Goddess Kaleidoscope

"Commander, what do we do now?"

"It seems there's no way to avoid it. Prepare for battle!"

Now that the enemy had discovered their movements, Rodriguez knew that a battle was inevitable. If they returned the way they came, there would surely be blocking forces waiting for them at the other end of the mountain road. If they entered the narrow and rugged valley, they would be trapped like turtles in a jar.

Without any hesitation, Rodriguez ordered the entire army to prepare for battle and led his troops straight west to launch a frontal assault on the cavalry forces in that direction, as they posed the greatest threat to his forces.

The cavalry force, which had dwindled to less than two thousand men, quickly switched to combat marching mode, with Rodriguez leading the charge.

In the middle of the procession, dozens of caravans were guarded by the army's most elite Silverwing Knights.

In addition to supplies and artillery, the convoy also carried a field medical team. The cavalrymen, who had been fighting for days, could receive effective treatment from the military doctors if they were injured or sick. Moreover, half of the medical team members were women, which further aroused the knights' protective instincts.

The loyal knights were unaware that the seemingly defenseless medical team was actually under divine protection, with a twelve-member heroic spirit squad and four second-generation gods all residing there.

It has been almost three months since the birth of the four new gods in the second phase. Thanks to Lud's "eugenics strategy", the four new gods have not "grown out of place" inside and out. They are both intelligent and kind goddesses.

Among the sisters of the same period, the God of War Sula, due to the "faith dividend" brought to her by the war, undoubtedly grew the fastest. In just two and a half months, she rose to the third tier with lightning speed, leaving the other three gods far behind.

As the current core of the God of War faith, the 16,000-strong Northern Allied Army is generating faith at a high intensity every day. Artillery has become a symbol of the God of War and is unanimously sought after by the officers and soldiers of the Allied Army!

In comparison, the other three gods are growing at a much slower pace. They are currently only at the second tier and are using the identities provided to them by Lude to experience life with the Pantheon medical team.

The three goddesses were initially puzzled. Their divine positions were basically unrelated to war. They followed the army around every day, and apart from lamenting how fragile mortals were and how a cricket could die from a fatal wound, it seemed to have nothing to do with their duties.

Rudd patiently explained to the three gods their doubts.

Under Lude's explanation, the four second-generation gods quickly understood that war is actually a complex and comprehensive discipline, involving many things. It is not only related to the war goddess Sura; the three of them can also find their own place in war.

The Pantheon medical team that accompanied the cavalry regiment into the heart of the Empire consisted of eighty-seven people, nearly a quarter of whom were not human. In addition to providing medical support to the cavalry regiment, the medical team also served as an internal cultural troupe and carried out political propaganda work externally.

Upon learning that the cavalry regiment was surrounded and preparing to break out, the nominal head nurse, Alvette, immediately told the Silver Wing Knights responsible for protecting them that the medical team could take care of themselves and did not need to burden so many elite knights as their guards.

As she spoke, Alvitt, along with the other eleven heroic spirits, removed her white battlefield nurse robes, revealing silver dragon scale armor underneath, leaving the surrounding Silver Wing Knights dumbfounded.

But that wasn't all. The Silver Knights then saw several caravans suddenly lift their roofs, and a beautiful girl with green pigtails placed a transverse lyre inside one of the carriages and began to play it.

The constant bumps and jolting of the caravan did not affect her performance in the slightest. Her music was passionate and resonant, completely covering the entire army and inspiring every soldier who heard it, raising their morale to unprecedented heights!

At this moment, the vanguard of the cavalry regiment had already spotted the enemy. The sharp-eyed Rodriguez was astonished to discover that the large cavalry force opposite was simultaneously carrying the Imperial flag and the emblem of the Church of War, and the soldiers' equipment was not uniform, making them look like a mixed force.

The two sides were still more than a thousand meters apart when they spotted each other almost simultaneously. Without any confrontation or challenge, the Duran cavalry rushed to break through, and the Imperial cavalry, knowing that the Durans on the other side did not want to linger, immediately accelerated. At the same time, several golden lights emerged from the ranks, instantly enveloping their own troops.

Many knights in the cavalry regiment frowned upon seeing the golden light, as they were familiar with the radiance.

As Sharo was gradually accelerating in preparation for the charge, he immediately shouted a reminder to his comrades who were following closely behind.

"There are priests from the War God Cult on the other side, everyone be careful!"

Almost as soon as Sharo finished speaking, a large patch of purple light appeared on the cavalry regiment. The cavalrymen covered by this light felt invigorated and full of power. At the same time, their consciousness entered a very strange state. It was as if they suddenly became connected with their comrades. Nearly two thousand Duran cavalrymen seemed to become a huge whole, and Rodriguez, as the commander of the allied forces, became the brain of this "whole".

In a caravan in the center of the procession, the war god Sura was feeling weak and had to rely on Jessie behind her to keep from collapsing.

With Sula's current strength, he is indeed no match for the God of War, but the one on the other side is not the God of War himself. So Sula gritted his teeth and used two-thirds of his divine power to give the cavalry regiment an incredibly powerful group buff. It can be said that he went all out.

In the blink of an eye, the two sides were 800 meters apart. Charging forward in both directions, they were only 30 seconds away from making contact with the vanguard. Therefore, they had reached the final stage of the charge, and both sides increased their speed to the maximum. The cavalrymen on both sides were fully prepared for a head-on attack.

On the Imperial Cavalry side, the force, a mix of War God Cult Guardian Knights and Imperial Guard Cavalry, was initially full of confidence. With over thirty priests accompanying them to buff them, they thought they could easily wipe out the enemy. However, as the distance between the two sides continued to close, they gradually sensed something was amiss.

Why do they look even more imposing than us?!

To the Imperial cavalry at that moment, the Duran Cavalry Regiment, located several hundred meters away, exuded an astonishing aura and, quite eerily, had its own background music—the exhilarating piano music made them feel uneasy.

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters...

At this distance, knights with good eyesight could clearly see the faces of their opponents. In the ranks of the Duran Cavalry, Rodriguez, leading the charge, was particularly eye-catching.

The knights on the Imperial side knew that this man must be the commander of the Duran cavalry. If they could cut him down, it would be a great achievement, and their future rise to prominence would be just around the corner. However, looking at this black-armored knight with an aura as fierce as a tiger unleashed from its cage, most of those who still had some sense of propriety immediately abandoned the idea of ​​confronting him head-on.

In the final ten meters... just as the two sides were about to collide, the mages on both sides simultaneously unleashed Flash spells at their opponents, attempting to create confusion and give their own side an opportunity to strike.

However, the two groups of cunning old foxes clearly had the same idea; they both threw flashbangs and took precautions in advance.

In an instant, the two cavalry forces clashed head-on. The shouts of the cavalry and the neighing of the warhorses mingled together. Under the cover of dust, the collision of scorching flesh and cold metal was like a dance of death.

When the two sides separated again, the two cavalry units, which were originally of similar size, had undergone significant changes. The Duran Cavalry Regiment had shrunk considerably, while the Imperial Cavalry Regiment... had lost almost three-quarters of its strength!

The Imperial cavalrymen who managed to break through the enemy lines looked back in astonishment. They never imagined that, with the blessing of the War God priests, they would be so thoroughly crushed by the enemy.

The Duran Knights on the opposite side clearly had no intention of letting these remnants of the army go so easily. More than a thousand cavalrymen turned around in an incredibly coordinated manner and charged at them again.

A dozen miles from the battlefield where the two cavalry forces clashed, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps was personally leading 10,000 elite troops drawn from the capital on a rapid march toward the enemy's location. The imperial army, also heading in this direction, numbered a total of 50,000 scattered troops.

According to reports from the messenger and the cavalry, their first cavalry unit had already encountered the enemy head-on, while the second and third units, after receiving the notification, were rushing to the scene to provide support and were expected to arrive within twenty minutes, forming a three-sided encirclement of the enemy together with the first cavalry unit.

The three cavalry units combined numbered nearly four thousand, giving them a clear numerical advantage over the enemy. Even if they couldn't defeat the enemy, they could at least hold them off or scatter them. The outer infantry units' task was to continuously tighten the encirclement and completely annihilate those despicable Duran cavalry.

For this encirclement and annihilation battle, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps also put a lot of effort into the preliminary preparations, gathering nearly 70% of the troops from the eleven northern prefectures, and even persuading the prime minister to allow him to bring out half of the Fifth Army Corps responsible for protecting the capital, which is the 10,000 elite troops he personally led.

With such a huge disparity in troop strength, and with the artifact provided by the God of War providing the pre-emptive location of the enemy, this battle should have been a sure thing. However, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps felt inexplicably uneasy.

In contrast, Archbishop Luto, who was traveling with the Fifth Legion Commander, seemed brimming with confidence, constantly boasting in the commander's ear throughout the journey. If it weren't for the fact that he still needed the artifact in Luto's hand to track the enemy, the commander would have loved to get rid of this annoying thing.

Seeing that the legion commander remained silent and his brows were always furrowed, Archbishop Luto, feeling slightly embarrassed, smiled and said to him.

"Commander, now that we've found the enemy, why do you still look so worried?"

“I…I’m worried about the soldiers fighting on the front lines. These Duran cavalry are no ordinary small fry. If the losses are too great, even if we win, it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty.”

"Haha! My lord, you are overthinking this. Those Durans only gained some advantage by using petty tricks. Their despicable and shameless sneak attacks are cowardly acts that the God of War despises. We, on the other hand, are protected by the gods. When it comes to war, you and His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire can always trust our God of War Church."

Bishop Luto spoke with great confidence, while the corps commander merely glanced at him silently. Although he didn't particularly like this charlatan who was always chattering in his ear, he at least admitted that the priests of the God of War were indeed very useful, as the other party had said in his last sentence.

However, at that moment, a messenger with a slightly flustered expression rode up to the archbishop, the commander of the legion, bringing news that was no less devastating than a bolt from the blue.

"General! The first and third cavalry units have been defeated by the enemy one after another, and the second unit has been harassed by a giant dragon. The warhorses have been paralyzed by the dragon's might."

"What?! Teams one and three were defeated? So quickly!"

Upon hearing the messenger's report, the corps commander looked incredulous, while Archbishop Luto, after a brief moment of astonishment, shouted in a fit of anger that this was impossible.

Because the commander of the cavalry corps was the Grand Master of the Knights of the Guardian of the Canary Islands, and also the younger brother of Ruto.

"Impossible! All three cavalry units are accompanied by priests from my War God Cult, who provide buffs through divine magic. How could the cavalry be defeated by those 'Cricket Durans'? Moreover, the commander of all three units is Corribes, my second brother..."

Seeing the archbishop's somewhat hysterical state, the seasoned commander of the Fifth Army Corps was much calmer. He quickly regained his composure and deduced a plausible possibility: the opposing side also had priests from the Church of War assisting them, and their level was estimated to be quite high.

The commander of the Fifth Army Corps had some understanding of the religious world. Although the Cult of War God had repeatedly assured him that they would take sides in this war and keep the priests of the Cult of War God on the Duran Kingdom's side on the sidelines, feedback from the front lines showed that while the high-ranking officials of the Duran Grand Diocese of the Cult of War God did indeed have an ambiguous attitude, some lower-ranking priests were still ignoring orders from their superiors and privately joining the war to serve the Duran army.

Since these Duran priests can still use divine magic, it means that they have not been abandoned by the God of War.

It is not hard to see from this that the Empire's partner is actually the Cult of the God of War, not the God of War himself. Figor remains true to his old ways, regardless of who is fighting, he will hand each side a machete.

They never try to mediate disputes; they always fan the flames!

Even with the assistance of the priests of the War God Cult, their combat power is still quite exaggerated, and they must have some other kind of help.

What is it? Is it some kind of mysterious long-range weapon that they don't even know the name of? Or is the Pantheon up to something?

Realizing that the enemy's fighting strength was stronger than he had anticipated, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps ordered his troops to continue advancing according to the original plan while constantly thinking about countermeasures.

Of the three cavalry units, two were defeated by the enemy and one was temporarily incapacitated. The mobile force that had been painstakingly assembled was completely wiped out so quickly, which was something the Fifth Army Corps Commander never expected.

Although the remaining infantry were numerous, the cavalry had been defeated too quickly, and the encirclement was not yet fully closed. If the enemy were to break out at this point, they still had a high probability of escaping the encirclement.

However, Archbishop Luto soon informed him of something that sounded incredible through the artifact in his hand, "Cumirad's Gaze".

"You're saying that the Duran cavalry didn't break out of the encirclement, but instead found a nearby town and wanted to hold their ground there?"

"Yes, it should be called Blackrock Town."

Upon hearing the name of the place, the corps commander immediately summoned a local and inquired about the town of Black Stone. He learned that it was a small town built by herders, situated on a hilltop surrounded by flat grasslands, with a very small permanent population of only two or three hundred people.

Upon learning that the enemy had not fled, the corps commander felt a mix of joy and worry. He had a feeling that this was a trap; the enemy commander had always been cunning, and there was no reason for him to make such a basic mistake now. As for himself, he had no choice. If he stopped here, his career as corps commander would be over.

So even though they knew there was a problem, the corps commander still ordered all the troops to encircle the enemy's location according to the original plan. Gradually, they began to encounter some local troops, and the number of troops increased like a snowball. The town of Blackstone also came into their field of vision.

The corps commander took out the "telescope" bestowed by the emperor and looked into the distance towards the town. He saw a huge Dulan flag flying high on the roof of the tallest building in the town.

In Blackrock Town, the original local residents have been ordered to be driven away by Rodriguez, and the Duran Cavalry Regiment, which has retreated to this place, is seizing the time to consolidate its fortifications.

Rodriguez took stock of his remaining forces. He had 1,600 men under his command, while the Imperial army that had surrounded them from all sides numbered at least 40,000. The nearest enemy force was expected to arrive in three to four hours.

Logically, facing a massive infantry encirclement, Rodriguez should have made full use of his mobility advantage to break through the encirclement.

However, in the previous battles against the Imperial cavalry, although they had crushed two Imperial cavalry units that included members of the Cult of War with overwhelming force, achieving a casualty ratio of nearly one to seven, the Cult of War still had some strength. Before the second cavalry unit was on the verge of defeat, the priests cast a unique divine spell of the Cult of War on them – "Fairness".

This divine spell renders the victim unable to receive any beneficial divine spells for the following day. Generally, this spell is used in duels before the gods, but the priests of the War God Cult prefer to use it on the opposing enemy in actual combat.

So-called "fairness" is utterly rubbish!

Thanks to this tactic, neither the men nor the horses of Rodriguez's cavalry regiment could recover quickly enough with the miraculous medicine, and some of the seriously wounded even died in battle. Rodriguez knew that breaking out would be very difficult in such a weakened state, so on the advice of his cadet staff officer, he prepared to hold Blackrock Town.

Of the remaining 1,600 men, after deducting the wounded who were no longer able to fight and the non-combat personnel of the medical team, there were only about 1,200 actually available soldiers. Fortunately, they still had ten small-caliber field guns and nearly a thousand rounds of various types of shells. Red Dragon Amymi had already been sent out to seek reinforcements.

Before the enemy arrived, Rodriguez led several military academy staff officers on a tour of Blackrock Town.

This small town, with a permanent population of just over two hundred people, is not large in area, covering only a little over one hundred meters in circumference. It sits on a small hill with a gentle slope and is surrounded by a stone wall more than five meters high. People can stand on the top of the wall, which has a breastwork with arrow holes and four arrow towers, clearly indicating that it is a military facility.

Rodriguez learned from the Lati guide that this place was originally a border outpost. Later, as the empire continued to invade from the north, this place gradually became the hinterland and was transformed from an outpost into a town, providing a place for merchants and herders traveling from the south and north to rest.

On the advice of the military academy staff officer, the field guns were carried directly to the arrow towers by the incredibly strong dwarf artillerymen to increase their range from a higher vantage point. Meanwhile, the able-bodied soldiers were divided into two groups: one group reinforced the fortifications, dug pits outside the walls, and repaired chevaux-de-frise, while the other group ate and rested. This was so that they could be quickly engaged in battle when the main enemy force arrived.

After surveying the area, Rodriguez's expression was extremely grave. The conditions in Blackrock Town were better than he had anticipated, but with such fortifications, his small force would likely struggle to withstand an attack from tens of thousands. He estimated that his side could hold out in this place for at most two days.

Just as he was pondering how to deal with the enemy next, Rodriguez's personal guard came to report that Zell was requesting an audience. Upon hearing this name, Sharo, who was standing next to him, immediately put on a sullen face.

Zell was the gay imperialist they had captured before. Sharo had an extremely bad impression of him and had wanted to kill him more than once.

But this Zell isn't just any gay man; he's a gay man with status. His father is the commander of the Fifth Army Corps, which is why he was kept as a hostage. Right now, they're holding out in Blackrock Town awaiting reinforcements, and this guy might come in very handy.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Rodriguez nodded to his personal guards, and soon Zell was brought over. This gay young master was actually quite good-looking, tall and handsome, but he was a cunning Omega.

As soon as he was brought over, he pretended to stumble and fall forward. Rodriguez instinctively reached out to help him up, but Sharo, quick as a flash, grabbed Zell by the back of his collar and lifted him up again.

"You better behave yourself!"

"Tsk!"

Seeing that his scheme had been exposed, Zell spat in annoyance. He turned to look at the female knight who had gotten in his way, and a sneer suddenly appeared on his face that made Sharo want to kill him right then and there.

Rodriguez also found this guy unbearable, but he had to put up with it for now because of the other's status and value.