New Gods of North America

"Bang!"

"Bang, bang!"

"Ah--"

The gunshots around him rose and fell, incessant, occasionally punctuated by the sounds of members or horses being hit.

William Kidd tried to calm himself, commanding his "crew" in the hope of quickly breaching the interior of the steam train and avoiding those damned stray bullets:

"First Mate, take some men and climb onto the roof, fire from above! Second Mate, you're in charge of organizing the men to suppress their fire over there. Spread out the formation, learn from their parabolic shooting!"

The concept that "parabolic shooting increases range" wasn't difficult to grasp.

Back when William Kidd was still a hunter, he'd heard his predecessors say that even in the days of bows and arrows, people had been studying how to make them fly further.

So those troublemakers in the distance weren't rookies at all, but rather cunning old foxes. Or young ones.

But that was all they could do. Once the members controlled the passengers inside the steam train, their small number could only continue to watch from afar.

"Damn it! The resisters in the carriages seem to be increasing!"

"Don't hold back, suppress them with firepower!"

"Ah!"

"Don't fire straight! Raise your gun muzzles, see how they're doing it!"

Damned troublemakers!

As the "captain" of the "Galliard Adventure," William Kidd hadn't picked up his lever-action rifle for a while, ever since the crew had grown in size.

But at this moment, he had no choice but to act like a leader, raising his gun muzzle 45 degrees, instructing the members to imitate his parabolic shots at the distant harassers.

Perhaps seeing the emergence of a so-called "rescue team," the passengers inside the steam train seemed to have ignited unrealistic expectations.

The resistance encountered by the "First Mate" was much greater than usual, even with members suppressing fire into the carriage windows, the sound of gunfire continued to ring out from within.

The relatively larger numbers and denser formations actually became a disadvantage in the long-distance parabolic exchange.

Although only three or four members were actually hit, the constant stream of bullets falling diagonally from the sky, kicking up dirt around them, forced the members to divide their attention, making it difficult to focus.

"Damn it! Why is the steam train moving again?!"

"Sunny beaches! The Second Mate already blew up the bridge ahead, how dare they?!"

"Quick, attack the driver's cab! Don't let the steam train continue forward..."

William Kidd's words were only halfway out when it felt like a slap came down diagonally from above, instantly tilting his captain's hat to one side before knocking it off.

The impact made his head buzz, and he fell off his horse, causing the animal to whinny.

"The captain's been hit!"

"Quick, protect the captain!"

"Shut up! I'm fine!"

William Kidd shouted loudly from the ground, then endured the discomfort, using his horse to help him stand up as quickly as possible to avoid panic in the ranks.

He instinctively covered his head, feeling warmth first, then a burning pain.

The nearby members were all focused on William Kidd's condition.

They saw him touching his scalp, grazed by a bullet, blood seeping between his fingers, his hairstyle already disheveled, and his dark clothes mottled with dirt.

The steam train had already completed its initial acceleration.

The First Mate, who had just climbed onto the roof of the steam train, was now lying there with difficulty, pressing his lever-action rifle against the roof to maintain stability, his eyes wide as he looked at the members moving further and further away, seemingly in disbelief and at a loss.

A member trying to climb through a car window was in an even worse state. He seemed to have found a position without any defensive weapons, wanting to force his way in, but was pushed out by the people inside.

As the steam train picked up speed, he didn't dare let go, and could only hang precariously on the car window, gripping the window frame tightly with both hands, trying to continue climbing in.

The lever-action rifle was slung across his back, and his head seemed to be pushed and hit by a lady, but he had no strength to fight back at the moment.

The steam train was gradually moving away.

If the railway ahead was still intact, then although horses could catch up in a short distance, it would be difficult to quickly intercept it with the passengers actively resisting. This operation could already be declared a failure.

And if the railway bridge ahead had been blown up by the "Second Mate" and his men...

William Kidd looked at the terrible scene before him, his eyes gradually sharpening, then, with the help of a member beside him, he remounted his horse.

Then William Kidd took a deep breath, raised his lever-action rifle, and fired several shots into the sky:

"Everyone follow me! I'm going to kill all those bastards and skin their scalps to make shoes!!!"

...

"Quick, quick, run! They look like they're going to chase us!"

Wayne whistled here, then quickly took the lead in pulling the reins, controlling the horses to change direction.

The atmosphere on the Detective Agency's side was still relatively relaxed. A trainee detective was hit by a stray bullet in the bandit's parabolic counterattack, and as a result, won the opportunity to be treated to drinks by several detectives, at the cost of becoming those people's "nephew."

Whether he was called that or not was not important, but in the short term, there should be a few more people calling themselves "uncle" in front of him.

Inez, relying on her bolt-action rifle's longer range, fired one last shot before leaving, leaving a farewell gift for the fastest bandit chasing after them.

Willie, this little guy, had been with Lina for too long, and was also a little wicked at the moment, lighting the ultra-long fuse high explosive that Lina and Emma had helped hand-cranked out and leaving it in place, waiting to meet a destined person.

Wayne didn't really approve of his practice of throwing high explosives directly on the ground.

So Wayne told him to pile more pebbles on top of the explosives before Willie deployed them, so that the lethality would be greater.

By the way, Wayne thought the ultra-long fuse approach was actually quite interesting.

He could customize some later, and let Doug's owl airdrop them at night. Even if it was just harassment, it would be enough to keep the people in the stronghold up all night.

Because they had already prepared to escape, and kept a good distance, the Detective Agency's actions were very fast.

Galloping all the way along the pre-selected route, several detectives even had the mood to look back at the "fireworks" Willie left behind.

"Bang--"

Because the bandits were chasing the Detective Agency's people directly from a long distance, the route was slightly off, and the splashing stones were estimated to have hit several bandits, but no one fell off their horse.

In fact, this would expose the Detective Agency's high explosives situation in advance, which was not particularly conducive to subsequent ambushes.

But in a wilderness confrontation with bandits, the Detective Agency didn't intend to annihilate them anyway. This time, the main purpose was to show their presence and protect the steam train to be considered a victory, and then eat as much as they could.

"Hahahaha, I won. You all remember, 5 US dollars each."

Wayne turned his head when he heard the sound, and several detectives were actually in the mood to gamble.

...

"Damn it! They actually have explosives."

William Kidd listened to the "First Mate's" cursing next to him, and vigorously tugged on the reins again to make the horse continue to accelerate.

Several members had already been lost in the process of the two sides firing at each other, and several more had been lost attacking the steam train.

The other members were fine, they were all recruited anyway, and it didn't have much impact, but the "First Mate" had followed him for many years, he was one of his "own people", and he hadn't made any progress, and was taken away by the steam train.

A bunch of trash.

If the steam train really overturned into the valley, it wouldn't just be a small case of "robbery" anymore. Some towns that could have been at peace would probably not be able to go to anymore.

This time, he was really unlucky. Not only did he encounter troublemakers, but there were even lunatics on the steam train.

In that case, he could only eliminate these witnesses as soon as possible, and then find a chance to take a few of his "own people" and leave, hide for a while and see how the wind was blowing before making plans.

If it really didn't work, the war on the Old Continent hadn't ended yet. Many people were coming from there now. Going there at this time would not only make it easier to buy tickets, but it would also be better than continuing to stay in America.

Only fools would think the West was safer.

Following the mountain road, the members in front suddenly slowed down. The "First Mate" seemed a little hesitant at this moment:

"Captain, there's a valley ahead. Should we go around or continue chasing?"

William Kidd was interrupted from his thoughts, and couldn't help but feel a little angry. "If something happens to the steam train, those people will all be witnesses. If we let them escape, we might all be finished."

Although the captain looked embarrassed at this time, he still did not lose his majesty.

"Yes! Captain."

The "First Mate" was, after all, the person he had brought for the longest time, and he understood very quickly, and immediately conveyed the order:

"Continue the pursuit, don't let anyone escape! Try to keep the lead pretty boy and that beautiful girl alive."

The members quickly responded, "Yes!"

The terrain in the valley was relatively narrow, and William Kidd and the "First Mate" were traveling in a relatively forward position in the team.

Both sides here were almost cliffs, cut open like a cake by the dry stream in the middle.

So far, no forks in the road had been seen. The members chasing in the front should not have lost them yet, and even fired from time to time, the sound of gunfire echoing in the valley without stopping.

Those bastards knew how to find a place to escape, they actually chose such a location.

If I had prepared in advance, this could have become a good ambush location. I only need to arrange ambushes at both ends and on the top of the mountain, and even a bounty hunter team with twice the number of people could be eliminated by my men.

William Kidd was thinking this, and while riding his horse, he did not forget to observe the surrounding situation.

Then he saw a little girl's head sticking out from the top of the valley, seemingly pointing at this side with her fingers and saying "biu."

Wait...

"Bang--"