1290 Alone

“How about… we hand over half of our assets? Although losing so much is heartwrenching, at least we’ll get to keep our families and lives! And we’ll still have half. Compared to losing everything and having our families destroyed, this isn’t so difficult to accept, right?” a thin and petite helmsman said hesitantly.

The other helmsmen immediately resonated with him.

Indeed, although losing half of their assets would feel terrible, given how powerful the Parkers were, if the Parkers really wanted to destroy them, it would be hard to say whether or not their families could survive.

Wars between families were just that tragic.

Seeing the helmsmen wavering and intending to surrender to the Parkers by handing over half of their assets, Norman was exasperated.

“Everyone, we had agreed to deal with the Parkers together. What are you doing now? Are you scared? Are you going to hand over half your assets to the Parkers without a fight? You’ve really disappointed me!

“To be honest with you, the Holmes will never submit to the Parkers! If you want to surrender to them and give them half of your assets, I won’t stop you. After all, it’s your own choice.

“But you should consider it carefully. Anyone who chooses to surrender to the Parkers also chooses to withdraw from our alliance and become an enemy of the alliance!

“Once we finish dealing with the Parkers, none of the families who withdraw from the alliance will escape! You have to think this through carefully!”

Norman gritted his teeth toward the end, and there was an obvious sense of threat in what he said.

The other helmsmen were already extremely hesitant, but now, they were suddenly caught in a dilemma.

The Holmes weren’t weak either. For many years, they had been second only to the Waltons. Without the Waltons, they might have become one of the eight top families in DC.

Moreover, the Holmes had always been the founder and leader of the alliance, so even if they didn’t obey Norman in everything, they at least valued his opinion greatly.

But now that Norman’s opinion was opposite of theirs, and he even said that anyone who submitted to the Parkers would become an enemy of the alliance, who would dare to say anything else?

The thin and petite helmsman who suggested that they hand over half of their assets could only say helplessly, “Mr. Holmes, you said you wouldn’t stop us from making our own choices. But now that you’re saying this, what else can we do?”

Norman sneered. “Don’t blame me for speaking harshly, but we formed our alliance for our common benefit. But now that we’re facing such a crisis, the withdrawal of any family will weaken the alliance. To put it more seriously, it’s betraying the alliance! Isn’t this becoming our enemy?

“I will naturally give it my all for the wellbeing of my allies and share all benefits with the alliance, but I will be merciless to my enemies!

“Anyway, you better consider carefully before making a choice! I’ve already made my stand known. I will definitely fight the Parkers to the end!”

Then Norman took out his phone to call his people over.

The remaining six helmsmen looked at each other in dismay, at a loss for what to do.

Of course, they didn’t dare to call people over before making a decision, and they could only discuss the matter anxiously.

…

Meanwhile, Damon had returned to the hall of the main villa with Lucas, Bruce, Edmund, and the rest.

As soon as he sat down, Bruce immediately gave Damon a thumbs up. “Damon, you were so domineering just now. Even I’m in awe and admiration! Well done!”

Edmund guffawed. “Indeed, Bruce really has the demeanor of the helmsman of a prominent family. You shocked and deterred them all without batting an eyelid. Even I was stunned, let alone those people. No wonder they were so frightened. Haha!”

Damon smiled. “Hey, stop teasing me. I was just putting on a front because Lucas is here. His presence is why I had the confidence to say those things without worry. Actually, it’s all thanks to Lucas!”

He wasn’t pretending to be modest, but rather, he was stating facts.

Damon knew exactly how capable the Parkers really were and how they could achieve such great progress within just a few months.

Without Lucas, the Parkers wouldn’t even be a third-tier family in DC, and they wouldn’t have been able to afford to offend any of the seven families in the living room, let alone threaten them calmly and force them to hand over half of their assets.

Without Lucas’s permission, Damon would have never dared to let those helmsman call their people over for a duel.

So he didn’t dare to take credit and smiled at Lucas respectfully.

Lucas looked at Damon with approval. “Damon, you don’t have to be so humble. You performed well tonight, and it wasn’t entirely thanks to me.”

His presence was indeed a deterrence, but Damon’s control of the rhythm and speech techniques just now were very commendable.

He slowly grasped the rhythm step by step and exerted psychological pressure on those helmsmen, causing them to be shaken and waver.

Damon’s performance just now was indeed very eye-catching.

After a few more praises and humble remarks, Bruce said, “What do you think those helmsmen will choose?”

Edmund said, “I bet Norman Holmes won’t compromise, but the other six helmsmen are clearly wavering and no longer dare to go against the Parkers. They will probably choose the first choice.”

…

Indeed, just as Edmund said, the atmosphere in the living room of the other villa wasn’t great.

After discussing and deliberating intensely for a long time, a helmsman finally said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Holmes, but I’ve decided to withdraw from the alliance!”

Norman’s face immediately stiffened, and he said furiously, “Mr. Kaye, are you really going to submit to the Parkers? You should know what that means, right?”

Kaye said firmly, “I know, but I won’t risk losing my family’s business empire and lives. I’ve decided to hand over half of my family’s assets to the Parkers. At least, I’ll get to keep the remaining half!”

Norman’s face was extremely gloomy, and just as he was about to threaten him, he heard another helmsman say, “I’m also withdrawing from the alliance and choosing to hand over half of my family’s assets!”

“Me too! For the sake of protecting my family, this is the only correct choice!”

“I’m also compromising to the Parkers. I’m sorry, Mr. Holmes!”

…

All of a sudden, the other six helmsmen actually made the same choice one after another. They chose to hand over half of their assets and surrender to the Parkers.

They had also chosen to withdraw from the alliance.

Now, the Holmes were the only family left in the alliance, and it was basically disbanded!

The six helmsmen chose to stand together, leaving Norman alone on his own. It was extremely ironic.