Chapter 64 Chapter 65 Saint John
Unlike the previous villages they passed through, this village had no muddy roads, no weak and numb farmers, and no thatched houses with holes in the roofs. An elderly man with a rosy complexion sat on a wooden bench by the roadside, leisurely smoking a pipe.
In the center of the village stood a stone church with red tiles, featuring a bell adorned with the emblem of the God of Dawn, ringing out clear chimes.
A clean stone path wound out of the village, crossing a stone bridge over a river and leading to the three of them.
They rode horses along the stone road, approaching the peaceful village, passing by a dark field.
In the field, a group of children was playing.
Ji Ma immediately recognized that the leader among them was a round-faced boy with red hair, who was letting out joyous shrieks while holding a potato, leading a cohort to throw it at another group of children.
His face was filled with the innocence of childhood.
Ji Ma couldn’t help but feel a sense of yearning, wanting to experience pure happiness, and had a slight impulse to bully the little kid.
The red-haired boy shouted, swinging the potato, “Eat my Holy Strike!”
The potato struck a child on the head, and the child let out an exaggerated yelp, falling backward onto the ground. He looked up to see Ji Ma passing by with her horns.
The child’s expression changed instantly, and he scrambled up, shouting, “Beastman! It’s a Beastman!”
Panic quickly shattered the joyous atmosphere of the children’s game.
Upon hearing the term “Beastman,” the children turned their heads, looking at Ji Ma with eyes wide open in fear, running toward the village. Some were so frightened that they froze in place until a playmate yanked them and they started running.
Nearby, George cast a concerned glance, as if to say not to mind the little kids.
Ji Ma chuckled, “Just a bunch of poorly grown children.”
As she said this, she flicked her hair aside. The old man smoking by the road stared wide-eyed, and the pipe fell from his hand, spilling the glowing tobacco.
“Everyone, don’t be afraid,” the red-haired boy called out to the panicking children.
The leader spoke, and the children hurriedly stopped.
The round-faced boy pointed at George, who was covered in blood, and said, “He’s a holy knight from the temple, so he’s not a Beastman!”
The fear on the children’s faces faded, and they turned their large heads toward Ji Ma, muttering, “What is that…”
“She seems really pretty.”
The one who said this was immediately deemed a traitor to the boys’ camp.
The red-haired boy kicked the “traitor” in the backside, saying, “You’re so lecherous; we won’t play with you anymore.”
The nearby children all jeered, “Pervert!”
Ji Ma, riding her horse, said, “What clever little rascals.”
“I thought he would recognize Jenna first,” George remarked, dismounting and bending down to help the old man pick up his pipe, handing it back to him and asking, “I am a holy knight from the temple; may I ask if Saint John is home at this time?”
The old man’s wrinkled face broke into a proud smile, “You also came to find Lord Saint John and witness his miracles? Ah, he’s in his own yard. Let me take you there.”
“Thank you,” George replied, “but there’s no need, I’ve been here before.”
Having said this, George took the reins and walked toward the village.
“Wait,” Jenna suddenly said, “George, you hold Saint John in high regard, right?”
“Yes, he has inspired me.”
“But you should pay attention to etiquette; your attire is really not appropriate.”
Ji Ma glanced at George, who was donned in heavy armor. The thickness of the shoulder plate was at least a finger thick, barely resembling humanoid armor. He looked imposing, with the blood of deceased green-skinned creatures staining his armor, making him appear even more formidable; it would be perfect if he were also carrying the head of a large beastman at his waist.
There’s no problem at all.
George lowered his head, glancing left and right, and asked, “Is it that I haven’t brought a gift fitting for his status? But I worry that worldly gifts would instead insult him.”
Saint Jenna sighed, “Could you at least wash off the blood from your armor? You smell terrible; you can’t just walk into Saint John’s home like this.”
Only then did Ji Ma and George realize the issue at hand.
They ran to the riverbank to clean George’s armor.
With George leading the way, the three of them soon arrived at an inconspicuous stone house in the village. Behind the stone house, a fence enclosed a circle of herbs.
In front of the stone house, an elderly man in a gray robe, sturdy and with a beard that could cover his whole chin, was talking with a peasant woman holding a child.
“Thank you for healing my child’s illness; this is my homemade apple pie,” the peasant woman said, handing a basket to the old man. “May the divine bless me with a good person like you.”
After saying this, she patted her son’s head and urged, “You should say thank you.”
Her son, holding a basket of carefully washed potatoes, said, “Thank you, Lord Saint John. Here are some big potatoes for you.”
“I’m merely carrying out the will of the God of Dawn,” Saint John said, accepting the apple pie. “Thank you; I regret that I couldn’t save your husband last time.”
“Sigh~ He was destined to die; there was nothing to be done.”
The peasant woman said, taking her child’s hand and leaving.
George, clad in shining silver armor, one hand holding a bucket helmet and the other leading his horse, approached Saint John and nodded in greeting, “Lord Saint John, it has been a while; I have missed you.”
Saint John looked up; there were burn-like marks around his right eye socket, and his right eye appeared cloudy. He scrutinized George’s face with his left eye and then glanced at the two lovely ladies beside him.
Curiously, he asked, “Which holy knight are you?”
George smiled, “It’s me, George the Hammer.”
“You?” Saint John seemed very surprised. “I heard you have become a hero?”
“That is in the past.”
“What happened?” Saint John asked, “You are the most talented person I have ever seen.”
“I, along with Saint Jenna and Frostleaf, went on a secret quest to battle the demon lord…”
“What do the old men in the temple think of this?”
“Sorry, I volunteered for this.”
Saint John shook his head. Ji Ma sensed a slight relaxation in him as he said, “You are too proud; I have told you that this is your weakness.”
“I defeated the demon lord—”
Ji Ma interjected, “He stabbed that lecherous demon lord to death at the bedroom door.”
Rather than letting others expose his own scars, it is better to reveal them himself first.
It was hard to imagine that the seemingly old and stable Saint John could be so surprised that his eyes widened as he asked:
“Really?”
“Yes,” George replied. “He underestimated his opponent; he had no idea what kind of opponent he was facing.”
“Then why was your hero title revoked?”
“I brought back Ji Ma from the demon lord’s underground treasure vault; she is a succubus but also a victim of the demon lord,” George said. “I believe she can be redeemed and tried to persuade the temple. The temple demanded I pay a price for my righteousness, and just then I had lost my strength, so I lost my title as a hero.”
Saint John asked, “What is your current strength rating?”
“Platinum.”
Saint John slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, asking, “You came here hoping I could help you redeem a succubus.”
“Hey, please don’t use the word ‘a’ for count.”
George said, “That is part of it; my mission is to eradicate the green-skin little warband, but recently I’ve found traces of necromancers, and I want to ask for your help.”
Saint John sighed heavily, “So it’s back again.”
——————
Tomorrow continues with double updates.
Today’s double update is not satisfactory.
Firstly, the quantity is small, secondly, it’s late, and thirdly, it’s poorly written.
There weren’t even any interruptions.
