Goddess Kaleidoscope

However, Maine couldn't stop him. Rudd wasn't some charlatan of dubious origin; he was a well-known priest in the northern part of the kingdom, now also holding the title of saint. Those who had used his healing methods and various miraculously effective potions all spoke highly of him!

Helpless, Maine could only watch as Miss Lisa led Lud into the house, her smile as she passed by him seeming to say something.

"Main, I'm coming in!"

Led by Lisa, Lud entered the tavern and headed straight for the main house in the backyard.

The tavern built by old Rom, which was also designed by Ludwig, is a circular building covering 2,500 square meters. The main entrance is the tavern hall, and the back is the inn, with different prices set according to the size of the rooms.

Although Maine had sidelined the lord's family and brought them under his complete control, he didn't mistreat the orphan and widow too badly. At least he still showed them some consideration on the surface, arranging for them to stay in the best "noble suite".

Along the way, Ludwig observed silently, accompanied only by Shanis and Hume. Fallen Leaf, because he looked like a man and was the biggest, was asked to stay outside.

The entire tavern is now occupied by Maine and his henchmen. These guys, who stand and sit haphazardly, can be seen everywhere in the hall and corridors, no different from the hooligans on the street.

It wasn't until they reached the suite's door that they finally saw several individuals whose demeanor was completely different from that of the thugs. However, these three individuals each had varying degrees of physical disabilities: one was missing his right hand, one was missing his left leg, and the other was severely disfigured, with only one eye remaining.

Based on the stories he had heard about the Knights of Cork, Ludwig deduced that these three men were the three surviving soldiers who fought alongside the bandits and were also knighted as guardian knights of the Baron's household.

These soldiers, who have seen blood and fought tough battles, even if they are physically disabled, have a completely different temperament from those thugs and henchmen.

The three men stood silently guarding the suite door. When they saw Lisa arrive with several unfamiliar faces, the one-armed man in the lead immediately stepped forward and asked her questions.

"Miss Lisa, who are these people?"

“Uncle Ados, this is the local priest. He says he can cure my mother’s illness.”

"he?"

Upon hearing Lisa's words, the man named Ados frowned slightly, his gaze towards Ludell seemingly filled with distrust. They knew the old lady's condition; it wasn't simply physical weakness and chronic illness, but rather a mental one.

Receiving news of her husband's and three sons' deaths simultaneously was the main cause of the old lady's mental breakdown. The soul, however, is the only sacred realm within a mortal body that cannot be touched by the gods. Therefore, the priest's soothing magic could only stabilize her emotions to a limited extent, but could not truly heal her.

However, Athos did not stop Rudd from going in to try, since divine magic was still very helpful in restoring the lady's health, and as long as she was alive, there was still hope for recovery.

However, after he turned to the side and gestured for him to enter, Ludwig did not go straight into the house. Instead, he stood in front of him, staring at his empty sleeves and said something.

"Let me see your arm."

"What do you mean?"

Another knight with a broken leg suddenly stepped forward, his tone quite agitated, thinking that Lud was mocking their disability.

"Don't misunderstand, I want to help you."

"Hmph! We brothers can't afford to pay your priests."

The knight with the broken leg sneered, seemingly harboring a great deal of resentment towards Rudd, or rather, towards religious figures. Rudd knew that in conventional divine magic, there was indeed a technique for limb regeneration, but this was a high-level divine spell, usable only by clergy of bishop rank or higher, and its price was predictably exorbitant.

Lude didn't say much, but simply reached out and pressed down on Ados's right shoulder. Ados immediately felt a burning and itchy sensation below his right elbow, and within seconds, a brand new arm grew out of his sleeve.

"Try to hold it and see if there are any problems? Newly grown ones are usually quite white and tender, just let them get more sun."

"Why...why..."

"It's nothing, I just don't like imperfections."

Lude smiled calmly and casually healed the physical disabilities of the other two. The way he effortlessly used high-level divine magic shocked almost everyone present. Lisa and the three knights were overjoyed, both for themselves and for the old lady who was still on her sickbed.

Meanwhile, Maine was extremely uneasy...

End of this chapter

To be honest, having witnessed the behavior of priests from other sects, Maine subconsciously made the wrong judgment about Rudd and seriously underestimated his strength.

The reason he didn't stop Lu De from entering the hotel was because he knew the old lady's condition was unusual; ordinary priests couldn't fully cure her, but Lu De's demonstration of skill had shocked him beyond measure.

High-level divine spells can be used at will, without even needing to recite incantations. Even if Maien is ignorant, he understands what this means!

So Main panicked. He wanted to stop Lud and absolutely could not let him cure the old lady's illness, otherwise his position would be ruined.

"Wait a minute! Today... how about we leave it at that for today? Madam is still resting, you can come back in a few days..."

"Master, this way please!"

Before Maine could finish his rambling, incoherent speech, the three knights' attitudes completely changed. Ados even grabbed Lud with his newly grown hand, as if afraid he would run away.

It has been more than a year since Captain Kirk died on the battlefield. For the past year, Ados and his two other brothers have been protecting the widow and her children, despite their own injuries, to repay their debt of gratitude.

They watched helplessly as that scoundrel, Myne, obtained the position of consul through illegal means, while they, being of low status, were unable to meet the king and expose the true nature of this shameless man.

So for more than a year, even though they were ridiculed and discriminated against, and called parasites who were freeloaders living off the Baron’s family, the three of them silently stayed by the Baron’s side, preventing them from falling completely under Myne’s control, and also being careful to prevent him from harming the old lady.

Lude's appearance undoubtedly brought them hope. As long as the old lady could recover from her current dazed state, they would have a way to drive away the villain, Maine, who had usurped their place!

Surrounded by the three men, Maine was pushed aside, and the knight Portos, who had a broken leg, used his massive, bear-like body to block Maine's path.

Previously, Maine wouldn't have taken these crippled knights seriously at all. The main reason he allowed them to linger around the Baron and get in his way was because they were guardian knights appointed by the King, and as his direct subjects, only the Baron himself had the right to dismiss them. But the Baron was easily fooled, and his sister Lisa trusted these useless knights even more. Maine had tried several times to trick the Baron into signing the dismissal documents he had prepared, but Lisa had stopped him in time each time.

There was nothing that Maine could do; he couldn't get rid of these three troublesome guys anytime soon, but he couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks whenever he ran into them. However, he never expected that these three good-for-nothings would have their severed limbs regenerated by Lude's divine magic right before his eyes.

When these three were missing limbs, Myne certainly didn't take them seriously, but now they've fully recovered. A man who can crawl out of a mountain of corpses alive isn't just relying on luck!

"What...what do you want to do?"

"Back off!"

Under the knight's glare, Maine immediately cowered and obediently took several steps back, watching helplessly as Lud was invited inside.

This middle-aged thug, who had spent most of his life committing crimes, was now desperately using his brain, which had never been used for its proper purpose, racking his brains for a solution. Finally, with his gangster mindset, he came up with what he considered an extremely insane plan…

With a somewhat awkward smile, Maine pretended to leave, but as soon as he turned his head, a fierce expression appeared on his face.

He returned to the tavern's main hall and quickly summoned several henchmen, ordering them to immediately gather all the men in the tavern and await his commands. Maine was determined to go all the way and "deal with" everyone who was in his way, using his most familiar methods!

Soon, dozens of his men gathered in the hall, each carrying a gleaming weapon. Earlier, Myne had ordered the disbandment of the local self-defense force and confiscated all its weapons and equipment to arm his own henchmen.

Unfortunately, Maine's son Monk was still kneeling outside. No one knew what dirty trick Lud had used, but the boy's legs were like lead, and he couldn't stand up no matter what. So they couldn't call on their best fighter as well.

In front of his gang of underlings, Maine adopted the same "big brother" demeanor he used to have, speaking in a menacing tone.

"Men, you all saw that man in the white robe, and you all know Athos and his three companions. Listen to my command: shout 'Assassination attempt!' and grab your weapons and rush into the backyard. I only want the Baron, understand? I only want the Baron!"

Hearing their boss's words, the underlings exchanged bewildered glances. But Maine simply pulled out a large bag of silver coins and threw it on the ground—all the taxes he had forcibly collected from the local townspeople. The thugs' eyes lit up at the sight of the money, and their greedy, bloodthirsty gazes quickly became gleaming.

"Do as I say, get started!"

With Maine's intelligence, this was the only method he could think of: take the risk, eliminate the troublemakers, and then frame Ados and his two incompetent advisors. As long as he spent some money to grease the wheels, in this remote, high-mountain region, he could get whatever he wanted.

In Maine's view, there were less than ten people in the backyard. The old lady and the two children were not capable of fighting. The only ones who could fight were Athos and his two companions and the female dark elf (referring to Hume) beside Lud.

While Rudd's methods were indeed superb, common sense dictates that priests have a limited number of divine spells they can use each day.

Lud has used it quite a few times today. Not counting the high-level divine spell he just used to heal Athos and the other two, he also used it to immobilize his son Monk outside the gate, and he also used it at the previous sermon.

Maien calculated that Lude had used his divine spell at least ten times. Even if he was an archbishop, he should be almost out of resources by now.

So, opportunity waits for no one, and now is the best time to act!

Leading over fifty henchmen, Myne rushed straight to the backyard.

With the Baron's residence just beyond the wall, Maine gestured for his men to "rise." Before they could even shout, a shout came from the courtyard first.

"Guards! Someone is attempting to assassinate the Baron!"

"..."xN

Looking up in bewilderment, Main saw on the roof to his left that the dark elf who had followed Lud into the house earlier was holding a huge megaphone and shouting "Assassin!" towards the outside of the wall.

Mann never expected that the other person would steal his lines!

Just then, the gate in the wall was suddenly kicked open, and Ados and his two companions, clad in full knight's armor, rushed out of the backyard, bumping right into Maine and his group. The three knights immediately understood what was happening when they saw dozens of men gathered at the backyard gate, brandishing gleaming swords.

"You heartless bastard, prepare to die!"

End of this chapter

With both old and new grudges settled, Myne was the first to be targeted, kicked seven or eight meters away by Ados, who was wearing full plate armor. If it weren't for the henchmen who hadn't had time to escape behind him and Ados not using his full strength, Myne would have been kicked to death.

Although he was still alive, the kick left Maine unable to get up for a long time. The surrounding henchmen were suddenly leaderless, and were beaten by the three fully armored knights, howling in pain.

Despite the 3:50 numerical advantage, Ados's side not only had an equipment advantage, but also had the priest Rudd to buff them, providing a full range of divine enhancements that instantly made them "gods descend to earth" in combat!

In the backyard, after Lude finished buffing the three knights, he moved a chair over and entered spectator mode. Occasionally, a thug who tried to run past the three knights would be bounced back by a divine spell.

Interestingly, Ms. Lisa, who initially gave the impression of being very delicate, was not afraid of being ganged up on. At this moment, she was jumping and dancing with Shanis, cheering them on with great enthusiasm.

Because Hume had locked all the front gates beforehand, Maine and his fifty-odd henchmen had nowhere to escape and were quickly all beaten to the ground. Ados and his two companions, however, followed Ludd's instructions and did not kill them, so most of them were only beaten to the point of being unable to get up again, still breathing.

Lude asked them to show mercy mainly because he was "kind-hearted" and couldn't bear to see anyone die. Besides, there were still many places in Pine Town that needed labor, and it would be a waste for so many young, able-bodied men not to work in the fields!

Seeing that the three knights had dealt with most of Maine's men, Lude got up and went to the front yard for a walk. He first gave some medicine to a few of the more seriously injured guys who were about to die, and then came to Maine, who was bruised and swollen.

Although this fatso only took one kick from Athos, he couldn't get up because he was lying on the ground. So during the melee, his underlings stomped on him many times, leaving him covered in shoe prints.

Then, with a Holy Light spell, Rudd, whose control was already superb, precisely controlled the degree of healing, only restoring Maine's consciousness but not allowing his injuries to fully heal, leaving him still lying on the ground unable to move.

Looking down at him from above, Maine's face was devoid of its usual arrogance and smugness, replaced by deep fear. His actions had been exposed, and his men had been almost entirely wiped out. He was now a live fish on the chopping block, his fate entirely in Maine's hands.

After his ruthlessness and courage were easily trampled on, driven by his will to survive, Maine begged Ludd for mercy with a sob in his voice.

"Master, sir, sir! Please... please give me a chance. I have money, I have a lot of money, I'll give you anything..."

Looking at Maine, who was so disoriented that he was starting to ramble incoherently, Ludd used the simplest form of emotional solace—a resounding slap.

"I'm not interested in money!"

"..."

Given Maine's actions, the mere charge of "treason"—attempting to assassinate the lord—would be enough to send him to the gallows, hanging him on a lamppost at the town gate to serve as a wake-up call. But Ludd wasn't in a hurry to kill him now; instead, he planned to ensure procedural justice while also ensuring the outcome was just.

“Hugh, go and inform Ron to gather the militia and make sure no one escapes from the town. Sir Ados, please come with me; we need to explain the situation to the townspeople.”

Ludd had anticipated that Maine would take such a risk, but he hadn't expected that in a moment of desperation, the guy would lead his men to kill and silence witnesses—a classic "desperado mentality."

However, Lude thought this was for the best. If this guy were really some kind of cunning old fox, he would have had to deal with him for a long time. Now it had become much simpler.

In conclusion... congratulations!

Together with Ados, Rudd went outside to the tavern. The fighting in the backyard had already attracted a lot of townspeople. As soon as Rudd came out, he saw at least several hundred people gathered in front of the door, many of them holding "weapons" such as pitchforks and hoes. When they saw that Lord Rudd had come out unharmed, they cheered.