strong sense of dizziness struck him. He had to use the remaining blade of his knife to support himself on the ground, kneeling on one knee and barely managing to stand.

I saw stars, heard a buzzing sound, and the world before my eyes seemed to start shaking.

“Logan, you’re getting old. Perhaps you should be glad that as our story spreads across this land, people will surely speak out for you— ‘Steppenwolf only lost to Iron Horse because he was old. If he were twenty years younger, the outcome would have been uncertain.’”

Rancho let out a long sigh, as if letting the joy of victory fill his chest, "Since you have already garnered the praise of future generations..."

"Then, this victory will be mine, Iron Horse!"

----

The sledgehammer swung, creating a gust of wind that whistled towards his forehead!

Logan's pupils dilated instantly!

……

"when---!!"

The sound of metal clashing came from right in front of him. Completely unprepared, Rancho was jolted awake, his hand going numb, and he staggered backward. Looking down, he saw that the powerful recoil from the blow had actually drawn blood from the web of his left hand!

A long weapon wrapped in cloth suddenly appeared, standing motionless in front of him and Logan, like an insurmountable city wall.

……

"I don't know how future generations will tell this story, but I know one thing." Zhang Renfeng narrowed his eyes, held his weapon in one hand, and said coldly, "Your story ends today."

Chapter 348: You should keep a safe distance from my big sword!

"Mr. Black Palm? Your shoulder is injured and needs to be bandaged immediately!"

"Leo?" Having finally retreated to a stall that had been temporarily abandoned, far away from the battlefield, Black Palm tensed up again upon hearing the girl's voice, fearing a bullet might come from any angle. "Didn't Logan tell you to stay in the tavern?"

Leo drew his dagger from his waist, cut a piece of cloth from the stall, took out a small bottle of liquor, sprinkled it on Blackhand's left shoulder wound, and then skillfully bandaged it with the cloth strip. Given the tense situation, everything was rudimentary, and Blackhand had little to complain about in terms of hygiene; stopping the bleeding temporarily was already a good thing.

“Mr. Zhang is back,” she said while bandaging her wound. “He also brought back two bottles of contaminated water, just like in the contract. It was the fuel company that did it.”

“Really? What a capable man, but…” Black Palm sighed. “Times have changed. Logan originally planned to wait until he got his hands on this evidence before inciting everyone to start the rebellion. Now that you’ve gotten the contract ahead of time, you’ve ignited the powder keg right away. Now that the fight is on, the evidence he brought back doesn’t seem so important anymore.”

"Besides these, Mr. Zhang also visited your old shop..."

"The prop shop?" Black Palm looked puzzled. "What would he be doing there? Logan was the one who agreed to pay for these two bottles of sewage, not me."

"He seemed to say... he asked you to forge a weapon, the one wrapped in cloth..."