Chapter 20
The night wind was cold, but Jaei’s head burned hotter than ever.
Behind him, a pack of starving wolves charged forward, and in front, the bandits fired wildly—if his concentration slipped even slightly, it would be a meaningless death.
Bang! Bang!
Click!
Jaei frowned as he slung the Sharps rifle over his shoulder.
He had run out of bullets.
From the start, he had only been given five rounds and caps.
Jaei drew his revolver and fired while cocking it like mad.
The number of bullets was limited, but the way to win was to fire as many, as fast as possible.
Bang! Bang bang!
“Guh—!”
“Becky!”
No matter how much the bandits poured out bullets, gaps were bound to appear.
Jaei’s attack struck the head of the man called Becky directly.
He had to hurry.
The front was a problem, but so were the wolves chasing from behind.
They were persistent, and Onyx’s breathing was growing rough—it was impossible to tell who would stop first.
Bang! Bang bang!
Priscilla was the leader.
Jaei aimed at the back of her head and fired repeatedly, but the last remaining subordinate ran in a straight line, shielding her.
‘Last one.’
The final bullet.
As the man turned his body, seemingly to reload, Jaei pulled the trigger.
The man’s head burst, and he fell sideways, and Priscilla turned back with a face filled with terror.
“Cannard!”
Now only Priscilla remained, and arrows.
As Jaei drew the bowstring and aimed, she looked back and forth in panic.
They had reached a cliff where the rocky hills dropped off sharply.
Craaaack!
“Damn it!”
Jaei pulled the bowstring with all his strength, and Priscilla, swallowing a scream, leapt off the cliff with her horse.
A moment that felt like dozens of seconds.
The arrow struck her back, her horse flailed its front legs, and the bowstring Jaei had pulled snapped with a twang.
Slash—! Thud!
Hiiiiiing!
“Aaaah!”
Priscilla’s back bent as she was hit, and she soon disappeared below the cliff.
Seeing that, Onyx came to a sudden stop, and Jaei’s body lurched forward as if he might fall.
Bark! Bark bark!
Half-falling from the saddle, Jaei snapped back to his senses at the sound of wolves.
He rolled to the ground and ran toward Cannard’s corpse.
Grrr! Bark!
The starving wolves bared their massive fangs and lunged at him.
Jaei grabbed the gun Cannard had been reloading.
Click!
Grrraaaah!
As he loaded a bullet and lowered the hammer, a wolf lunged right in front of him with its jaws wide open.
Close enough to touch.
He squeezed his eyes shut and fired.
Bang!
Kieeeek!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
All the bullets pierced straight through the wolves’ heads.
As the ones close to him died, the others cleverly kept their distance, spreading out their positions.
They seemed intent on surrounding him completely before attacking.
With trembling hands, Jaei picked up bullets scattered beside the corpse.
“Get lost. Please.”
Hiiing!
Onyx, having calmed down, kicked its hind legs repeatedly, threatening the wolves.
There were far more wolves than bullets.
Rather than killing them all, it seemed better to scare them off.
As Jaei fired while shouting, the one that appeared to be the leader howled loudly.
Awooo—
Awoo—
And one by one, they backed away and disappeared.
Until all of them were gone, Jaei maintained his aim, not letting his guard down.
How much time had passed?
Judging it safe, Jaei exhaled and braced himself on the ground.
“Haa, haa······.”
As the tension left him, pain set in.
When he had fallen earlier under Onyx, his forearm had been completely torn up.
He felt so weak that he couldn’t believe he had been holding a gun just moments ago.
Onyx approached and rubbed its face against him worriedly, and Jaei patted its neck, saying he was fine.
“You did well. Thank you.”
Hiiing!
Jaei limped toward the cliff and looked down.
The arrow had definitely struck Priscilla’s back, but he couldn’t confirm what happened after.
He had two bullets left.
He fired one downward.
Bang!
He couldn’t see, but if Priscilla was alive, it would finish her.
Jaei took the smallest wolf corpse among those lying around, placed it on Onyx, and tied it down.
Proof for the farm owner that the wolf hunt had been somewhat successful.
‘His name was Cannard, right?’
Then he searched the clothes of the man whose head had burst open.
Fortunately, there were more bullets.
Dried meat wrapped in foil, gambling chips of unknown use, cigarettes, and a key.
Jaei examined the key closely.
‘Looks like an inn key.’
On the front was a number that seemed to indicate a room, and on the back was the word ‘Medina.’
Had they come straight into Mollibay right after robbing Ractover?
They were bold.
Jaei suddenly recalled what Priscilla had said.
‘Even when we cleaned out Ractover, it was only 980 dollars.’
······Did that mean the gang’s base might still have that 980 dollars?
Jaei carefully tucked the key into his inner pocket and mounted Onyx.
He briefly considered whether to deal with the corpses, but if they were bank robbers, there might be bounties on them.
He could check later and come back for them.
For now, there wasn’t enough space with just the wolf corpse—
‘And if I can’t prove they were bank robbers, I’ll end up charged with murder.’
Jaei slowly pulled the reins.
“Let’s go back, Onyx. To the farm.”
Hiiing!
Returning along the path they came was easy.
He could just follow the hoofprints and bloodstains.
In the distance, glowing eyes briefly stared at Jaei from the darkness.
“······!”
The wolves were devouring the bandits’ corpses.
Tearing apart flesh beyond recognition, they greedily feasted, then paused tensely at Jaei’s appearance.
Jaei didn’t avert his gaze and made Onyx face straight ahead.
As long as they didn’t interfere with each other, there was no need to clash.
“Eat your fill.”
Muttering that, Jaei let out a deep sigh.
It felt like the darkness was slowly lifting.
As if night was passing and morning was coming, the sky brightened.
***
Thud. Thud thud.
“It’s Jaei.”
As Jaei knocked on the farm door, the farm owner and Rebecca, who had been on watch, jolted awake.
Morning had already fully broken.
How far had he gone to only return now?
The farm owner opened the door and flinched at Jaei’s appearance.
“Hey, you—”
“The wolf pack must have grown in the meantime. Forget ten, there were about twenty.”
His hat and poncho were covered in dirt, his left arm soaked in blood, and scratches all over his body hinted at the fierce battle of the night before.
Rebecca came out and gasped, examining him.
“Oh my, Jaei! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. There were some problems, but it’s been handled. Could you take down the corpse on Onyx?”
The farm owner took down the wolf corpse and examined its hide.
Though a gun had been used, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
Jaei’s voice sounded utterly exhausted.
He patted Jaei’s shoulder in encouragement.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“If you go west for over two hours from here, you’ll reach the road connected to California. There are about ten wolf corpses around there. If you need them, take them.”
“You went over two hours away?”
“It just happened.”
“Rebecca, prepare the carriage and knives. Forget the meat—we’ll just skin them there. Jaei, your injuries look serious. You should see a doctor.”
“I think so. I’ll head into Mollibay first. I’ll see you when I repay the debt. Oh, and Rebecca.”
Jaei called out to Rebecca, who was about to go inside, waving the bow Jack had lent him.
“Tell Jack I’m sorry. I snapped the bowstring.”
“It’s okay. Jack will understand. Are you leaving right away? How about having some soup first?”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass. I need to see a doctor and take care of some things. Oh, and I saw some suspicious people on the way. Be careful when you go collect the hides.”
“Suspicious people?”
“That’s why they’re suspicious.”
He added that in case they misunderstood upon seeing the remnants of the corpses the wolves had left behind.
But in the Wild West, with many nomads and outlaws roaming, the farm owner didn’t question it much and continued inspecting the wolf corpse.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
“Thank you, Jaei. See you at the market next time. Stop by the stable—I’ll buy you a drink.”
Jaei pulled his hat down low and turned his horse toward Mollibay.
Perhaps because the wolf had been unloaded, Onyx’s steps were light.
Clatter clatter.
Around noon, Jaei arrived in Mollibay and stopped a passerby.
The man flinched at the sight of Jaei’s left arm but relaxed at his polite manner.
“Excuse me. Do you know where an inn called ‘Medina’ is?”
“It’s inside Main Street. Turn into the alley on the right and you’ll find it soon enough.”
“Thank you.”
So the Medina inn really existed.
Jaei found the building easily and went inside.
The number on the key was ‘201.’
The last room on the second floor.
Knock knock.
Just in case someone remained, he made his presence known first.
Jaei fixed his revolver toward the door and listened carefully.
It seemed no one was inside.
Click.
Creak.
Using the key, Jaei opened the door.
The messy room was filled with the stench of stale smoke and alcohol.
He checked the bathroom, closet, and anywhere a person might hide, confirming the room was empty.
‘Doesn’t look like there’s any luggage. Did they leave the carriage somewhere else?’
But storing 980 dollars in a carriage seemed too risky.
If the innkeeper or staff found it, it would be a disaster.
‘How big would 980 dollars be? Probably not that large.’
If it were all one-dollar bills, it would be about 1000 sheets of paper.
Small enough to hold.
As Jaei searched thoroughly, he ducked his head under the bed.
“Ah.”
A leather bag was wedged between the bed and the wall.
Jaei pushed the bed aside and lifted the bag, feeling its weight and immediately becoming certain.
‘This is it.’
Opening the zipper, he saw bundles of one-dollar bills neatly organized.
980 dollars.
As he brushed the bills with his fingertips, a thought crossed his mind.
‘Will they give me a reward?’
Returning the money would be right, but this was the Wild West.
It was better to understand how things worked first.
Jaei zipped the bag tightly, took it along with the key, and left the room.
To find out information related to the bank robbers—
‘Let’s go to the sheriff’s office.’