Goddess Kaleidoscope

Therefore, this weapon poses a great threat to cavalry. Attacking them head-on would be unwise, but they could flank them and launch a surprise attack.

After a vivid display of weaponry, the lords all gave the artillery a very high rating. Gulig revealed that they were also researching a super-heavy cannon with an even larger caliber, reaching an astonishing 400 millimeters in diameter, but with a very short barrel. By sacrificing range, it achieved greater power. Theoretically, a single hit would be enough to create a hole in a five-meter-thick city wall.

According to Gulig's estimate, with their Steel Whip Clan's current production capacity and raw material reserves, they can produce at least two hundred cannons of various types before the beginning of next spring, and prepare at least three hundred shells for each cannon.

By Earth's standards, this production capacity might not seem like much, but given that the civilization in this other world is currently at the level of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, their production capacity could be further increased once the Steel Whip Clan's artisans fully mastered the artillery production technology.

"Honestly, I can't wait to have a fight with those imperialists. Those arrogant bastards are always bragging about how their legion formations are invincible, but that's something our dwarf kingdom did back in the day. I'm going to blast their emperor's ass with cannons and show them what's what!"

As the saying goes, "He who possesses a sharp weapon will naturally have the will to kill," and Gulig was now itching to get his hands on something and couldn't wait to cause trouble for the Empire.

Whether or not his bold words had some mystical effect, a dwarf messenger suddenly rushed to the shooting range and handed a message delivered by a flying eagle to Gulig.

The dwarf chieftain opened the box and glanced at it; his expression immediately froze.

"The imperialists... have declared war!"

Contrary to many people's expectations, the Canary Empire chose to launch an offensive against the Kingdom of Duran in winter. Several legions crossed the border between the two countries three days ago, with their forces heading straight for the Dukedom of Krud.

Faced with the overwhelming imperial army, Duke Krud organized his troops to resist with difficulty, relying on the fortresses he had built up over many years, while urgently requesting reinforcements from the capital.

In his letter pleading for help, the Duke stated bluntly that the Empire's attack was definitely serious, and the scale of the invasion far surpassed previous minor border skirmishes. Without timely reinforcements, the fall of the duchy was only a matter of time.

Upon learning this news, King Duran immediately declared a state of emergency throughout the country, ordering lords in all regions to lead their troops to his aid. Lords near the southern border directly reinforced Duke Crude, demanding that they hold out for at least a month to allow the king time to assemble a sufficient army.

It was only then that Duran finally realized why the Imperials had chosen to launch their attack in winter, a season unsuitable for warfare.

Firstly, it would catch them off guard. Secondly, the winter snowfall would severely disrupt transportation in the northern part of the kingdom, preventing the lords' armies from providing timely reinforcements to the south, thus relieving pressure on the imperial front.

As for the adverse effects of the climate, there are certainly some, but the southern part of the kingdom is located at the junction of the subtropical and temperate zones, and the central mountains block the cold air from the north. Therefore, the winters are not as severe as in the north. As long as the empire prepares warm clothing for its troops in advance, it can launch an offensive during this season.

Lud guessed that the Empire's plan was probably phased: first launch an attack in winter to severely damage or even annihilate the lords' armies in the southern part of the kingdom, then rest briefly, and wait for the spring when the temperature warmed up before taking the north in one fell swoop, thus taking over the entire territory of the Duran Kingdom.

This is not an exaggeration, but rather something that is very likely to happen in the next few months, based on the current situation!

The lords present looked grave, as if they had all considered this possibility. To make matters worse, a dwarf messenger ran over and brought them a second piece of bad news.

"Urgent news! The Empire has declared the Cult of the God of War as the state religion. The Supreme High Priest has issued a holy decree that the God of War... will protect the Canary Empire for eternity."

Upon hearing this news, the already somber expressions of everyone present became even more grim, especially Viscount Map, a baptized follower of the Cult of War, who always wore the Cult's emblem pendant around his neck, even while sleeping.

As a result, in this war of imperial invasion of the kingdom, he, who had believed in the God of War for most of his life, stood on the side of his enemy country, which made the viscount feel a sense of collapse, like his house had been "collapsed".

At this moment, Earl Ramley beckoned his adjutant over, without bothering to hide it from the others present. He instructed the adjutant to use a raven to send a message to the territory, ordering him to closely monitor the Temple of the God of War in Wolfhelm City and prohibit their priests from contacting the army again. However, he was not to make any rash moves against the knights and soldiers in the army who believed in the God of War, and to wait until he returned.

The old count knew that the Supreme High Priest's support from the Holy Land was not just empty words, but a statement from the Church of War. They might very well change their past practice of helping both sides whenever there was a war, and instead only support the Imperial Army.

As is well known, while the priests of the War God Cult have terrible healing spells, their enhancement spells are incredibly powerful. Just three or five low- to mid-level priests can provide a group buff, which can dramatically increase the combat power of an army of a thousand.

Therefore, for the kingdom, the fact that the Cult of the God of War so clearly stood on the side of the empire was truly unsettling.

This unease was confirmed two days later when Lud, who had returned to Pine Town, received a letter from Earl Ramli. The Cult of War, contrary to its usual practice, declared that it would remain "neutral" between the Empire and the Kingdom, and would prohibit the priests of the Cult of War within the territory of these two countries from participating in the war.

King Duran was so angry at this seemingly high-sounding statement of neutrality that he almost laughed. He angrily summoned the Archbishop of the Cult of War and demanded to know the meaning of the statement. The Archbishop replied slowly and deliberately.

"Your Majesty wouldn't want our entire sect to side with the Empire, would he?"

Without a doubt, the archbishop's words were a blatant threat, and King Durand was powerless against these charlatans. After all, the international standing of the three major religions was in no way inferior to that of top-tier powers, and no matter how angry King Durand felt, he dared not completely sever ties with them.

Because he was genuinely worried, he feared that the Church of War would completely side with the Empire from its current ridiculous "pseudo-neutrality."

"It's like when Gian is bullying Nobita, and Doraemon, who has the ability to stop the bullying, says he wants to remain neutral for the sake of fairness. Isn't that indirectly helping the villain bully the honest person?"

"Master, who are Gian and Nobita?"

"People I knew before, that's not important."

In the study of the Pantheon, Rudd put down the documents in his hand and pondered a countermeasure. As the saying goes, plans can never keep up with changes; the war in the south broke out ahead of schedule, severely disrupting his original plans.

Lud thought that the war would not start for at least a few months, by which time he would be fully prepared, leading the Northern Military Alliance that he had organized to participate in the war, show his face on the battlefield, and take the opportunity to expand the influence of the Pantheon. However, the Empire did not cooperate with him at all.

Fortunately, although the situation in the kingdom is extremely critical, it has not yet deteriorated to the point of no return.

Duke Kruder has guarded the border for decades and was aware of the threat from the empire long ago. Therefore, he spent a lot of money to build a series of fortresses along the border. His private army is also highly prepared and should be able to hold out for the time being.

But without a doubt, time was not on the kingdom's side. King Durand needed time to assemble his army, and the allied forces from the North also needed time to march south.

"Damn it! I should have created a God of Time!"

As Lude was pondering a solution, Hydra suddenly rushed in, saying that little Kanna had just caught a thief in the backyard, who seemed to have sneaked in by climbing over the wall. Hydra came over to ask how to deal with it.

When Lud heard that a thief had entered the backyard, he was taken aback. He thought to himself that this was really something new, that a thief would actually dare to set his sights on his own temple.

So Lud got up and followed Hydra to the backyard. As soon as they arrived, they saw Kanna, who had transformed into her feathered dragon form, tightly gripping someone with her large, furry claws. When she saw Lud, she lifted the person up to show him, looking just like a child showing off a bug they had just caught.

After seeing what the "thief" looked like, Lud said with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Mr. Sans, why didn't you use the main entrance?"

Nearly a year later, the unscrupulous playwright who had cried and begged to become Rudd's apprentice, only to disappear right after acknowledging him as his master, reunited with Rudd in the temple's backyard in a rather pathetic state. The scene was more of a surprise than a moving one.

Sans, a young playwright who calls himself a "comedian," is a free apprentice that Lu De picked up during his "business trip" to Yanmu City. Lu De had actually suspected Sans's identity for a long time, but he never had the chance to confront him in person. Now, he finally got the guy back.

The master and apprentice were reunited after a long separation. As soon as Sans saw her, he cried and shouted, "Dear teacher, I missed you so much!" If it weren't for Kanna holding his fate by the scruff of his neck, he would definitely have pounced on her and rubbed against Lud's leg.

Just thinking about that scene made Lu Deguang feel nauseous.

"Sans, calm down. Where have you been gallivanting around for the past six months?"

"Didn't I tell you? I'm going to take care of some personal business."

"They went to the City of the Sun?"

"Uh...you knew all along?"

"Sans, Sanders... what a great alias you've chosen! It's absolutely awful!"

Faced with Lud's questioning, Sands did not deny it, but honestly admitted that he was indeed not human (not in a derogatory sense). He was indeed Sands, the lapis lazuli dragon who enjoyed extremely high popularity within the dragon race and was "admired" by countless of his kind.

Lude first heard the name "Sanders" a few years ago when he discovered the "Dragon Slayer Set" in the hands of an adventurer party. The knowledgeable Hume immediately recognized it as Sanders' work and gave Lude a brief introduction to the man's great achievements.

It's no exaggeration to say that Sanders has countless enemies, and his victims are not only dragons but also other intelligent races. He is considered to be "dead in the light" worldwide.

So much so that legend has it that a group of experts from various races, unable to bear the harassment, formed a group to hunt down Sanders. Some dragons, upon hearing this, were furious that such a thing hadn't been done to them, and thus joined the hunting party to help capture Sanders. The scene was truly extraordinary!

Incidentally, although Sanders has done a lot of despicable things, it is said that he is surprisingly virtuous and never goes too far in his schemes. As a result, the experts who hunt him down also "return the favor" and promise not to kill him.

The implication is that they are prepared to fight to the death!

This clearly shows that Sanders is indeed quite capable. Putting aside his other skills, his ability to escape is truly first-rate; he managed to escape unscathed from the pursuit of so many top-tier fighters. Many experts were outlasted by him and died from this, regretting it for the rest of their lives.

When Lude first met Sanders, he only vaguely felt that this green-haired young man was not simple, but Lude did not ask any questions.

After all, many people in this world have secrets, and Lu De is no exception. Even when he is in the closest of relationships with his closest people, he does not dare to reveal that he is a time traveler.

Later, when the Holy Light Church delegation visited, Lud met Pargama, a pegasus girl who could transform into human form through a divine artifact. He was surprised to discover that the same divine artifact ring she wore was the same one he had seen on Sans.

Parjama wore the ring as an earring on her horse's ear, while Sans disguised it as a headband to tie a small whip. Although their appearances differed slightly, the unique energy fluctuations of the artifacts were completely identical.

It was from that time that Lud began to vaguely guess Sans's identity and speculate that the "private matter" he mentioned earlier was probably going to the City of the Sun to recharge the transformation ring on his hand.

As for why he stayed away for a full ten months before returning, Lud wasn't entirely sure; he probably hadn't done anything good.

Seemingly certain that Lud wouldn't do anything to him, Sanders easily revealed his true identity and still called Lud "teacher" with a grin, which made Lud both amused and exasperated.

"What? Aren't you afraid I'll hand you over? You must have plenty of enemies who want you dead! I wouldn't lose out if I traded you for something."

"Teacher, you're a smart person. A live, obedient dragon that's willing to work is definitely more useful than a dead dragon that can only be exchanged for a one-time bounty, isn't it?"

"Hehe! Will you listen to me?"

"Emmm...I don't really listen to it."

At Lude's signal, Kanna let go of Sanders, then reverted to her loli form and skipped back to her room to sleep.

Sanders, meanwhile, maintained his disgustingly obsequious expression, following behind Lud with a servile smirk. Lud vaguely sensed that Sanders might need his help for something; perhaps he had gotten into trouble again in the City of the Sun and wanted his protection.

Thinking about how likely this was, Lu De suddenly understood why Sun Wukong's master had specifically warned him before the monkey left the mountain not to expose him if he got into trouble. As for him and Sanders, their relationship was merely a verbal acceptance of each other as disciples; he hadn't actually taught the guy anything!

So Lude led Sanders quietly to the study, and as soon as they sat down, he got straight to the point and asked.

"Did you commit a crime in the City of the Sun?"

"N-no!"

Perhaps the matter had really escalated to the point of being serious enough to warrant execution, for as soon as Lude asked the question, the dragon in front of him, who was at least seven or eight hundred years old and had made a great reputation by constantly courting death, actually showed visible panic, his eyes darting to the side.

It was only then that Lud felt vaguely that this guy seemed to be tainted with some unusual aura.

The reason we didn't notice it before was because Sanders had been suppressing it with his powerful magic as a dragon. However, this suppression must have consumed a huge amount of magic, so it couldn't last for long and greatly reduced Sanders' strength. Otherwise, there would be no reason why a grown dragon like him would be so easily defeated by a little dragon like Kanna.

"If you don't, why don't you dare look me in the eye when you say it?"

"It's just a tiny misunderstanding, really..."

"To be honest! If you wait until I verify the situation with you that day and find that it's different from what you said, believe me, I'll report you!"

"I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"

Under Lud's persistent questioning, Sans was forced to reveal the truth: he had indeed gone too far this time. In order to save his life, he urgently needed to find a powerful patron, and this patron had to be someone he hadn't offended before. So, he looked around blankly and finally remembered his cheap master, Lud.

As for what this guy actually did in the City of the Sun, even though Lud had prepared himself mentally, he couldn't help but gasp after hearing it, shocked by this guy's extraordinary ability to court death.

"You actually took off the pants of the statue of the Holy Lord of Light!?"

Just as Lude had predicted, the reason Sanders suddenly took leave after becoming an apprentice, saying he had some personal matters to attend to, was indeed because his shapeshifting ring was "out of power." In order to avoid suddenly revealing his true form, he had to go to the City of the Sun to recharge the ring.

The recharging point is deep within the treasure vault atop the sacred mountain, where there is a hidden garden. At the center of the garden is a sacred spring. Simply soak the ring, whose divine power is nearly depleted, in the spring water for a few hours, and it will be fully recharged.

This situation wouldn't be a big problem for other monster lords who receive gifts. The Holy Church of Light is very enthusiastic about "renewing" memberships to win over these powerful individuals. However, this service isn't free. Unless the recipient is willing to join the Holy Church of Light like Pargamar, they must do something for the Holy Church of Light.

But Sanders' problem is that the ring on his hand... is of dubious origin!

Parjama had previously mentioned that these illusion rings were mass-produced low-level artifacts, and the Holy Light Church had quite a few in its treasury. Many had already been given away, and some had even been lost. Sanders was one of the petty thieves who stole the rings; he was a seasoned freeloader.

Logically speaking, if the Holy Lord of Light really wanted to investigate the theft of the artifact, he could pinpoint the ring's location in no time and then easily capture Sanders. This would be a piece of cake for an eighth-tier high god.

However, the Holy Lord of Light, Karius, was a gentle and kind-hearted man and did not blame them. The mortal followers also did not pursue the matter, and even turned a blind eye to these few petty thieves who would secretly return every ten years to recharge their rings, allowing them to come and go as they pleased.

After all, Sanders is a true dragon, and a high-ranking lapis lazuli dragon at that. Giving him this ring is just a favor.

Sanders had always come and gone quietly in the past, and coupled with his own high level of skill and unique stealth techniques, he was able to keep his presence completely undetectable to ordinary experts.