121: Chapter 121 This isn't called an annexation, it's called a bankruptcy acquisition.

"Such pretentious merchant tricks are meaningless before the laws of the Empire."

The envoy's voice sounded like two pieces of frosted iron rubbing together, harsh and cold.

The Royal Guards behind him took a step forward, their heavy armor letting out a dull clank, and an invisible pressure instantly enveloped the entire hall.

The merchants and nobles, who had been whispering because of Levi's declaration, immediately fell silent as cicadas in winter, shrinking back for fear of being caught in the storm.

Levi seemed unable to feel the murderous intent that was almost solidifying.

He even stood up from behind the black oak desk, a professional and impeccable smile on his face, and took the initiative to meet them.

"Lord Cassius, is it?" Levi's gaze fell on the exquisite golden balance emblem on the other man's chest. "The emblem of the High Tribunal. I once saw it in an ancient book introducing Imperial heraldry. My apologies for the lack of respect."

He bowed slightly, performing a standard noble salute with smooth and natural movements, showing no sign of forced distress.

These words caused the envoy, Cassius, to start slightly.

He had expected panic, anger, or even desperate resistance from the other party, but he hadn't expected such an almost familiar opening.

More importantly, the other party could actually call out his name accurately.

He naturally didn't know that the moment he stepped into the range of Silvermoon City, Evelyn's intelligence network, spread throughout the shadows, had already compiled his identity, position, and even the bill from the tavern he visited in the Imperial Capital last week into a briefing and delivered it to Levi's desk.

To Levi, any individual entering the scope of the negotiation table must first undergo a background investigation.

This was the first lesson of project management.

"Since you know my identity, you should understand the consequences of defying an Imperial Decree." Cassius quickly restrained his fleeting surprise, resumed his rigid expression, and held the golden scroll high. "By order of His Majesty Augustus VII: All military and administrative power in Silvermoon City is to be taken over immediately by officials appointed by the High Tribunal. Levi Byron, you must hand over command of the city defense force, the keys to the treasury, and all municipal archives to me before sunset. There must be no error!"

His voice echoed in the hall, every word like a heavy hammer striking the hearts of everyone present.

This was a direct command from the center of Imperial power, brooking no argument.

Levi listened quietly, the smile on his face never changing.

Only when Cassius's last syllable fell did he unhurriedly walk back to the desk, pick up the parchment that had just been stamped with the lord's seal, walk to Cassius again, and hand it over personally.

"Lord Cassius, I understand your mission and respect His Majesty's authority immensely," he said in a sincere tone, like introducing a project proposal. "But before you execute the decree, I think it is necessary for you to first understand the current 'legal status' of Silvermoon City."

Frowning, Cassius took the document titled "Provisional Announcement Regarding the Bankruptcy Reorganization and Debt Escrow of Silvermoon City."

He looked at the unheard-of terms like "bankruptcy," "debt," "escrow," "creditor," and "subsidiary," his brow furrowing into a knot.

These words combined as if describing a logic he completely could not comprehend.

"What is this? Nonsense!" Cassius felt his authority was being mocked. He crumpled the parchment into a ball and slammed it onto the ground. "I bring the Emperor's will, not to discuss your absurd business talk!"

"This is not business talk, My Lord; this is the only rule of law currently in Silvermoon City." Levi's tone remained calm. He pointed to the marble floor beneath his feet, then to the trembling merchants and nobles around them. "Before you arrived, this city was already factually dead. Its previous administrator, Valerius, maliciously emptied all the city's liquid funds, defaulted on huge amounts of military pay and supplier payments, and finally attempted to detonate the city's core asset—the Mana Pool—to perish along with all the creditors."

He paused, his voice carrying a well-timed touch of gravity.

"It was I, representing the soldiers owed wages, the merchants owed payments, and all the citizens who suffered losses in this disaster, who intervened as the largest creditor. We formed a Provisional Creditors' Committee and conducted a bankruptcy liquidation of this 'corpse' that is Silvermoon City. My current status is not that of a conqueror, but an executive officer authorized by the Creditors' Committee to handle this massive non-performing asset."

Cassius's head spun as he listened. Creditors, non-performing assets—these terms didn't even stir a ripple in his understanding.

He only knew that the land of the Empire was the Emperor's land, and the Emperor's command was the will of the gods.

"Enough!" He lost his patience and drew the sword at his waist with a clang.

The sharp blade glinted with a cold, grim light under the magical lamps, pointing directly at Levi's throat.

"I will say it one last time: hand over power! Otherwise, I will arrest you on the spot for treason!"

The Royal Guards moved at the sound, their halberds pointing forward in unison. The murderous aura instantly caused the temperature in the hall to drop several degrees.

At this tense moment, a golden figure moved.

Ella Radiance took a step forward, standing squarely between Levi and Cassius's blade.

She did not draw her sword, but merely gazed calmly at Cassius with her azure eyes, which contained the power of the Holy Light.

"Lord Envoy," her voice was cool yet carried the majesty unique to a member of the Imperial family. "Your sword represents the justice of the Empire. But before you strike with it, have you considered the consequences?"

Cassius's hand tightened on his sword, and he said in a low voice, "Princess, this is a secret order from His Majesty. Please do not interfere with the official business of the Tribunal."

"I have no intention of interfering; I am merely reminding you." Ella's gaze swept across the citizens outside the hall, who had just experienced a catastrophe and still bore expressions of terror and numbness. "This city has just been pulled back from the brink of collapse. The people's food and medicine depend on the supplies from Blackstone Territory. The morale of the city defense force is also stable only because of the wages promised by Lord Levi. If you arrest him now, order within the city will immediately collapse, food supplies will be cut off, and the army will mutiny. At that time, Silvermoon City will once again become a living hell. Will the responsibility for this humanitarian disaster be borne by you, or by the Tribunal far away in the Imperial Capital?"

Her words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Cassius's anger-heated head.

He was a loyal executor, but not a foolish brute.

He came here to take over a complete city, not to clean up a completely rotten mess.

If his recklessness caused a large-scale civil uprising and famine in Silvermoon City, then even if he completed the task of arresting Levi, he would inevitably face severe questioning from the Parliament upon returning to the Imperial Capital.

He could not afford that responsibility.

Levi did not miss the momentary hesitation in Cassius's eyes.

He signaled Evelyn, who had been standing still as a statue behind him.

Evelyn understood and silently handed over another list of documents that had been prepared in advance.

Levi took the list and, taking advantage of the precious opening Ella had created for him, stepped forward and placed the list almost against Cassius's blade.

"My Lord, the Princess is absolutely right. I am personally very willing to cooperate with your work and can go with you to the Imperial Capital for questioning at any time." His tone was as sincere as if he were applying for a job. "But before I leave, we must first handle the handover procedures for Silvermoon City. After all, this is a very large asset transfer."

Cassius's gaze involuntarily fell on the list.

The title of the list read: "Cost Accounting List During the Emergency Escrow Period of Silvermoon City (Provisional Estimate)."

Below was a series of shocking items:

"Emergency food allocation: 30,000 units of rye bread, 10,000 units of smoked meat, equivalent to a market price of 1,200 gold coins."

"Medicines for treating the wounded: 300 bottles of Holy Light Potion, 5,000 rolls of bandages... equivalent to 850 gold coins."

"Advance payment of city defense force wages: 3,700 soldiers, half a month's salary paid in advance, totaling 4,100 gold coins."

"Emergency repair of city infrastructure: collapsed wall gaps, damaged sewers, purification of contaminated water sources... estimated engineering costs of 2,500 gold coins."

Item after item was listed, each as clear as a merchant guild's ledger.

And at the very bottom of the list, there was a line of particularly eye-catching text marked in red ink:

"Management Capital Occupancy Fee: All the above advanced funds will accrue interest at a rate of 1% per day from the date of expenditure to compensate for our loss of capital liquidity and the risk costs borne. This fee will be rolled into the total debt daily."

Looking at the long string of numbers and that terrifying 1% daily interest at the end, Cassius's breath hitched.

Although he didn't understand the business terms Levi used, he recognized numbers.

The total amount currently listed was already close to 10,000 gold coins.

This was a massive figure, enough to empty half a year's fiscal revenue of an ordinary Imperial province.

And that 1% daily "Management Capital Occupancy Fee" was more like a blood-sucking demon.

This meant that for every day the Empire delayed taking over, this debt would snowball, growing at a frantic speed that made his heart tremble.

He suddenly understood Levi's true intention.

This wasn't some bankruptcy or escrow; this was a carefully designed extortion!

Levi had never intended to resist the Imperial Decree; he had simply turned the entire Silvermoon City into a hot, debt-ridden "collateral."

The Empire could take the city, but the premise was that all the debt on the collateral must first be cleared!

And this debt, Cassius knew with his toes, the noble lords in the Imperial Parliament would absolutely never acknowledge.

Force him to arrest Levi?

He could.

But the next second, the supply of food and medicine would be cut off, the army would mutiny because they couldn't get their wages, and the entire city would immediately turn into a mess.

He, the new taker-over, would face a dead city beset by internal and external difficulties and boiling public resentment, as well as a bad debt that could never be repaid.

By then, he, Cassius, would turn from a majestic Imperial Envoy into a complete joke.

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

He felt he was not facing a small border lord, but an abyssal beast constructed from countless ledgers and contracts. If you struck it with a sword, you wouldn't hurt its body at all; instead, you would sink into an endless quagmire.

The atmosphere in the hall became exceptionally eerie.

The situation that had been tense just a moment ago was now plunged into a deathly silence.

Only the sound of Cassius's heavy breathing and the occasional light clinking of the Royal Guards' armor plates behind him remained.

After a long while, Cassius withdrew his gaze, which was almost spitting fire, and slowly, inch by inch, returned the sword pointing at Levi's throat to its scabbard.

A soft "clang" sounded, like the end of an era.

"Very well." He squeezed two words through his teeth, the muscles on his face twitching slightly with anger. "Levi Byron, I will give you three days. Within three days, you must prepare all handover documents. In three days, I will come in person to take over this city."

After speaking, he didn't look at Levi again. He suddenly flicked his black robe, turned around, and left the City Lord's Mansion, which made him feel incredibly aggrieved, with the Royal Guards following without looking back.

The smile on Levi's face never changed. He even bowed politely to Cassius's departing back.

"I look forward to your next visit, Lord Envoy."

Only when the heavy footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did the oppressive atmosphere in the hall ease.

The way the merchants and minor nobles looked at Levi had completely changed.

It was no longer the fear of a conqueror, but mixed with more awe and a deep, incomprehensible confusion.

This young man, in a way they had never seen before, had forced back the power from the Imperial Capital without shedding a drop of blood.

Levi ignored everyone's gaze. He turned back to the desk, picked up the "Bankruptcy Announcement" that Cassius had crumpled into a ball, carefully smoothed it out, and placed it back on the desk.

His gaze was as calm as water, as if everything just now had been merely an insignificant business roadshow.

And in these three days, this arrogant Imperial Envoy would certainly not be idle.

He would be like a goshawk smelling blood, searching for any usable cracks and old forces in this city that had just changed hands.