Goddess Kaleidoscope

After a few days of rest at his hometown, Lu De planned to set off for the underground world in a week. Making music was just an idea for now, and he planned to wait until he returned from the underground before making any plans.

The first half of this underground expedition wasn't too difficult. Although the underground world was dangerous, Rudd was now one of the Twelve Chosen Gods, invincible below the level of a god. However, as they went deeper and got closer to the land of the fire, the suppression of their divine power became stronger.

Hume, who had been to that place once, told Ludwig that when she and Fallen Leaf escorted the old astrologer to the entrance to the Land of Fire, the curse of the God of War on her body was completely ineffective for a time, but at the same time, her own divine power also disappeared.

At that moment, she almost became an ordinary mortal.

However, since Lude already possesses the primordial fire within him, it cannot be ruled out that he might be an unaffected exception. But the specifics will only be clear once they arrive on the ground.

As for the companions, Hume and Fallen Leaf, who had been there once before, were indispensable guides. Then the three sisters volunteered to go along, as they were very experienced in going down into the mines. Add to that Little Kanna and an eight-person heroic spirit team, and this combination would be enough to handle most situations.

With such a top-notch professional team, Lude was confident that his trip would be much easier than his master's. His master had taken him over half a year to make the round trip; he aimed to finish within a month.

In the following days, Ludwig made preparations while assigning tasks to those remaining at Brewster College. The spring break at Brewster College was drawing to a close, and the new semester was expected to bring a large influx of students from all over the country, including many aristocratic children.

The newly formed government's public recruitment quotas for civil servants had already given some clues to the more astute nobles. Ludwig, responsible for forming the cabinet, prioritized ability over noble lineage when selecting officials. At numerous banquets, Ludwig also subtly hinted to those nobles who fawned over him that he harbored no ill will towards them, but he disliked incompetence.

In addition, among the first batch of civil servants recruited by the new government, those graduates from Brewster College were highly regarded in various government departments because of their outstanding abilities, and therefore their promotion speed was faster than that of their colleagues.

It is no exaggeration to say that Brewster College has now established itself as a "higher education institution" within the Kingdom of Durand. And the graduates who, despite their humble origins, have become officials in the new government have shown the common people what it means for "knowledge to change one's destiny."

Lude will no longer have to run around begging people to send their children to his school like he used to.

A few days later, with everything ready, Lud set off from town with his accompanying squad.

Their first destination was a snow-capped mountain deep within the Void Forest, where a dormant volcano no longer erupted. Inside the crater was a winding cave leading down to an old mine tunnel, through which they could reach the Hearthgrenburg, now buried underground.

It's worth mentioning that this snow-capped mountain isn't too far from the home of the black dragon Nidhogg. An adult black dragon usually considers an area within a radius of nearly a hundred kilometers centered on its lair as its territory, and does not allow other dragons or high-ranking magical beast lords to enter. However, for an anomaly like Nidhogg, who stays with his mate for life, that territory is even larger.

Lude thought to himself, since it's on the way anyway, why not let Kanna go back to visit her family?

The group arrived at the home of the black dragon couple. As they approached the cave entrance, Kanna saw two young black dragons flying around in the air, chasing and playing with each other. She let out a rhythmic long cry, and the two young dragons immediately responded with the same cry.

This distinctive chirping sound was a response signal that Nidhogg had created for his own family, and the suggestion was provided by Ludwig.

The two baby dragons were naturally Kanna's brothers, Brown and Brahmoth. Thanks to growing up in an "unusual" dragon family, the two brothers were well cared for by their parents. Compared to the last time they met, the two little guys had grown quite a bit, with a body length of nearly five meters. However, compared to Kanna after her transformation, they were still far smaller. Therefore, when their little sister flew close, the two brothers were dumbfounded.

Just then, a deep, powerful dragon's roar came from not far away. Upon hearing his daughter's voice, Nidhogg descended from the clouds in a manner comparable to Stuka, each hand clutching a half-dead monster, seemingly having just returned from a hunt.

"My little Kanna!!!"

Seeing the dragon father swooping down, Lud and the others wisely dismounted from Conna's back, each using their unique abilities to float down to the ground. Brown and Brahmos immediately flew to Lud; they recognized this human, who always brought them gifts whenever he visited.

Seeing the two slightly chubby baby dragons staring at him with wide eyes, Lude naturally knew what they wanted, so he took out two high-quality magic crystals from his sleeve and handed them over.

Dragons are drawn to things imbued with magic. For a young dragon in its growth stage, two oval-shaped magic crystals are like sweet lollipops, possessing an irresistible allure.

"Come on, don't fight over it, everyone gets one. You two brothers must grow up quickly, I love strong dragon children the most."

After giving the two baby dragons their gifts, Nidhogg descended from the sky, while Kanna transformed back into her cat-sized baby dragon form, comfortably perched on her father's big head.

"Why are you here?"

"I was on my way north to take care of some business and just happened to be passing by, so I stopped by to say hello. I haven't had a chance to properly thank you two for what you did before."

"It was nothing, no need to be so polite."

At Nidhogg's invitation, the group went to his home.

As soon as Lud entered the cave, he was surprised to find that it had changed a lot. On his previous visits, although it was clean and tidy, it still looked like a dragon's nest. But now, many human dwellings had been added.

Just then, Ludwig heard a familiar, melodious humming. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a beautiful young woman walking gracefully out of the cave. The girl was slightly taken aback when she saw everyone, while Kanna leaped down from Nidhogg's head and flew straight into the girl's arms.

The girl reached out her hands to catch the flying baby dragon and said with a joyful expression.

"Kanna, you're back! Did you miss your mom, my little darling?"

"This is...your wife?"

"Yeah."

Ludwig pointed to the girl not far away, and Nidhogg's big head nodded heavily. Then, he also transformed into human form in front of Ludwig, becoming a tall, handsome, and athletic man with black hair.

Previously, this couple had also been invited to help Lude fight against the Empire. After the matter was settled, Lude gave them a pair of rings that he had obtained from the Holy Light Church. The couple accepted them, but did not use them immediately. Therefore, this was the first time Lude had seen this dragon couple in human form.

Because the shapeshifting ring has a built-in "beauty filter" effect, and because the Nidhogg couple's original appearance is already considered quite good among dragons, they are a match made in heaven when they transform into human form.

The newly added furnishings inside the cave clearly indicate that the couple attempted to live in human form after obtaining the ring.

In fact, it wasn't just them. Lude had talked to the group of "employees" at his own courier company who also wore rings. Everyone praised their current small and flexible human form, feeling that it was much more comfortable than when they weren't human!

After all, smaller size means less energy consumption, so they no longer need to rely on sleeping to conserve magic power like before. In addition, the dazzling world of humans is much more interesting and entertaining than the bloody cruelty of the wild world, so these monsters have long been reluctant to leave.

At the warm invitation of the Nidhogg couple, Ludd and his party stayed there for one night. Ludd also had some things to ask Nidhogg, a local, so he did not refuse.

It's worth mentioning that during their casual conversation, they learned some good news—it won't be long before Conna is no longer the youngest in the "Old Ni family".

While congratulating them, Lu De couldn't help but think to himself that at the rate at which the couple was having children, the Void Realm Forest would probably turn into a black dragon's den in a few hundred years.

Trusting his old friend Nidhogg, Ludd revealed where he and his group were headed.

After listening, Nidhogg frowned slightly and said that he often passed by that extinct volcano when he went out hunting. He vaguely remembered that he flew over that area yesterday morning and saw a camp near the pass.

"A camp? Who are they?"

"I only glanced at it at the time and didn't pay much attention, but... it shouldn't be from your human race."

Dragons have incredibly sharp eyesight, comparable to those that can see a thousand miles, but Nidhogg was in a hurry to get home to make soup for his wife, so he didn't pay much attention to the camp that suddenly appeared.

In fact, Nidhogg is considered one of the most good-tempered bigwigs in the Void Forest. Unless he is attacked or a stranger invades his core territory, he will at most issue a warning, unlike some ferocious beasts that will attack outsiders indiscriminately without asking any questions.

The unexpected intelligence alerted Lud: a considerable number of the demi-humans living in the Virtual Forest harbored hostility toward humans. Orcs and ogres, who were simple-minded and only knew how to rob and plunder, were relatively easy to deal with. The truly troublesome ones were the ratmen.

Lud had clashed with them a few years ago, thwarting their scheme and saving Romian, who had been tricked by them.

These cunning and treacherous rats once established a powerful empire, possessing both technology and wisdom, and harbored intense hostility towards the gods and the later-emerging human race. It was only thanks to the gods' united curse that the ratmen were stripped of their prized fertility that the remnant race was unable to rise again.

After that incident, Lude remained secretly on guard against the resurgence of the rat-people. He instructed the civilized demi-humans living in Peach Blossom Spring to regularly gather intelligence related to the rat-people. Unfortunately, the Void Forest, stretching for thousands of miles, was simply too vast, and the intelligence network Lude had built there could only cover a limited area.

The next morning, Ludwig and his party set off again, and Nidhogg, worried about his daughter, flew over with them.

The group quickly arrived at the crater of the extinct volcano, but looking down from the air, everything was covered in snow, and they couldn't see the camp that Nidhogg had mentioned. Seeing this, Nidhogg flapped his wings a few times towards the location of the camp in his memory, and only then did he see some clues under the blown snow.

Hume squatted down and examined them carefully for a moment, then picked up a few black fragments that crumbled easily when squeezed and said...

"It is the residue left after burning charcoal. This fuel, specially made by the dwarves, is very long-lasting and is a good choice for camping in the wild."

Could it be a dwarf?

"Not necessarily. This thing was sold as a commodity by the dwarves, so it was definitely made by the dwarves, but the tools used may not have been dwarves. Judging from the traces left at the scene, this group should have already gone down, but whether they have the same goal as us is hard to say."

"You're going down from here, right? I'll go with you."

Upon hearing that Ludwig and the others were heading to the Underworld, Nidhogg, who had come along, volunteered to join the group. Partly to help his friends, but more importantly, he was worried about his daughter, Kanna.

Nidhogg knew that his daughter was now a little dragon, and although she was not even eight years old, her size (after transformation) was already larger than his own when he was five hundred years old. In terms of strength, she might even be stronger than him. But he was, after all, her biological father. No matter how old Kanna would grow up, she would always be his precious daughter in his eyes.

When Nidhogg insisted on accompanying him, Ludwig thought for a moment and decided not to refuse. He completely trusted this great black dragon; the dragon was honest and straightforward, and even if he knew some "secrets," Ludwig was sure the dragon would keep them to himself.

After making some preparations on the ground, the group, led by Hume, entered the crater and soon found a cave entrance below that was emitting thick steam.

Is this the hole?

"That's right. Be careful when you go down. Although it's a dormant volcano that won't erupt, the temperature inside is still quite good. If you see any hot spring pools, don't touch them with your hands, or you'll get burned!"

After Hume finished speaking, he looked back at the entire squad and thought to himself that he was just worrying unnecessarily. There was no one in the squad of more than a dozen people who was afraid of being scalded by boiling water. Even a dead pig would shake its head in fear.

"This is much less troublesome than last time."

The group followed Hume, walking briskly through the cave. The cave was a maze of passages with many forks in the road, but fortunately, Hume was leading the way. When she and Fallen Leaf came here last time, they made many special marks along the way that only they could understand, so the journey was quite smooth.

During this time, the three sisters once again suggested that they dig a vertical tunnel themselves, which would be much faster than the crooked and meandering drilling they were doing now.

But Hume said that the land of fire, located deep underground, can only be entered through a specific entrance. If the three of you dig around haphazardly and cause the underground caverns to collapse, then you won't be able to find the place.

Left with no other choice, the group, despite each possessing unique skills, could only slowly venture deeper on foot.

Along the way, Lude carefully observed his surroundings and soon discovered some traces left by a group that had passed through. It was clear that the group that had gone down into the cave before them had taken the same route as his group.

Thanks to the fact that everyone in the group was extraordinary, the team moved incredibly fast underground. Nidhogg, with its dragon-like aura, had an excellent dispelling effect, causing all the poisonous insects and ferocious beasts underground to stay far away.

The group walked for most of the day. Lu De looked at the pocket watch the three sisters had made and thought to himself that it was already evening before he knew it.

If an ordinary person were to march at this pace for ten or more hours, even if they could manage, they would be nearing their physical limits by now. But his companions around him were still laughing and joking, acting as if nothing was wrong, as if they were on a relaxed outing.

This scene prompted Hume, who was experiencing it for the second time, to sigh with emotion.

"It seems my previous estimate was too conservative. We've covered the equivalent of four days' worth of distance in just half a day. At this rate, we should be able to reach the entrance in about three weeks."

With no teammates holding them back and no worries about encountering crises, the team's advance was unimpeded, giving Luds ample time to think about how to deal with another team that was also venturing deep underground.

Based on the intelligence provided by Nidhogg, it's not hard to deduce that this group entered the cave about a day earlier than ours, but their progress couldn't possibly be faster than Ludwig's luxurious "all-star" lineup.

So if they were on the same route, they should have met long ago, but they haven't seen a single one yet.

In fact, Ludwig and his group had previously attempted to track the other party, but their trail ended at an underground river when they passed a relatively open cave. Hume guessed that the other party had probably gone underwater, but she didn't know where the river led or whether it had branches. Given that underwater tracking was impossible and there was a risk of getting lost, they decided not to follow.

Lude's idea was to confirm the identities of this group and their purpose for this trip, and to make his move as soon as possible.

If their opponent is also heading towards the Land of the Fire Seed, the sooner they encounter it, the greater their advantage will be. It's important to understand that the Primal Fire has a restraining effect on divine power; according to Hume, when she stood at the entrance to the Land of the Fire Seed, she was almost weakened to the point of being indistinguishable from a mortal.

Therefore, after discussing with Hume, Ludd decided that they should reach the Hearthstone ruins as soon as possible, where the elevator tunnel is the only shortcut to go deep underground and lay an ambush on the enemy there.

And so, the group quickened their pace again, using divine magic to eliminate fatigue and restore their strength. After walking for another day and night, they finally passed through a mine tunnel with obvious signs of artificial excavation, and suddenly the view opened up before them, leading to a huge underground hall.

Knowing about dwarven architecture, Lud knew that this was the mining hall. The Steelwhip clan's ancient city had similar facilities, but they were much smaller and less advanced.

The entire circular hall covers an area of ​​tens of thousands of square meters, with minecart tracks visible everywhere on the floor, leading to the surrounding network of mine tunnels. The highest point of the arched ceiling is more than thirty meters above the ground, and dozens of large magic lamps are arranged in a ring around it.

Despite being unattended for three hundred years, more than half of these magic lamps are still able to emit light normally, illuminating the entire hall.

Like most dwarven cities, Hearthstone is divided into above-ground and underground sections. During the War of the Gods, the Skaven, lacking any martial spirit, launched a sneak attack, unleashing a super forbidden spell upon Hearthstone, a city with over six hundred years of history. This razed the surface of the city to the ground, and the underground structure also suffered considerable damage, forcing the surviving dwarves to evacuate the besieged city.

But a capital city is still a capital city. Though destroyed, it was not completely destroyed, and the remaining ruins are still breathtaking to this day.

Upon arriving at the ruins, the group first scouted around to confirm that there were no other intruders before setting up camp on a high platform overlooking the entire hall.

Lud plans to wait here for a few days. If the other group doesn't arrive, he'll leave the Heroic Spirit Squad to guard the entrance while he and the others continue onward.

During their stay, Ludwig didn't just sit idly by; instead, he and his three sisters began excavating in Hearthheart Keep. As the former capital of the dwarven kingdom, it was sure to hold many valuable artifacts worthy of study.

Everyone must admit that although dwarves are prone to boasting, they do have some real skills.

Hearthstone survived a super forbidden curse and was abandoned for over three hundred years. Although the part buried underground was spared from the elements, it was still subject to various forms of erosion from the earth. However, the remaining buildings remained sturdy, and many of the internal facilities were still functioning normally.