Goddess Kaleidoscope

Before Denzel could try to break free, a violent electric current suddenly surged from the mage's hand, instantly paralyzing Denzel and causing him to kneel in agony before Erwin.

When Denzel's companions saw their captain being humiliated like this, they were furious and wanted to retaliate, but unfortunately, they were also being watched. Just as they tried to get up, they were forced back to sit down by various sharp weapons.

At this moment, Erwin came up to Denzel, looked down at the man whose face was contorted in pain but who was still gritting his teeth and refusing to scream, and said in a very mocking tone.

“I’m sorry, little brother Denzel, I’m just a naturally suspicious person, probably because I inherited my cautious nature from my father. He once told me that people only tell the truth when they are suffering, so I had no choice but to use this method to make sure you wouldn’t lie to me.”

"you……"

Irwin thoroughly enjoyed Denzel's pained expression. From the very first glance, he disliked Denzel, who was taller and more masculine than himself. He had already "asked" Denzel's companion that the boy's family was merely a local noble household, the youngest son of a viscount's concubine. In the eyes of the nobles of the capital, such a minor figure was no different from a commoner.

It's no exaggeration to say that Erwin believed he had a hundred ways to kill Denzel, but he was helpless against himself!

"Alright! Stop glaring at me like that. The sooner you tell me, the better. My subordinate is very skilled in lightning magic. If you let him lose his patience, he might lose control and you'll end up as roast meat!"

Considering that his companions were still in the enemy's hands, Denzel could only endure the pain caused by the lightning magic while recounting all the information he knew.

"that's it?"

"That's all. I'm still waiting for the High Priest's analysis."

"Alright! Let's just assume you're telling the truth."

Seeing that Denzel's account seemed to be mostly complete, Erwin waved to his mage subordinates, who immediately stopped the electric shocks. Denzel, exhausted, collapsed to the ground. The prolonged electric shocks had left him feeling numb all over, his limbs as if frozen.

At that moment, one of Erwin's men suddenly ran down from the attic and presented Erwin with a cloth bag as if it were a treasure.

"Young master, look! I've found something good!"

"What's all the fuss about? Let me see."

When his subordinates presented him with a long cloth bag, Erwin could vaguely tell that it contained a two-handed longsword. Seeing this, Denzel, who was lying on the ground, struggled to get up, but was stomped down by the mage behind him.

Erwin opened the sword sheath and was immediately stunned by the magnificent "Dragon Shock Sword" inside.

"What a beautiful sword! It's even a magical weapon!"

Erwin, who hadn't paid much attention at first, was immediately drawn to the majestic and imposing magic greatsword. He also noticed the "Complete Guide to Dragon Slaying" stored with the sword, and couldn't help but turn to look at Denzel, saying with considerable displeasure.

"Tsk tsk! Looks like I underestimated you. You've been electrocuted for so long, and you still won't behave. What's the deal with this sword and this book?"

"That, that's my family's heirloom sword!"

"Your family heirloom sword? A mere viscount from a local area, you think your family would possess such a fine magical weapon? Who are you trying to fool! Did you bring it out of those ruins? This is not something a nobody like you should be using!"

With a disdainful glance at Denzel on the ground, Erwin turned his head back to look at the greatsword in the bag. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it. He felt that the sword was a perfect match for him, and he immediately made up his mind to take it for himself.

Seeing the look in their young master's eyes, the men nearby knew he had his eye on the sword, so one of them leaned over and whispered something.

“Young master, every guild has explicit rules that prohibit stealing other people’s spoils of war… at least not outright.”

"Oh! You mean, once we buy it, there won't be any problems?"

Erwin's underlings nodded. They weren't in the middle of nowhere, and there were other guild teams in the village, so they had to consider their reputation to some extent, even though that thing wasn't worth much in the eyes of many adventurers.

"Alright! Buy it then. I'm not short of money. You're all seasoned veterans, how much would a sword like this usually cost?"

"It'll cost at least 1,800...10 gold coins! No, no! Maybe we can bargain down to eight!"

After being glared at by Erwin, the underling who had spoken up immediately understood. Erwin smiled, ignoring the angry stares from the other members of the Denzel squad around him, and continued speaking to himself.

"Since it can be bought for ten gold coins, then I'll be generous and offer double. I'll give them thirty gold coins, and I'll take both the sword and the book!"

"Alright! Young Master is so generous!"

Amidst the flattery of his underlings, Erwin left behind a bag of gold coins and then departed from their residence with Denzel's "family heirloom".

After the other party left, everyone hurriedly helped up their captain, who had been brutally beaten. Even though they were beyond furious, they were helpless. Because someone like Erwin, a member of the kingdom's upper-class nobility, was someone they truly couldn't afford to offend!

End of this chapter

In the following days, more and more outsiders poured into Pine Tree Village. In addition to adventurers who wanted to explore the forest, there were also several groups of settlers who came to settle down in the spring and some merchants who wanted to do business.

These outsiders brought prosperity and liveliness to the village, but they also caused a lot of trouble, leading to a deterioration in the village's security situation.

Ron complained to Rudd a lot about this, saying that maintaining order was simply inhuman! Those adventurers were really no better than bandits, causing trouble in the village all day long, making their self-defense force extremely stressed.

What frustrated Ron the most was that some of the troublemaking adventurers were very skilled, and his militiamen were no match for them in one-on-one combat. In addition, there were a few adventurers who were nobles, and these people were even more difficult to deal with. The militiamen didn't even dare to touch them.

Lud wasn't surprised by the chaos, as this was the norm in most towns, and the situation was often even more complicated and difficult than in their own. Pine Village was only just beginning to experience this.

To be fair, some of the adventurers from the village did go too far. Confident in their strength, they completely disregarded the village's self-defense force, engaging in fights, harassing women, and some even went so far as to cast malicious glances at the nuns in his temple.

Just yesterday evening, Shanis was delivering medicine to a patient in the village when she encountered two completely drunk men on her way back. Seeing that Shanis was beautiful, the two men hatched a wicked plan. Alcohol had made them believe they possessed superhuman powers and had nothing to fear.

These two drunkards immediately grabbed Shanis and tried to drag her into the alley to do whatever they wanted. But they clearly didn't know what they were up to. When villagers found them this morning, the two unfortunate men were engaged in a wild and disgusting act in the pigsty—a truly horrific sight!

In light of this, Ludwig felt it necessary to intervene.

Lude first sent Hume and Fallen Leaf to support the Self-Defense Corps. Both of them were at the level of high-ranking warriors and had first-class mercenary badges issued by the kingdom. This was proof of their strength, and just showing it off was enough to deter many adventurers.

Next, he planned to find the village chief, Luo Mu, and erect a notice board at the village entrance and the central square, clearly writing down the established village rules. Then, he planned to find an opportunity to kill a few chickens that showed their true colors to the monkeys!

That afternoon, signs displaying the village rules were erected at the village entrance and in the central square, attracting many onlookers. Most villagers applauded the rules upon seeing them, believing they should have been regulated in this way long ago, but some adventurers scoffed at them.

To these self-proclaimed seasoned veterans, the villagers were nothing more than a flock of sheep grazing on grass, at the very bottom of the human food chain. They certainly had a cunning and ruthless side, and would even dare to bite a wolf if given the chance, but more often than not, they were cowardly and submissive. If you acted fierce enough, you could make them obedient.

Lude silently observed the adventurers, secretly noting those who openly displayed disdain.

Later that day, some of the first groups of adventurers who had ventured into the forest returned. These pioneering teams were mostly newbies, while many experienced teams remained in the village, waiting for the newbies to scout out the way before joining the fray.

This is an unwritten rule in many adventurer guilds: when there is insufficient information about a quest or the difficulty level is uncertain, the guild will first send a weaker, newer team to "survey the bushes." After all, the veteran members of the guild are invaluable, and these pillars of the guild cannot be easily lost.

It is precisely these messed-up unspoken rules that have created an unhealthy atmosphere within the adventurer community. Veterans take it for granted that they can take advantage of newbies, and when the newbies who haven't been taken advantage of grow into veterans, they will then take advantage of the new newbies.

Thanks to the intelligence "provided" by the Denzel Squad, most of the adventurer teams in Pine Village have now turned their attention to the ruins, and these advance teams are also heading towards the ruins.

However, none of the first to return reached the ruins. They reported that the monsters in the forest were unusually active, and they had encountered many troublesome creatures along the way. Because a companion was injured in battle, they had no choice but to stop exploring and return along the same route with the wounded and the intelligence they had already gathered.

After all, these adventurers weren't like Lud, who either had Hume by his side to cast "Akarin's Blessing" or rode on "Dragon Flight," so the monsters and beasts in the forest posed no threat to him.

The returning group of twelve adventurers were almost all wounded. They told the remaining adventurers that the three advance teams, led by the veteran adventurer "Old Man" Arik, had formed a joint force. The wounded were to retreat to the village, while the rest would continue their advance.

"Old Man" Arik is considered one of the more conscientious senior adventurers. He may not be the kindest person, but he is principled and there is no record of him harming newcomers.

However, upon learning of the situation ahead, some adventurers, while relieved that they hadn't set off rashly, couldn't help but have some questions. How exactly did Denzel's team, the first to arrive at Pine Village and successfully return unscathed from the ruins, manage to do that?

It's important to understand that the Void Forest is not like the heart of the kingdom. The average level of monsters here is much higher than that of the mainland, and some top-tier monsters even have the strength to rival dragons.

Therefore, many people began to suspect that Denzel's team was lying, either they were hiding some crucial information, or they simply had never been to the ruins.

However, these speculations were quickly explained, leading to rumors that Denzel's team had recently been targeted by the notoriously infamous Hydrangea Blade. They were allegedly forced to "buy" a high-level magic sword from them. Therefore, many instinctively believed that Denzel's team was likely able to reach the ruins thanks to this treasure.

Lud had heard something about this, but the victims, including Denzel, chose to remain silent and denied that such a thing had happened, leaving Lud unable to help them even if he wanted to.

Left with no other choice, Lud had to put their matter aside and get on to something more important.

Along with the adventurers, another group of visitors to the village also attracted much attention: traveling merchants. These people were more law-abiding than the adventurers, but those who traveled to do business were no pushovers either.

These merchants brought many scarce goods to the village, including salt needed by the villagers and spirits favored by adventurers. They also bought large quantities of various mountain products from the villagers and spoils brought out by the adventurers from the forest. The profits from this buying and selling were quite considerable.

Lude happened to have some goods to sell, so he took the initiative to invite the six caravans that had already arrived in Pine Village to negotiate with them in person.

Upon learning that the village priest wanted to discuss business with them, the representatives of several caravans all readily agreed. The moment they arrived in the village, they inquired about the situation from the locals and learned that the temple belonged to a strange little sect that worshipped two gods. The priest in charge was very capable and also a large landowner. Taking advantage of last year's disaster, he had secured tenant contracts with nearly two-thirds of the villagers in exchange for providing relief grain.

However, this was not a particularly surprising operation for well-informed businessmen. In those days, it was not uncommon for nobles to take advantage of natural disasters and man-made calamities to annex land, and clergy were no exception, and even more so!

Fortunately, the locals lived well and generally praised the priest, who did not seem to be the kind of greedy and wicked person.

Lude hosted the group of merchants in the newly renovated reception room of the temple. After introductions, Lude learned that two of the six were regional heads of large merchant guilds, and the other four were independent merchants who sold all sorts of goods and did not have a main business.

Lud said that he was going to sell two kinds of things, the first of which was animal hides.

Last winter, Nidhogg sent several hundred boars to their village. These giant wild boars were enormous, the largest of which were comparable in size to rhinoceroses on Earth. A portion of the hides was used to make leather armor for the militia, while the rest were stored at the temple, belonging to Ludwig personally. Additionally, they had also seized a considerable amount from the camp after defeating the demi-human alliance last month.

These miscellaneous animal hides are all top-quality leather raw materials, but there are just too many of them, all piled up in the warehouse, many of them untanned. Rather than letting them sit there to mold and rot, it's better to sell them for some money.

So Lude showed the merchants present several samples of leather he had on hand, and said that he had a lot in stock and that anyone interested in buying could make an offer to him.

Several merchants examined the samples provided by Lud and confirmed that they were indeed made of high-quality leather, which would sell easily in the interior. Although the kingdom's laws explicitly prohibited commoners from possessing metal armor, and the number of armors that feudal nobles could carry was strictly limited according to their rank, leather armor was not among the prohibited items.

If possible, the merchants present all wanted to take all the surviving items in Lud's possession, but they did not know how much the temple actually had in stock, so one of the merchants tentatively asked.

"May I ask, Your Excellency, how many do you have in total?"

"Wild boar hides are the most numerous, there are 120 pieces. I had someone (a ghost) make a table of the other types, you can take a look."

As Lude spoke, he produced a statistical table listing over twenty different types of animal hides, some even from demons, totaling over eight hundred. Several merchants were envious upon seeing this, wanting to buy up this valuable batch, but they knew they certainly didn't have enough cash on hand.

At this moment, Lude said with a smile that resembled that of a river eel.

"I guess...everyone's probably short on cash, right?"

"Your Excellency, I can request funding from the General Council, as long as I have two weeks—no! One week will suffice."

"Sir, don't get so excited! Look, all the buyers are here now, we can actually hold a small auction."

"A mini-auction?"

"Yes! You've all seen this list. I have over twenty different kinds of animal hides. I can't possibly sell them all at the same price, can I? And none of you want to give way to each other, so we'll just have to rely on our own abilities, won't we?"

"..." x6

Looking at the smile on Lud's face, the merchants immediately understood that this seemingly kind-looking old priest was indeed no ordinary person. The reason he had summoned them all was to make them "kill each other," so that no one could try to lower the price.

It's not a very sophisticated method, but it's undeniably effective!

So, under Ludwig's direction, the merchants began bidding.

Although Ludwig was not clear about the specific market conditions, he had consulted the knowledgeable Hume beforehand and knew the quality of these hides, so he started bidding on the lowest quality ones first.

The small auction lasted for two and a half hours, and the more than 800 animal hides brought Lud nearly 2,000 gold coins in total. Among them, the most fiercely contested item was a perfectly intact high-grade wind-type magic wolf hide.

This item was one of the spoils Lude found in the secret chamber of the Ratman High Priest Midi when he was cleaning up the battlefield at the demi-human camp. It was made using a special ancient method, which allowed the wolf pelt to retain the magical energy fluctuations of the monster in its lifetime, making it an excellent material for crafting magical items.

As soon as the pelt was brought out, several merchants became envious. In the end, a representative from a large merchant guild called Element Workshop successfully acquired the wolf pelt for a high price of 450 gold coins.

Lude remembered that this merchant guild had its own alchemy workshop, so they probably planned to buy the wolf pelt to make a magical item, which they could then resell for several times the profit. Magical items and potions were undeniably highly profitable commodities in this world!

After the auction ended, the six businessmen present looked at each other and couldn't help but smile wryly. Although they hadn't lost money on the deal overall, they had lost a significant amount due to their fierce competition.

Seeing that all the goods had been auctioned off, the group was about to get up and say goodbye so they could hurry back to raise the money, but Ludger told them to sit down first, as he had two things to sell today, and the leather was just one of them.

"Your Excellency, what else would you like to sell?"