Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 268 Purification Order
“Sister, what you’ve said about the Blood Oath Order doesn’t sound wrong. They just offer blood to the God-Emperor, which is no different from some of the doctrines of the State Religion. Why is the order being labeled as heretical?” In the prison where members of the Blood Oath Order were being held, Paul leaned against the rusty iron bars and asked a familiar Blood Oath Order nun.

His voice was deliberately kept very low, but just enough for the nuns around him to hear.

In the dimly lit prison, a few rays of sunlight slanted in through the high-rise air vents, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Dust motes drifted slowly within the beams of light, bringing a touch of ethereal life to this gloomy place.

Although the members of the Blood Oath Order were detained, they were not subjected to torture because Chen Xi had not yet issued an interrogation order.

The nuns, dressed in dark red robes, sat in twos and threes on the ground. Some chanted prayers softly, their fingertips gently moving the bone rosary beads; others closed their eyes to rest, their calloused hands resting on their knees; and a few younger ones were using charcoal to write their daily prayers on the wall.

However, being locked up like this, Paul was somewhat bored, so he pretended to be worried about being detained and tried to get more information from the nuns he knew well.

He deliberately made his voice tremble slightly, making him sound like an ordinary believer genuinely worried about the future.

The nuns were somewhat worried at this point. Although they continued to pray devoutly, they still explained to Paul when he asked them questions, revealing a lot of inside information that Paul had not previously heard about.

They exchanged worried glances, as if confiding in each other had become a way to relieve anxiety in this isolated prison cell.

"The Blood Sacrifice faction advocates that all holy blood should belong to the God-Emperor, and believers should also offer their blood to the God-Emperor when receiving healing bestowed by the God-Emperor. This is indeed consistent with the doctrines of some factions within the State Church, but it is not the mainstream content of the State Church's orthodox faith." The Blood Oath nun's face was full of sorrow, and her withered fingers unconsciously twisted the faded hem of her robe, but she still explained to Paul, as if doing so could alleviate her inner worries.

As she spoke, she would unconsciously glance at the oldest nun deep inside the cell, as if seeking some kind of tacit approval.

"Offering sacrifices to the God-Emperor is something that only the extremists in the God-Emperor's faith would do." At this point, a priest joined the discussion, and his explanation revealed more about some of the problems within the Blood Oath Order to Paul: "The Blood Oath Order requires believers to donate blood after receiving help, simply hoping to obtain blood in this way so that they can better help others. This is an ancient tradition left by the founder saint, originally only to treat wounded soldiers who lost too much blood on the battlefield."

"Offering sacrifices to the God-Emperor is, in fact, a departure from the original ideals of the Blood Oath Order's founders." The priest's expression turned particularly serious as he said this, his gray eyebrows furrowing tightly, making the deep wrinkles on his forehead even more pronounced. "While the Blood Oath faction's doctrines are not problematic from a faith perspective, and the state church and the Inquisition have conducted reviews of them before, this practice itself is still somewhat extreme, and to a certain extent, it is indeed easy to confuse with heresy."

The old pastor's voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a soliloquy. His cloudy eyes stared at the sliver of sunlight streaming in through the window, as if searching for some divine revelation.

The old pastor's rough hands stroked the faded holy emblem on his chest, and he sighed inwardly that perhaps this was why their entire sect was suspected of heresy and imprisoned this time.

A brief silence fell over the cell, broken only by the distant sound of dripping water and the suppressed sobs of a nun. Paul noticed that the oldest nun in the corner remained in a prayerful posture, her chapped lips moving silently, neither participating in nor stopping the conversation.
-
"Based on the information we've gathered so far, there are indeed problems within the Blood Oath Order." Inside the Rostov II Governor's Mansion, Chen Xi was discussing matters concerning the Blood Oath Order with Inquisitor Wayne and Marshal Mordrek.

The reason why only the three of them discussed this matter was because information related to chaos could not be widely disseminated.

“Blood sacrifice to the God Emperor… Heavens, this is blasphemy!” Judge Wayne was still somewhat incredulous, but then he said resolutely, “The Blood Oath Order must be purified! This heretical belief must be eradicated, otherwise it will seriously threaten the expedition and also affect the safety of the entire star sector.”

For judges, their first reaction and choice when faced with such a situation is to purify heretics, which is not surprising.

Implicating the innocent and whether someone is wrongly accused are never considerations for judges. The principle of judges is to rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free.

Marshal Mordrek nodded affirmatively and said to the two judges, "If needed, the Black Temple can take on this task. We will purify all heretics! Without mercy, without regret, without fear! For the God-Emperor, the Black Temple does not mind being stained with blood."

As the Astartes Chapter, which is closest to the Inquisition, the Black Templar's fanaticism can often be described as extreme.

This is why many judges, when faced with situations requiring dirty work, like to ask the Black Templars for help, because they are truly a useful tool.

If the Black Sanctuary had handled the same mess the Sky Lion Legion encountered, they probably wouldn't have needed an Inquisitor to sign an extermination order; they would have wiped out all the rebels and heretics on that planet.

Chen Xi believed that if he entrusted this matter to the Black Temple, they would thoroughly and cleanly eliminate all members and influence of the Blood Oath Order, leaving no trace of corruption.

However, it is also foreseeable how much bloodshed they will cause.

So Chen Xi hesitated and asked Judge Wayne, "Judge Wayne, in your experience, is there any possibility of saving the part of the Blood Oath Order that still has a devout faith in the God Emperor?"
"We must remember that the expeditionary force still lacks sufficient medical resources. These are all excellent medical personnel; killing them would be a huge waste."

“I understand your concerns, Inquisitor Chen Xi, but we cannot conduct such a large-scale screening. There are too many members of the Blood Oath Order, and their influence is not small. Even missing one Fallen could lead to serious consequences.” Inquisitor Wayne did not think Chen Xi was indecisive, but rationally stated that they could not verify the loyalty of everyone.

Chen Xi took a deep breath and then sighed, "Let's categorize them first! Purify the Blood Sacrifice Faction members first, and deal with the rest according to the situation. I hope we can still retain some medical personnel; the expeditionary force is really short of them."

(End of this chapter)