"You've come to the right person," the hooded figure grinned, his voice somewhat hoarse, making it difficult to discern his exact age. "Don't let my living in the outer city fool you; I happened to be near the royal palace on the day of the incident. As soon as the roar sounded, I ran to the gate outside the palace walls. You probably don't know how shocking that bang was. It was as if thunder in the sky had blossomed on the ground. The windows of the surrounding houses—whether made of paper or glass—were all shattered by an invisible force, and some people were even scared to death by the sudden noise..."

Every rat claimed to have been nearby and witnessed the whole thing, but upon comparison, each person's account differed. "Alright, stop rambling about these meaningless things. How exactly did it happen?" Otto. Rossi interrupted. "Is this incident really related to the Fourth Prince... Roland. Wimbledon?"

The hooded figure coughed twice and held out his right hand. "Of course, I can tell you, but..."

"Requires the price of everything," Otto loosened his coin pouch. "How much?"

The so-called price of everything was just another name for gold dragons. Only rat-like groups liked to set up superficial codes or passwords to show off their mystique, which was completely unskilled.

The other party held up two fingers.

He took out two gold dragons and placed them in the hooded figure's hand. "This isn't a cheap fee. I hope your information is worth it."

"Of course, this concerns the reputation of the Skeleton Fingers," the other party revealed a greedy smile, stuffing the gold dragons into his pocket.

A rat's reputation was probably as absurd as a king's benevolence. Otto snorted inwardly. "Speak."

"I'll answer your first question first." Perhaps because the reward was in hand, the hooded figure's posture relaxed a lot. He took a sip of ale, leaned back in his chair, and then pointed to the ceiling. "The thunder came from the sky."

"What do you mean?" Otto frowned.

"Didn't you ask how the bang happened?" The other party lowered his voice. "All thunder comes from the sky, and this time was no exception. I saw with my own eyes that a white stone floated into the palace before the roar sounded, and then the rest happened."

"Nonsense! Are you trying to tell me that a giant rock fell from the sky and collapsed most of the palace?"

"Hehe, everything I said is true. Otherwise, the Skeleton Fingers wouldn't have assigned this job to me. You can leave now if you think I'm talking nonsense," the hooded figure shrugged. "But the fee won't be refunded."

"...Continue." Otto suppressed his displeasure.

"It only took a few breaths for the stone to appear and fall into the palace, but I saw it very clearly at the time. That thing wasn't very big, and it wasn't moving fast either. It probably couldn't collapse the Vault of Heaven, so I called it 'floating'. In addition, at the same time as the loud noise and smoke appeared, I also saw rolling flames, which were very imposing and definitely couldn't have been caused by impact." The hooded figure smacked his lips. "In fact, didn't His Majesty Tifieko's final search also prove this—the inner city was closed and cleaned several times, and no suspects were caught. Plus, the palace area itself is heavily guarded. If the attack didn't come from the sky, where else could it have come from?"

He took another sip of ale. "As for the flames and smoke, they looked a lot like the phenomena produced when an alchemical item called Snow Powder burns. That's why I'm sure it was an attack. By the way, I also know something about Snow Powder, but you'll have to pay extra for it, just..."

"No need, I don't want to know." Otto interrupted. He had heard a little about this from other sources. It was originally a celebration item, which could be used as a weapon after improvement, and rats were unlikely to know its specific ingredients. There was no need for him to waste money here.

"Alright, now to answer your second question." The hooded figure spread his hands indifferently. "There is no doubt that this matter is greatly related to the Fourth Prince."

"Reason?"

"I don't know when you arrived in the royal city? Of course, I'm not asking about your origin or... identity. This is the inquiry rule of the Black Street, you don't need to answer me," the other party chuckled. "What I mean
is, if you arrived in the royal city in early autumn, you must know one thing: His Majesty the King once sent an army of thousands to attack the Western Territory, but few of them returned alive, and these defeated soldiers also carried the text that the Fourth Prince submitted to His Majesty."

Six rats mentioned this matter, so it seemed basically correct, but he still had to ask a few more questions. "Are you referring to the announcement of revenge? It's a bit sensational. Are you sure this isn't a folk rumor?"

"Most of the texts entered the royal palace with the defeated soldiers, and the few that leaked out were basically taken away by the city hall, but Skeleton Fingers can always give customers surprises. In fact, I have a 'forecast' left here." The hooded figure held out five fingers. "Considering that it's the Prince's autograph and the quantity is rare, the price will be a bit higher. What do you think?"

…

Otto. Rossi returned to the palace in the cold wind, and Belinda immediately greeted him. "Any news?"

"Not much, but I got a text from the Fourth Prince." He handed the crumpled note to the other party, then took off his coat and sat in front of the fireplace, explaining the details of the exploration trip. "The answers of the six rats to the second question are basically the same. With this note, the result should be clear—Roland. Wimbledon is not as weak as His Majesty the King said. On the contrary, if the Kingdom of Dawn and Tifieko form an alliance, it may not be beneficial and will only add a troublesome enemy to themselves."

"But for the first question, the rats' answers are different," Belinda frowned.

"This proves that the attack was very strange, and almost no one knows how it happened. I'm more inclined to believe the last rat's statement." Otto took a sip of hot tea and exhaled a long breath of turbid air. He felt uncomfortable all over after staying in the cheap tavern for too long.

"From the sky?" Belinda looked at him in surprise. "Are you crazy?"

"Of course not. If I hadn't seen this text, I wouldn't have dared to think about it in this way. He is confident about the time and location of the attack. Only an attack from the sky can cross the towering city walls and tight defenses, and prevent the well-informed rats from knowing about it." He curled his lips. "But this is not the point. The point is what should we do next."

"The threat of the Church is imminent. They should end the confrontation and jointly resist foreign enemies."

"That's not something we can decide," Otto shook his head. "The only thing we can do is to try our best to win reliable allies for the Kingdom of Dawn. His Majesty Tifieko. Wimbledon seems... unreliable now."

"Do you want to go to the Western Territory?" Belinda was slightly stunned. "Isn't that place affected by the Devilish Month and in danger?"

"Compared to the danger of the kingdom's demise, this is nothing." He made up his mind after a moment of silence. "You stay here and wait for the new king's reply. I'll go to the Western Territory alone."

.(。)