As expected, the hostage tactic worked well.
“P-please put down the gun and let my daughter go…!”
When Verdi was taken hostage earlier, Redbeard didn’t hesitate to shoot, but now he was pale and put down his gun.
Of course, I didn’t let go of his daughter Anne, whom I was holding hostage.
I pointed with my chin at the other Redbeard Gang members behind him and said, “Make your other subordinates put down their guns too.”
“…Put them down, guys.”
“…”
At the boss’s words, the gang members who had been aiming at me reluctantly started lowering their guns.
But even with Redbeard’s order, they couldn’t completely drop their guns.
Even if it was the boss’s daughter, it wasn’t their own, so they didn’t seem that desperate.
Clomp.
If things continued like this, it was highly likely to end badly for me.
So, without releasing Anne, I started backing away slowly.
The Redbeard Gang members slowly approached us… and we moved about 80 yards, holding our breath.
And then…
“…How long do you plan to stall?”
Redbeard, growing impatient, pleaded with me, “You know the situation won’t change like this, right?”
“…How about this? If you let my daughter go… I’ll let you go unharmed. I swear to God.”
Outlaws always swear by God.
I’ve never seen a single one of those oaths kept.
Moreover…
“…”
At first, his face was desperate and panicked, but as time passed, he started regaining his composure.
Sneakily.
I noticed his hand subtly moving toward his holster.
The other gang members’ gun barrels were also slowly rising, aiming at me again.
Realizing I couldn’t stall any longer…
Having led them all to the spot I wanted, I covered Anne’s eyes and said, “Kid, cover your ears.”
“…What?”
Operation name: ‘Explosion is Art.’
As soon as I confirmed Anne was covering her ears, I shouted loudly, “Gal-!!!!”
Now, Joe was supposed to detonate the dynamite I had planted in the building next door…!
……
……
…There should have been a bang, but nothing happened.
“You crazy bastard!”
Seeing my panicked expression, the gang members behind me raised their guns again, thinking it was their chance.
Realizing I had used the wrong trigger word, I shouted again.
Come to think of it, we’re not in Japan but America.
“Boom-!!!”
Kaboom-!!!!
“It’s dynamite-!!”
“Ahhhh-!!”
With the correct trigger word, the building next to them finally exploded, and the scene descended into chaos.
I took the opportunity to aim my gun at Redbeard.
He was slower than me and was just pulling his gun from the holster.
Click.
“Redbeard cut.”
I thought if I shot the boss and then the executives as planned, it would all be over.
But once again, an unexpected person intervened.
“Waaah-!”
“Ahhh-!!”
…Anne, Redbeard’s daughter, who I was holding, bit my hand holding the gun.
“Damn it! Let go-!”
“Haap-!!”
“Ahhhh-!”
Chomp chomp.
No joke, it hurt like hell.
It felt like my wrist was being torn off.
Thud.
In that excruciating pain, I finally dropped the gun.
And in that moment.
Click.
Redbeard finally drew his gun.
I still had one gun left in my left holster, but with no free hand, I lunged forward.
Despite the sudden charge, Redbeard calmly aimed at my head, but…
Whoosh-!
“…!”
I shoved his daughter in front of his gun.
“You dirty bastard-!!”
Of course, he couldn’t shoot, and the distance closed.
Within arm’s reach, our goals were different.
Thwack-!
I swung my palm and knocked the gun out of his hand, sending it to the ground…
Slap-!
“Dad-!”
He finally snatched his daughter back from me.
Me and Redbeard.
Both of us were unarmed, and as I said, within punching distance.
Wham-!
“Let’s fight like men with our fists.”
Without hesitation, I threw the first punch.
**
Wham-!
“Ugh…”
The bounty hunter’s fist was sharp like an awl.
But…
“Let’s fight like men with our fists.”
Those words were good news for Edward.
He didn’t think he’d lose in a fistfight to some skinny guy.
Edward started from the bottom in the Southern Union Militia.
He got beaten up by seniors all the time, so he was confident in his endurance and immediately raised his rock-solid fist.
But…
Swish.
“…?!”
The guy who punched Edward spun around and slid behind him like a snake.
And then…
Click.
“…You crazy-!!”
He drew the gun from his other holster.
“You said we’d fight like men with our fists, you bastard-!”
Another dirty move…!
‘I’m done for…!’
The bounty hunter’s quick draw was no joke.
Edward instinctively knew the bullet would hit him between the eyes in an instant.
Bang-! Bang-! Bang-! Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!
“…”
Edward couldn’t comprehend what had just happened in front of him.
Two seconds? No, one second?
The bounty hunter had emptied all six bullets in that blink of an eye.
And those bullets…
“Ahhhh-!”
“Ugh-!”
Finally free from the aftermath of the explosion, it struck the heads of the subordinates who were just getting up.
One second.
In that brief moment, six bullets were fired.
Exactly six subordinates died.
Seeing that unreal scene, Edward didn’t feel the sorrow of losing his men.
Instead…
‘Monster.’
A sense of danger, fear, and the survival instinct honed from dozens of battles screamed at him to run.
“Alright, let’s settle this with fists now.”
Swoosh.
As he said that, he pulled out a knife from his back pocket.
Edward realized in that moment.
This guy has no thrill for victory or pride in fighting.
He’s like a snake that lures its prey with a wicked tongue, or a jaguar that bites its prey’s weakness and never lets go.
This guy was a killing machine, having abandoned human emotions and moving purely for efficiency.
“Anne-!!”
“Ah, Dad…!”
“Go back to Auntie quickly-! Hurry-!!”
“Ugh…”
Edward first sent away his biggest weakness, his daughter Anne.
As he shouted, Anne hesitated but ran towards where the adults were.
As soon as Edward confirmed his daughter had left, he reached for the holster on the other side.
“Yeah, kid. Let’s settle this like men, with fists.”
Click.
Edward immediately drew his pistol.
‘Come to think of it, I’m not a soldier anymore.’
He almost forgot.
He’s not a soldier now, he’s an outlaw.
Soldiers fight for honor and freedom, but outlaws fight to survive.
Edward pulled the trigger to survive the monster in front of him.
Bang!
**
I used the pistol I had saved on the other side to finish off the remaining Redbeard Gang members.
Just in case they got up and started shooting from both sides, there’d be no way out.
I shot the six who were still lively, and as for the remaining four…
I trusted Joe to handle them and turned to the boss, Redbeard.
“Alright, let’s settle this with fists now.”
Of course, I had no intention of fighting him with fists.
I’m not a thug, why would I fight with fists?
Swoosh.
Contrary to my words about fighting with fists, I immediately pulled out the knife from my back pocket.
And in response…
“Yeah, kid. Let’s settle this like men, with fists.”
Redbeard drew his pistol and aimed it at me.
Click.
His quick draw was quite impressive.
Redbeard pulled the hammer and immediately squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
The rough gunshot and the pungent smell of gunpowder.
And then…
Swoosh.
As soon as he fired, the <Fastest Gunslinger in the West> trait activated, slowing down time.
Used to this, I immediately pushed off the ground and charged forward.
I raised the knife, trying to slice the bullet like some anime protagonist…
Swoosh.
“Ow, dang-!”
…but almost got killed.
Even with the <Fastest Gunslinger in the West> trait, the bullet wasn’t exactly slow.
It felt like a dodgeball flying at me during elementary school P.E.
Bang!
Meanwhile, Redbeard fired another shot.
Which meant another dodgeball was coming my way.
I could dodge it, but if I wasn’t careful, I’d get hit.
I stopped messing around and calmly dodged the bullet.
Then, I rushed forward and slashed at Redbeard’s neck.
Slash!
As I closed the distance to Redbeard, time started flowing normally again.
“…$1500.”
Of course, my knife had already reached his neck by then.
Splat!
I didn’t hesitate and slashed his throat.
Or at least, I tried to…
“Ugh…”
Redbeard stuck his hand in front of his neck before it could be cut.
Splat!!
Blood gushed like a fountain from Redbeard’s deeply cut hand.
His neck was slightly cut too, but his hand in the way made it shallow.
…It wouldn’t kill him right now.
Swoosh.
Meanwhile, Redbeard was raising his gun again, aiming at me.
“…Die.”
“Wow.”
Giving up flesh to take the bone.
Easier said than done, it took some serious guts.
But Redbeard pulled it off.
‘…What a beast.’
If he had kept going, he could’ve become an outlaw worth way more than a $1500 bounty.
I shouted with respect for him.
“Anne-!!!”
Exactly… while looking at his back.
“What?!”
Hearing his daughter’s name, Redbeard flinched and turned around.
Of course…
“……”
There was nothing there.
Realizing his mistake, Redbeard’s body trembled.
When he turned back, his face was filled with intense rage towards me.
“You sneaky snake bastard-!!!!”
“How’d you know? I’m a Snake zodiac!”
Weird.
How did he know I’m a Snake zodiac?
I marveled as I stabbed the knife into his chest.
