"Have you considered the consequences of saying that?" Feng looked at the old noble.
"Take it back, and I can pretend nothing happened."
Bishop Hyderak also spoke at this moment, "One should maintain awe and obedience towards the Emperor's envoy."
"My loyalty is trampled, my family is not protected, and now you want me to respect and revere him??" The old noble articulated each word, appearing extremely angry.
"From today onwards, my family refuses to execute any of his commands unless he revokes those foolish reforms." After leaving these words, the old noble turned and left the hall.
"Revoking is not enough; he must apologize to us personally. Otherwise, my family will no longer support him."
"Me too, I will never accept such humiliation." Many powerful nobles voiced their support for the old noble.
They left in anger, vowing to stand together on the same front, advancing and retreating as one.
Until the Emperor's envoy yielded and apologized to them.
The remaining people hesitated but stayed.
The reforms would also affect their family interests.
But loyalty outweighed everything.
After the meeting, Feng immediately reported these matters to Alex.
Alex smiled and issued new orders.
"If those families are unwilling to do it, then let those who are willing take their place."
"Immediately relieve those family members of their duties and promote a group of people from the grassroots."
"Additionally, find ways to improve the welfare and treatment of the army and workers, and strive for the support of the army and the populace."
Alex showed no intention of compromising.
He had Feng promote capable talents from the Mid-Hive and Lower-Hive.
Most of the daily work in the Hive City was carried out by grassroots personnel.
The powerful nobles' energy was mostly wasted on etiquette and social activities.
The promoted grassroots officials quickly supported the entire operational framework of the Hive City.
The various families, who intended to threaten Alex by non-cooperation, found themselves marginalized.
Family members were dismissed, and those commoners from the Lower-Hive and Mid-Hive took their places.
The implementation of various welfare systems also made the populace and the army genuinely support the reforms.
If this continued, they would lose all their bargaining chips.
"We absolutely cannot sit idly by; we must let him know that without us, he can never establish a stable rule." A powerful noble spoke out, hoping all families would unite for self-preservation.
To defend their interests, to defend the glory of their families.
Many families secretly allied.
Through various conspiracies, smear campaigns, and instigation, they incited ignorant citizens to protest.
Subsequently, they had the secretly supported gangs act, infiltrating the protest Team and attacking the Guard soldiers maintaining order.
And those planted in the army also took the opportunity to enforce violently, further escalating the conflict.
As their various small actions unfolded, the situation in Tirien Hive City rapidly deteriorated.
Rioters emerged throughout the Hive City, smashing and destroying things maliciously.
Many gang members took the opportunity to seize factories and other industrial facilities.
The Guard, which should have acted quickly to suppress the riot, was misled by those planted by the various families.
This led to low efficiency, and the scale of the riot continued to expand.
More importantly, the destructive gang members held standard equipment only available to regular forces.
Feng realized that the riot in the Hive City was a counterattack by those powerful nobles.
He immediately mobilized a trusted unit to set up defenses near the Governor's Mansion to protect his family.
He feared those guys would do something insane.
After Alex learned of this, he immediately established communication with Feng.
"Planet Atoma has not yet been recovered, and humanity is still threatened by Chaos, yet these guys are creating chaos for their selfish interests."
"They have crossed my bottom line and cannot be tolerated; they must be dealt with severely."
Feng looked worried, "How about we compromise and appease them?"
"Reform is not a dinner party," Alex shook his head.
"If we compromise with them this time, they will continue next time."
"These vampires will never be satisfied; they will only push their luck and become insatiably greedy."
"You collect the evidence of those families' involvement, and leave the rest to me."
The communication ended.
Alex pondered for a moment and then began editing a task on the control panel.
[Limited-Time Mission: Tyreen Spring
Brief: Many rigid and conservative noble families, dissatisfied with reforms, secretly incited gang members to riot.
Such actions are a betrayal of the Empire and disloyalty to the Emperor; they must be severely punished.
Suppress the gang members causing trouble on the streets, reclaim occupied vital areas, and minimize damage to buildings.
Reward: Players who accept the mission and go to the ground to perform suppression tasks will receive 5000 Contribution Points and 50 Honor Points.
The final reward will be determined based on the player's contribution in this operation.
]
Cortana tilted her head, watching from the side.
Alex glanced at her, "Learn well. When Master is busy with other things in the future, Cortana will have to take on this work proactively."
Cortana nodded, "Don't worry, Master, Cortana will learn well and strive to make Master less tired."
"Good girl," Alex praised, then opened the communication link to Aying.
This guy was previously a Captain; after several promotions, he is now a Colonel.
"Guide Sir." Aying stood very straight, his voice loud and clear.
"A riot has occurred in Tirien Hive City. Immediately dispatch a group of officers to take over all military forces in Tirien Hive City under my command."
Aying looked hesitant, "What if they don't cooperate?"
"Execute them in the name of betraying the God-Emperor, and also raise the troops' salaries."
"Understood." Aying saluted and immediately went to act.
.......
Driven by the generous rewards of the limited-time mission.
The Players quickly participated in the riot suppression operation in Tirien Hive City.
They wore exquisite exoskeletons, possessed fierce firepower, and were protected by shields and armor.
There were even veteran Players who had already been promoted to Astartes.
Those gang members were simply no match for them.
"Heh heh, daring to betray the Emperor, these fools are courting death."
"I don't want to know the whys and wherefores; I just want to slaughter."
"Traitors should all die, for the Warband."
"In the name of the moon, eliminate you traitors."
The Players were incredibly excited and in high spirits.
They crushed the gang members all the way, killing all who dared to resist.
Warmaster also participated in this suppression operation with his teammates.
He had also been promoted to Astartes now.
He used the Imperial Fists' gene-seed.
Combined with the passive skills like Indomitable Will he had previously obtained, his combat power soared.
"Iron decays, stone endures forever, for the Empire!" Warmaster, holding a giant Warhammer, stood in the burning wreckage, raising his arm and shouting.
"After completing this mission, we should have enough Honor Points to apply to register a Warband." Zhuge shot a gang member in the distance with a single shot, chatting with his other teammates on the comms.
"By the way, what will our Warband be called?" Bald Donkey asked.
"Sons of the Warmaster," Warmaster replied first.
The comms channel instantly fell silent, followed by the teammates' uniformly enthusiastic greetings.
"Damn you, we treat you as a brother, but you want to take advantage of us?"
"What, you're already thinking of giving Guide Sir a grand birthday celebration for the Warmaster??"
"Heretic, tie him to the stake and roast him slowly."
"Your ID is going to have bad luck."
"........"
In addition to the Players participating in the riot suppression operation.
The Tirien Hive City Guard also took action after Aying replaced the commanders.
"Quickly, quickly."
"Anyone who dared to participate in the riot, not a single one shall be spared."
"Daring to despise the God-Emperor, they must have eaten the guts of a bear and a leopard."
The Guard soldiers' enthusiasm was also unprecedentedly high.
They wore riot gear and carried riot sticks and tasers.
After being dispatched to the riot areas, they would first give three strikes to anyone they saw before asking for their identity.
It wasn't that they were too enthusiastic; it was just that the Guide gave too much.
The Guard soldiers' salaries were not high, only three to four thousand Aquila coins.
Only officers above company level would have higher salaries, along with various benefits.
Because these high-ranking positions were held by those family scions.
Ordinary soldiers were recruited from the Lower-Hive and Mid-Hive, and they basically had no benefits.
As soon as Aying took over the Tirien army, he announced the reform policies formulated by Alex.
For ordinary soldiers, just the food allowance was raised to 4800 Aquila coins.
With various welfare subsidies and salaries combined, they could receive 10,000 Aquila coins.
To encourage the soldiers, Alex also ordered that the previously owed wages be paid, and an additional three months' wages be issued as compensation.
Looking at the thick stack of money, if their swings with the sticks were slow, the soldiers felt they were letting down the treatment given by the Guide.
With the combined efforts of the Players and the Guard, the riot was quickly suppressed.
The inner city was swiftly put under martial law and sealed off.
Nobles involved in the riot were purged.
Many nobles were forcibly dragged out of their homes by Players or soldiers.
Forcing them to kneel in a row in the square.
When Alex left the Imperial Glory and appeared in the square, those nobles wailed and cried one by one.
"We were wrong, Guide Sir."
"Oh, Saint of the Emperor, give us a chance to atone for our sins."
"......."
Alex ignored them and walked to Feng's side.
"Guide Sir," Feng said.
"Is this the first rebel who claimed he would absolutely no longer obey my commands?" Alex looked at the old noble kneeling beside Feng.
Feng nodded, "It is indeed him. He also led the planning of the riot, intending to force you to compromise."
"I know I was wrong," the old noble, kneeling on the ground, cried, "Forgive me, great Saint."
Alex walked in front of the old noble and shook his head.
"You don't know you were wrong; you just know you're going to die."
"Saint, how should these rebels be dealt with? My suggestion is execution by fire; only flames can cleanse the evil of these sinners," Bishop Hyderak suggested.
"Resources are scarce now; burning them like this would be a bit wasteful."
Alex's words brought expressions of joy to many nobles' faces.
Everything seemed to have a turning point.