Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

Chapter 718: Your good luck ends tonight.

"Sofia?"

A somewhat familiar voice suddenly came from behind.

Sophia instinctively responded, then realized what had happened and felt a chill run down her spine. She had never been to White Torch Town before, and logically, no one here should know her. To be called out by name in the street while on an assassination mission was a major taboo! Either she had to declare the mission a failure and leave as quickly as possible, or…

A short thorn slipped unconsciously from her sleeve and was caught in her hand.

"when!"

Before she could turn around, the hilt of the katana pressed down, pressing against the short dagger at a delicate angle between her wrist and the dagger, preventing her from throwing it with force. Sofia was increasingly surprised; her opponent's combat experience far surpassed her own.

“Calm down, Sofia, it’s me, Jin Kawakawa,” Jin said in a low voice. “I used to be a crew member under Istavo!”

Calling him a crew member is a bit too modest. When Istavo was away, Ren was the de facto acting captain. How the fleet should be sailed and how business should be conducted were all decided by him. Fortunately, there were established rules to follow. Ren had been Istavo's bodyguard for many years, and even if he wasn't the sharpest brain, he could manage.

Clearly, Sophia had heard the name Ren more than once. At this moment, she seemed frozen in place, her pupils contracting sharply, her brain racing as she thought.

The atmosphere around them remained lively, and since their movements were subtle, no one else noticed.

After a long silence, Sophia's breathing quickened. She swallowed hard and asked in a tone of disbelief mixed with anticipation, "Is it...?"

"..."

The light in Ren's eyes dimmed.

Most of the time, communication between people doesn't rely on language. Especially in situations like this, Sofia's entire attention was focused on Ren, not missing a single micro-expression. A mere change in his eyes was enough for her to know that he understood her question and had provided an answer.

It felt like a huge stone was pressing down on my heart, blocking out even the last bit of light that could see through the hole.

“I just paid my respects at his grave,” Ren said in a deep voice.

"What are you talking about?" Sophia asked, somewhat confused. "My father is buried in Park Cemetery in the First State, which is quite a distance from here."

"..."

"What?" Sophia's voice trembled.

"The truth of the matter may be different from what you know. But..." Ren hesitated for a long time, unsure how to begin, "Your father had his own plans for these things. He... he was a remarkable person..."

"Didn't he perish together with Hongzhong?" Sophia's voice was so weak it was almost inaudible.

“Strictly speaking, no.” Ren shook his head. “He simply disappeared from this world along with ‘Red Center’.”

……

Across the crowd, Qiao watched this scene from afar, shaking her head slightly and sighing.

He sat in a corner, showing no interest whatsoever in the cars and lights in the distance.

Jimmy was waving, inviting attendees to sit in one of the cars and experience the feeling. But since there were only five cars on display, the crowd had already packed the area, and the noise of arguments was deafening. No one seemed to care about the food on the tables anymore.

Joe casually found a table and sat down. Without using a knife and fork, he ate with his hands, like a savage who had not yet fully evolved.

He ate without making a sound, as if stuffing food into a bottomless pit, devouring most of the dishes on the table in front of him in a whirlwind. After enjoying these high-end dishes, he picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"Crack!"

He wiped his mouth with the tablecloth, then squeezed the glass in his palm with his right hand, breaking it and selecting the sharpest piece of glass.

It was aimed at Tao's neck in the distance.

----

The night wind was biting, and it felt like a knife scraping against my neck.

Sam held the stack of documents tightly in his hands, as if he were holding a hen that could lay golden eggs, afraid that it would run away.

After discussions, the police station agreed to let him take these items. In any case, Wendigo's case was closed in stone, with no possibility of overturning it. He himself had vanished without a trace, and no one could find him.

As for what they intend to do with these documents, that's not something a small town or a small police station should be asking.

"What's next?" Zhang Renfeng planned to take him to the train station. "If we take this pile of stuff back, we can figure things out, right?"

“Not necessarily, we still have to look at it slowly. I’ve just filtered out the parts that might provide clues.” Sam sighed, his voice heavy with worry. “Time is so tight, those few tens of minutes just now are simply not enough.”

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"..." Sam hesitated for a moment. Perhaps he was too tired, or perhaps after obtaining the information, his wariness of Zhang Renfeng was not as strong as before. He then said, "Evidence."

“The person we’re investigating holds an extremely high position at the heart of this country’s power structure. There’s some evidence that he’s built a deeper, more covert government within the government. Like…”

“Like a tree, right?” Zhang Renfeng recalled Louis Osborne’s analogy, “It looks normal on the outside, but it has been hollowed out inside.”

“That’s right, exactly.” Sam nodded vigorously, but there was a strong sense of frustration in his tone. “That’s true, but… these kinds of missions… with each layer pressing down on them, no one dares to take them on…”

"It's not that we haven't investigated him so far, but often the person in charge disappears mysteriously before the investigation even begins. His position has always remained the same; it has never fallen. Those insects... are only particularly quick when it comes to scrambling for credit."

Zhang Renfeng looked at him with a complicated expression.

What kind of desperate situation would make someone jump into a pit of fire, even knowing it's ahead?

How do you know you're not the next one to 'disappear'?

“Well… I’m not officially employed, and there’s no record of me in the personnel files.” Sam shrugged and joked in a self-deprecating tone, “Strictly speaking, I’m just a errand boy. I get paid about the same as a handyman, and I’m usually handling mountains of numbers for them.”

"No matter what, they wouldn't even notice someone like me, would they?"

"Yeah……"

Zhang Renfeng grabbed his sleeve, his expression extremely serious. "It seems your 'good luck' is coming to an end today."

----

At the end of the road leading to the train station, a figure stood motionless, like a rivet, amidst the bustling crowd.

Straw raincoat.

Straw hat.

Short shirt.

And... the two samurai swords hanging at his waist.

Chapter 719: I only severed his consciousness

"What's wrong?" Sam hadn't realized anything yet, but he followed Zhang Renfeng's gaze and discovered that there was such a strange person standing in the crowd.

His clothing and demeanor were completely out of place in this country. Yet he made no attempt to conceal it, simply standing calmly with his feet apart and his back slightly hunched.

Despite the distance and the bustling street, Sam couldn't make out his face, only finding his attire incredibly strange. "What's going on, Zhang? Is he from your hometown? What is he wearing...?"

A cold light swept by.

Sam's neck and shoulder were cut open.

A magnificent diagonal slash entered his right shoulder, splitting his body in two, and then slid out from his left waist, where his kidneys are located. This move is called "Great Robe," where the blade cleanly and decisively pierces through the human body, splitting him in two. Blood gushed out, forming a semi-circular mark on his clothes, as if he were wearing a bright red robe.

Is the revolver at my waist necessarily stronger than the two thin iron weapons at his waist?

At least in that instant, Sam could personally experience how that weapon, specifically designed to cut through the human body, sliced ​​through his skin, flesh, and bones, even cutting a clean slit into the organs hidden beneath his skin.

The signals of pain completely overwhelmed him.

At this moment, all the rules of the civilized world were wiped clean.

"ah--------!!!!"

Sam was in excruciating pain, clutching his head and letting out a horrifying scream right there in the street. He didn't have the strength to lower his voice; screaming in pain is one of the instincts ingrained in human genes for millions of years. The pain became unbearable, and with a thud, he knelt on the ground, scattering the documents he was holding. Kneeling wasn't enough; he lay down on the ground, screaming and rolling around.

A fat man screamed and rolled around on the ground in the street, making a lot of dust fly. In a sense, it really did look like a pig being slaughtered.

Because his screams were so pitiful that they dampened people's interest in watching the spectacle, everyone around him thought he had been shot.

Although no gunshots were heard, this is still the West, after all. At any time, from any angle, it wouldn't be surprising if someone got shot.

In a panic, everyone scattered.

"Sam?" Zhang Renfeng had never seen anything like this before. He squatted down to help him up, but Sam seemed to have his spine broken, turning into a puddle of mud and unable to stand. "What happened to you?"

"My...my arm...ah!! He...cut me open, like a sausage—!!"

When he uttered the last few words, his voice screamed, which sounded quite comical.

But Zhang Renfeng saw his face contorted in pain, and he saw the beads of sweat on his forehead. Such a powerful physiological reaction is difficult for even professional performing artists to replicate. Before the pain arrives, one often cannot imagine just how excruciating it is.

Although his body was completely intact, there was no "cutting" or even the slightest external injury.

Therefore, there is only one answer left.

Zhang Renfeng helped him tidy up the documents scattered on the ground, picked up a stone to weigh them down, and slowly got up.

The samurai with two swords at his waist stood in the same spot, at the same distance, without moving an inch.

As the crowd dispersed, the eyes beneath the straw hat, gleaming with a cold light, became even colder and narrower.

He didn't ask questions like "Did you do it?", even though the man dressed as a warrior hadn't moved an inch in the past minute. But a martial artist of Zhang Renfeng's caliber was already certain that he was the one who caused everything.

"who are you?"

The man slowly raised his chin—Zhang Renfeng noticed that his jaw muscles were quite developed, his neck was thick, and his eyes were wide open, making his face resemble that of a large feline carnivore such as a tiger or lion.

"My name is Cao Ya Kari Masashi."

"..."

The name "Kusaya Karimasa" is pronounced entirely in Japanese, which Zhang Renfeng neither understands nor can repeat.

But from the samurai sword at the other man's waist, he could tell that the other man came from the same country as Ren, and he pressed on, "What did you do to him?"

"You can't tell, can you?" Kusaya Karimasa's tone was quite polite, yet carried a hint of indifferent contempt. "I thought that with your level of understanding, you could comprehend what had happened."

"..."

“Just as you see.” He cupped the hilt of the knife in his palm and gently stroked it, as if he were handling a lover’s delicate hand. “I killed him.”

“You didn’t,” Zhang Renfeng said in a deep voice. “You’ve been standing there the whole time.”

“That’s true.” He nodded and answered calmly, “I severed his ‘consciousness,’ which is enough for most people.”

“He’s an obese man, but fat isn’t a problem for me. As long as you adjust the angle and apply the right amount of force, fat is much easier to cut than muscle. Swish, like this… a diagonal cut…” As he spoke, he made the gesture of a pig farmer cutting meat, his exceptionally large hand making an extremely powerful chop in the air, “It’s very easy to cut through.”

"However, you are different from him, you are different from all of them..."

Grass-dwelling Kari Masashi's eyes narrowed slightly.

Concentrate.

Gathering Qi.

Suddenly opened my eyes!

In his vision, a white light descended from top to bottom, like a straight shearing line, falling along the symmetrical part of the human body. This was a standard "one-word slash," which demanded a high level of arm strength, wrist strength, and core strength from the striker. The human body is a hard object, and regardless of the sharpness of the blade, splitting it in the middle is not something that can be accomplished by simply using the strength of two arms.

For Kasaya Karimasa, this was just another familiar attempt.

however……

Sword light passed by.

Zhang Renfeng stood opposite, showing no reaction and no sign of pain from being cut.

"Ha, I knew it." Kasaya Kari smiled as if he had discovered some interesting natural phenomenon, gesturing with his finger in the air. "Your 'ki' defense is quite solid. This is the second time I've encountered this situation since setting foot on this land."

Is this the second time?

Zhang Renfeng was more cautious and twisted his shoulders and neck to adjust his body into a fighting stance.

"A strike that remains at the level of consciousness is meaningless to you."

"Let's get the real thing."

Draw the knife.

The instant the sword was half-drawn, his pupils dilated slightly—a fist piercing the air, growing larger in his eyes at a speed far beyond his imagination, accompanied by a series of cracking sounds. Iaido emphasizes "drawing and cutting," which is essentially a sword technique that leaves no time for the opponent to react, killing the enemy in an instant; it all comes down to speed.

But his opponent had seized the initiative before he could even make that move, something that had almost never happened in the hundreds of battles before!

"what……"

Grass-dwelling Karimasa didn't blink. Even though the punch was aimed straight at his face, he resisted his body's instincts and didn't blink. He completely etched Zhang Renfeng's punching movements, characteristics, and power generation posture into his mind.

"Boom————!!!"

Right in the middle of the face.