RDR: NO REGRETS - Chapter 257: Cleaning Up the Mess (Patreon)

Just as Charles made his move, Sadie and Arthur sprang into action on the other side.

Arthur's job was actually fairly simple.

The handful of sorry-looking men left behind on the shore were no match for him.

The moment the explosion rang out, every one of them turned to look toward the island.

Arthur drew both handguns in practically a tenth of a second.

What happened next hardly needed explaining.

Under Arthur's overwhelming firepower, no one was going to stay on their feet unscathed.

After quickly finishing them off, Arthur stood on the shore and raised his rifle toward the island.

"Damn it, why aren't they coming out yet?"

As the seconds ticked by, Arthur watched the distant island, where flames were rising high into the sky, with growing anxiety.

He glanced up at the sky.

Night had completely fallen. Aside from the glow of the fires on the island, nothing could be seen across the lake.

Even if Stephen and the others came out by boat right now, Arthur wouldn't be able to spot them in this pitch darkness.

Much less cover their retreat.

Arthur was starting to get anxious. He peered through his scope, carefully watching what was happening on the island.

Before long, illuminated by the firelight, he saw a small figure dash out onto the dock and rush straight into the ironclad.

Gunfire continued to crack across the island. From the sound of it, the fighting was fierce.

"What the hell are those guys doing?"

Arthur cursed under his breath, then lowered his rifle without hesitation, turned around, and jumped into one of the small boats by the shore.

He untied the rope securing it, grabbed the oars, and began rowing hard toward the island.

Sitting around waiting wasn't his style. There was no way he was going to stand safely on shore while his companions were fighting for their lives.

The small figure Arthur had spotted through his scope was none other than Sadie, rushing toward the ironclad.

The moment she heard the explosion, Sadie burst out of the house with her weapon in hand and raced toward the large ship.

Since all the gunmen had gone to the square, there was almost no one in her way.

The few Black slaves who tried to stop her lost their nerve the moment they saw Sadie charging toward them with a rifle in hand. None dared take another step forward.

And just like that, Sadie boarded the ironclad with ease.

But that was where the easy part ended. The moment she stepped aboard, Sadie discovered there were still people on the ship.

Four or five ragged deckhands were resting on board. When Sadie came charging in, they froze, unsure how to react.

Sadie had no time to waste talking to them. As far as she was concerned, every one of them deserved to die.

Her rifle barked several times in quick succession, and three unlucky men lying on the deck were shot dead on the spot.

Only then did the others realize Sadie was an enemy. With startled cries, they immediately jumped overboard.

They had no intention of trading shots with her.

"Bunch of cowards."

Sadie curled her lip in contempt, slung her rifle away, drew the pistol from her waist, and headed straight for the wheelhouse.

There were still people aboard.

After only a few steps, Sadie heard a flurry of hurried footsteps coming from around the corner ahead.

Without even thinking, she raised her pistol and fired at the corner.

There was an old saying that a good shot was nothing compared to someone who knew how to catch it.

And there was another old saying.

Your head is going to catch my bullet.

That was exactly what happened.

The instant Sadie pulled the trigger, a man came rushing around the corner.

The bullet struck him squarely between the eyes.

Apparently, fate had decided he was dying today.

That shot clearly frightened the men behind him. Staring at the body on the floor, they hesitated, unsure whether to keep charging or retreat.

They hesitated.

Sadie didn't.

Once her reckless streak kicked in, she stopped caring about anything else.

She immediately drew her other pistol and raised both guns, letting these two gentlemen clear the way for her.

A rapid burst of gunfire erupted like a string of firecrackers, and everyone on the deck went down.

Sadie stepped over the bodies scattered across the deck and walked into the wheelhouse.

The moment she saw the chaotic mess of buttons and levers in front of her, she felt a headache coming on.

"What the hell are all these things???"

The ship was far more complicated than she had imagined. For the first time, Sadie wondered whether she had underestimated the thing.

"Forget it. I'll just press everything once."

Sadie wasn't the kind of person to agonize over a problem. She promptly shut her eyes and started pressing buttons on the control panel at random.

Fortunately, the thing didn't come with any sort of self-destruct mechanism. After a tense round of blindly trying one control after another, Sadie somehow managed to start the massive vessel.

She stepped out of the wheelhouse and silently watched the thick columns of smoke rising from the island.

...

"Wood! I'll kill you!!!"

Amid the chaos, Thomas came charging toward Wood completely naked, a huge machete resting on his shoulder.

Seeing that he clearly intended to fight Wood to the death, Stephen stepped aside at just the right moment and cleared a path for him.

By now, the square had descended into complete chaos.

Some of the cultists who still had a little sense left were howling as they tried to chase down Charles, while others were rushing to save their Bishop.

As for the rest, whether they were out of their minds from smoking opium or had been planning to rebel all along, they were running around with large blades and hacking at anyone they saw.

Even with all that chaos, not to mention the casualties caused by Charles's explosives, plenty of people were still charging toward Stephen.

Stephen picked up a rifle from the corpse of one of Wood's guards.

He had barely managed to fire twice before a mob of bloodshot-eyed cultists was already upon him.

These people no longer seemed to care whether they lived or died. When their companions were shot down, they simply stepped over the bodies and kept charging.

Seeing them rush toward him so ferociously, Stephen immediately grabbed the little girl behind him and ran toward the nearby church.

"Quick! If you want to live, follow me!!!"

As he ran, he shouted toward the other children.

But it was already too late.

Those children had been so thoroughly brainwashed that they didn't even understand what was happening.

The cultists had gone completely mad, hacking at anyone in sight without caring whether they were friend or foe. Two little boys with blank expressions were cut down on the spot.

The remaining two disappeared into the crowd, their fate unknown.

"If you want to live, stay hidden."

Stephen pulled open the church doors and pushed the girl inside.

Holding the doorframe, he spoke to her gently.

"Close your eyes. Don't open them until I tell you to."

At Stephen's words, the girl nodded shakily, then obediently closed her eyes.

Stephen shut the door, turned back toward the furious mob of cultists in front of him, and rolled his neck.

"All right. Time to clean up the trash."