Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Chapter 364: Stronger Than Bloodline

“Wuwuwuwuwu——!!”

"ah---!"

"My brother...! So young, gone just like that..."

……

A group of people sat around the campfire, weeping bitterly; the scene was incredibly lively.

They not only cried around the fire, but also threw yellow and silver paper folded into strange paper boat shapes into the fire to burn, muttering something under their breath, looking quite mystical.

Laro and the rest of the Zolaer executives stood in the courtyard, staring at each other, completely oblivious to the fact that they were immersed in their own grief.

"This... is the 'Golden Company'? They claim to be the most powerful mercenary group on the border?" Eugene frowned, his face full of suspicion. "They look like lunatics. What are they doing? Why are they throwing folded papers into the fire?"

“Custom.” Daniel—the older of the bald brothers who stayed at the manor last night—summarized their behavior in two short and powerful words.

His expression remained indifferent, tinged with coldness, as if his brother's death had not had much of an impact on him.

But Igor's eyes also held a hint of doubt. As far as he knew, even in Mexico, the custom of mourning the dead was not like this.

Laro was indeed doing well in Mexico and had built up some connections, but he was certain that the mercenaries of the Golden Company could not have been hired by Laro.

Before personally confronting Hong Zhong, no one could have predicted that things would turn out this way.

No matter how influential he is, when dealing with mercenaries, he still has to pay upfront and consider their schedules.

The headquarters of the Golden Tribe is located in Mexico. Regardless of the means of communication, it takes time to cross the border and reach them.

Since Zhang Renfeng entered Numa Town, it has only been five days at most. In such a short time, it is not enough for information to be exchanged back and forth.

Laro was well aware of this, and therefore maintained a relatively wary and distant attitude towards these uninvited "friends".

"So, you are... White Horse?"

After the tears had been shed, the leading man, with his crimson hair as if born of fire, narrowed his eyes and sized Laro up and down. His tone revealed little respect. "Nice to meet you, Red Fox. Please understand, in our line of work, the more people we kill, the more enemies we make. We don't like to use our real names."

Red Fox reached out his hand, but seeing that Laro didn't respond, he didn't press the issue or waste any time. He simply withdrew his hand, took out a match, rubbed it on the thick sole of his shoe, lit a cigarette with a flourish, and continued introducing his companions.

"Old K".

The tall, dark-skinned Native American turned around and nodded slightly to Laro.

"crow."

The tall, thin man, resembling a bamboo pole, was dressed in black from head to toe, carrying a long rifle on his back. He nodded to him.

"And Blood Guard, if I were you, I would treat him with the utmost respect."

Laro couldn't tell from his skin color which country this "Blood Guard" was from. He had bronze skin, light brown eyes, and black hair, a bare chest, a painted animal skin vest draped over his shoulders, and a bronze belt around his waist.

Although he wasn't as tall as Old K, his evenly distributed bronze muscles and the two daggers hanging from his belt showed that he was quite capable in combat.

This was also the only one of the four who was not carrying a firearm.

He looked at the Zolael family's luxurious mansion with a blank stare, as if he were looking at thin air.

“I know what you’re thinking, White Horse, but whatever your thoughts are, please dismiss them,” Red Fox said calmly. “We are not your enemies.”

“But I don’t recall having any friends like you,” Laro said with a smile. “I mean, you all have such a strong presence; if I had met you before, I would have remembered you long ago, wouldn’t I?”

“…Rancho was once our brother,” Red Fox said in a deep voice. “You share the same blood, but some families are stronger than those bound by blood.”

As he said this, his gaze swept over Igor, then fixed on him, as if he had something else in mind.

"You're Old Man's men?" Laro finally realized. "We haven't spread the news of Rancho's death."

“Yes, you don’t,” Red Fox chuckled, “but Dad knows everything. I suggest you get used to this quickly, so you can avoid some unnecessary problems in future conversations.”

“Wait a minute,” Eugene suddenly spoke, interrupting their conversation. “You’re confusing me… So, you’re not mercenaries?”

"Yes. But this job has nothing to do with mercenaries. Even if you don't pay us a penny, we'll still take it. This is a family rule set by our father. If a brother is killed, we're the ones who are closest to the crime. If we just sit idly by and do nothing, would we even be human?"

"Just the four of you?" Eugene's tone was very disdainful.

"Isn't that enough?" Red Fox asked with a smile. "Didn't the other side also defeat you all by relying on just one person?"

"What the hell are you talking about? We..."

Almost the instant he uttered the curse, Old K took a step forward. His dark figure, like a moving black iron tower, was quite intimidating.

Standing behind Eugene, "Hound," whose face bore burn scars, also placed his hand on the gun handle, but was a second slower than Eugene.

……

Red Fox patted Old K on the shoulder, prompting him to take a step back. "Like I said, we're here to help, not to cause trouble. We're here to retrieve Rancho's remains from those people, and once he's laid to rest, we'll leave. That's all."

"You may be used to people's insincerity and mutual games, and think that everyone you deal with is after some kind of benefit. That's your nature, and I don't blame you, but you don't have to be like that with us."

"We are all Dad's children, nothing more."

Laro looked somewhat bewildered, seemingly not quite understanding what the man in front of him was talking about. But after a moment, he flashed his signature charming smile and clapped his hands. "Of course, of course... I'm swamped with work right now, so it's always good to have someone lend a hand, no matter what their purpose is."

"But are you sure you can handle this job? This time, the opponent is a real tough nut to crack."

……

"I heard he... is the Red Man!" Blood Guard suddenly spoke, his English strange and bizarre, but combined with the ferocious smile on his face and the excitement flashing in his eyes, it created a terrifying contrast. "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"As you can see, the four of us are all mercenaries from the Golden Company. We've faced quite a few battles, big and small. I wonder how this Red Center compares to the fearsome killers of the Civil War era."

Red Fox spread his hands, his tone filled with the confidence that had been built up over many years: "If we can defeat the murderers, we can defeat Red Zhong."

Chapter 365: Better Call Saul

“Oh God… what a massive monster…”

Looking at the enormous creature before him, Igor couldn't help but sigh. Although he had seen this kind of animal in books before, he was still shocked by its size and weight when he saw it in person.

Strictly speaking, the four mercenaries of the Golden Company did not come empty-handed; they were accompanied by two enormous creatures.

Its surface is covered with a layer of chestnut brown fur, and its size is like a small hill. There are no ropes, only a string of grass ropes hanging from each of its backward-curving horns.

They lay quietly on the ground, not eating grass, and looked very docile. Their black eyes were watery, like those of elders who had seen many things and were no longer affected by emotions.

He reached out, wanting to touch the fur on its body.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."

A rough, whetstone-like voice suddenly came from the side. Igor shrank his shoulders and turned around sharply, only to see Old K standing right behind him. The difference in their size was so great that the latter's shadow completely enveloped Igor's body.

"...If it gets really angry, it won't just stomp on you, it can even break your little body by just bumping into you from the side."

This time, Igor didn't try to fool him with jokes about dwarfs; instead, he sheepishly withdrew his hand. He knew his place when it came to unfamiliar things. "Excuse me," he said, "I thought...this animal held special significance for you."

“North American bison? Ha, sacred…” Old K chuckled and shook his head. “Yes, even today, there are still some of my foolish kin who think they are some kind of sacred thing. It’s a complete reversal of cause and effect, a complete inability to distinguish right from wrong. They’re all stubborn old men with rusted brains.”

"Our ancestors revered it because everything in our tribe was built upon its flesh. Its meat was edible, its hide was used as material for our clothes, its bones were used to make tools, and its horns, after being trimmed, could be made into ornaments like horns. Every part of the bison was a treasure, which is why we loved it so much; in our barren world, it was irreplaceable."

"But what about now? Food, clothing, jewelry, tools—everything can be bought in the shops of your town. What value do these traditions have left?"

……

"I'm sorry." Igor was silent for a long time before finally managing to utter just that one word.

"For what?" Old K asked expressionlessly.

“All the terrible things you’ve been through…” For the first time, Igor realized how hollow and powerless language was. Faced with a fait accompli, his apology as a beneficiary seemed ridiculous, but he still tried his best to shake off this heavy sense of guilt. “We took your land.”

“Pathetic fellow,” Old K said in a deep voice, looking directly into his eyes.

“Ha, maybe.” Igor chuckled self-deprecatingly. “In your tribe, if a deformed monster like me were born, I wouldn’t even be qualified to survive, right? In the wild, I probably wouldn’t last a day.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Old K said, emphasizing each word. “You were born into a cruel family, yet you have a sensitive heart…”

"That's what makes you so pathetic."

Igor was momentarily stunned, unsure of what to say.

From a young age, his dwarfism meant that jokes about his height and physique would accompany him throughout his life. To avoid being pierced by this malice, he had to develop a strong mental armor, actively revealing his weaknesses and using self-deprecation to return the insults he was subjected to.

This is a set of words he honed to avoid being hurt; it has long been ingrained in his very being, like an instinct.

But... when he got used to this way of getting along with people by going against them, he didn't know how to handle himself when suddenly faced with the truth.

“Watch out for your brother.” Old K held up two fingers and pointed to his own pupils. “He’s a madman.”

"Laro?" A bad feeling rose in Igor's heart. "Why bring him up all of a sudden?"

"War can drive people crazy, but I guess his madness was innate. Language, expressions, and actions can all lie, but the eyes can't. A person's inner state is reflected in their eyes, and I could tell from the first glance."

"He would rather burn what he himself cannot have than let anyone else have it."

Old K turned around and slowly walked away, leaving only his warning words, which drifted in the wind, making Igor feel a chill run down his spine.

"Between him and madness, there was only a thin barrier that kept him in human form."

"What is it?" Igor swallowed hard, struggling to break free from the cold, suffocating feeling of being pulled into a vortex.

"..."

Old K glanced at him, a faint smile appearing on his lips, which he quickly suppressed before turning and leaving.

The sky grew oppressive, and lightning crackled beneath the dark clouds.

A heavy rain is coming.

----

"boom--!"

Even Jimmy himself couldn't believe it when he said it, but the moment the door was kicked open, he actually felt a sense of relief.

As the battle intensifies, especially after Red Center's resounding victory at the White Bison Ranch last night, Igor's position within the family is gradually losing its grip on him.

Ever since he was "questioned" by Laro last time, he has been kept in solitary confinement and has not even been able to see Igor.

Alone, imprisoned in the headquarters of a ruthless gang as a traitor. His only remaining brother, who stood by him, could no longer offer protection. Jimmy had considered taking his own life more than once to end this endless fear.

But he didn't have a gun, and other ways of dying were... painful. He'd never been a brave person and didn't have the guts to face death, so he just gave up.

Even so, during those short forty-eight hours, the fear of being slaughtered at any moment was still a form of torture, like being slowly cut with a dull knife. So much so that when the moment finally arrived, he was somewhat relieved.

He hoped that the man with burn scars on his face would come in, because at least he still considered himself a human being.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. After kicking down the door, two burly men entered. One on each side, they dragged him out by his arms like a bag of trash. The entire corridor was cleared out, with no extra onlookers. On the more spacious staircase, however, it was filled with bodyguards on duty.

"call……"

This time, Jimmy didn't panic. Instead, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to rattle off, "She sells seashells on the seashore. And the shells she sells are seashells, I am sure..." (English tongue twister)

In a sense, lawyers and sorcerers are somewhat similar; in crucial moments, they both rely on their eloquence to win. His sharp tongue and quick wit are the only things he can depend on at this moment. Judging from the surrounding commotion, he already senses that if he doesn't perform well, this might be the last time he uses them.

"It's okay, Jimmy...it's okay..."

He took a deep breath and silently chanted, "Abracadabula. (Gods and spirits, earth and spirits)"

----

At the end of the corridor, a wooden door opened before him. Judging from their attire, seating arrangements, and the scale of the council chamber, this was clearly an important mission. Even Bai Malaro hadn't managed to secure the main seat and could only sit in a side seat.

Seated at the head of the table was an old man who had shrunk somewhat, but whose imposing presence remained undiminished.

“Ha, so, give me Jimmy…” Hector slowly opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice with ill intent, “That legendary great lawyer, is that you?”

……

at last!

He controls the southern part of New Audistin, the entire town of Three Horses, and is the highest-ranking person in the Zola El family.

Despite being extremely tense, Jimmy was unusually calm, as if his body sensed that it wouldn't be able to hold on any longer and forced him to calm down.

The first thing is to not be overwhelmed by their momentum, otherwise you're finished and will truly become a piece of meat on the chopping block!

“You…” Jimmy gritted his teeth, smoothed the hair hanging over his broad forehead, and revealed a hint of ruthless determination.

"It's best to call me Saul."

Chapter 366: You'd better not make me open my mouth

"Ha, Thor... you even have your own nickname."