CHAPTER 561: CHAPTER 526: RUMORS ARISE

Due to official regulation, the reports by these journalists are generally quite objective.

Although there are still some contents laden with personal emotions, they mostly maintain a fair attitude and report the events thoroughly and in detail.

The general populace reading the newspapers can mostly understand what happened, as well as what the authorities have done in response.

It’s just that some people, whether due to ulterior motives or genuine misunderstanding, started spreading ridiculous rumors in Chernobyl, like "the Lord of the North indulges in heretical doctrines," "the Royal Family attempts to silence witnesses," and "the plague has spread."

This left Perfikot feeling both amused and exasperated, as she couldn’t fathom how such absurd rumors could even be circulated.

Nonetheless, action had to be taken, and she promptly ordered the intelligence department of the Northern Territory to thoroughly investigate the source of these rumors and arrest those who spread them.

The efficiency of the Northern intelligence department was unmatched by the procrastinating intelligence agency, and within a few days, many were imprisoned for spreading rumors.

This, in turn, shifted the public opinion in Chernobyl to criticize the Lord of the North for restricting free speech and trying to cover up the truth.

Without a doubt, if Perfikot couldn’t see that someone was deliberately inciting unrest at this point, she would have lived in vain.

Confronted with such a situation, Perfikot didn’t waste words, directly announcing a new law deeming the spreading of such rumors illegal, with stringent penalties, before dispatching the Autonomous Knights to conduct a full-scale search throughout the city.

Under Perfikot’s iron-fisted measures, the individuals behind the scenes quickly surfaced.

"I could not have imagined that someone would give up a perfectly good noble position in the Empire to become a dog for those heretical Evil Gods," Perfikot remarked with both helplessness and regret, as she gazed at the person captured by the Autonomous Knights in the interrogation room.

The person before her was an heir of the Collins family, one of the Empire’s three major Ducal families, without eligibility for the Duke title, but holding the title of Baron, so he was still a legitimate and esteemed noble.

Such a person undeniably boasted a noble identity and high lineage, while possessing unlimited prospects within the Empire.

Although the Collins family had slightly diminished in power due to the Gloster Duke holding the chairman seat of the Noble Council, they were still one of the Empire’s three major Ducal families, wielding extensive influence and prestige throughout the Victor Empire.

Even an heir to the family could easily secure a good position within the Empire, enjoying a life of luxury and comfort surpassing that of ordinary nobility.

"What do you know? The Divine Venerable’s blessing is incomparable to the mundane," said the other party, who despite having been tortured and securely shackled to a chair, still wore a look of disdain and contempt.

He seemed to hold the air of the Divine himself rather than merely the divine’s subordinate.

In response, Perfikot merely shrugged and nonchalantly replied, "If you consider the divine’s divinity corruption as a blessing and call yourself superior to mortals for being the divine’s dog, then I truly don’t understand, because a person cannot comprehend why a dog would consider itself superior to a human."

Perfikot’s words did not provoke the man, who merely turned his head away in disdain.

Given the man’s attitude, Perfikot was not concerned, as she had no specific questions, merely the curiosity of seeing who would choose to be an underling for the divine instead of remaining at the pinnacle of humanity.

Nevertheless, Perfikot still asked him, "In Victor Empire, the Collins family is already a top-tier wealthy and powerful household. Although you lack succession rights to the Dukedom, as an heir of the family, you still hold the Baron title and enjoy the benefits of bearing the Collins name.

Saying you’re at the top of Victor Empire is not an exaggeration.

By joining the Evil God Sect, when the Ancient Gods truly descend, you’ll still be no more than a mid-to-low-level member of the sect. Even if you supposedly obtain blessings, you may not achieve your current status and lifestyle.

So why do it? Is it really for that supposed Evil God blessing, or do you genuinely believe in the divine from your heart? Tell me, I’m quite curious."

Perfikot was genuinely curious, as she couldn’t comprehend the mindset of those people. After all, who in their right mind would abandon a good life to become someone else’s dog?

"How could you possibly understand the grandeur of the divine? True divinity is not the false deity worshipped by the church; the divine’s blessing is beyond your comprehension!" Unquestionably, questioning a zealot’s belief is the most effective way to unsettle them. Perfikot hadn’t even started attacking his faith, yet he was already agitated, making the chains clink noisily as he strained against them.

Seeing the person in front of her act like a wild beast, Perfikot felt a deep sense of helplessness. She massaged her forehead, then called for a mirror and snapped her fingers.

"If your so-called grand blessing results in a form neither human nor ghost, then I truly cannot understand," said Perfikot as she turned and left the interrogation room.

Behind her, the Evil God believer, who finally saw his reflection in the mirror, let out a soul-wrenching scream.

He had indeed received the blessing of the Ancient Gods, but in Perfikot’s understanding, this blessing resembled the mutation a body undergoes after radiation exposure.

This mutation makes the blessed ones resemble the divine they worship in form. If the divine takes a human or human-like form, this mutation might only add a few extra features, causing no significant physical transformation.

As for whether a human-like appearance involves a second heart or an extra mouth on one’s stomach, those details are open for negotiation.

But most of the Ancient Gods are nowhere near human in form, with many appearing highly abstract.

For instance, the ill-fated person worshiped a sea deity with an elegant name, purportedly a "god of ocean wealth," but official records from the church referred to this deity as "the Greedy Sea God."

Its divine domain covered plundering and seizing, simply put, this deity was a grand pirate.

However, that wasn’t the main issue. There are plenty of people who worship robber deities and even more who adhere to such bands of culture.

The real concern lay in this Greedy Sea God’s form—the epitome of a deep-sea marine creature—resembled a massive, full-bodied warty toad with eighteen octopus tentacles sprouting from its lower half.