My Misfortune Crushed Instances

"Priest, please hold your step, we are summoned by our elders and must return to the camp immediately, no need to see us off."

Li Rui was saying goodbye to the Wu Huan Priest, the leader of the Witch Crow tribe, who initially couldn’t believe that the menace of Ghost City was over.

It wasn’t until the three showed some spoils only found in Ghost City that the leader finally sent people to investigate.

However, by this time, the goodwill of the Witch Crow tribe had already risen to admiration, obviously, the investigation was merely a formality, Wu Huan had already believed in the events regarding Ghost City.

With their minds focused on the command center’s orders, Li Rui and his companions didn’t linger longer and followed the Giant Ape back to Kong Ji’s camp.

At this time, the chubby commander hadn’t rested yet, his tent had been upgraded to a wooden barracks, and the conditions had slightly improved.

"Brother Kong, we’re back." Li Rui said as he entered the room.

"You finally returned."

Kong Ji looked at the three who just entered with some curiosity, "Why did it take so long? It’s already dark."

He was addressing Xu Xiliang.

In his plan, if Xu went and those two hadn’t entered Ghost City yet, they should have returned much earlier if recalled directly.

If they had already entered the city and planned to go through, they would have taken some more time to get back.

Now that it’s neither too early nor too late, he was curious about the situation there.

Li Rui knew him well enough to anticipate his curiosity, so he directly explained: "With Captain Xu’s help, we quickly cleared Ghost City and resolved the issue."

"Now the goodwill of the Witch Crow tribe has reached admiration. I estimate that within three days, several other Demon Race leaders will come to pay respects. Brother Kong, you should receive them. I heard the command center wants us there?"

Kong Ji was bewildered by his series of statements, instinctively answering the question first: "Ah, yes, yes, but there’s no rush. You all should rest well tonight, and it’s not too late to go tomorrow."

"Got it."

Li Rui and Cheng Mingyue took their leave and turned to leave the barracks.

Only then did Kong Ji come to his senses and asked: "What did he mean by saying just now, you quickly cleared Ghost City? Old Xu, you’re that capable?"

Xu Xiliang chuckled awkwardly: "I didn’t help much."

He described to Kong Ji what happened after he set out.

"Ah?"

Kong Ji said, "So, you genuinely cleared it straightforwardly. I thought you just stole from the boss and ran. That speed is remarkable."

Xu Xiliang laughed and said: "Yes, young people these days are incredible."

Kong Ji couldn’t help but ponder.

He originally thought that in this Secret Realm battlefield, as the officer of the elite team numbered 001, he should try to play a leading role, guiding his subordinates to achieve as many battle results as possible.

But now, it seemed like those few team members were going to carry him, the Deputy Commander, instead.

Others were still playing a role on the battlefield against the Western Kingdom, in a phase of stalemate, nothing definite yet.

But Li Rui and Cheng Mingyue actually cleared a major loot spot in two days and subdued a nearby tribe, definitely a significant achievement.

On the other side, Guan Gui also discovered a hidden medium-sized loot spot and soloed it, also an impressive accomplishment.

"Hey, interesting."

Kong Ji felt he needed to adjust the battle plan.

.....

Early the next morning, Li Rui and Cheng Mingyue got up bright and early.

"Let’s get ready and go."

"Hmm."

The two planned to bid farewell to Kong Ji before departing, but upon seeing him, they heard him say:

"Plans have changed. Mingyue, stay and assist me. Li Rui, you and Old Xu go to the command center."

"Huh? Oh, okay." Li Rui agreed.

Cheng Mingyue protested: "Why not let me go? I’ve been wanting to take on those Western Kingdom guys for a while."

Kong Ji said: "The Polar Alliance down south is also itching to make a move, you need to stay to handle them."

Though truthful, it wasn’t his full reasoning.

The Polar Alliance indeed seemed to be up to something, but more importantly, he felt that given the two’s current strength, only one needed to be sent.

He himself was in a strong offensive role, so it was best to leave a strong supporter behind, hence the arrangement.

.....

Thump, thump, thump.

The Giant Ape was sprinting through the mountains, heading straight northwest, which was west of Wangze State, and where the Dragon Country command center was located.

In Wangze State, wetlands and marshes were everywhere, but reaching the periphery, mountain hills became more apparent.

Yuan Erliang lay on the Giant Ape’s head, curiously observing the outside world.

He grew up in the Divine Wood forest and had never been out, only hearing elders who traveled far describe the world outside. Now seeing it firsthand, he was excited.

"Sir! Sir! There’s a plank road ahead!"

He suddenly jumped up on the Giant Ape’s head.

Li Rui climbed onto the shoulder of the Giant Ape and looked into the distance, seeing a valley up ahead, faintly discerning a stone path emerging from it.

"Captain Xu, we’re almost there."

He cross-checked with the map, knowing that once they crossed the valley, they’d reach the command center’s camp.

The Giant Ape was too large to traverse the path, so it had to climb over, but it was agile and swift. Soon, the ape stood at the other end of the valley, greeted by several surges of killing intent from different directions.

Li Rui had anticipated this situation, promptly raising his voice to identify himself.

"I am 0109, on our side."

Soon, several figures emerged from the woods, albeit not entirely dropping their guard.

"Submit to inspection."

The leader, appearing in his thirties, was presumably responsible for this outpost.

Li Rui and Xu Xiliang quickly dismounted, and a woman approached, holding a fist-sized glass orb emitting a faint light as she scanned the two.

"No issues."

The leading man finally extended a handshake to the two, explaining: "It’s to guard against shapeshifters."

Li Rui figured the same; some shapeshifters like Cheng Mingyue used their skills for combat support, but others were devious, able to mimic others’ appearances to spy for information.

The other members of the team covertly eyed the Giant Ape, feeling quite envious.

They were all contemplating how to increase their goodwill, seeing as some already had their exclusive mounts.

In the Secret Realm battlefield, having a helper to carry goods was quite convenient, as not everything could be stored in the inventory.

After asking for directions, Li Rui continued on, after about two or three kilometers, he finally saw a camp ahead, accurately speaking, a small city.

There used to be a powerful Demon Race here, living off plunder. After Cheng Wen led a team to eliminate them, not only did they elevate the goodwill with all nearby tribes, but they also secured a foothold.

The structures here predominantly had a bright yellow theme, how they were built inside was unknown, but externally seemed to use locally sourced yellow clay mud mixed with other materials, appearing solid.

A glance revealed an overall style with domes, yet with a structure resembling flying eaves, looking peculiar.

Li Rui first found a spot to settle the Giant Ape, letting it and Yuan Erliang wait here, then he and Xu Xiliang went to find Cheng Wen.

"You all are fairly fast, hey, where’s Mingyue, why’s Old Xu here?"

Li Rui explained Kong Ji’s adjustments to the plan, and Cheng Wen didn’t comment much.

"Alright then, Old Xu, go report to Deputy Commander Ning."

"Yes." Xu Xiliang left.

Li Rui asked: "What about me, what about me?"

"I’ll first familiarize you with the situation here. Oh, I heard you’ve contributed a lot; do you have anything you need?"

Li Rui replied: "Hey, I actually do. Is the Prophet here? I’d like to get a reading."