Goddess Kaleidoscope

"The necromancer... Dick!"

Upon recognizing the interceptor's identity, the Beggar King was startled.

Because of their rare necromancy, necromancers are considered somewhat prominent figures in the martial arts world, but like the Beggar King, they occupy a middle-tier position—not the best, but not the worst either. Only recently have they suddenly risen to prominence.

No one knows what he did during the months he disappeared. All that is known is that he seemed to have obtained some kind of opportunity in the Northern Void Forest, which greatly increased his strength. His first battle after returning to the martial world was in Unos Town in the north, where he killed Vernon, the skinner who tried to forcibly take the artifact from him.

When the news reached Yanmu City, the entire underground world was in an uproar.

It's important to know that Vernon is one of the few unparalleled masters in Flamewood City, with strength on par with the old butler of the Navarro family who goes by the alias Sargin. Before this, the necromancer could only be considered a first-rate master, and there was still a clear difference between him and these top-tier old monsters.

But the necromancer of today is not what he used to be. He has already used his solid achievements to announce to the outside world that he, Dick, is now a top-tier expert.

So when the Beggar King saw that it was a necromancer blocking his way, he panicked. Don't be fooled by the more than a hundred henchmen he had; most of them were just ordinary thugs who didn't even know martial arts. On the other hand, the five people opposite him were clearly not ordinary people just by their aura. If a conflict broke out, he might very well be the one to be slaughtered.

The Beggar King didn't think he had any dealings with the necromancer. They had no past grudges or recent conflicts. The fact that the necromancer suddenly appeared and stopped him meant that he was probably there for the hostage named Baal.

This made the Beggar King wonder to himself, just who is this guy, that so many big shots have stepped in to save him!

"Is this...is this Lord Dick, the necromancer? I've heard so much about you. What brings you to Rat Street today?"

"Leave the box containing the people behind, and I'll let you go."

Without responding to the Beggar King's words, the masked "necromancer" issued a threat in a hoarse, cold voice, leaving the Beggar King, who had initially intended to say a few polite words before backing down, momentarily speechless.

"...(Damn it, don't I have any pride?)"

However, despite inwardly resenting the necromancer's lack of respect and knowing he was no match for him, the Beggar King dared not show the slightest anger on his face. After a slight hesitation, he decided to use Jade as a shield.

"Necromancer, I, the Beggar King, respect a strongman like you, but I must make it clear that the person in the box is someone Mr. Jade specifically requested. I am simply fulfilling a request and doing my duty. How about this: you all come and sit with me, and I will send someone to invite Mr. Jade. We can all sit down and talk at our leisure. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

End of this chapter

The Beggar King thought he had come up with a perfect solution, one that would allow him to remain neutral and avoid offending anyone. However, after a brief silence, the necromancer on the other side spoke coldly once again.

"I don't want to repeat the same thing too many times."

"..."

Clearly, the necromancer had no intention of giving him any face. This caused the Beggar Emperor's fat face to twitch. He wanted to lash out but dared not. Just as the Beggar Emperor was struggling internally, an invisible shock suddenly struck him without warning.

The Beggar King felt a buzzing sound in his head, an instant surge of energy that felt like it was about to explode, and his vision blurred. Then, a strange emotion welled up inside him, and the Beggar King was astonished to find that he had suddenly become "happy."

"What... ha... ha... hahahaha!!!"

To the Beggar King's subordinates, their leader had suddenly gone mad without warning, laughing wildly on his "throne," his fat jiggling. Meanwhile, Lu De, dressed as a necromancer, was very satisfied with the effect of his mental attack.

The mask Lude was wearing was one of the main legacies left by the necromancer—the artifact "Abyssal Gaze." This item's special effect was the ability to absorb and transfer a person's emotions. The necromancer used this ability as a form of mental attack, regularly collecting negative emotions like fear and dread, releasing them all at once when needed; the sheer volume of negative emotions was enough to instantly kill someone.

After obtaining this artifact, Lude discovered that it could absorb all kinds of emotions, not just negative ones. The amount absorbed could be controlled by the user's will, and at its maximum power, it could instantly put the absorbed object into "sage mode," which was even more powerful than the mental soothing in conventional divine arts.

So, Lu De instilled in the Beggar King the equivalent of thirty people's worth of joy in one go, almost making the fat man die of laughter!

"Let go."

"Release it, hahaha... hurry up and release it, hahaha!"

Seeing that their boss had spoken, and that this strange state was clearly the work of the masked man on the other side, the Beggar King's underlings knew that they had encountered a formidable opponent. They quickly put down the wooden box containing the people, and Lu De also absorbed the excess emotions that the Beggar King had not yet finished laughing. Only then did the Beggar King stop laughing and look at Lu De with a look of fear.

"Let's go!"

More than a hundred people were robbed by five men on the road. They left their belongings and fled in panic. After the rabble had run far away, Lude had the two female heroic spirits behind him take them back to the theater, while he went to the stronghold of Marfin and the others. The other two groups led by Alvit had already taken them down. Thirteen thugs, including the Marumafen brothers, were now obediently squatting in the courtyard with their heads in their hands, waiting to be questioned.

From his conversation with the Beggar King, Lu De had already guessed that the Beggar King was not involved in the kidnapping, but rather, like himself, had come to rescue someone. The mastermind behind entrusting him with the rescue was actually the "Faceless Man" Jade, who ran a casino.

Lude wasn't sure why this guy wanted to help him, but since the other party was willing to be friendly, he could make good use of it.

Back at the dilapidated house, Ludwig found the Marumafen brothers, who were being held captive. Initially, the two tried to resist Ludwig's questioning, even threatening him by claiming they had powerful backers. Ludwig bluntly recounted their embarrassing experience of being coerced by the Beggar King into handing over hostages, and then had Alvette perform a "physical magic trick" of crushing stone into powder with her bare hands. The two brothers immediately cowered.

However, after some questioning, Ludwig was disappointed to discover that there was no grand conspiracy behind the kidnapping, only the arbitrary actions of two complete idiots. It felt like Ludwig had prepared firecrackers to throw into a cesspool, only to find upon closer inspection that there was no excrement in the cesspool at all—a truly disheartening experience.

"Damn it! It's useless!"

"Sir, what should we do with these guys?"

A dozen or so thugs squatted in a circle on the ground. Lu De stared at them for a while and suddenly realized that this problem was quite difficult to solve.

You said let them go! These scumbags are complete scum. Although they're low-level thugs, they're often more hateful than big-time thugs. Because they're also weak, they only know how to target the weaker. In many cases, their methods are even more unscrupulous than those big-time thugs who follow the rules.

If they were allowed to leave like this, the consequences would be like releasing poisonous snakes into a residential area, only harming innocent people. But killing them was a difficult decision. It would be one or two heinous criminals, but there were more than a dozen, exceeding Lud's moral bottom line.

Fortunately, he quickly found a solution to this dilemma.

If we can't kill them or release them, then let's send them to the north for labor reform!

The three sisters had previously mentioned to her that they had discovered several new mineral veins deep underground and wanted to mine them. However, they currently only possessed third-tier divine power, and they worried that if they continued to increase the number of divine messengers under their command, their own divine power would be overstretched.

It should be understood that divine messengers, like priests, derive their power from their own gods. Therefore, if one's level is insufficient and one rashly creates too many divine messengers, it will only become a burden.

It's worth mentioning that although Hume's divine power was sealed due to the curse of the god of war, only she herself was unable to use the power of the gods; the divine power within her still existed, and the faith of her followers could still be absorbed as usual. Therefore, it was more than enough to sustain the last remaining fallen leaves.

Returning to the question of what to do with these scumbags, Lude figured that since the three sisters needed labor to mine, it would be a good idea to pack up these guys and send them over.

They have a new gadget that Ludwig conceived and the three sisters developed, called the "3D Recycling Device." It's essentially a copy of the balloon recycling device from Metal Gear Solid. It looks like a backpack, and when you pull a switch, a balloon pops out from the back, which can quickly lift a person into the air.

So Lude met with Alvitt and told her to take her sisters to knock these scumbags unconscious and take them away. After dark, they were to use the "three-dimensional recycling device" to send them all into the sky, and then have Kanna pick them up and send them back to their hometown in the north to be dealt with by the three sisters.

Ludwig was quite satisfied with his "humane" decision, and couldn't help but admire himself.

"What a kind-hearted bastard I am!"

End of this chapter

For the vast city of Yanmu, the sudden disappearance of a dozen scoundrels overnight was hardly news. Instead, another "paranormal event" became the topic of conversation among the local residents. More than one person claimed to have heard a chorus of "ghostly wails" sweeping overhead in the middle of the night, keeping them awake with fear.

Meanwhile, most of the influential figures were drawn to the story of "the Beggar King's humiliation."

The whole incident stemmed from a kidnapping case. A group of thugs from Rat Street kidnapped the Rainbow Dance Troupe's lead male actor, intending to demand a ransom of 500 gold coins from the troupe. This dance troupe is currently enjoying immense popularity due to their hit new play, *The Count of Monte Cristo*, so it's not surprising that they've become the target of these petty criminals.

Kidnapping is considered an "intangible cultural heritage" of Yanmu City. The main targets are out-of-town merchants who look like "fat sheep". Every year, hundreds or thousands of people are walking down the street eating hot pot and singing songs when they are suddenly kidnapped by a group of masked men who appear out of nowhere.

Thanks to these kidnappers, the local bodyguard industry has flourished, and the two sides occasionally engage in tense and exciting "limited-time collaborations."

But things took a strange turn after the kidnapping. Just a few hours later, the Beggar King led hundreds of his men to the kidnappers to demand his release. Then, before he had gone far, he was abducted by necromancers who suddenly appeared on his own territory.

The hostage, who had changed hands twice, soon reappeared at the back door of the Sky Opera House. Apart from a large bump on the back of his head from being hit on the head, the unfortunate boy, who was almost scared out of his wits, returned home unharmed.

Some people treat this as a joke, but others feel that there is a lot of mystery involved, and many details become more and more intriguing the more you think about them.

Everyone wanted to know who was protecting this out-of-town song and dance troupe, that they would make such a big fuss to find a missing male actor.

After the incident, Jade, who had entrusted the Beggar King with a task, was shocked to learn that the Beggar King had been kidnapped by a necromancer.

He suddenly realized something: a few months ago, the necromancer searching for the artifact of the Thief God clashed with the Navarro family in the north of the kingdom. The Navarro family suffered heavy losses; their eldest son became a living dead, and their top-tier master was crippled. The necromancer, on the other hand, was seriously injured and went missing, and it was once thought that he might have died in some unknown corner of the world.

Jade used his available resources to conduct a covert investigation, which gave him access to many details that other third-party forces were unaware of.

For example, the conflict broke out in an underground labyrinth called "Spiral Abyss" deep in the Void Forest, which is within the sphere of influence of the Medicine God Cult. The legendary "Saint Lud" is a high-ranking priest with unfathomable strength.

Therefore, Jade couldn't help but speculate whether it was possible that the severely injured Dick had been rescued by the saints who were exploring the labyrinth, thus saving his life. And in recognition of this life-saving grace, the necromancer who returned to Flamewood City would then have intervened to save the Rainbow Dance Troupe sponsored by the Medicine God Cult.

As for why that righteous saint would save an evil necromancer, you'd have to ask him to find out. In any case, there's definitely some connection between the two.

Other factions in the city who were also paying attention to the movements of the necromancers mostly drew similar conclusions to Jade's based on this incident, and all turned their attention to the Sky Opera House, making the Rainbow Dance Troupe the focus of attention once again.

Lude had anticipated this outcome before taking action, but he still deliberately used the Rainbow Choir as bait. Although this would definitely cause some trouble for Servis and the others, at least Lude wouldn't stand idly by.

The day after Baal was rescued, Jed sent an invitation to Mr. Hugo to have lunch together at the city's most famous upscale restaurant, where Jed had already prepared a private room.

Faced with Jade's clearly intentional invitation, Lude naturally did not refuse. After making some arrangements, he took Alvite with him to the banquet.

As soon as the two arrived at the restaurant entrance, a waiter they had met briefly at the casino came forward to greet them and led them to a luxurious private room on the top floor of the restaurant. Jade, wearing his signature iron mask, was sitting inside and greeted Lude as soon as he entered.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hugo. I was worried that you might be too busy to attend the banquet."

"I usually don't miss meals when others are treating me."

"Haha, that's great!"

After Lude took his seat, Jade immediately called for the food to be served. The waiters filed in and soon the table was full of dishes.

This upscale restaurant is actually owned by Jade, and its decor, service, and cuisine all emphasize the most authentic "Imperial style." Jade believes it is authentic enough, and that the experience and sophistication are at least a level above those in the kingdom, making it highly praised in the local high society.

Suddenly, Jed did something: he reached out and removed the iron mask from his face, revealing a severely disfigured face. It looked like he could play Deadpool in Hollywood without any makeup!

Seeing that the other party had voluntarily revealed his terrifying true face through his mask, Lude asked with some curiosity.

"What caused your injury, sir? With your wealth, why don't you seek treatment from a local priest?"

"It's no use. This isn't disfigurement, it's a curse! Ordinary priests' healing spells are ineffective against me. Unless a god descends upon me or the person who cast the curse withdraws their power, I'll remain this ghastly as I die. Do you think I want to wear this thing on my head every day?"

In front of Lude, Jade shared a little secret known only to a select few. Everyone in Yanmu City who knew Jade was curious about what he really looked like. Some, seeing Jade's extraordinary speech and elegant demeanor, even imagined a super handsome face and began to swoon uncontrollably.

If the members of the "Jade fan club" were to see the truth, they would probably be heartbroken.

Lude was a little unsure. Jed had invited him out to dinner, and then suddenly showed him this cursed face. What was his purpose?

Wait a minute! He just said something like "unless a god himself comes!"

Generally speaking, apart from the God of War, Feigolai, who often watches duels in the Great Arena of Aegis City, most other gods rarely show themselves in front of mortals. This is partly due to their own pride and partly because they want to maintain a sense of holiness, so they all keep a respectable air about them.

On the contrary, those evil gods who cannot see the light of day are more approachable. They often use incarnations to walk among the mortals and bewitch those ignorant mortals.

So Jade's words seem to be implying that Lude joined the Black Hand Brotherhood because he needed the fake Thief God's help to break the disfigurement curse. And Lude's frequent acts of kindness towards him now are probably driven by the same idea.

End of this chapter

Including the now-deceased Vernon the Skinner, Jade is the least senior of the six elders of the Brotherhood of the Black Hand.

Even so, he had served this organization for a full twenty-five years, and had even become an elder. Considering the average lifespan of humans in this world, that was almost half a lifetime.

For the past twenty-five years, Jed had worked diligently and tirelessly for the development of the Brotherhood, and had been utterly loyal to the God he believed in. However, twenty-five years have passed, and Jed still has not received the promised grace from God. Now he can only sigh in his heart, realizing that he had ultimately given his heart in vain.

Just as Lude had guessed, Jade's frequent displays of goodwill towards him were a way of hoping to connect with the Medicine God Cult, which was thousands of miles away. This was an idea he had had for a long time.

Jade had originally planned to travel to the north of the kingdom to meet the saint Rude, who was said to be chosen by God. However, Flamewood City and Pine Tree Town were separated by thousands of miles, and the trip would be time-consuming, laborious, and risky. In addition, he had a large family business to manage in Flamewood City and could not leave easily, so he had not been able to take action.