Chapter 30
A day before Jaei and Libero reached the destroyed bridge.
There were those who had passed through first—Hartman and the Pinkerton group.
They lay flat at the edge of the cliff, peering down below.
There, corpses swarmed with flies were scattered everywhere.
“Can’t retrieve them.”
“Yeah. It’s much higher than I remember. Nowhere to hook a rope either.”
“Hartman! This won’t work. Let’s give up.”
They had come to collect the Pinkerton badges from the dead.
If they could salvage anything useful along the way, all the better—but nothing seemed worth risking their lives for.
The explosion at the time and being chased by the Tomdiz must have distorted their memory.
It had seemed like they could climb down, but…
“Yeah. Let’s head back.”
Click.
Hartman lit a cigarette and unfolded the map.
If they headed north, they should soon find a place to cross.
“But will that be okay?”
“What?”
“I heard rumors there are Indians up north.”
At that concern, Hartman and the others burst into laughter.
Worry about crazed buffalo instead—Indians?
“Scared?”
“Not scared! It’s just annoying.”
“Going around through the forest is more annoying. If you’re scared, stick close. We’ll get escort fees once we’re back in California. Hahaha!”
They didn’t take it seriously.
This wasn’t an Indian reservation—those people were hiding while ignoring government orders.
They’d try to stay unseen.
And even if they were seen, it wouldn’t matter.
They had plenty of bullets.
Clatter!
“Hm? Something up ahead.”
“A person.”
Not long after heading north, they found Priscilla’s body.
Torn and battered beyond recognition.
The Pinkerton agents frowned and pressed on the arrow wound in her back.
“······Damn. Looks like Indians did this.”
“Why is a woman alone out here?”
“Maybe she turned back after seeing the bridge was destroyed and got caught? Check around—see if there are other bodies.”
“Hartman, what should we do? She’s dead.”
Priscilla, half-abandoned by the Tomdiz, had survived stubbornly and kept moving.
But with her mind unstable, she wandered aimlessly and eventually dried to death under the blazing sun.
Hartman looked at the arrow in her back and gestured to load her onto a horse.
“Take her. Just in case.”
“Yeah. If she’s a missing person, we might get a reward from her family. Tsk. She got it bad—there’s not a single part of her body intact.”
Damn Indians.
Muttering curses, they loaded her corpse onto a horse.
One hand held the reins, the other gripped a gun.
Knowing Indians were nearby and had killed someone, they couldn’t relax.
Bang!
A reflex shot born of tension.
Hartman flinched and turned around.
One of the agents had his gun aimed toward the bushes.
“Why suddenly?”
“I saw something move.”
“An Indian?”
Click!
They swallowed dryly, on edge.
But no further movement came.
Just as one man lowered his gun with a sigh—
Slash!
Thud!
An arrow shot straight through the back of his head.
He collapsed forward without even screaming.
Hartman fired toward where the arrow came from—but he couldn’t even locate the enemy.
Whizz! Whoosh!
“Hartman!”
“Damn it! We’re surrounded!”
“Run! Just run!”
Thud!
“Aaaagh!”
They spurred their horses and fled blindly.
From the bushes, the Indians revealed themselves.
Faces painted in vivid colors, eyes like stars in the night sky.
Every one of them was strong and resolute.
“Baipapupu!”
“Chief, Baipapupu has been shot.”
The chief silently looked at the fallen Pinkerton agents.
They had been moving for a hunt and hid when they sensed something unfamiliar—but…
“We pursue.”
The chief, Maktalakuna, grabbed a still-living Pinkerton agent by the neck.
As if wishing to snap it alive.
“······Disgusting creatures.”
“Ghk—w-what—spare—”
Slash!
Without hesitation, he slit the man’s throat.
Again, and again.
Blood sprayed everywhere like a fountain.
As the chief smeared the blood on his face, the others followed, rubbing it on their palms and necks.
A ritual—swearing vengeance.
“Take their guns. We will chase them to the end and kill them all.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Shasha and her younger sibling stay here. Clean up and send a hawk if anything happens.”
“Understood.”
At his command, the tribe stripped the bodies of outer clothing and took guns and daggers.
They knew the grotesque rumors about them.
Cannibalism. Promiscuity.
But they endured.
Many nearby tribes had already been killed or forcibly relocated by these people.
‘If they live, it will be worse. A punitive force will surely come.’
Whistle!
Ooh! Ooh!
At the chief’s signal, the tribe armed themselves and moved through the bushes.
Nearby horses came running at the signal.
Clatter!
“We chase to the end!”
“Tear them apart!”
“Waaah!”
They mounted their horses and charged in the direction Hartman’s group had fled.
***
“Damn it… life makes no sense.”
Libero muttered as he fidgeted with his remaining bullets.
He couldn’t understand why Indians were here when this wasn’t even their territory.
Jaei frowned, telling him to be quiet.
Libero awkwardly smiled and wiped his nose.
“If we stay hidden, maybe they’ll pass?”
“With Donkey right next to us? Yeah, right.”
Jaei focused on the surroundings.
If the jacket really belonged to a Pinkerton agent, then the Indians likely chased the survivors here.
‘If even one returns to town alive, the security won’t stay quiet. For them, it’s a threat to survival.’
Then perhaps they could explain.
That they were just passersby.
That they wouldn’t reveal anything.
“Libero, can we communicate with them?”
“I don’t know. Usually there are native interpreters. Chiefs might understand some, but I’ve barely seen Indians myself.”
There was a chance.
Jaei gestured toward a rock.
“Go over there and talk to them.”
“What? Me? What do I say?”
“They seem to misunderstand something. We need to tell them we’re just passing through.”
“Why move? Can’t I just shout from here?”
Jaei flicked his gun.
“So we can see where arrows come from.”
“Crazy.”
“And if someone approaches you, it’s easier for me to cover you. If we stay together, we’ll get surrounded.”
“I’m not scared, okay? My legs just hurt.”
“······You’ll hurt more if you die.”
At Jaei’s calm words, Libero closed his eyes and crossed himself.
Then, at Jaei’s signal, he rolled quickly to the other rock.
Thud!
“Oh!”
It worked!
As soon as he settled, Libero shouted loudly.
“Hey! I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re not the ones you’re looking for! We just happened to pass through!”
No answer.
Swallowing hard, he shouted again.
“Let us pass! Or damn it, we’ll all die here—!”
“Very well.”
A low, powerful voice.
As if carried by the wind.
Libero froze.
Jaei raised an eyebrow.
The answer was “Very well.”
Meaning—they would all die?
“What you have done to us all this time—isn’t that what it means?”
“No, that’s—”
“Today, we lost a young warrior without reason. So now, you too will die without reason. That is the balance of nature. That is our will.”
Libero grimaced and looked at Jaei.
They weren’t listening.
Jaei glanced at the darkening sky and asked carefully.
“Are you the chief?”
“I am Maktalakuna, chief of the Asakabu tribe.”
“Yes. I am Kim Jaei from Turtle Rock. As chief, you exist for the prosperity and stability of your tribe.”
What is he trying to do?
Libero glanced anxiously.
The rustling in the bushes seemed to grow louder.
They were closing in.
‘I’ll blow their heads off immediately, damn it.’
As Libero gripped his gun, Jaei gestured calmly.
They didn’t know how many there were.
Since Pinkerton had fled, rushing in would be reckless.
Force was the last option.
“We are not the ones you seek. Yet you intend to kill us, so let me say this—I am quite well-known in Mollibay.”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“I am telling you that there are people following me from Mollibay. If we die here, they will surely suspect nearby Indians. Is that acceptable?”
Libero made a confused face.
The wording sounded off.
It could be misunderstood as if people followed Jaei out of admiration.
In reality, they were after his money.
Jaei covered his mouth with the gun and signaled him to stay quiet.
“From what I see, you judged that no survivors must remain. But we are different. If we die, your village will be in danger.”
The tribe members shook their heads.
A forked tongue.
They must not fall for it.
“If you let us pass safely, I will send those following me back and remain silent about this incident. And if possible, I can even find where the surviving Pinkerton agents are.”
“Pinkerton?”
“The jacket belongs to them. I saw them in Mollibay. Quite a memorable encounter.”
Silence followed.
This alone wouldn’t be enough.
Jaei waited, preparing another proposal.
Then—
Screeeech!
Flap!
A large hawk flew into the forest.
It circled in the air, signaling something.
The chief and tribe frowned.
“Shasha’s hawk.”
“C-chief.”
The scouting hawk had spotted strangers and sent a warning.
Those who heard Jaei left Mollibay had rushed north after him.
In truth, they intended to kill Jaei too—but the tribe couldn’t know that.
“Kim Jaei, was it?”
“That’s correct.”
“Explain why people are following you.”
Ah.
Jaei let out a small exclamation.
So the hawk brought that information.
Then people really were coming after him.
‘······Thanks. You bastards.’
Just as expected.
Jaei steadied himself and asked.
“So… you’re willing to talk now? Can I take it that way?”