Chapter 437: Isn’t it common sense that you can’t move during the cutscene?
Under the guidance of the oracle of Saint Kallen, a team escorted by a thousand Salvation Army soldiers left Quemu Castle and headed towards Wheatfield Village.
This team is mostly composed of villagers from Maitian Village, with nearly 900 households and about 5,000 people.
Since the refugees in the camp had been divided into areas according to their identity numbers and lived together in villages, the team did not cause any commotion when they left.
Even when they left, it was early morning, the busiest time of the day at the refugee camp.
It is worth mentioning that when the Salvation Army soldiers asked them to return to their original villages, most people were unwilling to go back.
Firstly, everyone wants to be closer to Her Highness the Saint. Secondly, there is oat porridge in the camp, but no one knows what the situation is in Wheat Village now. Maybe they will starve again if they go back.
Even Brennan found himself in a difficult position facing this group of uncooperative villagers. They were no longer the Green Army, so he couldn't just wave his hands and have his men herd them like sheep.
Fortunately, the merciful Saint Lady once again stepped forward and persuaded them with the "oracle".
"This is the will of the gods. They say that next year Wheatfield Village will have an unprecedented harvest."
I have to say that Oracle is really a very useful thing.
Even Brennan couldn't help but believe that God really said this, so much so that the team that escorted the refugees home became a popular job within the Savior Army.
After all, which rebel was not a peasant?
Most of these people have no place of origin to return to, no family, and are completely free from ties.
Since the gods have said that the land will have an unprecedented harvest, it is naturally a good place to settle down.
Old Hank was very lucky.
He used to be a villager of Maitian Village and was extremely familiar with the situation there. To exaggerate, he even knew the name of every tree. Naturally, he was included in the first group returning home.
He couldn't remember how many years it had been since he left there. The Earl of Quemu Castle had just left a few days ago, but the barons, knights, and knights under his command had moved to Dusk City long ago and never returned, otherwise the Earl would not have been hiding in the castle in such a desperate manner.
Some of those who broke their oaths simply ran to the royal capital, or Thunder City in the Principality of Campbell in the south, taking with them the property they had looted from their territories.
Nobles are often not bound by the land; only cattle and sheep are bound to the land beneath their feet.
Of course, this situation will no longer exist in the future.
They no longer have aristocrats.
It was still the oracle announced by the saint that the sons of Saint Sith took pity on the suffering of this land and allowed them to establish a country without aristocracy. The Army of Salvation would not be loyal to any secular king, but only to the pious people on the holy land.
From then on, they were all free people, and everything they grew belonged to them. They only had to pay a tax when selling it to merchants, instead of handing over all their output except for food rations to the lord as before. Only the vegetables and fruits picked from the "inter-fields" truly belonged to them.
Because taxes are collected directly from merchants, there is no need to pay!
Old Hank was full of confidence in his future life, and he felt that the wind blowing in his face was sweet along the way.
He no longer had to worry about where his next meal would come from, no longer had to be woken up by hunger in his sleep, and no longer had to be afraid of those soldiers who once showed off their might.
It's strange.
The Salvation Army soldiers who escorted them, many of whom were the feared "green ghosts" a month ago, have now become a group of people with faith. Old Hank even likes these guys a little.
They no longer spoke foul language, but instead listened to the teachings of the saint.
They would even take the initiative to help the elderly pushing wheelbarrows, the exhausted women, hand water bags to thirsty children... and chat with the refugees returning home about their aspirations.
There is a longing for the past and a longing for the future.
"...I still remember when I was a kid, during those best years. The soil by the Running River was so black and shiny, you could squeeze out oil from a handful! The potatoes we planted in the spring were already full by the fall! Each one was as big as a fist!"
"One, one nest?! Why can't we have it in our hometown... We should be thankful if we can harvest the seeds in autumn." Looking at the boastful old friend, the young soldier couldn't help swallowing his saliva, with envy revealed in his eyes.
The old man smiled and continued.
"This is nothing in Rye Village! Have you ever seen raspberries as thick as two thumbs? We used to go into the forest and bring back a whole basket! We couldn't even finish them all!"
"So, you guys are just going to eat raspberries and potatoes?"
"How is that possible! When autumn arrives, there are endless mushrooms in the woods, and every household is busy smoking pork, stuffing sausages, and stuffing cabbage into jars... When winter comes and the first snow falls, our family gathers around the fireplace and stews a pot of sauerkraut and pork knuckle soup with freshly baked rye bread... Hey, I bet even Her Highness the Saint has tasted that!"
The old man spoke with a nostalgic look on his face, making the young men around him so envious that the oatmeal porridge in their mouths no longer tasted good.
However, when he said this, the old man also had a melancholy expression on his face.
That was a long time ago.
Where people can't even get enough to eat, how can you see pigs? Not to mention livestock like pigs, cows, and sheep, even dogs that guard the house and help with hunting are almost extinct in the Duskwood.
Listening to what the old man said, Old Hank's appetite was also aroused. He couldn't help but miss the taste of the broth, and felt that his rusty legs and feet had regained strength.
He had been hungry for so long that he almost forgot what life was like.
However, soon, the enthusiasm he had just raised was brought to the bottom by the reality that followed.
They arrived at Wheatfield Village.
What came into view was not the hometown I had longed for, but the devastated ruins.
Half-human-high thorns and weeds devoured every inch of land crazily. The foundations of burned-down houses were vaguely visible on the black scorched earth. The poetic pastoral scene seemed to exist only in dreams.
The hungry people passing by ate up everything edible, and those that were inedible were taken away and used as firewood. The only things that survived were bones and thorns that even wild animals found difficult to bite.
"...Is this Wheatfield Village?" Standing on the edge of the village, the young man in the returning team muttered to himself in confusion, and the hope in his eyes was gradually replaced by despair.
He had originally confidently thought that he was very familiar with his hometown, but he had not expected that it had turned into hell.
Old Hank remained silent. He squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, rubbed it with his rough fingers, and then let out a sigh.
The land has been abandoned.
As an old farmer who has been dealing with the land all his life, he knows better than anyone what this means.
If they wanted to replant the land, they had to first pull out the half-man-high weeds, dig out the stubborn grass roots, and then use animal power... Oh no, they had no animal power, so they could only use human power to swing the hoe and turn over the rock-hard land bit by bit.
Then you can sow the seeds.
This is not a task that can be completed in one or two months. Usually, they need to keep enough food for three years before they can reclaim new wasteland.
Although repairing these farmlands will not be as difficult as reclaiming wasteland, it is definitely not something that can be completed in a short period of time.
"It's too late..."
The old man who had earlier described the sauerkraut stewed pork knuckle also sighed, looking at his hometown so close at hand and muttering to himself, "If I had started preparing last fall, maybe I would still be able to make it by now."
The Salvation Army soldiers' mood also sank to the bottom.
Last fall...
At that time, the city was still under siege and it was unknown whether we could survive. Who would have thought about what would happen next year?
What made them feel particularly heavy-hearted was that they thought of another oracle that the Saint Lady had given them before leaving:
"You will live and eat with the returning villagers. You must treat them as your brothers and sisters and clear all obstacles for them. If we miss this year's spring plowing, the bountiful harvest promised by the gods will not only fail, but we will also face even more serious problems than this year."
Everyone felt the heavy weight on their shoulders. At this moment, they were shouldering not only their own destiny, but also the destiny of everyone around them and even behind them.
No one wanted to return to the hell of those weeks ago, neither the starving people nor the soldiers...
Just as everyone fell silent, there was a sudden noise in the forest in the distance.
They were a group of people wearing dark green cloaks, with hoods covering their faces, making it impossible to see their identities.
The first person to discover them was a sentry. He was wondering what they were going to do when he saw them take out vine-like crutches from their arms and point them towards the sky.
"Stop, who are you!" The Salvation Army sentry shouted and was about to go forward to see what was going on when he saw the sky change color.
"...Flame spirit dancing above the molten stream, I pray to you for a rain of fire from the sky..."
The mysterious man in the lead seemed not to see him. He raised his slender arm and uttered an ancient and obscure spell.
That's Elvish.
The next moment, the gray sky suddenly became darker, and countless sparks fell from the sky, like burning arrows slashing towards the overgrown land!
The sentry was frightened and ran back for his life, shouting "Enemy attack".
He thought he was dead, but something he didn't expect happened!
Those burning arrows seemed to have eyes, accurately avoiding his escape path and instead falling into the weeds, thorns and bushes in the field!
The arrow not only avoided him, but also the crowd nearby. The boiling flames were like a huge, hot sickle. Wherever it passed, all the withered old things were burned to ashes!
The refugees returning home screamed in terror, thinking the end of the world was coming, and the restless crowds were about to flee.
The centurion leading the team drew his sword and shouted loudly to the panicked people behind him.
"Don't panic! They are elves from the Rushing River, friends of Her Highness the Saint, and divine messengers sent by the Son of God, the Flame King, to help us!"
"Their fire won't hurt you! They're here to help us!"
Her Highness the Saint told him about the "reinforcements", but he did not expect that the assistance from the allies would come in such a sudden way.
The mysterious man in the cloak glanced at the fleeing figure and the noisy crowd in the distance, and the corners of his mouth painted with purple lipstick raised a mocking arc, and then he continued to weave spells with cold eyes.
Too weak——
I really don't know why the Demon King would help them. Is an ally of this level really worth that lord's time and energy?
However, even though her heart was filled with many doubts, Helen Yueren did not perfunctorily carry out the mission entrusted to her by His Majesty.
Thanks to that Majesty, she was able to break through her innate bottleneck and become a gold-level night elf who is no less powerful than her father Tyrael!
The flying rain of fire is still raging on the vast land, and the noisy heat waves are rising one after another!
Under the joint chanting of one hundred and twenty steel-level night elf mages, the vast yellow area surrounding the Wheat Village faded at a speed visible to the naked eye and was dyed with black tracks again!
After the flames swept through, the earth was pitch black and the air was filled with the pungent smell of smoke and grass.
Before everyone could recover from this incredible scene, the night elves unscrewed the medicine bottle and drank it in one gulp. They took a breath, raised their wands again, and began the second round of spellcasting.
This time——
They brought down a torrential downpour!
"...Water spirit floating above the atmosphere, I pray that you will transform into a continuous rain and bring down sweet dew upon the earth!"
Purple lightning shot into the sky from Helen's raised wand, and a flashing silver dragon seemed to pass through the dark clouds.
Everyone seemed to hear thunder.
Soon, heavy rain fell from the sky, catching everyone off guard.
The night elves are fine.
They were well prepared and came wearing "raincoats".
In fact, the Salvation Army and the refugees were also fine. What they most hoped for at this moment was undoubtedly the rain from the sky.
The pouring rain extinguished the last remaining embers on the ground, turning the ashes into muddy water that seeped into the charred earth.
That was not ordinary rain, but "carbon dioxide-rich rain" that was fused with air magic.
This is one of the masterpieces of the magic researchers in the cemetery. Through in-depth research on the so-called periodic table of elements, they have endowed ordinary spells with incredible effectiveness.
After the rainwater is integrated into the soil, it will release the gas contained in the rainwater, thereby loosening the hard soil to a certain extent.
While this couldn't completely replace the hoe and plow, it could at least make land reclamation work easier.
The spell is over.
The land outside Maitian Village has been completely renewed.
Helen retracted the wand in her hand, nodded to her sister Shirley who was standing beside her, and retreated into the shadow of the forest with the night elves behind her.
They have practiced this spellcasting process countless times on the continent of Janna, and it is as easy to use as breathing.
Soon they would ride their elk to the next village and repeat the same thing.
This was the mission assigned to them by the Demon King. They needed to represent the Great Cemetery and ensure the smooth progress of the Salvation Army's spring plowing plan...
"They're gone..." Looking at the direction where the group of river elves left, Old Hank couldn't help muttering to himself.
The elves of the rushing river... He had always thought that they were just legends, but he never expected that they really existed!
Just when he was so moved that he couldn't hold back his tears, another knocking sound came from the forest, as if bones were colliding.
Seeing the situation in the forest, the expressions of the people who were immersed in joy a second ago changed instantly.
Especially the captain who led the troops, his eyes widened and he screamed in shock.
"Dead, undead?!"
Generally speaking, the undead will only march in groups when a necromancer is nearby.
Normally, they wander around the mountains unconsciously and are not even as dangerous as jackals.
The centurion couldn't help swallowing his saliva. There were at least two thousand undead spirits coming out of the forest, and many of them exuded an extremely terrifying aura!
Even if we ignore the Necromancer hiding in the shadows and doing evil, he doesn't have much chance of winning with his men...
Just when everyone was panicking, a short green creature suddenly jumped out.
He looked like a goblin, sitting on a metal machine that was emitting black smoke.
When everyone saw him, he was waving his arms and yelling at them.
"Put down your weapons and don't point them at your allies! They're not undead! They're... spirits summoned by Holy Light! If you don't believe me, shine the Holy Light on them and you'll see!"
The visitor was none other than Oak from the Oak Magic Workshop, the goblin that Miss Mia had bought from the slave market in the Magic City a long time ago and gave to the Demon King.
However, since the greener the goblin's skin, the more noble it is and the purer its bloodline, the gray-skinned one looks like an alien. It's just because he understands rune technology that he sells for a higher price.
Everyone was slightly stunned, put down their weapons, exchanged looks of surprise and doubt, and looked at each other.
"Holy, Holy Spirit?"
"What is that?"
They had never heard such a strange statement!
Of course, this was also the first time they had seen goblins in the Twilight Province, so they couldn't be sure whether they were goblins or not.
In the Wanren Mountains, ratmen and dwarves are the most common alien races, and there are also lizardmen further towards the Duchy of Campbell.
As for goblins, they are commonly found in the Kingdom of Rhodes, the northern wasteland where the Academy is located, and the New World.
"...How about we try using Holy Light?"
"Good idea, wouldn't you?"
"Are you kidding me...If I knew that, would I be here swinging a hoe with you?"
Several Salvation Army soldiers exchanged glances and whispered to each other.
Their captain didn't say anything, but just stood there with a strange look on his face.
Could the reinforcements Her Highness the Saint mentioned be these guys?
The Holy Spirit...
This sounds too weird.
Seeing that those humans still seemed unable to accept it, Oak shouted patiently again.
"Well, to tell you the truth, they are your ancestors! They saw you suffering, so they begged the Son of God to let them return to the human world. Don't let their kindness go to waste!"
"Anyway, never mind what they are, they can help us plow the land and use machinery!"
If it weren't for the Demon King's request, he wouldn't bother talking so much nonsense with these humans.
Ancestor, ancestor? !
My grandpa? ?
Old Hank was startled, and the look in his eyes suddenly changed as he looked at the group of skeletons.
He remembered that his grandfather was also called Hank, and he inherited his name from his grandfather.
Which means… there’s an old Hank over there too?
Not just him.
The surrounding villagers were the same, with a mixture of joy and fear on their faces. They were happy that the spirits of their ancestors still remembered them, but they were afraid that these ancestors would tear them apart while working.
That's so blasphemous!
The centurion looked hesitantly at the short guy in front of him. He always felt that he looked like a goblin, but he was too embarrassed to ask.
But what matters now is not what he is, but what they are going to do now.
He walked up to the guy who looked like a goblin, stared at him and whispered.
"...This is a task assigned by Her Highness the Saint. Can we leave it to them?"
"Saint?! Ah... no problem, I can do it!" Oak opened his mouth wide in surprise.
When did the respected Miss Padridge have another rival, and a saint from the church?!
But wait—
The Demon King has even corrupted the Saint of the Church. Doesn't that mean... the corruption of the Great Cemetery has spread to the Holy City?!
Oak was instantly excited, even happier than when he heard that his own young lady had become the mistress of the cemetery.
This is a great thing!
Looking at the abnormal little guy, the centurion hesitated in his heart, but still nodded reluctantly.
There's nothing I can do without nodding.
The soldiers under his command were good enough to deal with ordinary bandits, but they were not sure how to deal with this group of undead.
And if they really had bad intentions, there would be no need to waste time talking to him. They should have taken action just now.
"Since Her Highness the Saint knows about this matter, I won't ask any more questions..."
Oak: "That's right, shut up, human! You have so many problems! What you need to do now is to have your people follow our tractors and spread the seeds! Also, send some people to the river. Our engineers are waiting there! You should have arrived yesterday!"
The centurion was so confused that he was stunned for a long time before he could utter a word.
"Tractor?! What is that..."
"You'll know what it is soon! With all due respect, the humans in Thunder County are smarter than you!"
Ouke does not hesitate to use his sharp tongue.
As a pet weaker than Arakdo, he could only find a sense of superiority over these weaker human creatures. When he was in the cemetery, he didn't even dare to mess with Arakdo.
Just as he turned around and was about to leave, the human centurion suddenly called him again.
"Wait a moment."
Oak: "What's wrong?! What's wrong again?! Can a human being finish his words at once?!"
Ignoring the noisy voice, the centurion stared at him suspiciously and asked in an uncertain voice.
"You are... a goblin?"
Oak's eyes widened.
Of course he is.
But the Demon King wouldn't allow him to be.
The first sentence that the lord said when giving him the task was - he must not let the people of Dusk Province see through his identity as a goblin, otherwise he will suffer the consequences.
"Goblin?! Which eye of yours saw that I am a goblin? I, I, I am a goblin!"
It turned out to be a goblin.
The centurion breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at the furious Oak, and apologized.
"Sorry... I thought you were a goblin."
"Hahahaha! You really know how to joke!" Oak laughed awkwardly and cursed the damn human in his heart.
"My name is Luke, what's your name—"
"Ouke! By the way, your name is terrible!"
Looking at this grumpy little thing, the centurion had a strange expression on his face.
There's no difference...
Just one syllable missing.
Not far away, the undead sitting on the tractor yawned, looked at his good brother beside him, and made a creaking sound.
"When can we start?"
"I don't know! I just hope these NPCs can hurry up and stop wasting time!"
Just as the two were communicating, another undead brother standing not far away cursed.
"Shit! Why can't I move my legs?"
The old player standing nearby made a joke.
"You're new here, right? Isn't it common sense that you can't move during cutscenes?"
“@%#!”
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
