Chapter 139: Standoff 2

The Three Great Gangs gathered together, their numbers vast; counting core members and peripheral members, there were over two thousand people. Meng Yifan's side had only nine hundred soldiers, putting them at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers.

Yet, as those nine hundred-plus soldiers stood there, the iron-blooded, murderous aura belonging to a regular army left the members of the Three Great Gangs opposite them pale-faced and looking at each other in dismay.

The Three Great Gangs were people of the underworld; they were skilled at swindling, street brawling, and one-on-one fights, but they truly did not know how to fight a head-on battle against a regular army like this.

The Three Great Gangs had many experts and many members, but their personnel were loose. Although Meng Yifan's soldiers were few, they were strictly disciplined and well-trained. The nine hundred men were like a single entity; before the two sides had even started fighting, many members of the Three Great Gangs were already so frightened their legs were trembling, unable to even hold their weapons steady.

"Prepare!" Meng Yifan shouted loudly.

All nine hundred-plus soldiers readied themselves for battle. The front-row soldiers raised their Bird Guns, the middle-row soldiers set up the Elm Cannons and Tiger Crouching Cannons, and the rear-row soldiers aimed the massive muzzles of the Shenwu Great General Cannons at the Three Great Gangs opposite.

The soldiers' Bird Guns and cannons had already been loaded with ammunition on the way here. Now that all preparations were complete, they only awaited Meng Yifan's order to fire their guns and cannons in unison, striking hard at the members of the Three Great Gangs.

Seeing this posture, Long Guxing hurriedly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord Meng, this is a misunderstanding. Let's talk this over; don't be impulsive."

Meng Yifan put on a very imposing display, but in his heart, he did not want to fight either.

Because the distance between the two sides was too close, if they started fighting now, the three Third-grade Experts like Long Guxing would certainly lead the Second Grade Martial Artists to charge the formation.

With the speed of Second Grade and Third Grade Martial Artists, they would only need less than a second to charge over. This meant Meng Yifan's soldiers could fire at most one round, after which they would have to suffer the attacks of three Third-grade Experts and twenty-five Second Grade Martial Artists. The formation would inevitably fall into chaos, and if the seven hundred-plus First Grade Martial Artists of the Three Great Gangs behind them then took advantage of the situation to swarm in, who would win and who would lose was truly uncertain.

Meng Yifan had studied intelligence on the Three Great Gangs and knew that among the three bosses, Jiang Tian and Liu Sheng were similar in strength, but the most formidable was Long Guxing; the three of them also took Long Guxing as their leader.

Meng Yifan had crossed swords with Jiang Tian and knew Jiang Tian's strength was very formidable—a very troublesome opponent. Long Guxing was even stronger than Jiang Tian and had more tricks up his sleeve; even if Meng Yifan played all his trump cards, he might not necessarily be able to beat Long Guxing.

"My strength is still too weak; I must improve my strength as soon as possible," Meng Yifan muttered to himself. He very much wanted to wipe out the Three Great Gangs in one go, but if they went to war now, even if he barely won, these nine hundred-plus soldiers would certainly be wiped out, and that was not what he wanted to see.

"Long Laoda, it's not that I want to cause trouble for your Three Great Gangs; it's that Boss Jiang of the Crocodile Gang asked me to give him an explanation. My explanation is the Ghost Head Blade in my hand and the guns and cannons of the soldiers under my command. I wonder if Boss Jiang is satisfied with this explanation?"

Meng Yifan smiled coldly. Although he did not want to start a war right now, he absolutely could not show weakness in his momentum; he had to suppress the Three Great Gangs and let them know who was the boss within Luolong County.

Long Guxing turned his head and gave Jiang Tian a look, saying, "Old Jiang, why don't you apologize to Lord Meng yet?"

Jiang Tian felt as if he had swallowed a dead fly. With his explosive temper, he really wanted to disregard everything and start the fight directly, but only by joining forces could the Three Great Gangs go toe-to-toe with Meng Yifan.

Now that Long Guxing had made his stance clear, Jiang Tian looked at Liu Sheng of the Axe Gang, who also shook his head, indicating he did not want to fight now, which made Jiang Tian very uncomfortable.

If Jiang Tian still insisted on fighting, it would be the Crocodile Gang against Meng Yifan's nine hundred well-equipped, high-spirited soldiers. If this fight continued, the Crocodile Gang would undoubtedly be defeated.

It was clearly Meng Yifan who had killed five of his Crocodile Gang members, yet now Jiang Tian had to go and apologize. Having roamed the underworld for so many years, Jiang Tian had never been so humiliated.

Jiang Tian was grinding his teeth in anger, but forced by the situation, although he was very unwilling, he could only step forward a few paces, cup his hands, bow, and say, "Lord Meng, it was I, Jiang, who spoke wrongly. You are a magnanimous person; please forgive me this once."

"Your Crocodile Gang people said that within Luolong County, the Crocodile Gang is the law. I wonder if they will still say that in the future?" Meng Yifan asked.

Jiang Tian shook his head and said, "That was all just nonsense from the underlings below. I will warn them when I go back; whoever dares to talk nonsense again, I will punish them severely."

Meng Yifan smiled and said in a clear voice, "All of you from the Three Great Gangs, listen well. I don't care what it was like before, but from now on, within Luolong County, what I, Meng Yifan, say is the law. Even you Three Great Gangs must obey orders."

Meng Yifan's words were resonant and forceful, leaving the members of the Three Great Gangs at a loss. They looked toward the three bosses one after another, wanting to see what the bosses had to say.

Long Guxing looked at Meng Yifan with a complex expression. He understood Meng Yifan's meaning: he was taking the opportunity to establish his authority and suppress the Three Great Gangs.

Long Guxing was calculating and shrewd; he knew the news of the total annihilation of the Divine Machine Battalion Thousand-man Unit must have already reached the Prefect of Dongchuan Prefecture, so for the Three Great Gangs to fight Meng Yifan to the death now was truly not a wise move.

Thinking of this, Long Guxing nodded and said, "Old Long acknowledges this point: within Luolong County, Lord Meng's words are the law."

Liu Sheng also nodded in agreement. Although Jiang Tian was full of rage, he could not stand alone, so he could only nod with a livid face.

Meng Yifan smiled and said, "Good. Since the three bosses have all agreed, I will issue the first order: from now on, your Three Great Gangs are not permitted to collect protection fees. I wonder if you can do that?"

Long Guxing was stunned. The original core industries of the Three Great Gangs were gambling and vice, but their current core industry was their control over a large amount of grain; this was the economic lifeline of Luolong County.

If Meng Yifan made the Three Great Gangs hand over the grain in their possession, Long Guxing would certainly fight Meng Yifan to the death.

But now, Meng Yifan's request was only for the insignificant protection fees. To tell the truth, the meager profit from collecting protection fees along the streets was not something Long Guxing cared about; even if he abandoned it, he would not feel any heartache.

"Fine, I agree. From now on, our Three Great Gangs will not collect protection fees," Long Guxing said.

Meng Yifan did not bring up any other requests; his goal had been achieved. He waved his hand and said, "That's good. Everyone disperse. With so many people standing here, how are people supposed to do business? Everyone disperse."