Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

He drew his revolver, fired a shot into the air, and shouted, "Team One, Team Two, lead the charge! Teams Three and Four, follow behind, and the rest of the teams, spread out in sequence, and penetrate the jungle in a wedge formation. The remaining teams will provide support from the rear."

"Joe, take your men and follow behind Team Five. One requirement: maintain a distance of 6 to 8 meters between your teams, you can be slightly ahead or behind. Fire while using the terrain to advance and launch an assault!"

"Charge with me! Slaughter them all, leave no one alive—!!"

Given the current situation, it's impossible for him to sit in the center and command his subordinates. He must be the first to charge forward in order to possibly revive the already meager morale.

As he expected, at least his captains were willing to obey after he issued clear and unambiguous orders. These were all trusted men he had personally promoted within the Pinkerton Detective Agency; in crucial moments, it was still the people he could rely on.

With the leaders at the front, the others naturally followed suit, and the group of hundreds of people, like a sharp arrow, plunged into the dark, dense forest.

----

"Something's wrong..."

Halfway up the mountain path, Evans felt something was amiss. Aside from the scattered corpses of his own men, he hadn't seen a single living creature along the way. It was as if the entire mountain had been surrounded and then cleared out. To prevent morale from crumbling, he prioritized speed, aiming to make contact with the enemy as quickly as possible so that everyone would know how to fire once fighting broke out.

However, the enemy did not seem to intend to engage in a prolonged battle. They had already traversed half of the mountain path, and still had not heard a single gunshot.

Evans was almost certain they had men lying in ambush in the woods, perhaps behind tree trunks or bushes, but he didn't care. The other side definitely had fewer men than him, and once a fight broke out, in close combat with only guns, they wouldn't be able to defeat him. That was why he dared to lead his team into the woods himself.

But the current situation made him feel somewhat out of control.

----

"Wait...wait..."

The chief held his breath and lay prone on the ground, almost blending into the shadows of the trees.

It wasn't until he noticed the subtle differences in the clothing of the two teams that he realized the Pinkerton detectives were dressed all in black with bowler hats, while the bounty hunters wore classic shirts, vests, and coats, creating a rather layered look.

Just as Zhang Renfeng had predicted, they did not rush in en masse, but instead split into a vanguard and a rearguard. Now, the weak point of this large army, with its two rings connected, was exposed!

"It's now!"

He jumped up, grabbed a grenade, pulled the pin, and ordered, "Fire!"

Chapter 535: Firepower Suppression

"boom----!!!"

Either there was no sound, or when there was, it was an explosion that filled the mountains and fields, as if lightning had suddenly struck. The enormous explosions, along with the flames and shockwaves, descended together; ordinary bounty hunters had never seen anything like it.

Their usual way of making money is nothing more than fighting on their own. The wanted criminals they hunt are nothing more than wandering gunmen who have committed murder, and there is no particularly strong confrontation in terms of weapons.

The "hand grenade" was such a novel weapon that most of them had never even heard of it, let alone seen it.

It was the dead of night, pitch black, and this thing wasn't like a gun or cannon, emitting a tiny bit of light when fired. The chief leading the group was adept at concealing his movements, and with the bushes and trees providing cover, he could throw it over in the dark from dozens of meters away without anyone even noticing.

From the perspective of the bounty hunters, it was as if the ground suddenly exploded. Anyone who was close was instantly reduced to dust. Even those further away were inevitably affected by the shockwave. In an instant, screams and wails echoed through the mountains, and the morale that had been raised so high plummeted to freezing point once again.

……

"ah---!!"

"My legs... my legs—!!!"

"Retreat! Retreat now! We've been ambushed! Retreat!"

"Help! Someone help me up..."

"Ugh—!!"

……

This invisible and intangible yet incredibly powerful offensive was enough to shatter their morale, and many bounty hunters were terrified and turned to flee.

Once there was a first, there would be a second and a third. In an instant, the army collapsed, and the front and rear could no longer support each other. Many wounded soldiers, with injuries to their legs, were trampled to death by their own fleeing comrades because of the pitch-black night.

……

"Evans! Evans!"

Joe rode a fast horse and galloped to the front of the column, covered in dust and dirt, but his expression was very serious. "We've been attacked! They used some unknown weapon that can explode! My men have been killed or wounded countless times, and the column is about to fall apart!"

Many bounty hunters on horseback followed closely behind him, their faces showing lingering fear.

If they hadn't been sitting on four legs, and hadn't been lucky, they probably would have been blown to bits.

"Damn it, I knew something was wrong. So this was what was waiting for me." Evans, no longer as composed as he was in the camp, realized he'd been tricked. He started biting his fingers unconsciously, his tone annoyed, "Red Center... Red Center... what are you anyway? A monster?"

"Whatever it is, didn't you hear what I said?"

Joe stopped being polite and raised his voice angrily, "We haven't seen a single person, and a bunch of people have died for no reason. I don't want the reward, and I don't want to get involved in your family matters. I want to take the rest of my people and leave this place."

"No, absolutely not!" Evans' eyes were red as he roared, "We didn't even get close to Lagras, and we ran away like stray dogs! What will people think if word gets out?!"

"To hell with it! My men are all living, breathing people!" Joe's voice rose even higher as he angrily shouted, "You paid for our men and guns, not our lives! I don't want that money anymore."

"If you have any conscience at all, just admit defeat and have your father call the state police and RCMP over. We're not playing along!"

Upon hearing this, the bounty hunters behind Joe all chimed in with their agreement.

"Yes, that's it."

"We've lost so many people, we don't want to fight anymore. If you want to fight, you go fight those monsters!"

"At worst, we'll just refund your money and let us go!"

“Joe is absolutely right!”

……

"Damn it, you guys want to sabotage me, huh? Let's see who dares to leave!" Evans gritted his teeth, driven to desperation by their words. When throwing money at him didn't work, he tore off his mask of friendliness, revealing a fierce face. With a wave of his hand, he roared, "Supervisory Team!"

The guards around him raised their guns in unison, pointing them at Joe and the bounty hunters behind him.

But these days, who doesn't have a gun? Without the slightest hesitation, Joe's eyes sharpened, and he also drew his dual revolvers from their holsters.

The team, which should have spread out in a wedge shape, has instead gathered together again, growing larger and larger.

Deep in the forest, another group of people observed this scene.

----

"Good, very good!" Mike breathed on his cold palms, put down the binoculars, and a hint of passion welled up in his usually deadpan eyes. "Now's the time, let's do it!"

Those around immediately understood, and just as they had practiced many times, they quickly adjusted the position of the machine gun, and then...

The roar of gunfire shattered the night!

These machine guns were naturally part of the munitions being transported; the Thunder Gang had used them during the Battle of Tianma Town. Theon dismantled the wreckage from the battlefield, reverse-engineered the blueprints, and sent them to the military factory in White Torch Town.

He probably had a premonition that as the gang's territory expanded, a war was inevitable.

These Gatling guns were all brand new, manufactured within the last few days. Once the barrels are turned, they can fire 200 rounds per minute, making them one of the most groundbreaking weapons of their time.

Fortunately, Evans wasn't his brother; otherwise, in the face of this thing, a line infantry phalanx would be no different from lining up to die.

Five Gatling guns, along with bullets produced at the rear military factory with all their might, transformed into a rain of light and fire in the blink of an eye, showering the enemy with a dense hail of bullets that tore their bodies apart.

----

"A Gatling gun?!"

Evans didn't even have time to be shocked; he was completely stunned. Luckily, he was surrounded by people, with those on the outside acting as human shields. He made the only correct choice when facing such a barrage of bullets—to lie down!

He lay sprawled on the ground, surrounded by people riddled with bullets, limp and lifeless, their bodies covered in wounds. A wave of intense nausea filled his chest, making him almost vomit. He had led many teams before, but such a brutal battle was unprecedented, and countless questions swirled in his mind.

Before arriving, the family had focused all their efforts on public relations and publicity, unlike Zhang Renfeng, who actually sent out scouts to investigate Lagras's situation. In their view, it was perhaps unnecessary; a gang of bandits, no matter how powerful, were nothing more than a group of weapons that originally belonged to the police station—how powerful could they really be?

Now it seems they completely underestimated their opponent's capabilities. This is the kind of firepower a gang could muster.

It's no longer a question of whether to fight or retreat, but whether I can even save my own life.

……

"Those who are still alive and breathing, keep your heads down and follow me!"

Regardless of how many people heard him, he gritted his teeth and, like a slippery eel, crawled towards the woods not far away.

Chapter 536: Boys who smile a lot are usually lucky.

"Have you finished counting? How many people are left?" Joe picked at his ear, looking disheveled and with an expression that suggested someone had died but hadn't been buried yet. "Hurry up and count them. No matter how bad it is, I need to know the numbers."

“Joe…” the underling hesitated, glanced around, and said with lingering fear, “Many people have scattered, so there’s no way to count them. There are still more than 140 brothers left, but I only counted those on our side.”

Joe gasped.

Five hundred bounty hunters had arrived, and after the previous barrage of attacks, more than half had either scattered or died. He hadn't taken stock of the casualties on the Pinkerton detectives' side, nor did he care to; at this point, he didn't even have the energy to be angry.

Fortunately, the Gatling gun wasn't very maneuverable. After escaping into the woods, they used the trees as cover and ran for their lives, finally escaping the meat grinder of bullets. The good news was that they were temporarily safe, at least they wouldn't be torn to pieces by the Gatling gun's barrage. The bad news was that the forest was very deep and the mountain path was significantly off-center.

They knew absolutely nothing about the surrounding geography and could only proceed cautiously, taking things one step at a time.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess even if you gave me ten thousand dollars."

“But you’re already here, what’s the point of saying all this?” Evans’ tone remained relatively calm. Although the morale of both groups had plummeted, they could only suppress their previous unpleasantness in this unfamiliar mountain. “Let’s move forward and see where this forest leads.”

……

The battered group of nearly three hundred people trudged along through the mountains and forests.

There was no main road here. We finally emerged from the forest, and there was almost no path to follow, just a gradually sloping hillside. Under normal circumstances, we could have climbed it, but now, just looking at it was enough to make us feel annoyed.

Seeing the resentment spreading rapidly within the group, Evans hesitated for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Dude, are you... are you alright?" Joe was shocked by his sudden laughter. His first thought was that this guy had finally succumbed to the shock and gone crazy.

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you, Joe?” Evans narrowed his eyes and raised his voice intentionally or unintentionally. “But I’m telling you, things aren’t that bad. That Red Center was ultimately too unprepared. This time, we only lost because we weren’t prepared.”

"Imagine if he were here, lying in ambush with another team, what would happen?" He shook his head, a look of utter disbelief on his face, and burst into laughter. "Wouldn't he be able to wipe us all out in one fell swoop? Hahaha! Ha..."

"boom----!!!"

The cannon fired.

His laughter was interrupted.

A shell landed in the middle of the scattered troops and exploded immediately, sending several people flying into the air.

Although there wasn't a bloody scene, the hearts that had finally calmed down were suddenly terrified by the sound of cannon fire, and many lives were lost. Especially when everyone realized what it was, a sense of despair arose spontaneously.

"...at the artillery range, their stronghold should be..."

"boom----!!"

Another shell landed. With the first shell serving as a test, the accuracy of the second shell seemed to have improved dramatically, causing chaos and destruction. Screams and wails mingled with the residual force of the shell, vibrating everyone's eardrums.

Evans gave a thumbs up and traced the trajectory of the shells backwards until he saw the field gun mounted on the hill.

However, morale had already collapsed. Before he could even give the order, the remaining few hundred men were already scrambling and crawling up the slope. At this point, proposing a counterattack under artillery fire might theoretically be possible, but in reality... if he dared to utter that word, he would be riddled with bullets.

no solution anymore.

Evans gritted his teeth and roared, "Retreat! Retreat into the mountains!"

"Are you fucking crazy? They've ambushed us in the woods and they're retreating in there. Do they want us all to die?" Joe's dissatisfaction was palpable as he publicly refuted Evans's words. "There are lots of rocks on the hillside. Use those as cover. Everyone, run up the hillside, quick!"

"boom---!!"

"boom---!!"

"boom---!!"

……

The continuous sound of cannon fire interrupted their argument; it was like a death knell, striking Evans's heart again and again.

The team has lost control; even the supervisory team is no longer on their side. This is not a good sign.

Even so, he had no choice but to hurry and catch up with the group.

----

"I told you long ago, this is not a bandit gang at all! Screw bandits, is this the kind of firepower a bandit gang should have? Cannons, Gatling guns, and what kind of bombs... Let me tell you, this is the best the army's firepower can offer."

"Old Tyr was right next to me, and when I turned around, he was blown to pieces! Oh my god... I can't even imagine it, thank goodness it wasn't me..."

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn't have come even if you gave me a million dollars!"

……

Similar remarks escalated within the team, and Evans had neither the ability nor the strength to stop them, so he could only let them fester.