Chapter 112: Unwelcome Guests
Ian didn't even need to go looking. With the monkey—that beggar disguised as a member of the Ian Family—leading the way, the group headed straight for the Marine garrison on Sabaody Archipelago.
Likewise, they split into two groups. The cripple took some men to collect the assets of the Flayed Pirate Crew.
If Ian were still alone, he would have had to run back and forth repeatedly for all of this. But now, with people under his command, things were indeed much easier!
However, in their excitement, the Ian Family members forgot one thing: they hadn't contacted Hogkin and the others still at the stronghold. So at that moment, Hogkin and his group had no idea what was happening and were anxiously waiting.
It was precisely when Ian and his men went to collect the bounty that Hogkin, left behind at the stronghold, noticed a large group of people heading their way.
Everyone panicked immediately, knowing trouble was coming. With the stronghold's manpower depleted, they could only hastily grab their weapons and prepare to fight.
But as the group drew closer, Hogkin finally saw clearly who it was—it was the bosses of the nearby families!
Leading them was the boss of the Bold Family, entrenched in the 14th Mangrove area. Walking alongside him were Dorji, boss of the 11th Mangrove area; Bain, boss of the 19th Mangrove area; and Baggins, boss of the 21st Mangrove area.
The families led by these four bosses were the most powerful ones near the Ian Family's 16th Mangrove area. Back when Sicilian was in charge, he paid tribute to these very families.
So when Hogkin saw all four bosses appear together, he was so startled that his gun dropped to the ground.
The four bosses, with about two hundred subordinates, arrived at the stronghold. Lorraine and Elena, sensing trouble, had already run back into the house to hide.
Only Hogkin braced himself and stepped forward, forcing a smile and saying, "Gentlemen, what brings you all here?"
Dorji, the boss of the Dorji Family, was a fat man. He squinted at Hogkin and said, "Hogkin, you've gotten bold, huh? Seeing us coming, you grabbed a weapon—what were you planning to do?"
"Boss Dorji, my apologies, my apologies!" Hogkin quickly explained. "I just didn't see clearly a moment ago..."
Before he could finish, Dorji suddenly pulled out a pistol and fired, hitting Hogkin in the thigh.
Hogkin screamed in pain, clutching his leg as he fell to the ground. Blood gushed out, instantly staining the floor red.
The others seemed to have expected this and weren't surprised at all. Instead, they burst into laughter. Dorji stepped on Hogkin's head and sneered, "That's a lesson for you. I heard the Sicilian Family has a new boss—is that true?"
Hogkin was sweating from the pain but still managed to lift his head and reply, "Y-yes."
As soon as he heard the question, he understood. The aftermath of the members who had run away yesterday was now playing out.
The news that the Sicilian Family had been renamed the Ian Family had spread through those deserters. Since the previous boss, Sicilian, had been paying tribute to the surrounding major powers, and now Sicilian was dead, the families that received his tribute naturally came to check things out.
It probably wasn't to avenge Sicilian, but rather to discuss the tribute issue with the newly established Ian Family!
Yes, these family bosses had no real bond with Sicilian—only interests. The Sicilian Family was just a small-time operation. Now that Ian had taken over, in their eyes, he too needed to pay tribute.
Once Hogkin understood their intentions, he began to worry for Ian. Since these family bosses had come in person, they were likely planning to extort a hefty sum, probably raising the tribute quota for the Ian Family.
Confirming that the Sicilian Family's boss had indeed changed, Dorji lifted his foot from Hogkin's head and sneered, "In that case, call your boss out!"
Hogkin hesitated and said, "B-Boss Ian... he's not here right now..."
"Oh? Where did he go?" Bold, the boss of the Bold Family, asked while puffing on a thick cigar.
"He... Boss Ian took some men to catch pirates..." Hogkin could only answer honestly.
This made the four bosses burst into laughter. Bold laughed so hard tears came to his eyes as he said to Dorji, "Looks like the rumor's true. This new Boss Ian really intends to focus on being a pirate hunter!"
"That's fine!" Bain, the boss of the Bain Family—a sharp-faced, rat-like man—licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with greed. "Since he's not planning to handle other business, the four of us can just split it among ourselves!"
"That makes sense!" Baggins, the last boss, finally spoke up. "Alright, since your boss isn't here, we'll just wait for him to return!"
With that, without even asking Hogkin's permission, they strode into the Ian Family's stronghold. As they entered, they didn't forget to mock, "Your place is as shabby as ever!"
Once inside, they made themselves at home, plopping down on the sofa in the middle of the room that belonged to Ian, and shouted, "Where's the hospitality!? Bring it all out!"
Left with no choice, Hogkin dragged his injured leg to find Lorraine and Elena, telling them to bring out food and drinks to entertain these family bosses.
Though Lorraine and Elena were extremely reluctant, they had to find a way to deal with these people. However, when they brought the items over, Dorji and Baggins each reached out a hand and gave their butts a hard squeeze.
The force was so great that Lorraine and Elena couldn't help but cry out in pain, forcing back tears that threatened to fall.
But even with their forbearance, Dorji stood up and slapped Lorraine to the ground!
Dorji sneered and cursed, "I squeezed you as a sign of respect, and you dare to yelp!?"
Hogkin watched this scene, gritting his teeth in hatred, but he dared not say anything. He could only quickly signal Lorraine and Elena with his eyes to leave.
As a family boss, would he really be so petty as to argue with a maid? Dorji's arrogance was clearly just a deliberate show of force.
Lorraine and Elena understood Hogkin's intent. Ignoring the pain on their faces, they got up to leave.
But Dorji wasn't about to let them off so easily. With a dark expression, he said, "What, when guests arrive, you don't even offer some women to entertain?"
The implication was clear: he wanted Lorraine and Elena to accompany them.
Now even Hogkin didn't know what to do. Logically, Lorraine and Elena were considered Boss Ian's women now. How could he let his boss's women entertain guests?
Hogkin felt his head spinning. Bracing himself, he limped forward and said, "Boss Dorji, please understand... they... they aren't maids..."
"If they're not maids, can't they still accompany us?" Baggins sneered.
With those words, the subordinates standing behind the sofa immediately drew their guns, pointing them at Lorraine and Elena. Bold and Bain watched the scene in silence, enjoying the show.
The two girls had never faced such a situation before. They trembled all over in fear.
Hogkin gritted his teeth and said to Dorji and Baggins, "Gentlemen, they really can't accompany you..."
Among the Ian Family members, Hogkin had some understanding of Ian's strength. It wasn't that he was particularly loyal to Ian, but he knew that if Lorraine and Elena were harmed, Ian would not let him off when he returned! Because yesterday, when he came out carrying the safe, he had seen Ian healing Lorraine and Elena. Though he had stopped and dared not disturb them, he understood that Ian had sympathy for these two pitiful girls.
So under these circumstances, Hogkin could only argue as best he could.
However, to his surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, Dorji fired another shot, hitting his other leg.
Now Hogkin couldn't stand anymore and collapsed onto the floor.
Hogkin felt that these past two days had been incredibly unlucky. Yesterday, Boss Ian had cut his wrist, and today both his legs had been shot through. Now, only one hand could still move...
"Forget it, Dorji!" Bold finally spoke, finding the scene boring. "Don't forget our real business!"
Though Dorji was reluctant, since Bold had spoken, he had to show some respect. He sat back down grumpily.
Lorraine and Elena, suppressing their fear, ran over to help Hogkin away for bandaging. Regardless, Hogkin had been injured protecting them.
Now only Bold and his group remained in the house. The other Ian Family members, having seen Hogkin's fate, dared not come in. With no one around, Bold and the others began chatting without restraint.
"Dorji, how much tribute are you planning to demand this time?" Baggins asked.
"When Sicilian was around, he paid me one hundred fifty thousand Berry a month!" Dorji said, drinking. "Now that some clueless brat has taken over and hasn't even come to pay his respects, I've decided to triple it! He'll have to pay at least four hundred fifty thousand a month!"
"Oh? In that case, let's just standardize our rates!" Bain chimed in.
"Four of us together, that's one million eight hundred thousand Berry. Can that kid even afford it?" Bold frowned.
"Who cares about that! That's his problem!" Baggins sneered. "Who knows where this kid came from? Does he think the lawless zone is that easy to survive in? Just because he killed someone, he thinks he can be a boss?"
"Exactly! Let's use this chance to teach him a lesson!" Dorji nodded in agreement.
The group laughed and chatted, imagining how they would extort this new Ian Family. But they didn't expect that after waiting over an hour, Ian still hadn't returned.
"Catching a pirate worth a few million Berry takes this long?" Bold said disdainfully. "This so-called Boss Ian is nothing special!"
Dorji, with his short temper, said, "Damn it! If he doesn't come back soon, I'll tear this shabby house down!"
Just as he finished speaking, a voice came from the doorway.
"Which idiot said they're going to tear my house down!?"