Friction had first arisen between the Small Knife Society and the Yihe Tang. Seeing his chance, Hero Association President Fan Yingxiong transferred all members of the Hero Association—except for those in the premier division, the Zhongyi Tang—to the southern territory of the Small Knife Society. Hovering like a tiger watching its prey, the Hero Association intended to strike the moment the Small Knife Society and the Yihe Tang went to war, seizing the opportunity to annihilate the Small Knife Society in a single blow and deal a heavy defeat to the Yihe Tang. Once that happened, uniting the northern underworld—excluding regions beyond the Pass and Kyoto—would be only a matter of time.
Yet, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. When the Yihe Tang saw the Hero Association's deployment, even though they knew they and the Small Knife Society were cast in the roles of the cicada and the mantis, they still took action to echo the Hero Association. A double-pronged pincer movement fell naturally into place. Among the four major powers—the Small Knife Society, the Yihe Tang, the Hero Association, and the Zhang family from beyond the Pass—the Zhang family ranked first in strength, the Small Knife Society second, and the Yihe Tang last. There was also a fatal obstacle: the Yihe Tang's territory was completely surrounded by the Small Knife Society. Aside from the sole outlet of the Kyoto Dragon Gang, if the Yihe Tang wanted to achieve anything, their very first st…
Chapter 244