•••
A few minutes later, Henry was by Nyx's side, securing her saddle into place before patting her neck. He chuckled when Nyx nuzzled her head against him with affection.
"Henry!"
A call from behind paused their frolicking but Henry continued to pat Nyx while he turned to face the person who had called him. It was Tony and he was holding two guns.
The one in Tony's left hand was a Repeater. Capable of firing rounds faster but with lower range than the rifle Henry had seized from the Langlot gang member back in New Freudein. The one that had gotten damaged by the Vyker Rena.
The rifle in Tony's right hand, however, had a brilliant wood finish and a long, thin, metal barrel with a scope on its head. A Sniper rifle.
"Tony," Henry said before he gestured at the guns with his head, "Those?"
"For you," Tony said with a smile, "A revolver won't be enough for what we're about to do. So which will it be?"
"You want me to choose?" Henry asked.
"Well, yes," Tony said and he pushed the Repeater in his left hand forward, "I'll suggest this. I know you're a good shot but not everyone can properly use a sniper rifle."
"I can," Henry said confidently.
"Okay then…" Tony said and pushed the sniper rifle forward instead.
"I'd like to take both. If you don't mind." Henry said.
Tony blinked and then smiled,
"Alright," he said and handed the two to Henry, "I hope you use them well."
"Oh I will," Henry said with a smile. The two were perfect for the Hunting Quest. He looked at the Repeater with particular fondness. It had been a favorite in his past life.
"Oh, and you'll need this," Tony said and handed Henry a couple of Ammo boxes before turning and walking away.
Henry stashed the ammo boxes into his Inventory when he was sure no one was watching but he slung the Repeater and Sniper rifle onto his back with their straps crisscrossing across his front.
Henry looked all over the courtyard with everyone fastening their saddles onto their horses' backs and found he was not the only one with a Repeater or a Rifle although he was the only one to have both. Devon was the only notable exception with a double-barreled Shotgun instead.
As he mounted Nyx, Henry saw Triss fitting a saddle onto the back of the horse she had broken to replace her horse, Anders, whose fate she still didn't know for sure but was almost certainly dead.
Almost as though she had felt Henry's eyes on her, Triss looked over at him and smiled as she completed the fastening of the saddle and got onto her horse's back.
Henry directed Nyx to trot closer to the Mansion's exit when he overheard a conversation between Charles, Tony, and Stefan.
"So he's just going to sit here cradling that chest like every other day this past week?" Stefan asked, his tone, seeping with anger.
"Are you surprised?" Tony asked.
"Well, yes. He's never been like this— This… uncaring," Stefan said.
"Ah, of course you'll say that," Charles said with a small smile,
"I always forget you and Triss have been with us the shortest. Angus does care but he does have times when he gets… distracted. Or at least more focused on something else."
"Do we even know what's in that chest?" Stefan asked.
"No, we don't," Tony said,
"But I assume Angus does. A chest sealed with magic that was guarded by a Warlock and a Gunman with a magical gun? There's no way his source, whoever that was, didn't mention that."
Charles let out a sigh,
"We all knew that job was going to be difficult. He warned us of that much. But he promised benefits and I guess we just have to wait to see what they are."
As Charles was speaking, he seemed to realize that Henry was within earshot and he glanced at him with a small smile,
"Henry, you should remain close by. You'll be firing first."
"I will?"
"Well, yes," Charles said, "The bases all have lookouts, and taking them out with a sniper rifle will make things easier on all of us."
"Ah, I see. Well, you can count on me," Henry said.
"If you're done with the chitchat, we should get a move on now," Devon said in his deep grunting voice while his large horse trotted over with Dana's horse riding by his side.
"Right," Charles said and together he and Tony took their places at the head of the formation and a collective 'Hya' sounded out as multiple horse hooves struck the ground and they tore out of the Hadron mansion compound and began their journey.
They rode in mostly silence with faces all steeled up with what they were about to do.
Charles and Tony led the gang far away from the environs of the Hadron Mansion and the town of New Freudein until they were tearing through ridges bordered by hills.
The ride took an hour and although speed was reduced at times to allow the horses to recover their stamina, the gang still rode fast and covered so much distance, that they almost seemed to be heading deeper into the Duvan State. Deeper into more civilized regions teeming with law enforcement the gang could not afford to offend.
"We're close now," Tony called out and five minutes later, he signaled that the gang reduce their riding speed to a trot until they pulled to a stop.
He took out binoculars from his satchel and looked through them,
"The base is just through that thicket of trees. If we get any closer, we'll be spotted by the lookout.
Henry, you're up."
Henry directed Nyx to trot forward a few steps until she was about three feet ahead of Tony and Charles. He took the sniper rifle off his back and looked through the scope while taking a deep breath.
'Looking through a scope! Ah, I've missed this,' he thought with a smile.
Looking through the scope, Henry saw the camp Tony had pointed to. It was well hidden and so remote that they had more to fear from an attack of wild animals than from rival gangs or the law.
'The wild animals are likely not all that much of an issue for them though. Must even provide them sustenance,' Henry thought,
'It's a nice setup'
The Langlot base was a collection of shabbily built cabins and Henry could even see some Langlot Gang members seated in the middle of the base playing a game of cards. He could have killed them all right there and then but that'd only prematurely alert the rest of the base.
It was best to take care of the lookouts stationed many feet away from the base. Those were the first line of defense, the primary set of reinforcements, and the ones with the best chances of making it out alive to call for other reinforcements or simply warn the other bases.
"I count one, two… Four lookouts," Henry said.
"Take them out," Charles said.
Henry activated his
He then cocked the rifle and fired.
The first bullet to leave the gun struck the lookout's head and he fell in an instant death. His comrade standing about two feet away reacted with shock and his eyes widened in realization but before he could make a move, Henry had re-cocked the rifle and fired a second shot that killed him.
The four lookouts Henry spotted and counted were not all at the same spot so the deaths of the first two didn't alert the second group so their deaths arrived before they even had a chance to notice something was amiss.
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[The Hunting Quest has begun…]
[You have received a bonus of 200 Exp]
*[Nyx has received 100 Exp]
The gang just watched in awe as Henry fired bullet after bullet with a steady hand and a keen eye looking through the rifle's scope.
"They're down," Henry soon announced.
"Good, provide us support from here," Charles said
"Everyone else, Charge!"