The Blood Oath Society's expansion in Rostov was restricted.
For unknown reasons, the Governor's Office suddenly issued new decrees, beginning to strictly limit the proselytizing activities of Ecclesiarchy branch sects like the Blood Oath Society.
The decree stipulated that they could no longer preach on the streets, but only conduct religious activities in existing religious venues. Existing altars and similar religious sites also had to undergo scrutiny by the Governor's Office to ensure they "had no heretical tendencies."
Not only that, even the Blood Oath Society's daily medical activities for the common populace were categorized as religious activities and prohibited.
This series of policies severely impacted the Blood Oath Society's operations.
Although believers could still go to the altars for help and medical services, and continue to donate blood, the sect's influence was greatly reduced after losing the right to preach and evangelize in the streets.
They could not gain new followers through propaganda, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to a sect that relied on follower growth.
The leaders of the Blood Oath Society were angry and helpless about this.
They tried to pressure the Governor's Office through high-ranking Ecclesiarchy officials, but with little success.
The Governor's Office was unusually tough, even dispatching Battle Sisters to inspect altars one by one, demanding detailed records of proselytization and medical data.
Any non-compliant behavior would be deemed "heretical tendencies" and severely punished.
Furthermore, the Ecclesiarchy itself had an ambiguous attitude towards this matter, as the Ecclesiarchy's own proselytization was not affected or restricted.
As long as it was orthodox Ecclesiarchy faith, the Governor's Office did not impose any restrictions on its activities.
Naturally, the people of Rostov knew how to choose.
Despite the continued loyalty of existing believers, the number of new believers plummeted after the loss of street proselytization opportunities.
Many commoners who were originally interested, unable to access propaganda, would likewise not become followers of the Blood Oath Society.
After all, the Blood Oath Society was merely a branch sect of the Ecclesiarchy. Most of those who chose to believe in the Blood Oath Society instead of the orthodox Ecclesiarchy faith were commoners from the lower strata who needed medical assistance.
These commoners didn't understand much; under the Ecclesiarchy's preaching, they only knew to believe in the Emperor. The Blood Oath Society was able to spread its faith precisely by providing medical services to the common populace, thereby winning their hearts.
But once such medical treatment was prohibited and the connection between the Society and the commoners was severed, how many commoners would still be willing to continue believing in the Blood Oath Society, unless they had a medical need and had to seek help from the Society?
This was like hospitals in the 3k era; if doctors from a hospital frequently organized medical teams to conduct free clinics in neighborhoods, only asking for unpaid blood donations when you were healthy and a few words of praise for the hospital, then most people would surely be willing to do so.
But under normal circumstances, a hospital just existed, and you only went there when you were sick.
Even if seeing a doctor at the hospital was free, it would be difficult for you to praise the hospital regularly.
So naturally, under the restrictions of the ban, the Blood Oath Society's influence gradually dwindled, and in some neighborhoods, the altars became deserted.
This series of policies, while not directly banning the Blood Oath Society, effectively severely restricted their operations.
However, facing the high-pressure policies of the Governor's Office, they were powerless and could only silently endure it all.
After all, the Blood Oath Society was still a branch sect of the Ecclesiarchy; they could not openly oppose the Planetary Governor, who represented the authority of the Imperium.
—
Paul's work and life were also significantly affected during this period.
With the Blood Oath Society prohibited from proselytizing by the Governor's Office, the altar where Paul worked was naturally impacted.
The once endless stream of believers suddenly became scarce, and many simply gave up seeking medical services at the altar.
After all, for most ordinary commoners, while the medical services provided by the Blood Oath Society were very helpful to them, they paled in comparison to faith.
The commoners of the Imperium basically had nothing; their only possession was their fervent loyalty to the Emperor.
With the Blood Oath Society currently prohibited from proselytizing by the Governor's Office, these commoners would not remember the good deeds of the Blood Oath Society providing them with free medical care. Instead, they would instinctively want to distance themselves from the Blood Oath Society and emphasize their own fervent loyalty to the Emperor.
This often explains certain situations that are almost hellish jokes: the poorer the place, the more fervent the loyalty to the Emperor, and the more fervent the believers, the more they will dedicate everything to the Imperium. Thus, the Governor exploits them even more, the tithe is paid in full, and the populace's loyalty is fervent—this is an Imperial paragon! A model Governor!
Paul, of course, didn't understand much of this, nor did he quite comprehend it.
He only knew that his work had decreased during this period, the altar was not as busy as before, and he had less to do.
This also gave him time to investigate and inquire about more news related to the Blood Oath Society.
He began to use his free time to quietly observe the movements inside and outside the altar, paying attention to the conversations of the believers seeking help and the Battle Sisters.
Although outwardly he was still an ordinary laborer, secretly, he was diligently fulfilling his duty as a spy for the Governor's Office.
Paul discovered that while the Battle Sisters of the Blood Oath Society were dissatisfied with the Governor's Office's new policies, they did not openly resist. Instead, they continued to conduct religious activities as usual at the altar and other permitted religious venues.
Although doing so had little effect and few believers participated, they continued as usual, seemingly viewing this as a test given by the God Emperor.
The Battle Sisters still provided medical services to those who came for help, but no longer actively promoted their doctrine as before, and the requirements for believers to donate blood were also significantly reduced.
Paul also noticed that some Battle Sisters and priests were discussing in private how to deal with the Governor's Office's scrutiny, and some suggested how to seek help and support from the God Emperor Star Region Headquarters.
But overall, there was no heretical speech, nor anything particularly noteworthy or suspicious.
However, Paul still did not let his subjective thoughts influence his judgment; he simply recorded all this information faithfully and then transmitted it to the Governor's Office.
This information was compiled on Alex's desk at the Governor's Office, yet even he could not discern what the problem truly was.
Everything seemed normal; even his use of administrative orders to prohibit the Blood Oath Society from proselytizing, attempting to flush out any anomalies, failed to reveal anything amiss.
This made Alex suspect that he might have made a wrong judgment somewhere.
But whether it was Kaldor Draigo's psychic divination or his own intuition, both suggested that the Blood Oath Society had problems, which led Alex to decide to continue investigating, just in case he truly found something.
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