Goddess Kaleidoscope

"I heard you want to see me?"

"Yes, I know you are in a bad situation right now. My father's army should have already surrounded this place..."

"What? Are you trying to persuade us to surrender?"

Before Zell could finish speaking, Sharo interrupted him with a cold laugh, and the surrounding Duran Knights also showed hostility in their eyes. But Zell shook his head and said...

"No! I absolutely did not mean to humiliate you. I personally have great respect for General Gammelin, and I greatly admire the strength and character displayed by your knights. Therefore, I truly do not wish to see you sacrifice yourselves in such a doomed battle. I am the son of the corps commander, and I can plead with my father on your behalf, as long as I..."

“Enough… Thank you for your kindness, Master Zell. But we will not surrender, and… this is not a battle we cannot lose.”

As Rodriguez spoke, a large contingent of Imperial troops could be seen approaching from the south. The Fifth Legion was also looking towards Blackrock Town and saw the Duran Banner flying high above the town.

The first Imperial troops to arrive did not launch an attack rashly, but instead observed from a distance of more than two thousand meters. By evening, six Imperial armies had arrived at the outskirts of Blackrock Town, with a total strength of 35,000 men. They surrounded Blackrock Town, set up camp, and dug a series of horse traps around the perimeter to prevent the Duran cavalry from breaking through.

The commander of the Fifth Army Corps originally intended to launch a direct assault, but before he could begin, he suddenly received an imperial edict. Canary III, who was far away at the front, had learned that the Duran cavalry were raiding his home base from the rear, so he ordered the commander of the Fifth Army Corps to capture as many prisoners alive as possible, as he wanted these prisoners to be useful.

Looking at the imperial edict delivered by a flying dragon on an urgent mission, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps felt a complex mix of emotions. On one hand, he felt aggrieved by the emperor's interference in his command, but on the other hand, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After all, his son was still in the enemy's hands, and as a father, he naturally hoped to rescue his child alive.

Therefore, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps ordered the entire army to set up camp on the spot and surround the Duran cavalry, who were already at their last gasp.

The reason why Canary III airdropped the edict to the Fifth Legion was not because he was possessed by the soul of a certain "perfect man of all time" from Earth, but because he wanted to use these Duran cavalrymen to make a deal with Lud and exchange them for the remnants of the Second Legion, which were also surrounded, to escape.

So, while urgently dispatching dragon knights to airdrop a hand order to the Fifth Legion, he also sent a messenger to Flamewood City to deliver a message to Lud, wanting to arrange a meeting between them.

The war of aggression has now deviated completely from the Empire's original plan, turning from an initial overwhelming victory into a difficult struggle. The main force has been unable to capture the Yodl Fortress, while the Second Army has become easy prey for the enemy.

Although Grand Marshal Jagger and many senior generals repeatedly assured Canary III that everything would be fine as long as General Barn arrived in time with the Sixth and Seventh Legions and launched an attack, Canary III, who was not unfamiliar with military matters, remained cautiously skeptical.

The so-called Sixth and Seventh Legions were newly formed regular armies of the Empire in the past two years. They consisted of five legions, but in terms of both the quality of the soldiers and the quality of the weapons and equipment, they could not compare with the original five elite legions. They were considered second-line troops, mainly deployed in the border areas in the southwest.

It was precisely because of these second-line troops being rotated that the Empire was able to concentrate its elite forces for the invasion of the Kingdom of Duran.

However, as the battle at Duran became a stalemate, more troops were urgently needed at the front. The conscripted laborers lacked training and were not even qualified to be cannon fodder in such a high-intensity battle as the siege. So a general suggested that some men be drawn from the sixth and seventh army groups.

Although they were farther from the northern front than the three corps on the western border, they could travel by sea and thus provide support more quickly. This suggestion was subsequently adopted, and the military headquarters drew half of the troops from each of the 6th and 7th Corps, which were then transported to the northern front by the navy.

In fact, even now, the high command of the Imperial Army has not given up its plan to conquer the Kingdom of Duran. The generals believe that the current predicament is just a minor problem that is not part of the plan and that the Empire is capable of solving it.

After all, compared to the Kingdom of Duran, the Canary Empire had an advantage in every aspect, with its population and available resources being several times greater than its enemy.

However, the emperor knew that his generals only cared about victory and defeat and were willing to do anything to defeat the enemy in front of them. But as the ruler of the country, he had to consider things from a longer-term perspective. The empire could not destroy its own foundation just to conquer the Kingdom of Duran.

So, in reality, Canary III was already secretly considering whether he should stop while he was ahead.

He planned to make peace with King Duran after breaching the Yordle Fortress, seize the southern region of the kingdom including Flamewood City, and then end the war as the victor.

He even planned to sign a non-aggression pact with King Duran if possible, and then encourage King Duran to invade the small countries to his west to make up for the lands he had ceded.

This "driving away the wolves to bite the dogs" strategy was frequently used by the Canary Islands over the past few decades, causing these small countries to fight each other and preventing them from forming a united front. Many weak countries, either due to the short-sightedness and lack of vision of their rulers or because they had no choice but to fall into the trap.

But the Kingdom of Durand was no ordinary, peculiar little country. To conquer it entirely in one fell swoop could result in enormous losses for the empire, jeopardizing its very foundation of rule. To withdraw while ahead, however, risk endless trouble once Durand recovered. This left Canary III in a deep dilemma.

Besides that, what troubled him even more was the news about his daughter, Romian. He couldn't be sure for a while whether Lude was lying to him, but when the other party told him that Romian was still alive, his hope of finding his daughter was indeed rekindled.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the captured Bourne was being held in a secluded dungeon in Flamewood City. Although he wasn't subjected to any severe torture, his personal freedom was restricted as expected of a prisoner of war, confined to a solitary cell, staring blankly at a rat in the corner.

If he were in a regular cell and with a normal guard, Bourne's strength would make escape incredibly easy. But Lude knew he was a top expert, so he appointed Shanis as the cell boss. The cell walls were covered with black thorns that were invisible to the naked eye, which drained Bourne's vitality 24 hours a day, keeping him in a weakened state.

It's worth mentioning that on his third day incarcerated here, Bourne was greeted by four new fellow inmates, all of whom were acquaintances—the very four skilled men who had been tasked with capturing Hamilton. Upon meeting, both sides were momentarily bewildered, unsure how to greet each other.

Including Bourne, there were only five prisoners in this secret dungeon, but each one of them was a heavyweight, a top-notch expert. They privately exchanged stories about how they had been captured and were shocked to discover that they had all fallen to Ludger. Suddenly, they felt that their defeats were not unjust.

During their time in prison, the five top experts gradually lost their temper, going from initial resentment to a state of calm. The black-haired nun, whose strength was as unfathomable as her master's, sat outside the cell, munching on sunflower seeds and, as if by magic, constantly pulling out book after book from her pocket, reading them with great interest.

Later, the only archmage among the five, Potter, was so bored that he asked the nun through the iron bars if he could have a copy too. The nun readily handed him one. The old wizard opened it, read only a few pages, and then, enraged, slammed the book down on the table.

"What an indecent book! This is outrageous!"

A few days later, a visitor suddenly came to the prison, and it turned out to be an Argonian nun. The girl addressed the black-haired nun as "senior sister," and the other inmates immediately recognized her as a disciple of Rudd from the Pantheon.

But then, Potter and the others were astonished to see through the iron bars that the Argonian nun had brought Bourne a basket of food, which was clearly much better than the prison food they had been eating these past few days.

Gordon, the meat shield warrior who was whipped into a spinning top by Shanis, was shouting loudly in his cell.

"What do you mean? Are you using this to test our Imperial warriors?"

"Shut up, you stupid martial arts fanatic! Can't you tell they know each other?"

The intelligent Archmage Potter immediately recognized that Bourne and the Argonian girl were old acquaintances. He even noticed that Bourne seemed to feel a pang of guilt when facing the girl, and couldn't help but speculate about the relationship between the two.

"This Byrne is the emperor's shadow guard. Why would he know a girl of such lowly blood as an Argonian? The two are so different in age, and the girl calls him uncle. Could she be his illegitimate daughter?"

Just as Potter was gossiping about whether Bourne had any dark history, the sound of the dungeon door opening came again. Sensing the arrival of the newcomer, Shanes immediately and discreetly put away her notebook and picked up a collection of poems instead.

"Master, you've arrived!"

"Hmm, come and see if they're behaving themselves."

At the cell door, Lud looked at his fellow inmates, then at Romian, who was bringing food and drink to Bourne. Lud knew about and tacitly approved of the dragon girl's actions. He didn't tell her the cruel truth of what happened back then, only saying that Bourne was now working for the Imperial military and had been captured by him personally while spying on the Allied camp.

Lude had hesitated before, wondering whether to tell Romian the truth. In the child's memory, Uncle Bourne had always been a kind person who took good care of her and her mother. If she knew that he was in cahoots with the murderer who killed her mother, all the beautiful memories would be shattered, which would undoubtedly be very cruel.

Therefore, in this matter, Luther chose a white lie, while also taking on the responsibility of avenging his apprentice's mother's death.

"Romian, the field hospital is looking for you. You should go there right away. I have some things to discuss with these friends from the Empire."

Seeing that Lud was about to interrogate the prisoners, Romian didn't say much and silently left the dungeon. Although the dragon girl was worried about Uncle Bourne, she also believed that her master was a kind and amiable person who was good at persuading people with reason. Even if Uncle Bourne was from the Empire, he shouldn't be subjected to severe torture.

After the Dragon Girl left, Lu De turned to look at the prisoners, a half-smile on his face, and said...

"This concerns the lives of the five of you. I have some bad news and some good news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Just tell us the bad news. I don't believe you can tell us any good news."

Archmage Potter rolled his eyes at Rudd, showing his disdain for Rudd's flirtatious tricks.

Lud glanced at the old bald man and shrugged.

"Alright, then I'll tell you the bad news: you're being released."

"Wait a minute! Is this bad news?"

Lude's words left the group looking at each other in bewilderment. They couldn't understand why being released was bad news.

And if this is bad news, then what is the good news?

Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, and their reluctance to ask questions, Lu De smiled and had someone bring over a projector. He then showed them several videos, and the expressions of the top experts present immediately became quite interesting.

"Canary III was an incompetent tyrant... Jagger was a useless scoundrel... The empire's generals were a bunch of vermin..."

In the video, Archmage Potter, his expression agitated, angrily berates the officials of the Empire, from the Emperor down to the centurion. The other top masters are doing the same, all vehemently criticizing the incompetence of their allies.

The image on screen was indeed of themselves, and the voices were correct, but the group knew in their hearts that they had never uttered any words that would get them killed.

After watching the videos Ludd produced, Porter and his colleagues fell silent. They suddenly understood why Ludd had told them "release them" as bad news.

If these videos have already been leaked and even Canary III has seen them, then the four of them might as well continue to stay in the Durand prison!

"Master, what do you mean by this? As a chosen saint with such immense power, why would you commit such a despicable act, slandering our innocence out of thin air?!"

"Laughable! You who commit aggression are upright and honorable, while I, who resist aggression, am despicable and shameless? Did you even think before you said that?"

"you……"

"Warfare is based on deception... Never mind, there's no need to waste my breath explaining this to you. I've already sent people to publicly screen these videos throughout the Empire. While not everyone has seen them, they've been widely circulated. Shanis, open the jail doors for them and let them out!"

"Yes, Master."

Without any hesitation, Shanis waved her hand lightly, and the heavy prison door, which had been as immovable as cast iron, opened automatically. However, the four great masters inside looked at each other, none of them daring to take a step outside.

Faced with Ludd, whose strength was so great that he could easily manipulate them, Potter acted with extreme caution. He suddenly remembered that Ludd had said he had some bad news and some good news to tell them, but so far he had only told them the bad news. What was the good news?

Seeing that the men were hesitant to speak, Ludger knew what they wanted to ask, so he smiled and said...

"Oh, right, I haven't told you the good news yet. The good news is that I've already taken the liberty of finding you a place to stay."

"place?"

"Your Duke Steiner is willing to take you in."

"..." x4

Upon hearing Luther mention Duke Steiner's name, the four masters' expressions instantly changed. They thought to themselves, "What kind of good news is this?" and shook their heads repeatedly, refusing to leave their cells. The tank warrior Gordon even closed the cell door himself, went back to bed, pulled the covers over himself, and ignored everything else!

Duke Steiner was the empire’s most famous “noble leader” who consistently and outspokenly opposed centralized power and the return of rights that had been stripped from local nobles.

Logically speaking, someone as erratic as that would be easily killed in the empire, even if they were a duke. In the last few years of Canary II's reign, in order to pave the way for his son's ascension to the throne, he carried out a massive purge, reducing the number of dukes and marquesses in the empire by more than half.

But the Duke of Steiner survived this purge and, despite frequently clashing with the new emperor after the late emperor's death, still lived a long and healthy life.

There are many reasons for this.

The main reason is that Duke Steiner's status is quite special. Although the empire is dominated by the Canary people, this ethnic group is divided into three major factions based on the regions they live in. The Steiner family is the great lord who leads the ethnic groups in the eastern part of the empire and was once the ruler of a country. Later, several Canary states merged to form the Great Canary Kingdom. The Steiner family was awarded the title of Grand Duke because they helped the Hall family, who had not yet changed their surname to Canary, to ascend the throne. They were never to be demoted.

This family has existed for a thousand years, entrenched in the eastern part of the empire. Their power is deeply rooted in the region, making them far more difficult to control than ordinary nobles. If the empire were to target them, it would undoubtedly trigger a civil war.

Moreover, the current Grand Duke of the Steiner family is a shrewd man. Although he is currently very active and eager to confront Canary III, when the late Emperor Canary II was still in power, among the powerful local lords who had the strength to rival the central government, he was the most obedient. He would do whatever the late emperor asked him to do, and he would make all sorts of excuses when he was summoned to the capital.

It is said that before the late emperor died, he actually wanted to take the seemingly honest but actually treacherous Duke Steiner with him. However, the late emperor issued twelve edicts summoning him to the capital for a final meeting. The Duke either claimed that he was too ill to move or that he had already set off but was blocked by a flash flood. He was delayed until the late emperor actually died before he finally arrived.

In short, I'm already on Lu (sigh)!

In short, this was a fighter against imperialism and feudalism, yet Ludwig said he wanted to hand them over to the enemy. A few experts pondered this, and combined it with the previous videos—it was utterly inexplicable.

However, no matter how much the four struggled, Lud was determined to send them out, and in the end, he was tied up like a dumpling and taken away by Shanis.

Bourne witnessed Lud's actions throughout, and seeing that the other four had been sent away while he was the only one left, he was starting to panic.

Is this some kind of attempt to kill me to silence me?

But Ludwig looked at him with a meaningful smile.

"You have other uses, so stay with me for a couple more days."

Upon exiting the dungeon, the four top experts had already been packed into a courier basket and transported to the eastern part of the empire by a green dragon.

Ludwig had only recently made contact with the Duke of Steiner. War doesn't always happen on the battlefield; disrupting the enemy's internal affairs is also an effective strategy to weaken them. By sending these four experts, who were originally loyal to the royal family, to the Duke of Steiner, he knew they might not immediately switch sides, but Canary III would certainly be suspicious.

Furthermore, the voluntary release of these four individuals was also intended to provide an explanation to the Holy Light Church.

Since the start of the war between the two countries, although the Holy Church of Light has not openly supported the Kingdom of Duran, it has provided a lot of assistance in private and has been continuously restraining the actions of the Church of War God. It is much more reliable than the Church of the Four Seasons Goddess, which pretends to be sightseeing everywhere.

Just last night, an envoy from the Holy Light Church approached Lud, hoping he would release the several imprisoned imperial powerhouses, otherwise the War God Church would increase its support for the Empire.