1223 Surrendering is the Only Option
Edmund’s vigorous and powerful voice made everyone’s hearts shake.
However, not everyone agreed with his decision.
“That’s absolutely impossible!” Joel was the first to step forward and voice his objection. “That’s the Hamilton family, a royal family branch. Do you think it’s some weak family? How can we fight against them? Hah, given the Coles’ strength, you’re just seeking death!”
“If you have a death wish, go ahead and kill yourselves. Don’t drag us down with you!”
His words and tone were extremely rude.
Anthony looked at Edmund with disapproval and snorted coldly. “Yeah! Some people really think too highly of themselves! You think your family is very powerful, but you’re nothing in the eyes of the Hamiltons! Fancy you thinking of fighting against the Hamiltons. With what? What a joke!”
In their opinion, the Hamiltons were not a family they could afford to provoke.
Joel and Anthony wouldn’t have dared to go against the Hamiltons if it wasn’t for the fact that they were unwilling to succumb to them and hand over the family businesses they had been managing for years. It also happened that the families in California had received the same threat, so they planned to join forces with them to negotiate with the Hamiltons.
In Joel and Anthony’s opinion, fighting the Hamiltons to the death was incredibly foolish, and they would never do this.
Edmund had been in the military, where he had trained hard and developed a strong character. He had great tenacity and wouldn’t easily succumb to others.
But the others clearly didn’t have his courage.
Joel and Anthony weren’t the only ones who didn’t dare to make an enemy of the Hamiltons. Even Bruce and Ethan were contemplating hard.
Seeing the way they were behaving, Edmund snorted coldly. “Hmph, are you all that timid? Once the Hamiltons decide to show a tough attitude, I’ll see what you do!
“Hah, I was wrong about all of you. You brought so many experts with you, so I thought you’d at least have the courage to fight against the Hamiltons. But I didn’t expect you to be all cowards! You brought so many people here just to give yourselves a little more courage, didn’t you? The truth is that they’re useless, right?!”
Edmund’s merciless mocking made a few people subconsciously look away.
Indeed, they had brought so many experts with them purely for the purpose of emboldening them rather than to deter the Hamiltons.
They would never fight against the Hamiltons, never in this life.
Knowing that Edmund was a tough nut to crack, Joel simply ignored him and instead turned to ask Bruce, “Mr. Hale, tell us how we should be dealing with the Hamiltons. Do we negotiate or get physical? We ultimately need a strategy.”
Bruce mused but remained silent.
Ethan said, “I think if we can win against the Hamiltons, I will definitely agree to starting a war with them. But the problem is, even if the eight top families of DC join forces, they might not be a match for them. Even if we join forces, we won’t be able to do much to the Hamiltons, right?
“Although the Hamiltons only brought a few people, they’re all top-tier experts far stronger than ours! Since we can never defeat them, do we have any other choice?”
Bruce subconsciously nodded.
Indeed, the Hamiltons’ experts were all incredibly impressive. If they resorted to firearms, they might be able to defeat them, but it would definitely result in a lot of casualties. If the Hamiltons pursued the matter and retaliated, they might really have no way out.
Just as Ethan said, since there was no way they could defeat them, they didn’t have a choice.
Edmund looked at the people in front of him with disappointment. “Hah, since you are too scared to fight against the Hamiltons, there’s no point in discussing anymore! Just submit to the Hamiltons now and become their dogs. Why are you talking so much nonsense here?”
Joel yelled furiously, “Edmund Cole! Stop making sarcastic remarks! We are here to discuss a solution for the matter. Who said we’re going to submit?”
Edmund refused to compromise. “What’s there to discuss?! Isn’t the matter obvious? None of you dare to fight against the Hamiltons, so what right and confidence do you have to negotiate with them?
“You don’t even have the courage to fall out with the Hamiltons. As long as the Hamiltons aren’t stupid and have a slightly tough attitude, they will see that you’re just a bunch of cowards. Then they won’t bother to negotiate anything with you!
“In that case, isn’t your only choice surrendering to them and obeying their orders obediently? Am I wrong?”
Hearing this, the crowd fell silent again.
Although Edmund sounded harsh because he was furious, he was stating facts.
Since they didn’t even have the courage to go against the Hamiltons, how could they negotiate with them?
It was just as ridiculous as someone who didn’t dare to even pick up a rod saying that they would negotiate with robbers using knives. The robbers would definitely take it as a joke and ignore them.
What else could they do then?
Lucas remained sitting on the couch in the corner, watching everything in front of him quietly.
In his opinion, the Hamiltons were nothing to fear. But he wanted to know the attitudes and standpoints of Bruce, Edmund, Ethan, and the rest.
Only after knowing where they stood could he decide what to do next.
Seeing Bruce caught in a dilemma, Connor gritted his teeth and whispered, “Grandpa, at this juncture, you should ask Mr. Gray for his opinion!”
Brue suddenly trembled and finally realized that he had forgotten to ask Lucas for his opinion in his folly and confusion!
When Lucas first returned to Orange County, Bruce had already personally sensed how terrifying he was. On the day of his great-grandson’s baby shower, Lucas had gotten soldiers to take away all the Hales and almost eradicated them.
Later, Lucas had given the Hales a chance to return, which Bruce had seized and offered all of his family’s businesses to Lucas in exchange for the opportunity to work under him.
Of course, Bruce had made the right decision. Ever since the Hales pledged allegiance to Lucas, they had not only not declined, but they even became many times stronger than before with the help of Lucas’s influence. Now, they had even become a top family that was second only to the Coles in California.
Their achievements were all thanks to Lucas!
Now, Lucas was sitting in the corner of the hall, yet he was so muddled by the matter regarding the Hamiltons that he had forgotten to ask Lucas for his opinion. It was too inappropriate of him!
Joel’s eyes were keen, and he noticed the sudden change in Bruce’s expression after Connor said something to him. He couldn’t help asking, “Mr. Hale, it seems like you have some ideas. Why don’t you share them with us?”
