Chapter 33
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Normalizing the Corrupt Forces (2)
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The air in Twin Rocks felt subtly different from before.
Sheriff Barrett gazed out the window of his office at the landscape and sensed an unpleasant dissonance he hadn't felt until yesterday.
Until yesterday, the townsfolk would drop their eyes to the ground at the mere sight of Cobra Gang tattoos.
But not anymore.
The residents still feared the security force, but their eyes had changed.
Gazes laced with subtle distrust and mockery amid the fear!
The commotion that started in front of the saloon yesterday had ended in a one-sided victory for some nameless drifter.
And above all, the attempt to make an example of him had backfired catastrophically.
The horrific warning and corpses left by that Eastern drifter gunslinger!
The words scrawled on the bodies were stirring up the townsfolk.
[Crystal mine crystals for the residents!]
[Next up: the corrupt sheriff!]
The security force had clamped down on loose lips, so on the surface, everything looked fine.
But Barrett himself had noticed.
Cracks were forming, ever more clearly, in his kingdom of terror.
"Damn it! Damn it! Jackal's dead?!"
The fact that Cobra's number two had died made it all the more fatal.
Bam!
Barrett slammed his fist on the desk.
Rage boiled up to the top of his head, but at the same time, a chill of fear crept up his spine.
'Damn it! Fifteen men taken out just like that?!'
He had sent some pretty capable guys, yet the drifter had toyed with them before crushing them.
This was no ordinary fighter.
'He's no pushover. I need to mobilize everything I've got!'
Right then, the office door opened with some welcome news.
"Sheriff, the Trade Federation convoy has arrived. They're here for this month's crystal collection!"
Color returned to Barrett's face.
Reinforcements had arrived.
The sheriff hurriedly left his office and headed to the village square, where a line of hefty wagons had pulled in.
Waiting to greet him was the commander of the armed Federation wagon convoy, dressed sharply in uniform.
"Oh, you've arrived, Convoy Captain! Perfect timing in these troubled times!"
Barrett bowed low, groveling pathetically before the commander.
"A vicious criminal threatening the Federation's order has appeared in this town! Lend us some troops!"
Barrett explained what had happened yesterday.
An unidentified gunslinger had shown up and was disrupting the village's order.
But the Federation commander's eyes remained cold.
He looked Barrett up and down, not hiding his contempt, and spoke.
"Sheriff, cleaning up your incompetence isn't our job. Our only mission is the safe transport of crystals. Why should we use Federation forces to bail out your screw-ups?"
"B-but that guy's no ordinary thug!"
"Hah, making a fuss over one gunslinger..."
Barrett pulled out his trump card, prepared for this moment.
"That guy in the convoy this time? He's Turn!"
At those words, the convoy captain's expression hardened for the first time.
That infamous bounty target had appeared here?
The captain pondered briefly before reaching a decision.
"We can't spare any troops."
"Wh-what?!"
"But I understand the severity. The moment we return, we'll report this to headquarters and request reinforcements."
"Oh, thank you! Thank you!"
Barrett breathed a sigh of relief at the promise of Federation support.
'Federation reinforcements are coming!'
Just knowing that restored his confidence.
Plus, thinking about it, if he caught that vicious criminal, he'd pocket a massive bounty.
He might even gain Federation recognition and expand his power.
Fear had already turned to greed.
'Yeah, if I take him out before the Federation arrives, the bounty is all mine!'
After watching the convoy depart, he issued orders to his men.
"Capture him alive! Alive means double the bounty! We'll split it fair and square if we get it! Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
Greed overcomes fear.
The gang members' eyes began to gleam with avarice, blinded by the bounty.
Barrett first assembled a pursuit team from his best bounty hunters to track the man's location.
"So, you want us to bring in this Eastern guy?"
"Nah, no need to take risks. Just report his position! You'll get paid for that!"
The first pack of hounds was unleashed and raced out of the village.
Meanwhile, Jinwoo had already left the village behind.
"They should be sending scouts or an advance team by now..."
Jinwoo deliberately moved slowly on Falcon.
Leaving clear tracks in the wasteland was just a bonus.
He needed to advertise openly so the pursuit team could follow easily.
'That Barrett guy's greedy. Simple-minded.'
In Rising West, players could negotiate with this corrupt sheriff of Twin Rocks in various ways.
And Barrett was the type to be easily lured with money or treasure.
If the protagonist had a big bounty on their head, he'd stupidly throw most of his forces at them blindly.
Jinwoo roughly predicted Barrett's choice.
'The Federation convoy just left after collecting crystals.'
The promise of Federation support was water far in the future, unable to quench his immediate thirst.
Impetuous and greedy Barrett would panic at first.
Once his head cooled, other thoughts would come.
'If the Federation catches him, they might demand even bigger tribute, right?'
Conversely, if Barrett caught Jinwoo himself?
He'd get the bounty on Jinwoo's head and long-term gains.
For that, Barrett would definitely move his own forces first.
As expected, soon after, he sensed the sound of several horses following from behind.
Not a large number.
'About five or six.'
Unlike the Cobra Gang rabble, their movements were on another level.
Hounds approaching cautiously, muffling sounds and keeping distance.
Definitely bounty hunters.
'Not the main force. Scouts to pinpoint location and report back.'
Jinwoo curled up the corner of his mouth.
Falcon's pace slowed just a touch.
The bounty hunters noticed and pursued cautiously.
"There he is! That blue pellicon!"
Jinwoo slowed deliberately, luring them to follow easily.
Not too far, not too close.
But there was one flaw.
'The problem is, he definitely told the Trade Federation convoy about me...'
Which meant the Federation might send Steel Hounds again.
He could handle them using terrain and time, but they were annoyingly elite.
And Jinwoo only had one body.
'Hope those guys do their part.'
Whether sensing its master's thoughts or not, Falcon diligently galloped on.
"Kiek!"
Meanwhile, at the same time.
In the hilly wasteland not far from Twin Rocks.
Kellogg and his resistance fighters moved stealthily along the ridgeline, careful not to kick up dust.
"Boss, you sure about this? Cobra Gang patrols are tight around Twin Rocks."
Adjutant Batu spoke with worry, but Kellogg's eyes burned with conviction.
"Don't worry, Batu! Ghost isn't ordinary. I believe that."
Kellogg was certain.
Ghost giving info on Twin Rocks implied he was setting something up there.
They just had to dance on that stage.
Kellogg ordered his men to rest and climbed the highest hill, scanning Twin Rocks with binoculars.
The village looked as quiet as ever.
'Not yet...?'
"Send out scouts?"
"Infiltrate a man into the village!"
Various suggestions flew, but Kellogg shot them down.
"Negative. Binoculars show heightened security."
As he bit his lip impatiently,
A line of wagons emerged from the village, crossing the wasteland into Kellogg's view.
"What's that?"
Scale and movement suggested it was no ordinary group.
And on the village's opposite side.
A small mounted group raced fiercely in a pursuit direction.
Kellogg's heart pounded hard.
'Something's happening.'
He instinctively knew this was the prelude to the decisive opportunity Ghost would create.
He immediately ordered his men.
"All hands, battle ready. Prepare to move at any moment!"
The resistance fighters' eyes gleamed sharply, like the cold steel of their magic rifles.
"Ghost! What do we do?"
Kellogg muttered, scanning around.
Feeling like some signal would come.
The stage Jinwoo chose was a small canyon where massive boulders, eroded into grotesque shapes by an ancient river, intertwined.
The terrain was flat overall but filled with rock shadows perfect for hiding.
And packed with small, round but spiky cacti that made it hard for horses to charge easily.
The perfect spot to turn pursuers into prey.
He hid Falcon safely at the canyon entrance and took position atop the highest boulder.
Soon, the bounty hunters Barrett sent appeared.
"Here! Pellicon tracks!"
"Can't we just grab him first?"
"No way! Jackal got done in. Guy's a pro. Spot him for sure, signal, then pull back. That's the job."
"Easy money for once!"
Without a hint of suspicion, they followed Jinwoo's clear tracks into the canyon.
"Trail ends here."
"Search the area. That rat's hiding somewhere!"
The moment they scattered, Jinwoo's hunt began.
Phsh!
A silent bullet embedded in the neck of the straggler.
He collapsed without a scream.
"Wh-what?!"
As the others panicked and looked around at their comrade's sudden death,
Another bullet pierced another man's heart.
"Ambush! We gotta get out!"
"Run!"
The apparent leader shouted, pulling something from his coat.
A stubby-barreled single-shot pistol.
A signal flare gun.
His last desperate act to alert the main force to their position and the enemy's presence.
Jinwoo watched through the scope.
He could have shot anytime but held the trigger.
'Yeah, that's what I was waiting for.'
Shuuu!
The flare rocketed into the sky with a tearing whoosh.
Red smoke traced a vivid arc across the clear sky, spreading out.
'Perfect!'
Confirming it, Jinwoo finally drew Hawk Eye.
"Good! Now just escape and... Gahk!"
"Agh!"
In an instant, the bounty hunters became cold corpses on the ground.
Jinwoo descended leisurely from the boulder, past the bodies.
Aiming the scope afar brought many sights into view.
"They're coming."
From Twin Rocks' direction, a massive dust cloud began rising.
The Cobra Gang main force, spotting the flare, was on the move.
Also, faint movement from beyond the opposite hills.
'That's... donkeys and swaybacked nags. Magic rifles. Rebels.'
Kellogg had followed Jinwoo's instructions to the letter.
The rebels had likely seen the flare too and were gearing up to act.
'Should've checked the markers and signals nearby properly.'
And finally, the Trade Federation wagon convoy leisurely departing Twin Rocks, back turned.
Jinwoo confirmed all factions were moving as intended.
He chuckled and called Falcon.
"Alright, let's properly start normalizing the corruption from now on."