Goddess Kaleidoscope

So the black dragon flapped its giant wings and hovered in mid-air, took a deep breath, and launched its strongest attack at its enemy.

"Priest, be careful!"

Seeing the dragon spew out towering flames, Lude didn't hesitate to instantly unleash a high-level divine spell—Absolute Sanctuary. This was a theoretically near-invincible defensive divine spell that could negate attacks of any attribute, but it required a considerable amount of divine power.

Therefore, Lude took the full force of the black dragon's attack head-on. He seemed unharmed, but Aina, who was not far behind him, suddenly collapsed. She was only able to stay upright because Shanis supported her from behind. Everyone present thought that the little nun was frightened, but in reality, she was exhausted from being hit so hard.

"Master! You should save your breath..."

With one Absolute Sanctuary attack, more than two-thirds of Aina's divine power was drained. On the surface, Rude was calm and collected, but in his heart, he was panicking because he could not unleash a second attack.

Generally speaking, low-level divine spells do not have many restrictions on the user; as long as one can be authorized by the gods, one can use them. However, at the level of mid- to high-level divine spells, the priest himself also needs to have certain qualifications.

To put it simply, the priests are like light bulbs, while the gods are like the power source. Light bulbs have different wattages; the higher the wattage, the brighter the light. Because Lude has the primordial fire within him, his physical aptitude is like having his Ren and Du meridians opened from birth. What limits his performance is actually the lack of power.

Therefore, at this stage, Lude's act of showing off is mainly about intimidating people.

Taking advantage of the moment when the black dragon was somewhat stunned by the blocked full-force attack, Lude quickly shouted loudly.

"Noble dragon! Please calm your anger! The vast majority of people here are completely innocent and unaware of the situation. Please do not harm them. Your child is with me."

With a gamble in mind, Lud finished speaking and looked up at the dragon in the sky. Although the dragon's gaze towards the ground was still full of strong hostility, it did not continue its attack, obviously understanding what Lud had just said.

At this moment, Hume came out carrying the wooden box containing the dragon eggs. In order to get the box from those stubborn knights, Hume, who usually resorted to stealing, unusually resorted to outright robbery.

The dragon in the sky spotted the egg box at a glance and immediately let out a roar full of rage. The deafening roar carried a spiritual power called dragon might, which caused many ordinary villagers with weak wills on the ground to faint on the spot.

The giant dragon, having folded its wings, suddenly landed in front of the temple, poised to grab its precious egg with its massive claws. But Lud reached the box first, placed his hand on the dragon egg, and spoke to the dragon.

"Hey! Don't make any rash moves, step back! I told you to step back! Otherwise, don't blame me for using force!"

Upon hearing Lude's threat, the black dragon hesitated, cautiously retracting its claws and retreating, but its scarlet dragon eyes remained fixed on Lude.

Meanwhile, Lud, seeing that the black dragon truly cared about his egg, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The reason he refused to return the egg directly, and even made a threatening gesture, was simply because he feared that the dragon would still not let the villagers go after taking back his egg.

So Lud uses the egg as leverage to negotiate with the dragon. He must first ensure the safety of the villagers before he can return the egg to his angry dragon father!

End of this chapter

Because his egg was being held in Lude's hand, the male black dragon was clearly somewhat wary, while Lude was racking his brains, trying to come up with the safest course of action.

Before the black dragon could speak, a deep, booming voice suddenly rang in the ears of everyone present.

Humans! Give me back my child!

The enormous sound nearly made Lud stumble and lose his footing, but the dragon's voice was undoubtedly good news for him, because being able to communicate meant being able to deceive, and now it was his chance to show off his eloquence.

"Of course I can return the dragon egg to you. Putting myself in your shoes, I understand your anger. But please believe me, the vast majority of humans here are truly innocent. If I had known that this hairless old bastard was going to steal the dragon egg, I definitely wouldn't have let them drink the dishwater when he stayed in our village."

Hearing Ludwig so readily pass the buck and even take a jab at himself, Hamilton's expression became somewhat subtle. But with the dragon right in front of him, he couldn't afford to lash out and could only hold back for now.

However, the black dragon clearly didn't want to hear any explanation. It swung its claws and slammed them heavily into the ground, growling in a low, furious tone.

"Humans! Don't try any tricks. Give me back my child right now, or I'll kill every single human here!"

"But how can I trust you? What if I give you the dragon egg and you go back on your word? Won't we both still die?"

"You...don't lump me in with you!"

Seeing that Lude was judging the dragon by his own standards, the black dragon was clearly furious, sparks flying from between its teeth. However, the creature suddenly leaned closer, scrutinized Lude for a moment, and then abruptly asked a question.

"Human, are you a priest?"

"Yes, I am a priest."

Do you know the Holy Healing spell?

"Of course! And they're extremely good at it. You can ask them if you don't believe me."

Rudd pointed to the people around him, and everyone nodded eagerly to testify that Rudd's Holy Healing spell was indeed very skillful. The black dragon's large eyes darted around, and he directly made a request to Rudd.

“In that case, you take my child and come with me. I can swear to any god you choose to spare these humans.”

"no problem!"

"No!"

When the dragon asked him to go with him, Lud immediately guessed that it wanted him to heal the female black dragon who had been severely injured by Hamilton. As long as this seemingly intelligent male dragon still needed his help, there was room for negotiation, so Lud agreed without hesitation.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the others present all expressed their collective opposition.

Especially Aina and Hume. Aina and Ludd were teacher and student, but their relationship was like that of father and daughter (?), so their emotional foundation was there. Hume, on the other hand, saw Ludd as the key to his turnaround, and he and the primal fire within him were equally important.

Many villagers who had benefited from Lu De's kindness also stepped forward. Even though they were terrified and their arms and legs were trembling uncontrollably in front of the dragon, they still persevered and did not back down.

These lazy and unruly commoners, whom the nobles viewed with deference, lived in an ignorant and backward era. Although they became numb, selfish, and somewhat cold-blooded in order to survive, there was still a glimmer of humanity within them that had not been extinguished, making them know how to be grateful.

Looking at these timid villagers who were forcing themselves to be brave, Lud couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

"It wasn't for nothing that I told so many stories; I've finally made some progress."

Seeing that everyone was willing to fight the dragon to protect him, Lude quickly waved his hand, signaling everyone not to act rashly.

"Everyone! Please don't act rashly. This is my decision. I am a priest, and it is my duty to save lives in imminent danger. I guess this dragon gentleman wants me to save his wife who is on the verge of death. If this can bridge the hatred between us, I am willing to do my best."

Rudd spoke loudly, his face unwavering as he stared directly at the dragon. Neither the wind and snow nor the dragon's might could shake his aged body; he stood like a majestic mountain, sheltering the elderly, women, and children in the temple behind him from the wind and rain. Therefore, in the eyes of the crowd, the high priest's image became even more lofty and sacred.

“Saints! These are the saints chosen by God!”

It's unclear who started it, but the villagers who hadn't yet fled all bowed and worshipped Lud, moved to tears by his selfless devotion.

The male black dragon was also somewhat bewildered by this scene; it was truly the first time it had ever seen a human like Lude.

“Mr. Dragon, I can go with you, but please wait a few minutes while I explain something to my disciples and friends.”

Faced with Lud's sincere request, the dragon nodded. Lud then turned to look at his friends behind him, who were hesitant to speak, and said with a smile.

"Don't look so sad. I'm just making a house call, not going to my death. I'll be back after I'm done. It'll be fine."

"Master, why don't I go with you?"

Still feeling weak, Aina rushed forward and hugged Ludwig tightly. In the few months since she was born, she had never left Ludwig's side; he was the person she trusted and was closest to. So when she realized for the first time in her life that her master was leaving her, and might never return, Aina was truly afraid. She couldn't bear to let Ludwig go.

Lude gently patted the head of this silly little goddess.

“Silly girl, I have some faith in your master. Stay here and take good care of the temple and your senior sister Shanis. If you really want to help me, then lead the villagers in praying more. The goddess will surely bless me.”

As Ludwig spoke, he gently pushed Aina aside and handed her to Hume, giving him a subtle wink. Hume immediately understood. His earlier words, "Pray more," were not just words of comfort; they meant that the entire village, young and old, needed to pray fervently to replenish Aina's faith.

As long as Aina's faith is strong enough, Lud, as the priest of the God of Medicine, will have divine magic at his disposal. Whether he can survive will truly depend entirely on everyone's care.

After giving the most important instructions, Lud asked Shanis to get him another robe, then picked up the box containing the dragon eggs and turned to walk towards the black dragon.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, we can set off now."

Seeing that Lude was ready, the black dragon stretched out its giant claws and grabbed him and the dragon egg together, controlling the strength of its grip just right. Then it flapped its giant wings and took off, circling once above the temple before turning and flying towards the depths of the Void Forest in the north, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight.

Everyone present realized that they had successfully survived the dragon's attack, but at the cost of the high priest's self-sacrifice. Overwhelmed with grief, a somber atmosphere filled the temple.

End of this chapter

While the entire village was worried about Lud's safety, he himself remained quite calm, even enjoying this very special flight experience.

At first, Lud was quite worried and specially wore a double coat, fearing that the wind would make his face cold and he would be frozen into an icicle by the biting winter wind. But after taking off, he found that the cold wind could not reach his face at all. The dragon's body had an invisible force field that could insulate against the wind and snow.

This seems to explain why this huge creature, which is not aerodynamically designed at all, can still fly so fast.

This may not be scientific, but it is certainly magical!

At a speed of at least over 600 kilometers per hour, the black dragon flew for less than 40 minutes and arrived at a cave located halfway up the mountain.

As soon as the male black dragon landed, it carried Lud and the egg he was holding in his arms with one claw and ran towards the depths of the cave. After twisting and turning, it soon arrived at a spacious pit that was the size of two or three football fields. The cave was filled with a strong smell of blood.

Using the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the cave ceiling, Lud saw a female black dragon covered in blood. She was considerably smaller than the male, but still nearly twenty meters long from head to toe. A horrifyingly large wound ran down her abdomen, deep enough to expose her ribs and internal organs.

According to Hamilton's previous account, they ambushed the female dragon six days ago in the morning. Such injuries would only last a few minutes for a human, but this female dragon held on for almost a week and still did not stop breathing. This shows how tenacious the dragon race is!

Perhaps hearing the sound of the male dragon returning, the female dragon slightly opened her eyes and tried to raise her head. Seeing this, the male dragon quickly put down the Lude and the egg in his hands, and gently nuzzled the female dragon's cheek with his head to keep her still.

Seeing this, Lude thought to himself, "I've been single for two lifetimes, and today these two giant lizards have stuffed my mouth full of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection). Who the hell can I complain to?"

At this moment, Lude saw two more dragon eggs in a haystack not far from the female dragon. Presumably, the male dragon had chased after them and retrieved them. The two small teams of Silverwing Knights were probably all wiped out.

However, it was clear that the process of snatching the eggs was not smooth sailing. One of the dragon eggs had a very obvious crack in its shell, and a lot of milky yellow mucus was seeping out of the crack. It was unknown whether the baby dragon inside was alright.

Now that they had arrived at the dragon's lair, Lud simply put down the dragon egg he had been holding and went straight to the female dragon to check her wounds.

Upon seeing this, the dragon asked in a very worried tone.

"How badly are her injuries? Can you heal them?"

"It's a bit difficult, but it shouldn't be too hard for me."

After stretching his muscles, Lu De reassured Xiong Long, appearing confident, but in reality, he was not sure what to expect.

Lude first tested the spell to confirm that the divine magic was not affected by distance, then carefully examined the female dragon's wounds, explaining to the black dragon beside him as he looked, so that the dragon could trust him.

“Your wife has a deep abdominal wound, signs of a fracture in her right foreleg, and some damage to her internal organs. With such a complex injury, simply closing the wound won't do. I need to repair the internal organs first, and then correct the fracture. You'll have to lend me a hand.”

How can I help you?

"I need you to lift me up and get closer to my internal organs. You certainly don't want to see me stepping directly into your wife's wound, do you?"

At Rudd's request, the male black dragon grabbed him around the waist and brought him close to the female dragon's wound, with Rudd's upper body almost completely inside. Using the light of the Holy Healing spell, Rudd began to repair his injured organs, while the male dragon watched him closely the entire time, afraid that he might do something wrong.

It took nearly an hour for Lude to successfully repair the female dragon's injured organs. During the process, he was able to see the female dragon's beating heart up close. It was about one meter in diameter, and a faint red light could be seen inside.

Rudd had previously heard Hamilton say that the blood of a dragon was a sacred tonic that all mages dreamed of. It was not only the best recovery medicine, capable of fully restoring one's mana bar with just a small sip, but also, with long-term use, could effectively improve one's magical aptitude, allowing ordinary people to become mages.

Fortunately, Lude was not a greedy person. He just casually said to Xionglong, "Your wife is really bold," and then turned around and did something else.

After the internal organs were repaired, Lud was put down by the male dragon to rest for a while. The male dragon noticed that the female dragon's expression was noticeably more relaxed than before, realizing that the treatment was working, and therefore his attitude towards Lud was slightly more amiable than before.

What should we do next?

"We'll patch up the hole in her stomach and then do the bone setting, which means putting the broken or misaligned bones back in place. This process will be very painful, but if we don't do it, she'll be left with a disability. You'll have to help me with this too. Your wife's little finger is thicker than my thigh; I, as a human, simply can't bend it."

After resting for a while, Lud got up and continued working, but the entire treatment process was intermittent, and Lud dared not finish it all at once because he was unsure how much divine power Aina had left. But he couldn't drag it out for too long either, lest the female dragon's injuries become too severe and she couldn't hold on.

So the entire "surgery" lasted from dawn till dusk, and Lud finally repaired the huge wound on the female dragon's abdomen. However, the female dragon was still very weak, and Lud's repair of its abdomen was incomplete; the repaired wound was only a thin layer of skin, without even scales, giving it a fragile appearance that could be broken at any moment.