Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

“Very interesting, Mule, very interesting.” Hector smirked, a cold smile playing on his lips. “If I remember correctly, this isn’t the first time you’ve expressed something similar.”

“Because I’m not blind.” Igor rolled his eyes at him. “That day, that lawyer hadn’t brought you to your senses yet, right? You were still dreaming of being a big estate owner? To be honest, with your half-baked skills, you’re lucky if you can even figure out how to buy and sell horses. Any money you make after that is just something you picked up by chance when you caught the wave of the times.”

"If you don't hurry, you won't even be able to keep what you have."

"So eager to make room for your new friend?" Hector tapped his fingers on the table casually. "Are you clearing out this space for your new friend?"

“…Tell me, Your Excellency Hector,” Igor replied with a sneer, “is it more dignified for you to be dragged out of your home by an angry mob and beaten to death, or locked in a dungeon and finally drowned in your own excrement?”

“It won’t come to that yet.” Hector slowly lowered his crossed hands. “While you were grumbling like a nagging wife, Byron and I came up with a solution—a solution that could eliminate Red Center once and for all.”

“It’s just a draft,” Byron added from the side. “But as for feasibility… well, there’s no better option.”

"Dang Cang——"

He placed a dagger on the table, then gently pushed it, and it slid to Igor's side.

The dagger has a pull ring on the hilt, unlike other models.

“There’s an inventor we’ve been working with. He gave me a small gift when he came a few days ago.”

"..." Igor picked up the dagger and immediately noticed something amiss with the counterweight. He didn't touch the pull ring, but after fiddling with it for a bit, he figured it out: "After pulling it, the dagger will spring out, right?"

“You know what you’re doing.” Hector snapped his fingers. “Go and kill Red Center.”

“…Me?” Ego thought he had misheard and couldn’t help but laugh. “Before you say that, do you know those four mercenaries from the Golden Company? One of them even rode a bison. Guess what happened to that bison?”

“This isn’t entirely wishful thinking, Mule,” Byron said in a deep voice. “We all know you’re someone Red Center trusts, and there’s no need to deny that. Rather, our plan is built on that foundation.”

“You can get close to Hongzhong and, when he’s completely relaxed, pull out this dagger and pull the pin. We’ve already tested it; its force is enough to pierce three layers of thick wooden planks. Its initial velocity is the same as a bullet, so fast that there’s no time to react. It should be more than enough to pierce a person’s throat and heart.”

"If we kill the Red Center, the enemy's morale will be thrown into chaos, and we will have a chance to counterattack."

Hector spoke casually, waving his hand. "Your job is simple: get close to him, pull the pin, fire the dagger, and you're done. After that, we'll naturally..."

……

Igor stared blankly at the dagger.

His words were barely audible; all that could be seen was his mouth opening and closing, like a fish being sold at a market stall.

Everything within his sight began to spin and tremble. The spacious, luxurious hall, the magnificent decorations, and the familiar yet strange distorted faces all seemed like a giant coffin pressing down on him, trying to nail him inside forever.

"Hahaha……"

He started laughing for no apparent reason.

"What?" Hector sneered, "Scared out of your wits?"

“No, I’m just curious, who came up with this idea?” Igor wiped his face, picked up the dagger, gritted his teeth, and asked with a smile, “Okay, let’s say, for the worst-case scenario, I’m willing to take on this mission. I’ll take this dagger and go to Red Zhong’s camp. And if, for the worst-case scenario, I actually manage to kill Red Zhong with this tactic… let’s just say that’s the perfect scenario. We can put everything else aside for now.”

How can I get back?

“You don’t think that the Red Center Gang only consists of Red Center, and that killing him is like defeating the demon king in a story, leading to a happy ending, do you? Besides them, there are also about a hundred angry civilians from Numa Town. How can a dwarf like me escape unscathed from their camp after killing the commander?”

……

……

……

After a long silence, the way everyone looked at him changed to varying degrees. They realized this was the solution with the fewest casualties and costs they could find in the current situation. No one spoke first, but their gazes towards Igor were filled with an impatient eagerness.

“Haven’t you always wanted to be a member of the family? Now your chance has come.” Hector nodded slightly to him. “Go and kill Red Center, and I will acknowledge you… truly become a member of the Zorael family. From then on, you will enjoy the same status and honor as us. We will prepare a grand funeral for you according to tradition, and after that, everyone born into this family will know your name and deeds!”

"This is one of the few opportunities in your life that you can wash away the shameful nickname of 'mule,' so make the most of it."

----

“Then…should I thank you?” Igor grinned, revealing a somewhat chilling smile. “Back then, you were the one who gave me the title ‘Mule.’ Now I finally have this opportunity. With just a suicide attempt, I can remove this name that has humiliated me for the rest of my life…and thank you for your great kindness, Your Excellency Hector.”

Hector slammed his fist on the table, his eyes widening in fury. "That man killed your cousin, your brother, and your nephew! Our family's motto..."

"To hell with the family!" Igor suddenly erupted in fury, his voice and momentum no less than Hector's. He abruptly stood up, slammed the stool behind him, and like a lion with its mane bristling, gritted his teeth, looked around, and roared, "After all this, do you still think you can continue to enjoy all of this with a clear conscience?"

"Open your eyes and look at this world! The Confederate army was defeated 14 years ago! We damned slave owners... should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago."

"Family, hahaha... This is the funniest joke I've heard all year. Blood is thicker than water... Blood your ass! If I could get a dollar for every humiliation I suffered, I would have been the richest man in America long ago. Why didn't you mention blood ties back then?! Do you know what it means when the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too? Why does even a distant relative like Zola El dare to mess with me like this? It's because you started it!"

“You have never considered me a member of the family, never.”

"Publicly and privately, I wish you bastards would be crushed a thousand times by the giant ship called Red China! Die, you don't deserve to live! You don't deserve to breathe! You don't deserve to enjoy this beautiful sunshine and air!"

"And you, Hector, you too, die!"

……

As for his family, no matter how unwilling he was, he had enjoyed the resources they provided for him for more than 20 years, and that was a fact.

Igor came here to make one last attempt to help them analyze the current situation. Everyone here is a decent person; if things could end gracefully, that would be ideal.

But Hector's idea, in essence, didn't treat him as a family member, or even as a human being. Consumed by rage, he made the most impulsive decision of his life.

"Ding!"

Pull the buckle.

The dagger was drawn and flew towards Hector on the other side!

Chapter 392: Reed Grass

Bill, who had been standing silently behind Hector without saying a word, suddenly had a glint in his eyes.

Instead of trying to intercept the flying knife, he grabbed Hector's seat and turned it to the right.

With a clang, the throwing knife, just as Byron had assured, proved incredibly powerful, piercing the chair back and coming within a fraction of a centimeter of the wrinkled old face. Its gleaming edge was almost touching his skin.

His mouth was slightly open, as if he couldn't believe that anyone would dare to attack him and the head of the Zolael family.

Having lorded it over this place for so long, Hector's mentality was no different from that of an emperor.

In fact, until the moment before Igor took action in anger, he was still optimistic about the course of the war. This is a common problem among those in power—they always feel that things will go according to their script.

The cold blade pressed against his face, bringing him back to his senses.

"what……"

"ah----!!!"

He began to let out hoarse roars, whether from anger or from the fear of being so close to death, it was hard to tell.

"Take him back to his room and lock him up! Quickly!" Byron waved his hand and ordered.

……

Igor doesn't remember much about what happened next; he only felt incredibly comfortable and had no regrets whatsoever.

The release of more than twenty years of repression and humiliation was even more exhilarating and pleasurable than having sex with a thousand women in bed! Although his remaining rationality told him that breaking ties with Hector at this moment would be harmful and not beneficial, it didn't matter, because his emotions had already reached heaven.

He threw the dagger on the table and burst into laughter. Before Hector could react, two burly men grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out.

The scene suddenly became chaotic.

His laughter echoed in the corridor for a long time.

----

"How did it feel?" Laro asked with a smile. "Wasn't it great?"

“Ha…yeah…” Igor leaned against the pillow, his eyes half-closed, recalling the scene in the council chamber just now. His hands were still trembling as he murmured, “It felt great.”

After that, he was forcibly taken to a room, the door was locked, as if he had suddenly been pulled away from that chaotic world and was never seen again.

The initial excitement faded, and Ego became somewhat bored, staring blankly at the scenery outside the window. He couldn't help but fantasize that if he were Red Center, he could kick open the door lock and then rampage out to slaughter his enemies! Unfortunately, he was just a genetically inferior dwarf mule, unable to do anything, and could only be locked up here by these people.

I don't know how much time passed, but the first and only person to knock on the door was a familiar face.

Laro brought him a can of beef and a bottle of wine, but that was about it.

"What do they mean?" Igor took a sip of brandy, narrowing his eyes. "Let me die a gluttonous death?"

“Not at all.” Laro waved his hand. “The old man was furious and said he wanted to kill you, but Byron persuaded him to stop. His reason was that if things really came to a critical moment, he could use you as a hostage to negotiate with the Red Center.”

“They still don’t understand Red Center enough,” Igor sneered. “He won’t negotiate with anyone. He’s just…like a flash flood, a mudslide, an earthquake. Have you ever seen them negotiate with anyone before they arrive?”

"It's either run or die, it's that simple."

“You know what, brother, I feel the same way about this. I’ve sparred with him a few times, and I don’t think I’ve lost to him in terms of intelligence. But it’s no use. I anticipated every move he made, but I couldn’t counter any of his attacks. The gap in raw strength can’t be bridged by intelligence or strategy.”

Laro shook his head and said with a smile, "Unfortunately, the old man won't listen. He wants to take command himself. This battle will be led by these old fogies, and I can only assist from the sidelines."

"Hmph, courting death." Igor's tone was extremely disdainful. "Without you, they'd be more likely to be overtaken by Red Middle Speed."

“It doesn’t matter,” Laro said. “I’ve already made the necessary preparations.”

……

Igor's voice was tinged with pain, "You...do you really want to do this? What's the point, to be buried alive with this worthless family?!"

“They killed my son.” Laro’s tone was perfectly calm, as if he were speaking from a third-person perspective about something completely unrelated to him. “What’s the reason?”

“Oh, Laro… don’t pretend you care about this son so much. We both know the truth.” Igor sighed. “If you really loved him, you shouldn’t have left him in this cannibalistic pit in the first place.”

"Then where should he be?" Laro asked with a smile.

"School!" Igor's voice rose with excitement. "Go to school, go study! At least that way, he won't be like a stupid donkey, completely bewildered by the carrot Hector dangled around his neck. He's dead, okay, what's the point? Utterly meaningless, a worthless death, like a reed!"

"But you're different. You know perfectly well that all of this..."

Igor waved his hand, spilling a few drops of strong liquor, his tone growing increasingly agitated, "This whole so-called family, title, code name, territory, was all fabricated by Hector. He used these to attract a constant stream of desperados to join his gang and work for him. He made those with the same surname as him work for him wholeheartedly, making everyone revolve around him!"

"But in the beginning, who granted him such emperor-like power? It was those who were fooled by him, who exerted their efforts, shed blood, and risked their lives for him!"

"This is nothing but a clumsy trick by a horse trader. You can clearly see through it all, so why?"

……

"Ah."

Laro smiled from the bottom of his heart.

“Brother, you just said… Eugene’s death was meaningless, like a reed, right?”

He looked out the window; the sky was already slightly dark, and the luxurious mansion was brightly lit.

Hector had already donned his armor and begun personally directing the ambush operations on the battlefield, such as assuming the ambush position and moving it five centimeters to the right. However, he hadn't been on the front lines for a long time, and the only people he could mobilize now were Laro's trusted men.

Having long held a high position and issued orders, his authority over frontline gang members has weakened.

People moved slowly and didn't really trust his instructions. This enraged Hector, and his hoarse, shrill voice could be heard throughout the house.

"Actually, in my opinion, we are all the same. I am the same, there is no difference. In a few decades, who will remember us?"

“You see, I have never looked down on you. In my eyes, you are no different from everyone else in the family.”

"To become a magnificent reed in the final moments... such an ending is spectacular enough for us, isn't it?"

……

Laro smiled at him, got up, and left.

It was as if he had left his younger brother in the room forever.

Chapter 393: The Long Winter Is Coming to an End

"The firing position you chose is problematic; the firepower can't cover the right side. This entire team, starting with you, you! You! And you... all of you, move five meters to the right simultaneously, quick!"

……

In the Zolael family mansion, on the second floor, in the corridor facing the outside, Hector was pacing back and forth in his hoarse voice, like a supervisor overseeing the construction of a pyramid, inspecting the people behind him.

This was the third time he had adjusted the formation, but it still didn't meet his expectations. Nobody knew what he was trying to do, and no one was specifically in charge.

However, quite a few of the Zola El men, who were usually nowhere to be seen when they were working, suddenly appeared from some corner, each carrying a weapon that was popular at least twenty years ago, and began to direct the setup of the bunkers.

Their approach was to bring out the larger items from the house and line them up in front of the property. In their words, there was no time to dig them up, but if a fight broke out, they could at least be used as collateral to block a few bullets.

If it were just that, perhaps it wouldn't be a big deal. But the problem is, these old guys themselves don't agree. One minute they want to release it this way, the next they want to release it that way. In the end, they're already panting heavily before they've even seen a glimpse of the Red Center Gang. Hector, on the other hand, is exceptionally energetic, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, as if he's used up all the strength he's accumulated over the past decade in his old age for this very night.

"Forgive me, Your Excellency Hector, but... for the past few hours, my men have not had a drop of water, let alone food, and have been on standby. Some of them were evacuated from Tianma Town and are still wounded."

Hector stopped, his eyes half-closed, staring at the young man who was speaking to him with a somewhat sinister look.

"The doctor said they don't have time to treat us right now. I mean, if these wounds aren't treated soon, they might become permanent..."