Goddess Kaleidoscope

After all, in their eyes, they were nobles, even if they were just the lowest-ranking knights and barons, they were still superior to the commoners.

Besides, their young master only ordered them not to do anything wrong in the village, but he didn't say they couldn't "joke" about a teenager who had just lost face. In their eyes, this was not a bad thing.

However, while they were laughing unrestrainedly, Lud had already quietly arrived at the javelin throwing arena.

Upon seeing this, the villagers all bowed and paid their respects to Rudd. Only then did the knights notice that a white-bearded old man in a linen robe had suddenly appeared beside them, who turned out to be the legendary priest Rudd.

Most people who have heard of Lude only know that he is a high-ranking priest of the Medicine God Cult, who preaches in a small place called Pine Village in the northern border region of the kingdom, and who exclusively sells two highly effective potions with excellent reputations: "Evelina's Tears" and "Mysterious Oil".

The former can prevent a person from getting hard, while the latter can make a person so hard that they can't go soft. Therefore, it was very well received after it was launched!

Lud's arrival immediately made the knights much more restrained. Although these lower-class nobles liked to act arrogantly in front of commoners to gain a sense of superiority, they were actually not stupid at all. They knew very well who they could show off in front of and who they could not.

As a religious figure who could use divine magic, Lud was as transcendent as a magician. He was also a favorite of the two powerful northern nobles, Earl Ramli and Duke Gamelin, and was naturally not someone that lower-ranking nobles could easily provoke.

After arriving, Ludwig did not rush to attack the nobles, but instead looked around to assess the situation.

The boy being mocked was a student at his school. Lud didn't have a deep impression of him, but he at least knew that such a person existed. The young man stood there silently with his head down, holding a javelin for competition in both hands, seemingly having fallen into a state of self-isolation.

Not far from him, two other javelins were stuck crookedly in the ground. One was less than 20 meters away, while the other was in an even more outrageous position, having flown out of the target area and almost hitting the spectators.

So Lude called over the female student who was acting as the referee and asked her what had just happened. The girl first glanced at the dejected boy, and then quickly gave a brief explanation of what had happened.

It turned out that the boy named Zham had signed up for the javelin competition. According to the competition rules, each contestant could throw three times, and the farthest throw would be recorded. Although Zham was young, he was strong and sturdy, and was a well-known javelin expert in the village, throwing farther than many adults who didn't know the proper techniques.

However, as the saying goes, even the best can make a mistake. The initially confident Zam made a mistake on his first throw, slipping and losing his footing. The javelin only traveled less than twenty meters, and he nearly fell over. This embarrassing moment drew laughter from the surrounding crowd.

This wouldn't have been a big deal. Many locals knew Zam, and a few jokes and cheers would have been enough. But unfortunately, these wandering knights happened to witness Zam's embarrassing moment and immediately burst into extremely sarcastic laughter, crowding around to criticize him.

As a result of their verbal abuse, Zam missed his second shot, and the javelin almost flew into the crowd of spectators.

The knights, who had "gotten their wish," immediately burst into laughter, their postures deliberately exaggerated, and their mockery intensified. Poor Zam had never suffered such humiliation before, and the young man's composure crumbled instantly.

But these knights didn't seem to have any intention of letting him off the hook, and continued to hurl insults at him, which led to the scene that Rudd had witnessed earlier.

After figuring out what had happened, Lude looked at the knights speechlessly, thinking to himself that these scoundrels were really boring, and they were all adults!

However, the knights were unaware of Rudd's displeasure, because they did not feel that their actions were excessive.

However, just as Lud was pondering how to properly "deal with" these knights, Rodriguez suddenly stepped forward.

He had already recognized the people in front of him as his own knights. At first, he didn't know what had happened, so he stood aside without saying a word. After listening to the referee girl's account, he understood what had happened. So he walked up to the knights with a stern face and asked them in a stern voice.

"What did you guys just do?"

"Young master, we didn't do anything, we were just joking with that kid."

Seeing their young master come forward to question them, a hint of embarrassment flashed in the eyes of the knights, but they still smiled and didn't take it seriously. This nonchalant attitude naturally displeased Rodriguez, who angrily shouted.

"A joke? I think it's nonsense! You are knights, and the first of the eight principles is not to bully the weak. Look at what you just did, don't you feel ashamed!?"

Rodriguez reprimanded the knights loudly. Lude thought to himself that whether this kid was truly adhering to the code of chivalry or was deliberately putting on an act to win his favor, at least he was putting on quite a show.

The only thing that drew criticism was probably his loud "bullying the weak" comment. He said it to Zam's face, so it felt like rubbing salt into a wound. The young man kept his head down, but his shoulders were trembling slightly, and his hands gripped the third javelin he had failed to throw tightly.

Seeing this, Sharo let out a soft, cold laugh.

"Tsk! Still the same old thing..."

Seeing Rodriguez publicly reprimanding his knights, Ludwig stepped forward, patted Zam on the shoulder, and whispered, "Leave it to your teacher, I'll handle this." Then he stopped Rodriguez, who was about to have several knights apologize to Zam.

"Um... Young Master Rodriguez, please calm down and don't scold these knights. It's understandable that they're hot-blooded. Today is, after all, the birthday celebration of our goddess. The most important thing for everyone is... to have fun!"

Lude spoke slowly and deliberately, his face beaming with a smile, seemingly trying to smooth things over and give these foul-mouthed knights a way out. But Aina and Shanis, hiding not far away, exchanged a silent glance.

Having spent so much time with Lu De, the two goddess ladies were already very clear about Lu De's character. This guy, who occasionally referred to himself as "abbot" in such a strange way, was actually extremely petty. He was the kind of person who would always seek revenge, and if he couldn't get revenge, he would make a note of it and wait for another opportunity to settle the score!

The smile on Lude's face at that moment was, to them, a truly devilish smile. That kind and friendly expression made him look like a Sichuanese man who was about to invite his northern friends to hot pot!

End of this chapter

Because Ludwig intervened to smooth things over, Rodriguez was able to stop scolding them. The knights felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and couldn't help but feel secretly pleased, thinking that Ludwig was helping them and showing goodwill in this way.

The men secretly rejoiced. Outsiders might not know, but as knights under Duke Gamelin, they, as retainers, knew best what kind of stubborn young master he was.

Many retainers in the duchy acknowledge that the eldest son, Rodriguez, is exceptional in both martial arts and intelligence. However, perhaps because he has lived with "that person" in the Tranquil Forest, one of the four ancient elven capitals, for over a decade, his thinking has become more like that of the rigid elves. He appears somewhat inhumane when dealing with problems, which has been criticized by his retainers in private.

Rodriguez's overly upright character did earn him much praise from the common people within the duchy, but it also incurred the discontent of some of his retainers. These men preferred the second son of the duke to inherit the title rather than the ruthless Rodriguez.

The troublemaking knights grinned, their faces saying "I know I was wrong, but I'll do it again next time," and hurriedly went up to greet Lud. None of them said a word and glanced again at the commoner boy who had been ridiculed by them.

Looking at these guys, Lude's smile grew even brighter.

"It's not surprising that you knights are laughing at us. This sports meet is just a bunch of country bumpkins having fun, unlike you knights who are so handsome and tall. You must be very skilled in martial arts. Why don't you show us your skills and let the villagers see for themselves?"

"This……"

"Haha! Don't be so reserved! I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to broaden everyone's horizons in the village."

The knights, flattered by the compliments, failed to realize that Rudd was deliberately setting a trap for them. Seeing that their young master had no intention of stopping them, their inherent tendency to show off began to take hold. One of the most reckless-looking knights, feigning arrogance, was the first to step forward.

"Okay! I'll go first."

The knights were quite confident in their abilities. The Duchy of Gammelin was the most powerful state in the northern part of the kingdom, and its Lion Knights had extremely high selection standards, never accepting incompetent fools. Anyone without real skill, even the duke's own son, was not qualified to join the knights.

The first knight to step forward was the tallest among them, about the same size as Rodriguez, except his face was rather ugly, the kind that could scare a child to tears late at night.

He went to where the boy had stood, picked up a javelin from a shelf, weighed it in his hand, and gave it a slight, disdainful smile. To him, it was as light as a toothpick.

Intending to show off his skills, the burly knight didn't take a running start like the villagers who had participated before; instead, he stood still and drew his bow. Lud, who had been watching him closely, noticed a power completely different from magic and divine power rapidly gathering on the knight's arm. In his eyes, it appeared as a vibrant, fiery red, with some of it even wrapping around the javelin.

The knight, who had been secretly exerting his strength, suddenly threw the javelin forward. The javelin flew out at a speed far exceeding that of all the previous contestants, hitting a low tree a hundred meters away and creating a hole in the trunk, which was as thick as a bowl.

"Okay!" xN

The knight's brief display of skill immediately drew cheers from many onlookers, including members of the Lion Knights who had also come to the village to join in the fun, as well as some local villagers who arrived later.

Lude nodded silently. Putting everything else aside, these knights were indeed quite strong. At least within the realm of mortals, they were fully qualified to be classified as "experts".

However, compared to magicians and priests, although martial artists can strengthen themselves by practicing techniques collectively known as "martial arts" and gain physical abilities far superior to ordinary people, their ceiling of strength is much lower than that of the former two.

To put it simply, even if a martial artist at this stage cultivates to their peak, their strength would at most reach the level of "Captain America." Unless it's a well-intentioned but unexpected close-range sneak attack, a mage fighting a warrior is like bullying a child; they have no idea how they could possibly lose.

So Lude still remembered that when he first transmigrated, based on the memories left to him by Little Lude, he once thought it was a world of "high magic, low martial arts," where the top magicians were far stronger than the top martial artists. But later, after asking Hume, he finally learned that it was actually the martial arts of this world that had declined.

The main reason for this situation is still the epic war between the gods that took place three hundred years ago. The specific details are very complicated and involve some secrets between the gods. Hume first pointed to her mouth, then to her chest, subtly indicating that it wasn't that she didn't want to speak, but that she "couldn't" speak these words.

In short, Lud felt that this matter was very mysterious, and that there was a "sensitive word library" among the gods, and that they were deliberately hiding something else besides the truth about faith.

Suddenly remembering this, Lud was momentarily distracted. By the time he came to his senses, several knights he had tricked into "showing off their skills" had already taken to the stage to perform their talents.

In front of a group of villagers whose average javelin throw was less than fifty meters, these knights who could easily throw javelins more than a hundred meters away truly demonstrated strength commensurate with their status.

Very strong! But ultimately, he's just at the "average level"!

The knights were unaware that their participation in the competition was, in Lud's eyes, equivalent to revealing their "health bar".

Faced with two noble private armies suddenly causing trouble at his doorstep, Lud felt like a manipulative woman caught between two men, even though he knew that as long as he followed Count Ramley's advice and remained neutral, he could win both sides and benefit from both.

Furthermore, due to the nature of information dissemination, Ludwig's current reputation is more than just well-known; it lacks significant deterrent power.

The upper echelons of both lords had indeed learned a great deal about Lude through various channels, knowing that he was extremely powerful and suspected to be a chosen one of the Medicine God Cult. Moreover, he had a close relationship with the two black dragons in the Void Forest, having summoned them to assist him on several occasions.

However, the spread of this news was far less rapid and widespread than that of the two miracle drugs, and it even completely overshadowed the former.

It's like when people mention Academician Zhong Nanshan, they only know that he is the top medical expert, but they don't know that this big shot was once the national champion of the 400-meter hurdles when he was young, and he can instantly transform into a muscular man after taking off his white coat!

What's even more ironic yet undeniably true is that the news that Lud could "command" dragons wasn't unheard of; rather, it was spread but few people were willing to believe it.

Adventurers who participated in the campaign against the lizardmen would always be ridiculed when they talked about their experiences in taverns, with others thinking they must have drunk too much horse urine and were spouting nonsense.

"Fake~News! Next!"

Therefore, in order to ensure that these two armies do not run rampant on their own territory, it is certainly not enough to rely solely on the restraint of Sharo and Rodriguez; Lud's own side must also demonstrate a formidable strength.

However, just as Lud was getting ready to show off, Sharo, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, suddenly sneered and took the initiative to attack Rodriguez's knights.

"Heh! That's it?"

With just a few words, Sharo instantly drew away the hatred of almost all the Lion Knights present. Compared to their first meeting half a year ago, Lude wasn't sure how much this Iron Plate Green Pepper's martial arts skills had improved, but his sarcastic and unsettling manner had clearly grown.

Just as Lud was about to engage the monster, he turned around in surprise. The two stared at each other for a moment, and Sharo gave him a thumbs up. His enthusiastic expression seemed to be telling Lud something.

"Don't worry, Lord Bloodhand, let me teach these guys a lesson for you!"

End of this chapter

If one were to rank the relationships with surrounding powers in terms of closeness and distance, Ludger considered his relationship with the Earl of Ramley to be superior to that with the Duke of Gamelin.

His relationship with the latter was purely a trade one, with no real connection whatsoever. The Duke's courteous gestures towards him were essentially a ploy to obtain his medicine. On the other hand, Earl Ramley had genuinely fought alongside him on more than one occasion, and through this, Ludd had befriended Hamilton, Jegan, and Sharo.

So even if he maintains neutrality on the surface, Lud will still show some bias towards the Earl's family, but only if you don't become a terrible teammate!

Looking at Sharo, who was unaware of what he had done, Rude silently recited in his heart with a somber expression.

"Looks like I'll have to dress you in enemy uniform afterwards."

On the other side, with Sharo taking the lead, the Silver Wing Knights who had been watching from the sidelines also stepped forward. The Ramli family and the Ganmerlin family were both powerful clans in the north of the kingdom, and various conflicts of interest had led to deep-seated resentment between them, with them disliking each other for over a century.

This long-standing feud also affected the retainers of both families, so even without Sharo giving a signal, his knights knew what to do.

"Tsk tsk! I thought the renowned Lion Knights wouldn't be that skilled, but it turns out they're only this good?"

"I mean, does anyone really think that throwing a javelin a hundred meters or so is that impressive?"

"To be honest, it's true..."

Led by Sharo, the knights of Earl Ramli's family collectively transformed into yin-yang masters, launching a barrage of sarcastic remarks at their opponents. The Duke's lion knights, naturally, were not to be outdone, and the two sides began exchanging insults, leaving the surrounding villagers, who were completely unaware of what was happening, dumbfounded.

Since most villagers, especially the younger generation who have never traveled far, only know about knights through various stories sung by bards, their understanding is inevitably influenced by these stories, resulting in a serious embellishment effect.

Many young people who aspire to rise above others consider becoming knights (and joining the ranks of the nobility) as their lifelong ideal. Having heard many legendary tales, they firmly believe that knights are the embodiment of justice and righteousness. They are highly skilled and polite, often helping the weak and protecting the vulnerable, and they can always rescue beautiful princesses with large breasts and curvaceous hips from the clutches of evil dragons time and time again.

However, the reality is quite different from what we imagine. The vast majority of knights in this world are essentially henchmen under their lords. While there may be some noble individuals with a heart for the world, most are simply ordinary people.

As for battles between knights, they are not gentlemanly duels with a strong sense of ceremony. Whenever two armies face off, the first round always starts with a war of words.

In a sense, this is indeed a contest of "quality"!

Following tradition, the two sides first exchanged insults. The Earl's side mocked the Lion Knights as female cats, while the Lion Knights clamored that their men hadn't used their full strength. They challenged the Silver Wing Knights of the Ramli family to stop just talking and instead have a real fight.