The appointed day soon arrived.
Zhang Heng was not the only one who received the invitation. On this day, almost all the higher-ups of the big and small forces were present.
In the morning, there were no longer any people strolling on the nearby streets. In their place was a group of fierce-looking strong men. Not only did they guard the entrance of the tavern, but they also basically controlled the two surrounding streets.
As for those who were invited, no matter how big or small the force behind them was, they could only bring two subordinates with them.
This was obviously to prevent people from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.
Located in the southeast of the city of Rome, where Jews and other foreigners mixed, since the time of Hadrian, has been a place outside the law. Thieves, assassins, robbers, scoundrels … gathered, not under the control of the law.
Most of the time, they were more accustomed to talking with their fists. After all, this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. But sometimes, when it was not worthwhile to start a war, they would sit down and negotiate. Of course, most of the time, the negotiations were limited to two or three parties involved. A situation like this where one of the three major forces took the lead and issued an invitation to everyone would basically only happen once every six or seven years.
At this time, it usually meant that something major that could affect most forces had happened recently. This time was no exception. Everyone who received the invitation knew the purpose of this gathering.
Therefore, many people were waiting to see what would happen to Zhang Heng and his patrol team.
In particular, the small forces that had been bullied by the patrols during this period of time were looking forward to returning to the good days before. They hoped that those big forces could uphold justice for them, restrain the patrols, and stop them from acting recklessly and continue to obediently play the role of their mascots.
Among them, there was one person who appeared to be the most fervent. His eyes were clearly filled with intense hatred. Everyone present was familiar with him. He was the boss of the medium-sized force that was previously ambushed by the patrol team. He was the unlucky bastard called Copper Arm.
After being defeated, he immediately ran to the territory of the Jewish gang. As the area with the most Jews in the southeast, the Jewish gang was also the largest force here. They had the largest number of people and controlled almost half of the business in this area. However, under normal circumstances, the Jewish gang would not interfere with the actions of their subordinates.
Considering the criminal environment here, there was no shortage of courageous people. It was common for the lower-level forces to replace each other and fight for territory. As long as the new successor could still hand in the full amount of income, those at the top did not care who helped them manage their business.
However, Copper Arm's situation was special. He was a member of the Jewish gang. Previously, he lent money to the Jewish gang in an underground gladiatorial arena. He used this relationship to get to know a lot of underground gladiators who could fight. Later, when the opportunity came, he set up his own territory. Since he had the backing of the largest gang, the Jewish gang, his forces developed very quickly. In just two years, he had become a well-known medium-sized force.
But just five days ago, his good days came to an end. Before he could figure out what happened, he was inexplicably involved in the assault of a patrol member. Zhang Heng then used the excuse that he refused to hand over the person to him and raided his territory. When Bronze Arm saw that things were getting out of hand and decided to hand over the person, he found out that the person he was holding was gone. In the end, he couldn't even surrender to Zhang Heng. Not only did he lose his territory, but he also managed to recruit less than twenty people after the incident.
This was equivalent to returning him to the pre-liberation period overnight. So Copper Arm had no choice but to ask the Jewish gang for help.
In his opinion, this afternoon's gathering would be a trial for Zhang Heng and his patrol team for what they had done during this period. However, this was not Basilica Julia, and they did not abide by the laws of Rome. Instead, they had to abide by the rules set by the three major forces.
Therefore, in Copper Arm's opinion, Zhang Heng would not walk out of the tavern alive this time.
…
It was almost time for the gathering to begin, but no one from Zhang Heng's side had shown up. Soap and his men were the last to arrive. This time, he did not bring his best buddy, Skinny Monkey. Instead, he brought two burly men with him. It was obvious that they were good at fighting.
But even so, Soap still felt a little guilty. How could he not have heard of the Jewish gang since he was a child? His dream was to join the Jewish gang and become one of them. Then, he would no longer be exploited by Iron Handcuff. However, at that time, he never thought that he would become an enemy of the Jewish gang even though he failed to become a member of the gang.
One could only say that fate was amazing.
When he brought his men into the tavern, everyone around him looked at him with hostility. It was no secret that Soap and the patrol team were close. When the two sides first cooperated, they used this relationship to kill many people. That was why his new small force could grow so fast.
Of course, the price he had to pay was that the other forces didn't like him very much. When Soap entered the tavern, he heard words like "traitor" or "lackey" more than once. Some people even cursed him to his face. After all, Soap was just a thief. Although he performed well some time ago, and he began to feel like a boss, many people here had more power and territory than him.
It would be a lie to say that he was not afraid of being stared at by all of them. And his biggest support, the patrol team, was not here at this time. Even if they were here, they would not be able to protect themselves.
After Soap received the invitation, he ran to Zhang Heng and asked him how he planned to deal with the situation. In the end, Zhang Heng told him not to worry.
But how could he not be worried? They were now facing all the forces in the southeast city, and they were ready to attack them. No matter how hard Soap racked his brain, he had no idea how he could survive this time. Fortunately, the expression on his face did not betray his true thoughts.
Soap couldn't maintain his composure, but he could still keep a straight face. In the face of all the abuse, he did not have the guts to scold them back. So, he brought his two men to a corner where no one was around and sat down.
After waiting for a while, almost all the forces had arrived, except for Zhang Heng and the patrol team he represented.
Soap then saw a middle-aged Jew coming down from upstairs. The latter had a high status in the Jewish gang, and he was also the person in charge of this gathering. He walked directly to Soap and said, "Why is it so difficult to invite the patrol team?
"Is it so difficult to invite the people from the patrol team? All the people here who are older and more powerful than them have already arrived in advance. Only they haven't appeared yet. Could it be that they want Mr. Lockheed to wait for them?"
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