SWDnovel Chapter 27 Frenzied Harvest
Chapter 27 Frenzied Harvest
His subordinates' words were like water off a duck's back.
What churned in his mind was the guy who had miraculously escaped during the day, only to be shot in the chest, the terrified look in his eyes before he died, and his screams:
"It's him! The scoundrel who killed our brothers!"
"His gun is fast! And incredibly accurate!"
A chill, more biting than the night wind in the canyon, crept up Lucas’s back.
In the lawless hell of the West, who hasn't stained their hands with blood to make a living?
Ruthlessness is the foundation of survival!
But today, the guy who chased him and forced him to flee back to his lair like a stray dog... Lucas licked his dry, chapped lips, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
That's a true master.
A terrifying existence that could make even an old wolf like him, who had survived countless battles, tremble with fear!
Click!
A sharp cracking sound of a broken neck bone pierced the deathly silence of the canyon, like an icicle suddenly stabbing into Lucas's eardrums!
He jerked his head as if branded with a hot iron, his pupils contracting sharply in the darkness.
Just a dozen steps away, one of his men, a blurry figure, had his neck twisted at an eerie angle, as if his bones had been removed, and he silently collapsed onto the cold, sandy ground, raising only a small cloud of dust.
puff!
Almost simultaneously!
A streak of dark light, so fast it left only a blur, accompanied by a sickening screech of flesh being pierced, precisely wedged itself into the throat of another subordinate who was looking around in bewilderment!
The guy could only let out a "hoarse...hoarse..." sound from his throat, his hands futilely trying to cover the gushing wound, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out, and his body fell straight backward like a broken log!
"Enemy...!" The third bandit's scream had barely escaped his throat.
boom!boom!
In the shadows on either side of the canyon, two streaks of orange gunfire, like the flicking tongues of venomous snakes, suddenly flared and then extinguished in the inky darkness! Deadly bullets, whistling through the air, arrived in an instant!
puff!puff!
The last two guys next to Lucas who had just gotten their hands on guns had two garish flowers of blood burst open on their foreheads almost simultaneously!
Red and white matter flew everywhere. His body was thrown backward by the huge impact and crashed heavily to the ground without even uttering a sound.
Of the five living people, in the blink of an eye, only Lucas was left still breathing!
"Ah!! The devil!!!"
The fifth, and only, subordinate who was a little further away from Lucas and was lucky enough not to be called out immediately, witnessed this hellish scene and was terrified!
He let out a bloodcurdling scream that sounded inhuman, and stumbled backward while frantically pulling the trigger towards the canyon exit!
boom!boom!boom!boom!
The bullets struck the rock face inaccurately, scattering sparks and fragments of rock.
"How did he get in! Behind us! Behind us is a sheer cliff!!!"
The only thought that filled the bandit's mind was this one that terrified him; fear completely consumed him.
boom!
Another chilling gunshot rang out!
Closer and clearer than before!
The running bandit suddenly froze, a gruesome bloody hole bursting open in his chest.
The terror on his face was frozen in time. His body fell forward, crashing heavily into the dust. He twitched twice and then lay still.
Even in death, his unfocused eyes still held an incomprehensible, deep-seated fear.
The canyon was deathly silent.
The gunshots, screams, and voices from just now seemed as if they had never existed.
Only the whistling of the night wind through the cracks in the rocks, the restless snorting of livestock, and the rustling of hooves pawing the ground echoed hollowly amidst the thick, pungent smell of blood.
This sudden, absolute silence was more suffocating than any sound!
Lucas huddled in the shadow of the rock, his back soaked with cold sweat, his heart pounding as if it would shatter his ribs.
He could smell the strong, pervasive stench of blood—it was the blood of his own men!
We can't just sit here and wait to die!
Lucas took a deep breath, raised his voice, a forced tremor, and screamed in the direction Tom might be hiding in the darkness:
"Hey! You over there, bro! Listen up! We...we can talk! It doesn't have to be a fight to the death!"
The brief silence felt like a boulder pressing on my chest.
Then, a cold, emotionless voice, like a venomous snake, clearly emerged from behind a rock: "Talk?" Tom's voice held a hint of amusement. "What nonsense are you trying to spout?"
Lucas felt a jolt, but his heart felt like it had grasped a lifeline; he was just glad that Lucas was willing to talk to him!
He suppressed his elation, his voice rising, filled with an urgent temptation: "Money! Gold! I'll give you money! A thousand dollars! Cash! Right here in my stone house! Take it, turn around and leave, and I, Lucas, swear to God I'll never set foot in Texas again!"
A thousand dollars!
In the West in 1883, that was enough for an outlaw to live a carefree life for several years!
The alluring sound crashed into the deathly silent canyon like cold water being poured into boiling oil.
There was a moment of silence behind the rock.
Lucas was so nervous he could almost hear his blood rushing to his head.
Finally, that icy voice rang out again, laced with undisguised, venomous mockery: "A thousand dollars? Tsk... Boss Lucas, is your life only worth a thousand dollars?"
This light, mocking remark landed like a slap across Lucas's face!
He was so angry that his blood rushed to his head, his cheeks turned purple, and his teeth clenched so tightly they made a grinding sound.
But he knew this was his last chance!
"Two thousand!!" Lucas practically roared, his voice distorted by extreme pain and fear. "Two thousand dollars! Cash! All of it! Just nod, and I'll crawl out right now and hand it to you!!"
"make a deal!"
From behind the rock, the cold voice rang out crisply and cleanly, even carrying a hint of relaxation.
Whoosh!
Immediately afterwards, the sound of a small pebble being kicked could be heard.
Lucas's heart pounded, his eyes fixed on the edge of the huge rock where the sound was coming from. He saw a blurry figure cautiously peeking out from behind the rock, with half a body and an arm, as if to receive the ransom!
It's now!
A fierce glint flashed in Lucas's eyes!
negotiation?
fart!
This is the opportunity he's been waiting for! And this fool actually believed it!
boom!
The gun barrel that Lucas was hiding behind the rock suddenly burst into a deadly flash!
He pulled the trigger almost the instant Tom leaned forward!
He wanted to send this dreadful scourge to hell before the other party received the money!
Two thousand dollars? You won't get a single penny!
boom!
Almost at the same instant Lucas fired his gun!
From a crevice in another, higher rock above and to Lucas's side, which he hadn't even noticed, another, faster, colder shot tore through the darkness like lightning!
puff!
Lucas felt as if his arm had been bitten hard by a mad dog!
The gun slipped from his hand and fell, arcing through the air.
On his arm, a gruesome bloody hole was gushing out warm liquid, which quickly stained the sand beneath him red.
He struggled to move his almost frozen eyes, staring incredulously in the direction from which the second shot had been fired.
There, there was only deep darkness.