Game of the World Tree - Chapter 656

Chapter 653: Civilians of the Empire

The cold river wind whistled from south to north, and the Nature, with its sails inflated, sailed quickly on the Vimur River.

Affected by the fact that the average temperature of the Elf Forest is higher than that of other areas all year round, the monsoon will blow from the relatively low temperature of the Fertile Plain to the Elf Forest every winter, and on the Vimur River, a rare south wind in winter is formed.

Sophia stood at the bow, looking relaxed and expectant. Sometimes she looked at the silvery river surface in the distance, and sometimes she closed her eyes to feel the cool breeze blowing on her body, happy like a bird flying out of a cage.

Until a familiar voice drew her attention back:

“You are in a good mood, Miss Viscount.”

It was Demacia.

Seeing that annoying handsome face, the half-elf girl’s expression immediately faded.

However, just when she was about to start the sarcastic mode, Demacia waved her hand:

“Don’t… don’t scold, I’m here to give you something.”

After saying that, he took out a scroll from his arms and handed it to the other party.

“What is this?”

Sophia frowned.

Perhaps because she was in a good mood, she rarely refused the other party.

“It records a powerful disguise that can help you change your appearance and become an ordinary human.”

Demacia said.

“Change your appearance?”

Sophia was stunned.

“Yes, we will reach our destination in a while. The appearance of a half-elf is too conspicuous, so it is better to disguise ourselves. Not only you, but we all have to change. This time, we have to disguise ourselves as human mercenaries for the escort.”

Demacia explained.

After hearing his words, Sophia frowned slightly.

She glanced at her appearance in the river that was obviously different from that of an ordinary human, hesitated for a moment, and finally took it.

“By the way.”

At this time, Demacia spoke again.

“Anything else?”

Sophia asked unkindly.

“Nothing else, just want to say one more thing, Riverbend Town may be a little different from what you imagined, so don’t have too high expectations.”

Demacia scratched his head and said.

Listening to his incoherent words, Sophia frowned slightly.

She was about to say something, but Demacia turned away. She didn’t know if she was afraid of being ridiculed by the girl again if she stayed too long.

“You’re talking nonsense.”

The girl snorted coldly.

After Demacia’s interruption, her mood for viewing the scenery also dissipated a lot.

Looking at the blue sky, the girl put away the scroll and went to the cabin to rest…

The ship continued to sail, and half a day passed quickly without knowing it.

When it was almost noon, a small port town finally appeared in sight.

“River Bay Town is coming! Get ready for disguise and get off the ship immediately!”

The elves’ voices rang out on the Nature.

Sophia was also attracted by the elves’ voices. Her eyes lit up and she quickly got out of the cabin and looked towards the shore.

However, when she saw the town on the shore clearly, her expectant and excited expression quickly turned into astonishment.

It was a port town less than half the size of Grey Harbor, located in a “U”-shaped river bay. The buildings on the shore were low and dilapidated, and it was unknown how long it had not been repaired.

There were some merchant ships parked at the port, loading goods, and people were coming and going on the shore, which was a bit lively.

However, except for some merchants who got off the merchant ships and were dressed decently, most people’s clothes were dirty and torn, and they were skinny. You could even see some ragged children who were as thin as saplings begging around the merchants.

This dilapidated and poor scene formed a sharp contrast with the prosperous and rich scene of Grey Harbor, so that the girl was slightly distracted for a while.

“This… is Riverbend Town?”

She murmured in disbelief.

“Yes, this is our destination, Riverbend Town.”

Demacia, who appeared again at some point, said.

Sophia did not make any sarcastic remarks because of Demacia’s sudden interruption. She seemed to have been stunned by the scene in front of her.

She stared at the dilapidated port in front of her with wide eyes and shook her head:

“No… Impossible. The documents in the castle record that River Bay Town is a pearl on the Vimur River and an important port town in the Western Territory. How could it be like this?”

“Miss Sophia, don’t compare Grey Harbor with this place. There is no comparison between the cities of the elves. Don’t compare it with Zeroland. Both sides of the Zeroland River are rich areas.”

Demacia shook his head.

He took out the scroll and disguised himself as a human mercenary, saying:

“What you see now is the real human civilian port.”

“Let’s go, prepare to dock and disembark.”

…

The Nature slowly sailed into the port, and Sophia, who had disguised herself as a human mercenary, followed other elves who had also disguised themselves and boarded the dock.

Their landing immediately attracted the attention of the port residents, and everyone looked at them with curious and vigilant eyes.

When the residents saw their obvious mercenary outfits, many of them changed their faces slightly and left in a hurry. After a while… the port became much quieter.

Only the caravans unloading goods looked at them with wary eyes, and many caravan guards clenched their weapons and took defensive positions.

Seeing this scene, Sophia was slightly stunned.

“Why are they all avoiding us? Is there something wrong with our disguise?”

She asked in confusion.

Seeing the port town in front of her that was many times different from her expectations, the girl was about to find a resident to ask why it was so dilapidated, but she didn’t expect that everyone was avoiding them like the plague…

“This is normal. We are now disguised as mercenaries, and mercenaries are synonymous with chaos in the human world. For safety, ordinary people are unwilling to approach them. Of course, this is also our purpose. Disguised as mercenaries, it will also save a lot of trouble.”

An elf accompanying them explained.

After hearing this, Sophia looked even more surprised:

“Why? Do mercenaries still dare to act recklessly in the city? Aren’t they afraid that the city guards will put them in jail?!”

The elf who spoke spread his hands:

“Then I don’t know. I have only been to Maple Leaf Territory once. I only know that civilians are very afraid of mercenaries. I don’t know anything else. However, he has seen a lot in Demacia, so he should know more specific situations.” After

hearing the elf’s words, Sophia fell silent.

She did not continue to dwell on this topic, but followed the elves who got off the boat, rode on the dragon-scale horse disguised as an ordinary horse, and walked towards the town.

As she entered the town, the more detailed appearance of River Bay Town gradually appeared in front of the girl.

Low buildings, dirty streets, poor residents…

This poor and backward scene greatly impacted the girl’s worldview.

The faces of the pedestrians passing by were numb and lifeless, and they looked at them with fear. That fear… made Sophia feel inexplicably bitter.

As she walked along, the girl was more keenly aware that she did not see even a single city guard soldier along the way.

Riding on dragon-scale horses, the group slowly moved forward in the awe-inspiring gazes of the residents.

Suddenly, a commotion and scolding attracted Sophia’s attention.

It was in front of a dilapidated tavern, where several humans dressed as mercenaries were punching and kicking an old woman in ragged clothes.

A fruit basket was overturned on the ground, and wild fruits were scattered all over the ground. Many of them had been trampled by the mercenaries, who laughed arrogantly.

Seeing this scene, a trace of anger flashed across Sophia’s face.

She pinched the necklace on her chest and was about to chant something, but a faster figure rushed out of the team.

It was a female elf disguised as a mercenary. Sophia remembered that the other party seemed to be called Yuexia Jasmine. She snorted coldly and kicked several mercenaries away in a few moves.

“Get lost.”

Yuexia Jasmine said coldly.

Several mercenaries got up from the ground and were about to get angry, but when they felt the powerful aura of the other party, they were instantly terrified, and then they didn’t even pick up the equipment that fell on the ground, and even crawled away.

Seeing this, Sophia let go of the necklace in her hand, she turned over and got off the horse, came to the old woman, helped her up, and picked up the berries that fell on the ground one by one.

Looking at Sophia who suddenly came over, the old woman’s eyes obviously flashed a trace of fear, but after the girl began to help her, her fear gradually dissipated.

“Thank you… Thank you… Sir…”

She wiped her tears and thanked Sophia.

Looking at the timid old woman, Sophia’s eyes flashed a trace of anger.

She chanted a spell, and under the surprised eyes of other players, she cast a healing magic for the old woman.

“Damn it, it’s a mage? I didn’t even see it… Is there any concealing props?”

Seeing this scene, Demacia in the distance muttered while taking back the healing potion in his hand.

“Thank you… Thank you… Master Mage… Thank you…”

The old woman choked up after receiving the treatment.

Sophia sighed, and while helping the old woman brush off the dust on her body, she said:

“You’re welcome. Do you still feel uncomfortable?”

“Much better… I’m much better now… Thank you… Thank you so much…”

The old woman said gratefully while holding the fruit basket.

Sophia glanced at the mess of berries in the fruit basket and couldn’t help asking:

“Are there no guards in River Bay Town? How could they allow these mercenaries to be so arrogant?”

The old woman sighed and shook her head:

“My lord, the guards of River Bay Town have fled with the nobles. Maple Leaf Territory has rebelled, and they are afraid that it will affect here, so they fled a few days ago.”

“Escaped?!”

Sophia was slightly stunned, and then her face was angry:

“What a shame for a group of nobles!”

She looked at the mess around and couldn’t help asking:

“What about the church? The lord fled, didn’t the church come forward?”

“The church… the church?”

The old woman was stunned.

Then, she shook her head:

“The church also evacuated, evacuated with the nobles…”

Sophia was stunned.

Looking at the stunned expression of the girl, the old woman said:

“My lord, you are also a mercenary, right? Are you going to participate in the conscription of Duke Rosen?”

Sophia hesitated for a moment and nodded slowly.

“Then I advise you not to go. The nobles are all ruthless. Even though the reward they offer is so high, it is still a question whether you will get your life in the end… You are a good person, don’t be fooled by them. If it were those desperate criminals, I would definitely not say so, but you… are a good person.”

The old woman shook her head.

Sophia fell into silence.

She sighed slowly and said:

“I know.”

After saying that, she looked at the old woman shivering in the cold wind, glanced at the mushy berries in the basket, thought for a while, took out a gold pound from her arms, and stuffed it into the old woman’s arms:

“This is a little money, you can buy some clothes and food.”

“Gold… Gold pounds!”

The old woman’s eyes widened, and a trace of greed flashed in her eyes.

However, she quickly shook her head and smiled bitterly:

“Thank you for your kindness, but… you should keep this gold pound.”

“This is just a little gift from me.”

Sophia insisted.

The old woman sighed and said,

“Sir, such a large sum of money, even if you give it to me, I, an old woman, am afraid that I can’t keep it…”

Hearing her words, Sophia was slightly stunned.

Following the old woman’s gaze, the girl looked around, and when she saw the homeless people who had gathered around at some point and were looking at the gold pounds in her hand with greedy eyes, she finally understood.

“I understand…”

The girl’s expression became lonely.

She felt bitter in her heart, and took off the tattered coat that the elves gave her, disguised as a mercenary, and put it on the old woman. She took out some delicious cakes that she had specially collected in Gray Harbor from her storage ring and handed them to the other party:

“Have something to eat. I will leave after you finish eating.”

“Thank you… Thank you… Sir, you are a good person, and the Eternal Lord will definitely bless you.”

The old woman said gratefully.

After that, she ate voraciously, and she didn’t know how long it had been since she had a good meal.

Bless me…

Looking at the dilapidated streets around and the closed door of the church in the distance, Sophia suddenly felt a great sense of irony for some reason…

After saying goodbye to the old woman, the girl felt much heavier.

At this moment, she was no longer as excited as she was when she started.

The group continued to move forward, gradually walked to the hinterland of the town, and also entered the traditional rich area.

This is where the nobles live, magnificent, in sharp contrast to the previous area, which made Sophia feel a little familiar.

But this did not make the girl happy, on the contrary, her mood seemed to be getting heavier and heavier.

Along the way, Sophia spoke less and less, and her eyes became more and more dim.

As a result, the players who wanted to talk to her also became much quieter.

River Bay Town is not big. After passing through the deserted noble area, Sophia and her group soon came to the other side of the town.

As they moved forward, the surrounding houses became dilapidated again, in sharp contrast to the rich area.

The town on the other side is guarded by a city wall, and there is a moat outside the city wall.

Of course, there were no guards now.

Riding on dragon-scale horses, Sophia and the elves finally left the town and entered the hinterland of the Western Territory.

However, not long after she walked out of the city gate, Sophia saw a sneaky pedestrian passing by the roadside.

He was a man who looked to be in his thirties or forties, holding something in his arms. He looked numb, walked to the ditch on the side of the road, and threw the thing in his hand down.

However, when he saw Sophia and others, his face changed slightly, and he hurriedly fled in panic.

“What did he drop?”

Seeing this scene, Sophia frowned slightly.

“I suggest you don’t go and see it.”

Demacia, who was traveling with her, suddenly spoke.

For some reason, his voice was unusually heavy.

Of course, the half-elf girl would naturally not listen to his advice.

She snorted coldly, squeezed the horse’s belly, and rode towards the roadside.

As she approached the ditch, Sophia gradually smelled a disgusting odor.

It seemed to be the smell of something rotting.

And when she came to the edge of the ditch and saw the situation in the ditch, her sight suddenly froze…

In the ditch.

There were piles of dead babies.

_(:з」∠)_

(End of this chapter)