Chapter 543 - 180: Though a Myriad Stand in My Way, I Press On

Chapter 543: Chapter 180: Though a Myriad Stand in My Way, I Press On

Thus, after much deliberation, Shinno decided to set his long-prepared "Destruction of the Settlement" plan for Bright’s 60th birthday... that same evening!

His "murder target" for tonight was very clear—concentrate all forces to kill everyone attending the Bright Dance tonight!

Since most of the settlement’s residents were at Bright’s residence tonight, if he could kill all those attending the banquet, Shinno would be satisfied with such a gain.

As for how to eliminate the banquet attendees at the Bright Dance... Shinno’s plan was nothing short of cruel and vicious.

Set fire to Bright’s residence, then lead people to block the house’s main entrance and various exits, preventing anyone from inside from getting out, letting them either be burned alive by the fire or be cut down and shot when rushing out—the above was Shinno’s entire plan.

From the perspective of "ensuring the killing of everyone inside," this plan was undoubtedly the most reliable and secure.

Shinno learned from the lessons of the last attack on the Foreign Language Research Institute.

Simply sending people in to capture and kill was a bit too slow and easily left room for escape.

Compared to that, directly setting the house on fire and then concentrating manpower to block the entrances and exits, forcing the people inside to choose between "being burnt to death" and "rushing out to be killed," was more efficient and less prone to misses or mistakes.

Clack, clack, clack, clack...

At this moment, Shinno heard two sets of footsteps approaching from the west.

They were two settlement guards carrying Minie Rifles.

These two guards, upon reaching the scene and seeing the large number of people gathered outside Bright’s residence, were instantly taken aback, drawing a sharp breath of cold air.

Without needing Shinno to give a direct order, a particularly burly Samurai immediately led several people, drew his sword, and charged at the two suddenly appearing guards.

These two guards were incredibly brave. Even though their enemies outnumbered them dozens of times, they still courageously raised their guns, ready to fight back.

However... the brutal difference in strength could not be bridged by spiritual power alone.

These guards were adequate for maintaining everyday law and order in the settlement, but they were truly no match for combating these barbarians of the Anti-foreigner Group.

Their firearms, although the most advanced rifles now—the Minie Rifles, were really of little use when facing such a large number of enemies.

Bang! Bang!

The two guards fired their guns, but all the bullets missed...

Taking advantage of the fact that they had run out of ammunition, the brawny man who had led several Samurais to charge at the guards rushed forward immediately with his men.

The guards, although quickly reversing their guns to use the stocks as clubs, were eventually outnumbered and hacked to death in the melee.

Calmly observing the entire process of the two guards’ appearance and subsequent slaying, Shinno let out a cold sneer while shifting his gaze back to Bright’s residence ahead, and thought to himself with a leisurely tone:

—These barbarians must be wondering why they see no sign of guards coming to rescue them.

—I wonder how they would react if they knew that most of the guards here had already been killed by us.

To minimize obstacles and reduce casualties later, before setting the settlement on fire, Shinno personally led an attack on the guards’ station at the settlement.

The surprise attack was highly successful.

The guards at the settlement, who were not many to begin with, were completely caught off guard by Shinno’s assault, and all those stationed there were virtually wiped out, with negligible casualties on Shinno’s side.

In short—the settlement’s security system was now essentially paralyzed.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from a nearby street corner again.

However, this time it was not the remaining settlement guards, but Shinno’s subordinates who had been sent to set fires elsewhere in the settlement.

"Mr. Kamino, we have successfully set the houses on the eastern side ablaze!"

"Mm." Shinno nodded, "You’ve worked hard."

To destroy this hateful "barbarian residential area"... simply killing people wasn’t enough.

The unsightly Western buildings must not remain either!

Therefore, besides "killing everyone at the Bright Dance," Shinno and his team set another goal for tonight: to completely burn this hateful district to ash!

In order to maximize the use of the kerosene he urgently purchased from Rakshasa earlier, Shinno had previously thoroughly studied with his companions, who had some knowledge of architecture, how to best set the fire.

Through research—they only needed to set fire to five houses in the east, south, and west directions to engulf the entire settlement in a sea of fire!

After deducting the kerosene needed for killing the banquet attendees at the Bright Dance... the remaining kerosene was entirely sufficient for completing this "arson task"!

The subordinates dispatched by Shinno to carry out the arson had now all gradually returned, having successfully completed their "arson tasks."

At present, the flames erupting from all sides of the settlement made the entire area as bright as day.

To ensure that tonight’s "Destruction of the Settlement" operation could be completed with maximum success, Shinno, after assigning necessary personnel to "guard Sazanoko and Nakamura Tsuki," brought all the companions he could muster tonight—a total of 66 people—to the settlement.