Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

Ten days later.

The situation in the Western Roman Empire has taken another sudden turn.

Prun, who had already announced a ceasefire and reconciliation with Dunley, suddenly launched a massive surprise attack on Dunley.

The Dunli people, who were unprepared for this, were immediately caught off guard.

This sudden attack by the Prun people was undoubtedly a major disaster for the Dunli people.

What's worse is that the raid launched by the Prun people this time was clearly aimed at wiping out Dunli!

The Prun people used almost all of their most lethal weapons on the Dunli people.

However, the "fortunate" aspect of the misfortune was that Dunli's intelligence department intercepted intelligence two hours before the Prun launched a full-scale attack, indicating that the Prun might take military action against Dunli.

Although the Dunli people had doubts about the authenticity of the intercepted intelligence.

After all, Prun and Dunli had just reached a ceasefire and reconciliation, and the Dunli people were very confident that their two-faced plan to use the Prun people as a "pledge of allegiance" to curry favor with the Great Qian was flawless.

Therefore, the intelligence intercepted by Dunley's intelligence department did not attract enough attention from Dunley's top brass.

However, adhering to the principle that being cautious is never a bad thing, Dunley still ordered the military to raise the alert level.

This order did indeed prevent Dunley from being completely passive when it was attacked by Prun.

Faced with the overwhelming and swarming Prun aircraft, some of Dunley's reserve aircraft managed to get airborne to engage them...

However, Dunli was ultimately unprepared for the sudden turn of events by the Prun people.

Faced with the overwhelming force of the Prun people, the Dunli people, after a brief struggle, were plunged into a devastating catastrophe.

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Within Dunley.

"Have the Pulun people mobilized their entire force?"

"I knew these shameless Prun people were not trustworthy at all!"

"Algernon, that madman, is a complete scoundrel!"

"They blatantly breached the ceasefire and launched a sneak attack despite having already signed a ceasefire and reconciliation agreement—it's utterly shameless!!!"

Inside the bunker, Dunley's CEO, Pete Andrei, was furiously berating the Prunes for their "breach of contract," completely ignoring the fact that the entire affair was a trap they had set to scheme against the Prunes from the very beginning.

"President, all our communications with the outside world have been completely cut off!"

"We are experiencing severe radio interference, and all communication equipment is unusable."

"All signs indicate that we are suffering the most devastating blow since the start of the war!"

"The Prun people are going to destroy the entire Dunley!"

Smedley Egbert, senior strategic advisor to Dunley, reported to the enraged Dunley president, Pete Andrei: "The Prun's actions were too sudden, and the attack was of such a large scale."

"Our armed forces were completely incapacitated within an hour of the attack."

As he spoke, Smedley Egbert glanced at his watch: "Based on our emergency simulations, given this situation, our armed forces could very well be completely annihilated by the Prun people within eleven hours..."

"Eleven hours?" Upon hearing this, Pete Andrei felt a surge of despair. "That means..."

Pete Andrei's gaze fell on the wall clock: "In five hours, Dunley will be completely incapacitated?"

"Has there been a response from the Qian Kingdom?"

"Haven't we already asked the Qian Kingdom for help?"

"What did they say? As previously agreed, in six days we will become the first protectorate established by the Great Qian in Xiluo!"

"They won't abandon us!"

"We are about to become a part of the Great Qian Dynasty. If the Pulun people attack us, it is a slap in the face to the Great Qian Dynasty!"

"The Great Qian Zhenguo Army will definitely take action..."

Pete Andrei muttered incoherently to herself, clearly having entered a state of utter disorientation and incoherence........................

"President, we haven't received any response from the Qian Kingdom since we sent the previous telegram requesting assistance."

“Until we were under intense interference and completely cut off from all contact with the outside world, there was still no movement from the Qian Kingdom.”

"This period lasts at least three to four hours..."

Dunley Vice President Gaskell Prescott cautioned, "Under normal circumstances, three to four hours is more than enough time for the Chinese to respond to this."

"However, unfortunately, we did not receive a reply from the people of Qian Kingdom until we were completely cut off from communication!"

"This is abnormal in itself!"

"From the sudden turn of the Pulun people to the complete silence from the Qian Kingdom, everything about it seems to have a hint of conspiracy..."

"If the people of Qian Kingdom truly want to save Dunli, they will definitely respond!"

"We have clearly reached a 'consensus' with the Pulun people, so why are they treating us like this?"

"Unless that madman Algernon saw through our true intentions from the very beginning!"

"But.................."

At this point, even Dunley Vice President Gaskell Prescott couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

They are now powerless to investigate the truth of the matter.

Moreover, rather than pursuing the truth, what they need to worry about and consider most now is whether Dunley has any chance of survival in the face of such a desperate situation.

Do they still have any hope of escaping this disaster?

Given Algernon's modus operandi—since the Prunes have already made their move, they will definitely try to wipe out Dunli!

Either don’t do it or never do it!

It's foreseeable—whether Algernon saw through their scheme long ago or was deliberately playing along from the start—that these people will likely meet a grim end.

The tragic fate of Rancy President Christy Brandon is still fresh in everyone's mind.

Therefore, the Dunley executives hiding in the bunker were feeling utterly desperate and dejected.

In particular, the words spoken by Dunley Vice President Gaskell Prescott just now dragged everyone, who were already in dire straits, into even greater despair...

Because what Gaskell Prescott just said clearly indicated suspicion—that the people of Gan had abandoned Dunley!

This doubt undoubtedly became the last straw that broke the camel's back!

For a moment, an overwhelming atmosphere of despair permeated the entire bunker..........................

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"Will not!"

"We've already reached an agreement with the Qian Kingdom! They've agreed to our application to join the Great Qian Kingdom, and they certainly won't abandon us..."

Pete Andrei roared with bloodshot eyes, scattering documents all over the floor!

"The problem must lie with that madman Algernon!"

Pete Andrei roared hysterically, "Our arrangements are absolutely flawless; the Prun people could not possibly discover anything amiss!"

"That madman Algernon must have 'deceived' us from the very beginning! He never intended to let Dunley go!"

"The so-called defense of Xiluo's last vestige of dignity is nothing but a complete joke..."

"That despicable Algernon, he'd rather drag the Siro down with him and let the Qian people reap the benefits than let him fail in his ambition!"

"We've been fooled by Algernon again!"

"President, there's no point in saying all this now..."

Looking at Pete Andre, whose eyes were bloodshot, Dunley Vice President Gaskell Prescott said, "The current situation is—distant water can't quench a fire nearby!"

"Even if the people of Qian Kingdom hadn't abandoned us, it would have been too late to save Dunli!"

"Therefore, we need to think carefully about how to save ourselves in this extreme situation..."

"Self-rescue?" Pete Andrei immediately realized, "Yes! Self-rescue!"

"We must find a way to save ourselves!"

"How can I save myself?"

"How can we save ourselves?" Pete Andrei looked around at everyone present. "Does anyone know how to save Dunley?"

"President, I believe the only way to secure a chance for Dunley's survival is to target the Prunes!"

Dunley Vice President Gaskell Prescott remained relatively calm.

When everyone was at a loss and completely in disarray, Gascoigne Prescott was the first to speak his mind.

"Start with the Prun people?" Pet Andrei asked hastily, "What do you mean?"

"Our current disaster is entirely caused by the Pulun people! How can we possibly get to them?"

Gaskell Prescott said in a deep voice, "Just like the Lancy and the Greenmen—voluntarily surrender to the Prun side unconditionally!"

"Surrender unconditionally to Prun now?" Pete Andrei shook his head in disappointment. "It's too late..."

"This route would have been feasible before the Puren people turned against us."

"But now the Puren people have completely turned their backs on us. In a few hours they will wipe out the only armed force on the Xiluo Continent that can stand against them."

"How could the Puren people possibly accept our surrender at this time...?"

"President, in this situation—this is the only method we can try!"

Gaskell Prescott said seriously, "Trying might give us a chance to survive."

"If we don't try, we will all perish along with this bunker in the Prun people's attack!"

"We didn't agree when the Prun people tried to persuade us to surrender before..." Pete Andrei frowned. "Will they accept our surrender now if we bring it up again?"

"I'm afraid the probability of the Pulun people accepting our surrender is almost zero..."

"President, I think there's a way we can increase our chances of success!"

Dunley Vice President Gaskell Prescott stared intently at the gloomy-faced Dunley President, Pete Andre: "However......................."

"This requires someone to make some sacrifices."

"Someone needs to make some sacrifices for this?" Pete Andrei was taken aback, and quickly asked, "Tell me! What's the plan?"

"At this point, I believe that any Dunley man would be willing to make the sacrifice!"

"Dunley will remember his sacrifice and contributions, and we will all remember him!"

"President, with your words, everything becomes much easier!"

Gaskell Prescott looked at Pete Andre, who was clutching at him like a lifeline, and said, word by word, "To quell the anger of the Prun people, to make them feel the sincerity of our surrender, and to make them understand that there were reasons why Dunley refused to surrender unconditionally earlier..."

"Therefore, we must send someone out to take responsibility for the previous refusal to surrender!"

"In that case, whether the Pulun people attack us because of this matter or they discover our secret collusion with the Qian people, we still have a chance to win the opportunity to surrender!"

"Someone must be chosen to take responsibility..."

Pete Andrei pondered Gaskell Prescott's words carefully, when suddenly his pupils contracted and dilated as if he had realized something.

"Isn't that exactly what the Lanxi people and the Gelian people did back then?"

Gaskell Prescott stared intently at the shocked Pete Andrei and continued, "Moreover, the Prun people accepted their surrender!"

"You mean you want to push me out to take the blame!"

"President, as you just said—now that things have come to this point, any member of Dunley would be willing to do this for the greater good!"

"If sacrificing one person can buy so many of us a chance to survive, you wouldn't refuse, would you?"

Gaskell Prescott pressed on, saying, "As the last president of Dunley, it is most appropriate for you to step forward."

As he spoke, Gaskell Prescott emphasized, "And only you can shoulder this responsibility!"