Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 264

In response to Sister Irene's accusations, Chen Xi immediately ordered the Black Sanctuary to send an elite team to investigate. However, before investigating the heresy, he insisted on conducting the most rigorous loyalty and faith test on this Blood Oath nun.

After all, the act of pretending to be loyalist is so common in the Warhammer world that no one knows whether this is some blue birdman causing trouble again, or some conspiracy by other Chaos gods and demons.

In this crazy world, sometimes the most devout appearance is the most dangerous trap.

Those corrupted by chaos often act more fanatically than true believers, like flowers blooming on a rotting corpse; the more beautiful they are, the more deadly the toxins beneath.

In the dark and despairing universe of Warhammer 40K, the Inquisition's extreme practices are by no means unfounded fanaticism.

Behind every seemingly excessive purification campaign often lies a bloody lesson.

The cases recorded in the court's confidential archives all demonstrate that in this chaotic galaxy, any act of kindness can lead to utter destruction.

Every instance of leniency or hesitation can become a loophole for the spread of chaos and corruption.

Perhaps it's just a seemingly innocent homeless person being let go, a crying child being pitied, or even a devout believer being forgiven due to "insufficient evidence"—but ultimately, these small acts of kindness often lead to irreparable disasters.

The Black Templars' creed of "mercy" is not because they are born cold-hearted, but because they understand better than anyone else that in this chaotic universe, mercy is the most dangerous luxury.

The existence of the Four Chaos Gods is enough to crush any wishful thinking.

Nurgle's plague can spread through a well-intentioned act of healing, Slaanesh's depravity may begin with a trivial act of leniency, Tzeentch's schemes often lie hidden behind seemingly reasonable tolerance, and Khorne's slaughter may erupt from a moment's hesitation.

In such a world, kindness is not only a weakness, but can also be the beginning of destruction.

The court's radical approach was shaped by this reality.

They are not born bloodthirsty, but because every moment of hesitation could cost millions of lives.

Those individuals labeled as "heretics" may appear harmless or even deserving of sympathy, but the judges know that the corruption of chaos is not written on one's face.

Judges had to assume the worst in every action because history has shown that nine out of ten wrongful convictions are far less harmful than one act of leniency.

While there are indeed treacherous insects in the court who abuse their power as judges, there are also dutiful individuals who uphold loyalty and commit necessary evils. It is because of their existence that the human empire has been able to resist the erosion of chaos over the long years.

Although the courtroom is not without its corrupt elements who abuse their power and use the guise of trials to carry out vigilante justice, they use their supreme power to satisfy their ambitions or twisted desires.

But there are also countless truly loyal individuals who bear heavy sins and carry out the most cruel necessary evils, just so that the human empire can survive a little longer under the erosion of chaos.

As an elderly judge said after executing an entire contaminated family: "We are not executioners; we are humanity's last line of defense. If we don't pull the trigger, chaos will devour everything."

In this universe, mercy is a luxury that even emperors can hardly afford.

Therefore, upon receiving Sister Irene's report, Chen Xi immediately initiated a dual investigation process. On one hand, a special commissioner from the Inquisition conducted the most rigorous faith assessment of Irene herself; on the other hand, a covert team from the Black Sanctuary was dispatched to secretly investigate the activities of the Blood Oath Order.

The Blood Oath Order is, after all, a legitimate branch of the Order recognized by the state religion. It has been rooted in the Mariupol Sector for hundreds of years, with believers spread across more than a dozen star systems within the sector, numbering in the hundreds of millions. Its influence among the lower classes of the sector is immeasurable.

Chen Xi knew very well that rashly launching a large-scale purge would only trigger a disastrous chain reaction, at best causing the collapse of the local religious system, and at worst potentially putting the state religion forces of the entire star sector in opposition to the expeditionary force.

Even with three million Astral Army soldiers and three thousand Astartes warriors at his command, he could not easily unleash this power and rashly suppress them with force.

He needs crucial evidence, definitive proof that the Blood Oath Order has indeed fallen into depravity and engaged in heretical behavior.

Although Sister Irene provided him with one piece of evidence, it was insufficient to prove otherwise. One piece of evidence could only suggest that the Blood Oath Order was a suspect, but it could not prove that they had definitely fallen.

Chen Xi is not the kind of judge who sees everyone as guilty and investigates and collects evidence based solely on the premise of guilt.

He doesn't simply assume someone is a heretic and then desperately search for evidence that they are.

In this world, if you get the most honest and reliable person to write three lines, you can convict him of a crime punishable by death and the extermination of his entire family.

Given a preconceived stance, the evidence collected will be biased.

Therefore, Chen Xi will not directly label the Blood Oath Order as heretical until the Black Sanctuary has thoroughly investigated the matter.

At the same time, Chen Xi will also take precautions based on the premise that the Blood Oath Cult is a heretical sect, so as to avoid being caught off guard if the investigation leads to the other party resorting to desperate measures.

This led Chen Xi to directly order a halt to the work of the Blood Oath Order's military personnel, ordering them to undergo temporary isolation and investigation.

Due to the large-scale military operations of the expedition, the Blood Oath Order assembled a considerable number of medical personnel to join the expeditionary force and provide medical services.

After all, in the Mariupol sector, apart from the Blood Oath Order, it was indeed difficult to find a large enough number of medical personnel to meet the medical needs of the expeditionary force.

Under these circumstances, when the Blood Oath Cult approached Chen Xi and offered to provide a large number of doctors, nurses, and various medicines, Chen Xi, despite his previous aversion to them, could not refuse.

However, now, due to Sister Irene's report, the entire sect has been ordered to be quarantined by Chen Xi, which has undoubtedly made the expeditionary force's newly established medical system fall into disarray and medical resources become scarce.

After all, if the Blood Oath Order members might be problematic, then the medicines they brought were most likely to be stolen.

Therefore, while isolating the members of the Blood Oath Order, the medicines and other medical supplies they brought with them also had to be temporarily sealed up, pending further processing by the Inquisition.

This caused considerable dissatisfaction among many, and the atmosphere within the expeditionary force suddenly became tense.

(End of this chapter)