RDR: NO REGRETS - Chapter 271: A Fruitful Haul (Patreon)

With John around, there was no question who would deal with the snipers upstairs armed with bolt-action rifles. That job naturally fell to John, the Sharpshooter.

Stephen didn’t have any better way to handle them anyway.

John wasn’t modest about it. He picked up his rifle and began checking it over.

The weapon in his hands was a bolt-action rifle, one of the latest models to appear in recent years.

It was powerful, highly accurate, and an excellent weapon.

Of course, even the best weapon needed the right person behind it, and John was just about the perfect man for the job.

The plan itself was simple.

Once the bandits started eating, Javier would open the attack and suppress them from medium range.

John would then take care of any snipers who dared show themselves while killing as many of the other bandits as possible.

Stephen would go last. Once the right opportunity presented itself, he would charge in and finish the fight as quickly as he could.

As for exactly when that opportunity would come, Stephen would have to judge for himself.

They were all veterans of countless gunfights. There was no need to spell everything out.

Stephen was perfectly happy with that arrangement. Once he confirmed that both John and Javier were ready, the three split up and moved to their chosen attack positions.

Keeping low, Stephen crept forward until he reached the fence at the edge of Shady Belle.

The spot lay in the guards’ blind spot, so Stephen decided to wait there until Javier and John began their attacks, then rush out himself.

He first took out his two Mauser Pistols, followed by his shotgun, and finally his long knife.

Once everything was ready, Stephen stayed hidden and silently waited for the right moment.

He waited for quite a while, but there was still no sign of Javier or John making a move.

Because Stephen was preparing for a surprise attack, he hadn’t concealed himself very far away. He was actually quite close to the bandits.

By now, they had already started eating. A large group crowded noisily around the huge cooking pot in the camp, devouring their meal.

Stephen sniffed the air.

A mixture of delicious smells immediately hit him, and his stomach began growling.

Drinking too much really was terrible. He had barely had an appetite for the past two days because of it, but now, with the smell of food drifting over, he suddenly felt ravenous.

Once this job was done and they got back, he was definitely going to treat himself to something good.

And absolutely no more drinking!

“Bang!”

Just as Stephen’s thoughts were wandering, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the distance.

The sound instantly drove every stray thought from his mind.

Stephen snapped to attention, keeping his eyes fixed on the bandits as he prepared to charge at any moment.

The shot had naturally come from Javier.

Stephen turned and saw Javier advancing straight toward Shady Belle with his rifle raised.

The Van der Linde Gang really was full of fearless bastards.

Javier rapidly closed the distance to the camp while firing his lever-action rifle as fast as he could.

Several unlucky men gathered around the cooking pot dropped where they stood.

The remaining bandits immediately descended into chaos.

Some threw down their bowls and ran. Others dove behind cover, while a few of the braver ones grabbed their weapons.

The commotion naturally alerted the snipers stationed at the windows of the house.

They immediately raised their rifles, preparing to put Javier down.

Unfortunately for them, before they could fire, another rapid series of gunshots came from the distance.

The three guards positioned at the windows barely had time to realize what was happening before they toppled one after another.

Stephen had a clear view of everything from below and couldn’t help feeling impressed.

When would he ever be able to shoot that well?

Maybe he really needed to spend some time practicing.

Perhaps he could ask Arthur and the others to teach him.

But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

With Javier and John attacking from two directions, all of Shady Belle had fallen into chaos.

Seeing his opportunity, Stephen stopped waiting and sprang out of hiding.

He didn’t draw his knife. Instead, he pulled the two Mauser Pistols from his waist.

Each one held ten rounds.

Two pistols meant twenty rounds.

And with that kind of rapid firepower, weapons like these were devastating at close range in this era.

Stephen pointed both pistols toward the crowd. There was no need to aim carefully. He simply opened fire and emptied both weapons as quickly as possible.

By the time all twenty rounds were gone, almost every bandit still standing around the cooking pot, too stunned to react in time, was already on the ground.

Damn, that felt good!

For the first time, Stephen truly understood the thrill of using rapid-fire weapons.

Revolvers simply couldn’t compare.

If only he had an AK in his hands. That would be even better.

Of course, that was nothing more than wishful thinking. Weapons like that didn’t exist in this era.

Even after emptying both pistols, Stephen still wanted more.

He immediately rolled forward and to the right, avoiding the bandits’ return fire.

He curled his body in as tightly as possible to make himself a smaller target, then quickly rolled behind one of the wagons.

He had picked this position beforehand. The wagon completely concealed him from view.

Stephen swiftly reloaded both Mauser Pistols, then rose again.

Reloading these things was nothing like reloading a revolver, where every round had to be inserted individually.

He simply placed a loaded stripper clip into the guide, pressed the rounds down firmly, and that was it.

From there, there wasn’t much left to say about the battle.

Under the combined assault of the three men, the remaining bandits were quickly sent off to meet their God.

“Wow! These weapons are incredible. We’ve struck it rich.”

Standing on one of the wagons, Javier opened a crate to reveal rows of bolt-action rifles packed inside.

“They’re all brand-new. Looks like we can finally get our smuggling business started.”

Stephen picked one up, loaded a round, and fired.

The bullet struck a nearby wooden torch dead center and snapped it clean in half.

“Looks like your ship is finally going to be useful.”

Javier grinned. “There are three whole wagons of cargo here. If we can figure out how to move all of this, we’ll make a fortune.”

“Yeah, I’ll figure something out.”

Stephen nodded. “But it won’t be easy. We’ll need to plan it carefully.”

Javier cheerfully led over several pack horses and hitched them to the wagons before turning back with a grin.

“No need to rush. It’s not like any of this stuff is going to spoil, right?”

“Let’s take the weapons off these guys too. Even the old ones are worth money. Worst case, we can give them away as a grand opening special.”

John walked over while examining several rifles and smiled at Javier’s words.

“I never knew you had a talent for business.”

Javier burst out laughing, then climbed into the driver’s seat of the wagon.

“Haha, brother, that just means you still don’t know me well enough. Looks like we need to deepen our friendship.”

“How about a few more drinks when we get back? Get drunk with me another couple of times and I’m sure you’ll understand me completely.”

Clearly thrilled with their enormous haul, Javier waved enthusiastically at Stephen and John.

“Come on, cowboys! Let’s head back and get drunk!”

With that, he drove the wagon away.

Watching him go, Stephen and John exchanged helpless smiles.

“Come on. Let’s get all this stuff back.”

John rubbed his head and sighed.

“I really don’t know what he’s so excited about.”