Goddess Kaleidoscope

After lunch, Olivia was summoned to Lud. Now that this young lady had entered the temple as an outer disciple, Lud, as was his custom, first had to assess her. So, he skillfully took out a stack of test papers and handed them over.

What is this?

"Test papers! One is math, and the other is Chinese. The test is limited to one and a half hours. It's okay if you don't finish. I need to confirm your basic level and what grade you are in. Romian, you will be in charge of proctoring the test later."

Olivia took the test paper from Lud and looked puzzled, because none of the monasteries she had visited before had ever done this.

While Olivia was still bewildered by the test paper in her hand, a long, drawn-out dragon roar suddenly came from the horizon.

The locals were used to the days when a giant dragon would fly overhead every now and then, so they just glanced up calmly and went about their business. Some people taking a nap didn't even open their eyes while lying in bed.

Ophia, having only been there a day, stood in the temple's back garden and looked up to see a gigantic adult red dragon fly overhead. While surprised, Ophia couldn't help but feel a little strange, because it seemed that the red dragon was carrying a… basket!?

"You're back pretty early!"

"How many dragons are there in this town?!"

"There's more than one!"

"..."

Similar to Olivia at this moment, Trin, who was hiding in the town, was also unable to remain calm upon seeing Amy's figure.

Counting the days, it had been a full ten days since Lud brought him back from the maze. For busy people, this time might pass in the blink of an eye, but for Trin, who was suffering in confusion, every day was now feeling like an eternity.

Lude had promised him he would help him regain his original body, and he had also sent people to Yanmu City to gather information about the Navarro family. So when he saw the dragon that had gone out to deliver goods flying back, he became very excited.

Amy, returning from delivering goods, landed at the threshing ground where she had previously stayed. This place had been converted into a "dragon field" according to Lude's request, with three "dragon-stopping platforms" side by side, which could be said to have completely exposed Lude's wolfish ambitions.

After landing, Amy didn't need the dwarf engineers waiting on the field to come forward. She unbuckled the straps of the basket herself, stood up and looked around. She quickly saw Lud, who had come after hearing the news, and then took off a small bag hanging around her neck and handed it to Lud.

"Master, the signed receipts are all here, and there's also a letter for you inside."

End of this chapter

Taking the package from Amy, Lude asked her how Long Sheng felt about his first job. Amy scratched her head and realized that she actually quite liked the job of "delivering packages." It was easy and fun, and she found it much more interesting than the days she spent idly squatting in the cave.

During this trip, Amy visited seven human cities in less than five days, causing quite a stir in each place she went.

Dragons are the apex predators of this world. A single adult dragon possesses enough power to destroy a city of 100,000 people and easily turn the tide of a war. However, their immense strength has also endowed them with an arrogant nature; they cannot be tamed like livestock.

Throughout known history, only one country has ever managed to tame a juvenile black dragon. In addition, a very few strong individuals or lucky ones have been able to befriend dragons and use their friendship to call upon them for help.

Besides, the most powerful Canary Empire in the world supports a dragon knight order consisting of a dozen or so wyverns. However, wyverns are only sub-dragons, not only much smaller than pure-blooded dragons, but their venomous acid, their primary means of attack, is also no match for the breath of dragons.

The difference between these two is as big as the difference between a water gun and a flamethrower!

Prior to this, the only rumors circulating about Rude were that he was also a priest who had gained the friendship of the dragon race and knew a black dragon living in the Void Forest. While such connections were rare, he was certainly not the only one with them.

But when the deliveryman Amy appeared, the situation changed completely. It was clearly not a friendship, but a superior-subordinate relationship. This female red dragon was working for Rud, and doing such a "lowly" job as a deliveryman. You can imagine the shock of the lords in various places!

Lud was well aware of the implications of hiring a dragon for delivery, but in the long run, it was by no means a bad thing. There would certainly be those who coveted it, and even the Duran royal family would send people to inquire about the situation, but this also served as a deterrent, making a considerable number of people who originally had designs on them change their minds.

However, before the dragon's aftereffects became apparent, Ludwig felt it was more important to check what Hume had sent him back.

Although they had been communicating regularly with Hume, who was far away in Yanmu City, through the idol, the idol could only transmit sound and not images. Therefore, many pieces of information that could not be explained verbally had to be written down.

Before Amy came along, correspondence between the two places relied mainly on the ravens kept by Hume. However, ravens flew relatively slowly and were prone to being attacked by other birds of prey along the way. Therefore, each letter had to be sent three times to ensure it would be delivered. Dragons, on the other hand, did not have these problems.

This particular delivery happened to be ordered by a merchant from Yanmu City, and Amy was delivering it, which allowed Hume's letter to hitch a ride.

In previous communications, Hume had mentioned that she, along with Fallen Leaf, disguised themselves as members of the Brotherhood of the Black Hand and attended their various secret meetings, leveraging their familiarity with the organization. This group wielded considerable power in Flamewood City, their tentacles reaching almost every corner of the city.

Of particular note is that Hume discovered that the Brotherhood of the Black Hand held quite a few different kinds of gatherings, some of which looked very familiar to her.

One type of gathering was specifically for the lower classes, consisting of poor people recruited by the Brotherhood. They would collect protection money from these people and act as informants, providing the Brotherhood with income and intelligence. Every so often, these lower-class members would be organized to participate in gatherings based on their neighborhood.

The leader, known as the cult leader, would distribute a cup of so-called "divine wine" to each member attending the gathering, claiming that drinking it would allow them to communicate with the gods during the ritual, temporarily escape this painful mortal world, and go to the paradise where the gods reside to indulge in pleasure.

Lude immediately understood that the divine wine had definitely been spiked with something, probably some kind of hallucinogen or addictive substance, to keep the poor people immersed in illusions and provide faith for the fake god of thievery.

This tactic was once used by Lu De's cheap teacher, the late heavy-taste SP astrologer, and it is said to be quite effective!

Clearly! The fake thief who controls the Brotherhood of the Black Hand also uses this tactic, extracting the faith he needs from the lower classes. What's even more tragic is that those believers may know perfectly well that this is an outright scam, yet they still choose to fall deeply into it.

Besides these gatherings for lower-class believers, the Brotherhood also has a "feast" specifically for the local upper class. Hume hasn't yet managed to sneak in and see what it's like, so she doesn't know, but it's said to be very popular, with even some leaders of major local denominations having been invited.

The idea of ​​a reputable bishop attending a gathering hosted by cultists sounds rather darkly humorous.

And Yanmu City... is practically Gotham City from another world!

Back at the temple, Lud set aside the replies from the various merchant guilds and immediately opened the package Hume had sent. Inside was a map of Flamewood City covered in various markings, a notebook, and a stack of copied letters and attachments. Such a wealth of intelligence was enough to prove just how hard Hume and his servant, Fallen Leaf, had worked in Flamewood City.

Lude glanced through the letters; there were more than a dozen, mainly from the current head of the Navarro family to others. Without exception, the recipients were all prominent figures in both the legitimate and underworld circles of Yanmu City, including even the city lord.

It's not hard to tell from the contents of these letters that the Navarro family, on behalf of the Black Hand Brotherhood, made some kind of deal with these big shots in exchange for their full support in Flamewood City. However, the letters use "our long-cherished wish" as a euphemism for what exactly they want to support them for, suggesting that they have been planning this for a long time and that now it's finally time to wrap things up.

Subconsciously, Lude connected "this matter" with the fake god of thieves' upcoming breakthrough to the fourth level. Hume had mentioned in his previous routine communications that the Black Hand Brotherhood's meeting frequency had increased from once a month to once a week in the past six months, to the point that some believers were finding it hard to cope.

Hume once sneaked into a gathering and witnessed believers getting so high after drinking the holy wine that they were practically intoxicated.

What Lude found slightly strange was that if this fake was really going to break through to the fourth tier, she would need to meet special conditions in addition to having sufficient divine power. But first of all, it was certain that the fake did not have a second divine position, nor did she subdue any other lower-level gods as her subordinates. It seemed that the only remaining path was the "sacrifice path" as an evil way.

Then a question arises... what kind of offering is this counterfeiter preparing?

End of this chapter

Sacrifice! For most religions, it is a common ritual of worship. However, the reason why cults are despised by the public and scorned by the orthodox sects is that, in addition to the illegitimate position of the gods they worship, heretical and evil rituals are also one of the main stains that are most easily criticized!

Of course! Sacrificial rituals varied in style and offerings used to worship gods across different periods, gradually changing with the times. If we trace back hundreds or thousands of years, whether righteous or cult-like, they all originated from the same source and practiced similar methods.

However, upright people will progress with the times, abandoning those ugly and bad habits, and at least appearing more civilized. But cults, on the other hand, often face increasing pressure to survive, and in order to gain more followers, they are willing to take risks, leading to increasingly extreme behaviors.

Lude deduced that the fake member of the Black Hand Brotherhood was planning to achieve a breakthrough through sacrifice—a simple, brutal, and highly feasible method. Disrupting their ritual would also be easy: simply prevent it from taking place!

As for how to trip them up, Lude had previously planned to have Hume go to Flamewood City to collect evidence of the Black Hand Brotherhood's crimes, and then send an anonymous letter to the local Holy Light Church to report them, so that the righteous Sun Knights would step in to punish the wicked.

However, judging from the intelligence provided by Hume, Yanmu City is completely rotten from top to bottom. The Black Hand Brotherhood has built a huge network of interests in the area, including almost all local forces. Even the clergy of the three major families in Yanmu City have been dragged into it, making it seem like an ironclad unit. The whistleblower letter will probably have to be sent to a higher-level unit.

Lude has already made a plan to have Aina break through to the fourth level within the next three months, and then go to Yanmu City to "expose the fake" next spring!

They have six goddesses on their side, and if you include Hume and Kumirard, whose return is uncertain, that makes seven and a half. Theoretically, as long as they don't try to save their grandfather like the Calabash Brothers, a "righteous gang up" strategy is guaranteed to win!

Aina's breakthrough trial is progressing relatively smoothly so far. The temporary sealing of her divine power allows Lacey to use necromancy on her, tempering her mind by constantly having nightmares.

This method sounds ridiculous, but the actual results are surprisingly good.

Because dreams are like virtual reality, Lacey will strictly follow the script written by Lud to construct the dream, taking advantage of the fact that "the dreamer is unaware of himself" so that Aina can experience all kinds of thrilling adventures in an absolutely safe environment without leaving the bed.

As an undead, Lacey possesses no special abilities and is incredibly weak in combat. However, she is exceptionally skilled at the basic ability of entering dreams, and has a knack for constructing dreamscapes. She also "praised" Old Man Lu for being truly cunning, providing her with dream scripts that were full of intricate schemes, practically the ultimate manifestation of human malice!

Lud's script isn't entirely filled with disgusting and dark themes; his goal is to temper Aina's character, not to corrupt her into darkness and depravity. Therefore, in addition to encountering crises and confronting evil forces during her dream adventures, there are always righteous allies appearing at crucial moments, allowing Aina to witness the hymn of courage and hope.

It's worth mentioning that whenever there's a big scene in a dream or a character doesn't perform well, Ludwig would personally enter the dream to make a cameo appearance, sometimes as a good guy, sometimes as a villain, and even as an "opening narrator" to introduce the background story.

With the combined efforts of the human and the two ghosts, Aina experiences a thrilling and life-or-death ordeal in her dreams every night. Although she can't remember the experiences in her dreams after waking up, the insights she gains are well preserved, helping Aina to grow continuously.

Of course! There are side effects too. Occasionally, Aina will have a strong sense of déjà vu in the real world due to certain scenes, which will trigger some memories.

Once, at the temple gate, a little girl from town, leading a long-haired sheepdog, called out to Aina, "Big sister Aina, come play!" Without warning, Aina burst into tears on the spot, hugging the little girl and crying her heart out, leaving Lud and the dog (in no particular order) completely bewildered.

As usual, after washing up, Aina drank the sleep-inducing black tea specially prepared by Lude and quickly fell asleep in bed. The black tea not only helped Aina fall asleep faster, but also allowed her to sleep more deeply and peacefully, preventing her from being suddenly awakened by emotional fluctuations in her dreams.

Looking at the sleeping Aina, Lude turned to Elaine and Lacey, who were floating nearby, and said.

"Let's begin! Lacey, you go into the dream and set up the stage first. Once you're done, call me and Elijah."

"Yes, Master."

The two female undead under her command worked together, with Lacey specializing in dream creation and Elaine responsible for building a "local area network" to allow more people to enter Aina's dream. The script they were using tonight was arguably their largest-scale production to date; Ludwig wanted to show Aina the cruelty of war, so he created a heavily modified version of *The Lord of the Rings*.

In this dream, he will play multiple roles: Gandalf is him, Saruman is him, and he is also preparing to stand on the tower of the wizards and sing a song called "Trololo", recreating a scene of "Saruman singing" in the underworld!

After the scene was set up, Lacey made the sleeping Aina hum twice as a signal that everything was ready. Then, Rudd drank a cup of black tea and quickly fell asleep, while Eliven used her ability to guide him into Aina's dream.

When Ludwig could see the scene before him again, he had transformed into an old man in a gray robe driving an oxcart, with a sprite perched on each of his shoulders—the incarnations of Elijah and Lacey, respectively.

Although the script is based on The Lord of the Rings, Rudd did not completely follow the original storyline. Instead, he made significant changes and incorporated elements from other works.

For example, Aina, the protagonist, isn't some rich hobbit heiress, but a village girl with superhuman strength from a small country village. The story begins with an evil sorcerer's army of orcs raiding a village, and Ludwig currently plays Gandalf, the retired Archmage who protects the kingdom.

"Is everything ready? How is Aina?"

"Everything is ready. Princess Aina has no doubts about her identity in the dream, except..."

"But what?"

"Her parents in her dream... are a bit distracting, lol!"

Seemingly thinking of something amusing, Lacey couldn't help but laugh out loud, leaving Lud completely bewildered. It wasn't until he entered the village and saw Aina and her "parents" behind her that he understood why Lacey was laughing.

Because in the dream, Aina's parents both had the face of Lud!

End of this chapter

Lude never expected that the dream used to test Aina would give him, the "question setter," an unexpected "mental shock" in this way.

It's important to understand that dreams are often a reflection of the dreamer's real-life experiences. This is vividly demonstrated in Aina's dreams, where people she knows in real life would act out roles that correspond to her perceptions in her dreams. Lacey calls these dream-generated characters "projections."

For Aina, as a god, she did not have biological parents. It was Rude who created her from nothing and gave her everything she has now. Therefore, although she and Rude occasionally bickered and had minor conflicts, she always regarded Rude as her most important family member and the closest person to her parents.

So, in her dream, Aina's parents, following her subconscious, both adopted the face of Ludwig himself.

"Father Lude" has a beard and slightly dark skin, dressed like an old farmer, while "Mother Lude" has a softer face and relatively fair skin, with "chest muscles" that are even more exaggerated than Aina's.

If I had to say... I'd say it's barely worth a shot!

However, watching these two "selves" acting like an old married couple, Lud, as the original, felt an unbearable urge to rub his eyes. What was worse, when he heard them talking about "giving Aina a bunch of more younger brothers and sisters," Lud got goosebumps all over. Therefore, with a gloomy face, he spoke to Lacey, who was trembling from trying not to laugh, in a very villainous tone.

"Hurry up and send the orcs outside to advance. Once they get into the village, take out these two first!"

Using the controllable flow of time within the dream, the village instantly transitioned from the bright midday sun to the twilight of dusk. A group of ferocious orcs stormed into the village, beginning their burning, killing, and looting without warning. Father Rud grabbed the longsword hanging on the wall and rushed out to fight the orcs, while Mother Rud told Aina to hide in the cellar inside the house, then grabbed a staff and went out to join the battle.

Lud, who wasn't in a hurry to start the performance, discovered that these two "selves" were actually more powerful than he had imagined, ruthlessly slaughtering the orc legion like cutting melons and vegetables, and wiping out a large number of them in no time.

The two "selves" possessed extraordinary combat power, which perfectly confirmed Lud's reliable image in Aina's mind. However, the real Lud could not allow these two to wipe out all the powerful orcs so easily, otherwise the show would not be able to continue.