-331- The Boss

Eastern Isles, Ionia—

A group of people wearing bamboo hats and straw coats stood at the border of an island, watching another island that had joined Ionia without permission—Bilgewater.

This island drifted over and then connected with Ionia.

Initially, the Ionians were wary of these Bilgewater people, but considering their internal chaos, no one could repel them. Now, after getting along slowly, some of the locals have accepted these Bilgewater folks.

They weren't as notorious as rumors suggested; instead, they were quite easygoing.

In fact, if it weren't for the Twin Cities, the Bilgewater folks would have raided Ionia long ago.

Deal with a group of pirates?

Haha.

But now, as part of the Twin Cities Federation, Bilgewater doesn't need to resort to plundering for survival.

The sea can sustain these people; most of them came to Bilgewater as refugees or to make money.

And now, the Twin Cities will shelter them as long as they refrain from criminal activities.

The Twin Cities will help them make money as long as they refrain from criminal activities.

The resources in the sea are endless; they can fish and sell to the Twin Cities, and the Twin Cities will accept.

With such transactions, the Bilgewater people gradually transitioned from pirates to fishermen.

At this moment, on Bilgewater, a group of people in blue clothes followed closely behind a group of middle-aged and elderly people wearing glasses, seemingly protecting them.

What are these people doing?

Among the crowd, a few suspicious figures quietly watched this scene.

"Pay attention to the wind and make the structure more sturdy!"

Listening to the shouts of those people, Mouse watched as they slowly erected a large black screen on Ionia at these points.

"How about it, want to go back and tell the boss?" Beside him, someone leaned close to Mouse and whispered in his ear.

"But, but these people are clearly problems." Mouse hesitated.

These people are incredibly powerful; they may seem normal, just a group of fishermen, but anyone who has seen them fishing knows they are monsters!

Their boats are even more powerful than Noxus's ships!

"But what's that got to do with me?" The person beside him said again, "We're just here to pass on the message to the boss, nothing else."

"Well, okay." Mouse thought for a moment and said.

Yeah, they're just messengers; what to do is the boss's business.

He can't overstep his bounds.

———

"Kill him, kill him, kill him!"

In the arena left behind by Noxus, today, the final battle in the arena, on the left, is a Shuriman, and facing him is the celebrity in the arena, a Noxian with immense strength, wielding two hammers.

Sitting on the seats on the second floor, chin resting on his hand, a man with solid abs exposed by fur clothes felt bored.

This battle seems like it's going to end very soon.

That Shuriman is so small, he looks like a skinny monkey.

And on the other side, Lid, this guy is a soldier of Noxus, one of those left behind in Ionia who couldn't go back to Noxus.

He's experienced countless battles and has immense strength.

"What's his name again?"

Sett to the side, and the fat man selling tickets immediately stepped forward cautiously and said, "Boss, his name is..."

"Never mind, suddenly I don't want to know." Waving his hand, Sett casually said.

Yes, I don't need to know his name; if he wins, I'll naturally know his name.

If this Shuriman dies, what's the point of knowing the dead person's name?

The battle quickly passed, just as Setti had anticipated.

Lid smashed the Shuriman into a pulp with his hammers. He had done well enough, but no matter how well the weak perform, they remain weak.

No matter how many mistakes the strong make, they remain strong.

Sett was about to stand up, but suddenly, something unexpected happened.

Lid aimed his hammer at Sett, and a hint of fear flashed across his fat face. But soon, he forced himself to stay calm and shouted, "I challenge you!"

"Do you want to die?!"

"Damn it, someone, take this fool away!"

"You mad dog, how dare you bark at your master?"

The henchmen around were shocked, and many of them directly cursed Lid.

Sett raised his sturdy arms, his lips curling.

They instantly fell silent.

"You want to challenge me?"

"Yes!" Lid took a deep breath and shouted.

After experiencing dozens of life-and-death battles, and Sett, the guy who was supposed to have punched his way to the top, was now just sitting there every day watching.

He hadn't fought for too long.

Now many gladiators are spreading rumors that Sett is no longer as sharp as he once was. He's earned too much money, and the money-lost Sett has forgotten how he got here!

Seeing Sett standing silently on the second floor, Lid's eyes lit up.

Sure enough, just as the rumors said, Sett was no longer sharp!

The ruler of the underground world is about to change!

Kag and the others have said that if Lid can defeat Sett, they will make Lid the underground king instead of giving the position to a half-breed like Sett!

"Fight him, fight him!"

The audience started to clamor again, and Sett shrugged at the voices in his ears.

Then, Sett jumped straight down from the second floor.

Looking ahead at Lid, who was vigilantly watching him with his hammers stained with flesh and blood, Sett walked over.

"What do you want?"

"If I win, you have to give me your arena, your money, everything."

"Is that what you want?" Sett tilted his head.

"Sett, you're useless now. How long has it been since you last fought? An underground king who can't fight?" Lid taunted Sett to boost his own morale.

He even spat on the ground, the phlegm landing at Sett's feet.

Then, Lid saw Sett smile.

"Then, come on, let's fight."

Sett said calmly.

Before the host even threw the towel out, before he even said start, Lid had already roared and swung his hammers at Sett.

Before coming to this fight, he had taken stimulants.

Now he wants to kill Sett!

Kill this half-breed!

"Bang!"

The hammers hit Sett's arm, but Lid didn't hear the crack he wanted.

The tremendous force sent Sett back and crashing into the wall.

Looking up, Sett could see the audience on the second floor, their surprised eyes fixed on Sett. They didn't expect Sett to be thrown away so easily by Lid.

Then, what Sett saw was a pair of hammers.

A pair of hammers coming at him.

"Boom!"

Sett rolled forward, blood streaming from his forehead, a cut opening on his forehead, blood flowing out.

"Stop dodging!"

Lid shouted loudly.

"Dodge?"

Seeing the blatant violation of the rules, the first strike, Sett showed a sarcastic smile.

He didn't want to win this arena, nor did he want his money. Lid just wanted wanted his life.

Too bad...

Setti reached for his waist, where there was a brass knuckle, and calmly put it on.

"Die!"

Lid swung his hammers with force!

And then..

Just a hand.

Bathed in a golden light, Sett grinned, revealing his beautiful canine teeth.

Lid looked in horror at Sett, who was shorter than himself. He saw Sett's eyes changing, his pupils beginning to dilate until they spread to the size of the entire eye socket, his narrow eyes becoming dark yellow.

The big hand suddenly swung.

"Boom!"

A hammer was smashed to pieces by Sett's sheer force.

This also caused damage to Sett's hand; steel pierced through his arm, taking out a big chunk of flesh.

Blood flowed in large patches, but Sett seemed oblivious.

Raising his fist, he grinned at Lid.

"Are you ready?"

"Sett!!"

The audience exclaimed.

He, with his fist, shattered Lid's weapon!

He was still the uncrowned king of the underground!

People began to cheer Sett's name as if the person who had been thrown into a corner and nearly killed by Lid's hammer was not him.

With a forceful pull of his left hand, Lid clutched his weapon tightly, trying to give himself courage with the remaining hammer.

But his weapons were no match for Sett's fist.

"That's more like it. That's how I like it."

Sett raised his right hand.

"Boom!"

One punch, two punches, three punches.

Until Lid's face was smashed into a bloody pulp, and his skull caved in.

The cheers around grew louder.

Sett knew what they paid to come here for.

He had been watched like this before.

Lid's voice, filled with fear, sounded indistinct:

"Spare me! Spare me! I won't ever..."

"Boss, spare me. I'm your... your best fighter."

"Best?"

"Not anymore."

"You lost to an over-the-hill fighter like me. Who will pay to watch you anymore?"

"I..." Lid gritted his teeth. He knew what Sett meant.

Immediately, he opened his mouth and, with the last of his strength, spat in Sett'd face, a final act of defiance for Noxus.

Sett felt the eyes around him.

He couldn't let so many spectators think he wasn't worthy of being the boss.

So, he reached out and grabbed Lid's throat.

Then he lifted the heavy man with one hand.

Taking a deep breath, Sett exerted all his strength and slammed him down.

The center of the arena sank, Lid's head stuck into the ground, his legs twitched for a few seconds, and then he fell silent forever.

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Sett smiled.

Yes, this arrogant challenger had become a warning to those under him.

Indeed, no one would dare challenge Sett's position again.

"Tonight, the arena battles end here!"

Sett declared loudly.

---------------

In the late-night village, Sett walked along the country road.

Behind him were a few of his henchmen, as if they had something to tell him.

That short one, was it Mouse?

Sett recognized them. They shouldn't be here!

Sett suppressed his anger. If his mother saw them, Sett thought, he would kill these guys himself.

"Get lost."

Sett raised his hand and growled low.

His hands were already wrapped in bandages, and he had changed his clothes.

The wound on his forehead had been treated, but it was still visible.

The henchmen quickly slipped away.

They didn't know how they had touched the boss's anger.

But they knew they had to run.

"Damn bastards!"

Sett cursed under his breath.

Then, taking a deep breath, he raised his hands to pat his cheeks, and Sett began to mutter to a large tree.

"Hey, Momma, you're not asleep yet?"

"Oh, I helped Uncle Erguard guard his cart this morning. Look, this is the money he gave me."

"No, no, this won't do. How do I explain this scar?"

After cursing, Sett immediately changed his smile:

"Hey, Momma, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Perfect timing, look, this is the money I earned while helping Ash build his houses this morning, isn't it a lot? You can use it to buy something you like tomorrow."

"About this scar? Don't worry, a brick fell on me while I was working. But don't worry, Mom, you know how strong my recovery ability is, this little injury is nothing."

Wearing long sleeves, Sett wrapped his body, especially his arms, tightly. He smiled and said.

"Well, this should be fine."

After doing all this, Sett returned to his mother's house, which was still lit.

He went to see his mother every day, no matter what happened.

Carefully pushing open the door, he walked into his mother's room, where Sett heard faint snoring.

It relieved him.

Then, Seeth smilingly placed the "earnings" on the table. Next, he walked to the side of his mother's bed, bent down, and gently kissed her forehead.

"Sett?"

She woke up, her beautiful white hair's beast ears gently trembling, she groggily opened her eyes.

"It's me, Momma."

Sett immediately smiled.

"Wait a minute!" She first showed a gentle smile, then immediately woke up, reaching out to touch Sett's forehead.

Sett instinctively wanted to dodge, but soon he stiffened, letting his mother's hand touch his forehead.

"Son, what's wrong?" she asked with concern.

"Oh, this? I got hurt while I was help building this house with Ash. A brick fell on my head. But don't worry, Momma, you know how strong my recovery ability is, this little injury is nothing."

"Let's not talk about this for now. Look." Sett hugged his mother's shoulders and smiled, pointing to the bag of money on the table.

"That's the money I earned today. You can take it to the town tomorrow to buy something you like. Don't save it again. I'm making big money every day now." Sett kneeled beside his mother's bed and said.

She smiled and happily touched the pointed long ears on Sett's head.

"My son has grown up."

"You can rest assured." Sett covered her with the blanket and kissed her forehead again, bidding her good night.

Then, he saw his mother's relieved expression.

Sett knew that she was proud of her son.

Because he was living a decent life.

Turning around, Sett quietly left the room.