Goddess Kaleidoscope

"Your Majesty, I'm back."

"You've worked hard, my queen. How are the wounded soldiers at home?"

"They are being taken very well. That facility called the field hospital is extremely useful. Many wounded soldiers who would never have survived in the past now have a 70% chance of being saved if they are taken there. The doctor in charge, Nanding, is very skilled. He and most of the doctors are believers in that pantheon, but they are neither priests nor magicians. It's truly amazing!"

When recalling her experiences visiting wounded soldiers in a field hospital, the Queen spoke highly of the doctors from the north.

These doctors had come to reinforce the fortress with part of the Northern Army led by Earl Ramley. People didn't really like these "pharmacists" at first, even though they were dressed very cleanly, unlike the usual slovenly pharmacists, and had even set up a field hospital in a proper manner. But the old prejudices still existed.

After all, outside the North, most people don't have a good impression of apothecaries. Rich people would consult priests when they were sick or injured, or at the very least, magicians. Only the poor would gamble their lives with apothecaries, because sometimes even the apothecaries themselves weren't sure if the potions they concocted would work. In any case, the person and the injury would definitely die.

Thanks to these traditional impressions, some soldiers, upon learning that field hospitals were specifically for treating wounded soldiers, even privately "begged" their comrades not to let themselves fall into the hands of those quack doctors.

Fortunately, after that, the doctors from the north, led by Nan Ding, proved their abilities with real curative effects, and many wounded soldiers who survived the treatment also converted to the Pantheon.

After recounting her experiences at the field hospital, the Queen casually pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to King Duran, pointing to the suggestions listed on it.

"This is the epidemic prevention advice given to me by Dr. Nanting. He said that with the bloody battle at the fortress for days and the recent obvious warming of the temperature, he was worried that it would trigger an epidemic, so he advised us to prepare early."

"Plague? I remember there was one in Oyster Harbor a few years ago."

"Dr. Nan Ding came from Oyster Harbor. He was a survivor of that plague incident, and it is said that it was only after Master Lud of the Pantheon personally intervened that it was resolved. These are all experiences, and I think it is very necessary to prepare early."

"Well, let's do as the doctor says. This battle has reached a critical moment, and we can't afford any mistakes."

King Duran nodded, then summoned a royal guard and instructed him to take his decree to the physician, requesting him to take full responsibility for the matter, and for the entire army to cooperate fully.

King Duran did not understand medicine, but he knew how terrifying the invisible plague was. Almost every year, villages in the Duran Kingdom would be wiped out silently due to outbreaks of plague.

The fact that the plague outbreak in Oyster Harbor was resolved was considered a "miracle" in many areas. Unfortunately, most ordinary people preferred to believe the rumors that a goddess had descended to earth and eliminated the plague, rather than trust Oyster Harbor's proactive sharing of its anti-epidemic experience.

Drinking more hot water will keep you from getting sick? Only an idiot would believe that!

Fortunately, the Northern Medical Corps had already established its reputation among the fortress garrison, and with the king's decree, it received strong support from the rear.

Having already stockpiled dozens of tons of quicklime and disinfectant, Nan Ding quickly took action. Taking advantage of the lull in the enemy's attack, he carried out a comprehensive disinfection of the entire fortress. He also poured harmless toxic fumes and bait into the underground waterways, wiping out most of the rats and insects.

Having done all this, Nandin wrote a letter and had the delivery dragon deliver it to Lud, who was far away in the imperial capital. He had already taken care of everything the master had instructed him to do as soon as possible in his previous letter.

In the Canary Islands, the two sides tacitly disengaged temporarily at dawn.

But the city was still in chaos, with riots of varying sizes occurring in almost every neighborhood. It was unclear whether the enemy's inside agents were behind it, or whether some troublemakers were trying to take advantage of the chaos to buy things for free.

After a night of turmoil, the Imperial City Guards had a general understanding of the enemy's situation. The invaders seemed to be few in number, so they only occupied the South Gate barbican and a few nearby blocks before quickly adopting a defensive posture, which gave the City Guards a chance to catch their breath.

Meanwhile, at the palace, Prime Minister Goethe summoned a group of ministers to the council hall overnight to discuss countermeasures. Faced with an unprecedented predicament in the capital, everyone, from nobles to commoners, was completely bewildered.

Especially for those "old Beijingers" who have lived here for most of their lives, being disturbed from their sleep by a loud noise outside in the middle of the night, getting up to curse, only to open the window and see chaos outside, they can hardly believe they are still dreaming!

The prime minister and his ministers sat together, listening to the faint sounds coming from outside. Their faces were grave, and they couldn't come up with any useful solutions to the current situation.

Even the ministers were powerless to do anything without ingredients. It's important to understand that Canary III personally led the campaign, taking the main force of the Imperial Guard with him. Enemy troops were crossing the border from the north, and the Prime Minister had dispatched the Fifth Army. These two actions directly weakened the capital's defenses to an unprecedented degree, but at the time, no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

After all, this is the capital! It is the heartland of the entire Canary Empire. How could a large-scale enemy army suddenly attack us without us even noticing?

And so, tragedy struck without warning!

The ministers discussed the matter at length, with some suggesting that they concentrate the remaining elite forces at the palace to launch a counterattack. They believed that as long as they launched an attack to recapture the south gate and drive the enemy out of the city, everything would be fine.

However, the proposal was immediately opposed by most people, who felt it was too risky. Moreover, with the city in constant turmoil, it was necessary to pacify the internal situation before dealing with external threats. They suggested that, while ensuring sufficient defenses for the palace, a portion of the troops should be diverted to suppress the riots, especially to ensure the stability of the "Upper District," where high-ranking officials and nobles resided.

This seemingly "safer" plan received the support of more than half of the ministers present, except for Chancellor Goethe, who remained expressionless. He knew all too well what these scoundrels were thinking.

Ultimately, the main problem right now is that there aren't enough soldiers. But the capital has a million residents, and among them, there are at least 80,000 to 100,000 who have served in the military. The capital's treasury is not short of swords and armor, so the prime minister has already arranged for people to go out and recruit people with the household registration list.

However, the re-arming of veterans takes time. Even with the Empire's efficiency, it would take at least a day to assemble an army of tens of thousands. And that's just the simple assembly; there's virtually no organization involved.

However, what unsettled the prime minister was the rather strange behavior of the enemy. After capturing the south gate's barbican, they did not enter the city to wreak havoc, but instead guarded the barbican, adopting a defensive posture as if they were going to wage a positional war against them.

Some ministers felt that this was probably because the enemy's forces were limited, so they dared not venture deep into the city for fear of being surrounded and unable to extricate themselves.

But the prime minister felt that things were not so simple. He knew a bit about military affairs. If he were in command, and a small number of enemy troops were to launch a surprise attack on the enemy capital, the best thing to do would be to send a small number of men to set fire to the city and create chaos, thereby diverting the attention of the city's defenders, and then concentrate the elite forces to launch a strong attack on the palace.

So as soon as the enemy's attack began, the prime minister ordered all the remaining troops of the Fifth Army Corps to reinforce the palace, fearing that the enemy would "behead" them. As a result, apart from Lu De coming to "chat" with him, the five thousand elite soldiers who were on high alert at the palace did not see a single enemy soldier by the time it was almost dawn.

As the saying goes, "There must be something fishy going on when things are out of the ordinary." Often, when you can't understand your opponent's behavior, if they're not an idiot, then you might be the one who becomes the idiot next.

Just as Chancellor Goethe was speculating about Ludwig's possible intentions, the Grand Councilor sitting to his right suddenly stood up and addressed the assembled high-ranking officials of the empire.

"In any case, the enemy has only occupied the south gate so far. The palace and most of the city are still under our complete control. I believe the Fifth Army Corps and local forces from the surrounding counties will soon send reinforcements. As long as we hold firm, we will definitely find a way!"

"Yes! The advantage is with me!"

"Your insight is truly brilliant!"

The Grand Councilor's words drew praise from those present, while Chancellor Goethe simply watched silently as the man put on airs. He knew this fellow had long coveted his position as Chancellor, and his act of jumping out to adopt a high-handed posture at this moment was a clear indication of his ulterior motives.

However, just then, a strange series of loud "bang bang bang" noises suddenly came from outside the window, which sounded like someone setting off fireworks.

Before the ministers present could figure out what had happened, the wall behind the Grand Councilor suddenly exploded. The explosion generated a shockwave that swept away countless bricks and rubble, turning the Grand Councilor, who had no time to react, into a sieve, with blood and flesh flying everywhere.

The sudden attack caught the ministers off guard. Fortunately, a servant was standing to his right to shield him, and although Chancellor Goethe was knocked to the ground by the explosion, he at least survived.

When he staggered to his feet, the once magnificent council hall had been turned into a slaughterhouse filled with blood and flesh. Several high-ranking officials, including the Grand Councilor, died on the spot, and most of the others were injured.

Goethe felt a burning pain in one of his arms, and the constant ringing in his ears made it impossible for him to hear the screams of the people around him. It wasn't until a royal guard officer rushed into the hall and helped him out of the council chamber and into the inner city of the palace that his hearing was able to recover somewhat.

"What...what happened?"

"It was an attack by the enemy. They used a weapon with an extremely long range and attacked the palace directly from the south gate barbican."

"How is this possible!?"

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, the prime minister was shocked. The straight-line distance from the south gate barbican to the palace was over four kilometers, and he had never heard of a weapon capable of striking at such a long distance.

At this moment, the prime minister suddenly remembered that the previous front-line battle report did mention a kind of "evil weapon" used by the Durans. The power of a single shot was equivalent to a mid-to-high level fireball spell, and its range far exceeded that of ballistae and catapults, reaching more than a thousand meters away. The Second Army Corps, which was fighting on the front line, was caught off guard by this weapon and was surrounded by the enemy.

However, this report did not receive much attention in the capital, because many high-ranking officials habitually assumed that it was just the Second Army Corps' incompetence making excuses for their own ineptitude.

It's important to understand that while the Empire's armies are powerful, they are not invincible and can still suffer defeats. Whenever this happens, the defeated troops will find excuses, with "mysterious weapons" possessing immense power becoming the most common pretext. Even half a brick can be exaggerated into a "weapon of mass destruction."

So even though the Durans' artillery had been used in actual combat for quite some time, the capital remained unimpressed. Some people had never even seen the battle report; the military headquarters wouldn't publicize how brave the enemy was. And the bureaucrats who had seen the report were often misled by the familiar words, revealing knowing smiles.

"Immensely powerful? A mysterious weapon? I get it, I get it!"

Now that the shells were finally falling on their heads, the men realized that the frontline troops were telling the truth this time!

Listening to the booming cannon fire outside and the dust falling from the tremors, Chancellor Goethe finally understood why the Durans had only occupied one barbican: they didn't even need to get close to reach the palace.

The bombardment lasted only a dozen minutes. When the prime minister, supported by his attendants, limped outside, he could hardly believe the devastation he witnessed at the palace.

He summoned the Grand Master of the Palace and questioned him about why he hadn't activated the palace's defensive barrier in time. The Grand Master, however, gave the Prime Minister a reason that left him utterly bewildered.

The magic circle that forms the defensive barrier—the key gem at its core has been stolen!

"Stealed? Are you kidding me! Didn't we have a spare?"

“The spare ones were also stolen. The thief was extremely powerful; none of us dozens of mages noticed him. He not only stole all the high-quality magic orbs, but he also took my treasured royal tomes.”

"..."

Hearing the old monk's lament, the prime minister was utterly speechless. The palace of the world's most powerful nation was being used like a public toilet, with people coming and going as they pleased. It was obvious without even asking that this was the work of the Pantheon again. This small sect, which Goethe had previously disregarded, was actually teeming with hidden talents!

Just then, the sound of cannons rang out again. Upon hearing this chilling sound, Goethe instinctively shrank back, but quickly realized that this shelling was not aimed at the palace. So he ran to a higher place to look around and saw that the upper city near the palace was being bombed. That was the wealthy and powerful gathering place of the capital.

Previously, a riot broke out in the city, and while other districts were in chaos, the Upper City remained as stable as a mountain. This was because the residents here were all wealthy and powerful, each with their own private guards, ranging from a few to dozens of people. In addition, the city guards prioritized ensuring the safety of the area, so the scene remained peaceful. Some people even stayed up late at night to go to the observation deck to watch the chaotic scene in the commoners' district.

Now that the shells are falling, the rich people can no longer laugh.

First the royal palace, then the wealthy neighborhood—the two shelling attacks were like two resounding slaps to the faces of the Canary Islands. Chancellor Goethe was furious but helpless.

After bombarding the royal palace and the upper city where the nobility congregated, the artillery of the Duran Expeditionary Force temporarily ceased their attack. The heavy cannons they brought were in good condition and had plenty of ammunition, but the mages who were fighting alongside the artillery needed a short break.

Without external assistance, the basic range of large-caliber heavy artillery is only about 1,500 meters, which is far too short to reach the royal palace and the upper city, which are more than 4,000 meters away. So the accompanying mage came up with a solution: to enchant the shells before firing, adding various magical effects and greatly increasing the range and power of the shells.

Although a significant increase in range would lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the shells, the targets were the Imperial Palace and the city streets. Even if the shot went astray, it wouldn't miss the target. As for what exactly it would hit, that was entirely up to fate.

During the artillery rampage at the Hongru Palace, Lude stood atop the city wall, gazing at the distant smoke of battle. Beside him, on the battlements, Hume, still dressed as a mercenary, was idly flipping through a hardcover book titled "Forbidden Magic from Zero," seemingly a magic-related book, but the pink title made it seem rather unserious.

Hume said she had borrowed it from the "secret library" of a court sorcerer in the capital. Ludwig was curious and wanted to see it, but Hume refused to give it to him. Ludwig couldn't get hold of this clever woman and finally had to give up.

After the shelling stopped, Hume looked up and glanced at Ludd, then asked with great interest.

"What do you think those imperialists will do next?"

“Normally, they should launch a counterattack against us immediately, but considering that they have already suffered enough last night, and the capital is currently short of troops, the prime minister will most likely send someone to talk to us.”

Undoubtedly, the Empire has always been tough on foreign powers, and will not hesitate to unleash its thunderous wrath on any weak nation that dares to provoke it. But the Empire is also pragmatic; when faced with a truly formidable opponent, they are not incapable of sitting down calmly and rationally.

This confirmed Lude's prediction. Less than half an hour after the expeditionary force's shelling ended, a small group of people ran up to the main road inside the south gate.

These people were neither wearing armor nor carrying weapons. The three people at the front were even priests, each carrying the banner of one of the three major religions. When the troops responsible for blocking the way on the outer streets saw this, they did not shoot arrows at them, but instead sent an officer to negotiate.

At this moment, a middle-aged man who looked like an official stepped forward and introduced himself to the officer. He was a special envoy of Chancellor Goethe and hoped to have a good talk with the commander of the Durand Expeditionary Force.

After consulting with their superiors, the blocking force allowed the group of about ten men to enter the barbican, where Ludl meticulously prepared a "welcome ceremony." Several imperial officials nearly vomited blood upon seeing the scene before them.

On the vast training ground, several hundred fully armed Duran soldiers stood in rows on both sides, each dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, their expressions filled with murderous intent, making no attempt to hide their desire to kill someone.

Directly opposite them was a platform more than a meter high, where a group of expeditionary generals sat. Duke Kruder, at the head of the group, smiled and looked down at the imperial envoy. Then, he raised his hand and pointed to a row of small stools below the platform, so low that they were too short even to wash one's feet.

"Special envoys, please have a seat."

"..."xN

Seeing the show of force that the Durant had prepared for him, the envoy took several deep breaths to keep himself from losing his temper on the spot.

As a veteran diplomat of the empire, he had never felt so frustrated in his more than twenty years of service. After all, he had mainly dealt with weak countries that had been defeated by the empire's overwhelming military power and forced to cede territory and pay reparations. Even the rulers of those countries were as subservient as slaves in his presence.

The special envoy still remembers one of his "highlight moments" as a diplomat: at a welcoming banquet, he casually complimented the young king's queen on her beauty. As soon as the banquet ended, he met the queen in his bedroom at the embassy.

However, times have changed, and the special envoy never imagined that he, a diplomat of the Canary Islands, would one day find himself in a vulnerable position.

The special envoy had already witnessed the power of artillery shells up close during the previous shelling of the upper city. His neighbor's mansion was reduced to ruins right before his eyes, and the fire even burned down his wives' favorite garden.

This brief bombardment, lasting only a dozen minutes, turned the empire's elites into frightened birds. Many of them, who had just been praising the war for bringing prosperity to the empire at a banquet the day before, suddenly found themselves crying and lamenting as victims when the flames of war actually reached them.

Of course! Not all Canary people who practiced militarism were cowards who would whine when attacked. There were also quite a few who clamored for "an eye for an eye" and were usually young nobles who had been indoctrinated with "Canary supremacy" from childhood.

In their minds, the Canary Islands are the most superior race in the world, and it is only natural for the empire to rule the world. Therefore, their conquest of other inferior races is also "just," and the weak should obediently kneel down and await slaughter.

So when the northern barbarian army dared to invade the capital, these "future pillars" of the empire were initially shocked, then felt extremely angry, as if a slave owner had been slapped by an oppressed slave, considering it a despicable and shameless act of treason!

These young people were impulsive but also very proactive. They spontaneously organized a small group called the "Royal Knights," cobbling together a few hundred ragtag people who were determined to rush up and fight the enemy to the death.