vstars Chapter 227: Trip to the Holy City
Chapter 227: Trip to the Holy City
John, sitting in the carriage, was lost in thought while looking out the window. At this moment, his team was about to reach the border between the Kingdom of Midland and the Hall of Fame. It was possible that they could reach the capital of the Hall of Fame - the Holy City today.
John originally thought that his convoy would be attacked by the Yoda army as it drove through the southern plains, which was the main battlefield. However, he still underestimated the severity of the plague. After several days of traveling, he found that there was not even a living creature in the area where John could see, let alone the Yoda people. To the extent that calling this place an uninhabited area was a compliment to the place.
This scene instantly overturned John's view of the two countries of Mitlan and Yoda. In the past, when the war between the two countries was fierce, even in the snowy winter, the two armies fought bloody battles. Although it is not yet spring, as a military stronghold, not even a soldier can be seen. All these situations can show that after this plague, the strength of both Mitlan and Yoda will be reduced to the lowest level.
The consequence of the decline in strength is that the number and scale of wars between the two countries will gradually decrease over a certain period of time, and more often than not, the armies of both sides will be in confrontation rather than war. By then, the entire southern plains will be in a relatively stable state.
If there is any benefit to John from doing this, it is that after he has established connections with the French King's Office, as long as General Laban can stabilize the war situation, he can obtain a trade route that runs through the north and south of the continent. Although it may be cut off again in a few years due to the renewed war between the two countries, he can still make money year after year. Even children know that most of the people living in the Holy City are rich. As long as he can find what they need, money will continue to flow into the Earl's Castle.
A few hours later, the convoy entered the French King's Hall, but John found that the environment here was exactly the same as that of Midland, with dark clouds, barren land, and withered things, as if this place was also ravaged by the plague.
"Oh no." John complained when he saw this. It seemed that what was said in the letter was correct. The plague in the French Hall was no worse than the plague in Midland. One was more serious than the other.
Fortunately, as the convoy got closer and closer to the holy city, some passers-by gradually appeared on both sides of the road. However, rather than passers-by, they were more like refugees. They carried large and small bags and brought their families with them as they headed towards the holy city.
When the crowd in front saw John's convoy and the knights guarding it from behind, there was an immediate commotion. Then people hurriedly retreated to the sides of the road to let the convoy pass. When John opened the gauze curtain and looked at them, those refugees with hoods protected their faces with them, while those without hoods lowered their heads humbly, as if they did not want John to see their pale and thin faces.
"Even the residents in the land closest to the gods are not as well off as those in other countries." Looking at the outline of the magnificent city wall in the distance, John couldn't help but sigh. In this world, no matter which country it is, the gap between the rich and the poor is so huge. It is the same for countries governed by nobles and countries governed by clergy. They are all equally rotten.
"Stop! Stop!"
Less than a hundred meters away from the city gate, John's convoy was stopped by a soldier from the King's Court. John glanced at him and found that compared with the soldiers stationed in Windham, the soldiers from the King's Court stationed in the capital were wearing more gorgeous armor with many useless decorations and patterns.
After the leading White Wolf Knight explained the situation to the soldiers and showed the relevant documents, the soldiers ran towards the city gate. After waiting for a while, John found that the two gates that were originally closed in the middle of the city wall were opened, and a group of soldiers walked out of the city gate. After driving away the beggar refugees near the city gate, a knight walked towards the caravan and said respectfully after meeting John:
"Master John, welcome to the Holy City. The King of France has been waiting for you for a long time."
John was not impressed by the knight's hospitality, but from his words, it seemed that the King of France, whom he had never met, had a good impression of him.
Led by the knights, the convoy slowly drove into the holy city. When it was John's turn to pass through the city gate and enter the holy city, what caught John's eyes were all kinds of tall and solemn Gothic buildings, bells resounding through the sky, and crowds of people shoulder to shoulder on the streets below.
Amid the scolding of the knights of the French Royal Hall, people stood on both sides of the road and watched the convoy passing by. From John's observation, in addition to some people wearing civilian clothes, there were also quite a number of people wearing brown cloaks. If John guessed correctly, people dressed like this should be clergy of the lowest level. They were responsible for assisting the administrators of the local parish in carrying out a series of tasks ranging from chanting scriptures to collecting tithes. Their status was equivalent to that of serfs in the religious circle.
Under the guidance of the knight, the convoy entered a military camp. Following the knight's call, the servants guarding here immediately stepped forward to guide the carriage to the rear of the camp. Seeing this, John got off the carriage.
"This is one of the largest military camps in the Holy City, which can accommodate up to 5,000 soldiers. If you want to live alone, I can take you to an inn on the main road." After seeing John get off the car, the knight dismounted and came to John's side to introduce.
"No need, I'm very satisfied here." John said as he looked around the interior of the military camp. He could only say that it was worthy of being a holy city. Even the military camp was made of marble and white quartz.
"Then you take a rest here. I will inform the King of France right away. When the King of France summons you, he will send someone to notify you. The meals for you and your entourage will be taken care of by the servants in the camp." Upon seeing this, the knight gave a few instructions and left.
John was led by his servant to a Gothic building in the center of the military camp. Looking at the more than ten-meter-high building in front of him, John couldn't help but ask:
“Is this building for me to live in?”
"Yes, this is where you will live. This building has four floors plus a basement. From top to bottom, there are bedrooms, study rooms, concert halls, meeting rooms, and a brewery underground. It has been cleaned for you and you can move in at any time." The servant answered truthfully.
An hour later, as the clock struck, a servant came to John who was reading in the study and said:
"My Lord, the evening shift is ready."
"Is it time for dinner so soon?" John came to the meeting room on the first floor puzzled. However, when he saw the dazzling array of delicious food on the long table, he immediately started to eat and began to taste each dish one by one.