Chapter 87: Guidance

The day after Chu Tian regained consciousness, Ludi III came to visit him once again.

"Your Majesty!" Chu Tian was still lying in bed. Upon seeing Ludi III, he tried to struggle into a sitting position, but was stopped by the intense pain radiating throughout his body. "Hehe, Your Majesty, I am truly..."

"There is no need to get up!" Ludi III steadied Chu Tian, gently helping him lie back down before taking a seat beside him. "I am already aware of your injuries."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Chu Tian wore an expression of sincere gratitude, though inwardly he was chuckling. *Hehe, I doubt there are many people on this entire continent who can have a king wait on them.* "I apologize, Your Majesty," he continued, keeping up the facade despite his internal amusement, "but my current physical state means I can no longer fight for the Empire."

"Sigh!" Ludi III let out a long, heavy sigh. He was deeply troubled by this outcome. Chu Tian’s greatest value to the Empire was not his ability to heal magical beasts or command troops, but the prestige of his status as a Level 9 Ancient Holy Priest. Since the first Battle of Quarry Fort, where Anthony saved the Empire, the impact of the title "Holy Priest" on military morale had become immeasurable. "Do not worry. I have already equipped the army with a large supply of the potions you created. I believe that even without your presence on the battlefield, the impact will be minimal."

"Hehe, then I can rest easy." Chu Tian smiled, not because he had contributed to the Empire’s war effort, but because—*damn it*, supplying medicine for hundreds of thousands of soldiers! How many gold coins would he rake in? At this rate, praise the Goddess of Life, would the Empire’s own priests lose their jobs because of him?

"There is something else, Vladino," Ludi III said after a moment of contemplation. "How many potions do you have left? According to reports from the front, the Empire currently requires at least one hundred thousand low-level potions, as well as several hundred high-level ones."

"About that..." Chu Tian did some quick mental math. "I have enough high-level potions, but the lower-level ones will likely take some time." Chu Tian had already given the majority of his first batch to the army, and the second batch was currently in production. He had plenty of high-level medicine, but the low-level supply was insufficient, primarily because the clansmen of Kuyata provided far too little low-level ox-gallstone.

"Very well!" Ludi III nodded. "Sell me the high-level ones first, and hurry up with the production of the others!" According to intelligence from the front lines, the Holy Dragon Knight, Clint, of the Ress Empire was causing massive casualties among the Imperial army. Since the damage from Level 9 magic could not be treated by ordinary priests, Chu Tian’s potions—which ignored professional limitations, despite being slightly slower-acting—were in high demand.

"Understood, I will complete your request as soon as possible, Your Majesty!"

"There is one more thing!" Ludi III’s expression was haggard, revealing his heavy state of mind. "Vladino, I want you to allow Apache to fight for the Empire!" Like Chi Yan, Apache was a personal magical beast. Although their masters served the Empire, Ludi III had to seek permission to deploy them. However, since Kanas was fiercely loyal to the Empire, Chi Yan was relatively obedient. Apache, on the other hand, was a different story—Ludi III still remembered the defiant, untamable look it had when they first met.

Currently, the war between the Empire and Ress was raging. While the Empire had superior troop quality, the caliber of their high-level magical beasts was lacking. Of the Empire's three Level 9 beasts, Chi Yan had to guard the Imperial capital, and Apache only took orders from Chu Tian. Consequently, only the old ox, Kuyata, was left struggling on the front lines. Under the onslaught of the Holy Dragon Knight, Clint, old Kuyata was nearing his breaking point.

"Your Majesty, I am certainly willing, but Apache is currently cooperating with the Pampas family. I’m afraid..." In truth, Chu Tian did not want Apache to participate in the war. Partly because he feared for Apache’s safety, and partly for his own!

The incident with Mofit had left a deep impression on Chu Tian. It was the first time he had felt the sheer terror of a Level 10 magical beast. Although he had somehow managed to wound Mofit, who could guarantee he would have the same luck next time? Chu Tian had been planning to recall Apache, who was far away in the north of the continent helping the Pampas family capture beasts, to protect him. He had never expected Ludi III to claim Apache first!

"You need not worry about the Pampas family; I have already discussed it with Duke Brenda," Ludi III stared at Chu Tian and said, "Furthermore, while Apache is serving in the war, the Empire will cover any losses you incur!"

"There is no need for that, no need!" Chu Tian quickly declined. With things having come to this, what other choice did he have? Could he really force Ludi III to personally charge him with the crime of delaying military intelligence?

With the pleasantries and business concluded, Ludi III dismissed the servants. Once only the two of them remained in the room, he revealed his true purpose. "Vladino, why exactly did you collapse so suddenly? And why was your mana completely drained?" This was the question Ludi III most wanted answered. The warhorses were sick again, the Imperial Right Chancellor and the Chief Court Priest were both incapacitated, and at such a critical moment, Ress had launched a surprise attack! As a monarch, he had to get to the bottom of this.

"I don't know what happened myself," Chu Tian squinted, as if trying hard to recall the scene. "I had dinner at Lord Andor’s house that day, and I suddenly collapsed on the way home..." *Hehe, Andor, don't blame me for framing you!* Chu Tian knew that this was the most lethal approach. If he had simply told Ludi III that Andor had poisoned him, it wouldn't be very credible. By being vague, he made it far more believable.

"Suddenly collapsed?" Ludi III’s brow furrowed. "Are you aware that the Right Chancellor also collapsed?"

"Someone has already told me," Chu Tian nodded, struggling through a wave of pain. "Your Majesty, is there some connection?"

"The Intelligence Bureau has already investigated!" Ludi III stared intently at Chu Tian and said quickly, "The wine and food you consumed at Andor’s house that night were tainted with dark virus!"

Chu Tian’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat. *Praise the Goddess of Life! The Intelligence Bureau was able to find that out?* Still, they shouldn't be able to confirm that he was the one who ordered Barbossa to do it. On that point, Chu Tian trusted Barbossa’s competence. "Poisoned?" Chu Tian feigned shock. "That’s impossible. Barbossa was there at the time; it would be impossible for an ordinary person to poison anyone in his presence!"

"Indeed. An ordinary person would lack the ability," Ludi III rubbed his forehead, his thoughts naturally following Chu Tian’s lead. "To be able to poison both you and Andor in such an environment... and possessing such formidable strength..." Ludi III’s eyes suddenly brightened. "Dirk! Vladino, do you think it’s possible it was Dirk?!"

Chu Tian had successfully baited Ludi III. *Hehe,* he chuckled inwardly, *my dear Majesty, you are the one who said it!* "Your Majesty, you suspect Dirk?" Ludi III’s reaction was exactly what Chu Tian had hoped for. Since his feud with Andor was already set in stone, he had to create some trouble for Andor for the sake of his own and his family's safety. However, Andor was powerful and influential, and Chu Tian couldn't touch him yet, so he had placed his first target on Dirk. "Hmm, that is indeed possible. Dirk is supposedly a Level 8 Sword Saint, yet he had been hiding his true strength all along..."

"With the strength of a Level 8 Sword Saint, and since he is always by Andor’s side, he could naturally obtain many of the Empire’s classified secrets! And he is not a Caesar native!" Ludi III gritted his teeth. "That explains how the Ress Empire knew our military deployments in advance, and how our warhorses fell ill despite being under heavy guard!"

"Praise the Goddess of Life!" Chu Tian squinted again. *Your imagination is quite vivid, Your Majesty. But I like this result!* "Your Majesty, are you saying that Dirk is a spy for the Ress Empire!?"

"Exactly!" Ludi III finally uttered the words Chu Tian wanted—Dirk was a spy.

"Then what does Your Majesty plan to do?" Chu Tian already knew the answer even without Ludi III saying it. What kind of end could someone suspected by a monarch of being a spy possibly face?

"Focus on your recovery! I will handle this matter!" Ludi III stood up suddenly and waved his hand. "Remember, Dirk’s identity has not been confirmed yet. Not a third person must know what we have just discussed!"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty!" Chu Tian watched Ludi III leave the room, then began to contemplate his next move. He had successfully steered Ludi III’s suspicions toward Dirk. With the Empire’s Intelligence Bureau keeping watch, it would be difficult for Andor and Dirk to avoid leaving evidence behind. And when that happened, he would be able to...

Although Chu Tian had several high-level magical beasts and a large mercenary group that ostensibly took his orders, these alone were not enough to contend with Andor, who had been building his power for decades. That was why he had used his words to guide Ludi III, turning the Emperor and the entire Imperial Intelligence Bureau into his own personal enforcers.

***

Ludi III left, and Princess Serina arrived. She took up residence in Chu Tian’s home; as his fiancée, it was perfectly appropriate for her to care for her ailing betrothed. And so, for the next period of time, Chu Tian became a very happy patient.

Chu Tian’s condition was exhaustion from mana depletion, not a disease, so the medicine produced by his factory was useless. As for seeking treatment from a priest? That was also futile. Not to mention that no priest would dare to treat a Holy Priest like Chu Tian, even if they did, they couldn't recover his mana! Priests on the continent could only stimulate the life potential within a body; they had no way to replenish mana.

Barbossa had once purchased expensive items for mana recovery, but Chu Tian had simply given them to Xiao Bai as toys. Because the use of mana-recovery items required the guidance of a mage, and Chu Tian could not be considered a mage at all.

In fact, for other mages, Chu Tian’s situation would have been very easy to solve—a period of meditation would have been enough. But Chu Tian? From the day Anthony taught him to meditate until now, he—a former magical idiot—had yet to master the basic posture for meditation...

A month later, Chu Tian had basically recovered, and the investigation into Dirk by Ludi III had yielded results...