"Take him away and lock him up with those Central Nation Star people."
Yuanxiang's cold, emotionless voice echoed through the central hall.
It was as though the person he had ordered dragged away and imprisoned was not a companion who had once fought alongside him and helped establish the Altana Liberation Army.
But a stranger he no longer recognized.
Several guards armed with laser guns roughly hauled Admiral Zique to his feet.
He did not struggle. His feet scraped across the metal floor, producing a piercing grating sound.
Yet his gaze remained fixed on Yuanxiang.
There was no longer any anger in Zique's eyes, only a bottomless sorrow.
"Yuanxiang. You've gone mad." Zique's voice was hoarse.
That final sigh was completely cut off as the heavy metal doors shut.
The central hall returned to a deathly silence.
Yet beneath that silence surged a suffocating oppression.
The remaining leaders of the smaller factions dependent on the Altana Liberation Army were all silent as cicadas in winter.
They hunched their necks and darted their eyes around, scarcely daring to breathe.
Cold sweat seeped from some of their foreheads, trickling down their cheeks, yet they did not dare wipe it away.
They feared that even the slightest movement would draw Prince Yuanxiang's attention.
And that they would be the next ones dragged away—or have their heads chopped off by Cangda.
However, Yuanxiang paid no attention to the fear of these ants.
He unhurriedly straightened his slightly rumpled collar.
The movement was so elegant that it was as if he were preparing to attend a grand court ball.
Then he turned back toward the enormous screen.
"Alright, the nuisances have been cleared away."
That chilling cold smile appeared on Yuanxiang's lips.
His eyes flickered with a yearning for war, mixed with pain and fanaticism,