Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 602 - 566: Erecting the Stake

For Perfikot, dealing with the Evil God Sect was merely an incidental matter.

Even though her fundamental purpose in returning to Langton was indeed to solve the issues related to the Evil God Sect, and even perhaps to test whether Godslayer could be achieved, this was still not her ultimate goal.

Ultimately, from the very beginning, her aim was to save this world, to save humanity, and to allow more people to survive.

For this goal, she could abandon the Empire's homeland, renounce the Empire's colonies, relinquish the entire Old World, and even forsake everyone else except for those she saved.

She herself also set aside unnecessary sympathy and emotions for this goal, even forcing herself to become a strong-armed and cold-blooded ruler.

But throughout this journey, the actions she took have consistently served her grand mission of saving humanity.

Abandoning the Empire's homeland was because it couldn't be preserved, while building the Northern Territory was to create on a blank slate without any interference.

Thanks to these efforts and endeavors, the Northern Territory now can be described as flourishing.

Although the people's living standards cannot compare to the prosperity of the Empire's homeland before the calamity, at the very least, every Northern person can, through diligent labor, earn enough for three meals a day and carefree living.

Precisely because she managed to ensure the basic survival of the Northern populace, Perfikot then had the capacity to consider how to rescue Langton and the Empire's homeland.

However, before saving the Empire's homeland, she first needed to eliminate the hindrances posed by the Evil God Sect against rescuing Langton.

This is not a simple task, and can almost be called an impossible mission.

Not to mention the apocalypse itself triggered by the Ancient Gods; simply eradicating the rampant activities of the Evil God Sect in the outer district itself isn't easy.

Though Perfikot's initiatives in the lower district have drawn many back to the Empire, abandoning their faith in the Evil Gods, many more still have no choice.

They can only rely on the Evil God Sect to survive this world.

If they refused, they would have starved to death long before Perfikot returned to Langton.

Perfikot is well aware of this, so she is tolerant of those who believed in the Evil God Sect, not acting like some crazed individuals who insist all heretics must die.

She merely arranged for the church judges to conduct reviews, sorting through all the people.

Those who worshipped the Evil Gods purely for survival, and are willing to reform and return to the righteous faith, are still worth saving and have the value to be saved.

Only those too entrenched in their belief in the Evil Gods are sent to the pyres.

Although Perfikot feels these people are somewhat innocent, she still unflinchingly erects pyres, piling them with people, and barely finishes burning one before tossing new wood onto it.

So much so that several pyres simultaneously blaze in Langton's lower district, their thick smoke almost darkening the entire Langton sky.

But for the people, this is not insufferable.

After all, what the Evil God Sect is, and how it conducts itself, are clearly witnessed by everyone — it's not like dressing up as good Samaritans or manipulating minds can conceal or deceive anyone.

An undeniable fact is that the Evil God Sect's manipulation costs money: a morsel of food securing a follower doesn't require brainwashing at all.

In the past, when they couldn't operate openly, every potential follower had to be valued carefully, ensuring none would inform the church.

But now, with an abundance of followers waiting for them to select, as long as there's food, followers are plentiful, naturally simplifying the process significantly.

This has led to the reality that most of the people can still be saved, and only a few are destined for the pyres.

Thus, when the pyres rise, numerous people gather around, partly for warmth, but genuinely cheering for the flames.

After all, the reason the Evil God Sect is called as such, and not something like the Old God Sect, is truly due to their "wickedness."

Unlike those who don't require the blood and lives of followers for sacrifice, the Ancient Gods genuinely need living followers to be offered up.

Depending on the specific Ancient God, the requirements for sacrifices vary.

Some demand virgins under eighteen, others require babies less than three days old, others prefer strong warriors... the variations are limitless.

Sects like the Death God Sect, which are not picky, are anomalies among them.

So it's conceivable, the attitude of the Evil God Sect towards those who embrace them is precisely what one might imagine.

They don't view these people as human, but as livestock under their control, selecting suitable individuals for sacrifices as needed.

And as the date of White Star's arrival approaches, their sacrifice scale grows ever larger, naturally increasing their demand for offerings.

If their lives were not dependent on others, these people might have rebelled long ago.

But the harsh reality is, when survival hinges on a morsel to keep oneself or others alive, anything becomes sellable.

Sisters leading brothers to the altar, mothers willingly having their hearts cut out for their children, fathers fighting like beasts for the family…

The Evil God Sect has wrought too many sins in the outer district.

And the people have long since lost hope, even succumbed to despair.

They no longer expect anyone to save them.

But when Perfikot returned to Langton and began to try rescuing the city, these people still erupted with a fierce will to survive.

They yearned to live.

After all, no mother wishes to see her child sent to the altar, only to groan in agony in the meat grinder and be pulverized into a bloody mass, consumed as a meal.

Let alone being skinned alive, limbs severed, or eyes gouged out.

Being incapable of survival was unavoidable, but now that there is hope for survival, they naturally won't let go, willing to pay the price of life to protect it.

Therefore, as the pyres ignite, they also ignite the people's flame in their hearts.

That flame is the hope of survival.