"He's calling for you, Rulu. Aren't you going out?" C.C. gnced at Rulu from the passenger seat with an amused smile.

  Rulu said coldly, "Jason is a Level 5 Ultra-capable. There are several thousand regur soldiers in that square, plus dozens of humanoid armored soldiers. Walking out there now would be no different from walking to my death."

  "So you're just going to watch those prisoners get executed?"

  "Don't be hasty — there's still time. If my guess is right, the Rebels outside Blue Sea City should be making their move soon. Once they unch their attack in earnest, that's when I'll have my best opening."

  "Do you think the Rebels have any chance of actually breaking through and rescuing those prisoners?"

  Rulu rested his chin on his hand and said thoughtfully, "Hard to say. General Li's Dragon Group looks like it has real strength — they should be able to go toe to toe with the Sanctuary. If they concentrate their forces and push on Blue Sea City, the Sanctuary will have a hard time holding them off."

  C.C. said, "So the Rebels might actually be able to get those prisoners out?"

  "No. Even if the Rebels can break into Blue Sea City, the Sanctuary still holds the overall advantage. Once the Sanctuary regroups and consolidates its forces, the Rebels won't be able to advance further — they'll get surrounded and hit from all sides. So the odds favor the Sanctuary. But this is all specution — the actual outcome depends on how each side deploys its forces and how well they adapt in the moment."

  "I see. Rulu, young as you are, you really do know your way around military matters."

  "What's that supposed to mean? I was a prince once, after all — I know a thing or two about this kind of thing."

  At some point, air raid sirens began to wail across Blue Sea City. The sound spread like contagion, triggering arms throughout the surrounding areas until nearly the entire city was filled with their cry.

  Not long after the arms sounded, a Sanctuary courier rushed up to Jason on the ptform and said with a grave expression, "Lord Jason, a rge force of Rebel troops has appeared to the northwest of Blue Sea City. They have unched a fierce assault on our garrison forces stationed in the outer perimeter. From their direction of advance, they appear to be heading this way."

  "So they've shown up after all." Jason's brow furrowed. "How many are there? What are they equipped with?"

  "Several thousand in number — approximately several hundred armored vehicles and around a hundred humanoid armored soldiers. Their combat strength is formidable. Our garrison forces simply cannot hold them."

  "Oh? That many humanoid armored soldiers." Jason was briefly taken aback. After a moment's thought, he said, "Order all garrison forces from other positions to converge on the Rebels' location and attempt to encircle them. Until all reinforcements have arrived, the garrison is not to resist — fall back immediately."

  At this point, a middle-aged man with gsses standing beside Jason spoke up. "Please wait, Lord Jason. If we order the garrison to withdraw without resistance, we would essentially be letting the Rebels into the city. That could have a severe impact on the civilian popution."

  Jason said, "It doesn't matter. Let them come in first. Once reinforcements arrive and we have them surrounded, we unch a full assault and annihite them entirely."

  Hearing this, the middle-aged man's expression grew uncertain. "But if we do that, Blue Sea City becomes the battlefield. If we engage the Rebels in heavy fighting within the city, there will likely be massive civilian casualties — and the Rebels could use ordinary citizens as hostages to threaten us."

  Jason looked at the middle-aged man with a slightly puzzled expression. "Chief of Staff, I have a question — are the citizens of Blue Sea City our people, of the Sanctuary?"

  The Chief of Staff replied, "They are not. The vast majority of residents in Blue Sea City are people of Huaxia Nation. Only a very small number have joined our Sanctuary — and those individuals have already been relocated to safe locations in advance."

  "Then there's your answer. The citizens of Blue Sea City and the Rebels are all Huaxia Nation people. Even if every st one of them dies, it has nothing to do with the Sanctuary. The Governor has also instructed me that if Rebels come to cause trouble, eliminating them must be the absolute top priority. The personal safety of Blue Sea City's citizens is secondary. Once the Rebels have been wiped out, we'll pin the bme for civilian deaths entirely on the Rebels — and that way, there won't be a single problem."

  "You are absolutely right, Lord Jason. I understand." The Chief of Staff gave a nod and said no more. The courier departed the ptform to carry out Jason's orders.

  Meanwhile, Rulu and C.C. remained in the truck, watching the situation unfold in silence. More than an hour after the sirens sounded, deep explosions and gunfire began to echo from the northwest of the central square. At first the sounds were distant and faint, but as time passed, they grew steadily clearer.

  "The Rebels seem to be doing well — they've pushed this far this quickly," C.C. said, listening to the sounds of battle approaching from the northwest. "They might actually be able to rescue everyone after all."

  "No — things can't be this simple." Rulu said in a low voice. "By any reasonable calcution, the Rebels shouldn't have been able to advance this far this fast. It looks more like the Sanctuary put up no resistance at all — deliberately luring them into the city."

  "If you're right about that, why would they do it?"

  "There's only one reason. The Sanctuary intends to draw the enemy in deep and wipe the Rebels out completely. I expect the Sanctuary is about to unch its counterattack any moment now."