Game of the World Tree

It's a dark dungeon.

It was dark, damp, and smelled of sour decay.

This seems to be a corner that has been forgotten and spurned by the world. All that can be heard is the rustling of mice and cockroaches in the darkness, as well as the occasional sound of torture and swearing and the howling of prisoners.

It is like awakening a ghost who has been sleeping for many years, stinging people's eardrums.

Suddenly, with a creaking sound, the icy stone door of the dungeon was slowly pushed open, and several judge knights walked in with John the Blessed, who was bound in the shackles.

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

However, his waist is still straight, like a tough pine tree, as if nothing in this world can make him succumb.

"Mr. John, your new home has arrived."

The eternal priest who led Old John here said yin and yang angrily, and kicked him viciously.

Old John didn't have much reaction to the pastor's behavior.

He just glanced at the other party indifferently, and his piercing eyes seemed to be burning forever. Although it seemed calm, it seemed to contain some kind of powerful power, so that the Eternal Priest dared not look at him, snorted coldly. He turned his head slightly.

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

His eyes swept across the dimly lit dungeon, looked at the prisoners whose eyes were dull and empty behind the cage, and swept over the guards who were drunk and looked like a pool of mud.

It seems that they have stayed in this dungeon for too long. Except for a little more elaborate clothes, the image of the dungeon guards is not much better than that of the prisoners.

"Don't look, your place is here!"

The priest sneered and pushed Old John roughly to a darkened cell.

Looking at the dark and damp cell, crowded with many prisoners looking at him with malicious eyes, Old John chuckled lightly:

"Is this the hospitality of the Eternal Pope?"

"Hehe, what time is it, do you really think you are a guest? You evil heretic!"

The Eternal Reverend spat at Old John.

Then, he kicked the other party in, closed the cell, and sneered:

"Mr. John, I have taken care of it, your new roommates will take good care of you, I hope you have a good time here."

After he finished speaking, he laughed and left with the knights.

The dungeon returned to darkness again.

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

Their eyes are very dangerous, with a sneer on their faces.

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

The prisoner at the head was a strong man nearly two meters tall.

He looked at Old John with a sneer, and squeezed his fist:

"Newcomer, your name."

Facing his unkind gaze, Old John smiled gently:

"You can call me John."

"John? He said his name was John?"

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

However, with a smile, the strong man's expression became hideous:

"Starting today, you're not going to be called John, you're going to be called shit!"

"No, shit isn't my name, it's not a positive word."

Old John said softly.

The prisoners' laughter grew louder.

The strong man looked at Old John like 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 speaking, he clenched his fist and waved it towards Old John...

Like Old John, the strong man's hands and feet are equipped with shackles, and he is obviously a professional. Since he can become the leader of the prisoners, even among professionals, he is probably extremely powerful.

This is because although the shackles can imprison the power of professionals, it cannot change their physical fitness, and the stronger the professional, the better the physical fitness.

The leader of the prisoners punched Old John's face with a punch, causing a gust of punch.

However, Old John did not hide at all, quietly watching the fist welcome.

The prisoner's leader's smile was even more sinister.

He seemed to be about to see the other party's head shattered by his own punch.

However, the moment his fist hit Old John, the surface of Old John's body exuded a faint radiance. The prisoner leader only felt that he had hit an iron plate, and the pain came, which made him unable to bear it. His expression changed, and he cried out in pain.

Looking at his red fist, and at the unscathed Old John, the prisoner leader's expression became suspicious:

"You... who are you? Why haven't you been imprisoned by the shackles of the demon?!"

"I'm John, an ordinary person chasing the light."

Old John sighed softly.

The brilliance of his body gradually faded, as if it had never appeared.

That is the power of the gods.

Although the shackles of forbidden demons imprisoned him to invoke the power of faith and the power to communicate with the gods, as a favored one, the blessing of the true god is engraved in his bones.

Except for the dependents of other gods who can break the power of faith, they can hurt him. For ordinary unbelievers and believers of evil gods, as long as they can't use enough supernatural power, they can't hurt him.

This is almost a secret that only the favored people know, and it is also the capital that Old John can use to walk the continent of Saiggs as a mortal.

"Pretend! There must be something hidden on my body! Give it to me, beat him hard, and search his body!"

The leader of the prisoners ordered the other prisoners viciously.

Following his order, the prisoners roared and swarmed towards Old John.

However, after a burst of golden light, they all cried out in pain, and fell to the ground by the force of the shock from their fists or ankles...

Just a moment later, the prisoners who besieged Old John were all lying on the ground, moaning constantly.

The expression of the prisoner leader changed completely.

"You... who are you?"

There was a hint of vigilance and fear in his expression.

"Just an ordinary person who pursues justice and equality."

Old John sighed.

"Justice? Equality?"

The leader of the prisoners was slightly taken aback.

Then, he sneered:

"There is no justice and equality in this world, but the weak eat the strong, and the winner is the king!"

However, Old John just shook his head slightly.

He looked deeply at the leader of the prisoners and said:

"I know you."

"I?"

The leader of the prisoners was slightly taken aback.

Old John's eyes stopped on a certain wolf-headed thorn on the other's wrist, and said:

"More than 20 years ago, a war god was born in the empire, who led the imperial 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 most indestructible prison known as Holy Mania and even in the entire Seggs world, detaining a large number of political prisoners and aliens. In the dungeons of the Cultist Doloria Castle..."

"It's almost a household name among the civilians of the Holy Mania Empire."

After saying that, Old John gave the prisoner leader a deep look:

"And his symbol is the wolf totem on his wrist."

The leader of the prisoners was silent.

And old John sighed softly and continued:

"Lord 'Wolfpaw' Charles, since when did you really consider yourself a prisoner? When did you start to give up everything completely?"

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

After a while, he sat down on the ground and seemed to lose his strength for a moment, laughing at himself:

"Heh... what about the prisoners? What about giving up everything?"

"No, I have nothing. As a poor man, an impure person with werewolf blood flowing in his body, even if I make a great contribution, I will not be recognized..."

"This world is inherently unequal. The noble are born noble, and the lowly are born low. The stronger a person like me, the more guarded by nobles..."

"The same is true of the Eternal Church, it is extremely hypocritical, saying that after death, the devout believers will ascend to the kingdom of God, happy and beautiful, and that in the eyes of the gods, believers are all equal... But even the reality can't be changed, talk about it. What after death?"

"I'm just a knife they throw away after using it..."

"In reality, it's just a dark and corrupt cage. Outside the cage are the nobles and the church, and inside the cage are the commoners and slaves. What's the difference with the dungeon here?"

The leader of the prisoners looked dejected and self-deprecating.

However, Old John smiled slightly:

"Lord Charles, since you say so, it means that you also want to see change, then...why don't you try to pursue change and pursue the real path?"

"Change? The real way?"

Charles was slightly taken aback.

"Of course, a world full of light, full of hope, happiness for all, justice and equality."

Old John smiled gently.

Charles was stunned, then sneered:

"A just and equal world? Talking about justice and equality in a world of extraordinary existence? You guy... must be crazy."

"Then, what if the gods are willing to be the arbiters to take on the existence of maintaining justice?"

Old John suddenly said again.

Charles was stunned.

This time, his expression finally changed.

I saw him look at the old John carefully, and soon noticed that the other party's clothes were broken, but they seemed to be professional clothes belonging to the clergy.

His expression suddenly became vigilant:

"You... Who are you? Are you a believer of the evil god?"

"No, I am not a believer of the evil god, but the most just, merciful, and greatest believer of the true god in the world."

Old John shook his head.

Saying that, 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 locked up in the cell, didn't seem to cause much disturbance.

Apart from the dispute on the first day, there seemed to be no more troubles against Old John in the cell.

Not only that, I don't know what Old John said. After just three days, the "Wolf Claw" Charles in the cell, who terrified other prisoners and gave the guards headaches, seemed to have changed, and he never treated Old John with disdain. It became solemn, and gradually changed from solemnity to respect...

The dungeon is as oppressive as ever.

It's just that after Old John was locked in, there was a more energetic voice.

That voice, cadence, gentle and mellow.

That voice, bit by bit, describes a just and equal world for the prisoners, a beautiful world where they can get real liberation...

As time passed, other prisoners gradually gathered and began to participate in the listening, listening to Old John's teaching about the Church of Life, listening to him telling about the greatness of the goddess, the mercy of the goddess, the justice of the goddess...

Slowly, the sound of the prisoners fighting and fighting in the dungeon became less.

Instead, there are daily vague prayers and confessions mingled with weeping.

As time passed, more and more prisoners gathered, and even the prisoners in other cells began to cling to the iron fence and listened carefully to Old John's teachings.

The eyes they looked at Old John became more and more respectful, more pious, and more and more fanatical...

Faintly, it seemed that something was starting to change.

The dungeon is still dark and damp, still corrupt and gloomy.

However, in the darkness, there seems to be a ray of light and a trace of vitality.

No one noticed the changes in the depths of the cell.

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

"What are you doing? You evil heretic! How dare you spread evil words and beliefs!"

The captain of the dungeon guard looked horrified as he looked at the prisoners who had gathered in front of Old John and listened to their teachings religiously.

However, what he greeted was only the gentle smile of Old John:

"Mr. Guard, I am not preaching evil speech and belief, but preaching true faith."

"Bah! Ridiculous! Sophistry!"

The captain of the guard snorted.

As he spoke, he shouted to his companions:

"What are you still doing? Take him out quickly and put him in another separate cell! Then go and call the judge knights!"

The guards listened and acted, but the prisoners moved faster than them.

They looked at the guards with bad expressions, and protected Old John behind them.

Seeing this scene, the guard captain was stunned.

"Crazy...you're all crazy!"

he cursed.

However, just as the captain of the guard kept scolding and scolding, Old John's voice suddenly came again, as gentle and mellow as ever, and people couldn't help but want to listen:

"Mr. Guard... Haven't you ever thought about why you have to stay in a dark and damp dungeon all the time, even though you are a loyal guardian of the empire?"

The captain of the guard was stunned.

Surprisingly, he stopped and looked at Old John in disbelief:

"You guy, what do you mean?"

Old John smiled slightly:

"Mr. Guard, can I borrow some of your time?"

"I want to tell you about our benevolent goddess, the great world tree--His Royal Highness Eve Uktrahir..."