For instance, shooting a few holes into a drunk opponent, or ambushing them in the shadows in the dead of night to pierce their skull with a cold shot.
In short, people in the West talked about gunfights in the streets and alleys; there was almost no mention of duels.
Barrett's previous duels, for example, all took place in more formal settings.
Ordinary people privately wished they could ambush early and shoot out their opponent's brains.
Indeed, there were also two groups of bandits planning to cooperate with Barrett to shoot out Henry's brains.
Except for super assassins who were extremely confident in their skills and methods, ordinary bandits who intended to target Henry generally acted as a gang.
Otherwise, even if they managed to snatch Henry's head, they wouldn't be able to navigate the 85 miles of treacherous mountain roads.
One of these two bandit gangs was called the Wild Wolf Gang, with 12 members, all of whom were present this time, led by their leader, Wolf.
The other was called the Skull Gang, with eight members, also all present, led by their leader, Bond.
Both were notorious, ruthless, and heavily criminalized powerful bandit gangs.
Both bandit gangs arrived in the town this morning, posing as farmers and fur traders, respectively.
They all knew that the assassins who arrived yesterday had all been sent to hell by Henry, so they didn't act rashly today.
Instead, they familiarized themselves with the terrain and the town's situation, looking for suitable opportunities and assassination plans.
Now, hearing about this duel, they immediately felt an opportunity had arisen.
Henry couldn't possibly be distracted by other gunmen while fully concentrating on dueling Barrett, could he?
Not putting ten or eight holes in him would be a disservice to the dozens of miles of mountain roads they traveled for this!
It was almost 10 PM when Henry left the bar. He simply patrolled the town while contemplating his actions for the past few days.
As for the duel with Barrett, Henry didn't take it to heart at all.
From the moment Barrett insisted on a duel, he was already a dead man in Henry's eyes.
No matter what reason Barrett had, no matter how righteous he was, Henry would take his life.
Because as a sharpshooter, Barrett must have a strong grasp of his marksmanship and a very direct sense of whether the bullets he fired hit the target.
Then he would easily discover Henry's secret of bullet evasion, although he wouldn't know why.
During regular gunfights, no one could clearly see the trajectory of bullets, and no one would know if Henry should have been hit.
Therefore, Barrett, who might notice something unusual, could only die.
Moreover, even if Barrett didn't die after the duel, he would sustain gunshot wounds, likely never returning to his peak, thus greatly diminishing his value.
What bothered Henry now was how to send Linda to the Denver train station.
Fresco Town is surrounded by mountains in the Midwest of the Rocky Mountains, west of Denver, generally at an altitude of over 2000 meters, with many nearby peaks, including Longs Peak at 4346 meters.
Almost all outsiders are involved in mining and ranching, and of course, there are many bandits robbing in the surrounding areas.
After all, if something happens, they just disappear into the deep mountains and old forests, making them very difficult to find.
The terrain is mainly composed of mountains, plateaus, and basins, with dry, rerouted riverbeds and cliffs everywhere.
This terrain is particularly conducive to ambushes, so if Henry were to send Linda to Denver by train, he would really need to be extra cautious to avoid an unexpected mishap.
As for taking the train to George Town, which is over twenty miles away, it's primarily for freight, with very few passenger services. If someone got hold of Henry's itinerary and sabotaged the train in a dangerous area, Henry could very likely fall hundreds of meters into a deep valley along with the train car.
In this era, although trains could reach speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour on flat ground, 60 kilometers per hour was good in mountainous areas, and many curves or dangerous zones might even be only 20-odd kilometers per hour.
This speed made it very easy for mounted bandits to catch up, making robbery or demolition extremely simple.
So, taking the train was out of the question; Henry had to firmly keep the initiative of his safety in his own hands.
Henry also patrolled until 1 AM before returning to his house to rest.
When Henry arrived at the police station the next morning, Pete immediately walked into his office and closed the door.
"Henry, how confident are you about the duel?" Pete asked.
"One hundred percent, of course. Did you place a bet?" Henry smiled.
"No, I can't bet with your life," Pete spread his hands.
Henry felt a warmth in his heart and said, "You don't have to worry. I've bet 200 us dollar on myself. Also, I'll arrange four police officers for you shortly. Take them to Linda's house to guard her. I'm worried someone might try to kidnap or rob her while I'm dueling. Tell Linda not to worry about me."
"Alright," Pete said.
Henry arranged matters at the police station, then went to the church in the square to find Pastor Philip.
Time quickly approached noon.
Henry, accompanied by Luke and 16 new police officers, arrived near the town square more than half an hour early. He inspected six easily ambushable high-ground locations nearby, leaving two police officers at each spot.
Henry handed his "one-thousandth" Winchester Rifle to Luke, instructing him and four new police officers to maintain order around the square.
The square was a 50-meter by 50-meter square, with a small church covering over an acre in one corner.
In formal Europe noble duels, witnesses would inspect firearms, specify the number of shots, and determine the extent of the duel, but here, all of that was omitted.
There was also no limit on how many pistols could be used.
In a duel between experts, there's little room for error; using two guns isn't necessarily better than one.
At least a single gun is much easier to control than two.
Pastor Philip gave his final advice to Barrett and Henry. Finding it ineffective, he instructed them to stand at their designated positions.
The town ran east-west, and the two men stood facing each other in the center of the square, about 30 meters apart from east to west, with their hands hanging naturally and their eyes fixed on each other.
The reason for choosing 12 PM was that the sun would be directly overhead at that time, preventing any unfair glare for either party.
The weather today was clear, with no clouds in the sky, and the air was hot and dry, feeling as if heat waves were rising from the ground.
There were no spectators behind them to the east and west. The north and south sides of the square were packed with two or three dense rows of spectators, estimated to be four or five hundred people.
Mayor William and six guards quietly watched from the entrance of the church.
Four new police officers stood two on each side, with Luke standing on the south side about 25 meters away.
The Wild Wolf Gang and the Skull Gang were positioned to the north and south, respectively, on either side of Henry.
They were also afraid that standing on two sides would accidentally injure their own people, so all the gang members stood on one side, unaware that another gang, equally covetous, was directly opposite them.
The members of both bandit gangs were still admiring their respective leaders' brilliant move—not ambushing from high ground, but choosing to concentrate fire nearby, otherwise they would have been exposed just now.