Inside an office at the Governor's Office, Kaldor Draigo and Aarn were compiling collected information and intelligence.
The room was dimly lit, with only a few ancient desk lamps casting faint light, illuminating their serious faces.
The table was piled with various data slates and parchment scrolls, and the air was filled with the faint scent of ink and parchment.
"According to intelligence obtained by Governor's Office spies, the altars set up by the Blood Oath Society in the districts receive at least 200 units of fresh blood daily, but their average daily consumption generally does not exceed 10 units. A large amount of blood is transported to their headquarters for refinement and processing," Aarn read the intelligence in his hand, a hint of suspicion in his expression.
His finger slid gently across the data slate, his brow furrowed, clearly uneasy about the authenticity of the intelligence.
"The Blood Oath Society's explanation is that most of the fresh blood is lost during the refinement and processing, but the spies suspect this is not the case," Aarn's voice was low and solemn, as if every word carried a heavy weight.
Kaldor Draigo listened quietly, his hands clasped on the table, his gaze deep and calm.
He did not immediately offer an opinion, but instead carefully considered the truth that might be hidden behind these data.
A moment later, he slowly spoke: "Such a large loss of fresh blood is indeed abnormal. If heretics are using this to obtain a large amount of fresh blood, then the quantity they could acquire is a very astonishing number!"
Kaldor Draigo did not directly say that the Blood Oath Society was heretical, but his tone revealed deep vigilance.
This behavior and situation of the Blood Oath Society indeed made it very easy for heretics to take advantage.
If someone was truly using this opportunity to acquire fresh blood, then the total amount they could obtain daily would be astonishing!
Even if only a small portion was taken from the total, it would accumulate into a very impressive number over time.
Aarn nodded, his expression even more solemn. He continued to add: "The Blood Oath Society has set up over two hundred altars in Rostov, covering the civilian areas of over five hundred districts. The total amount of fresh blood collected daily is already very alarming, and accumulated over time, it's simply unimaginable how much blood could be hoarded."
Aarn was deeply worried about this number; if heretics were truly trying to obtain fresh blood in this way, or cause some incident, the scale of what they could achieve would be astonishing.
He couldn't imagine what such a massive reserve of blood would be used for.
Kaldor Draigo was silent for a moment, then stood up and walked to the window, his gaze piercing through the thick glass, looking at the distant lights of Rostov, and said with a firm tone: "We must quickly ascertain the destination of this fresh blood! If heretics are truly manipulating this behind the scenes, then we must stop them before they carry out their blasphemous plans!"
Aarn also stood up and walked beside Kaldor Draigo, his gaze also directed into the distance.
He took a deep breath and slowly said: "I have already instructed the spies to continue their in-depth investigation, especially concerning the fresh blood transported to the Blood Oath Society's headquarters. But we need more evidence to determine if the Blood Oath Society truly has a problem."
Kaldor Draigo nodded, a sharp glint in his eye: "We need more resources! If the Blood Oath Society truly has a problem, the strength of the spies alone may not be enough to handle it."
Aarn nodded, his expression firm: "I will contact Governor Alex and Chamberlain Rachel to request more support. No matter what, we cannot allow any heretics to act wantonly in Rostov."
—
Alex soon received the report from Aarn and Kaldor Draigo. Although he could directly obtain information through Aarn, there were still differences between these compiled reports and the information he received through Aarn.
The data in the report was more detailed, and it had been organized and compiled, omitting some unnecessary complex information, and also included the analysis and judgment of Kaldor Draigo and Aarn.
Alex attached great importance to the contents of the report.
He sat in his office at the Governor's Office, holding the thick report, his brow furrowed.
The numbers in the report made him uneasy—over tens of thousands of units of fresh blood were consumed directly every day. Even if only ten percent of that was kept, it could fill a swimming pool in a few months.
And this was just the quantity for one city, Rostov, and under the premise that the Blood Oath Society's influence in Rostov was severely insufficient.
Alex's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, his mind constantly calculating even more terrifying scenarios.
If the other party had been secretly collecting blood since the Blood Oath Society's inception… he dared not imagine how much blood the other party had obtained after hundreds of years of accumulation. It might not even be for sacrifice; they could directly obtain abundant divine grace and holy blessings.
Although it is well known that Khorne likes heads and fresh blood, the phrase "Blood for the Blood God, Skulls for the Skull Throne" is the most direct description of the behavior of Khorne's followers.
But for most people, it is probably difficult to break through the stereotype and imagine Khorne's followers not wielding knives and engaging in bloody battles, chopping off enemies' heads to use as drinking cups, but rather holding blood collection devices and posing as doctors, going door-to-door to persuade people to donate blood.
In fact, even Alex himself found it difficult to break through such a stereotype.
He even thought that Khorne's followers should wield knives and engage in the most fanatical close combat, chopping off enemies' heads in duels.
However, in reality, Khorne is the God of War. The red dog-headed man only dislikes psychic powers and ranged attacks, which does not mean that you will not receive Khorne's blessing if you use psychic witchcraft and ranged weapons.
As long as you can kill enough people and praise the name of the Blood God, you can receive blessings no matter what means you use.
And fresh blood is the same; the emphasis of Blood for the Blood God is blood, not how you obtain that blood.
The blood shed by warriors in battle can certainly please the Blood God, but the effect of coaxing people to voluntarily donate blood is the same.
Even to an extreme, you can collect women's menstrual blood and offer it to the Blood God.
Therefore, if someone is using the Blood Oath Society to collect blood, the situation will become very serious.
However, neither Alex nor Kaldor Draigo could currently determine if the Blood Oath Society itself had a problem.
After all, the Blood Oath Society itself is a branch monastic order certified by the Ecclesiarchy. The Blood Oath Society itself having a problem and someone merely using the Blood Oath Society to collect blood are two completely different concepts.
The implications involved are also completely different.
The former could be a major event affecting the entire Mariupol Sector, while the latter might only be individual heretical acts.
And to make a judgment, Alex still needed more information and evidence.
So he quickly issued a new order to Rachel via the communication bead: "Mobilize more forces, find a way to collect more evidence, and find decisive evidence."
----------------------------
If you enjoy this story, please check out my Patreon to read 30–40 advanced chapters ahead!
I'll leave the Patreon link below: [patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for always supporting me!