Chapter 107: The Ian Family Is Established
While speaking, Hogkin and the others had already brought Ian to the front of this dilapidated house.
The Sicilian Family still had some vigilance, having arranged guards outside the house, though there were only four of them. At that moment, they were gathered together, squatting at the entrance smoking. When they saw Hogkin and the others returning, the four of them were momentarily stunned.
Because Hogkin and his group were all clutching their wrists, with blood still dripping and sizzling from them, and Ian, who was walking behind them, looked like a stranger, the four guards immediately sensed something was wrong. They drew their guns and were about to shout.
However, Ian didn't give them a chance. His figure vanished in an instant, then reappeared behind the four of them. He drew the Enma sword from his waist, and a curved flash of light cut through the air.
This light sliced across the necks of the four guards. In the next second, four heads flew into the air...
These four guards didn't even manage to let out a shout before Ian killed them. Hogkin and the others, witnessing this scene, nearly wet their pants. It was only then that they truly understood how incredibly lucky they had been. If Ian hadn't wanted to keep them alive to guide him, they would have been dead by now too!
"Is Sicilian inside here?" Ian asked Hogkin, listening to the noisy sounds coming from the house, as if the people inside were holding a banquet.
Hogkin nodded frantically, like a chicken pecking at rice, and said, "Yes! He's definitely there! He usually doesn't go anywhere else!"
"Good!" Ian nodded and walked toward the door of the house.
Hogkin and his group exchanged glances, knowing that the Sicilian Family might be about to face a major upheaval...
Arriving at the door, Ian raised his foot and kicked the old, broken door with tremendous force.
With a loud crash, the door shattered under his kick, sending wood chips flying everywhere. However, Ian had underestimated how dilapidated the house was; the dust that rose up made him cough violently.
The moment the door was kicked in, the noisy sounds inside the house came to an abrupt halt.
The people inside froze in various poses, staring blankly at Ian standing in the doorway, as if their minds couldn't quite process what was happening.
Ian scanned the scene inside the house. There were about forty or so people. In the center of the hall, on a circle of sofas, sat a burly, muscular man. He wore a black eyepatch over his left eye, and his face was covered in scars, giving him a very fierce appearance. He was shirtless, showing off his solid muscles, and on either side of him were two scantily clad girls who looked like they were forcing smiles.
He was the only one in the room with such an air of authority, so Ian fixed his gaze on him and asked, "Are you Sicilian?"
The people in the room finally snapped out of it. Sicilian pushed the two girls aside, stood up, and asked with a dark expression, "Who are you?"
Although he asked with a fierce tone, Ian noticed that his eyes were darting around nervously. Probably because the lack of an alarm from the outside guards made him uneasy, he thought some force had surrounded his base. He was trying to assess if he should flee if things went wrong.
Ian immediately guessed his thoughts, shook his head, and said, "Don't bother looking. It's just me. I'll ask again: are you Sicilian?"
"That's me!" Sicilian, hearing that Ian was alone, grew a bit bolder and directly admitted it. "What do you want? Who sent you?"
Ian suddenly found this boring. He couldn't be bothered to argue with this guy about who sent him. In Ian's passive skill as a Evil Eye Master, Sicilian appeared as a deep green color—a complete weakling to Ian. If he wasted words with him, this guy might start spouting nonsense like offering money or asking Ian to become his subordinate.
So Ian simply said, "Good, it's you!"
With that, Ian's Enma sword left its sheath. He swung it left and right twice, then instantly returned it to the scabbard.
Yet, with these two effortless swings, he unleashed two flaming sword slashes, one left and one right. These two slashes converged in the air, forming a cross-shaped strike!
The strike flew swiftly. Sicilian never expected Ian to attack without a word. By the time the slash was upon him, he had no time to dodge, and the cross-shaped slash cut him into four pieces!
Watching Sicilian's burly body spurt blood and collapse, the room fell into a strange, eerie silence.
The first to scream were the two girls beside him.
Startled by their cries, the people in the room finally panicked.
"The boss is dead!?"
"H-Hey! Run!"
"Attack! Kill him! Avenge the boss!"
Some wanted to flee, but Ian was blocking the door, so they couldn't escape. Others drew weapons to avenge Sicilian, but they hesitated to charge at Ian, their thoughts all over the place, plunging the room into chaos.
Seeing this messy scene, Ian slammed the scabbard of his Enma sword onto the ground, producing a loud thud, and said, "Everyone, quiet down!"
The people in the room immediately fell silent, one by one, carefully covering their mouths.
"From now on, the Sicilian Family is under my control!" Ian said, walking slowly toward the center. "If any of you are dissatisfied, or want to avenge your old boss, step forward! It's fine, I'll handle it!"
Everyone exchanged glances but said nothing.
Soon, a clattering sound was heard. One of the Sicilian Family members, who had been holding a weapon, dropped it on the ground.
Where there was one, there were two, then three. Before long, no one in the room dared to hold a weapon anymore.
All of them looked at Ian, standing in the center, with awe. Even Hogkin and his group followed him in. Led by Hogkin, the entire room respectfully called out to Ian, "Boss!"
"Good!" Ian nodded with satisfaction. He knew that these criminal gang members were the most pragmatic people—they obeyed whoever was stronger. This outcome didn't surprise him.
And indeed, the power Ian had just displayed left these guys in shock. In their eyes, their old boss Sicilian was already formidable, with unmatched brute strength. But they never expected this new boss to be even fiercer—he came in, confirmed the name, and cut the man into four pieces without saying much.
If the new boss could kill the old boss Sicilian, then killing them would be effortless. To stay alive, the best course was to do whatever the new boss said!
These criminal gang members quickly accepted the reality of the change in leadership. Someone was already fawningly bringing over a sofa, trying to flatter Ian into sitting down.
Ian didn't refuse. He plopped down onto the sofa, which was quite soft and comfortable.
The two scantily clad girls from earlier quickly came over, one on each side, grabbing Ian's arms and smiling at him ingratiatingly.
Ian initially wanted to pull away—he wasn't used to this feeling. Their behavior made him feel like he was turning into a villain like Sicilian. But when they grabbed his arms, he noticed they were trembling all over, as if in fear. He sighed inwardly, stopped his movement, and let them hold on for now.
He knew these two girls were likely kidnapped by Sicilian and his men, or even worse, they might be slaves. Shaking them off wouldn't matter to him, but if they mistakenly thought he was angry, they'd only become more anxious.
His mood subtly soured, and his expression toward these criminal gang members naturally turned grim.
"My name is Ian. I'm a pirate hunter!" Ian said coldly to the crowd. "Since I'm taking over now, the name has to change too. From now on, you'll call yourselves the Ian Family when dealing with outsiders!"
"Yes, Boss Ian!" Everyone quickly responded in unison.
"It's not just the name that changes; the scope of your operations has to change too!" Ian continued. "From now on, kidnapping and human trafficking are forbidden!"
Having grown up in a modern society, Ian deeply despised such evil deeds. Even though he had taken over a gang in this lawless zone, he wouldn't let his subordinates continue these activities.
Hogkin and the others exchanged bewildered glances, unsure how to respond.
"Hmm?" Ian shot a cold glance at them. "Is there a problem?"
"N-No, no problem!" Hogkin quickly waved his hands. "Whatever you say, Boss Ian!"
"But..." Hogkin hesitated and asked, "Boss Ian, then how do we make money?"
"Information trading and capturing wanted pirates!" Ian answered without hesitation. This was something he had already planned.
Sabaody Archipelago was huge and the only route to the New World. Pirates landed on this island all the time. Relying solely on Ian himself for intelligence was too limited, so he thought about gathering a group of people to investigate information for him.
Which pirates were currently on the island, where they landed, which areas they operated in, how high their bounties were, how many subordinates they had, their strength, whether they were ability users—all of this needed investigation. Once the intel was in hand, Ian only needed to strike, making things much easier.
These people were already the local snakes of Sabaody Archipelago, making them perfect for gathering intelligence.
Hogkin and the others quickly understood Ian's intention but weren't optimistic. "But... Boss Ian, catching those pirates with bounties of a few million won't earn much money..."
Ian looked at Hogkin with a half-smile. "Pirates worth a few million? Were those your previous targets?"
Hogkin felt a chill run down his spine under Ian's gaze and quickly nodded.
"Then it's time for a change!" Ian said. "What you need to gather is intel on pirates with bounties of fifty million or more. The higher, the better. Even pirates with bounties over a hundred million are acceptable!"
When he said this, everyone in the room gasped in shock!
"Boss Ian, th-this... we don't have the ability!" Hogkin said urgently. "Pirates at that level aren't something we can catch..."
Ian looked at them strangely. "Who said you have to do the catching? You just need to gather their intel. As for the catching, I'll do it myself!"
Now that his strength had grown, Ian naturally set higher goals. He needed not only money but also a certain level of fame. High-bounty pirates were his targets. Catching one pirate with a bounty over a hundred million was better than catching five or six with bounties of ten or twenty million. Plus, defeating or killing opponents would yield much more experience, making it a better deal overall.
Hogkin and the others, however, had no idea about Ian's thoughts. They were just shocked by his words.
Damn! Just how strong is this new Boss Ian!?