I am the King

Chapter 106

The oldest man was Lauren Joseph, already a hundred years old.

Everyone in the Joseph Town respectfully referred to him as Elder Lauren. He held a high position in the town due to his significant contributions during its establishment.

Franklin hurried over and shook Lauren's hand. "Elder Lauren, what's happened that made you come personally to greet us?"

Lauren squinted and smiled wryly at Franklin. "Huh, you're now the Chairman of V&E Group and a celebrity in our Joseph family. It's only right for me to greet you. I'll explain in detail after the family gathering."

"Elder Lauren, let me introduce you. This is my daughter, Emma, and this is my son-in-law, Vincent." Franklin hastily introduced Vincent and Emma, who had never been to this place before.

Lauren sized up Vincent with a meaningful smile. "Young man, not bad! You have a unique aura."

Vincent was somewhat surprised by the comment. He chuckled and replied, "Elder Lauren, I'm just an ordinary person."

"Huh," Lauren chuckled but said nothing more.

In the middle of the town stood a magnificent building, which was a church of the Joseph Town. It was packed with people, creating a joyous and lively vibe.

Lauren had now walked to the center, and all the people quieted down. Not only was he the oldest and highest-ranking member of the town, but he was also the head here, commanding immense respect.

With a broad smile, Lauren announced, "I declare the Joseph family's family gathering officially begun!"

As Lauren finished speaking, the crowd erupted in cheers. Despite being a centenarian, Lauren appeared vigorous and spoke with great vitality. To the uninitiated, his age was hardly discernible.

"Honey, this is so exciting!" Emma exclaimed happily and looked at Vincent. Even she was swept up in the festive atmosphere. Having lived in a big city, she had never seen such a lively scene before. Vincent couldn't help but smile faintly at Emma's excitement.

Amidst the joyous atmosphere, suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed through the air. Everyone looked up to see three bulldozers charging aggressively towards them. Behind the bulldozers were five vans.

Quickly, dozens of fierce-looking men wielding clubs emerged from the vans. The villagers turned pale at the sight of them.

One bald man named Ellis stepped forward, glaring at the villagers with a fierce expression. "Three months ago, I gave you all a final deadline. Today was supposed to be your relocation day. But you guys didn't just leave yet threw a party here! Do you think you can disrespect me like this?"

The villagers of the Joseph Town turned nervous upon hearing his words.

Vincent asked with confusion, "Dad, what's going on?"

Franklin's face grew grave. "I just spoke to Elder Lauren. He said a local businessman from Heya Town has set his eyes on the Joseph Town. He wants to build a resort here so he's forcing the villagers to leave. But the villagers don't want to leave their hometown."

Upon hearing this, Vincent's face darkened. Forced land seizure? Since the environment of the Joseph Town was indeed excellent, building a resort here would be highly profitable. But forcing residents to leave against their will was beyond acceptable!

Lauren stepped forward, his face stern as he addressed Ellis, "I've said it before: we've lived here for over a hundred years, and we're not leaving!"

Ellis cursed loudly in response, "Old man, you're being stubborn! As long as you move out peacefully, our boss said he'll compensate you handsomely!"

Lauren snorted coldly, "No matter how much money you offer, we won't move!"

"Yeah! We won't relocate! This is our home! We're not going anywhere!" "We'd rather die here than leave!" The people of the Joseph Town were outraged. After living here for decades, being told to leave was unthinkable for them.

The compensation offered by Ellis was insignificant to them. Leaving the town meant moving to the city, where the compensation wouldn't even buy them a house. Moreover, they had settled here for so long; they wouldn't abandon their land.

Seeing their refusal to move, Ellis became furious. "You troublemakers! Look, I tried to be nice and talk things through, but you're not having it. You'd better move today, or don't blame me for not being polite!"

With that, dozens of thugs wielding clubs rushed forward. The Joseph people paled at the sight and stepped back in fear. They were ordinary citizens—no match for Ellis and his men.

Vincent's expression turned grim as he watched. Just because of a real estate development plan, they dared to use violence to seize the villagers' land. He wouldn't allow such a thing to happen.

Stepping forward, Lauren shouted at Ellis, "If you want to take over the Joseph Town's land, you'll have to step over my dead body!"

"Old man, looks like you won't listen until I teach you a lesson!" Ellis, infuriated by Lauren's stubbornness, picked up an iron rod and menacingly advanced towards him. Lauren had consistently thwarted Ellis's attempts to seize the land. Without Lauren's interference, Ellis wouldn't have dared to challenge him and the other tamed Joseph people.

"I will kill you today!" Ellis picked up an iron rod and walked toward Lauren with fierce spirit.

"Honey, shouldn't we help Elder Lauren and the others?" Emma, worried, turned to Vincent as she observed the situation unfold.