Goddess Kaleidoscope

Hume's words gave Ludd a "key piece of information" that the unspeakable evil god created by the old astrologer had probably not been truly destroyed.

In the War of the Gods three hundred years ago, Hume chose the wrong side and provoked a god he shouldn't have. Although the god of war, Phaegle, couldn't kill Hume, he cut off her hands and placed a curse upon her. Not only could Hume's severed hands not regenerate, but her divine power was also largely sealed, leaving her to live a wretched existence on Earth.

Unless one day Hume surpasses the currently powerful and influential God of War, who holds numerous divine positions, in divine strength, or the other party voluntarily rescinds the curse, Hume's hands will forever remain in this wretched state. He may not die, but he will live in immense suffering!

The subordinate that Hume was trying to rescue at all costs was not an ordinary person, but a divine messenger under Hume's command.

"A divine messenger? What is that?"

Upon suddenly hearing a new, unfamiliar word, Luther, adhering to his principle of asking questions when he didn't understand, consulted Hume.

The other party told him that divine messengers were beings truly created by the gods themselves, possessing some of the gods' abilities. They were more capable and trustworthy subordinates than mortals, essentially a split half of the divine being, but they could be killed. The divine messenger that Hume requested was her last remaining subordinate in this world.

Years ago, Hume led his group of divine messengers to the realm of the God of War to steal his weapons, but they were caught red-handed. Of the forty divine messengers who accompanied Hume, thirty-nine died protecting him, and the only survivor was spared by the God of War on purpose. The God of War immediately chopped off Hume's hands and then ordered this last divine messenger to take her master and leave his realm.

Hume lost most of his divine power, unable to create new messengers or resurrect his fallen subordinates. He could only live on Earth with his last remaining messenger. After so many years of unwavering companionship, the other had long since become like family to Hume.

However, just like Hume, the god of thieves who lost most of his divine power, Hume's messengers also lost most of their power.

In Hume's words, the child was incredibly loyal to her, but he was single-minded, a trait that seemed to be ingrained in his very being and had not changed in the slightest over the past three hundred years!

Just like this time, Hume heard that the new lord of Unos, who took office three years ago, was a very mean and stingy fellow, and the local people had many complaints about him. Therefore, he planned to take the opportunity to develop an underground church here, using the usual method of Robin Hood-like thieves to help the poor and develop followers of the god of thieves to collect some faith.

At first, things went smoothly. After all, the Goddess of Thieves was the ancestor of all thieves, and her divine messengers were naturally highly skilled. However, because she was distracted by other matters, she was unaware that her foolish divine messenger was specifically targeting the city lord's family for theft, and at an alarmingly high frequency, stealing from them eight times in less than a month.

This is not only a case of taking advantage of loopholes, but it's happening far too frequently!

Enraged, the balding city lord used his connections to hire several top experts to help catch the thief. They set a trap and caught the thief's messenger red-handed, who was none other than the "Robin Hood Fallen Leaf" that Lu De had seen on the town's notice board that afternoon.

On the city lord's side, no one seemed to realize that they had actually captured a divine messenger. They simply assumed that this scoundrel was some habitual offender and planned to publicly execute him in town two days later as a warning to others!

As luck would have it, Hume arrived in Unos yesterday at noon. As soon as she entered the city, she sensed Rude wearing the divine artifact at the city gate. Because she had been following and observing him all the way, she did not meet with her divine messenger, Fallen Leaf, immediately. By the time she met Rude in the evening and went to find him, Fallen Leaf had already been captured by the experts invited by the city lord.

It really was just one step away from the end, and Hume was speechless at this moment.

Within Unos, Hume, the god of thieves, is practically all alone. The newly established underground church has quickly fallen apart due to the capture of Fallen Leaf. This has led to Hume looking around and finding that the only able-bodied man he can grab before his execution is Rudd.

Hume could see that Aina, though still weak, possessed a certain amount of divine power, and that Ludwig was very intelligent, so intelligent that it even surprised her. If both of them could help, she might be able to rescue that simpleton, Fallen Leaf.

"Young man, I hope you understand that I genuinely want to cooperate with you. If you can help me this time, I'll owe you a favor! Believe me, I'm at least your most ideal partner right now."

"Then why don't I collaborate with top-tier game developers?"

"Haha! I've always thought you were very smart. You don't really think that you're qualified to talk about 'cooperation' with those high and mighty guys, do you?"

The man and the god looked at each other for a moment, and Lud revealed a smile. He was well aware that he was not yet qualified to be on par with those great gods, and that if he were to reveal that he possessed the primordial fire, he would likely be besieged and intercepted by the major sects, and eventually captured and taken back for research.

So Hume was absolutely right when he said that this fallen god with some power was indeed the most suitable partner at this stage. Not only was Ludwig equal to her, but he could even have a certain degree of initiative, which was very attractive to him!

End of this chapter

During the day, Hume had disguised herself and infiltrated the city lord's mansion located on the eastern hillside. Although she had lost most of her divine power due to the curse of the God of War's seal, she still possessed strength equivalent to a high-level mortal warrior, as well as several divine skills including disguise and concealing her presence.

Hume didn't have to put in much effort to infiltrate the city lord's mansion. She first knocked out a maid in the mansion, then disguised herself as her and brazenly looked around the mansion without attracting the attention of the guards.

However, just when Hume thought he could easily get the fallen leaves out, he was humiliated in front of the dungeon.

It turns out that among the group of experts invited by the city lord, there was a great mage from the "Three-Person Tower".

The Three-Man Tower is one of the most renowned magic societies on the continent, and it is an independent organization not affiliated with any country or sect on the continent. It has hundreds of member magicians and holds an internal tournament every three years to select the three strongest to serve as the society's chief.

The person invited by Lord Unos was none other than Hamilton, one of the three current chief masters and a great fire mage.

In terms of strength, this old man is among the top tier of mortals, one of the very elite. If Hume hadn't been sealed away, he naturally wouldn't have needed to fear him, but now he can only avoid him.

The old man had set up a set of interconnected magical traps in the dungeon of the city lord's mansion. It seemed that the other party had guessed that Luo Ye had accomplices and would try to rescue him, so he deliberately used the captured Luo Ye as bait, waiting for his accomplices to walk into the trap.

Fortunately, although Hume's strength was not what it used to be, his eyesight was still good. He noticed something was wrong before the magic trap was triggered and retreated in time, thus avoiding the embarrassing situation of "the god being captured".

Hume had to admit that with her current strength, as long as Fallen Leaf was still imprisoned in that dungeon, she was not confident that she could get her out unharmed. But the good news was that they were not entirely without a chance, because the city lord had decided to publicly execute Fallen Leaf at noon two days later.

The great wizard Hamilton is currently bedridden in the city lord's mansion due to a ruptured hemorrhoid, refusing to attend any events that require him to sit. He also has no interest in watching a hanging, so he will not be present at the scene.

As long as this guy isn't around, and if Hume can find a way to lure away some of the guards and priests from various religious sects, he'll have a chance to successfully storm the execution ground!

"So, you want us to distract the guards so you can have a chance to save your divine messenger?"

“No! Being bait is a dangerous job that requires skill, and you two are definitely not suitable. I will distract the guards, and then you two will take the opportunity to rescue Luoye.”

Ludd shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this. He did not think it was a good plan just because Hume had volunteered to take on the most dangerous work.

According to the intelligence she had gathered, even if the most powerful mage, Hamilton, was not present on the day of the hanging, there would still be nearly a hundred guards and other experts hired by the city lord.

The only good news is that the priests of the city's various religious sects have confirmed they will not attend the hanging. Rumor has it that the city lord, who has been addicted to raising taxes over the past year, has set his sights on these sects, intending to levy taxes on the donations they receive from their followers.

Before this stunt was even officially implemented, the mere buzz it generated caused an uproar among the various religious sects in the city, forcing religious figures to unite!

According to Hume and the various rumors he heard after entering the city, the current lord of Unos is a very greedy fellow. He was relatively restrained in the first two years after taking office, but perhaps because he has finally secured his position this year, he has gradually stopped suppressing his nature and has begun to let himself go.

In order to quell the discontent, the current city lord built a brand-new, fully automatic gallows in the town square in the first half of the year. It was enormous and highly efficient, capable of accommodating thirty people hanging themselves at once.

It is worth mentioning that the current city lord and his wife seem to really enjoy watching hangings. They always come to watch every time someone is hanged, and they even built a special VIP seating area for them opposite the gallows.

"To be honest, I don't think your plan will work."

Lude shook his head. He was a cautious person; his eight years of undercover work in his previous life had instilled in him a cunning and calculating nature. After all, his colleagues who weren't cautious enough as undercover agents had already been killed before him.

However, Ludwig knew that time was indeed tight. The execution was scheduled for noon two days later. The Thief Cult in Unos had been destroyed, and Hume did not have time to gather help from other places. Therefore, the only people who could participate in this operation were the three people in the room.

At this moment, Aina, who had been silently observing without saying a word, suddenly raised her hand and asked a question like a primary school student asking a question in class.

"Um, I'd like to ask, can a divine messenger be hanged?"

“Normally it shouldn’t be possible, but Fallen Leaf is my divine messenger. My power has been sealed, which has also weakened her considerably. If she really couldn’t be hanged, I wouldn’t be in such a hurry now.”

"Wait a minute! Now that you mention it, something suddenly came to mind."

Upon hearing Aina's question, Lud suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He thought of a skill that often appeared in many novels and comics, so he asked Hume if the divine messenger had a way to concentrate his power to strengthen a certain part of his body and make it hard.

Upon hearing this, Hume immediately showed a look of disgust and glanced at Ludwig's lower body.

"Young man, when we're talking about serious matters, can you please not suddenly have such dirty thoughts?"

"You didn't understand what I meant. I didn't mean to strengthen... strengthen this place, but to strengthen this part, strengthen the neck. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Strengthen your neck...you mean to!"

Lude's words made Hume suddenly realize that two days later, Fallen Leaf would be hanged instead of beheaded. The reason that perverted city lord and his wife loved to watch it was because hanging was more painful, and the victim would struggle painfully for a while after his feet were suspended in the air.

Therefore, if, during the execution, Fallen Leaf concentrates his strength to strengthen his neck and then pretends to be hanged, Hume wouldn't need to go through all the trouble of storming the execution ground. He could simply wait until the square is empty at night and then retrieve the feigning-death Fallen Leaf.

"Playing dead is easy for a leaf to fall from, and controlling the body to stop the heart for several hours is not a problem. Moreover, after hanging, the body is usually left hanging on a rack for several days to be displayed to the public."

"Now there's only one problem left: how do we get information about this plan to your divine messenger?"

P.S.: The growth rate of various data for the new book is, to be honest, a bit slow. While it's not bad, seeing those books on the charts soaring like rockets is bound to make one envious. So I've decided to abandon my so-called "reserve as an old author" and spend the Chinese New Year holiday making some connections.

The first trading partner was Jiecaojun's (Jiecao Jun failed to recharge) "Dimensional Medicine King", which tells the story of a young man who travels to various anime and manga worlds to cook and add medicine without raising prices... He said this in the group with a straight face, so let's just take it seriously for now.

In addition, I had a discussion with the readers' group and the authors' group last night. Everyone generally felt that the current problem was that the plot of the first two volumes, which were setting up the world view and introducing the main characters one by one, was a bit slow. However, these are all necessary for original works. After all, this is not like writing fanfiction, where you only need the two simple words "Matthew" and readers will naturally think of black stockings, Naoko, and Chaldea. I don't have these conveniences of fanfiction.

Another problem is that the book title and synopsis are not attractive, and the cover is not sexy enough. Simply put, it lacks the key elements to lure people in.

Okay! I'll try to adjust the title and synopsis again, but the cover shouldn't be changed. It's a personal style I've developed over the past eight years of writing, like a business card. Changing it would make the book lose its soul.

End of this chapter

Time flies, and soon it was time for the execution.

In the central square of Unos town, in front of the huge gallows, the townspeople, who had learned two days in advance that there would be a hanging at noon today, arrived early to secure a good spot. Some merchants with outstanding business acumen even set up temporary stalls at the edge of the square, selling snacks and drinks, as if a grand carnival was about to open.

As noon approached, a troop of guards entered the square, dispersing the crowd around the gallows and viewing platform, and setting up a cordon. The crowd immediately perked up, knowing that the main event they had been eagerly anticipating was about to begin.

Amidst the crowd of onlookers, Ludwig and Aina secretly observed the guards' deployment. Ludwig did not wear Hume's Smile, but instead appeared in his true form, dressed in the merchant's clothes Hume had given him. Aina, on the other hand, used Hume's Smile to disguise herself as a servant boy, happily munching on snacks beside Ludwig.

After observing for a while, Ludwig realized that when it comes to people's love of watching a spectacle, whether in the city, the countryside, or some other world, everyone is pretty much the same. Watching a hanging might not bring any real benefit to those present, and it might even waste a lot of time, but it can give their impoverished spiritual world a brief moment of pleasure.

To put it bluntly, they're just a bunch of bored onlookers!

Ludd had no interest in watching the hanging; he just wanted to finish Hume's business quickly and then leave the city to meet up with Ron and the others. The villagers had sold all the goods they brought yesterday, so Ludd had sent them on their way early this morning, telling them not to go too fast and that he would catch up with them once he finished his business.

Meanwhile, at the city lord's mansion, the city lord and his wife had just boarded their newly purchased luxury carriage, preparing to head to the central square. Behind them, in another prison cart, today's "main course" had just been brought out of the dungeon.

At this moment, a guard rushed over in a panic. Judging from his constant reaching down to adjust his testicles, it was clear that he had just gone to the toilet.

The returning guard greeted his colleague with a grin, then jumped onto the prison cart and pretended to inspect the cage. Meanwhile, the chivalrous thief, Luo Ye, who had been sitting silently in the cage with his eyes closed, suddenly looked up at the guard.

"Don't move, or you'll be discovered. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say, and when we get to the execution ground, do as I say..."

Soon, the caravan was ready to depart, and the captain of the guards came forward to ask the city lord and his wife if they could set off. The city lord waved his hand, and the carriage, pulled by four fine, tall horses, set off towards the central square.

Along the way, guards had cleared the path in advance to facilitate the passage of the carriages. Among the entourage, the guards wore masks and walked silently without whispering to each other. However, the experts hired by the city lord at great expense rode behind the carriages, showing off and making a lot of noise, which made the city steward frown. He wanted to remind them several times, but when he thought of the city lord's attitude towards these people, he swallowed his words.

The distance from the city lord's mansion, located halfway up the mountain, to the town's central square is actually not long, only a little over a kilometer. When the old city lord was still alive, he often went out on foot to inspect the town, occasionally riding a horse. He had never once put on such a grand show as he is now.

The old steward had served the previous city lord his entire life and witnessed firsthand the miracles that had taken place in Unos over the past thirty years. His master, whom he respected throughout his life, had transformed this once dilapidated town into the prosperous place it is today.

However, the old master worked diligently all his life, but in his old age he had no suitable heir. After the old man's death, his only daughter and son-in-law became increasingly extravagant and wasteful, spending lavishly on luxury goods. They also became increasingly harsh in their management of the town, levying exorbitant taxes and incurring widespread resentment among the people.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Unos hasn't run into any problems yet. That's because the current city lord has been relatively restrained in the first two years, and the legacy left to them by the old city lord is substantial enough to withstand reckless actions in the short term. So at least the surface prosperity is still there, but if this continues, decline is inevitable!

The old steward was deeply concerned about these situations. He had repeatedly tried to reason with his son-in-law, but the man not only failed to appreciate it but also complained that he, a mere servant, dared to interfere with the master's decisions. In front of the old steward, the son-in-law even declared that he would fire him and replace him with a younger and more sensible new steward.

Soon, the convoy arrived at the square. Even though the driver deliberately slowed down to keep the pace as smooth as possible, it took less than ten minutes.

The butler immediately got out of the car to open the door for the city lord and his wife. The two men and women, who were overly plump, slowly shuffled out of the car.

Looking at the bald city lord's increasingly receding neck and increasingly defined jawline, the old steward couldn't help but sigh. When this young man married into the family eight years ago, he was clearly a spirited and handsome young man. How come he has become so fat and greasy in his early thirties?

As for the young lady standing to the side, who should now be called Madam, she is also clearly overnourished. The two of them standing together do indeed look like a married couple.

Supported by the maids, the two walked up to the high viewing platform. The hired experts surrounded them like stars around the moon, while the guards were busy sending fallen leaves to the gallows.

Below the stands, Lu De, mingling in the crowd, glanced at the city lord and his wife from afar, then turned his gaze to Luo Ye, who was being escorted onto the stage. He was a tall, burly man with a thick beard, and at first glance, he looked just like Zhang Fei, the fierce general from the old version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Among the guards escorting him, Ludwig noticed that one of them had a red scarf around his neck. Their eyes met from a distance, and the guard nodded slightly.

On the high platform, the city lord and his wife took their seats. They had only climbed a short flight of steps, but the two fat men were already panting heavily and hurriedly asked the maid to pour them wine to quench their thirst.

The city lord's wife glanced at the gallows in front of her and suddenly said to her husband beside her.