Fall

It was another sunny day. A sudden heavy rain had covered all of West Elizabeth a while ago, and only today had the sky cleared.

The ground was still muddy, and if a carriage were to pass by at this time, its wheels would surely get stuck in the mud, unable to extricate themselves.

But thankfully, Blackwater was empty now, so there was no situation of carriage wheels getting stuck in the mud.

It took Mr. Van der Linde more than half a month to completely empty Blackwater.

All valuable items were collected and transported by train to Valentine, leaving behind an empty town that turned dark and ghost-like at night.

"Hya!"

The sound of hooves echoed across the land of West Elizabeth, and even from a great distance, the mighty sound could still be heard.

"Cough, cough… cough, cough, cough…"

Before the person arrived, the sound of coughing reached them.

The grand procession of over a hundred horses couldn't even cover up this ear-piercing cough, which showed how violent the coughing was.

Black-lung Colm, making a shocking arrival!

"Charge! Kill them all, loot everything! Occupy Blackwater!"

Binny howled, frantically urging his horse to retreat, lest he be the first to charge and get shot.

Under his roar, over five hundred gunmen, gathered by the O'Driscoll Gang during this period, charged frantically into Blackwater.

Of course, it wasn't one person per horse; in fact, only about a hundred people had horses, while the others followed on foot or rode in carriages.

"Bang, bang, bang…"

Piercing gunshots rang out within the group. These scoundrels, who couldn't even be called elites, had no discipline whatsoever. They laughed wildly, brandishing their horsewhips or pistols, shouting and screaming like madmen.

These damned beasts, who had almost slaughtered the livestock of West Elizabeth, were truly disgusting.

"Hahaha, I'm going to rape and kill ten people!"

"Blackwater, f*ck you! F*ck you!!!"

Wild shouts and laughter spread with the advancing group. These damned gang members were far more detestable than American capitalists, because no matter what, capital would at least conceal its robbery, while these gang members made no pretense whatsoever; it was purely for robbery and murder!

Horses galloped across the dry plain, passing by Beecher's Hope Ranch, which had only one dilapidated wooden house left, and thundered towards Blackwater.

Even before they saw anyone, these gang members were already firing their guns wildly in the direction of Blackwater.

"Slaughter Blackwater! Capture everyone alive! Everyone!"

Accompanied by rampant roars, the distance between them and Blackwater grew closer and closer, until…

"Yoo!"

Colm, who was leading the charge, suddenly slammed his horse to a halt, but because he only had one leg, his body was flung from the horse. He had no choice but to pull on the reins, causing him to flip in the air, and then, with agile movements, he landed back on the horse's back.

Following his action, a group of his subordinates who were charging immediately stopped their advance.

"Boss, what's wrong?" Binny, who was following behind, had just spoken when his gaze fell upon the scene of Blackwater before him.

The first largest town in the West, the second star of civilization in the West, Blackwater, which used to be bustling with people, now, when one looked around, not a single soul could be seen on its once-crowded streets!

Not only were there no people on the streets, but not even a trace of livestock, horses, dogs, or cats could be seen!

Blackwater's once bustling streets were now eerily empty. From time to time, strong winds would blow, kicking up sand, rattling against the glass windows along the streets, and also pushing open and closing the doors of shops on both sides of the street under the force of the wind, like a ghost town.

The entire vast Blackwater was utterly lifeless and silent.

"F*ck!"

Looking at Blackwater, where not a single person could be seen, Colm roared in anger, his heart instantly filled with panic.

When the Van der Linde Gang came to take over the residents of Blackwater some time ago, they noticed the abnormality of Blackwater, but due to strict security, they couldn't get close. They could only lie on the high ground where Arthur and his men rescued Sean and observe from a distance, seeing that Blackwater seemed to be transporting people onto trains.

Colm could guess that Blackwater was evacuating, but he didn't take it seriously.

Evacuation had always been ongoing in Blackwater. They couldn't control the boats on Flatiron Lake, so Blackwater had actually been evacuating some influential people by water during this time.

But these people accounted for at most thirty percent of Blackwater's population. In this era, those who couldn't afford boat tickets or train tickets were everywhere, so Colm didn't take what he saw to heart at all.

After all, no capitalist or the United States Government would voluntarily pay to buy train tickets for the poor of Blackwater!

A train ticket cost fifteen dollars. How could these people, who couldn't even scrounge up three dollars from their bodies, possibly escape by train or by boat?

Those capitalists and the United States Government didn't care about the lives of these people; once one group died, more illegal immigrants would fill in their place. Population was the least valuable thing!

So, in Colm's view, even if these people were allowed to leave, how many could actually leave? Most would ultimately have to stay here and await his rule!

But unexpectedly, a blazing sun appeared in the American West!

He selflessly contributed, paying out of his own pocket to take everyone back, and this undoubtedly dealt Colm a heavy blow.

"Oh, f*ck! F*ck! F*ck! Quick, quick, let our men go in and see! Damn it, it's impossible for everyone in Blackwater to have escaped; there must be some left! They must be hiding in these damned rooms, quick, find them for me… cough, cough, cough…" Colm roared frantically, his anxiety overwhelming.

Damn it, his purpose in blockading Blackwater was to become the controller of West Elizabeth, just like Dutch Van der Linde. Without a population, what the heck would he control?

Land was the least valuable. Their gang members could be said to control the entire land of West Elizabeth outside, but without a population, it was useless.

No one to farm, no one to work, no one to serve him, so what good was this empty land to him?

Even gang expansion couldn't happen without a population, so what was the point of expanding?

Dust and sand swirled everywhere, howling through Blackwater.

At Colm's command, all O'Driscoll Gang members rushed into Blackwater.

Compared to the disappointed Colm, they were all overjoyed.

They didn't want to control Blackwater; they just wanted a better life. Although there were no people in Blackwater now, and thus no fun to be had, all the supplies were theirs, meaning they no longer had to worry about food and drink!

However, as they kicked open door after door and searched little by little, the scene inside dealt them a heavy blow.

The entire Blackwater was completely empty!

All sorts of furniture and light bulbs were still intact, but not a single bit of food, jewelry, dollars, or various supplies were left inside. The clothing stores didn't even have a single scrap of cloth. Although the houses were intact and the furniture was all there, clothes, bedding, and supplies had completely vanished. Even if these people moved in now, they would have nothing to eat or drink.

One by one, the O'Driscoll Gang members snapped out of their surprise. They searched house after house, refusing to believe it, but after a long while, they could only emerge from the rooms, each with a look of disbelief on their faces.

"No one, boss, not even a beer! F*ck, I only found half a bottle of beer on one bedside table, and it didn't even taste like beer when I took a sip!"

"I only found half a cigar! F*ck! The tobacco was even damp!"

"Boss, what do we do? I want to drink! I want to smoke!"

"See, I knew hijacking Blackwater was a mistake. Damn it, why is Colm always so headstrong? Oh, he's going to get us killed, he's already crazy!"

A group of people surrounded Colm, chattering and complaining incessantly, with some even secretly standing in the crowd openly mocking him.

They hadn't had any good gains for over a month. For these gang members, no gain meant betrayal. The reason they hadn't betrayed Colm yet was because he was too ruthless at the moment. However, mockery was already inevitable.

Colm was now experiencing the latter half of Dutch's feelings to the fullest.

Looking at the questioning gazes all around, at the empty Blackwater where not even a beggar remained, and feeling the burning and pain in his lungs, Colm's inner resentment, anger, and murderous intent had reached their peak.

Damn it, if there's no one here, what the hell am I ruling?

Colm had planned for half a year, and even sacrificed all his plans for this, only to have them completely fall through, filling his heart with grief, indignation, and rage.

A mouthful of rebellious blood surged from Colm's lungs to his throat.

"Pfft!" Colm, still on his horse, spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering it all over the faces of the subordinates in front of him.

"Ahhh! Tuberculosis! He gave me tuberculosis!"

"F*ck! Colm is going to kill us! He's already killing us!"

"Oh, sh*t! Sh*t! I told you Colm isn't Colm anymore, he's no longer that formidable figure, this is the real him now, he's just a paranoid lunatic!"

Out of over five hundred subordinates, more than three hundred were rebellious. At this moment, having gained nothing in Blackwater and seeing Colm spitting blood, their hearts instantly became active.

However, the next moment.

"Bang, bang, bang…" A series of revolver roars echoed. Colm, panting heavily on his horse, fired a volley from his revolver, headshotting his questioning subordinates one after another.

Colm's skill as a sharpshooter was on full display. (It was mentioned earlier that Colm was also a sharpshooter, otherwise Dutch and his men wouldn't have been unable to kill him for so many years)

And under this overwhelming display of power, the agitated crowd instantly fell silent.

"All of you, shut up!"

Colm suppressed all the pain in his heart and body, roaring out, then his eyes, filled with frustration and anger, looked towards the calm lake in the distance of Blackwater.

"Now, all of you go find a boat! We are going to cross Flatiron Lake and enter Mexico! Cough, cough, cough…"

Colm was indeed a prominent figure who had made his way up.

Even in his current state, Colm had not lost his reason or gone completely mad.

Since Blackwater could no longer be ruled, and West Elizabeth could no longer be controlled, he could only lead his group to Mexico, and carve out his own territory there with this large group of people!

That damned Dutch Van der Linde, it was all that damned Dutch Van der Linde's fault!

He swore that before he died, he would hang Dutch Van der Linde on the gallows!!!