The hidden leader swung a staff made of some unknown wood at Perfikot.
Inspired by this hidden leader, other followers also rushed toward Perfikot, attempting to attack her with their flesh and blood, challenging the power of the Steam Knight armor.
In the face of such a scene, Perfikot only felt sorrow and anger, but no fear at all.
She merely closed her eyes with a hint of sadness, and immediately countless spikes shot up from the ground around her body, impaling everyone rushing at her.
Since returning to Langton, Perfikot had always carried her two Philosopher’s Stones with her. At this moment, as she exerted her full power, enhanced and amplified by the Philosopher’s Stones, she only needed a thought to completely eradicate all life in this manor.
Yet, Perfikot did not kill them all, or rather, she did not kill anyone.
Everyone was pierced by the spikes and suspended, but they were still alive, not dead.
On one hand, the piercing of the spikes wasn’t immediately lethal, and on the other hand, Perfikot deliberately avoided hitting fatal spots.
When she opened her eyes, before her stood only one heretic wielding a staff intending to bash her, while the others were impaled on spikes jutting from the ground in various postures.
"You devil! What kind of monster are you? This is all an illusion, you can’t scare me!" The heretic’s face also showed fear, yet he shouted loudly, as if he were the one on the side of justice.
Perfikot looked at him, thinking the person before her was likely mad, or perhaps he had convinced himself with his own act, otherwise, why else would he speak such words in her presence?
"Who are you? Why did you incite a rebellion in the Imperial Capital? Who is your accomplice?" Perfikot questioned repeatedly, trying to understand from this heretic what exactly had happened.
However, the other party just shouted meaninglessly about "devil" and "all-father," then waved his staff to strike Perfikot’s Steam Knight armor, making a hollow sound.
"Is he crazy?" Perfikot looked uncertainly at this heretic and shook her head in helplessness.
It was clear this heretic was crazy enough to not fear the power armor, even daring to knock it with a staff.
This made Perfikot somewhat reluctant to kill him, as with a heretic of this level, even if useful information couldn’t be extracted from his mouth, she could use human transmutation to invade his brain and directly extract the most crucial parts of memory from his mind.
So Perfikot did not directly kick him to death but instead prepared a special treatment for him.
With a snap of her fingers, a giant T-shaped frame rose from beneath the manor, directly suspending this heretic.
His hands were nailed to the ends of the T-shaped frame, and his body was entwined with thorns on the pillar, making him look like a saint suffering in a religious painting.
Except, unlike the saints, the thorns entwining this heretic grew from within his flesh, spreading throughout his body along his blood vessels.
This instantly caused the heretic immense pain, the branches and spikes piercing and stretching from his body constantly tortured him, and what’s more, these branches and the frame behind him were also grown together.
The thickest branch grew from the frame, then pierced through a hole in the heretic’s body, entering his body, and turning into a vine mesh encasing him.
"I’ll ask again, who are you? Why did you incite a rebellion in the Imperial Capital? Who is your accomplice?" Perfikot flew up and pressed her hand against the heretic’s head, continuing to interrogate him.
This time, however, she did not expect an answer from the heretic because she had already initiated human transmutation, extracting the information she needed from his brain.
Soon, as Perfikot continued to ask questions, the heretic, under extreme pain, could no longer hold firm to his beliefs. Although he did not speak, his mind went through all the information Perfikot needed.
"I thought it was something significant, turns out it’s just a heretical outcast!" Perfikot felt she was being played.
She originally thought this might involve some grand conspiracy, but after a round of "soul searching," the conclusion was this was merely a heretic with a faulty mind, a group of religious dissidents split from the church.
They originated from the turbulent times in the church around two hundred years ago.
At that time, due to the efforts of various monarchs, the church’s influence on secular affairs was declining, coupled with the mixed quality of priests and the corruption and decadence of the clergy, the entire church was in turmoil, seemingly on the brink of collapse.
Thus, some insightful individuals began to reflect, searching for new answers in religious texts, hoping to reform the church and save the faith in the all-father.
Some succeeded, while others failed; some were conservative, naturally, some were radical.
Today, the church in the Victor Empire is largely based on the doctrines and thoughts developed during that time and became the Empire’s official faith through the efforts of some priests and clergy.
This faction’s influence spread alongside the Empire’s rise and has now become the dominant sect of the church, with even its leader becoming the patriarch of this generation of the church.
Meanwhile, other sects have not been idle, each interpreting new doctrines and seeking their own opportunities for development. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
Some have cooperated with other countries, gradually becoming the mainstream faith in those areas.
But because they all originated from one sect, despite differences in doctrines and practices, they continued to have faith in the all-father.
Moreover, as each sect reformed the church and established roots in their respective countries, they exchanged ideas with each other, trying to prove themselves the best to other sects and attempting to subdue them.
Ultimately, only the Empire’s sect grew stronger due to the expansion of the Empire’s influence, overshadowing other sects, forming the current structure of the church.
Apart from these mainstream sects, there are also some small-scale sects, their doctrines mostly differ somewhat from the mainstream, and their spread is not extensive, but those who follow them are often very devoted.
For example, the heretic Perfikot encountered came from a sect advocating for pleasure, incorporating some aspects of ancient Dionysian beliefs, being limitedly circulated within the noble class.
This sect regularly hosts joyous feasts, gathering nobles who have joined the sect, everyone wearing only a mask to conceal their face, completely naked to symbolize that they came into this world naked and pure, also representing letting go of distinctions of worldly status.
After that follows three days and nights of revelry.
They eat and drink and pursue pleasures endlessly, much like a now-defunct ancient dynasty, using emetics to vomit when full, empty their stomachs, and continue eating.
In short, any pleasure imaginable can be found at these joyous feasts, and the physical closeness between men and women is the most common form of enjoyment at these gatherings.
Because of this, the doctrine of this sect also pursues extreme pleasure, believing that heaven should be a place of unleashed desires and indulgence.
The joyous feasts they host allow followers to experience the joys of heaven in advance.
As can be expected, when Perfikot announced the imminent apocalypse, making all resources scarce, this sect would react intensely.
In their doctrine, there is no judgment day; only believers will return to heaven after death to continue indulgence, clearly contradicting what Perfikot propagated.
Therefore, under the instigation of someone with ulterior motives, this sect attempted to incite rebellion in Langton and overthrow the Empire to establish a nation led by the sect, to enjoy ultimate pleasure.