In the Midst of the Crisis (Part 3)

"Shit!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Arrgghh!"

The soldiers beside Dante wanted to retaliate, but almost instantly, the man holding the shotgun turned toward them and fired several precise shots into their bodies.

Some died instantly, while others simply fell to the ground, struggling to breathe from the pain they felt beneath their vests.

"Everyone, take cover." Dante didn't need to look to know that his face had been injured, and although it wasn't as severe as he had initially thought, it was enough for him to lose his weapon.

Who was this figure shooting at him?

As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, he had no time to dwell on it. He quickly found a place to hide.

Bang!

Another shot rang out, and just as Dante took cover, the bullet struck right where he had been standing moments before.

"I'll take care of him!"

"No, we need to get out of here and regroup with the soldiers outside."

Jack, who had just finished dealing with some hitmen, also heard the sound of the shotgun targeting them from the darkness. However, he couldn't move. Seeing the front of the car, where Dante was pinned down by enemy fire, he shouted loudly and ran toward the sniper's direction, drawing the enemy's attention in the darkness.

Sure enough, when he shouted and moved, the shotgun-wielding man noticed him and slowly turned his weapon to face the approaching figure first.

Hearing the continuous gunfire from the other side, Dante sensed a large number of hitmen quickly moving toward the entrance and immediately dashed out.

There were simply too many enemies. Until reinforcements arrived, the two of them alone couldn't take on both this man and the armed hitmen.

Ignoring the hitmen who had entered earlier, Dante did his best to dodge the roaring bullets and sprinted toward the door.

As he reached the entrance, he saw more hitmen entering from the far end and quickly shut the iron door.

Then, he inserted a blunt rifle horizontally in the middle of the door and pulled a heavy object nearby to block it.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The hitmen rushing forward desperately saw someone closing the door, and they all raised their rifles to shoot, trying to stop him.

Bullets struck the iron door, creating loud clangs and sending sparks flying, but they had no effect on the person on the other side.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After fully sealing the door, Dante let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the door remained unmoved despite the violent impacts.

Now that he had locked a large number of hitmen outside, he could focus all his energy on dealing with those inside the factory—including the assassin.

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly, Dante looked at his empty hands, held his breath, and quickly hid.

By the time the few remaining hitmen in the factory arrived, he was already gone.

"This is interesting…"

Just as Dante concealed himself, he heard a calm voice, as if nothing happening around him could shake its composure. Then, the same voice spoke again.

"You two, go and remove everything blocking the door. Let the others in so they can eliminate the intruders."

Raising his head in silence, Dante saw six armed hitmen standing not far from the door. The one speaking was a man with thick, straight, dark hair that framed his face in a rigid cut. His pale skin, illuminated by the factory lights, seemed devoid of emotion, except for his large, sunken, dark eyes.

Dante didn't have to think long to realize that this man was the hired assassin sent to kill him—Anton Chigurh. That shotgun was not something commonly seen among hitmen, who now seemed to be following his orders.

After receiving the command, two of the hitmen quickly ran toward the door, intending to cooperate with the people on the other side to open it.

Watching them closely, Dante knew he couldn't allow them to open that door if he wanted to take them all down himself.

He slowly drew his pistol from his waist. It had six bullets—if he could take them all out with a single shot each, the battle could end quickly.

But doing so carried great risk. He was already somewhat exhausted. If he wasn't absolutely certain of his aim, his shots could miss—and that would be his end.

His enemies weren't lifeless targets; they wouldn't just stand there obediently, waiting to be shot. They would move and evade his attacks, making his task significantly harder.

At that moment, Dante recalled how ruthless hitmen were. They were decisive, precise, and had no hesitation in their eyes when facing their enemies.

In direct combat, there were always drugged-up, brainless hitmen who had no sense of how easy it was to be killed in a face-to-face confrontation. They had nothing to gain from this war—but Dante had everything to gain from this fight.

Even though the odds were against him, he had no other choice and too much to lose. He had never been the type to surrender. He picked up a red brick from the corner and hurled it toward the other side of the door. Then, without hesitation, he bolted from his hiding spot.

Crack!

The red brick shot through the air, hit the ground, and echoed loudly through the enclosed space.

The noise immediately drew the attention of all the hitmen, and they instinctively turned their heads toward it, completely ignoring the figure charging toward them from the side.

But as they spotted the shattered remains of the brick on the floor, they suddenly realized the enemy was attacking from that direction. By then, it was already too late.

Bang! Bang!

Dante emerged from his hiding spot and fired two shots at the hitmen moving toward the door. The bullets pierced their heads precisely, and they both dropped dead instantly.

He then shifted his aim toward the four remaining enemies, sprinting toward them as he continued firing.

Dante could clearly feel his exhaustion catching up to him. If he didn't act fast, he might not last much longer.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He fired four more consecutive shots, emptying his pistol. The bullets tore through the barrel and flew out rapidly, targeting the vital areas of his enemies.

"Ahhh!"

Accompanied by the sound of bullets tearing through flesh and blood, three of the hitmen let out a final cry before collapsing to the ground.

But unlike these inexperienced hitmen, Anton reacted extremely quickly, making evasive movements in advance, dodging the incoming bullets and avoiding injury.

At the same time, after evading the surprise attack, he skillfully turned around, swung the barrel of his shotgun behind him, and aimed to shoot Dante, who had attacked them in secret.

But as the dark-skinned man turned, a black object suddenly appeared in front of his eyes and struck him in the face.

"Damn it!"

When he saw something about to hit him, Anton immediately recognized that it was just a pistol.

He didn't even consider dodging; he simply narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing to keep pulling the trigger of his silenced shotgun.

But when the gun actually struck his face, he realized he had been completely wrong.

Anton looked as if he had taken a powerful punch—his head snapped back, and his body staggered two steps before regaining control.

As he cursed loudly and prepared to keep fighting, he noticed that the figure opposite him was already very close.

"Ah!"

Anton's pupils suddenly contracted, and he instinctively pulled the trigger of his shotgun repeatedly.

But Dante, who had already planned to close the distance before Anton could aim, rushed toward him, grabbed the barrel of the weapon, and forcefully lifted it.

Bang! Bang!

The bullets shot violently toward the ceiling of the factory building. Dante then grabbed the other end of the shotgun with his free hand and was about to yank it away.

Naturally, Anton resisted with all his strength, refusing to let go.

Unexpectedly, the other man was much stronger than he had anticipated... Seeing the stalemate, Dante released the hand holding the gun and struck Anton with his fist.

Seeing this, Anton quickly let go with one hand to block the attack.

Taking advantage of the opening, Dante spun around, lifted his leg, and kicked Anton in the stomach while using his other hand to seize the weapon.

Anton stumbled back in a panic, avoiding the full force of the kick aimed at his stomach, but he couldn't maintain his grip on the shotgun. Left with no choice, he let go.

However, he also understood that he couldn't allow his opponent to take the weapon, so he immediately lifted his leg and kicked the rifle forcefully.

After all, the strength of the legs is greater than that of the arms. The sudden force made it impossible for Dante to hold onto the weapon, and the shotgun flew several meters away.

Shaking his slightly numb hands and feeling the fatigue creeping into his body, Dante felt a tinge of regret.

If he had been just a bit stronger, he could have kept the gun in his grasp, and the battle would have ended.

But things don't always go as planned. Dante realized that their struggle had significantly changed their positions. He was now at a certain distance from the three dead hitmen and the weapons lying beside them.

Although he was still relatively close, he knew his opponent wouldn't give him the chance to grab a firearm.

Anton, of course, noticed this as well. With a sinister smile on his face, he took off his leather jacket and tossed it aside.

Then, reaching behind his waist, he pulled out the machete that had been strapped there, pointed the sharp blade at Dante, and slowly said, "It seems you like ambushes, but that won't work on me. Now, let's start over!"

"Ho..."

Realizing that this fight was now inevitable, Dante, despite wanting to escape from here as soon as possible, first had to deal with the problem in front of him.

Pulling out his blood-stained dagger, he slowly assumed an offensive stance.

"If you fight for money, I can pay you twice what they're offering. You should know you're fighting for the losing side—there's nothing wrong with switching sides halfway through."