Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

"Heh, this little girl even knows about the Howling Wolf Gang." Tall Hat slowly strolled out from the side, smiling noncommittally. "Simon, even northerners know your name. We've really become famous."

"..."

Now that things have come to this, Angelona can't say anything more. She just overheard this, so let's just assume that's the case for now.

"That's good... It's very direct and saves me the trouble of introducing myself."

Simon's voice was extremely cold; to the girl, every word he uttered was filled with a despairing chill that seemed to seep into her very bones.

The remaining finger was exceptionally nimble, producing a round medal inlaid with a white fortress, which clattered to the ground.

Angelona's pupils contracted slightly.

But then he thought, since these people had brought him here, how could they not have searched him? His personal badge, a kind of token of his identity while traveling, had also been taken. Based on this action alone, it wasn't hard to see that Simon knew what it was and where he came from.

"Interesting. The Northern Foundation's spies have actually tracked us down." Simon slowly rose from the large chair, approaching the girl's face, observing her panicked and frightened expression, yet also a terrifying one.

"What on earth do you want to do?"

"..."

"Snapped!!"

He suddenly attacked, deliberately using his mutilated hand to grip Angelona's chin. A terrifying, burning smell wafted from him, and the force was frightening, as if he wanted to pry her mouth open. This sudden, oppressive action instantly shattered the girl's already fragile psychological defenses, causing her to sob and whimper in fear.

"It seems that those people in the north are even more ruthless than I thought." Tall Hat sneered. "They don't trust us southerners to do these dirty, shady jobs. They'll send a few tails to stick to us."

"Zheng!"

Simon drew a gleaming dagger from his waist, intentionally holding it up to the light so she could see it clearly, and then gently pressed the blade against Angelona's eyebrow.

The tip of the knife pressed down lightly, less than half an inch from her eyes.

The girl had never seen such a scene before, and she was terrified. For a moment, she could not produce any saliva, and her lips seemed to be stuck together, so she could not make a sound.

"I advise you to clarify things sooner rather than later," Tall Hat said with a cool smile. "Old Simon's specialty is 'slicing' people into pieces, because he himself has been sliced ​​like that, hahahahaha."

“So, the sooner you speak up, the more complete your body parts will be. Conversely…” He turned his head and glanced expressionlessly into the depths of the cave, where there was no light, only a dense darkness that was oppressive to the point of being suffocating.

"That story isn't so interesting."

----

"Hey, did you see that just now? Tall Hat and his buddies went to town on business and actually brought back a girl. He really knows his brothers well... We've been stuck in this sunless cave for two whole weeks, and we're not even allowed to go out and have some fun. My gun is about to explode from holding it in!"

"I just went in and peeked at her under the light. I must say, she's quite good-looking, and has a good figure too. Much better than those old hags in the town."

"How will we handle this later? Will we decide by rolling dice?"

"What are you talking about? Such a great girl, whoever grabs her first gets to go first!"

"What nonsense are you talking about... Didn't you hear what Tall Hat said? She might be someone sent from the north to keep watch, and Simon is interrogating her right now. After he finishes... Hmph... it's questionable whether this girl will even get out unscathed."

"That doesn't matter, as long as she's left to breathe, I'm not picky..."

……

In front of the cave, under a few tattered tents, the members of the Howling Wolf Gang huddled together, laughing loudly in the heavy rain.

They had been asked to be patient for a long time in preparation for this deal. Simon had considerable authority over his team, and to prevent anything from going wrong, he forbade any members of the team from taking any liberties during the deal.

Because going out to vent one's anger inevitably involves stopping in towns along the way, gambling and drinking are unavoidable. Once gang members get involved in these three things, it is very easy for them to cause trouble.

Now, this long period of "arduous training" has finally seen a glimmer of hope.

The crowd was like hounds about to be released from their cages, restless and impatient, starting to imagine where they should spend the huge sum of money they would get after this heist.

----

heavy rain.

late at night.

No one noticed that a figure was walking briskly along the mountain path towards the Howling Wolf Gang's temporary camp.

He was dragging a long weapon wrapped in black cloth, and the sound of it scraping against the mountainside was drowned out by the torrential rain.

Chapter 916: The Western Axe King Makes His Debut!

"Wait a minute, be quiet! Someone's coming!"

The Howling Wolf Gang's guards were practically non-existent; it wasn't until the other party entered their field of vision that anyone noticed something was wrong.

But it was pouring rain at the moment, which obstructed the view, and the other party was alone, so the guards couldn't be sure what to do.

Therefore, his first instinct was simply to place his hand on the gun handle as a symbolic warning and loudly demand, "Who are you? What are you doing here?!"

……

Zhang Honglu did not answer, but simply and decisively tore off the roll of black cloth covering his weapon.

A gleaming, pear-blossom-shaped axe appeared in his hand. The axe was as tall as a man, with pear-blossom-shaped grooves carved on both sides of its blade. Its edge resembled a cold, crescent moon, radiating a chilling light and exuding murderous intent!

He wasn't particularly tall, but the massive axe he wielded was almost as tall as Zhang Honglu. He carried it so effortlessly that, for a moment, the Howling Wolf Gang sentinel misjudged its weight.

Until the next instant.

In the blink of an eye, he only saw the other person's upper body lean forward slightly, and then suddenly appear in front of him—arms raised, the cold, sharp-looking mountain-splitting axe was already hanging above his head, casting a terrifying and despairing shadow.

Ding-ding-ding-ding.

The raindrops pounded on the giant axe, playing a deadly prelude before the howling sound that cleaved the air.

"Ah... wait..."

"boom-----!!!"

Fortunately, everything happened very quickly, and there was no pain at all. Rather than "chopping," it was more like Zhang Honglu used the immense weight of the Pear Blossom Mountain-Splitting Axe to smash a living person into dust. In less than a second, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, he was instantly reduced to a pool of blood!

Blood, flesh, and bone fragments flew everywhere, and in the end, he still couldn't pull out the gun.

……

In an instant, the chattering noise from just moments before vanished without a trace, replaced by the dense sound of rain.

The Howling Wolf Gang is a relatively new gang that has emerged in the south in recent years. Its members have high standards; basic requirements include being able to fire a gun and ride a horse. The most crucial element is ruthlessness. To avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop, they don't have fixed strongholds. Instead, they travel between cities in the south on horseback, setting up camps and leaving after a short period.

They didn't dare loot the city, but they frequently lingered around economically active cities like Fengchuisha, robbing passersby. At least until tonight, they all thought they were the kind of ruthless, dangerous group that would terrify anyone who saw them.

It wasn't until they watched their companion's body turn to pieces in an instant, blood mingling with rainwater and splashing onto their faces, that they realized there was such a brutal and visceral power in this world.

Zhang Honglu burst into loud laughter.

His laughter still carried a touch of youthful innocence, and his voice wasn't particularly rough. But it was precisely this sound, combined with his actions at that moment, that made him more terrifying than a demon to the Howling Wolf Gang members. The axe swung, in slow motion, drawing a perfectly clear dividing line through the dense rain, cleaving towards the most concentrated part of the crowd!

"laugh---!!"

The most distinctive feature of an axe is its ability to sweep mercilessly, creating a sharp arc that leaves blood flowing and limbs flying everywhere.

His movements were casual, as if he were cleaning the house, casually dusting off the dust in the corner with a feather duster. Such effortless movements, seemingly slender arms, wielded a massive axe of unknown weight, and in an instant, several more lives were claimed.

It was only at this moment that everyone remembered to shout, to yell, and to run for their lives.

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

Unlike Glenburg, Zhang Honglu gave them no chance to surrender or beg for mercy, laughing wildly in the rain as if playing whack-a-mole. With another swift stroke of his axe, he cleaved the Howling Wolf Gang members into pieces, one by one.

Unlike Glenburg, morale here collapsed in an instant. Not only did no one resist, but not even a single person went into the cave to report the situation to their leader. The vast majority of the Howling Wolf Gang members were terrified by the hellish scene, their faces drained of color, and they could only stand there, waiting to die. Those who managed to run away were, among ordinary people, truly "brave."

Unfortunately, this so-called courage was meaningless in front of Zhang Honglu.

"Where to go?!"

Zhang Honglu let out a clear, angry shout, and with a swift swing of his right arm, he flung the axe in a graceful arc!

“Buzz——!”

The giant axe spun in mid-air, tearing through the rain with a muffled whistling sound. It fell into the dark mass of people, like the Grim Reaper's scythe, level with their shoulders. In one circle, it chopped off more than a dozen heads, just like harvesting wheat, and its momentum showed no sign of abating.

It spun several times in the air, like an oversized boomerang, before Zhang Honglu reached out and, with a clang, firmly grasped the axe handle amidst the torrential rain.

"Ah...ah—!!!"

As they ran, the people around them all lost their heads, blood gushing out like a fountain, and one after another they collapsed. What a horrific scene!

One of the fleeing gang members happened to trip and fall, thus escaping this round of slaughter. However, he also witnessed this horrific scene firsthand, watching his companions fall silently to the ground, headless corpses, splattering a mixture of blood and mud... It's hard to say whether this trip was a stroke of luck or misfortune.

He wanted to escape.

His body was overwhelmed by fear and despair; his legs went weak, and he couldn't even stand up. He turned over and saw the black-haired, cold-faced boy holding a giant axe, looking at him expressionlessly from the side.

……

"No...no...no!! Ahhhhhh!!!"

No further words were needed; that one glance was enough to shatter his defenses and plunge him into madness.

Nevertheless, Zhang Honglu still did not let him go, or rather, he would never have let anyone go in the first place.

run.

Big jump!

"Boom——!!!"

The giant axe, raised high in the air, cleaved down towards the desperate survivor!

----

"……what's the situation?"

All of this happened so fast that no one was even alive enough to come forward and file a complaint.

The two men inside the cave, unaware that they were now all alone, heard only a sudden chaos outside, filled with screams and wails, yet not a single shot was fired. In a very short time, all sound vanished, and everything returned to silence, broken only by the pitter-patter of rain, as if nothing had happened, and it was merely their hallucination.

Simon and the tall hat looked at each other in bewilderment.

The cave, where heavy rain was falling, suddenly transformed into a source of escaping fear.

The more silent we are, the more terrifying it becomes.

Simon broke the silence.

"Have a look."

The man in the tall hat became serious. He drew his twin pistols first and advanced inching forward, almost hugging the edge of the cave. Step by step, cautiously, he finally reached the cave entrance, like a groundhog that had finally dug a hole and emerged above ground.

He stepped into the heavy rain.

Chapter 917: Hell is Here

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

This time, he finally heard some noise, which cheered Simon up a little, but his excitement didn't last long.

After three gunshots, there was silence. The world once again fell into darkness and quiet, just like before humans existed, tens of thousands of years ago? Hundreds of thousands of years ago? In this wilderness, in this cave, when the rain falls heavily, are the raindrops pattering on the ground, just as quiet?

Perhaps due to excessive pressure, Simon began to think about all sorts of random things, until a gust of cold wind blew in, making his bones ache, and he finally snapped out of it. He grabbed Angelona by the collar and lifted her from her seat.

"Don't move, this woman is in my hands!"

Tragically, he didn't even know what he was facing; he was merely trying to connect the dots with rudimentary logic: the Howling Wolf Gang had been stationed in this cave for quite some time without incident. Only today, bringing this girl back, did they suddenly face annihilation. She was the only variable; there must be a connection between the two!

Of course, besides that, he had no other cards to play.

"Say you're still alive, now!" Simon pulled out a dagger, pressed it against Angelona's throat, and said viciously.

"Ugh... I..." The girl's throat was dry, and her mind was a complete mess. "I'm still alive..."

"Did you hear that? She's still alive! I didn't kill her! I can give her back to you, but if you do anything impulsive, you won't have a choice! Before I die, I'll make sure to slit this little girl's throat, you hear me!"

Outside the cave, there was no response except for the sound of raindrops hitting the ground.

"Did you hear me?!" The deathly silence almost drove Simon to madness. Unwilling to lose this round of negotiations, he shouted, "If you don't answer, I'll gouge this little girl's eyes out first!"

Silence remained outside the cave.

However, a tall hat stained with blood flew in from outside the cave, landing right in front of Simon.

The hat flipped over, spilling gushing blood, and two eyeballs, stuck together with the optic nerve, rolled out from it.

"ah……?!"

Simon gasped, his face turning deathly pale. His stomach churned, as if he had been riding a fast horse and crashed headfirst into a wall, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. The information given was both forceful and ruthless, making him realize that he didn't have much leverage in the negotiation, and the "thing" outside the cave had no intention of negotiating.