Game of the World Tree - Chapter 871

871. Chapter 867 The Preacher in the Dungeon

This is a dim dungeon.

Dark, damp, and exuding a sour, rotten smell.

This seems to be a corner forgotten and despised by the world. All that can be heard is the rustling of rats and cockroaches in the dark, as well as the occasional torture and scolding and the howling of prisoners.

It is like awakening the ghosts and evil spirits that have been sleeping for years, piercing people’s eardrums.

Suddenly, accompanied by a creaking sound, the cold stone door of the dungeon was slowly pushed open, and several trial knights walked in with John, the God-favored One who was tied with magic shackles.

Compared with a few months ago, Old John seemed to be a lot more embarrassed, and his hair was a little messy.

However, his waist was still straight, like a tough pine tree, as if nothing in this world could make him surrender.

“Mr. John, your new home is here.”

The Eternal Pastor who led Old John here said sarcastically and kicked him viciously.

Old John did not react much to the pastor’s behavior.

He simply glanced at the other person indifferently. His piercing eyes seemed to be forever burning with flames. Although they seemed calm, they seemed to contain some powerful power. The Eternal Pastor did not dare to look at him. He snorted coldly and turned his head away.

However, Old John’s eyes did not stay on the Eternal Pastor for too long.

His eyes swept across the dim dungeon, staring at the prisoners with dull and empty eyes behind the cages, and then swept over the drunk guards who looked like a puddle of mud.

It seemed that they had stayed in this dungeon for too long. Except for a slightly more elegant set of clothes, the image of the dungeon guards was not much better than that of the prisoners.

“Don’t look, your residence is here!”

The pastor sneered and pushed Old John roughly to a dim cell.

Looking at the dark and damp cell, which was crowded with many prisoners who looked at him with ill intentions, Old John chuckled:

“Is this the way His Holiness the Eternal Pope treats guests?”

“Haha, it’s already this time, do you really think you are a guest? You evil pagan!”

The Eternal Pastor spat at Old John.

Then, he kicked him in, closed the cell, and sneered:

“Mr. John, I have already told you that your new roommates will take good care of you. I hope you can have a good time here.”

After that, he laughed and left with the knights.

The dungeon returned to darkness again.

However, with the arrival of Old John, he soon became the center of the entire cell, and one prisoner after another quickly surrounded him.

Their eyes were very dangerous, with sneers on their faces.

And their physiques were much stronger than the prisoners in other cells, and many of them were wearing magic chains, obviously professionals.

The leading prisoner was a strong man who was nearly two meters tall.

He sneered at Old John and clenched his fists:

“Newcomer, what’s your name?”

Facing his unfriendly gaze, Old John smiled gently:

“You can call me John.”

“John? He said his name is John?”

The strong man laughed and looked at the other prisoners, and the other prisoners also laughed.

However, as he laughed, the strong man’s expression became ferocious:

“From today on, you will not be called John, but dog shit!”

“No, dog shit is not my name, it is not a positive word.”

Old John said gently.

The prisoners laughed even louder.

The sturdy man looked at Old John as if he was looking at a fool. He sneered and said,

“Hey, I like disobedient newcomers the most.”

“Since you don’t like it, then I’ll teach you what it means to like it!”

After saying that, he clenched his fist and swung it at Old John…

Like Old John, the sturdy man had magic shackles on his hands and feet. It was obvious that he was also a professional. Since he could become the leader of the prisoners, he must be extremely powerful even among professionals.

This is because although the magic shackles can imprison the power of professionals, they cannot change their physical fitness. The stronger the professionals, the better their physical fitness.

The prisoner leader punched Old John in the face, and it actually brought a gust of wind.

However, Old John did not dodge at all, and quietly watched the fist coming.

The prisoner leader’s smile became more ferocious.

He seemed to want to see the other party’s head broken and bleeding after being hit by his punch.

However, at the moment when his fist hit Old John, a faint glow emanated from the surface of Old John’s body. The prisoner leader felt as if he had hit an iron plate. The severe pain made him change his expression and cry out in pain.

Looking at his red fist and then at Old John who was unharmed, the prisoner leader’s expression became uncertain:

“Who… who are you? Why aren’t you restrained by the magic shackles?!”

“I’m John, just an ordinary person chasing after light.”

Old John sighed.

The glow on his body gradually faded, as if it had never appeared.

That was the power of the gods.

Although the magic shackles restrained his ability to call upon the power of faith and communicate with the gods, as a god’s favored one, the blessing of the true god was engraved in his bones.

Except for the followers of other gods who could break the power of faith, he could not be harmed by ordinary non-believers and evil god believers as long as they could not use strong enough extraordinary power.

This is almost a secret that only the gods know, and it is also the capital that Old John can walk on the continent of Segos in his mortal body.

“Pretending! He must be hiding something on his body! Come on, beat him up and search him thoroughly!”

The prisoner leader ordered the other prisoners fiercely.

With his order, the prisoners roared and rushed towards Old John.

However, after a burst of golden light, they cried out in pain and fell to the ground by the recoil of their fists or ankles…

Just a moment later, all the prisoners who besieged Old John lay on the ground, groaning constantly.

The expression of the prisoner leader changed completely.

“You… who are you?”

His expression was already filled with a hint of vigilance and fear.

“Just an ordinary person who pursues justice and equality.”

Old John sighed.

“Justice? Equality?”

The prisoner leader was slightly stunned.

Then, he sneered:

“There is no such thing as justice and equality in this world. It’s just the law of the jungle, and the winner is the king!”

However, Old John just shook his head slightly.

He looked at the prisoner leader deeply and said:

“I know you.”

“Me?”

The prisoner leader was slightly stunned.

Old John’s eyes stopped at a certain wolf head tattoo on the other’s wrist, and said:

“More than 20 years ago, the Empire gave birth to a military god, who led the Empire’s army to defeat the army of the Orc Alliance and achieved peace for more than 20 years…”

“However, after the victory of the war, he was persecuted by the great nobles, slandered as a blasphemer, and imprisoned in the dungeon of Doloria Castle, which is known as the most indestructible prison in Holy Mannia and even the entire Segos world, where a large number of political prisoners and pagans are imprisoned…”

“This is almost a household name among the civilians of the Holy Mannia Empire.”

As he said, Old John looked deeply at the prisoner leader:

“And his symbol is the wolf totem on his wrist.”

The prisoner leader was silent.

Old John sighed and continued:

“Lord Charles’ Wolf Claw, when did you really regard yourself as a prisoner? And when did you completely give up everything?”

After listening to Old John’s words, the prisoner leader was confused.

After a moment, he sat on the ground, as if he had lost his strength in an instant, and said self-deprecatingly:

“Oh… What if I’m a prisoner? What if I gave up everything?”

“No, I have nothing. As a poor man, an impure person with werewolf blood flowing in my body, no matter how great my contribution is, I will not be recognized…”

“This world is inherently unequal. The noble are born noble, and the humble are born humble. People like me, the more powerful they are, the more they will be wary of the nobles…”

“The Eternal Church is the same. It is extremely hypocritical. It says that after death, devout believers will ascend to the kingdom of God and live a happy and beautiful life. It says that in the eyes of the gods, believers are equal… But even the reality cannot be changed, so what’s the point of talking about after death?”

“I’m just a knife that they throw away after using it…”

“And the reality is nothing more than a dark and corrupt cage. Outside the cage are the nobles and the church, and inside the cage are civilians and slaves. What’s the difference between it and the dungeon here?”

The leader of the prisoners had a look of dejection and self-mockery on his face.

However, Old John smiled slightly:

“Lord Charles, since you said so, it means that you also hope to see change, so… why don’t you try to pursue change, to pursue the true path?”

“Change? The true path?”

Charles was slightly stunned.

“Of course, a world full of light, full of hope, everyone is happy, and fair and equal.”

Old John smiled gently.

Charles was stunned, and then sneered:

“A fair and equal world? Talking about fairness and equality in a world of extraordinary existence? You… must be crazy.”

“Then, if the gods are willing to become arbitrators and take on the role of maintaining justice?”

Old John suddenly said again.

Charles was stunned.

This time, his expression finally changed.

He looked at Old John carefully and soon noticed that although his clothes were torn, they seemed to be the professional clothes of a clergyman.

His expression suddenly became alert:

“You… who are you? Are you a believer of the evil god?”

“No, I am not a believer of the evil god, but a believer of the most just, kindest, and greatest true God in the world.”

Old John shook his head.

As he spoke, he smiled slightly:

“Mr. Charles, have you heard of the supreme goddess of life, the mother of nature, the protector of the elves – the world tree?”

…

Old John, who was imprisoned in the cell, did not seem to cause much waves.

Except for the dispute on the first day, there seemed to be no more trouble against Old John in the cell.

Not only that, I don’t know what Old John said, but in just three days, Charles, the “wolf claw” in the cell who frightened other prisoners and gave the guards a headache, seemed to have changed. His attitude towards Old John changed from disdain to solemnity, and gradually changed from solemnity to respect…

The dungeon was as depressing as ever.

However, after Old John was imprisoned, there was an extra voice with full energy.

That voice was ups and downs, gentle and mellow.

That voice, bit by bit, described a fair and equal world for the prisoners, a beautiful world where they could be truly liberated…

As time went on, other prisoners gradually gathered and began to listen to Old John’s teachings about the Church of Life, and to him about the greatness of the Goddess, the mercy of the Goddess, and the justice of the Goddess…

Slowly, the sounds of the prisoners fighting in the dungeon became less frequent.

Instead, there were faint prayers and confessions mixed with crying every day.

As time went on, more and more prisoners gathered, even those in other cells began to cling to the iron bars and listen carefully to Old John’s teachings.

They looked at Old John with more respect, more piety, and more fanaticism…

Faintly, it seemed that something had begun to change.

The dungeon was still deep and damp, and still corrupt and gloomy.

However, in the darkness, there seemed to be a glimmer of light and a glimmer of life.

No one noticed the changes deep in the cell.

However, as the prisoners changed, the guards of the dungeons finally noticed something was wrong.

“What are you doing? You evil pagan! How dare you spread evil words and beliefs!”

The captain of the dungeon guards looked terrified at the prisoners who gathered in front of Old John and listened to his teachings devoutly.

However, he was greeted with only Old John’s gentle smile:

“Mr. Guard, I am not spreading evil words and beliefs, but preaching the true faith.”

“Pooh! Ridiculous! Sophistry!”

The captain of the guards pooh-poohed.

As he said that, he shouted to his companions:

“What are you still standing there for? Take him out quickly and put him in another separate cell! Then go and call the Knights of Judgment!”

The guards heard it and took action one after another, but the prisoners acted faster than them.

They looked at the guards with unfriendly faces and protected Old John behind them.

Seeing this scene, the captain of the guard was stunned.

“Crazy… You are all crazy!”

he cursed.

However, just as the captain of the guard kept scolding, Old John’s voice suddenly came again, as gentle and mellow as ever, making people want to listen:

“Mr. Guard… Have you never thought about why you are all guards loyal to the empire, but why do you have to stay in the dark and damp dungeon all the time?”

The captain of the guard was stunned.

For some reason, he stopped and looked at Old John in doubt:

“What do you mean, guy?”

Old John smiled slightly:

“Mr. Guard, can I borrow a little of your time?”

“I want to tell you about our benevolent goddess, the great world tree-Her Majesty Eve Yuktrashil…” I feel

much more comfortable after resting at home! But every time I go back to the hospital to change the dressing, I feel like there is a thick and big stick stuck in my back, which is very uncomfortable_(:з」∠)_

(End of this chapter)