FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 8: The Wizard and the Tower (2)**

Clearly, this person could not be a supply handler. Those attendants were diligent, but without a special request, they had no reason to deliver supplies in such weather.Nor could it be a messenger from the King. In a thunderstorm like this, any message would be urgent—but this person's pace seemed almost leisurely.Nor could it be a soldier. In fact, no tower within the Kingdom required military protection. The unmatched power of their masters made any attempt to protect them laughable.At last, the visitor reached the top of the tower. As he climbed the final steps, his figure gradually came into view.Though the night was dark, Yudian could tell the newcomer was a young man."Forgive my intrusion at this late hour. I am Chen Yi, an intermediate trainee of Rongqi Academy." The young man introduced himself to Yudian."You came to see me? What gave you confidence—Tress's standard-issue robes?" Yudian waved his hand, and a bolt of fire shot toward Chen Yi, hitting his robe squarely."Looks like his craftsmanship has improved." Yudian was mildly surprised that the robe's protective enchantment hadn't been completely shattered.Chen Yi spoke with humble deference. "Master Wizard, please believe me when I say that I did not come here expecting to leave alive.""State your request." In truth, from the moment Chen Yi entered the tower, Yudian had not intended to let him live.For a stranger to enter his tower without permission was an insult to his status as a wizard and a desecration of his authority.Still, a request that a man would sacrifice his life to ask did pique Yudian's interest."I came here to offer my life in exchange for answering one question: Was it you who informed His Majesty the King about the discovery of staves in the mine on Duke Sedek's estate?"Yudian was surprised. "That's all you want to know?""Yes, Master Wizard. You know there are madmen like me at the academy—people who lose sleep over an answer and ultimately walk down a path of no return.""It was I who told the King." Yudian admitted readily. "But in return, you should tell me how you figured it out. That way, I can make your end quicker."Seeing that the other man was willing to talk, Chen Yi seemed almost pleased. "Wonderful. It's an honor to speak with you.""Great Wizard, you might be thinking that someone close to the King leaked this information to me. But I can tell you with absolute certainty—no. I deduced this myself.""Oh?" Yudian decided to hear him out."Many people think the strangest part of the whole affair is: 'If everyone in the know was a trusted confidant of the Duke, who could have betrayed him?' But I disagree.""I believe the key question is: how could the Kingdom act so quickly? To mobilize General Tros's army, the King himself had to give the order. And the King had been staying in his palace in Dagon City the whole time.""Even if the traitor traveled day and night with the fastest known Speed spell, it would take at least four days just to go from the mine in the Central Plains to Dagon City. Adding the time to relay the order and assemble the army, a Kingdom army could never have invaded the Central Plains within seven days.""So the heart of the problem is not the traitor's identity, but the *method* by which the message was transmitted.""What magic could transmit information so quickly? To my knowledge, none. But one phenomenon can."Yudian's eyelid twitched. This intermediate trainee was closing in on the core of the matter."Duke Sedek told me that his strongest wizard, Leo, was killed by your side at the very start of the war. That is highly unusual. Wizards as powerful as you are the backbone of any battlefield. Even without allied support, they can easily survive on their own magic—unless...""Unless that person had just undergone Divine Communion and was extremely weak, but went to the battlefield anyway out of duty to his lord.""In the past few days, I went back to the academy to check some records. Since almost every powerful mage on the continent graduated from Rongqi Academy, Leo's records were easy to find. I noticed that the god who chose Leo was the Great God Helu.""Master Yudian, the god who chose you is also the Great God Helu. You happen to hold a high position in the Kingdom of Klem, and your tower is conveniently near Dagon City. It would not be difficult for you to pass information to the King.""So the only explanation for the Kingdom's ability to invade the Central Plains within seven days is this: After the staves were discovered, Leo underwent Divine Communion and revealed the matter to the Great God Helu. And the Great God Helu, through *your* Divine Communion, told you!""Brilliant!" Yudian exclaimed with genuine admiration. "Ah, I remember now. I've heard of you. You're Chen Yi—called the greatest talent Rongqi Academy has seen in a thousand years. But because you've never had Divine Communion, you're still just a trainee."Chen Yi asked, "Then, before you kill me, would you be merciful enough to tell me—was my deduction correct?""Almost all correct. Only one thing you got wrong. The Great God Helu did not tell me about the staves. Like you, I deduced that myself.""Oh?"Life in the tower was dull. Yudian had no problem delaying the young man's execution a little longer. "You probably don't know, but lately I've taken a strong interest in the history of warfare. I happened to study that strange war between the two nations three hundred years ago.""Based on my research, it was highly probable that a batch of military supplies had been left behind in the Central Plains by the Kingdom.""Then, during my last Divine Communion, the Great God Helu taught me a spell never recorded before. After experimenting, I found that its effect was to temporarily sever the connection between a staff's magic core and the Magic Net within a certain range.""At first, I was puzzled as to why the god would teach me such a spell. But then I realized that Leo shared the same god as me, and I considered where Leo served. So I guessed that Leo must have made a major discovery."Chen Yi said, "And so you reported it to the King?""Yes. But the Great God Helu meant well. As someone he personally chose, he probably didn't want me to suffer a heavy loss. So he taught me that spell to counter large numbers of staves. But the key insight—that's what I figured out on my own." Yudian said with self-satisfaction.He had been proud of this for a long time. Unfortunately, neither the King nor his messengers could appreciate his perceptiveness.But this man was different. He was also a mage. He could understand how remarkable Yudian was to have seen through it.Sure enough, a look of admiration appeared on Chen Yi's face. *If he weren't so curious, I really wouldn't want to kill him.*