Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Chapter 389: While my buddy was playing Musou, someone was playing Assassin's Creed

"No, think about it again, people can't possibly stay underground, right?"

Alana quickly pointed out the blind spot: "Whether it's a signal fire or fireworks, how could you possibly see it from a place like this? He must be hiding in some secluded corner on the ground, and once he receives the signal, he'll rush down and detonate the explosives. That makes sense."

The group exchanged bewildered glances, and Calaway couldn't help but laugh. "We actually took it for granted that they would be guarding the explosives like dragons protecting a treasure... Staying up all night really does make the brainless stupid."

Following this line of thought, they began searching for a path leading to the ground, and soon made a discovery. As they climbed the stairs, getting closer to the ground, Calaway waved, signaling that he would move to the front of the group.

His marksmanship was the fastest of all; once he spotted a stranger, he would shoot them dead without asking any questions!

At least... that's how it was originally designed.

Everything changed when Calaway kicked a man's head in the dark.

"Ugh?!"

Upon realizing what it was, Amy screamed in fright and instinctively backed away, a dangerous move on the pitch-black stairs. She lost her footing and fell backward uncontrollably. Fortunately, Theon, who was positioned behind her, reacted quickly and caught her, preventing a major disaster.

Alana was born in Scar Village, and she had seen far more terrifying forms of execution than this before, so she didn't have such a strong reaction.

The remaining Theon and Calaway were both seasoned veterans, and the only one truly terrified by the head was her.

In the current situation, there was no need to block out the light source. Theon lit a kerosene lamp, and in its light, the head's expression showed no fear. Frozen in its eyes was confusion and emptiness; it was clear that it hadn't even known how it died.

Its body had separated from its head and was lying on a few steps not far away.

“The blood has already started to congeal.” Calaway crouched down and examined the bloodstains on the ground carefully. “He died a few hours ago.”

“It was when we stormed Tianma Town.” Theon drew his gun, remaining vigilant. “Someone took advantage of the chaos to sneak underground and kill this assassin.”

"Cold weapons, it should be knives. To be honest, apart from Old Zhang and his senior brother, I have never seen anyone use a sword."

Calaway lifted the body, forcing himself to suppress his discomfort, and glanced at the severed neck. "One fatal blow, the blade entered from the left and exited from the right. The man's gun was still safely in its holster, which means that until the moment of his death, he didn't notice anything unusual and had no intention of fighting back... This man's infiltration skills are probably about the same as the chief's."

"What is this?" Alana shuddered. "Ever since I started following Hongzhong, it seems like I keep running into these kinds of strange things."

“This has happened before, with someone lurking in the shadows and taking care of the snipers for us. But it was always Angel Eye who did it. This time it shouldn’t be him, right?” Theon said in a deep voice. “If it were him, a bullet should have hit him right between the eyebrows.”

“Not entirely. He does know how to use a knife, but it’s a short knife like a dagger.” Recalling his first meeting with Angel Eyes, Calaway shook his head. “The most suitable combat method for that kind of knife is to cut the throat. It’s impossible to cut the entire neck, including the cervical spine, so cleanly and neatly like this.”

Infiltrate, kill, and leave.

The three actions were performed in one smooth motion, and all of this was done in the dark, which shows just how high the purity of the other party was.

Even more terrifying is the question: where is the assassin lurking in the shadows right now?

----

"God……"

Mike couldn't help but gasp in surprise, and his hand, which had been steadily holding the gun, involuntarily lowered because of what he saw.

Pushing through the dust and fog and climbing through the window, Mike finally found out why they had suddenly stopped firing.

It was as if the corpses were having a party, lying haphazardly on the ground, blood gushing out and splattering on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Mike glanced at them briefly and found no bullet holes in any of the bodies; in other words, the killer hadn't used a gun.

Xiaomei naturally noticed this as well. "This... this kind of thing, only Mr. Hongzhong can do it, right?"

“No, it wasn’t him.” Mike turned one of the bodies over and said with great certainty, “Look at these people, they all died from fatal injuries. If it were him, he would have used much more violent methods… like beating people up and hanging them from the ceiling or something.”

"Judging from the shape of the wound, it was probably made with a knife or similar weapon, and two different knives at that. The primary targets were the heart and throat."

"...It seems there's more than that."

Xiaomei struggled to turn over a corpse. During the process, she heard a clang as an iron object fell from the corpse's neck. It was very small, with a sharp, angular shape and a ring at the end. Although Xiaomei didn't know what it was called, she could tell from its shape that it was a throwing weapon.

Similar to a throwing knife?

It's just smaller, more hidden, and more deadly.

“Mr. Mike, look at this.” She stretched out her right foot and kicked a string of wind chimes on the ground.

It made a clanging sound.

"A bell?" Mike was puzzled. "How could there be such a thing?"

“…This is one of his tactics.” Xiaomei slowly stood up, her eyes wide, staring at all the traces on the ground. “Look at the corpses here, most of them are close to this string of bells, and arranged in a semi-circle, right?”

"He first threw the bell out, and it landed on the ground, making a sound to attract people's attention."

"Then, while everyone was gathered around checking the situation..."

Draw your sword!

Xiaomei clearly saw a swift figure flash through the crowd, skillfully wielding two knives, like a dance, precisely slicing open everyone's throats with the blades.

“Their throats were cut open, they couldn’t make a sound, and they fell one after another, blood spurting out.” Xiaomei lifted her foot and stepped over a large pool of blood that had not yet congealed, and reached out to touch a bullet hole left on the wooden table. “Then, he dodged the bullet… and threw this small throwing knife.”

"In the darkness, a person's carotid artery was pierced."

The amount of bleeding at the scene was so great because every move the attacker made was aimed at vital organs.

While not as violent as Red Center, it possesses a unique beauty that is surgically precise and deadly.

"After that, there were obvious signs of fighting again, indicating that among the Thunder Fury Gang members, there was at least one particularly skilled fighter who could hold his own against him."

Knife marks.

Bullet hole.

The chair back and cabinet with one corner cut off.

Xiaomei followed the traces of the fight and saw the broken window and the bloodstains on the broken glass. "But in the end, the assassin who infiltrated still won slightly."

"So he killed the guy and left us... a great gift."

----

Beside the side door lay a figure that had tried to escape but ultimately failed.

Eugene Ezmond Zolael.

The man first stabbed him in the back, the tip of the knife piercing his lung to ensure he couldn't make a sound. Then, he stabbed him in the neck.

The body and head are in different places.

In the final moments of his life, his expression was frozen in unparalleled fear.

Chapter 390: A Giant Wheel Falls from a High Mountain

A short figure draped in a black robe walked briskly through the corridors of the luxurious mansion.

The place where he was was the first and last home of the Zolael family.

Initially, a fallen family was swept off the poker table by Mexico's relentless, hellish civil war. Forced to flee for their lives, they crossed the border with their belongings and settled in this desolate, godforsaken place. Their fortunes had declined, and comfortable days were over; everyone had to find their own way.

Among them was a quick-witted and daring young man who started his business from the shady business of reselling horses.

He was lucky and had good foresight. After several ups and downs, he almost always caught the wave of the times, expanding his business more and more. In the end, he carved out his own niche in this place isolated by the Fortress Mountain Range.

The mansion has been renovated countless times and is extremely luxurious, but we won't even mention it.

A huge stone sculpture stands in the center of the courtyard, depicting two magnificent horses, standing upright with their forelegs touching. Their manes, muscles, and forms are all depicted with lifelike detail, indistinguishable from the real thing.

For this family, the horse was both their first pot of gold and an animal they almost worshipped.

Hector firmly believed that constantly repeating symbols that brought him good luck would bring him continuous success. Therefore, he gave each of his descendants a name containing the character for "horse".

Of course, there was only one exception.

……

"How about... we try... negotiating with him? See if we can divide the area. If all else fails, we can just give them Tianma Town and Numa Town. After all, Logan's demands seven years ago were probably nothing more than this, right?"

"Isn't there still Laro? He might be able to turn the tide."

"Come on, he promised before that he would give Red Central a good beating and wipe them out in one fell swoop at White Bison Ranch, but what happened? It was all for nothing, and they still managed to push their way up."

“We’ve given him plenty of chances, and it turns out he’s completely incapable of defeating China. His abilities are limited to diplomacy. Back when we old guys were fighting alongside Hector, he was nowhere to be found.”

"Why don't we give it a try? We can propose negotiations... Hongzhong just wants money, or something else. He's traveled all this way to the border, he must have something in mind. If we sit down and talk, at worst we'll just have to give him some of our own flesh."

"I think you're getting senile. How can we give away Tianma Town? If we give it all away, all that's left are a few mansions in Rongma Town. What's the point then?"

“There are still weapons in the basement, and we still have so many men. Back when we were fighting for the country, what kind of scenes haven’t we old guys seen? The scenes of winning with fewer troops and breaking through enemy lines are still fresh in our minds. How come today, this Rongma Town is going to become our burial ground?”

……

"Boom!"

The door was pushed open with a thud, and the heated discussion seemed to be abruptly cut off.

"Ha... I was wondering why I was already hearing all this nonsense before we even got there. It's disgusting my ears."

Igor removed the hood from his head, looked around, and his gaze settled on the two old men sitting at the end of the long table, leaning against the back of their chairs. He gave them a look of utter contempt.

"You didn't invite me to the last meeting, and this time you didn't even invite Laro. So, it turns out you've been fighting this whole war, haven't you?" He gave a thumbs up, seemingly as a compliment, but his tone was incredibly sarcastic. "You guys are really something."

"I never expected you to come back."

Hector slumped back in his chair, gestured with his chin, narrowed his eyes, and gave him a look that was hard to tell whether it was contempt or coldness. "I thought you must have already started flirting with your new friend."

Igor no longer bothered to refute him. Having arrived uninvited, he dragged a chair to the other end of the long table opposite the two old men and slowly sat down.

This scene undoubtedly aroused the anger and disgust of everyone present. They seemed to attribute all the bad news they had received in the past few days to this half-human dwarf in front of them.

"traitor!"

"You betrayed your family, you lowly mule, you have no right to sit in this position!"

"That Hongzhong killed your brother, don't you feel anything at all?!"

……

Igor did not respond to this, but simply placed his hands on the table and calmly met the gaze of the person in charge at the end of the long table.

Historically, Zhuge Liang famously debated with a group of Confucian scholars, but at least they were "a group of Confucian scholars." In a sense, these scholars were also cultured individuals, willing to sit down and discuss matters. They implicitly agreed to a defined logical framework for their debate.

But this group of people right now has no value in wasting this time at all.

Hector waved his hand, signaling the people around him to be quiet.

“So, Igor…” Byron Riz Zolael, the strategist hidden behind the Thunder Fury Gang, finally removed his hand from his chin and suddenly spoke, “You want us to escape, is that it?”

"Don't you guys think that you've already made a lot of money by using all sorts of methods to get started and accumulate wealth, and that you've survived to this day?"

Igor calmly swept his gaze over everyone present and said in a deep voice, "Be content. You can't expect to have all the good things in life."

"While there's still time, take your people and belongings and hurry back to Mexico. After all, that's where we started. After all this time, coming back in a circle is like returning home in glory."

"As for whether to join Edmund, join another warlord, or start their own faction, there are plenty of options. It's better than staying here and being wiped out by the Reds."

"No way... Ha..."

He was somewhat incredulous and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Even now, you're not still fantasizing about continuing to sit in this luxurious hall, enjoying fine wine, delicious food, and beautiful women, are you? When I passed by just now, I even overheard someone wanting to 'cede' those two towns to him... Have you all been brainwashed by too much money? Is it really human to say such stupid things?"

Several unshaven old men, who looked to be of the same generation as Hector, were so angry that their faces turned red and their hands trembled slightly.

Some people, unable to swallow their pride, angrily questioned, "At least we're discussing how to save this family from its brink of collapse. And what about you? You dwarf, bearing the Zolael name in vain, what have you done?!"

“I’ve already told you the way to save the situation clearly!” Igor stopped being polite, stood up, and retorted directly, “Leave now, leave immediately, don’t delay for even a second. Take all your belongings, cross the Mexican border, and go there to develop your business.”

"Whether it's good or bad, at least while he's alive, he shouldn't set foot on this land again. That's the way to preserve everything."

"Do you think Laro is as incompetent as you think? Let me tell you, he almost predicted every move Red Center made, but every time he set up a formation, he was defeated because of the absolute difference in strength. That's Red Center!"

"He is not human, but a giant ship falling from a high mountain. When he finally rolls right up to you..."

"There was no room for maneuver anymore."

Chapter 391: Explosion!

Hector kept his eyes half-closed and remained calm, even though his men were already whispering among themselves and starting to back down.

Igor's impromptu speech was indeed very persuasive. Everyone wasn't a fool; there were those who wanted peace, those who wanted war, and of course, those who wanted to flee.

Where to run?

With pursuers ahead, the only way out is to return to Mexico. Relying on the connections Laro had built up, he'll temporarily seek refuge there, keeping a low profile for a while before looking for an opportunity to make a comeback. As for the specifics of how to do it, that depends on the influence of the family's bigwigs.

Although... in that war-torn place, those who seek refuge today might be dead tomorrow. How long they can live in peace is also unknown.

Unsure of Hector's meaning, no one spoke up, and in a sense, Igor was the best candidate to break the ice.