Goddess Kaleidoscope

Lud, who arrived at the lord's manor first, did indeed initially suffer a wave of anger from the lord himself. The lord's reaction at the time was like that of a troublemaker about to attack a doctor, his emotions extremely unstable.

If Evanrus had received the news earlier and appeared at that moment, he could have simply stood by and stirred things up with sarcastic remarks, making Rudd the prime target of the lord's reprimand. Unfortunately, Evanrus missed his chance!

Lud, who arrived first, first calmed the lord down by secretly using divine magic. Then he asked the lord about the situation, as he needed to know how the two children had been infected.

After all, it was a feudal society that did not emphasize equality for all, and Viscount Maup was not the kind of cruel ruler who would take lives at will. Therefore, Ludd chose to cooperate with him and provided him with treatment far exceeding that of ordinary people.

The entire lord's manor was the first area in the city, apart from the quarantine zone, to undergo comprehensive disinfection. All servants underwent blood tests and were subsequently isolated according to the highest standards to ensure a high level of safety.

Despite such high-level protection, two people in the manor who should least be infected unexpectedly fell ill. This immediately led Lud to suspect poisoning—someone was plotting to harm the lord's family.

However, what's both funny and sad is that after meeting the two sick children, Ludwig used the interrogation skills he honed during his time as a policeman to successfully extract information from them in just a few words.

It turns out that the reason these two children got infected was not because the lord's manor was not protecting them properly, but because they brought it on themselves!

These two mischievous kids had known for a long time that there was a secret passage in their father's study leading outside the mansion. The exit of the secret passage was near the busiest "Pink Alley" in the city, which the viscount would sneak out to "explore" on weekdays.

The siblings knew about the secret passage and not only slipped out several times during the pandemic, but also tried to get close to the quarantine area. In the end, due to their lack of awareness of protection, they were unfortunately targeted by the virus.

End of this chapter

To be honest, the Viscount was terrified when he first learned that his two children had been infected. After all, common sense dictates that children are less healthy than adults and have a higher mortality rate after contracting the disease. So when Rudd arrived, the Viscount immediately demanded that he use divine magic to treat them, money was no object.

However, Rudd told the lord that he had an even more powerful "holy relic" that could not only cure the plague but also give patients immunity to it, so they would never get the same disease again!

More than a month ago, when he first took over the quarantine zone, Ludger swiftly dealt with two gangs of thugs who were bullying men and women within the zone. Given that these thugs were among the first group of people in the quarantine zone to recover and had antibodies against the virus, Ludger did not execute them on the spot. Instead, he secretly detained them, making them "volunteers" for his medical experiments.

Of course! Lu De's surname is Lu, not Ishii. The so-called human experiments are actually just a routine of drawing 50cc of blood from each person every day for Lu De to study and try to extract effective antibodies using divine magic.

It's worth mentioning that the equipment Ludwig used was a standard medical instrument set created by the three craftswomen using divine magic, complete with glass syringes, needles, scalpels, and skull crushers. However, this sophisticated equipment terrified the group of villains who were to be his experimental subjects.

Lud hadn't meant to scare them, but these guys had somehow come up with a cult-like idea that "the syringe could extract souls," so every time they had their blood drawn, they would wail and scream for a while, forcing Lud to gag each of them.

After more than a month of research, Lu De failed to produce the antibody serum he had envisioned, but through repeated experiments, he created "pure blood" that could be used for plasma therapy.

On the other side of the world, plasma therapy is not a new concept. Its earliest application can be traced back to the 19th century, more than a hundred years ago. Theoretically, it involves transfusing the plasma of patients who have recovered to patients who have not yet recovered, which can help patients achieve clinical treatment results.

It sounds simple, but blood is not a substance that can be freely transferred between different people. In addition to blood type differences, the cleanliness and health of the blood must also be considered.

After conducting a thorough examination of these villains, Ludger discovered that more than two-thirds of them had problems, some of whom had sexually transmitted diseases. Although the blood plasma extracted contained antibodies against the virus, it also carried other viruses that were no less harmful than the plague.

In order to obtain clean blood plasma from these scumbags, Lud even had to treat their illnesses first!

Fortunately, after more than a month of hard work, Lud finally got what he wanted: a pure serum that could be freely matched with blood types and contained no other types of viruses. Lud named it "Pure Blood".

Clinical trials have shown that this plasma has an immediate effect on treating the plague; after intravenous injection, severely ill patients can basically recover in about 48 hours.

The only problem is that this blood plasma therapy is taboo and easily evokes associations with cult practices, damaging the image of the Medicine God Cult. If it were to be made public, the Four Seasons Goddess Cult, which is always watching closely, would definitely not let such a good opportunity pass.

Therefore, following the old practice, Ludd had to rack his brains and come up with another "myth" that at least sounded reasonable.

Thus, in Rudd's words, the blood of these villains, purified multiple times by divine magic, became the so-called "Blood of the Sacred Heart." It was the response Rudd received through his daily devout prayers before the statue of the goddess—a miracle!

Rudd described what he saw: he "witnessed" a plant growing at a visible speed from the sacred bottle in the statue's hand, bearing a heart-shaped, blood-red fruit. The moment Rudd's hands touched the fruit, he suddenly understood the use of this sacred object.

Along with the miracle, the Three Goddesses of Craftsmanship, who also belonged to the Pantheon and were devoutly worshipped by tens of thousands of dwarves of the Steelwhip Clan, gave Rudd a set of "Holy Syringes" that could extract the juice of Sacred Heart Fruits and inject it directly into the blood vessels of plague-infected individuals.

The reason it cannot be taken orally is that the blood of the Sacred Heart is a gift from God, and the human esophagus, because it connects to the large intestine, is not a clean place. The blood would be contaminated during oral administration, thus losing its therapeutic effect. Intravenous injection can avoid this situation.

To prove his point, Ludwig showed Viscount Maupe the "Sacred Heart Fruit" kept in a safe—a blood-red fruit that pulsated slightly like a heart. This thing was made by Kumirad, a little prop casually sculpted by the goddess of wisdom.

In addition, Lud summoned the chieftain of the Golden Axe Clan and the high priest of the Steel Whip Clan, Winnig, and showed them the "Sacred Syringe." The dwarves, upon seeing the hair-thin, hollow needle, immediately concluded that it was no ordinary man-made object, but rather the work of a god.

Thus, Viscount Maup, swayed by Lud's series of persuasive tactics, quickly agreed to let him inject his children with holy blood. The Viscount himself had personally experienced how effective the divine medicine produced by the Cult of Medicine God was, and therefore, as a long-time customer, he chose to trust Lud.

When Evanrus arrived, more than twenty hours had passed since the injections, and the two children's condition had improved significantly.

Lud told the Viscount that once the holy blood entered the body, it would not only eliminate the evil spirit called the virus, but also strengthen the body in a targeted way, building a wall (immunity) within the infected person to prevent the evil spirit from invading again.

However, there are countless evil spirits in this world. Holy blood and divine arts are merely armor and weapons bestowed by the gods upon mortals to fight against evil spirits. If the person using them is not capable, they will still be unable to win. Therefore, one should never completely neglect physical fitness just because there are special medicines available.

The belated Evanrus had no idea what Ludd had done, but it was easy to tell from the Viscount’s expression that he had once again missed a golden opportunity.

Just over a month ago, when Lude first arrived in Oyster Harbor, Evanlus had dismissed this old man as either naive or hypocritical, completely unreliable. But now, he saw that Lude had conquered territory and riddled his once impregnable kingdom with holes.

If this trend continues, the Four Seasons Goddess Cult will not only be unable to prevent other sects from gaining a foothold in the area, but its own position will also become precarious.

Apart from a few die-hard fans, most ordinary believers will vote with their feet out of disappointment and turn to gods who can give them more benefits.

End of this chapter

Because he arrived late and lacked sufficient intelligence, Evanrus did not rush to attack Ludwig as soon as he entered. Instead, he greeted the Viscount first and then pretended that he had come to visit on business and had unexpectedly heard that the young master and young lady of the lord's family were ill, so he came to treat them.

However, the Viscount did not appreciate Evanrus's overtures at all, and even when he looked at him, a clear hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.

Just over a month ago, this fat man was still pleading with the viscount to hold a massive sacrificial ceremony for the future of the territory and the health of hundreds of thousands of its people, offering his children as sacrifices and praying for a miracle from the goddess of the seasons.

The viscount was almost persuaded by him!

It is important to understand that in feudal society, although lords were local emperors, they also had noble obligations that they had to fulfill while possessing supreme power. That was to protect and lead their people when disaster struck.

Viscount Mauper may not be exceptionally capable, nor a wise and powerful ruler, but he is certainly not the kind of incompetent ruler who disregards the lives of his people. He understands his responsibilities. If the situation continues to deteriorate, he would genuinely agree to sacrifice his two most beloved children to save the people.

Fortunately, Ludwig arrived in time and came up with a practical protest plan. This made the Viscount grateful to Ludwig, but also disgusted with Evanrus, who had previously tried to persuade him.

“No need for you to worry, Bishop. Master Lud already used the holy relic on my children yesterday, and they are fine now.”

"Oh! Since a sacred object was used, why haven't the young master and young lady fully recovered even after a whole day? Is it true that your religion's sacred objects always take this long to work?"

Evanrus's words were clearly nitpicking, but they also reflected an objective problem: the relics Rudd mentioned did not work as quickly as ordinary divine spells, which could instantly revive someone with full health.

Lude simply smiled, having anticipated that this man would try to annoy him, and instead asked Evanrus a question in return.

"Your Excellency, may I ask how many infected people your church has cured with divine magic since the outbreak of the epidemic?"

"Over a thousand people! Is there a problem? Or do you think you've saved far more people, so I have no right to question you?"

"No, no, no! Everyone has the right to question. I would like to ask you a different question. Of the thousands of patients your sect has cured, how many have relapsed after being cured? Have you never thought about this question?"

"This……"

With ease, Lude's question immediately put Evanrus in his place. The biggest drawback of conventional divine magic in treating the plague is that those cured do not develop antibodies because they did not fight off the virus with their own immunity. As a result, many of them become infected again as soon as they turn around.

This problem wasn't serious for Evanrus before, because the situation was the same for all the sects, and the recurring illness of patients wasn't a bad thing, at least for religious people like them. It meant that patients would have to spend money to come to them for treatment again and again, like harvesting leeks one crop after another.

In Evanrus's memory, there was an unlucky guy who came five times, and he specifically asked Evanrus, the most expensive one, to treat him. He spent over a hundred gold coins on him in total, making him a true hero among the韭菜 (a metaphor for being exploited).

But the patients cured by Rude are different. So far, none of the thousands of cured patients who have left the isolation area in batches have relapsed. Just as Rude claimed, these people are "saints" blessed by the gods because they defeated the disease on their own with the help of the gods, and will not be defeated by the same disease a second time.

However, everything is subject to comparison. The cost of conventional divine magic is expensive. In the entire Oyster Harbor, not to mention ordinary families, apart from a few large clans, even ordinary wealthy families cannot afford to have to be treated every few days. Everyone wants to solve the problem once and for all.

“If it were just a regular divine spell, I wouldn’t need to personally intervene; my disciples could do it for me. Two spells would instantly restore their vitality. But what happens after that? I am a priest, but I am also a healer. I am responsible for the patients I treat!”

"Then, what guarantees that these two children will be healthy forever?"

“Your Excellency, I am a human, not a god. Of course, I cannot guarantee that they will always be healthy and will never get sick. But I can at least guarantee that this plague will not harm these two children in the slightest. And what can you guarantee? Half price for the second treatment?”

"you……"

Speechless after being countered by Lud, Evanrus, though usually a smooth talker who could lie without batting an eye, knew that lying had to be appropriate to the situation and the person. With the lord right in front of him, asking Lud to make a guarantee in this situation would most likely result in him being proven wrong.

Knowing that saying too much at this time would only lead to mistakes, Evanrus snorted coldly and said nothing more. He knew that if he was slow to act, he would fall further behind. The lord no longer trusted him, and his position had been taken by Rudd. If he continued to argue, he would only humiliate himself and further damage the lord's impression of him.

This passive situation made Evanrus feel uncomfortable and strange, as if something had gone wrong.

Because Evanrus is very clear about himself. On the surface, he appears virtuous, but in reality, he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals! By worldly standards, he is a complete villain, a wicked character who has done every bad thing imaginable.

Reality isn't like a fairy tale for children, where good always triumphs over evil. Time and again, facts have proven to Evanlus that those who truly reign supreme are the despicable and shameless villains. Because so-called good people always bind themselves with the shackles of "morality," it would be a miracle if such fools won!

Therefore, Evanrus lived a very "real" life, and he did indeed keep winning, rising in status step by step. Whether commoners or nobles, they were all manipulated by him with dirty tricks.

The few times he failed were all because he encountered even more despicable and shameless villains; he was simply less skilled than them.

Until he met Lud...

On the way back from the lord's manor, Evanrus stroked Iria's soft thigh while muttering to himself. Lude's existence was no longer just challenging his position, but also defying his understanding and certain common sense he had firmly believed in for the past few decades.

"Damn it! Something's definitely wrong with this guy!"

End of this chapter

From initially not taking it seriously to now having to take it seriously, Evanlus was astonished to find that his understanding of Lud and the Cult of Medicine God was very limited.

As far as I can remember, I first heard this person's name around the middle of last year, when several new drugs with remarkable effects appeared on the market in Oyster Harbor.

At that time, Evanrus was only slightly interested in the medicine and did not take this little-known sect seriously at all, so he naturally did not bother to investigate their background.

As the world's largest religious sect, the Four Seasons Goddess Cult has an influence spanning three continents. While the relationships between its various parishes may not be harmonious, they have never ceased basic intelligence exchanges, thus enabling them to build an extremely vast intelligence network.

If Evanrus had acted sooner, and upon first hearing the name of the Medicine God Cult last year, immediately mobilized all available resources to thoroughly investigate all information about Rudd and the Medicine God Cult, he would now have reached a conclusion that would greatly surprise him based on intelligence gathered from all over the world.

Inside the quarantine zone, Lud, who had just returned from the lord's manor, saw a certain "goddess of pleasure" flipping through his research notes with great interest as soon as he entered his office.

The other person, without even looking up, said this when he heard that Lude had returned.

“Young man, although in principle I have promised that I will never interfere with any of your actions, out of goodwill I must remind you that it is best not to reveal your true nature to those old gods too early.”

"Don't you count?"

“I am only in the minority. Not all the old guys are willing to accept the rising new generation. They don’t want challengers.”

"But I don't want to be a challenger."

"Heh, do you think those guys will believe that?"

"……All right!"

Lud shrugged. He had previously exchanged ideas with Kumirad about creating gods and confirmed with him just how incredible his actions over the past two and a half years were in the eyes of other ordinary gods!

In order to put his hypothesis into practice, Kumirad explored how to create a god without the primordial fire. It took him more than three hundred years to successfully bring "the god of thieves" Hume into the form he desired. After another thousand years, Hume broke through to the fourth level and became a mid-level god.

In contrast, Lude and his cheap master who once possessed the primordial fire, Shanis was born in a year and a half, while Aina only took eight months, and then successfully broke through to the first stage in less than two years.

If this rate of growth were exposed, it would absolutely drive a large number of gods mad with jealousy, and they would unite to crush them.

However, Kumirad also reassured Rud that while he should remain cautious, he shouldn't worry too much, because other gods, unlike her, were not directly involved and therefore wouldn't discover the truth in the short term.