RDR: NO REGRETS - Chapter 259: The Blade Is Drawn (Patreon)

“Damn it, these guys really don’t care if they live or die.”

Stephen gripped a machete that had already snapped in half, drove it viciously into a cultist’s neck, then ripped it sideways.

With that single strike, he nearly tore half the man’s neck off. Even the spine was severed, leaving only a strip of flesh stubbornly connecting his head to his body.

Such a brutal kill sent blood spraying everywhere, drenching Stephen from head to toe.

Stephen grabbed the man by his clothes and hurled the corpse straight into the crowd.

If these had been ordinary bandits, nine out of ten of them would have lost their nerve after witnessing such a vicious display.

That was exactly what had happened with the Lemoyne Raiders. They might have had the numbers, and they had guns too, but after Stephen slaughtered a dozen or so of the unlucky bastards leading the charge, the rest had completely lost their courage and were reduced to fleeing while he hunted them down.

Unfortunately, that tactic didn’t seem nearly as effective against these cultists.

Seeing Stephen standing there drenched in blood and radiating murderous intent didn’t frighten them in the slightest. If anything, the heavy stench of blood only drove them further into a frenzy.

Then again, anyone gullible enough to become a human bomb for a terrorist attack probably wasn’t going to be scared off by something like this.

The only good news was that none of them had guns, which gave Stephen enough of an advantage to keep fighting them head-on.

Still, as he looked at the seemingly endless stream of cultists in front of him, Stephen had to admit that his plan to take out their leadership might have been a little too ambitious.

But there was nothing he could do about that now.

He was already here.

Stephen flexed his aching hand, then picked up an axe from the ground.

It was nothing special, just an ordinary woodcutting axe, old and badly worn.

But it would do.

When another group came charging at him, Stephen didn’t retreat. He rushed straight toward them and swung the axe.

It was just another bloody fight.

That was what Stephen did best.

The only thing he regretted was leaving his long knife with Charles. He had no idea how the man was doing right now.

But before long, Stephen had no time to worry about anything else.

There were simply too many enemies in front of him.

These cultists were like goddamn zombies. The ones with weapons hacked at him, while those without weapons came at him clawing and biting, desperate to sink their teeth into him.

For a moment, Stephen really did feel as if he were fighting zombies.

If only he had a Gatling gun.

“Bang!”

The sound of splintering wood came from behind him.

Stephen immediately spun around.

A cultist had smashed through the church doors with his own body.

And the little girl had truly obeyed Stephen. She was still standing exactly where he had left her, eyes tightly shut and not moving an inch.

Even when the door crashed open and the cultist stood right in front of her with his blade raised, she still didn’t move.

Stephen obviously wasn’t going to let her die like that.

“Whoosh!”

A spinning axe tore through the air and slammed into the cultist’s back.

And slammed was exactly the right word.

The axe was already heavy, and backed by Stephen’s strength, it struck with such overwhelming force that it sent the man flying.

What ridiculous strength!

Stephen rushed over, grabbed the girl by the back of her collar, and tossed her deeper into the church.

Then he turned around and went right back to fighting the cultists rushing after him.

But there were simply too many of them.

No matter how strong Stephen was, one man could only deal with so many opponents at once.

And there were far more than a few pairs of hands coming at him.

There had to be more than forty!

“Stephen! Catch!!!”

Suddenly, a familiar voice reached Stephen’s ears like music from heaven.

He grabbed the cultist in front of him and kicked him hard, sending the man flying away.

Using that brief opening, Stephen looked up and saw a long black object hurtling straight toward him.

He recognized it instantly.

His long knife!

Stephen sprang into the air, caught it in midair, and landed cleanly.

The instant his feet touched the ground, he gripped the long knife in his right hand and gave it a sharp swing, sending the scabbard flying away.

A cold white flash cut through the darkness, dazzling beneath the firelight surrounding them.

Stephen moved with the blade, and the blade moved with him.

He spun with the long knife in hand.

Streaks of blood flew through the air.

With a single sweeping slash, the three cultists surrounding him fell dead.

Everything changed once Stephen had a weapon that truly suited him.

He raised the long knife high and brought it down toward another cultist.

The man panicked and raised his machete to block the strike.

He regretted that decision immediately.

Stephen’s blade cleaved straight through the old machete.

Then it kept going and severed the man’s arm in the same stroke.

For the first time, Stephen truly understood what it meant for a blade to cut through iron like mud.

This thing was unbelievably sharp.

That money had definitely been worth it!

Stephen raised the long knife again and kept cutting his way through the cultists.

Whether they tried to block with weapons or their own bodies, nothing could withstand the blade. One after another, they fell before him.

“Bang! Bang!”

Just as Stephen was starting to enjoy himself a little too much, two thunderous gunshots erupted from behind him.

A cultist was blasted off his feet.

Stephen didn’t even need to turn around to know who was behind him.

It had to be Charles.

Sure enough, Charles came charging in with a short-barreled shotgun in each hand.

Against Stephen’s long knife, the cultists could at least rely on sheer madness and overwhelming numbers to keep throwing themselves at him.

But against Charles’s short-barreled shotguns, every advantage they had disappeared.

Human flesh meant nothing against a cloud of buckshot.

Each blast spread outward like a fan, sweeping through the densely packed cultists ahead.

“Man, I was having fun.”

Stephen grinned as he teased Charles beside him.

Seeing that Stephen still had enough energy to joke around, Charles knew he was perfectly fine.

Charles quickly pulled shells from his belt and reloaded his short-barreled shotguns, then tossed the pump-action shotgun strapped behind him to Stephen.

“We need to hurry. I heard a lot of gunfire coming from the docks just now. Sadie might be in trouble.”

Charles’s expression was grim.

“We shouldn’t stay here any longer.”

Hearing that, Stephen understood that this was no time to keep enjoying the fight.

He sheathed his long knife, raised the shotgun, and prepared to finish things as quickly as possible.