Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

How could a military leader, who would plunder every penny, simply stand by and watch such strategic materials pass by?

"Good, very good. At least you're all more sensible than this guy." The notebook smiled with satisfaction and waved. "Then, I wish you all a safe journey..."

"Boss, boss!" a soldier called out excitedly as he jogged over. "More guys are coming, three of them this time!"

"Oh, three?" The notebook rolled its eyes, a smile playing on its lips. "Probably just like them, passing merchants who don't know there's a war going on here... Alright, brothers! Let's go again, this time we're going to squeeze some money out of them!"

----

"Halt!" The soldiers used the same tactic again, surrounding the three of them. "What are you doing?"

“We’re from Sanyuan Timber Company, heading to Granite State to discuss a business deal.” Mike’s voice was very calm. He gestured to the two people behind him and introduced them, “These are my assistant and servants.”

"Ha, a lumber company, is that it?" The notebook circled his horse slowly, sneering, "You really know how to pick your timing. Do you have a pass? If not, wait until tomorrow morning, go to the nearby town, and get one for $30. Come back after you've got it!"

"...A pass, is that right?"

Having been through thick and thin together, Mike naturally understood what he meant. He looked around, leaned down, and asked softly, "Sir, you see, we really don't know the rules here. Is there any way we can get this pass renewed right here?"

The notebook chuckled, "How do you plan to fix it?"

“That’s natural, three people, three bills, $90 each.” Mike said in a deep voice, handing the counted bills to the notebook.

"So cooperative?" The notebook chuckled at first, counted the amount, then its expression changed. "You're kidding me, aren't you? It's only $45!"

“We didn’t bring much money with us on this trip. It’s a long and arduous journey, so you have to leave us some money to break even.” Mike got into character, playing a stingy, bargaining businessman, with a fawning smile on his face. “There’s only one road here, and we’ll have to pass through your area on the way back. Once we finalize the deal, we’ll have the money, and we’ll definitely make up the remaining half on our way back.”

……

The notebook's gaze suddenly turned cold, scanning the three men up and down with suspicion. He didn't speak, but simply walked around them a few steps. This small action made the surrounding soldiers wary, tightening their grip on their guns.

"Heh, you want to buy on credit, huh..." After a long pause, he suddenly changed his tone and said coldly, "Your company's ways don't work here! Trying to buy on credit without any real knowledge? Dream on."

He pointed to the Turkmen warhorse under Zhang Renfeng's back, "I think this horse is quite good, let's use it to offset the remaining half."

Xiaomei and Mike were stunned. Based on their previous experience, a fierce battle was about to break out!

Zhang Renfeng, sitting on horseback, remained motionless, staring at the notebook.

……

"What? You yellow-haired bastard, are you deaf or can't you understand what I'm saying?" The notebook's tone was extremely angry. "Get off the saddle! This horse has been requisitioned by the army. It's now military property and no longer belongs to you!"

"I'm afraid that won't work," Zhang Renfeng said calmly.

"You fucking want to die!" the notebook shouted angrily, and all the soldiers raised their guns.

Mike's hands rested on the revolver.

But, just before drawing his gun, Zhang Renfeng reached into his coat pocket...

He slowly and deliberately took out a letter.

He remained motionless, not adjusting to the height of the notebook, as if forcing him to jump slightly to take the letter from his hand. The envelope was made of very fine paper, incredibly smooth to the touch, with a faint scent of orange juice. The seal was made of fiery red lacquer and bore a family crest, giving it the feel of a noble letter.

Mei and Mike stared at him in astonishment. They had expected him to pull out a gun and start shooting indiscriminately, but the result was completely different from what they had imagined!

a letter.

The notebook frowned, glanced at Zhang Renfeng suspiciously, and gestured with his hands to signal the soldiers to put away their guns.

He carefully opened the envelope, and the letter slid out. He found a literate soldier and had him read it aloud.

----

“This is a…letter of recommendation. It says they are…bounty hunters.” Surrounded by the gazes of the crowd, the soldier’s lips trembled slightly. “They received a $1000 commission to come to this area of ​​Tall Trees specifically to rescue Mr. Chedel.”

"What?" The notebook's expression changed. "Such a thing happened?"

“To be precise, it’s $955 now,” Zhang Renfeng said expressionlessly.

"Impossible! With the army around, Colonel Jarworth couldn't possibly hire any more bounty hunters!" Notebook gritted his teeth. "Are you trying to trick me!?"

“Ask him who signed it,” Zhang Renfeng said.

"It's... a man named 'Henry Hysen'..."

"About three weeks ago, the Hysen family received a telegram from Mr. Jarworth. He recounted his father's kidnapping, and Henry expressed great sympathy for him. I've known Henry for some time, and he paid a high price to hire me to help, hoping to do the Cheddar family a favor after the matter is settled. That's about it."

"Ha..." The notebook shook its head and muttered to itself, "No, impossible... Didn't you read the newspaper? The Hysen family is already struggling to take care of themselves, how could they have the time to worry about others?"

"Fortunately, he had already wired the money to me before that incident happened. As for what happened to their family afterward, that's none of my business," Zhang Renfeng said calmly with a hint of sarcasm. "And my professional ethics don't allow me to take someone's money and not do the job."

"you……?!"

The notebook gritted its teeth, but for a moment it was speechless.

He did indeed take the $45 from them, but then he started making trouble for them and wouldn't let them pass.

“We are here purely out of professional ethics; otherwise, I could have simply taken the money and left.”

Zhang Renfeng said calmly, "But..."

"Once everything has settled down, Mr. Jarworth somehow found out about tonight's events, and that you, as his subordinate, had taken it upon yourself to exclude the people who came to rescue Cheder. How do you think he will view you?"

Chapter 646: Reunion

"Seriously, when did you prepare this thing?" Mike asked in a low voice, with a hint of barely suppressed laughter. "I thought you were going to pull out the Volcano Pistol and kill them all."

“It’s not impossible,” Zhang Renfeng said softly, “but what would be the point? We definitely can’t keep such a big thing a secret.”

Before setting off, Zhang Renfeng had considered that the people he was dealing with this time were, after all, military personnel, and probably wouldn't be as easily fooled as Tuku. Back then, they pretended to be gold prospectors, and with a heavy tiger-head gold piece, they easily fooled Tuku. But if the military's card didn't accept it, they would need a more powerful identity.

The good news is that things are different now; he has plenty of cards in his hand. Even if a few more cards were to magically appear out of thin air, it wouldn't be a big problem.

"That kid is really the eldest son of the Hysen family?" Mike squinted, his attitude towards him becoming even more respectful. "May I ask how you managed to bring their eldest son here so smoothly after killing their entire family?"

“I could understand what you did in the past; it was just killing and killing and that was it. But what you did this time, I just can’t understand at all.”

“Theoretically speaking, I didn’t kill any of their family members, really not.” Zhang Renfeng rarely had the chance, so he revealed a sly smile and played word games, “I only said a few words to them, and they all committed suicide.”

"This is even scarier, isn't it...?" Mike thought to himself.

“Mr. Mike, it’s alright.” Xiao Mei had accompanied Zhang Renfeng throughout the trip to Brightlight City. Although she hadn’t seen the last part, she could roughly imagine what had happened. She explained on Zhang Renfeng’s behalf, “Henry’s situation is somewhat similar to Mr. Ego’s. Before this, he had already broken ties with his family because of Sister Jenny.”

"As for what happened afterward, it was more like going with the flow, and it was just like that."

“Yes, it was a perfect fit…” Mike remarked. “Without firing a single bullet, we achieved almost the same result as before, wiping out the Heysen family in one fell swoop.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Zhang Renfeng shrugged. “If we have to assign credit, it should be Tao’s credit; he invented the electric light. And all those who put in the effort to start the company. I just invested some money in him at the very beginning of the research, that’s all.”

That's it.

The few words, though simple, carried a powerful sense of oppression, causing Mike to sigh involuntarily.

Young people and older people have completely different attitudes toward this kind of thing.

Despite Zhang Renfeng's apparent life experiences, he's only twenty-nine, still considered young. His ability to absorb new things remains remarkably quick. In contrast, Mike, at his age, actually doesn't want too much change in the world around him.

Electric lights replaced gas lamps, and in an instant, the building collapsed, seemingly leaving this old man far behind.

……

The notebook hurdle was long gone; he couldn't be sure whether the recommendation letter Zhang Renfeng produced was genuine. But being separated from the main force, he couldn't possibly send someone to inquire. Even if there was a one percent chance it was true, delaying the crucial rescue of Chaider, and the investigation would eventually reach this point, he'd certainly be in deep trouble.

With enough people gathered, the passersby who had been stopped earlier were finally able to set off, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

This group of soldiers was also heading to the front lines to report for duty. It was only a few hundred meters away, and the war zone was just ahead.

Under the "guard" of nearly twenty people, they bypassed the front line and headed towards the Takashu area.

They saw no signs of troops encamped along the way, but the chaotic hoofprints and footprints clearly indicated that a large number of troops had indeed passed through this area. Following these tracks, Mike could roughly deduce that Jarvis's army had likely moved towards the area west of the tall trees.

"So, nothing was lost?"

“That’s not quite right. The version I heard was…” one of the passersby lowered his voice, not wanting the soldiers nearby to hear, and said cautiously, “This train didn’t carry much cargo to begin with. The goods were all unloaded in Granite State. Ryan Childer was doing business in Granite State and happened to be taking this train back. There were only some security personnel on board.”

"So, he's the only one who's lost?" Zhang Renfeng frowned. "What about the security personnel?"

"All dead."

"How did he die?" Zhang Renfeng asked impatiently.

"I heard... they were all killed by arrows. Those arrows were tested and found to be poisonous, but we still don't know what kind of poison it is."

The merchant's expression was very vivid as he spoke with great detail, "You don't know, those barbarians are best at concocting poisons. They even have something called 'voodoo'... They coat arrows with it, and if an arrow even grazes the skin, you're going to meet your maker!"

Zhang Renfeng paused for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Excuse me, may I ask?" Mike continued, "Do you often travel this route?"

“Often… not really.” One of the merchants, riding a horse with a snakeskin saddle, scratched his head. “My business is all in Spring Eye Town, about eight out of ten times.”

"Do you know Lang? The merchant with the mustache and sheepskin hat, the one who often loiters around this area doing business with the Native Americans?"

"Oh! You mentioned sheepskin hats, and I remember someone like that. He was a bit of a chatterbox, but his sweet wine was absolutely amazing." The merchant's expression froze for a moment, his tone turning regretful. "But I heard he was already... well, you know..."

"Hey! What are you all chattering about?"

A soldier suddenly spoke, interrupting their conversation and startling the merchant.

The soldiers didn't dare raise their voices at Mike and his group, but they were more than capable of putting on airs and intimidating a few passing merchants. "Don't blame me for not warning you, things that happen on the front lines are, to put it bluntly, military secrets. Do you think you can just talk about them out there?"

"These damned red barbarians have not only occupied such a large area, but they've also kidnapped Mr. Cheddar. This is no longer just a demonstration; it's a rebellion, a real war! If anyone lets me hear this again..."

……

"boom!"

A splash of blood suddenly erupted from one of his temples. The last half-sentence stuck in his throat, his eyes glazed over, and he slumped limply off the horse.

"The Red Barbarians are attacking—!!"

The remaining soldiers were on high alert, cried out in alarm, and hurriedly gathered together, loaded their bullets, and prepared to fight back.

A group of Native American tribesmen rode out from the side, and among them, Zhang Renfeng spotted a familiar glittering silver.

"Silver Frost?!" he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Chapter 647: Flying Eagle

Then he remembered that when she introduced herself, Silverfrost had indeed said that she was from the Hightree region of Granite State.

Her mentor, by whatever means, sensed the crisis posed by the Ruofu strain and specifically dispatched this outstanding student to handle it. Now that the entire Takashu is engulfed in war, her presence here is perfectly normal.

Of course, among the group of Native American tribes dressed in leather armor, she was the only one wearing iron chainmail, and with her fair skin, she inevitably stood out.

----

Yinshuang's eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people. In the vast crowd, she spotted the flamboyant chestnut Turkmen warhorse almost immediately. Shifting her gaze a few inches upward, she saw Zhang Renfeng sitting on the horse, her astonishment no less than his.

However, this is clearly not a good opportunity to catch up.

"We've made a mistake, Eagle!"

Silver Frost gently pulled on the reins, and her old horse, Carrot, with whom she had a long-standing tacit understanding, quickly caught up with the leading Indian warrior.

He was remarkably robust, with thick, raven-feather-like black hair, the sides of his head shaved until bluish-black, and a single tuft of long hair in the center braided into a rugged battle braid, the ends adorned with gray wolf tail hair and eagle feathers. A streak of scarlet clay ran from his forehead to the back of his neck. Muscles flowed beneath his taut, leathery skin, and his sleeveless, tanned bison leather shirt was open, revealing an ochre totem painted on his chest—an eagle with outstretched wings poised for flight.

On the left side of his belt hung a medicine pouch woven from hair, and on the right, a blue-dyed token. His trouser legs were tucked into bearskin leg guards. In the suede holsters on either side of his belt were two silver-gray Colt 1873 Peacemaker models.

"There are no horse-drawn carriages. This isn't their convoy transporting military supplies; they're just a group of people passing through!"

“Yes, Flying Eagle.” The tribal warrior riding alongside also came to the same conclusion, “It seems we really made a mistake.”

"..." Flying Eagle bit his lip and ordered, "Kill the ones in uniform first, kill them first and we'll talk later!"

They spurred their horses at full gallop, giving them only a few seconds to make a decision. Flying Eagle decisively gave the order; in truth, once they were right in front of the enemy, regardless of whether the intelligence was right or wrong, they really had no other choice.

Can they just say "Sorry, we made a mistake," turn around, pretend nothing happened, and gracefully exit the stage?

Flying Eagle drew his revolver from horseback, the peacemaker's gun pointed at those who trampled on peace.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

……

Horses clashed, gunfire erupted. Flying Eagle employed a "flanking" tactic, using his equestrian advantage to penetrate directly into your ranks.

The weapons carried by Native American warriors were mostly revolvers and short guns. In close combat, they were similar to the throwing knives and slings they were used to, and in fact, they had an advantage.