"Sister, what you said about the Blood Sacrifice Faction doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with it. They just offer blood to the God-Emperor, which is no different from some of the Ecclesiarchy's doctrines. Why would their sect be branded as heretical?" In the prison where the Blood Oath Society members were detained, Paul leaned against the rusty iron bars, asking a Blood Oath Sister he was familiar with.
He deliberately kept his voice low, but it was just loud enough for the few Sisters around him to hear.
In the dim prison, a few rays of sunlight slanted in from the high transom window, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
Dust motes slowly drifted in the light beams, bringing a fantastical vitality to this cold and damp place.
Although the members of the Blood Oath Society were detained, they had not suffered torture because Alex had not yet issued an interrogation order.
These Sisters in dark red robes sat in twos and threes on the ground; some quietly chanted prayers, their fingertips gently caressing bone rosaries; others closed their eyes to rest, their calloused palms folded on their laps; and a few younger ones were using charcoal pencils to record daily prayers on the wall.
However, being confined like this, they were somewhat idle, so Paul pretended to be full of worry due to his detention and tried to extract more information from the Sister he knew.
He deliberately put a tremor in his voice, like a true ordinary believer worried about his future.
And the Sisters were somewhat worried at this time. Although they were still devoutly praying, in response to Paul's inquiry, they still explained to him, revealing a lot of internal secrets that Paul had not heard about before.
They exchanged worried glances, as if in this secluded cell, confiding had become a way to alleviate anxiety.
"The Blood Sacrifice Faction advocates that all holy blood should belong to the God-Emperor, and believers, when receiving the God-Emperor's gifted healing, should also offer their own blood to the God-Emperor. This is indeed consistent with some faction doctrines within the Ecclesiarchy, but this itself is not the mainstream content of the Ecclesiarchy's true faith." This Blood Oath Sister's face was full of sorrow, her thin fingers unconsciously twisting the faded hem of her robe, but she still explained to Paul, as if doing so could alleviate her inner worries.
When she spoke, she would always unconsciously glance at the oldest Sister in the depths of the cell, as if seeking some kind of tacit approval.
"Sacrificing to the God-Emperor, to a large extent, is something only done by extremist factions within the God-Emperor's faith." At this point, a priest also joined the discussion, and his explanation further revealed some problems within the Blood Oath Society to Paul: "The Blood Oath Society's requirement for believers to donate blood after receiving help was originally just to obtain blood in this way, so that they could better help others. This is an ancient tradition left by the founding saint of the faith, originally only for treating casualties who had lost too much blood on the battlefield."
"Making sacrifices to the God-Emperor, in fact, deviates from the original philosophy of the Blood Oath Society's founding saint." When the priest said this, his expression became exceptionally serious, his gray eyebrows tightly furrowed, and the deep wrinkles on his forehead became even more pronounced: "Although the Blood Sacrifice Faction's Claim is not problematic from a faith perspective, and the Ecclesiarchy and Inquisition have conducted investigations before, this behavior itself is still somewhat extreme, and to a certain extent, it is indeed easily confused with heretical cults."
The old priest's voice grew lower and lower, finally almost becoming a monologue, his cloudy eyes looking towards the line of sunlight coming through the transom window, as if searching for some divine revelation there.
The old priest's rough palm stroked the faded holy emblem on his chest, sighing in his heart that perhaps it was precisely because of this that their entire sect was suspected of heresy and detained this time.
A brief silence fell in the cell, broken only by the sound of dripping water in the distance and the suppressed sobs of a Sister.
Paul noticed that the oldest Sister in the corner maintained her praying posture throughout, her cracked lips moving silently, neither participating in nor stopping the conversation.
---
"From the information gathered so far, there are indeed problems within the Blood Oath Society." Inside the Rostov II Governor's Office, Alex was discussing matters concerning the Blood Oath Society with Inquisitor Wien and Marshal Mordred.
The reason only the three of them were discussing this matter was that information related to Chaos could not be widely disseminated.
"Blood sacrifice to the God-Emperor... My God, this is truly blasphemous!" Inquisitor Wien was still somewhat incredulous, but then he resolutely stated: "The Blood Oath Society must be purified! This heretical faith must be eradicated, otherwise it will seriously threaten the progress of the Expeditionary Force and also affect the safety of the entire Star District."
For an Inquisitor, encountering such a situation, the first reaction and choice is to purify heresy; there is nothing strange about that.
Involving the innocent and whether they are wronged are never considerations for Inquisitors; it is the Inquisitor's principle to rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go.
Marshal Mordred, standing nearby, also nodded affirmatively, saying to the two Inquisitors: "If needed, the Black Templars can take on this task. We will purify all heresy! No pity, no remorse, no fear! For the God-Emperor, the Black Templars do not mind getting their hands bloody."
As the Astartes Chapter closest to the Inquisition, the fanaticism of the Black Templars can often even be called extreme.
It is precisely because of this that many Inquisitors, when encountering situations that require dirty work, like to ask the Black Templars for help, because they are truly a useful blade.
The mess that the Heavenly Lion Battle Group encountered, if it were the Black Templars, they might not even need an Inquisitor to sign an Exterminatus order; the rebels and heretics on that planet would have been slaughtered by them.
Alex believed that if he entrusted this matter to the Black Templars, they would thoroughly and cleanly purge all members and influence of the Blood Oath Society, leaving no trace of corruption.
But at the same time, the amount of slaughter they would cause was also foreseeable.
So Alex hesitated. He asked Inquisitor Wien: "Inquisitor Wien, in your experience, is there a possibility of saving the part of the Blood Oath Society that is still devoutly loyal to the God-Emperor?
You should know that the Expeditionary Force still lacks sufficient medical resources. They are excellent medical personnel; killing them like this would be too wasteful."
"I can understand Alex's concerns, but we cannot conduct such a large-scale screening. There are too many members of the Blood Oath Society, and their influence is not low. Even missing one fallen individual could lead to serious consequences." Inquisitor Wien did not think Alex was indecisive, but merely rationally stated that they could not conduct loyalty assessments for everyone.
Alex took a deep breath, then sighed: "Let's categorize them first! The Blood Sacrifice Faction will be purified first, and the rest will be dealt with according to the situation. I hope to still retain some medical personnel; the Expeditionary Force really needs them."
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