When the two "highest authorities of the Imperium of True Human Beings" were about to have an inevitable head-on collision, tremendous troops of the four Kurfürst families, as well as the great nobles and merchants who were deeply related to them, were still lingering in the capital under the control of the reformists.
The capital planet was the heart of the Imperium after all. The nobles and sects that were slightly capable would set up an office in the capital to advocate for their interests. There were also a lot of lobby groups that were attached to the Council of Elders. A lot of nobles were studying in the hundred colleges of higher learning, too.
Blackstar the Great took action too fast. In only three days, through "Devilish Abyss" Li Jianyi, "Star Breaker" Song Huanzhen, and other experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage, he instigated quite a few fleets of the four Kurfürst families and launched an assault on the coalition army of nobles that was stationed on the space fortresses in the Empyrean Terminus Sector.
By the time the ignorant nobles were back to themselves, the fleets of the reformists had already surrounded the atmosphere of the capital planet and began to divide, surround, and swallow the remaining soldiers that were scattered in the vast space zone of the Empyrean Terminus Sector.
In the turbulent month, the most popular phrase in the capital was "in the name of the Imperium".
For the great nobles and the magnates and merchants who were deeply related to the great nobles, it was more or less a death knell for them.
"In the name of the Imperium, all the accounts and assets of your sect in the capital will be frozen for military use. Rest assured, after the great cause of the Imperium is accomplished, we will certainly return the principal and interest to your sect!"
"In the name of the Imperium, in the name of His Majesty, and in the name of all the citizens of the Imperium, you, the shameless traitor who betrayed the Imperium and the civilization of mankind, are hereby executed. Go to hell, traitor!"
"In the name of the Imperium, for the great cause of the Imperium, all the Immortal Cultivators whose spiritual roots have been awakened in your families are now summoned to join the sacred war. This is your greatest glory. All the Immortal Cultivators on the list, please gather and follow us!"
Countless Imperial Guards, low-level Immortal Cultivators, and young bottom-level officers congregated into an aggressive torrent that crushed everything. They purged the forces of the great nobles that were entrenched in the capital mercilessly. Such aggressive orders echoed everywhere in the capital every day.
All the assets of the noble families that had lasted for hundreds of years were frozen and confiscated. Even the crystals, magical equipment, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that the families had kept were laundered without leaving anything behind. All the Immortal Cultivators were taken away by force and tied to the tank of the reformists, namely Blackstar the Great.
For the nobles who were relatively "obedient", the reformists would issue certificates that were stamped with the seal of the Reform Committee of the Council of Elders, solemnly promising them that they would be repaid with interest on the day the reform succeeded.
Of course, considering that those Immortal Cultivators had been sent to the most dangerous battlefields, there was no telling how many of them could survive the first three to five months. Even if the reformists of the Council of Elders did honor their promise, it remained to be seen who would inherit the properties.
Many nobles who were both quick-minded and ruthless did not want the certification documents of the Reform Committee of the Council of Elders. Instead, they "donated" all their property to the cause of the Imperium's renewal, hoping that the glory of the Imperium could be restored as soon as possible.
Those nobles immediately became models that the reformists praised. The descendants of their families were immediately transferred from the most dangerous cannon fodder to the relatively safe garrisons and logistics troops. Also, they received another promise — in the war against the four Kurfürst families in the future, once the enemy was completely crushed, they would certainly have a share of the astronomical trophies.
All the wealth that they lost today would be doubled later.
It was the natural-born skill of the Immortal Cultivators to be tactful.
After setting up a few models, the reformists soon integrated most of the forces of the nobles large and small in the capital.
Of course, not all the nobles who were lost in the capital were so wise and generous.
Many nobles were reluctant to give up the wealth that they had accumulated through hard work for hundreds of years. Some of them were even determined not to believe that the tiny reformists could accomplish anything and simply resisted the reformists to the end.
Very soon, they tasted the iron fists of the reformists and were branded as traitors. Not only were all their properties confiscated, but all their family members were also enlisted into the daring squads that had a slim chance of survival.
It remained to be seen whether or not the four Kurfürst families could make a comeback. Even if they did, those families would've been razed to the ground without leaving the slightest dust.
Under the ruthless suppression of the reformists, a lot of nobles chose to flee with the remaining soldiers of the four Kurfürst families.
Because the atmosphere had been surrounded by the fleets of the reformists, and the dozens of space fortresses that guarded the capital had all fallen to the hands of the reformists, barely any starships could break out of the atmosphere by brute force.
Any reckless starships would be torn into shreds by the ferocious firepower on the space fortresses soon after they broke out of the atmosphere.
Even if they were not torn apart, it was almost impossible for them to perform a space jump if they did not want to be involved in the storm of the four-dimensional space and obliterated into nothingness.
Then, there was only one way to escape from the capital.
Through the super teleportation arrays on the surface of the capital planet such as the Heaven's Artillery and the Eye of Blood Demon, they would be teleported to the periphery of the Empyreal Terminus Sector randomly, which meant that they would skip the fleets and the space fortresses that surrounded the planet. Then, they would activate the space jump system installed on the starship itself and escape.
In the field of space jumps, the Imperium of True Human Beings was a hundred years ahead of the Xing Yao Federation.
The Heaven's Origin Sector of the Xing Yao Federation had only one super teleportation array, which was "Heaven's Artillery", and the Blood Demon Sector only had "Eye of Blood Demon". However, in the heart of the Imperium, there were more than ten super teleportation arrays with astonishing throughput.
Those super teleportation arrays equaled more than ten precious escape routes. In the past month, they had helped countless nobles and defeated soldiers to escape from the capital.
But of course, they were also the primary targets of the reformists. After a month of fierce battles, they had been captured by the reformists one after another.
To this day, of the super teleportation arrays that were still under the control of the four Kurfürst families, there was only one left, which was known as "Netherwind Tunnel".
It was a super teleportation array with a rather unique structure. Most of the structure was established in a continuous, highly-rising mountain range, as if a helical tunnel had been dug inside the mountain. The starships would enter the mountain from the foot of the mountain and accelerate on the rails of the helical tunnel. In the end, they would rush out of the enormous hole at the top of the mountain, where they would be able to rip apart the void, jump out of the siege, and appear at any point in the vast space zone at the edge of the Empyreal Terminus Sector.
The highly-rising mountain range was named the Netherwind Mountain. That was how the "Netherwind Tunnel" got its name.
It was not hard to tell from the structure hidden deep inside the mountain that the super teleportation array had been designed with the military super teleportation arrays of the highest defense level in mind when it was first built.
There was no telling how many fixed firing points, fortresses, underground arsenals, and anti-air cannons had been established in the entire Netherwind Mountain. Also, the mountain had been reinforced by countless defense rune arrays. Even if the entire mountain was razed to the ground by carpet bombardment, the super teleportation array inside might not be damaged at all.
After hundreds of years of development, a large city named "Netherwind City" had been established at the foot of the mountain. Most of the residents were the people that the four Kurfürst families had sent to the capital. It was not hard to imagine their attitude toward the so-called "Reform Committee of the Council of Elders".
When all the settlements in the capital were lost to Blackstar the Great, the Netherwind Channel became the only lone island that was illuminated by the light of hope in the tide of reform.
All the nobles who craved to escape from the capital were gathered in the place. While resisting stubbornly, they scrambled to board the starships and crawl into the tunnel, escaping without a trace.
The army of the reformists followed them and surrounded Netherwind City and the Netherwind Tunnel from the sky, the ground, and the underground, determined to cut off the nobles' last avenue of escape and uproot their last banner in the capital.
However, the battle did not go as smoothly as expected.
The special terrain of the Netherwind Tunnel and the residents of Netherwind City were one of the reasons. More importantly, too many nobles had gathered here from various directions.
The city, which was not large in scale, was probably the place with the most Immortal Cultivators in the capital, no, in the entire Imperium.
The sabers and swords of the old nobles were like the thorns of a hedgehog that were pointing at the sky. The reformists did not know where to attack at all.
It was common sense to surround three enemies and block one enemy. At this moment, even if the reformists were capable of sealing the Netherwind Tunnel, they did not dare to do so recklessly, fearing that the nobles who had lost the hope of escape would launch crazy counterattacks at them in desperation. If there were heavy casualties, the losses would outweigh the gains.
Right now, the forces of the reformists were basically made of three groups.
Firstly, they were the backbone of the Deep Sea Fleet. Those people's combat ability and loyalty were not questionable, but they were too few in number to be wasted in unnecessary sieges.
Secondly, they were the Imperial Guards. There were too many of them, and their morale and loyalty were rather high, but their training and combat ability were not good enough. They could fight a favorable battle, but should the nobles launch a fierce counterattack, it was possible that they would all collapse.
Thirdly, they were the troops of the nobles who had just surrendered. Their combat ability was not a problem, but their loyalty was questionable. They still needed further purging and regrouping. Naturally, they could not be sent to such a battlefield recklessly.
The reformists also had such an idea. The number of starships that could be teleported out of the Netherwind Tunnel every day was extremely limited. It would be good enough if one or two of a hundred nobles could escape. The rest of the nobles were all highly valuable talents, and it would be a shame to kill them all. If they could be persuaded to surrender, the gap between the two parties would be even greater. Naturally, it couldn't be better.
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