pappabearbooks Chapter 60 The Bison and Horse Herds Have Been Stolen
Chapter 60 The Bison and Horse Herds Have Been Stolen
The sky resembled an inverted inkwell, thick clouds pressing down. In the dead silence, the chaotic dark cloud on the horizon suddenly surged violently, spinning wildly and plummeting downwards!
Instead of slowly descending, the cloud pillar, like an inverted giant diamond, with the determination to tear the sky apart, crashed down on the grassland with immense force!
"boom--!"
The moment it hit the ground, a terrifyingly loud explosion erupted!
A massive column of dust, composed of mud, grass, and gravel, was forcibly torn from the earth's body and swept into the raging vortex.
It was no longer the wind, but a devastating meat grinder! A deep, tearing roar crushed the air, and the grassland groaned in agony beneath its feet.
Upon closer inspection, the details of this towering demon are chilling: the rapidly rotating vortex walls resemble billions of wildly dancing gray pythons, twisting and strangling madly!
The entire turf was lifted up and instantly turned into dust in the air.
Fist-sized clods of earth, rocks, and even entire clumps of bushes became deadly projectiles, scattering in all directions with a sharp whistle and smashing deep craters into the ground.
At the eye of the storm, the air pressure dropped sharply, and my ears felt like they were being pricked with needles.
The air was no longer flowing wind, but countless high-speed rotating sandpapers that stung the skin!
The fine dust and sand seeped into every nook and cranny, choking the nasal cavity and throat, bringing a suffocating dryness and a rusty, fishy smell.
The grasslands completely surrendered, the waves of grass were forcibly pressed into the mud.
In the distance, a few scattered herds of cattle stood frozen like stones, their mournful cries completely drowned out by the all-consuming roar.
The world was utterly overturned, a chaotic mess. Only the colossal pillar of the storm, capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, stood like a desperate wound spewed from the earth to the sky, proclaiming the pure, soul-shattering destructive power of primal nature!
Tom stared at the apocalyptic scene, his heart nearly stopping—what if the convoy encountered…
"Good heavens! What is that?" someone exclaimed in shock.
"Tornado!" James's voice was firm and resolute, with a hint of tension that was barely perceptible.
Margaret's face turned deathly pale: "Where's Elsa?!"
James stared intently at the raging column of wind, his Adam's apple bobbing. "She'll be alright!" The worry in his voice couldn't lie to himself.
Elsa's situation was far more dangerous than she had imagined!
On the edge of the raging tornado, a carriage was suddenly sucked into the air, and the next second it was slammed to the ground like a broken toy!
"Boom!"
The carriage instantly disintegrated, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere!
If someone gets caught in it... I can't even imagine what it would look like!
"Get down! Find a low-lying area!" Shay's roar pierced the wind noise, and everyone scrambled into low-lying areas, clinging tightly to the ground, praying for the storm's mercy.
Time passed agonizingly amidst the roar and flying sand. Finally, the earth-shattering roar gradually faded into the distance.
"It's over...it's gone!" Someone looked up, trembling.
"It's gone! It's really gone!"
The relief of surviving the ordeal spread through the crowd, and cheers rang out sporadically.
However, when Shay stood up and looked at the mess in front of him, his heart sank to the bottom.
The scattered wood chips on the ground proclaimed the cruel reality: most of the carriages in the caravan were now useless!
Most people relied on their own two legs or a few packhorses, moving at a snail's pace. To replenish their wagons, they had to return to the transit station at Dorn Ferry, a journey that would take at least a month!
Even worse, the bison herd got scattered in the chaos and disappeared without a trace.
And that damned cook took advantage of the chaos to steal most of the food!
The convoy has completely run out of supplies!
Tom's family convoy, which had left early, was filled with food.
The group sat down wearily, silently sharing their simple dry rations in a somber atmosphere.
"Clatter clatter..." A series of rapid hoofbeats approached from afar.
Everyone looked over warily and saw that it was the cook who had run away with the grain!
He drove his wagon, laden with food, straight to Tom.
"Good heavens! I thought I was the only one who was smart enough to escape!" The cook jumped out of the car, looking both frightened and surprised. He never expected that someone else would survive and that the food would be saved.
"You're... going back to the team?" James squinted, scrutinizing his fully loaded car.
The cook nodded vigorously: "Absolutely! Guess what I saw on my way back? Six cowboys! Herding our bison herd! Hey, Captain Shay's got some nerve, didn't he?"
Tom frowned. "Is there another herd of horses?"
"Yes! They're all together!"
Upon hearing this, Tom and James exchanged a glance. Something was wrong!
"Where did Shay get six extra cowboys to guard?" James asked in a low voice.
Tom's eyes were sharp as knives: "Our cattle and horses... have been intercepted!"
"What?" Upon hearing this, the cook abruptly turned his head to look into the distance, his expression changing.
"We have to get them back!" Tom said decisively, his gaze sweeping over the cook. "Are you sure it's six?"
The cook, intimidated by Tom's imposing manner, hesitated, "...It's a bit far away, I can't see it very clearly..."
Tom stopped asking questions, suddenly stood up, and his gaze swept across his core team like lightning: the lean and wiry Zach, the stocky and muscular Cooper, and the beautiful Simone with her cold eyes!
"Zach! Cooper! Simone!" Tom's voice was laced with unwavering resolve. "Grab your weapons! Get our cattle and horses back! Let's move out now!"
James grabbed Tom's arm: "Wait! There are too many of them, shouldn't we wait for Shay and the others...?"
"They're in your hands now!" Tom's gaze finally fell on the other family members, carrying a heavy sense of entrustment.
With Tom and his men gone, James was the only one left in the family convoy who could actually take up arms and fight.
Tom and the three of them finally made their way to the vicinity of the cattle herd.
However, after just one glance, his heart sank!
What happened to the promised six cowboys?
There were thirteen figures moving before my eyes!
They exude a murderous aura and are definitely not benevolent.
"The number is wrong! Thirteen!" Tom's voice was deep, yet clearly reached his companions' ears.
Four against thirteen. Among them, Zach and Simone were novices experiencing this kind of situation for the first time.
The pressure was immense.
Tom seemed oblivious to the stark difference in numbers, asking casually, as if he were asking about the weather, "Are you scared?"
The thirteen burly men with guns opposite him seemed to have become three groundhogs in his words.
Zach and Simone felt their throats tighten and their palms sweat; the tension almost choked them.
"Grip your gun tighter." Tom's voice carried an unusual calmness, dispelling fear. "Wait for them to get close, aim calmly, and fire!"
After saying that, Tom spurred his horse forward a few steps and brazenly appeared in the cowboys' sight.
He reined in his horse, his sharp gaze sweeping over the group of robbers, making no attempt to conceal his scrutiny.
How could the cowboys not guess who he was?
There's absolutely no need for further explanation!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The fastest-reacting cowboys instantly drew their guns and fired!
The bullets whistled and tore through the air!
Tom reacted even faster!
The instant the gunshot rang out, he jerked his horse around, lowered his body, and galloped back towards Zack and his men's ambush point like a dark shadow skimming the ground!
His superb horsemanship instantly widened the distance between him and the pursuers.
In the blink of an eye, Tom had rushed back to the hollow, dismounted, and moved in one fluid motion.
He glanced at the three men, who were spread out in a fan shape and gripping their spears tightly, and hissed, "They're here!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than thirteen cowboys appeared on the horizon, like a pack of wolves drawn by the scent of blood, galloping towards him on horseback!