This was a dark dungeon.
It was dark, damp, and emitted a sour and rotten smell.
This seemed to be a corner forgotten and spurned by the world. All that could be heard was the rustling of rats and cockroaches in the darkness, as well as the occasional sounds of torture and the howls of prisoners.
It was like awakening vengeful spirits that had been sleeping for years, piercing one's eardrums.
Suddenly, with a creaking sound, the cold stone door of the dungeon was slowly pushed open. Several judicial knights escorted John, the Blessed, in anti-magic shackles.
Compared to a few months ago, John Senior looked a lot worse, and his hair was a little messy.
However, his back was still straight, like a tough pine tree, as if nothing in this world could make him yield.
"Mr. John, we've arrived at your new home."
The Eternal priest who led John Senior here said sarcastically and kicked him fiercely.
John Senior didn't react much to the priest's behavior.
He just glanced at the other party indifferently. His bright eyes seemed to be forever burning with flames. Although he looked calm, it seemed to contain some kind of powerful force, making the Eternal priest not dare to look him in the eye. He snorted coldly and gently turned his head away.
However, John Senior's gaze didn't stay on the Eternal priest for too long.
His gaze swept across the dark dungeon, meeting the eyes of the prisoners behind the cages with dull and empty eyes, and then passing over the guards who were drunk and looked like a pool of mud.
It seemed that they had stayed in this dungeon for too long. Apart from their slightly more tasteful clothes, the dungeon guards' appearances weren't much better than the prisoners.
"Stop looking, your residence is here!"
The priest sneered and pushed Old John roughly to the front of a dark cell.
Old John chuckled as he looked at the dark and damp cell that was crowded with prisoners who were looking at him with malicious gazes.
"Is this how His Holiness the Eternal Pope treats his guests?"
"Haha, do you really think you're a guest at a time like this? You evil heretic! "
The Eternal priest spat at John Senior.
Then, he kicked the other party in, closed the cell, and sneered, "Mr. John, I've already taken care of you.
"Mr. John, I've already told them that your new roommates will take good care of you. I hope you'll have a good time here."
After saying that, he laughed and left with the knights.
Darkness returned to the dungeon.
However, with the arrival of Old John, he quickly became the center of the entire cell. One prisoner after another quickly surrounded him.
Their gazes were very dangerous, and they had cold smiles on their faces.
Their physiques were also much stronger than the prisoners in the other cells. Many of them were even wearing anti-magic chains. They were obviously professionals.
The leader of the prisoners was a strong man who was almost two meters tall.
He sneered at John Senior and clenched his fists.
"Newcomer, your name."
Meeting his unfriendly gaze, John Senior smiled warmly.
"You can call me John."
"John? He said his name was John? "
The burly man laughed and looked at the other prisoners. The other prisoners also laughed.
However, as he laughed, the burly man's expression became ferocious.
"From today onwards, your name is no longer John, but Dogsh * t!"
"No, Dogsh * t isn't my name. It's not a positive word."
John Senior said gently.
The prisoners laughed even louder.
The burly man looked at John Senior 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 John Senior.
Like John Senior, the burly man's hands and feet were equipped with anti-magic shackles. It was obvious that he was also a professional. Since he could become the leader of the prisoners, he was probably extremely powerful even among the professionals.
This was because although the anti-magic shackles could imprison the power of the professionals, they could not change their physical fitness. The more powerful the professional, the better their physical fitness.
The leader of the prisoners threw a punch at John Senior's face, bringing about a gust of wind.
However, John Senior didn't dodge at all. He quietly watched the fist coming.
The leader of the prisoners' smile became even more ferocious.
He seemed to be able to see the other party's head bleeding from his punch.
However, at the moment his fist hit John Senior, the surface of John Senior's body exuded a faint glow. The leader of the prisoners only felt that he had hit an iron plate. The sharp pain made his expression change and he cried out in pain.
Looking at his reddened fist and then at the unscathed John Senior, the leader of the prisoners' expression became bewildered.
"You … Who are you? Why aren't your power restrained by the anti-magic shackles?! "
"I'm John, just an ordinary person who pursues the light."
John Senior sighed softly.
The glow on his body gradually faded as if it had never appeared.
That was the power of a god's favor.
Although the anti-magic shackles restrained his power to mobilize the power of faith and communicate with the gods, as a god's favor, the blessings of a true god were engraved in his bones.
Apart from other gods who could break through the power of faith and hurt him, for ordinary non-believers and believers of evil gods, as long as they couldn't use enough extraordinary power, they couldn't hurt him.
This was almost a secret that only the god's favor knew. It was also the reason why John Senior was able to walk the Segers Continent with a mortal body.
"Pretentious! He must be hiding something on his body! Go, give him a good beating and search his body! "
The leader of the prisoners ordered the other prisoners fiercely.
Following his order, the prisoners roared and swarmed toward John Senior.
However, after a burst of golden light, they all cried out in pain and fell to the ground from the recoil of their fists or ankles.
Just a moment later, the prisoners who besieged John Senior were all lying on the ground, groaning.
The leader of the prisoners' expression changed completely.
"You … Who are you?"
His expression already had a hint of vigilance and fear.
"Just an ordinary person who pursues justice and equality."
John Senior sighed.
"Justice? Equality? "
The leader of the prisoners was slightly taken aback.
Then, he sneered.
"There's no justice and equality in this world. It's just the law of the jungle, and the winner is king!"
However, John Senior just shook his head slightly.
He took a deep look at the leader of the prisoners and said,
"I know you."
"Me?"
The leader of the prisoners was slightly taken aback.
John Senior's gaze stopped on a certain tattoo in the shape of a wolf's head on the other party's wrist and said,
"More than twenty years ago, the empire once gave birth to a war god who led the empire's army to defeat the Orc Alliance's army and achieved more than twenty years of peace …"
"However, after the victory of the war, he was persecuted by the great nobles and was slandered as a blasphemer. He was locked up in the dungeon of Dororia Castle, known as the most indestructible prison in Holy Mania and even the entire Segers World …"
"This is almost a well-known matter among the civilians of the Holy Mania Empire."
As he spoke, John Senior took a deep look at the leader of the prisoners.
"And his symbol is the wolf totem on his wrist."
The leader of the prisoners fell silent.
John Senior sighed softly and continued,
"Lord 'Wolf Claw' Charles, since when did you really treat yourself as a prisoner? And since when did you completely give up everything? "
Hearing John Senior's words, the leader of the prisoners was confused.
A moment later, he sat on the ground and seemed to have lost his strength in an instant.
"Heh … So what if he's a prisoner? So what if I give up everything? "
"Nothing, I have nothing. As a poor person, an impure person with werewolf blood flowing in my body, no matter how great my contributions are, I won't be recognized …"
"This world is unequal to begin with. The noble are born noble, and the lowly are born lowly. For people like me, the stronger I am, the more the nobles will be wary of me …"
"It's the same for the Church of Eternity. They're extremely hypocritical. They say that after death, devout believers will ascend to God's Kingdom and be happy and beautiful. They say that in the eyes of God, believers are equal … But they can't even change reality, so what's the point of talking about after death?"
"I'm just a knife that they throw away after using …"
"And reality is just a cage of darkness and corruption. Outside the cage are the nobles and the church, and inside the cage are the commoners and slaves. What's the difference between it and the dungeon here?"
The leader of the prisoners had a dejected and self-deprecating look on his face.
However, John Senior smiled faintly.
"Lord Charles, since you said so, it means that you also want to see change. Then … why don't you try to pursue change and pursue the true path?"
"Change? The true path? "
Charles was slightly taken aback.
"Of course, a world full of light, full of hope, where everyone is happy, just, and equal."
John Senior smiled warmly.
Charles was stunned, then he sneered.
"A world of justice and equality? Talking about justice and equality in the world of Transcendents? You … must be crazy. "
"Then, what if God is willing to become an arbiter and take on the role of maintaining justice?"
John Senior suddenly said again.
Charles was stunned.
This time, his expression finally changed.
He carefully sized up John Senior and quickly noticed that although his clothes were tattered, he could vaguely see that they seemed to be the professional attire of a clergyman.
His expression suddenly became vigilant.
"Who … who are you? Are you a believer of an evil god? "
"No, I'm not a believer of an evil god, but a believer of the world's most just, benevolent, and great true god."
John Senior shook his head.
As he spoke, he smiled faintly.
"Mr. Charles, have you heard of the supreme Goddess of Life, Mother Nature, and the protector of the elves — the World Tree?"
…
John Senior, who was locked in a cell, didn't seem to cause much of a stir.
Apart from the dispute on the first day, there didn't seem to be any more trouble for John Senior in the cell.
Not only that, no one knew what John Senior said, but in just three days, "Wolf Claw" Charles, who terrified the other prisoners and gave the guards a headache, seemed to have changed into a different person. His attitude towards John Senior changed from disdain to solemnity, and gradually from solemnity to respect …
The dungeon was as oppressive as ever.
However, after John Senior was locked in, there was an additional voice full of energy.
The voice had a cadence, gentle, and mellow.
Little by little, the voice described a just and equal world for the prisoners, a beautiful world where they could obtain true liberation …
As time passed, the other prisoners gradually gathered and began to participate in the listening. They listened to John Senior talk about the teachings of the Church of Life, listened to him talk about the goddess' greatness, the goddess' benevolence, and the goddess' justice …
Slowly, the sounds of the prisoners fighting in the dungeon lessened.
Instead, there were faint prayers every day, as well as repentance mixed with weeping.
As time passed, more and more prisoners gathered. Even the prisoners in other cells began to lean on the iron bars and carefully listen to John Senior's teachings.
They looked at John Senior with more respect, more pious, and more fanatical gazes …
Faintly, something seemed to have begun to change.
The dungeon was still deep and damp, still rotten and gloomy.
However, in the darkness, there seemed to be a glimmer of light, a glimmer of vitality.
No one noticed the changes in the depths of the cell.
However, as the prisoners changed, the guards in the dungeon finally noticed something was wrong.
"What are you doing? You evil heretic! How dare you spread evil words and beliefs! "
Looking at the prisoners gathered in front of John Senior and devoutly listening to his teachings, the captain of the dungeon guards had a frightened expression.
However, he only received John Senior's gentle smile:
"Mr. Guard, I'm not spreading evil words and beliefs, but preaching the true faith."
"Bah! Ridiculous! Quibble! "
The captain of the guards spat.
As he spoke, he shouted to his companions:
"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and take him out and put him in another independent cell! Then quickly call for the Lord Magistrate Knights! "
When the guards heard this, they began to move. However, the prisoners moved even faster than them.
They looked at the guards with unfriendly expressions and shielded John Senior behind them.
Seeing this scene, the captain was stunned.
"Crazy … You're all crazy!"
He cursed.
However, just as the captain kept scolding, John Senior's voice suddenly sounded again. It was as gentle and mellow as ever, making people unable to help but want to listen:
"Mr. Guard … Have you never thought about why you have to stay in a dark and damp dungeon despite being a guard loyal to the empire?"
The captain was stunned.
For some reason, he stopped and looked at John Senior in bewilderment.
"What do you mean by this?"
John Senior 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 Holiness Eve Yuktrashil …"
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