“Mr. Noah! I see the mine ahead—!”
After about 15 minutes of exhilarating riding, the abandoned mine where the Redbeard Gang’s camp was said to be located began to come into view. Of course, just because it was visible didn’t mean we could waltz right in.
“Halt!”
As we approached, three burly men with rifles emerged from the building to block our path.
“…Who are you? How did you get here?”
With a flustered tone, I quickly dismounted from the driver’s seat and ran toward them, wearing an urgent expression.
“I was sent by Mr. Wild!”
“…What? The boss?”
“Right now, some crazy bounty hunters are attacking up ahead! We’re in the middle of a fight!”
“What the…?”
Taking advantage of their confusion at my frantic babbling, I drew my gun.
“That would be me.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
In an instant, they collapsed.
“Wow… Mr. Noah… What the…?”
My quick draw and fanning skills, which sometimes even surprise me, must have looked like a macro to others. I gestured casually to Joe, who was wide-eyed like a spring had popped out.
“Joe, no time for this. They’ll be here soon, so let’s quickly check what’s around here.”
As I said that, I tossed Joe a Sharps rifle and a revolver that the gang members had been carrying.
“You know how to use these, right? They’ll be here in 5 minutes tops. Hurry!”
“Ah… Yes…!”
I planned to check where the gang members had stashed the cash they stole from the bank before they arrived. And besides…
‘You all—!!! Think about what’s behind you—! And fight—!! Whether it’s 30 or 300 government lackeys, we’ll stand against them to protect what’s precious to us—!’
I also wanted to find out what else they were hiding. If it was something that could be the Redbeard Gang’s weakness, it might give us an advantage in future battles.
So, Joe and I split up and began scouting around the camp. Since it was originally a mine, there were a lot of buildings—dormitories, dining halls, and so on. From the faint sounds I could hear, it didn’t seem like there were any gang members hiding to ambush us… but I still carefully surveyed the area.
But then…
“Mr. Noah—!!”
“…!”
While inspecting the living quarters of the gang members, I heard Joe’s loud shout. I hurried over to him, and what I saw was…
“You need to see this…!”
“What is it? …Oh.”
…It appeared to be their armory.
“…Crazy.”
There were dozens of Sharps rifles and countless revolvers. And piled up in the corner was…
“Mr. Noah—! This is dynamite…!”
A massive amount of dynamite.
“What the… Did they set up a weapons shop in this camp…?”
What kind of gang has this many weapons? Did they raid a military base? This is on par with what you’d find in a large weapons shop in a city like San Francisco.
Just as I was marveling at this, I heard a rustling sound.
“…!”
“What’s wrong, Mr. Noah?”
“…There’s someone else here besides us.”
My sharp ears picked up someone’s presence.
“Could they have already arrived…!”
“Not yet. I don’t hear any hoofbeats.”
Then that means…
There were others here before we arrived, aside from the guards we took out earlier.
‘Gang members?’
One thing was certain—whoever was here wasn’t on our side. So, Joe and I…
Step, step.
Slowly moved toward the source of the sound.
“…Over there.”
The sound was coming from the largest building at the very back of the camp.
Rustle, rustle.
Listening closely now, it wasn’t just one person.
“Joe… just in case, keep your gun ready.”
“…Okay.”
Joe, with a tense expression, drew his pistol and took a shooting stance. I also held my gun in my right hand, ready for any unexpected situation.
Creak—!
I quickly opened the door and stepped inside.
And what I saw was…!
“Ahhh—!”
“Uh, who are you, mister…?!”
Several women and children.
“…Huh?”
“…Mr. Noah, what is this…?”
The identity of the people inside was so unexpected that Joe and I, feeling a bit deflated, lowered our guns. I counted the women and children inside.
‘7 women and 9 children.’
As I was counting, Joe, tilting his head, asked me.
“Mr. Noah… who are these people? Did those guys kidnap them or something…?”
“No.”
I shook my head at Joe’s question and…
Swish—.
Pointed at a girl who, bravely standing at the front with her arms stretched out, seemed to be trying to protect everyone.
“Ah…!”
Joe let out a sigh of realization as soon as he saw the girl. She had red hair—a ginger. That red hair… was the same as Redbeard Edward Wild’s, whom we had seen at the canyon entrance.
“…These people are the families of those gang members.”
“…Yeah.”
…Why did I miss this? Gangs like the Redbeard Gang, who are on the run or moving as a group, often bring their families along.
‘You all—!!! Think about what’s behind you—! And fight—!! Whether it’s 30 or 300 government lackeys, we’ll stand against them to protect what’s precious to us—!’
What Redbeard had urged his men to protect wasn’t the cash stolen from the bank—it was their families.
“Are… are you the sheriff? Then, our husbands…?”
“Mister, have you seen our dad…?”
The families of the Redbeard Gang all looked vulnerable. Worn-out clothes, dirty faces, and skinny frames. They must have been on the run non-stop from Lexio County to here, without proper food, baths, or sleep.
Perhaps that’s why…
“Somehow, my heart feels weak…”
Looking at the families of the Redbeard Gang, Joe’s eyes seemed to soften with pity.
Of course…
“Yeah, you’re just an NPC, so I guess that makes sense.”
…But not me.
My heart feeling weak? Yeah, right.
After confirming that what the gang members were hiding was their own families, I was pretty much over it.
‘I thought there might be some treasure other than a pile of bounties.’
But it was just their families. Honestly, it’s a bit disappointing.
Just as I let out a sigh of disappointment…
“You—!!! What did you do to my dad and uncles—!!”
The red-haired girl, with the fiery spirit of her gang leader father, boldly shouted at us, who were armed with guns.
She must be around 10 to 12 years old.
Not exactly an age where you don’t know fear, but she’s got guts.
Joe, with his kind heart, looked at her fondly and then turned to me.
“By the way, Noah. What do we do now? They’ll be here soon…”
“What do we do? We get ready to fight, of course.”
I was about to say that the situation was more favorable than in the canyon.
“Wait.”
“What’s wrong?”
A way to easily defeat them popped into my head.
“Aha, that should work.”
Not that I intended it, but a third-rate villainous expression spread across my face.
“…Noah. Your eyes look kinda evil.”
And this evil look of mine…
Swoosh.
Shudder.
Was directed straight at the red-haired girl in front of me.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“…Ann.”
Red hair and Ann… A classic name.
“You asked what we did to your dad? Let’s go see him together.”
“…What? My dad?”
I wiped the evil look off my face and replaced it with a kind one, reaching out to Ann.
**
“Boss—! There’s no one around! It seems like they came alone!”
“Dammit…!”
Instead of chasing the carriage, the Redbeard Gang stayed in the canyon to prepare for an attack.
But nothing came.
‘There are 30 members of the Justice Town and Lincoln County sheriffs spread out around here!’
Realizing it was a lie, the Redbeard Gang hurried back to their camp.
“Move as fast as you can—! Get back to the camp as soon as possible!”
“Yes, sir—!”
Redbeard Edward Wilde, the leader of the gang, urged his horse forward, anxious.
Seeing this, one of his subordinates tried to reassure him.
“Boss, don’t worry too much. Our guys are guarding the camp, right? And the money is well hidden underground. They won’t find it.”
“…Right.”
Edward nodded but couldn’t shake off his anxiety.
‘That bounty hunter earlier…’
He was quick and bold in his decisions.
Such people were unpredictable and therefore more dangerous.
Especially their despicable tactic of using hostages when the situation turned against them.
‘Hey, you bastards—! If you move even a little, I’ll shoot your youngest!’
Yeah… What Edward was worried about wasn’t the money.
It was his daughter and the families of the other gang members left at the camp.
‘No way that lunatic would do something crazy to overcome the odds… Nah, he wouldn’t.’
Redbeard shook his head, dismissing the worst-case scenario.
He knew that as outlaws, they were the villains.
But that didn’t mean the bounty hunters and sheriffs were saints, though they were at least on the side of justice.
There’s no way those who claim to uphold justice would do something underhanded against outlaws.
But why?
Drip.
The uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away, and cold sweat kept pouring.
With that unease, Edward and his men returned to the camp.
And…
“Whoa—!”
The first thing they saw were their men lying at the entrance of the camp.
“They’ve been to the camp—!”
“Find them—!”
Startled, Edward and his gang hurried inside.
“Hey there—!”
Noah greeted them.
With a confident and relaxed expression, Noah held a pistol in one hand and…
“Daddy—!!!!”
“Ann—!!!!”
…held Edward’s daughter Ann as a hostage.
Edward’s ominous premonition had come true.
**
Nietzsche once said:
*”He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster.”*
*”And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”*
17 years have passed.
I had already become the abyss itself.
“Hey, you bastards—!! Drop your guns and kneel—! Or do I pull the trigger?!”
“You son of a bitch—!!! Put the gun down now—!!”
Redbeard desperately screamed upon seeing his daughter taken hostage.
“What, son of a bitch? You think I’m kidding? Huh? Should we all just die together?!”
“I was wrong—! Please don’t do it—!!!”
To an outsider, I probably looked like the outlaw.
