Goddess Kaleidoscope

As the war dragged on, if we were to say which religious force had benefited the most, it would undoubtedly be the Pantheon led by Ludwig. The Cult of War lost the faith of most of the Duran people due to its biased stance, while the Pantheon, by bravely standing with the Duran people in resisting the invasion, rapidly gained notoriety.

Especially after the great victory in rescuing Yanmu City, in the eyes of many believers, they suddenly transformed from a small local sect with only a little fame into a near-first-tier sect that could directly confront the War God Sect.

This was clearly unacceptable to the Cult of War, so the envoy earnestly told Rude that no matter how the war ultimately turned out, the Cult of War would keep its sights on the Pantheon. But the Church of Light was different; their Pope admired Rude, and if Rude wished, the Church of Light could form an alliance with the Pantheon, providing them with powerful protection.

P.S.: I've been bedridden for two days with a cold, and I even suspected that I might have been infected with COVID-19. Luckily, it was just a simple case of catching a chill, what a false alarm.

Lud had to admit that the Holy Light Church had indeed done him a great favor; without their restraint, the War God Church would never have been as cautious as it is now.

In fact, among the various envoys who have been coming and going from the Allied Forces camp these days, the people from the War God Cult have been the most frequent, with an average of one group arriving every two days, either coercing or bribing, and interfering with the Allied Forces' actions.

The most infuriating one of them, upon meeting Rudd, immediately questioned him about the origin of the cannons used by the Allied Forces. Did they make a deal with the devil? Then, in a condescending tone, he ordered Rudd to immediately hand over all these "devilish weapons" to their Church of War, which represented justice.

However, after getting to know them better, Lud discovered that the special envoys sent by the Cult of War were all blustering but cowardly. They were all tough as nails, as if they could wipe them out immediately if Lud dared to disobey, but in the end, they were just making empty threats.

This is not because the War God Cult is all show and no substance. As the sect with the largest number of believers among the three major sects, the War God Cult's strength is beyond doubt. However, the problem is that the Holy Church of Light did not simply stand by and watch.

The current war has become a matter of honor for the Cult of War. If the Imperial Legion fails to conquer the Kingdom of Duran despite the Cult of War's bias, their reputation will be ruined.

But the War God Cult panicked, and the Holy Light Cult rejoiced.

These days, Pope St. Leonid has been writing letters to the High Priest of the Cult of War whenever he has free time, showing concern for the other side like a long-lost friend, but between the lines, he is drawing a line between them with barbs.

On the Empire's side, Canary III clearly wanted to call it a day. Rodriguez's cavalry regiment was surrounded in Blackrock Town, and Rudd immediately deduced the Emperor's intentions from the Imperial army's behavior of surrounding the town without attacking. He suspected that the Emperor wanted to exchange hostages with Rudd.

But Lud had no intention of complying with his wishes. Facing the special envoy sent by the Empire, Lud spoke to him meaningfully.

"Please pass on a message to your emperor and marshal, telling them not to sleep for the next few days, the baby is coming soon!"

Meanwhile, in Blackrock Town, Rodriguez's troops, surrounded by tens of thousands of Imperial legions, remained unscathed. Although the troops were no longer affected by the War God Cult's magic, the enemy had used this time to completely surround the town, with tens of thousands of soldiers digging three rings of trenches around it, fearing that the cavalry regiment would attempt a breakout after recovering.

Upon learning of their situation, Lud immediately took Connor to Blackrock Town and presented Rodriguez with two options: one was to escape by air via SF Express. However, this option only allowed them to take their people; weapons, supplies, and even horses had to be destroyed and slaughtered on the spot, especially the artillery and ammunition—not even a trace could be left for the Empire.

The other option is to hold their ground and let the dragons supply them with weapons, ammunition, and even reinforcements from the air. They need to find a way to hold out in Blackrock Town for at least six days before Lud brings reinforcements to relieve the siege.

After a moment's thought, Rodriguez decisively chose the second option.

Taking advantage of the Imperial Legion's siege without attacking, the Dragon Transport Brigade continuously delivered personnel and various critical supplies to Blackrock Town in one to two waves per day.

The commander of the Fifth Army Corps watched helplessly as swarms of giant dragons flew back and forth on the enemy's side every day, constantly reinforcing their fortifications. He knew that waiting any longer would be disadvantageous to his side, but the Emperor not only sent a handwritten edict but also an imperial supervisor to prevent him from making any rash moves.

Separated by thousands of miles, Canary III was unaware of the specific situation in Blackrock Town. He only knew that the Fifth Army Commander had 50,000 troops, and that the number was constantly increasing, while the besieged side had less than 2,000 men. The difference in troop strength was almost thirty times, and the advantage was in his hands!

Thus, the siege without attack lasted for three full days. During these three days, the defenses of Blackrock Town were fully reinforced, and the garrison strength was increased to nearly three thousand men. The dragon brought several hundred dwarves and a large number of crossbowmen, as well as several mortars.

These mortars had enormous calibers, as much as 600 millimeters, big enough to fit a slender adult dwarf, but their barrels were also very short, making them look like tilted wine barrels at first glance.

The dwarf artilleryman explained to Rodriguez that this super-large caliber mortar could not fire conventional solid projectiles, but rather a special kind of beanbag round. Its maximum range was only 200 meters, and while its accuracy guaranteed that the projectile would fly forward, the landing point was largely a matter of chance.

Conversely, by sacrificing range and accuracy, the mortar gained unimaginable destructive power. The so-called beanbag round was essentially a bundle of explosives, with a kill radius of up to thirty meters after detonation; anyone within ten meters was guaranteed to die, even those wearing plate armor.

Given that the Empire is known for its densely packed phalanx infantry, this thing might force the Imperials to change their tactics.

The standoff continued into the fourth day. The commander of the Fifth Army Corps, who had sent several letters explaining the situation, finally obtained command of his troops from the emperor, who allowed him to launch an attack.

Because Canary III also realized that Ludd had no intention of negotiating at all and was simply stalling for time. In addition, there was an urgent secret report that Duke Steiner in the country had been making frequent underhanded moves recently, and that Ludd had even sent four captured top experts to him. This forced the emperor to seriously consider the hidden secrets behind this.

The emperor then changed his strategy, agreeing to let the Fifth Army Commander launch an attack on the Durran cavalry besieging Blackrock, but also reminding them to capture as many alive as possible, especially Rodriguez, son of Duke Gamelin, and Sharo, daughter of Earl Ramley. Both of them were scions of powerful families in the Durran North, and Rodriguez was the nominal supreme commander of the allied forces.

After receiving the emperor's approval, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps launched a fierce attack the very next day without hesitation.

Because of the unique terrain of Blackstone Town, which is a small protrusion on a large plain, it is difficult to achieve a surprise attack even at night. The commander of the Fifth Army Corps simply made good use of his own numerical advantage and directly dispatched 10,000 infantrymen, divided into five square formations, to launch a simultaneous attack from different directions in order to dilute the enemy's troop density on the defensive line to the greatest extent.

Besides the first wave, the remaining troops are on standby in all directions. Once a breakthrough is achieved in any direction, they will immediately press forward and take the entire Blackrock Town in one fell swoop.

In the eyes of the Fifth Army Corps Commander, this combat plan was flawless; it was a simple but traditional tactic.

Unfortunately, the enemy possessed a long-range weapon with an exaggerated range; otherwise, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps would have used their heavy catapults and ballistae to tidy up the rudimentary city wall before the infantry phalanx launched its attack.

The attack began on a clear morning with an unobstructed view of the battlefield, making it easy for both generals to command their troops. The Imperial army advanced toward Blackrock Town in dense square formations, with infantrymen raising their shields above their heads from hundreds of meters away. At the same time, the front row pushed specially made shield carts, which looked like five square iron boxes from a distance.

Watching the infantry formations slowly advance, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. He wasn't entirely ignorant about the kind of artillery the enemy possessed; local security forces that had been attacked in various places and the Imperial Army far away on the Duran front had all witnessed its power.

Therefore, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps had detailed battle reports and knew that the traditional square formation could block arrows and stones, but it could not stop those solid iron balls flying at high speed. The first wave of attacking troops would probably suffer heavy casualties.

But this is war after all, and it is impossible to fight a war without losing people. In order to stabilize morale, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps even kept it a secret from the troops below, not letting the lower-ranking soldiers know the power of the artillery. He only said that the enemy had a very powerful crooked magic, but they had the protection of the God of War, so they had nothing to fear!

After that, all it takes is to issue empty promises, offering money, official positions, or even women, and those simple-minded civilian soldiers will eagerly rush forward to become cannon fodder. The commander of the Fifth Corps was very good at this kind of incitement; he had already mastered it when he was a centurion.

The five formations moved for more than ten minutes, quickly approaching the earthen slope of Blackrock Town, less than two hundred meters from the city wall. Some archers huddled under their shields could already see the figures on the Blackrock Town city wall through the gaps between the shields.

But what made the Imperial soldiers feel uneasy was that even though they had gotten very close, why hadn't the other side thrown a single stone at them?

Surely they can't be so afraid they don't dare to move?

Their doubts were quickly answered with a few loud explosions.

"Look! Something's flying over here, and it's smoking!"

"Don't move! Set up the shield formation, we won't have..."

With a loud bang, the centurion, who was in charge of the rear guard, was sent flying into the air before he could finish speaking. He and many soldiers didn't understand what the thing was that could cause such a big commotion until they lost consciousness!

Behind the Imperial Army, watching the "black mushroom" rising in the distance, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps was so shocked that his jaw almost dislocated. He looked at a knight with a scarred face beside him and asked in disbelief.

"This power is different from what you described, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's different. I... I didn't get this kind of treatment!"

The Scarface Knight was an officer who had previously participated in the pursuit of the Duran cavalry. His unit had been hit by field artillery fire head-on, but was fortunately rescued by the accompanying priests of the Cult of War. The commander of the Fifth Army Corps had asked him about the effectiveness of artillery, but what he had learned was completely different from what he was seeing now.

The Fifth Army Corps Commander had not realized that there was a fatal flaw in the Imperial Army's intelligence exchange: the content was not detailed enough, and there was no clear and intuitive description of the range and power. This led the Fifth Army Corps Commander to have a wrong understanding after listening to his subordinates' description.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, atop a watchtower in Blackrock Town, a dwarf observer frowned as he watched the collapsing Imperial infantry formation below, then turned and roared at the artillery behind him.

"You're off by thirty meters! I'll beat your mother to a pulp!"

The Imperial army's first offensive was forced to a premature halt due to the overwhelming power of the mortars. Five square formations were shattered before they could even engage the enemy, making it impossible for subsequent operations to continue.

The several square formations in front collapsed completely, and the soldiers scattered and fled like frightened birds. The commander of the Fifth Army Corps looked back at his own troops, who had been prepared, but now the morale of the main force was wavering because of the enemy's terrifying weapons. He could see fear in the eyes of many young soldiers.

"Why? Where did those Duran barbarians get these weapons from?"

"God of War above! This is the devil's weapon... This must be the devil's weapon! I, I'm certain, those despicable Duran people must have made a deal with the devil because they couldn't accept defeat!"

"That's right! This must be the truth, so we, the noble people of the Empire, have a duty to rescue the Duran people enslaved by the devil. The war we waged is sacred!"

Long live the Empire! May the God of War live forever!

The Fifth Army Commander glanced coldly at the group of war god priests led by the archbishop. These charlatans were like people suffering from severe mania, shouting incoherent ramblings.

Although he inwardly despised them and found them extremely noisy, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps simply watched silently without uttering a sound to stop them. This was because these charlatans' "impromptu performance" wasn't a sudden outburst, but rather an attempt to stabilize the morale of his troops, which was clearly wavering.

Thanks to their "efforts," the soldiers, who had been in a state of panic, quickly calmed down and were then invigorated again by the words of these charlatans. Even the most spiritual soothing spells were useless. The sheer professionalism of their work certainly lived up to his status as an archbishop.

After the archbishop finished his performance, the commander of the Fifth Legion looked at him with a slightly complicated expression and said...

"thank you."

"You're welcome."

On the Blackrock Town side, seeing the power of their own mortars—which had shattered the enemy's offensive with a single shot—the defenders didn't even need a priest to rally the troops; their spirits were already high, and the cheers were deafening. A few show-offs even climbed onto the wall and performed an awkward dance for the enemy.

Seeing that the enemy's first attack had been repelled, Rodriguez, who remained calm, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that the enemy would not launch a second attack for a short time after this round of retreat, because they had already witnessed the power of the mortar, which was a force that ordinary soldiers could not block with their shields.

But the other side certainly wouldn't give up so easily. After all, the first round of attacks was clearly a probing attack. Those five square formations of two thousand men were just cannon fodder used to test their firepower. They were probably all peasant soldiers who had been temporarily conscripted. This could be seen from the neatness of their formations.

During his time fighting within the Empire, Rodriguez gained a thorough understanding of the characteristics and actual capabilities of the various Imperial armies through real combat.

The strongest force is undoubtedly the main force, a fully-fledged, truly professional army with well-equipped and well-trained soldiers. However, most of these elite troops are located within the Kingdom of Duran, with only the Fifth Army remaining on the mainland.

Slightly inferior are the second-line corps, which are the five new corps formed in the last few years. Their equipment and training levels are worse than the main force, but they are still quasi-professional armies, and their strength would be top-notch elite combat troops in most countries.

The third group is the local security team, but in terms of actual combat effectiveness, the drop from second to third place is precipitous.

If the main force and the second-line troops are like the A and B divisions of the Locust Army, then the local security forces are definitely the Locust Army's auxiliary forces, easily broken in battle, and utterly pathetic!

Even worse than the security forces were the temporarily recruited militia. Rodriguez didn't even want to call these "battlefield atmosphere groups" soldiers, because they were really just there to make up the numbers.

The empire had a registered population of 80 million, and if you include slaves and undocumented immigrants, the number approached 100 million, while its territory covered nearly 4 million square kilometers. This enormous population and land allowed the empire to support an army of over a million.

However, starting with Canary I, the empire's military philosophy was to "use resources wisely," with military spending heavily skewed towards the five main army corps, which were small in number but completely obedient to the royal family. As for local security forces, they were treated like stepchildren, receiving very little funding from the empire and being strictly prohibited from raising their own funds, all in order to limit their combat effectiveness.

到加纳利三世时，帝国常备军一百万，主力兵团、二线兵团和地方治安队的人数比例是1:1:8，但军费占比却是反过来的8:1:1。

The imperial high command had its reasons for this arrangement. First, the empire's vast territory indeed required a large standing army. However, the country also had a strong desire for expansion, and felt restless if it didn't fight for three days. Therefore, the main force responsible for external affairs took up most of the military expenditure, and its soldiers were armed to the teeth, while the internal security forces only needed a spear.

The imperial leadership that devised this strategy probably never imagined that a bunch of weaklings around them would one day rise up and fight back, even attacking their own territory.

This military strategy resulted in the Imperial Army exhibiting two extremes: the main force was truly invincible, with explosive combat power and morale. Even Lud had to admit that without the aid of futuristic artillery from the Duran Kingdom, they would absolutely not have been able to defeat the ferocious Imperial Army.

"Just as the master said, times have changed!"

Muttering to himself something Lud had said a couple of days ago, Rodriguez now felt an increasing sense of truth in those words. The advent of artillery had indeed changed the course of warfare. But this change was limited to battles between mortals; the gods remained the greatest variable.

At this moment, Rodriguez was unaware that the gods had already entered the fray, and were less than ten meters away from him. The second-generation gods of the Pantheon, who were traveling with the cavalry regiment, had just been observing the cannon firing, and Sura had even received a batch of faith on the spot.

However, of the four goddesses from the second phase, only the God of War Sura and the Goddess of Music Deli are still in the army. The Goddess of Wealth Jessie and the Goddess of Balance Alma went back to the rear with Rude when he came a couple of days ago.

As for the battlefield observation of the second-phase goddess, Lude felt that it was enough, so he prepared to take the other three goddesses, except for the war goddess Sura, back with him. He also casually threw the restless Shanis over to help, since she was no longer needed as the jailer in the rear.

However, Lud only brought back Jessie and Alma in the end, because Deli found a good way to collect faith in the military camp: to hold battlefield concerts and sing to the soldiers to give them a buff!

After the imperial army withdrew, seeing that the enemy had not launched a second attack, Rodriguez ordered the highest level of alert to be lifted. He left sentries on the city walls, and the rest went to rest. They would have to hold out there for several more days, and it was essential to ensure the soldiers conserved their strength.

Just then, Shanis, who was idly enjoying the breeze, suddenly felt a vibration in her chest. She quickly found a secluded corner and pulled out a chibi-style Aina statue from her collar.

As beacons, divine statues serve as a medium for the gods to observe and perceive. Lude had long ago considered that, if this characteristic were properly utilized, miniaturized divine statues might be usable as mobile phones. However, to actually do this, Aina and Shanis would have to both reach the fourth rank.

As soon as Shanis took out the idol, she heard Aina's voice coming from the idol's mouth, complaining indignantly.

"Senior sister, why did you put my idol in that kind of place?"

"It's not too much for you to drill a hole in my head and use it as a keychain! There are too many people and too many eyes in the military camp, so get to the point."

"My master asked me to inform you that the Holy Light Church's intelligence indicates that the God of War seems to have sent several divine messengers down to assist the God of War Church, and that you should be careful."

"The messenger of the God of War? Do you know his strength?"

"I'm not sure about that, but the God of War is an eighth-tier high god, so his divine messengers must be strong. Even if you're senior sister, you have to be careful."

"alright, I got it."

After hanging up the communication, Shanis pondered for a moment. Although the gods themselves, who had personally intervened, did not actually criticize the other side's stance, they were at least helping the invaded party. For the mighty God of War to send his henchmen to aid and abet the evildoers was somewhat shameless.