Goddess Kaleidoscope

In terms of both quantity and quality, Pine Village was at an overwhelming disadvantage. Therefore, Sharo believed that instead of defending the village to the death, they should seize the time to evacuate all the surrounding villagers to Riverwood overnight. At least there were city walls to defend there, and the terrain was more advantageous than here. As long as they could hold out until the Earl's army came to reinforce them, they would be fine.

However, Sharo's suggestion, which he considered reasonable, was opposed by almost all the villagers.

"We're not leaving! We're going to Riverwood! Our village has suffered several disasters before, and no one paid any attention when we asked for help. Those bastards don't care about the lives of us pioneers!"

"Exactly! If we're going to defend, we should be defending our own home. If we go to Riverwood, all our houses and land here will be gone, and we'll definitely be forced to defend the city for those bastards. Then they'll kick us out afterwards. In the end, we're the only ones who suffer. Why should we?!"

"Yes! We won't leave! The goddess will protect us!"

The villagers were immediately filled with righteous indignation and vowed to live or die with their village.

Seeing this, Sharo couldn't help but look at Rude, waiting to see what decision this unpredictable old priest would make.

"Your Excellency, what are your thoughts?"

"I think we might try to take the initiative."

"..."xN

As soon as Lud finished speaking, the room fell silent, and everyone looked at him with disbelief.

Lude explained with a smile.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't mean for everyone to engage in suicidal charges, but rather to change our approach and disrupt the opponent's rhythm."

As the person present who knew the enemy's internal affairs best, Lud knew very well that the ratmen would never move their nest before completing the creation of the god, but their unwillingness to move did not mean that the humans could not move on their own.

If you want the village to live in peace, you have to make sure the enemy doesn't have peace.

So, in order to put some pressure on the old rat, Lu De decided to mobilize the villagers to give him a good job!

Currently, Pine Tree Village has over three hundred militiamen, whose main weapon is spears. They have only a small number of homemade iron swords, far from enough to equip every villager with one. Therefore, in order to enhance the village's self-defense capabilities, Lu De put his time-traveling brain to use and decided to create a simple yet powerful weapon for the villagers—a foot-operated crossbow.

Compared to other long-range weapons such as bows and arrows and slings, the biggest advantage of the crossbow is its low learning curve. In theory, as long as you are not mentally challenged, you can figure out how to use it in fifteen minutes and become a combatant with a little simple training.

Lu De was no stranger to the structure of foot-operated crossbows. When he was a policeman, the Public Security Bureau confiscated many of these contrabands from the public every year, including some high-end imported models. Sometimes, out of curiosity, Lu De and his colleagues would get their hands on these contraband items and examine them carefully before they were sent for destruction, and over time they figured out their structure.

So, taking advantage of the winter, Lud collaborated with the village craftsmen and easily mass-produced two hundred foot-operated crossbows.

The village militiamen were initially quite resistant, feeling that carrying such ugly weapons was not as impressive as broadswords and spears. However, after using them a few times, they all started to like them.

These two hundred foot-operated crossbows are the village's "trump card," and if deployed properly, they can play a significant role in defensive battles.

But Lud felt that they might be able to use it better!

Lud instructed the village to prepare for battle from this moment on. Previously, in order to avoid causing panic, only a few people in the village knew about the demi-human army. Now it was time to make it public.

After arranging the relevant matters, Lud told everyone to take the time to rest well tonight, and then left the village chief's house to return to his temple.

At that moment, Sharo suddenly chased after him and blocked his way.

"Priest, I'd like to have a serious talk with you."

Sharo's gaze was sincere and earnest. She admitted that she had previously doubted Lud, which had caused quite a stir between them. However, at that time, it was mainly because they lacked sufficient information, leading to flawed judgments. Therefore, Sharo had come to a realization: rather than continuing to suspect each other, it was better to be open and honest.

To show her sincerity, Sharo even took out her lie detector and handed it to Rudd in front of him.

"Since we're going to have a chat, aren't you going to test it again?"

"No! This time I want to make my own judgment."

"Alright then! Since you want to chat, come sit at my place, let's make some berry tea and talk slowly."

And so, Sharo followed Rud alone to the temple, while the other warlord knights were left behind in the village to await orders.

The two arrived at the temple hall and sat down in the front row. Lud told Aina to make tea, then turned to Sharo and asked.

"Speak, child, what do you want to know?"

"The whole truth!"

"Then I'm afraid I'm sorry, because not all the truths in this world are suitable to be revealed. At least until people are mentally prepared, not knowing is a kind of happiness."

"Well... please tell me what you can say first."

"This story probably goes back three hundred years..."

Lude could tell that while Sharo was trying to trust him, she was also convinced that he possessed some astonishing inside information. Therefore, although her question sounded ambiguous, its meaning was quite clear.

After thinking for a moment, Lude decided to go along with this imaginative female knight and, in light of the current situation, suggest a setting that she could accept!

Rudd told Sharo that during the War of the Gods three hundred years ago, the Skaven Empire, in order to fight against the gods, sided with a terrifying outer demon. Although, through the joint efforts of countless gods and mortal heroes, this great demon and his demon army were eventually driven out of this world, the surviving Skaven have always hoped to reopen the gates to the outer realms so that the demon army could descend upon the human world again.

Now, three hundred years have passed, and because of some unspeakable "dark side of the world," this history has been deliberately buried by some people, and most people have forgotten the existence of the threat.

Lud is one of the very few people who are still trying to find the truth. In order to understand that hidden history, he has spent most of his life traveling all over the world in order to find the spirits of those who died three hundred years ago and ask them for information.

This is why the magic powder used by Sharo and the others could detect that Rudd had been in contact with the undead, because he had indeed been in contact with them!

"So what did you find out from the dead?"

"The ratmen in the Void Forest, they're close to succeeding."

End of this chapter

The truth about the creation of gods must never be spoken, because the truth itself sounds too absurd, and even if it were told, no one would believe it. Lud knew very well that the world was not yet ready to face the truth, and he himself did not yet possess the strength to confront all the established gods.

Therefore, he could only make up a story that Salo could accept.

Thus, the ratmen's god-making plan became, in his words, a "summoning ritual for demons from beyond the realms," and he claimed that he was inspired by a goddess and spent most of his life pursuing the truth, even at the cost of breaking taboos, to prevent the demons from descending again.

But the world has been at peace for a long time, and most countries and sects have forgotten the devastating war between gods and demons three hundred years ago. They do not believe that the remaining ratmen are capable of causing any more trouble, so they scoff at Lud's concerns, thinking he is just being alarmist, and even mocking him as a madman who worries about nothing.

Therefore, for many years, Ludwig had been in a state of isolation and helplessness, only able to grit his teeth and persevere in the investigation with his few disciples. Even if the final result proved that they were wrong, it didn't matter.

A year ago, Rudd followed a clue to the northern border of the Kingdom of Duran. While spreading the gospel of the goddess, he secretly contacted the undead wandering in the forest and finally confirmed that the local ratmen descendants were secretly planning a demon summoning.

Lud originally intended to continue gathering intelligence and request military assistance from the kingdom once he had conclusive evidence, but the ratmen's progress was far faster than he had anticipated, catching him off guard.

Therefore, Lud confessed to Sharo that he had indeed deceived the villagers and concealed the truth about the ratmen's plan to summon demons, because he desperately needed the villagers' assistance. Otherwise, he and his few disciples alone would not be enough to stop the ratmen's evil plan.

If they knew the truth now, their high morale might collapse instantly. But Sharo is a knight with a strong sense of justice and a firm will, so Rudd dared to tell her the truth and hoped that the two sides could put aside their prejudices and work together to save the world!

Luther's words were sincere, especially when he said, "I may be wrong on this issue, but others cannot afford to be wrong." His smile subtly revealed a hint of weariness and bitterness, like that of a lonely but never-giving-up martyr who defended the truth.

This made Sharo instantly feel a deep respect for the old priest before him, and he felt genuinely ashamed of his previous doubts about the saint's thoughts and actions.

"I'm sorry, Master, I misunderstood you before."

"It's okay, child, I'm used to it."

By this point in their conversation, Sharo had essentially completely let go of his suspicions and wariness towards Lud.

As the daughter of a count, Sharo had long heard a lot of "dirt" about the powerful class and religious forces. Her father and grandfather had mentioned it more than once in private conversations, saying that the high-ranking members of those sects were definitely trying to hide something. This coincided with what Lude was saying, so the female knight naturally believed it.

Lud told Sharo that the ratmen's demon summoning ritual was probably only one step away from completion. He predicted that they would launch it on the night of the next new moon. This terrible ritual required the sacrifice of a large number of lives, and many of the demi-humans they had deceived were actually living sacrifices.

The most crucial step in this summoning ritual is to sacrifice a pure and innocent soul to the Outland demons; she will become the "key" to open the gates of Hell. Therefore, Lud believes that the best way to stop this ritual is to find a way to rescue this innocent and crucial sacrifice from the Skaven before they begin the ceremony.

"Miss Knight, I have a rescue plan, but I need your cooperation. Would you be willing to help me with this?"

"Saving the world is the inescapable duty of us knights. My sword awaits your command, esteemed master!"

In this way, Lud successfully "persuaded" Sharo to help him "save the world" and stop the ratmen's ambitions.

Lud claims to possess three bottles of transformation potions crafted by a master alchemist. These potions, once ingested, can temporarily alter one's appearance and physique, transforming them into a demi-human. He plans to use these to infiltrate the rat-people's camp, find the sacrifice with the pure soul, and rescue her from the demonic lair.

However, during their retreat, someone needed to launch a feint attack from outside the camp to distract the ratmen. Therefore, Lud said he felt that the capable and shrewd Sharo was a very good candidate for commander, and he could completely trust her to lead the militia.

Sharo was surprised by Lude's high evaluation of her. She realized that she indeed had the potential to become a great general. Therefore, she immediately patted her hard breastplate and said that she would definitely not let Lude down.

The next morning, the village chief beat drums and gongs to gather all the men, women, and children of the village in the central square. Sharo and the other knights-in-waiting also put on their armor again and stood in formation behind the priest, like a group of knights protecting the faith.

In front of everyone, Lud informed them that the demi-human army was approaching, but told them not to panic, as reinforcements from Earl Ramli's territory were on their way. He also informed the black dragon Nidhogg that the powerful dragon would attack the demi-human camp in three days, and they would send militia, led by the female knight Sharo, to cooperate with the dragon in the battle.

Lude repeatedly emphasized that this was a "victorious" battle, with the dragon leading the attack, and the militia from Pine Tree Village were only there to cheer and rouse the enemy while they were down.

The group was initially worried, but when they heard that a "pro player" would carry them, and that all they had to do was shout "Awesome!" and easily defeat a couple of minions to win, they could join in to rack up reputation and battle points, and maybe even get some loot, their morale soared instantly.

Seeing that the morale of the troops was high, Lud looked back at Sharo, who immediately nodded.

Sharo believed she had learned the truth. She knew that there were no dragons to help her in this battle, and she could only lead a few hundred militiamen to attack a powerful enemy that outnumbered her by ten or twenty times.

But Sharo wasn't afraid; in fact, she felt a surge of excitement because she believed she was now working to save the world, just like the great heroes in epic tales!

End of this chapter

Lud planned to begin his operation in three days. Before then, he would gather Hume and Fallen Leaf to infiltrate the demi-human camp again and try to make contact with the half-dragon girl named Romian. If possible, they would try to rescue her alive from the ratmen.

So the three of them transformed into demi-humans and sneaked back into the camp. In less than two days, the number of people in the camp had increased significantly. However, the effects of the religious divisions that Lud had created were still present, and the situation was even worsening.

The rat people, on the other hand, clearly lacked relevant experience in this area and were completely unaware that problems had arisen among their followers.

Meanwhile, Midi was still in the process of investigating the traitor. The old rat was convinced that there was a traitor among his own men, so he focused all his attention on it, becoming suspicious all the time, even finding his own granddaughter suspicious. This directly caused a very tense atmosphere to permeate the entire ratman camp, and even the naive Romian sensed that something was wrong.

"Sister Minnie, has something happened? Everyone seems so tense."

"Uh...it's nothing, it's just a rat infestation in the camp."

"what?"

After being given a brief, perfunctory reply by Minnie, Romian's doubts grew stronger. She subconsciously thought that her sister Minnie was hiding something from her because she didn't want her to worry. Just like her mother, who, even when they were being chased by bad guys, always comforted her, constantly saying, "Don't worry."

So the sensible Romianne didn't press the matter further, but secretly vowed in her heart to help her older sister share her burdens.

Because she had lived with her mother since childhood, Romian was very good at housework, excelling at everything from laundry and cooking to cleaning. So she wanted to make a bowl of her best sweet soup for her sister Minnie and grandfather Midi to try. When her mother was still alive, she loved Romian's sweet soup, saying that it would wash away all worries and fatigue.

So Romian asked her rat-woman maid for help to get some ingredients for a sweet soup and to use the kitchen as well. But this simple request was rejected without hesitation by the rat-woman maid.

"Why? I can cook, and I promise to clean the kitchen thoroughly after I use it. Please help me!"

"My lady, please don't make things difficult for me, okay?"

The rat-woman maidservant, with her usual stern face, remained unmoved by any persuasion. Because Miner had previously instructed her to keep a close eye on Romian and prevent her from wandering off, the maidservant stood guard at the room door like a prisoner, refusing to let Romian leave the room even a step.

Romianne was surprised that her maid was so heartless. She could only return to her room dejectedly, counting the scales on her tail in low spirits, but she did not give up.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Midi and a group of ratman priests stood before the blood pool, frowning as they watched the viscous liquid churning within. About four days ago, the once relatively calm pool suddenly began to boil over, the blood inside becoming extremely turbulent.

Because they couldn't see a change in the faith gathering above the pool, some rat-man priests optimistically judged that this was a sign that the god they had created was about to awaken, and perhaps they could hold the sacrificial ceremony ahead of schedule. But Midi was somewhat worried, wondering if this change was related to the spies who had infiltrated earlier.