Bloody Night

Andrés' passionate speech had spread through the loudspeakers across the entire base, even reaching beyond its borders.

Dante, who was hiding outside the base in the shadows of a tall building, had heard everything.

"He chose the easy way and manipulated the facts so these people would die for the fight between those idiot bosses!" That was Dante's opinion of Andrés at that moment.

He had anticipated the Reyes Cartel's performance on the stage that had been set for them.

And what about the leaders of the other cartels, who now believed that those they once called allies wanted to erase them from the alliance?

From the building, Dante had spotted a few figures silently leaving the base.

Their identity was quite obvious.

It seemed that many cartels had placed their most loyal men to investigate the movements of the Reyes, who held the greatest authority as leaders of groups of hitmen striving for the best interests of the organization.

Now, some of those cartels would turn against the Reyes due to the doubts Dante had carefully planted.

That was exactly what he wanted.

He wanted them to fight each other, giving him the opportunity to eliminate most of them at the same time.

The roar of armored vehicle engines inside the base was like thunder. Several hitmen climbed onto the convoy trucks, their footsteps sounding like war drums preparing for battle.

Andrés' hitmen had begun their march.

Armored vehicles and convoys of trucks passed one after another.

Soon, only three squads of soldiers remained guarding the base.

Dante looked at the nearly deserted base with a pitiful gaze.

If it weren't for the important tasks he had at hand, he wouldn't have missed the opportunity to raid this base.

After all, the base would definitely have reserves of supplies—not just daily necessities but also military supplies, tons of weapons, and protective gear. Dante was even tempted by the mere thought of taking this resource hub from his enemies.

However, he wasn't the kind of person who lost sight of the bigger picture, even if he might regret it later.

It was just like when he had to get rid of the assassins who attacked him in Europe.

That night, he left behind many things that could have been useful later.

Of course, it wasn't like he needed them, but in lands where his strength was minimal, having as many resources as possible was invaluable.

But that was out of the question.

He took a deep breath and started running through the shadows.

The rebel forces had almost disappeared from sight.

It would be difficult to chase them now that they were gone.

Fortunately, Dante, relying on intelligence, knew exactly where they were headed.

Thanks to the information obtained from Felipe Lobos, Dante already knew the location of every rebel base.

Besides the base where even the leaders of other cartels were gathered and the base the Reyes' forces were heading to, there were two more bases in the city occupied by hitmen who had arrived as reinforcements. They were stationed in the southern and western parts of the city, respectively.

The Reyes' forces were headed toward the base at the heart of the city.

That was exactly where a settlement of hitmen unaffiliated with the Sonora Cartel was located.

The two bases weren't too far from each other, and they were even closer if one used shortcuts to get there.

Dante had managed to reach this base before the Reyes' forces, stalking and running through the darkness. He arrived early and began looking for an elevated vantage point.

When he found the right spot, he saw that it was already occupied by someone else.

A mysterious man was crawling in the shadows, holding a sniper rifle and aiming at the road while surveying the entire base.

Suddenly, Dante started sweating.

If he hadn't used the shortcuts through blind spots, just as a precaution, he would have definitely appeared in the man's sights.

Although the sniper's target had to be those attacking the base, Dante couldn't be sure that he wouldn't eliminate anyone else who got in his way.

If this vantage point was taken by the sniper, what about the others?

When that thought crossed Dante's mind, he quickly hid in the shadows and took a good look around.

He spotted at least four more snipers on standby.

Realizing this, he suddenly felt relieved that he was the one in the middle of all this, waiting for the exact moment to give the order for his men and hitmen to attack.

If he hadn't done so, many of his soldiers would have already been gunned down.

"The Reyes attacking the Sonora Cartel? That's not a very smart idea!" Dante thought, remembering they were in Juárez.

He looked at the snipers, making no rash moves.

Even though he was confident he could take out the sniper in front of him, he couldn't be sure the others wouldn't attack him in response. Only when the other snipers were completely distracted could he make his move.

He wouldn't have to wait long for that opportunity.

Dante knew very well whom they were waiting for—Andrés Reyes.

It was evident that Andrés Reyes had received much more information about his organization and the sudden attacks on the organization led by the Jiménez.

Through untraceable means, Dante had ensured that Sonora Cartel spies learned that the Reyes were approaching their base so they would set a trap for them, and these snipers were the Sonora Cartel's shooters.

In the distance, the sounds of vehicle engines grew louder.

The convoy had already appeared.

The sniper quickly prepared for the kill. However, before he could get into position, a strong hand covered his mouth and dragged him backward. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck.

Dante let go of the body and checked the dead man's sniper rifle.

It was an M110, similar to his own, which in this case was a Chevy TAC M-200 Intervention. He wasn't very interested in using it.

That's why he pulled out his own rifle and aimed downward, keeping a keen sense of awareness of his surroundings.

Dante couldn't be sure whether the Reyes would send their men to occupy the high ground or not, but he didn't want to follow in the footsteps of the previous tenant of that place.

…

"Sir, our informants say the Reyes are approaching."

A robust man, covered in tattoos, who had been watching from outside, saw the convoy arriving at the gates of their base. He turned around and relayed the information to the second person in the room.

His reverent and respectful attitude toward the man said a lot about who he was.

That long-haired man was the leader of this emergency settlement, where they gathered to respond to last-minute threats.

He was one of the great hitmen who had been named legendary—the butcher, Rubén.

Rubén looked younger than one might expect. His hair was completely black, with only a few carefully combed gray strands.

His face was slightly chubby, with dark-colored skin, and he had a pair of sharp brown eyes that looked terrifying.

The same could be said for the centipede-like scars on his forehead.

Others would have instinctively averted their gaze upon seeing his face.

Rubén was particularly terrifying when he was angry.

"So, it seems that loyal idiot can't wait, huh?" Rubén laughed coldly.

His prestigious aura, combined with his piercing gaze, made the hitman in the room freeze.

After receiving the news from his informant, Rubén immediately thought that the internal conflicts within the union led by the Jiménez cartel had reached the point of resolution.

Although Rubén had no intention of engaging in a bitter fight with Andrés, that didn't mean he would forgive that idiot's actions.

"How are the preparations going?" Rubén turned and looked at his right-hand man.

"Everything is ready! Andrés will be defeated!" the man responded with total confidence.

Rubén seemed satisfied with the answer. Slowly, he took out a delicate box and pulled out a cigar.

His right-hand man immediately stepped forward with the cigar cutter, clipped the tip, lit the cigar, and handed it to Rubén.

"I like this Colombian cigar… The aroma of cinnamon and leather reminds me of the burnt smell of corpses."

Rubén held the cigar in his mouth and took a deep drag, exhaling thick smoke.

The smoke covered his piercing eyes and somehow twisted his already intimidating face.

"Do you know why?" Rubén looked at his right-hand man again.

The man shuddered. He didn't know what to answer.

The problem was that Rubén wasn't expecting a response.

He took another drag from his cigar and said, "Because standing in front of other people's corpses reminds me that I am the butcher!"

Rubén stood up.

He had killed countless people and had never regretted it, so today, he would do the same with Andrés.

However, when the convoy reached his base, he didn't flinch or turn around.

He raised his head and marched forward.

Rubén lifted his hand, signaling to the hitmen under his command to get ready to fire and for the snipers to take position.

"We will kill the traitors!"

"Traitors?"

Rubén removed the cigar from his mouth and looked at Andrés and the troops behind him with his piercing gaze.

Did Andrés Reyes think it was a smart decision to send his troops there and threaten him?

If the troops thought they could change his decision simply by their numbers, they were far too naive.

Rubén let out a deep, cold laugh as he stepped toward the center of the plaza, where Andrés seemed to want to have a conversation.

He wanted Andrés and his troops to see the situation clearly.

"Do you think you can intimidate me?"

Bang!

A gunshot interrupted Rubén's words and blew his head off.

Brain matter and blood splattered onto Andrés, who was only a few feet away.

What had just happened?

Andrés hadn't given the order to shoot.

He stood there, shocked and bewildered, looking around.

Bang!

Just seconds after the first shot, another one rang out.

Andrés met the same fate as Rubén.

His headless body collapsed to the ground.

The troops on both sides were stunned, and the entire area where they had gathered was filled with an uncomfortable silence.

The silence lasted about two seconds.

"Kill the Reyes!"

"Take down the Sonora men!"

Both sides assumed it was the other who had eliminated their leader, and they shouted at each other at the same time.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The next moment, gunshots and explosions shattered the silence of the night.

The fire of war consumed the entire area where the Reyes and the personal hitmen of the Sonora cartel had gathered.