The patrolman at the front raised his right hand, signaling the refugees to stop.

One of the migrants, who was far away and somewhat hard of hearing, continued forward like a walking corpse, completely unaware of what the patrolman had just said.

"Smack!"

The hard-of-hearing migrant was instantly slapped more than ten meters away by the patrolman, crashing heavily to the ground and never getting up again.

After making an example of someone, the patrolmen raised their hands again and shouted loudly:

"Halt!"

This time, as expected, not a single refugee dared to continue forward. They gazed longingly at Yangcheng, which was so close yet unreachable, and dared not take another step.

The refugees came here hoping for a chance to survive; if they turned back now to go elsewhere, they would likely starve to death on the way.

"Sir, please let me through. I haven't eaten anything the whole way, and I'm starving."

A refugee knelt on the ground, pleading desperately, his voice filled with a sob of despair.

"Sir, please spare us, we really can't take it anymore." Another refugee knelt down and begged.

The surrounding refugees responded one after another, and cries and pleas rose and fell.

The patrolmen didn't even glance at them, but continued to shout their warnings:

"Don't make things difficult for me. I'll say it one last time: refugees are prohibited from passing through this area!"

"Tell the refugees who arrive later, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

It's not just in this direction.

Yangcheng dispatched a large number of fully armed patrols to intercept refugees on the four main routes in all directions.

City Lord Li Yang had personally told them that not a single refugee was allowed to appear during the Yangcheng Grand Ceremony; otherwise, all the patrolmen and their families would be dismissed.

Therefore, no matter what pleas they made, these patrolmen were determined to keep the arriving refugees outside the city.

As more and more refugees arrived, the number of refugees gathered together grew larger and larger.

This place is like a transparent barrier, keeping all the refugees at bay.

The patrolmen felt a pang of pity at the desperate pleas of the refugees, but for the sake of their own and their families' livelihoods, they had no choice but to close their eyes and refuse to witness the tragic scene any longer.

No matter what the refugees said, they dared not let a single one pass.

at the same time.

Antonio, who had spent the night away from the city and whose whereabouts were unknown, was now on his way back to Yangcheng.

When he led his team past the defensive line blocking the refugees, Antonio was deeply shocked by what he saw.

"My God, what are they doing?!" Antonio couldn't help but exclaim, his face full of shock and dismay.

Even Antonio's men were speechless with surprise.

Although they had seen refugees in Zhongzhou before, they had never seen so many refugees.

These people were treated like animals, even forced to kneel on the ground just to beg for a...green algae stick?

Antonio couldn't believe his ears.

He had seen algae sticks and even tried one himself. They were just fibers made up of algae, and apart from barely relieving hunger, they had no nutritional value whatsoever.

The entire group of refugees exuded an aura of despair and death.

Antonio murmured, "It's true, what the Pope said is actually true!"

When he met Li Yu, he initially thought it was all a lie.

It was only at this moment that Antonio realized that perhaps he had not understood the Pope's prophecy.

What the Central Plains needs from him, one of the Twelve Holy Thrones, to save may not be the Twelve Star Lords, but rather these refugees living in dire straits.

Antonio raised his hand to signal, and the silver-armored knights behind him stood at attention in neat rows.

These blond-haired, blue-eyed strangers, though they felt pity for the plight and misery of the refugees, were, after all, refugees from the Central Plains, and it was none of their business.

Unexpectedly, Antonio suddenly spoke with a solemn expression and gave the order:

“Take out all the Holy Light Bread we brought this time and distribute it to these refugees.”

One of the Templar Knights behind him couldn't help but step forward to confirm:

“Holy Father Antonio, that’s bread of holy light brought from the Papacy! Isn’t it a bit of a waste to give it to these people?”

After all, wheat flour for making bread is scarce these days, not to mention that these breads were brought from the far west and contained precious herbs, symbolizing "God's grace".

Antonio listened without saying a word, but simply traced the symbol of the Holy Trinity on his chest with his fingertip:

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

The strangers behind them suddenly realized what was happening and together they drew the symbol of the Holy Trinity, shouting in unison:

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Antonio and his entourage, all blond and blue-eyed, dressed in white robes, drew the attention of the refugees with their strikingly different appearances.

At this moment, the white holy light emanating from Antonio's body instantly attracted the attention of all the refugees.

Antonio stood on a high place, holding a cross, and spoke to the refugees in a solemn yet loving tone:

"God's grace has never left us. We bring God's gifts, and may they nourish your bodies and souls. May the Lord be with you."

The refugees were bewildered; they couldn't understand what Antonio was saying, nor did they know what this stranger was doing.

But then Antonio walked slowly toward the refugees, his white robes fluttering gently in the wind and rain.

With his superpowers, Antonio is as warm as the sun.

With each step he took, a faint holy glow emanated from beneath his feet, as if he were walking in a sacred aura.

Antonio stopped in front of an old woman with a child and took a piece of bread that emitted a faint holy light from the silver chest held by the knight beside him.

"May God's grace be with you, Amen," Antonio whispered, his voice filled with love.

The moment the bread was handed out, a ray of holy light flowed from his fingertips, gently enveloping the old woman and the child.

The old woman trembled as she took the bread, tears welling up in her eyes involuntarily.

She immediately handed the bread to the child, who took a small bite and his eyes widened in surprise.

Not only did my hunger disappear immediately, but the fatigue of the past few days was also swept away.

With a smile on his face, Antonio continued leading the group forward, offering the same blessing and distributing bread to each group of refugees they passed:

"May God's grace be with you, Amen."

Only then did the refugees realize that this stranger was distributing food!

A commotion immediately arose among the nearby refugees, and countless refugees swarmed over, surrounding Antonio and his companions.

"Give me one! I haven't eaten for seven days!"

"Amen, Amen, give it to me quickly!"

The refugees' eyes were filled with longing for food, and cries and pleas could be heard everywhere.

Antonio watched this scene with a heart full of pity and made the sign of the cross on his chest.