Goddess Kaleidoscope

Upon hearing Lud's reminder, Trilling hurriedly and fearfully prostrated himself on the ground. As soon as he crawled to the ground, he heard a pleasant yet ethereal voice. The all-encompassing stereo sound seemed to be omnipresent, and the powerful sense of pressure made Trilling wish he could bury his head in the ground.

"Lud, have you brought the chosen one?"

“I have brought it, Your Majesty, he is right behind me.”

"Hmm... the soul is indeed correct, but his body doesn't seem to be his."

Hearing the goddess recognize his physical condition at a glance, even though he could only hear her voice, and address him as "the chosen one," Trin was initially startled, then suddenly overjoyed. His greatest desire now was to regain his original body, and the omnipotent goddess was right before him. If he weren't completely overwhelmed by her powerful divine might, Trin would have loved to pray to her.

As if she could read his mind, the goddess spoke again.

“Chosen one, I can help you return your misplaced soul to your original body, but you must do one thing for me.”

"No, no problem! My goddess, I'll do anything!"

In order to return to his complete self, Trin readily agreed, and as soon as he uttered these words, the contract based on divine power was immediately established. Trin felt the floor in front of him suddenly become hot, and when he raised his head slightly, he found a contract document made of light in front of him.

Holy crap! They signed it already?!

Staring at the floating contract of light before him, Terin was completely bewildered. Before he could even read the contents clearly, the document vanished in the wind, turning into specks of light that landed on his wrist, forming a unique mark.

Having signed such a clearly binding contract without fully understanding what was happening, Trilling felt a strange sense of déjà vu about the scene. He remembered how many thugs and bullies used similar tactics to force the poor to sign indentures. But facing a true deity, Trilling dared not say or ask anything, and even tried his best to suppress any thoughts that had just surfaced, for fear of displeasing the deity.

Fortunately, the goddess was not a thug or a bully. The moment the contract was signed, Terlin suddenly felt a powerful force surge into his body, which invigorated him and filled him with vigorous energy.

The projection of the divine realm dissipated, and everything returned to normal. Lud stood up, patted his pants, and then turned to look at Trin.

How are you feeling?

"It's so novel, I feel incredibly powerful! It's just... I'm still a little unaccustomed to it!"

"The first time is like this, you'll get used to it. But I must remind you, you've signed a divine covenant. Completing your mission will bring you even greater blessings, but if you choose to betray..."

"No, no, no! Absolutely not!"

Upon hearing Lud's warning, Trinn shook his head vigorously; he wasn't foolish enough to disobey the will of a god.

End of this chapter

After much effort, Ludwig successfully turned the tables on Trinze.

More crucial than getting the other party to sign a binding divine contract is the psychological induction, making Trin feel that he was not forced, or rather, not forced by Lud.

Of course, that's not enough; Ludwig has one last step to complete.

Meanwhile, at the guard post, Dorn, who had expected "the baron's lackeys" to come and negotiate with him soon, sat quietly in his cell from morning till night, but no one came. It was as if he had been forgotten.

Unbeknownst to him, the matriarch of the acting government had already taken Lu De's advice and was going to make the case of the Black Mandolin Merchant Guild smuggling contraband a model case, and hold a public trial for them in the newly built town court. This would serve as both a legal education demonstration for the local residents and a warning to other merchants who were also tempted to do the same.

Lude had spent a lot of time and effort explaining the importance of law to the old lady.

It's important to understand that within the Kingdom of Duran, the "Kingdom Laws" are not a legal code in the true sense. Local lords have almost absolute control over their own territories. As long as they don't rebel or do anything too outrageous, the king has no say in what the lords do. Therefore, each territory has a great deal of freedom in how it maintains local order.

Some lords are more responsible and will formulate clear rules and regulations that their people are required to abide by. They will also appoint special sheriffs to handle various cases. However, most lords act according to their mood. In any case, the people below dare not speak out. It is not uncommon for them to release murderers without charge because of their good looks!

What Ludd hopes to see is a global law, not necessarily one that is completely fair and just in this social environment, but at least it should exist and be able to protect the interests of the truly vulnerable groups to some extent.

It was thanks to the old lady's kind heart and willingness to treat the people well that she heeded Ludd's advice and entrusted him with drafting the first "Code of Laws" for Pine Town. Dorn and his Black Mandolin Merchant Guild had also run into trouble; Ludd wanted to make an example of them, and they were the fat chickens waiting to be slaughtered.

Following a relatively formal procedure, the guards responsible for maintaining town security sealed off the shop and, as far as possible, left the shop as it was. Then, they assigned a special person to investigate and collect evidence, marking all items that could be used as evidence, to be presented in court on the day of the town court hearing.

The interrogation of those involved was also assigned to Ludwig by the old lady. Ludwig deliberately ignored Don and began interrogating the merchants' employees first. This time of interrogating the suspects gave Ludwig a fleeting sense of déjà vu, as if he were back in a past life.

The interrogations of minor characters were swift, usually lasting no more than forty minutes per person, and yielded virtually no valuable information. The real focus, however, was on the key figures, including Dorn. But Ludwig deliberately prolonged their interrogations, placing each of them in separate solitary confinement cells where they could not see each other.

So Dorn was left in a solitary cell for two whole days and two nights before finally being the last one to be taken out for interrogation.

On his way to the interrogation room, Dorn ran into one of his trusted stewards. The man didn't appear to have been tortured; there wasn't a single mark on his face. However, he looked incredibly haggard, as if he hadn't slept at all for the past two days.

The two met unexpectedly in the corridor and instinctively wanted to ask each other questions, but as soon as they were about to speak, the guards next to them pushed them and quickly took them away from the scene, not allowing them any chance to communicate.

Soon, Dorn was led into a small hut. There were no familiar torture instruments in the room, nor any menacing, burly men with scarred faces. Only a chair and Ludd sitting upright behind it. On the gray wall behind him, a line of large characters was written in bright red dye.

Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely!

“Sit down, Don Navarro.”

Do you know my last name?

"We've already asked several people, and they all say the same thing. Sit down, you're the last one, we have plenty of time to talk."

At Ludd's prompting, Dorn hesitated before sitting down in a chair. The guards who had brought him in strapped his limbs to the chair, and this feeling of being restricted made Dorn unconsciously uneasy. Ludd then gestured for the guards to leave, and then seemingly casually took a red conch shell from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Your Excellency, I don't understand. What has our Black Mandolin Merchant Guild done to offend you? If it's just that you, Baron, or you're short of money, you could simply say so! Why make such a fuss!"

“Young Master Duon, you had better straighten out your attitude. Your chamber of commerce is not only involved in smuggling various contraband, but is also suspected of illegal detention and vigilante justice. None of these are things that a legitimate chamber of commerce should be doing.”

"Hmph! Say whatever you want. I'm like a fish on a chopping board now. Do whatever you want with me. Consider this a warning from our Black Mandolin Merchant Guild to other business partners who want to come to Pine Town: be careful when doing business here."

Seeing Dorn's nonchalant attitude, Ludwig smiled slightly and casually pulled an envelope from his pocket, placing it on the table. The moment Dorn saw the familiar black border around the envelope, his expression turned serious.

Lud said slowly and deliberately.

“Young Master Duren, do you think I just know your last name? Just four months ago, a young master named Dorin also came to Pine Town. Coincidentally, he also has the last name Navarro, and he talked to me a lot about his family!”

"You... since you know about the Navarro family, then..."

"So what if I know? Does the King of the Underworld of Flamewood City, the Chief Elder of the Black Hand Brotherhood, have to act a little scared to meet your expectations?"

"..."

Ludwig's words left Dorn speechless, and only then did he finally realize that the situation was probably not as he had thought.

"Kid, it's just the two of us here. I've cast a soundproof spell on this room, so the people outside can't hear what we're saying. Why don't we get straight to the point and save each other some precious time? What do you say?"

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

"I have so many questions I want to ask. I've prepared two whole pages of questions for you to answer."

End of this chapter

Dorn had expected to be blackmailed, but Ludd actually asked him two whole pages of questions. Some of these questions seemed to have a hidden meaning, while others were like smokescreens designed to confuse him. For example, he specifically asked about Dorn's mother's condition, which left Dorn feeling somewhat confused and unable to figure out what Ludd was really up to.

The entire interrogation lasted nearly two hours. Throughout the interrogation, Dorn remained on edge, carefully avoiding both remaining silent and revealing any potentially fatal information, until the interrogation ended.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Young Master Dorn. According to the local law, your Black Mandolin Merchant Guild will face both a fine and expulsion for smuggling contraband. However, given that it is already winter, I will plead with the Baron to allow you to stay until next spring.”

"Oh, it sounds like I should thank you."

"No need for thanks, I should be the one thanking you. See you later."

Leaving behind a cryptic remark, Ludwig packed his things and left the interrogation room, stuffing the red conch shell that Dorn had always been so concerned about into his pocket before he left.

Unbeknownst to Dorn, his conversation with Ludwig was a carefully orchestrated scheme. The seemingly nonsensical questions were the key elements of the conversation, which had been remotely transmitted through the conch shell to a relay station controlled by the three sisters. After being "re-edited," the conversation was played back to Trinn.

This kind of audio editing is not difficult to achieve using divine magic.

When these words reached Trilling, their meaning completely changed.

Using Dorne's edited audio, Trin ultimately hears a conspiracy specifically targeting him to cover up the truth!

In short, Trin's father discovers that his son is secretly investigating the cause of his birth mother's death, which involves some secrets that cannot be made public. It seems to be related to the false god of thieves worshipped by the Black Hand Brotherhood. Therefore, he realizes that Trin's behavior has crossed the line, and his father has murderous intentions towards his most beloved son.

So Trin's father, Huen, arranged a lucrative job for him that sounded like a way to gain experience: to take the family's top henchman and a group of henchmen to the north of the kingdom to find the lost artifact of the God of Thieves, and incidentally take down the necromancer who belonged to the Black Hand Brotherhood but had dug up the Navarro family's ancestral grave.

The real intention was to use the necromancer to kill Trin during the pursuit. Therefore, his old butler and the group of family guards were actually "acting" for him the whole time. The more Trin thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case!

Later, Trin met with misfortune; his soul was ripped from his body and inexplicably ended up in the body of a necromancer. The old butler took his empty shell back to report. His shrewd and cruel father, knowledgeable in necromancy, realized that Trin's soul might still be alive, so he sent Dorn to Pinetown to investigate secretly, determined to eradicate Trin completely, body and soul.

It sounds outrageous, but Trilling, who knows his father well, knows that this is exactly what his own father would do, very much in line with his personal style. That man has been in charge of the Navarro family for nearly thirty years, and has always been known for his ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness, and is known in the underworld as "Huan the Devil".

Trilling had heard from others long ago that his father, in his youth, used all sorts of means to kill all his brothers in order to seize the position of heir, and he didn't even spare his own father, who was Trilling's grandfather. The old man died in the second year after he relinquished power, and the cause of death was that he choked to death on the soup while eating steamed egg custard.

It's no exaggeration to say that his father never hesitated to kill anyone who posed a threat to him. He could kill his own brothers and father, so what difference would it make if he killed his own son?

After listening to Ludd and Dorn's conversation, Trinn slumped into his chair, looking lost and helpless, seemingly unable to accept the cruel truth for a moment.

"As expected! My mother didn't die of illness..."

"Don't be so sad, your master and we will help you."

Standing next to Trin, Shanis patted his shoulder as if to comfort him, then winked at Hydra, who quietly left to inform the three sisters in the next room who were in charge of sound editing.

Not long after, Lud returned to the temple from the detention center. Upon seeing Trin's expression, he knew that his operation had succeeded. This spoiled brat had completed his mindset transformation, and all he needed to do next was provide him with the necessary professional training before he could start working.

Meanwhile, in the southern city of Flamewood, thousands of kilometers away from Pinewood Town, Hume and Fallen Leaf are tirelessly investigating the Black Hand Brotherhood, providing Ludger with real-time intelligence from afar.

This formidable fortress, the first stronghold in the southern border of the Kingdom of Duran, is in no way inferior to the capital in terms of city size and population. Its massive walls, 35 meters high and 18 meters wide, protect the kingdom from the covetous gaze of the Canary Empire.

Standing in this city, Hume was both amazed by its prosperity and development, which far surpassed that of Pinetown, and shocked by its inherent darkness and filth. Self-proclaimed holy gods and evil devils coexisted in an unpleasant way in this densely populated city.

This intense feeling made Hume, while reminiscing about Pinetown, also reflect in his heart that he had indeed been influenced by a certain "brat," and that even a perfectly good thief had become so righteous and indignant.

"Alas! After three hundred years in the mortal world, even if I were free from the curse, I'm afraid I could never return to what I was before."

Hiding in the shadow of the clock tower, Hume sipped his wine and looked down at the bustling streets below. This was the most prosperous area of ​​Yanmu City. Every night, colorful lights would illuminate the area, and various upscale venues would attract the city's wealthy and powerful to come here to spend and enjoy themselves.

As the southern frontline of the kingdom's defense against the empire, this region was also deeply influenced by imperial culture, and the locals were passionate about opera. Hume could see at a glance that workers were replacing a new sign in front of the largest theater in the area, and the title of the opera on it made her chuckle.

"Romeo and Juliet... has it gotten this far?"

Hume finished the remaining wine in the flask, then leaped off the bell tower, landing silently in a dark alley. He looked up and saw, less than five meters away, several menacing-looking men attempting to assault a frail young girl. Ten meters further ahead lay a brightly lit avenue, where passersby could easily spot the depravity, yet all chose to turn a blind eye, as if it were commonplace.

The sudden appearance of Hume startled the group of thugs. Unable to see Hume's face clearly, they pulled out various weapons and surrounded him without saying a word, causing Hume to sigh.

"I never thought I'd be reduced to the point of having to do something heroic."

Although he couldn't use divine power, Hume still possessed strength equivalent to a top-tier mortal expert. He easily dealt with a few thugs, defeating them all in no time. The girl who was almost molested seized the opportunity to slip away, disappearing without a trace by the time Hume finished dealing with the situation.

Fortunately, Hume wasn't too concerned with gratitude. He kicked each of the thugs in the crotch to destroy their tools of crime, then clapped his hands and prepared to leave the scene to meet up with the fallen leaves at his hiding place.

But she had only taken a few steps when she suddenly felt dizzy. Her divine body, which had never suffered from any illness in three hundred years, suddenly became extremely weak, so weak that she almost fell to the ground and could only barely stand by holding onto the wall.

Fortunately, this feeling of weakness came and went quickly, lasting less than ten seconds, and Hume quickly recovered, but felt increasingly uneasy.

This intermittent condition had only appeared in the last few months, each time without any warning, but Hume had a vague feeling that it was related to the fake that was about to break through. In order not to worry Ludwig, who was accumulating strength in the rear, Hume did not tell him about it, and also instructed Fallen Leaf not to say anything.

But she could clearly feel that this state of weakness was occurring more and more frequently, from once a month to about once every ten days, constantly reminding Hume that she really didn't have much time left.

"You'd better hurry up over there, kid!"