The three were in high spirits, drinking, when a sudden knock came from outside.

“Boss, we’ve got trouble!”

“Damn it, we were just getting to the good part!”

Second Brother, annoyed at being interrupted, slammed his cup down on the table.

“What son of a bitch is it? Get in here!”

Only after getting permission did the person outside dare to enter.

“Huh? Little Six? Aren’t you on gate duty tonight? What are you doing here?”

The Boss froze when he saw who had come in.

According to the night-watch rotation, Little Six should’ve been guarding the main gate right now.

Sure, the mountain stronghold was full of scoundrels, but they never slacked off when it came to defending it. They assigned guards every night and even posted hidden sentries in case of trouble.

Those precautions hadn’t done them any good over the years, but they’d never let up. After all, the Boss was an exceptionally cautious man. He wouldn’t have been able to lead this gang of scum otherwise.

“Boss, we’ve got a problem! Someone forced their way into the stronghold and smashed the main gate!”

“Someone broke into the stronghold? How many are there?”

“Just one, but they’re really strong!”

At Little Six’s report, the Boss didn’t jump to conclusions. He narrowed his eyes and thought it over carefully.

Second Brother, on the other hand, couldn’t stay calm. One person dared to barge into their stronghold? They must think nothing of the lot of them!

He snatched up the long-handled iron hammer resting nearby, ready to go see for himself who’d dared break into the stronghold.

“Boss, Third Brother, you keep drinking. I’ll be right back!”

“Wait!”

Just as Second Brother was about to leave, the Boss called out to him.

“No. We’d better be cautious. Second Brother, Third Brother—we’re all going together.”

The Boss was famous for being cautious. If someone dared to break into the stronghold alone, they must have a lot of confidence in their own strength. In that case, they should be careful too. Going together was the safest choice.

“Little Six, get the men together and have them report to the main gate!”

“Yes, sir!”

Clang! Clang! Clang! Before long, the piercing sound of gongs and drums rang throughout the stronghold.

It was the signal to assemble in an emergency. There were nearly a hundred people in the stronghold, after all; if trouble broke out, going around to call everyone one by one would be out of the question. It’d waste too much time.

So the Boss had specifically set up a gong-and-drum alarm system in the stronghold. Whenever it sounded, it meant something serious had happened and the men needed to assemble.

It was a full quarter of an hour before everyone had gathered. The Boss was very cautious. He didn’t take Second and Third Brothers to the gate right away; he waited until all the men were there before making a move.

“Boss, what’s going on in the middle of the night?”

“Yaaawn… Boss, don’t tell me this is another emergency drill.”

Nearly a hundred men had gathered in a noisy crowd, but almost all of them were bleary-eyed and hardly looked concerned.

After all, the Boss held emergency drills like this every few days, and everyone had to assemble quickly. If anyone was slow, he’d jab them in the butt with his spiked club.

Even though everyone had gathered fairly quickly this time, no one took it seriously. They figured the Boss was pulling another one of his stunts.

“What are you yapping about? Get in line!”

Second Brother’s sudden roar snapped everyone a little more awake. He had a short fuse, but he didn’t fly into a rage for no reason. Looks like something really had happened.

“Don’t be mad, Second Brother. The guys are just curious. They only wanted to know what happened. Take it easy, take it easy.”

“Damn it, look at how lazy you all are! What can you even do?”

“Yes, Second Brother. You’re right to reprimand us.”

The men felt they’d been scolded unfairly, but none of them dared talk back. Of the four brothers who led them, Second Brother had the worst temper. He’d beaten his men more times than the other three put together.

Even though they’d been chewed out for no reason, no one dared talk back. If they really made Second Brother angry, that iron hammer in his hand was no joke.

“All right, Second Brother. Cool it.”

Compared with Second Brother, Third Brother had a fairly mild temper. He turned to the men and said,

“I know I’ve made you practice emergency assembly drills before, but this time it’s different. I won’t waste time explaining. I’ll ask you just one thing: someone’s broken into our stronghold. Are you going to let that stand?”

“What? Someone broke into the stronghold!”

“Which bastard’s tired of living?”

At Third Brother’s words, the men erupted in anger. They were bandits, for crying out loud. Anyone who dared storm their stronghold was practically spitting in their faces!

“Whoever it is, we’ll take them down!”

The men raised their arms and shouted.

“Take them down!”

Seeing that his men had finally worked up a little fighting spirit, Third Brother nodded in satisfaction.

“Boss, that should do it. Let’s move out.”

“Mm.”

The Boss nodded, then shouted to the men.

“Men, let’s go!”