Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree-Chapter 1242 - 806: Freeman

"Shit! Those damn noble pigs! They should all be caught by the Judgement Knights and hung up on the street for a good whipping!"

Old John bared his teeth, rolling up his sleeve to look at the bloody whip marks on his arm, his face full of anger.

His hair was a tangled mess, seemingly unwashed for ages, giving off a rancid smell. His sunburned skin was etched with deep wrinkles, making it hard to believe he wasn’t even thirty-five.

He hobbled down the street, cursing as he went.

Suddenly, a squad of well-equipped knights rode their splendid horses proudly down the street, scaring Old John enough to tumble aside in a hurry.

These knights pledged to the nobles were the most unreasonable sort, and if one couldn’t dodge in time, a freeman like him would die without anyone caring.

The dust kicked up, making him cough several times, his face and hair covered in grime. The whip marks on his body seemed to have split open wider, making him wince in pain.

"Shit! It’s all shit!"

Old John cursed as he climbed back up.

He felt a discomfort underfoot and looked down to realize he had accidentally lost a shoe while dodging.

"Where’s my shoe?"

Old John panicked and immediately began searching.

He only had this pair of shoes left now, and he couldn’t afford to lose them.

When he found his other shoe by the roadside, it had been nearly trampled to pieces.

Those knights were responsible.

"Shit! All of it’s shit!"

Old John was even more furious.

He put on the tattered shoe, his toes smeared with mud poking through, wiggling uncomfortably, but it would have to do.

"It’ll have to do."

Old John sighed, hobbling toward the church.

He needed to find a Priest to heal his wounds, otherwise, he’d be unable to work for days.

The nobles were shameless, and the wages owed to him would never be recovered. If he couldn’t find another job soon, he might starve to death.

In these times, refugees like him who fled from the south often starved to death.

Honestly, he somewhat regretted not disembarking with the unbelievers in Zelolan when he’d traveled north.

According to the minstrels in the tavern, life in Fengyue Free Territory was akin to Heaven; immigrants were well taken care of, and those with skills might even be given jobs and housing.

It was enviable.

Reflecting on his experiences over the past year, Old John’s expression grew ever more somber.

However, there was a major prerequisite for immigrating to the Fengyue Free Territory.

One must abandon their original faith and convert to the Goddess of Life.

For Old John, a devout Believer of the Eternal since childhood, this was hard to accept.

At least... it was once.

He finally reached the Eternal Church with difficulty and hesitated for a moment while looking at the clean and beautiful building.

Speaking of which... when was the last time he visited a church?

He couldn’t remember.

He had lost track of how long it had been since he last visited the Eternal Church.

When he first arrived in this small Northern Territory town, he would go to pray once a week.

Back then, he still had some savings left.

Now, he was just a penniless unfortunate, struggling daily to make a living.

All he had was his status as a freeman.

Old John looked at his ragged clothes, then at the well-dressed Believers coming and going at the church entrance, feeling a bit uneasy.

He wasn’t sure if he should step inside.

This church, once familiar to him, now felt like a different world, pressing heavily upon him.

"What’s there to be afraid of? I’m also a devout Believer of the Eternal! When I was in the Southern Territory, I even donated silver coins to the church!"

Old John encouraged himself, trying to suppress his feelings of inferiority.

Taking a deep breath, he hobbled toward the entrance.

But before Old John could enter the church, he was stopped by an Attendant at the door:

"Hey, hey! Stop right there! What do you want?"

"Sir, I... I want to see a Priest for some treatment of my injuries."

Old John lifted his head, nervously glancing at the Attendant whose chest bore the sun emblem, forcing a fawning smile.

The sun emblem, the symbol of the Eternal Church, stood for dawn, judgment, and power.

These Attendants were likely newly recruited Reserve Knights of the church; it seemed like the church had been expanding its knight recruitment recently. Old John had even heard in the tavern about someone receiving Divine Favor, rising from ordinary person to an esteemed Silver Professional, a fate he envied.

Unfortunately, these knights required a noble’s recommendation or had to possess exceptional innate talents, leaving no chance for an ordinary person like him.

Looking at Old John’s disheveled state, the Attendants slightly furrowed their brows.

"To enter the church, come back in proper attire, or it would be disrespectful to the Divine! Also, each healing session costs five gold pounds. Are you prepared?"

They said expressionlessly.

"Five... five gold pounds?"

Old John widened his eyes, incredulous.

"Wait, sir... wasn’t the church’s basic treatment only five silver coins? Since when did it require five gold pounds?"

He blurted out in shock.

Five gold pounds amounted to five hundred silver coins, something he wouldn’t earn even in a year.

Old John’s daily wage was just a single silver coin, and even then, it was often docked by nobles... taking away expenses, he had nothing left.