Furnace Fortress.
Silad had hurried back from the Silver Fortress. When he reached the governor's office, he saw several staff officers standing outside, their expressions tense and grave.
"My lord!"
They bowed respectfully when they saw Silad.
Silad nodded and entered the room. Shattered pieces of a teacup lay on the floor beside a puddle of water.
Mu Lei stood behind his desk, his face livid. The Purple Winged Blade Emperor stood beside him, looking calm.
Silad stepped around the broken cup and bowed slightly to the Purple Winged Blade Emperor before turning to Mu Lei. "Governor, I'm back. What happened to make you so angry?"
Mu Lei seemed to have finally calmed down. He pointed at a letter on the desk.
"Take a look!"
Silad walked forward in confusion and picked up the letter. After scanning just a few lines, his expression changed sharply, and he exclaimed:
"Leiya was captured by Galaxy City?"
Mu Lei tapped the desk, producing a dull thud. "Keep reading!"
Silad steadied himself and continued, but his expression grew increasingly ugly. He shook the letter angrily. "They're opening their lion's jaws wide! This is sheer madness! They want an apology and compensation, and they even want our source essence crystals? Has he gone insane?"
Mu Lei said grimly:
"They don't just want compensation. They want an explanation for the sabotage of Galaxy City. If we don't give them one, they'll consider it a declaration of war against the Tianli Sect. And if we want our people back, there's a separate ransom. They've named their price: ten billion energy crystals per person. I called you back to discuss how we should handle this."
"This is extortion! He destroyed several of our empire's fortresses. Did he ever compensate us?"
Silad spoke furiously.
Mu Lei raised a hand.