Goddess Kaleidoscope

Unlike the Kingdom of Durand, which adopted a feudal system, the Canary Islands Empire, almost universally recognized as the world's strongest power, had already achieved initial centralization of power about ten years earlier. The previous emperor used a "three-year war" to reclaim most of the power from the nobles, and then spent several years consolidating the country before truly unifying the entire nation.

Interestingly, the previous emperor who accomplished this great feat passed away from illness four years ago. The eldest prince was eager to succeed to the throne and become the new emperor, but the prime minister and several army marshals suddenly produced a secret edict that the late emperor had prepared long ago, passing the throne to an illegitimate son who had been carefully hidden for thirty years.

There are rumors that although the previous empress was of noble birth, she was too unrestrained by nature, like a wild horse with prolapsed anus. She gave birth to six children, but none of them were of royal lineage.

The late emperor was fully aware of this, but in his early years, he was wary of the empress's powerful family and could only pretend not to know. It was only after he had completely suppressed the local noble forces and realized his long-cherished wish of centralized power that he launched a counterattack after his death and passed the throne to his true son.

This illegitimate emperor, who has been on the throne since his ascension, is said to have done a decent job, diligently governing and implementing many benevolent policies. Ironically, however, despite his diligence and love for his people, his subjects do not appreciate him and have many criticisms of him, with reasons for their discontent that are characteristic of the empire.

"His Majesty the Emperor has been on the throne for almost four years, yet he hasn't even launched a single war of aggression. He's far too weak!"

This is what Hume saw of the empire during his reconnaissance.

Under the leadership of their predecessors, the Canary Islands developed a strong sense of national consciousness, which evolved into a deep-seated great-power chauvinism over the next decade. The vast majority of Canary Islands believed they were the superior race of humankind and that it was their right to rule and enslave other inferior races.

In addition, military merit was the only viable path to upward mobility for the common people, which led them to fall into war fever as well.

Ironically, over the past few decades, the empire has launched a foreign war on average every three years, annexing more than a dozen small vassal states.

But because these are all “asymmetric wars,” the empire can always crush its opponents in a very short time. So, apart from the small, weak countries that are being attacked, the common people of other large and medium-sized countries feel that these years have been as peaceful as a golden age.

As long as major powers do not engage in full-scale war, no matter how many corpses and rivers of blood are shed in smaller countries, it will not change the status quo of "world peace".

Decades have passed, and the empire's military might is sharper than ever, but when it tries to crush weaker opponents, it finds there are no weaker ones left. The Kingdom of Duran, having watched the spectacle for decades, suddenly realizes that it has unknowingly gone from a bystander to the victim itself, while the imperial powers before it are laughing like Liu Huaqiang (a famous Chinese comedian known for his shrewdness and cunning).

To be honest, Rudd had no sense of belonging to the Kingdom of Duran. His true homeland had not changed in the slightest because of the time travel, but he had lived in this country for many years, and the main foundation of the Pantheon was all here, so Rudd could not stand by and watch it be destroyed by war.

Moreover, in the final analysis, an empire attacking a kingdom is undoubtedly an act of aggression. The two countries have different cultures and languages, and were not the same country in the past. Therefore, this is not a legitimate war of unification, and its nature will not change just because the empire is more advanced.

Therefore, both morally and logically, Luther could not remain a bystander.

Fortunately, the Empire will likely be able to complete its war preparations in five to six months at the earliest.

Although the Kingdom of Duran is not as strong as the Canary Empire overall, its population of over 20 million makes it a formidable power on the continent. To attack the Kingdom, the Empire would need to deploy at least 100,000 troops. The Empire's standing army, comprising all five legions, barely reaches that number; it's impossible to bring them all without exception.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the Empire will mobilize one or two legions of elite standing troops, and then recruit three to four legions of volunteers. However, the preparation of supplies, as well as the recruitment and training of soldiers, will take time, and these are all large-scale operations that cannot be concealed. The Kingdom will soon become aware of this and begin to prepare for war as well.

On the kingdom's side, theoretically, as long as the lords across the country actively respond to the king, it wouldn't be difficult to raise an army of hundreds of thousands (of ragtag troops). In addition, since it's a defensive war on home soil, and there are fortifications along the southern border that have been built up over many years, if the goal is simply to hold off the imperial army, the odds of victory for both sides should be about 50/50.

After a moment's hesitation, Lud decided to write to Count Ramley and Duke Gamelin, two powerful figures in the north, to convey the intelligence and analysis he had obtained and to ask them to use their connections to contact the capital. He added that if His Majesty the King was interested, he would be willing to make a trip to the capital.

Previously, Ludwig had taken a low-key approach, avoiding contact with the upper echelons, mainly to bide his time and avoid prematurely exposing himself. But now that the Pantheon can no longer hide, he might as well step forward at this time of national crisis.

As Ludwig was writing a letter, Elijah suddenly floated up from under the floor in a panic, telling Ludwig to hurry down "below".

Upon seeing this, Lu De frowned and subconsciously asked a question.

"What happened? Wait a minute! Is Marigish cooking again?!"

In an instant, Lud's reaction was even more tense than when he heard that there would be fighting in the south. The reason he asked this question was mainly because a rather serious "accident" had occurred in the temple's underground hall sometime last week.

The incident began rather trivially. Clotho, the second of the three craftswomen, had recently developed a sudden interest in cooking and would practice on her own in her spare time. Marigsis happened to be passing by and saw her. So the goddess of the hearth said she wanted to try it, and Clotho handed it over without thinking much of it. Little did she know that this self-proclaimed "greatest gourmet in the world" would criticize it as utterly worthless.

Unable to bear Marigsis's sharp tongue, Croto, without thinking, retorted, "If you're so good, then you do it!" This hit Marigsis where it hurt. The mighty goddess of the hearth, can't even cook!

The "tragedy" that followed was simply a matter of "getting too angry." Rud couldn't understand how making a fried egg could almost turn his temple into an erupting volcano.

In short, from that point on, Marigs was forbidden from going near the kitchen.

Fortunately, Elijah shook her head, indicating that although the situation was urgent, it was not as serious as "Marygis cooking," but rather that several unusual "intruders" had suddenly appeared on the other side of the maze.

"Wait a minute! There's an intruder in the maze? It's been almost half a month since the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, where did this person come from?"

"I-I don't know either."

Realizing the situation was indeed unusual, Ludwig rushed down to the underground. The three sisters were checking the "surveillance" to see what was happening inside the maze. Sure enough, four people—three men and one woman—had inexplicably appeared in the maze. The eldest sister, Atropos, explained that half an hour earlier, they had suddenly sensed the maze gate open, only to find these "strange guys" appearing out of nowhere.

Atropos called them strange because these guys clearly displayed extraordinary abilities after entering the labyrinth.

"Your Excellency, these guys don't seem to be human."

"I can tell."

Looking at the images transmitted back by the "Eye of Peeping," Lu De thought to himself that it was indeed easy to tell at a glance. You have to know that it is currently winter in the north, with the temperature below zero all day, and it can drop to minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius at night. You have to prepare a small stick in advance even when you want to urinate.

As it turned out, none of the four were wearing cotton-padded clothes. The woman was bare-chested and clearly not a decent person. One of the men was shirtless, another was barefoot, and the only one wearing a robe walked with a very strange gait, leaving a long trail on the ground wherever he went. It's impossible for a normal person to wander around outside dressed like that in this season.

These four oddballs were leisurely strolling around the first level of the maze. Apart from the robed man whose face was obscured, the other three had expressions as if they were just shopping, exuding a kind of crazy excitement, completely different from the adventurers who would be cautious once they entered the maze.

At that moment, the shirtless man at the front of the group, while trying to leap over a ditch, suddenly had a loud bang as his forehead made intimate contact with a transparent beam hanging in the shadows above the ditch, and then fell into the ditch with a strange scream.

This "classic trap" tricked many newcomers when the maze first opened. Fortunately, the traps on the first floor are not fatal, so most people, after being tricked once or twice, are unlikely to fall for it again unless they are completely stupid.

Lu De thought to himself that if he remembered correctly, this trap hadn't tricked anyone for almost half a year.

Soon, the man who had fallen into the ditch jumped out on his own, and then, as if nothing had happened, he and his companions excitedly began to examine the transparent beam that had just caused him to fall into the ditch, leaving Lud stunned.

"This thing is really sturdy!"

"That's not all, Venerable One. That guy in the black robe was getting beaten up the whole time. Even though the traps on the first level were all non-lethal, an ordinary person would have been crippled by now. But look at him... he looks like nothing happened. That's too strange!"

After observing for a while, Lude realized that these guys were indeed acting strangely, so he told Elaine to quickly go and fetch Hume and Marigish. These two were veterans and might know the details about this group of oddballs.

Hume was soon called down. She had just returned from a business trip to the south two days ago, so she had been spending the last two nights in Ludd's room, ostensibly to collect her rightful "business trip allowance".

When Elizabeth called her down, Hume was yawning, clearly having just woken up. He was wearing tight leather pants and a loose men's shirt, which Ludd immediately recognized as his own.

Sis! Even if we've already gone public, you shouldn't be so carefree!

Ignoring Ludwig's suggestive glances, Hume looked at the image on the Eye of Sight, observed it carefully for a moment, and then tilted his head to speak to Ludwig.

"A ghost has entered the house."

"ghost?"

"Hmm, the devil's ghost."

Upon hearing Hume's explanation, Ludd was initially taken aback, but quickly realized what it meant.

Just as there are so-called "gods" in this world, demons are not fictional. Moreover, compared with gods, demons are more complex. Basically, any supernatural being that does not do human things can be classified into this category.

Evil gods with heretical divine positions, evil spirits that have infiltrated from other realms, and even cultists who have obtained divine power and wreak havoc on a region—all of these are classified as devils and are evil beings that must be eliminated.

If we only consider this criterion, Lud, who created the labyrinthine abyss there, could actually be categorized as a "devil".

Now that the devil has truly come knocking, Rudd is at a loss for how to react.

"Could they... be here to see me?"

"Didn't you deny that you were Hedetaka?"

"The name is indeed fake, but we really did build the maze!"

"Venerable One, perhaps... we should just leave them like this?"

As Atropos spoke, he made a throat-slitting gesture, clearly intending to kill the demon and become a righteous warrior to vanquish evil.

Ludger was about to nod, but he quickly thought of a possibility... what if these four were scouts and they had other companions?

Hume once said that demons are more inclined to form cliques than gods. During the war of the gods three hundred years ago, they organized a very famous "assassination operation" in which more than a hundred demons joined forces to set up an ambush on all sides, attempting to kill the Holy Lord of Light, Karius.

Although the operation ultimately failed, with Karius turning the tables and surrounding the hundred-plus demons, decimating them, the operation itself proved that demons understood the art of unity better than gods.

So after much hesitation, Lud did not agree to kill them, but instead decided to capture the four demons who dared to trespass into his labyrinth alive, so that he could get information about other demons from them.

PS: Actually, the demons came to examine advanced experiences.

Just as Lud had guessed, the four demons who suddenly appeared in the labyrinth were indeed "fans" who had traveled a long way to meet him in person.

The Abyss Labyrinth has been open for almost two years now, and during that time it has received tens of thousands of adventurers. While its reputation isn't exactly rave reviews, it's certainly been a mixed bag of complaints. Many users have gained unforgettable "memories" here!

Thus, the name "Hedtaka Miyazaki" spread far and wide through word of mouth among these experiencers, attracting not only the Holy Maiden of Light but also some demons who came seeking to learn from this infamous and outstanding colleague about his "advanced experience" in manipulating people.

For most demons, the Holy Maiden Trial held by the Holy Church every twelve years is like a criminal gang hearing that the authorities are going to crack down on organized crime. It makes these monsters tremble with fear and dare not act recklessly.

And this is indeed one of the positive effects of the Saintess Trial, which can effectively deter all evil forces!

The demons had considered retaliating and even joined forces to try and hunt down the Holy Maiden, but they soon discovered that it was a trap! There had never been a weak Holy Maiden throughout history. Her own strength was formidable, and she was also blessed with divine armor. Ordinary demons were no match for her in a one-on-one fight, and a group attack might even provoke the true form of the Holy Lord of Light.

So after paying a heavy price several times, the demons simply gave up and waited to die. After all, the Holy Maiden of Light was chosen once every twelve years, with twelve trials each time. The targets weren't all demons, so whichever bastard was chosen by the other side could just accept his bad luck.

However, even this formidable saintess suffered a major defeat at the hands of Hedtaka. No matter how the Holy Church of Light tried to cover it up, some inside information inevitably leaked out. Many low- to mid-level demons felt that simply surviving the "demon-slaying maniac" saintess unscathed was already a feat worthy of great boasting!

So these four demons, with the intention of "learning from the masters," came to the Abyss Labyrinth as a group, hoping to learn a thing or two from their idol, their older brother.

Once inside the maze, the four demons treated it like a tour, actively experiencing the various traps without flinching. At first, they were puzzled as to why almost all of these traps were non-lethal. Although they were insidious and vicious, always managing to catch people off guard, at most, they would leave them covered in wounds. Some traps would even conspicuously place a bottle of inferior healing potion at the end, appearing both considerate and mocking.

Fortunately, the demons quickly came to understand the "beauty" of these non-lethal traps. Compared to a clean and quick death, this kind of malicious and repeated torture was more effective in urging adventurers to strengthen their will and generating more negative emotions during the experience.

And these negative emotions are precisely the devil's favorite "food"!

In a sense, demons are like the opposite of gods. Gods draw faith from positive emotions, while demons feed on negative emotions.

Therefore, when they gradually "understood" the design intent of the maze, they were all impressed by the amazing talent of the mastermind.

"That's amazing! When I get back, I'm going to build a maze just like that!"

"Heh! Do you even have room to build something in your shabby old place?"

"Shouldn't a smaller one be okay?"

"Great Demon... No! This Lord Hedtaka is definitely a celestial demon from outer realms. These traps are not something a human could design!"

"My lord! Lord Hedtaka Miyazaki, please come out and see us! We are all your admirers!"

Several demons were shouting loudly in the labyrinth, but only the labyrinth's characteristic deathly silence answered them. Fortunately, the demons were only briefly disappointed before they rallied, because they felt that this was a test from their elders, and all they had to do was keep moving forward.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lud was deploying his troops.

Because he didn't know whether these four demons had any backup, the overly cautious Lud instinctively began to outwit the air, gathering almost all of his available combat forces to set up a trap on the second level of the maze, waiting for the demons to come to him.

"Lacesis, where are they?"

"They just passed the first level and triggered a hidden mechanism, so no battle occurred."

The boss of the first level, Dog, has a hidden mechanic: if an intruder does not show obvious hostility, Dog will not attack, but will instead open the door and let the intruder into the second level.

This information was blatantly placed at the entrance to the final stage, but unfortunately, so far, no adventurer has carefully observed the murals and texts, let alone pondered the hidden messages within them. Instead, it was triggered by a few demons who came specifically to "study."

However, this also proves that they really had no "malicious intent".

Soon, the unsuspecting demons entered the ambush zone, and the Heroic Spirit Squad launched the first attack. Because Lud had given the order to capture them alive if possible, Alvitt and her teammates did not kill them directly. Instead, they surrounded them while they were physically experiencing the maze traps.

Faced with a group of ambushes that suddenly appeared, the demons, who were in high spirits, were initially surprised, then excited. They thought these were the big boss's subordinates and that they were finally going to meet their idol.

Before the bald guy could even speak, he was kicked more than ten meters away by Aylvit's "Heroic Flying Kick" and slammed against the wall with a "thud".