Trelawny chatted with Stephen for a bit before hurrying off. He needed to get back and tell Arthur and the others.

  Stephen went back to the Tavern, planning to rest for a couple of days and leave when his injuries were almost healed.

  That night, it started to drizzle again.

  Stephen sat on the balcony, watching the sparse raindrops, and felt a surge of happiness.

  With this rain, Arthur and the others should be able to rescue Sean without a hitch.

  After finishing his cigarette, Stephen went back to bed, happy as could be.

  He wasn't worried about Arthur and the others failing.

  These guys were all old hands in the West. Arthur, Charles, even Javier, were not to be trifled with.

  And as Stephen expected, in the dead of night, a small boat quietly approached the bounty hunter camp where Sean was being held.

  "What do you see? How many guards are there?"

  Arthur, looking serious, asked Charles, who was next to him with a pair of binoculars.

  "Only two on watch,"

  Charles said calmly. "One on the shore, and another a bit further away, near the campfire."

  "And it looks like Trelawny's intel was right. I saw a lot of bottles in their camp, so they've been drinking."

  Hearing this, Arthur smiled.

  He wiped the rain from his face, keeping his voice low. "Remember, once we get Sean, we head north. Javier will be waiting for us there."

  "Relax, I know the plan,"

  Charles calmly took out his bow and arrow from his back, expertly stringing the bow.

  Rainy days weren't ideal for using a bow and arrow. Rain-soaked bowstrings could soften, greatly reducing range and power.

  And the subsequent maintenance was a pain.

  But all the careful maintenance was for times like these.

  So Charles didn't hesitate and strung the bow.

  As he worked, he pointed to the guard on watch. "You take the one on the shore, I'll handle the one by the fire."

  Arthur, looking at the black bow in Charles's hand, pulled out his own Bowie Knife and nodded seriously.

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  Everything was ready. Arthur and Charles, one after the other, quietly slipped out of the boat.

  To stay safe and avoid being discovered, they chose to park the boat in the reeds a bit further away. The two waded through the water, slowly heading towards the shore.

  Arthur was in front, Charles behind. Both moved silently, trying not to make any noise.

  The light rain at night was their best cover. The two quickly reached the shore.

  Arthur gave Charles a signal to move, then quickly crept towards the guard on the shore.

  Charles immediately drew his bow and arrow, aiming at the man by the campfire.

  As soon as Arthur made his move, he would immediately shoot the man.

  Arthur stepped on the wet mud of the shore, slowly approaching the man from behind, Bowie Knife ready.

  As the distance between the two closed, Arthur slowly raised his Bowie Knife.

  Three yards, two yards, one yard!

  Arthur burst into action, quickly covering the man's mouth with his left hand, and stabbing the man in the lower back with the Bowie Knife almost simultaneously.

  The lower back was where the kidneys were. An attack there would cause the injured person excruciating pain.

  The man, hit so hard, began to struggle desperately.

  He grabbed at the large hand on his mouth, trying to call for help.

  But it was no use. Arthur's hand was like cast iron, clamped onto his face.

  Only when his movements slowed, and then stopped, did Arthur slowly release his hand.

  Seeing Arthur succeed, Charles released his bowstring. The black arrow accurately hit the man by the campfire in the neck.

  With a single shot, the man fell lifelessly into a pool of blood.

  With that, there were no more obstacles in their way.

  They ran quickly through the empty camp, heading straight for where Sean was being held.

  Whether to lure them in, the bounty hunters had locked Sean in the center of the camp, in a large, exposed iron cage.

  As agreed, Charles kept watch outside, while Arthur charged in to rescue him.

  Arthur quickly found the keys on the guard's body and unlocked the lock on the iron door.

  Sean had been locked in the iron cage for days, looking weak and almost lifeless. Even when Arthur was right in front of him, he didn't react.

  Feeling someone moving in front of him, he mumbled impatiently, "Stop messing around. I ain't gonna say nothin', so give it up."

  Arthur couldn't help but laugh at the poor guy, but also felt a little touched.

  He was a Van der Linde gang member through and through, a tough nut.

  He gently patted Sean on the shoulder. "Your vacation's over, kid. Time to get back to work."

  Hearing a familiar voice, Sean immediately opened his eyes. When he saw Arthur in front of him, he almost shouted with excitement.

  "Arthur! What are you doing here?!"

  He lowered his voice, barely able to contain his excitement. "Are you here to save me?! Thank God, I knew you wouldn't leave me!"

  "Of course not. The Van der Linde gang doesn't leave family behind."

  Arthur said with a smile. "Let's get out of here, kid. Or do you want to spend another couple of days here?"

  "Hell no, I don't want to stay here for another second!"

  Sean excitedly crawled out of the iron cage and kicked the guard's body hard. "Damn you, for hitting me all the time!"

  "Alright, kid, let's talk about it when we get back. We're not out of the woods yet!"

  Arthur grabbed the guard's pistol and handed it to Sean, then dragged him quickly towards the river.

  "Do you know what I've been through these past few days? I've had enough!"

  As they walked, Sean continued to blather on. "I'm gonna make those guys pay. They'll know who Sean is!"

  "Alright, shut up already, we need to get out of here!"

  Arthur said, annoyed. "There's a boat up ahead. We're only safe once we're on it."

  The guy's mouth was like a machine gun, once he started talking, he couldn't stop.

  The two successfully got out of the camp, and Charles followed.

  Arthur couldn't believe how easy this trip had been. They hadn't even encountered any resistance.

  The three quickly boarded the small boat and rowed towards the north.