Goddess Kaleidoscope

At that moment, Lud walked in from outside. Upon seeing the rough treatment the blacksmith and the children had received, he frowned. He did agree with the village chief to first take control of these former refugees, but he felt it should not be done in such a brutal way. So he went directly to the leader.

"What are you doing?! They are human beings. Being a suspect doesn't mean they are guilty! Besides, these are children. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if your own child was treated like this in front of you?!"

"This……"

After being reprimanded by Lud, the guards exchanged bewildered glances.

Lu De's status in the village is now no less than that of the village chief. Moreover, it was his keen eye that discovered the mountain bandit spy this time. The villagers responsible for guarding the area suddenly became a little embarrassed.

At Lud's command, the ropes binding the children were untied. Seeing that the little ones were still frightened, Lud gestured for Aina to go and comfort them. Although this nun was somewhat simple-minded, she had a natural affinity for children, and all the children in the village liked her very much.

Leaving Aina to take care of the child, Lude came to Bank.

The blacksmith already knew that it was Lud who had reported his apprentice Buddy as a bandit spy, but when he looked up at Lud, there was no anger in his eyes. Instead, he asked in a relatively calm tone.

"Is Buddy really a bandit spy?"

"Yes, it's absolutely true. He hid a signal in your woodpile to guide the bandits, and he's confessed everything. At this time tomorrow, about two hundred bandits will launch a night raid on Pine Village. Mr. Bank, the village needs your help now, not only to help others, but also to help yourself and your family."

"..."

Bank remained silent for a moment, showing no impulsive reaction, but simply nodded silently to Ludd. Ludd immediately pulled out a small knife, untied Bank on the spot, and then helped him up from the ground.

"What can I do to help you?"

"Come with me."

Bank glanced at the children beside Aina, nodded to his eldest son Jaeger, and then followed Lud. As they passed the guard who had been the most aggressive, Bank suddenly stopped and walked straight up to him, saying...

"You just hit my daughter. After this is all over, I'll give you a good beating."

After uttering a harsh remark, Bank followed Lude out of the barn. On the way back to the blacksmith's shop, Bank discovered that everyone in Pine Village, young and old, had been mobilized. Like ants carrying food, they were transporting all sorts of things, large and small, towards the north of the village, seemingly to be sent to the temple.

"Are you planning to use this temple as a castle?"

"Pretty much. The people we sent out for help have already set off overnight. If all goes well, the reinforcements sent from the town should arrive as early as the morning after tomorrow. So theoretically, we just need to hold out until dawn tomorrow night."

"But the town may not be willing to send anyone to rescue us."

Bank's words hit the nail on the head. The nearby town didn't actually have many usable soldiers. The guards, numbering less than a hundred, were just there to stand guard and keep watch. Their actual combat strength might not be stronger than that of bandits. The town was mainly protected by a three-meter-high earthen wall.

But Lud knew there was a beacon tower in the town; lighting it would send a distress signal as quickly as possible to the neighboring city of Lit, the capital of Earl Ramli. There, the lord's army and three knight squads belonging to different sects were stationed; if they could summon any one of them, their village would be saved.

To ensure that these people could be mobilized, Lud instructed the villagers who went out to deliver the message to make sure that the bandit leader who was about to attack Pine Village was none other than "Handsome Zak," who was once famous throughout the kingdom.

Lude didn't know the specifics of this man's deeds back then, but he figured that he must have incurred the wrath of both gods and men, and that the king and several major religious sects had joined forces to hunt him down. So his head must be worth a lot of money!

Back at his blacksmith shop, Bank found many large black pots and some odds and ends of metal on his workbench.

Lude told him that these things were ironware donated by the village chief and the entire village, young and old, to be used as raw materials for forging weapons. But Bank could tell at a glance that although this pile of scrap metal seemed like a lot at first glance, even if all of it were melted down and recast, it wouldn't be enough to make many decent weapons.

"Priest, you don't mean to use these things to make weapons, do you?"

"Yes and no! I know these scraps of metal can't be made into swords, but I want you to make something else."

"Is it that pulley from before?"

"No, it's something else, something more interesting. Once the carpenter has picked out the materials, I'll explain in detail how to make it."

Soon, a group of villagers arrived outside the blacksmith's shop. The leader was none other than the carpenter from next door. They also brought a whole cartload of sawn logs and other odds and ends. Bank was completely dumbfounded.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, I'll get straight to the point. What we're about to do will determine whether we can hold off the bandits' attack tomorrow night, so please listen carefully..."

End of this chapter

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high. A light drizzle fell on the earth, causing a thick fog to rise from the valley. A group of nearly two hundred people traveled along the forest path. Although many of them cursed the slippery mountain path due to the terrible rain, the man leading the group did not dislike the weather, which was perfect for a surprise attack.

Riding his tall horse, Zak looked back at his troops. His two hundred men were all handpicked elites from the mountain stronghold. There were more than thirty cavalrymen, and the rest were infantrymen, using a motley collection of weapons. Apart from Zak himself and a few brothers who had come from mercenary groups in the past and had good military longswords, the others basically used whatever they had.

Fortunately, most villages were less armed than they were, so they hadn't had a single bad deal along the way, and their profits were quite substantial. But if they wanted the village to get through the winter safely, they needed to pull off one or two more big heists.

Soon, the group reached the edge of the forest. Zack ordered the group to stop and sent two scouts ahead to investigate. Their target, Pine Village, was just ahead, and they did not see anything unusual from a distance.

After waiting a short while, one of the scouts ran back and said that the village was quiet and that the militiamen on the watchtower were dozing off. Fearing that they would alert the enemy, they did not dare to go forward rashly and did not encounter the young master Buddy who was acting as an inside man.

Zack nodded after listening. The village seemed unaware of their arrival, and the fact that the scouts couldn't contact Buddy wasn't unusual for them. The bandits didn't have expensive magical timers, and with no moon tonight, even Zack himself couldn't determine the exact time until dawn.

Anyway, his men all know what Buddy looks like. Once they rush into the village and start fighting, that kid will come running to join them.

Without saying a word, Zach drew his longsword from his waist and shouted to the bandits behind him who were eager to fight, in a voice that he no longer tried to lower.

"Brothers! Money, food, women! Everything you want is right in front of you. Whether you can grab it or not depends on your own abilities. Charge with me!"

"Oh oh oh!"

As Zack spoke, he urged his warhorse forward, and the bandit group of more than two hundred men followed behind him, trotting out of the woods and quickly approaching the village.

When they were about a hundred meters from the village, Zak led his elite cavalry in a rapid charge, like a pack of ravenous wolves pouncing on what they thought was a flock of sheep.

Without encountering any obstruction or resistance, the thirty-odd riders easily smashed through the fragile wooden fence surrounding the village and successfully broke in. They headed straight for the granary along the main road in the center of the village.

However, just as this group of mounted bandits were galloping rampage through the village as if it were their own territory, Zhak, who was at the very front of the column, suddenly felt his warhorse stumble and fall to the ground, throwing him off. His brothers following behind him fell one after another, with only a few horses at the back of the column managing to come to a stop.

"Damn it! What kind of roads are these in this village? They're full of potholes!"

The bandit cavalrymen, along with their horses, tumbled to the ground, wailing and cursing. A few unlucky ones were even seriously injured, and their cries of agony were deafening.

Zach scrambled to his feet and looked back, his eyes widening in disbelief at the sight before him: his cavalrymen were sprawled out, men and horses alike. He didn't care about the men; Zach was heartbroken for the horses.

By the light of the torch, Zak fell to the ground and discovered that many pits had been dug in the main road in the center of the village. These pits were not large, only a few dozen centimeters in diameter, and generally about half a meter deep, and were covered with material to conceal them. When a person walks on these pits, at most they will twist their ankle, but if a galloping warhorse were to step on them, the impact could easily break its leg.

Zach's own warhorse was like that; the unfortunate beast's entire leg was deformed, and it lay paralyzed on the ground, constantly whimpering in agony.

"Damn it! There's an ambush in the village!"

Looking around warily, Zack suddenly realized that the village was indeed very quiet, but noticeably too quiet. Despite their commotion, no one seemed to come out of the surrounding houses to check on the situation.

Soon, the other bandits on foot rushed in. When they saw their companions on horseback lying all over the ground, some heartless ones started laughing loudly. It wasn't until Zack angrily rushed over and kicked one of them over that the others realized something was wrong and stopped laughing.

At this moment, one of Zach's trusted underlings ran over and reported the anomaly he had just discovered to the leader.

"Boss, something's not right in this village. Many houses are empty and deserted. When the brothers kicked down the doors, quite a few fell into traps."

"Have you found that kid Buddy yet?"

"No, the blacksmith shop is empty too."

Realizing he had come to nothing, and that the villagers were prepared, Zach had lost his initial composure. Just then, several gongs were suddenly sounded outside the village, accompanied by loud shouts.

"Catch the bandits! Catch the bandits!"

"Brothers, let's go! Let's chop down handsome Zack and use his head to pay for drinks!"

"Knights, attack!"

In the darkness, the clamor of gongs and drums and the chaotic voices of people came and went, making it impossible to tell how many people there were. But like most bandits, Zak instinctively thought he was surrounded.

"Boss! We've been ambushed."

"Damn it... get out of here!"

Caught off guard, Zach didn't dare hesitate any longer. Without a second thought, he ordered his men to run. He himself strode up to one of his men who still had a horse, grabbed him from the saddle without a word, and then mounted the horse himself.

"Boss!"

Your horse is gone!

"..."

Led by their leader, the two hundred-plus bandits who had stormed into the village with great momentum fled back the way they came in a sorry state. In the darkness, no one knew how many pursuers were behind them, but since their leader had run away, the underlings naturally lacked the courage and loyalty to stay behind and cover their retreat. They wished they had more legs, and ran as fast as they could, tumbling and crawling, until they finally stopped their escape in a ravine seven or eight kilometers away.

It was only then that Zach, still shaken, realized that there seemed to be no pursuers following him, not even a single person in sight!

End of this chapter

Inside the main hall of Lud's temple, the elderly, women, and children of Pine Village were praying together to the statue in the center of the hall in the darkness. Meanwhile, in the front courtyard outside the hall, a group of armed villagers, armed with various farm tools, stood guard, cautiously huddled behind the courtyard wall, peeking out from time to time to peek in the direction of the village. They were all extremely nervous.

Just minutes ago, more than two hundred bandits stormed into their village, but they were unaware that the villagers had already learned of their arrival and had moved everyone and their valuables to the easily defensible temple.

After the bandits rushed into the village, they quickly discovered the anomaly. At that moment, a dozen or so villagers who remained in the village, following the "battle plan" devised for them by the priest Lude, struck a gong and impersonated soldiers, shouting to kill the enemy.

In the dead of night, the bandits thought they had been ambushed. More than two hundred people were scared away by a dozen or so villagers who were banging gongs and drums.

Soon, the villagers hiding near the temple learned the good news that the bandits had retreated. Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief and praised Lord Lude for his brilliant strategy. Pine Tree Village had survived this ordeal entirely thanks to his wisdom and resourcefulness!

Despite being flattered by the villagers, Lu De maintained a nonchalant and aloof demeanor, saying that he had only done a small amount of work and that it was all thanks to the collective efforts of the entire village. He felt ashamed if everyone attributed the credit to him personally.

"Gentlemen, now is not the time to let our guard down. Although we scared those bandits away, they may come back. We will only be truly safe when reinforcements arrive!"

Encouraged and inspired by Lud, the militiamen, their morale high, returned to their posts. Lud, meanwhile, glanced in the direction of the village, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Based on the village's existing conditions, Lu De had prepared many countermeasures in advance to deal with the bandits. He did not think that he could completely scare those desperate men with just the simplest "empty city ploy".

If nothing unexpected happens, Lude believes that it won't be long before the bandits who fled in disarray recover and there is a very high possibility that they will make a comeback!

Taking advantage of the temporary lull in the situation, Lu De decided to go back to his room to rest for a while. He hadn't slept for over twenty-four hours since yesterday, and despite his elderly appearance, he was actually a seventeen-year-old young man, and he was genuinely feeling quite tired.

Back in the temple hall, Lud first reassured the women and children, then went to the second-floor attic, where all the former refugees were housed. Although Chief Rom, on Lud's advice, untied the new villagers who were suspected by everyone, he was still not completely relaxed. Ron, the chief's son, and his men were always guarding the stairwell.

Upon seeing Lu De approach, the group of people who had been leisurely chatting on the stairs all stood up abruptly and greeted him respectfully. Their nervous demeanor resembled that of middle school boys who had accidentally bumped into the dean of students' disciplinary office while secretly smoking in the restroom.

Seeing the reactions of these guys, Lud immediately guessed that it was that big oaf Ron who was up to something. Ever since that bastard overheard the legend of "Bloody Hands and Souls" while Lud was interrogating Buddy yesterday, he had become the priest's number one fan, exaggerating his "glorious deeds" and spreading them around the village. In less than a day, through word of mouth, the story had reached the ears of almost a third of the villagers.

What left Lud the most speechless was that these rumors actually got distorted as they spread! This directly led to several variations of Lud's "nicknames", such as Blood Butterfly and Hand of God.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Lud simply gave up on treatment, ignored the villagers' reactions, and made no further explanation of his past.

Under the awe-inspiring gazes of Ron and the others, Ludd arrived at the room on the second floor where the refugees were staying. As soon as he entered, he saw one of his nuns animatedly telling the children the story of the Blood Hand and the Soul Breaker.

"I really..."

Taking a deep breath, Ludwig suppressed his anger and patted Aina on the shoulder. The little nun turned around and saw Ludwig's completely expressionless face, and a huge sense of danger flashed through her mind.

"Master, Master, Master!"

"Aina, you seem to have a lot of free time. Is it because I haven't given you enough homework? How about I triple the amount of homework starting tomorrow?"

"Master! I was wrong!"

Upon hearing that Ludwig was going to "double" her homework, poor Aina was terrified and immediately clung to Ludwig's leg, pleading desperately. Her exaggerated reaction made all the other children laugh, and Ludwig could only pat Aina's head and say something.