Goddess Kaleidoscope

Several demons, unaware of the situation, were still dreaming of currying favor with a powerful figure. Lude had only slightly hinted at his interest in the local demon gang when they eagerly began to reveal information.

Through them, Lud learned that the demons lurking in the shadows called the society they operated in the "Dark World." The demons formed various groups based on their origins and goals, and in nature, they were not much different from human gangs.

It's worth mentioning that although the Goddess of Thieves' divine position wasn't entirely legitimate, and she even sided with the losing side during the divine war, resulting in the God of War chopping off her hand, she was still not classified as an evil god. This is because, while her followers were scattered, their total number was truly enormous. Secondly, she was supported by a certain goddess who wished to remain anonymous, giving her such a powerful backing that the other gods dared not utter a word against her.

The four demons before them were independent individuals wandering outside of major gangs. They knew each other and often interacted, but had not formed a gang. Because their area of ​​activity was within the Kingdom of Duran, they had heard of the Abyss Labyrinth in the Void Forest long ago, but had never been there before.

Several lesser demons were eager to become the master of the greater demon, so they were extremely obsequious, all of them practically crawling over to lick his shoes. The female evil goddess Pattaya, in particular, made a lewd tone that sent chills down one's spine, especially since Rudd had a male voice.

Fortunately, Lu Dezhi was determined enough, and the heavy makeup in Pattaya did not suit his taste, so he was unmoved and even found her a bit noisy.

But as annoying as it may be, Lud still needs these few items for the time being.

Lud told several demons that he was a demon transferred from other prime planes and that he was not interested in destroying worlds because he had already destroyed enough and was getting tired of it. So he began to pursue "pleasure" and wanted to play games with mortals from various worlds!

The few lesser demons immediately understood, thinking to themselves that the powerful figure who could casually annihilate gods was truly extraordinary. The idea of ​​destroying the world was something they couldn't even contemplate; he had done it too many times and was now utterly bored with it.

So, in order to please him, the lich Raim, who considered himself the smartest of the four demons, quickly asked.

"Senior, how would you like to play?"

Of the four demons, the lich Raim was the most senior and quick-witted. He immediately understood the meaning of "big senbei." Manipulating people's hearts was indeed more interesting and challenging than simple destruction.

Lude deliberately remained noncommittal in response to Raim's question, only letting out a low chuckle. To Raim, this chuckle was tantamount to confirmation of his guess, and he was immediately overjoyed, unaware that he had unknowingly fallen into a trap.

Seeing that things were going well, Lud knew that it was best not to go too deep into the first contact. He only needed to leave a mysterious and unpredictable image in the other party's mind. So he snapped his fingers again, and Shanis, who was standing next to him, magically produced four black cards in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, she threw them in front of the four demons.

"Take this. It's my token. Next time you come to the maze, just show this and you can pass through without any obstacles. I know what you're thinking and what you're hoping for, but just a few of you... aren't good enough to play games with me."

"S-Senpai!?"

Lud didn't say another word, using silence to dismiss them. The demons exchanged glances, while Raim seemed thoughtful. He rose, bowed respectfully to the throne, and then turned to leave. Seeing this, his three companions could only follow him.

After the demons had gone some distance, Shanis asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Master, why did you just let them leave like that?"

"This is called playing the long game. Setting up a scheme and putting on an act should be done subtly, leaving enough room for the other party to imagine. It's much more convincing than if we make it clear ourselves. I reckon that lich will come back in a few days, and he'll come alone, sneaking over."

"I see... I understand now."

Just then, Aina, dressed in her "costume," skipped and hopped over.

To highlight the prestige of the Great Demon Hedtaka, Rudd arranged a "god-like" performance, having Aina impersonate a goddess from another world seeking revenge, only to be instantly killed by Rudd's Hedtaka.

Because Aina was indeed a mid-level fourth-tier deity, even though her acting was mediocre and couldn't compare to an actor like Lude, the overwhelming pressure emanating from her powerful divine authority was undeniable. The demons could never have imagined that a fourth-tier deity would go to such lengths to stage such a grand performance just to deceive them, a few lower-level demons!

"Master, how was my performance just now?"

"Not bad! It would have been better if you had shown more resentment when you were finally captured. But it's not a big deal, the chair just happened to block your face, so those demons didn't see you."

"Since their performance was pretty good, what's the reward?"

As Aina spoke, she bent down and approached Lud. The little nun was still wearing that goddess armor that looked like a cosplay outfit. This thing was a practice piece that the three sisters made when they had nothing else to do.

While it is called armor and the materials used are indeed of high quality, the design is full of flaws. In short, it prioritizes aesthetics over the protection of most vital areas, exposing areas that should not be exposed, such as the chest, back, and thighs.

So Aina's seemingly casual bend over immediately drew Lu's attention away!

"Master! Where's their reward?"

"Ahem... I asked you to do some serious work for your teacher, why do you always reward me like this..."

He coughed twice to cover his embarrassment, and in his heart he couldn't help but complain that Aina's personality had obviously changed a lot since she broke through to the fourth stage.

Although she still seems as naive as ever at first glance, she's developed a bit of a cunning streak. Just like that day when she cornered Lu De in the study, preparing her rebellious declaration before "betraying her master and ancestors," this girl really doesn't want to be a "good kid" anymore.

Under Aina's relentless pressure, the "Great Demon," who had previously exuded an aura of authority in front of the four demons, quickly gave in and agreed to the reward Aina had asked for, promising to accompany her shopping in a few days when he had time.

Lude had accompanied them several times before, and it wasn't just a simple stroll around the local streets. They would disguise themselves and pretend to be ordinary people to visit big cities in other places. For this, Aina didn't hesitate to use her divine power to fly Lude hundreds or even thousands of miles away to a street where no one knew them at all.

Aina loved going on dates in places like this because she could relax and act intimately without worrying about their master-disciple relationship. This was exactly what Aina had always longed for!

Lude was initially troubled by Aina's change. After all, his feelings for Aina were mainly familial, and he subconsciously raised her as if she were half a daughter. But now that she had grown up, she was so "filial" to him, which made Lude feel very complicated.

It's no exaggeration to say that in the first half month after the master-disciple relationship broke the taboo, Aina's inner knot was untied, but it almost drove Lude crazy.

Fortunately, Hume returned from his business trip and comforted Ludwig in time... He then kicked Ludwig in the butt and said in an annoyed tone.

"You've already done it, what are you still hesitating about!"

"..."

After that, while adjusting his mindset, Lud also adjusted his relationship with Aina. The previous mentor-student/fatherly relationship was clearly no longer sustainable, and Lud was dismayed to find that he seemed to be the only one struggling with this issue.

One day, the eldest of the three sisters, Atropos, even excitedly approached Rud and said that this could be established as a tradition of the Pantheon. In the future, whenever any of her sisters broke through to the fourth level, they could spend the night with the Venerable One. Atropos would definitely try her best to win him over. Rud was at a loss for words and at the same time became secretly wary.

So you were actually lusting after my body too?!

In short, Ludwig did want all members of the Pantheon to be closely united around him, but definitely not in this way!

After agreeing to Aina's request for a "reward," the little nun happily went to change her clothes. Just as Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Shanis, who was standing to the side, say something in a tone that was clearly tinged with resentment.

"Ah! I'm so envious of Aina! Everyone is working so hard, I really want a reward too."

As Shanis spoke, she stared intently at Ludwig with fiery eyes, making him sweat profusely. Ludwig finally gave in and signed another "unequal treaty," which finally satisfied Shanis.

This made Lude feel a little worried about the future. The "second-stage god" was about to enter the activation stage. If the newly joined partner was also affected by this "evil wind", Lude was really not sure if his "mortal body" could withstand it.

The faith clouds of the four "second-generation gods" have already formed and are growing at a promising rate. Lu De did not conduct any deliberate proselytizing activities at the school, but instead adopted an edutainment approach, using the school competition to make the second-generation gods the mascots.

In addition to the school competitions, Lude also created some wall hangings, which were displayed in various corners of the school. These wall hangings included pictures and text, and the content was mostly a series of meaningful short stories, much like the "Goddess Mini-Theaters" that Lude told during his sermons. While guiding people towards goodness, they also instilled the image and character of the goddess in people's hearts.

At Brewster Academy, no one would question Principal Ludger's words. He said that a divine realm existed, and that there must be a divine realm, and that the gods in the divine realm must truly exist.

This is indeed a kind of blind obedience, but it also proves the principal's status in the students' hearts. Everyone's trust in him is almost unconditional!

After announcing the competition events, Lude placed all the trophies in the corridor of the school's main hall for public display. Students would pass by here several times a day on their way to and from get out of class, and every time they passed by, their eyes would unconsciously fall on these golden goddess trophies.

While organizing the school competition, Ludwig was also assisting the Baron's family in reorganizing their military. The first thing they had to do was expand the army, increasing the size of the guard from three hundred to one thousand.

The predecessor of the guard was the self-defense group that Lud and the town elder Rom took the lead in forming. It could initially be regarded as a conscription system. All men, women, and children in the village who could handle weapons had to undergo training. The experience of almost being destroyed by bandits in the past gave the villagers a strong sense of crisis.

Later, the town grew and its population increased from a village of a few hundred people to a town of tens of thousands. However, the development of the self-defense force was slow and steady. Its main achievement was the establishment of a permanent force and the partial separation of its members from their jobs.

After all, they were just a "civilian armed force" at the time. If they became too formal, it would give others grounds for criticism and risk being accused of rebellion.

Later, the Cork family arrived and were granted the title of local lords of Pinetown, thus establishing their own banner.

According to the kingdom's decrees concerning local lords, the maximum number of private armies a hereditary baron can possess is one thousand in total strength, and he can appoint a maximum of twenty subordinate knights. His soldiers are allowed to be equipped with chainmail and a certain proportion of light iron armor.

There are a whole host of related requirements. The royal family issued these decrees to restrict the lords and prevent them from rebelling, but at the same time, they also had to ensure that these nobles maintained a certain level of armed force, since the king would need them to lead troops to defend the king when foreign enemies invaded.

Generally speaking, the restrictions on nobles at all levels are the most lenient for barons, since many barons' fiefdoms may not even have a thousand subjects, let alone the financial resources to support twenty knights.

But the situation in Baron Cork was different. Because the information the king had was severely outdated, he didn't know the actual situation in Pine Town. He thought it was just a small border town with a few hundred or a thousand inhabitants at most, and that it must be poor, dilapidated, and freezing cold in winter! Considering that the Cork family was a descendant of loyal officials, His Majesty softened his heart and increased the area of ​​the fiefdom, thinking that at least it would look respectable.

Subsequent events proved that, apart from the fact that "the winters are incredibly cold," which was largely true, the king's perception of Pine Town was entirely incorrect.

Given the abundance of both manpower and financial resources in the area, Lu De suggested to Lady Selina that since the purpose of expanding the army was to prepare for war, they might as well go all out and go all out with the highest level of military strength. Lu De even had some rather "bold" ideas.

At Lude's suggestion, the new round of military expansion will adopt a recruitment system, with relatively high requirements for the age, height, weight, and health of recruits. Pine Town already has a population of nearly 30,000, with about 6,000 to 7,000 young men of working age. Not everyone wants to be a farmer for life. Lude believes that instead of letting these young men become adventurers, it's better to recruit them into the army.

Because of the excellent salary and benefits offered during the recruitment process, and with Lu De's strong support, the recruitment went very smoothly. Local young people enthusiastically signed up, and the 700 slots were filled in less than three days. There were even incidents of people fighting over slots at the registration site.

These new recruits went directly to the camp to begin training after their recruitment was completed.

It is early winter now. Although there have been several heavy snowfalls and the temperature drops to nearly minus 20 degrees Celsius at night, the daytime temperature is actually not too bad. So as long as the soldiers are well-fed and warmly dressed, training can still be carried out in this season.

The old lady entrusted Lu De with the entire training of the new army, demonstrating her high level of trust. Lu De reciprocated by doing his best in the job. After all, to some extent, this army was also his weapon, and he might need it someday.

Lud plans to reorganize these 700 new recruits and the original 300 veterans into ten 100-man squads, including one cavalry squad, one engineer squad, one ranged attack squad, and the remaining seven are "combined" infantry squads.

Unlike the chaotic and disorganized organization of ordinary noble private armies, Ludwig, based on the existing conditions and referencing Qi Jiguang's "Mandarin Duck Formation," devised a multi-unit coordinated combat formation for the Baron's army.

Each squad of ten consists of three swordsmen and shieldmen standing at the front line, three halberdiers supporting the front line, three crossbowmen providing ranged attacks from the back line, and a squad leader in charge of command. Squads can also be combined to form larger battle formations.

This formation requires each soldier to perform their specific duties and fight as a team. When the number of enemy and friendly forces is roughly equal, its advantages are extremely obvious, making it suitable for both offense and defense, and for both close and long-range combat. Even when encountering heavy cavalry that strikes fear into the hearts of infantry, it is not without a fighting chance.

However, the entire baron's army ultimately only numbered a thousand. Once the kingdom went to war with the southern empire, both sides were capable of raising armies of hundreds of thousands of men. To expect this small force to influence the entire war was essentially a pipe dream.

Ludger personally trained the army, hoping to equip these young men with the ability to survive on the battlefield and bring back as many as possible alive.

So during this time, besides being busy training his troops, Lud also took the opportunity to ride his dragon to visit the neighboring dwarves, planning to cooperate with Gulig to produce something truly capable of changing the landscape.

Two days later, Lud rode Kanna to the dwarven territory to attend the first "Northern Lords' Summit," which he had spearheaded. The invited lords were all powerful figures in the North, and Lud hoped to use this meeting to forge a military alliance to jointly prepare for a potential war.

Based on Lud's understanding of the military strength of the Kingdom of Duran, the private armies under the command of the vast majority of lower and middle-class nobles were actually quite weak and incompetent. Usually, only a few knights could be regarded as professional soldiers, barely able to take a break from their jobs, receive relatively strict military training, and possess better weapons and equipment.

In contrast, the standing army was quite inadequate. Some poor lords didn't even have a standing army; they would only temporarily conscript a group of able-bodied men from their subjects to make up the numbers when war was imminent.

Looking across the entire northern region of the kingdom, there are just enough lords to maintain a standing army of more than two hundred men to count on one hand. From most to least, they are the Duchy of Gamelin, the Earl of Ramli, the Earl of Steelwhip (dwarves), the Viscount of Mape, and... the Baron of Kirk, which is Pine Town, where Lud has laid the economic foundation.

So Ludl sent invitations to these powerful lords who also had good relations with him, inviting them to a meeting in the dwarves' territory, and to show them the "big treasures" he had commissioned the dwarves to make.

When Lud arrived at the dwarven dungeon, the red dragon Amymie had just picked up the other three families.

The heavy snow blocked the mountain roads, but it couldn't stop the flying dragon. Because it was Lud's invitation, and he had also subtly mentioned some things in the letter that would be interesting to everyone, no one refused.

The one who came from the Gammelin family was the eldest son, Rodriguez. The old duke now clearly intends to pass the title to this outstanding eldest son, entrusting him with most of the affairs within the territory, while he himself travels around enjoying his retirement.

The other two lords, Earl Ramley and Viscount Maup, both attended the event in person. Earl Ramley, who had been fighting with Duke Gamelin for most of his life, had always been friendly to Rodriguez, the younger generation of his rival family. Now, looking at this tall and handsome young man, he even used the "eyes of a father-in-law," revealing a kind and benevolent expression.

As for Lud himself, he was ostensibly the Baron's plenipotentiary representative, but all the leaders and representatives attending the meeting knew that his influence in the Northern Region now far exceeded that of these lords. If it weren't for Lud's personal letter, but rather an invitation from the Baron, they might not have braved the heavy snow to come to the Dwarf City for the meeting.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Ludwig got straight to the point and presented his pre-prepared alliance plan.

The lords present were all well aware of the impending war in the south and had made preliminary preparations for sending troops to defend the king. However, Lud's proposal surprised everyone somewhat, as he hoped that the five families could combine their military forces to form a unified army under a single command, and then march together to the southern front, advancing and retreating together.

Throughout the Northern Territory, there are dozens of lords, large and small, but only a few are truly powerful. The rest are merely there to fill the ranks and create a false sense of order; their presence or absence makes little difference. Therefore, Lud simply avoided contacting these rabble to prevent the possibility of a traitor among them.

In front of all the lords present, Rudd gave a detailed analysis of the current military disparity between the Canary Empire and the Kingdom of Duran. It's no exaggeration to say that if this war were to break out, and without any sufficiently powerful external intervention, the kingdom's chances of victory were less than one in ten.

The lords remained calm after hearing the analysis; they were not at all surprised by Lud's conclusion.

Ordinary people may be ignorant and uninformed, but these local rulers have their own channels of information and a certain understanding of the empire's strength.

The frustrating thing is that many years ago, some insightful people in the kingdom called for the kingdom to follow the empire's example and adopt a centralized system of government, but this was met with strong protests from the feudal nobles and ultimately came to nothing.

"Master, does your plan mean that we should combine our private armies into one force?"

"Pretty much. In the past, when the kingdom waged war, although the armies brought by various lords seemed large when put together, the organization was too loose and the command system was chaotic. Such a motley crew, even with a numerical advantage, would hardly be able to defeat the imperial legion."