My Misfortune Crushed Instances

Li Rui did not linger much at the stronghold by the grain and water; he rushed back to Yellow Earth City and returned to the command center of this Dragon Country Secret Realm battlefield.

Upon arriving at the room where the Prophet used to be, he found Chen Cheng and Cheng Wen in a heated discussion.

"It’s not an illusion or hallucination, I can guarantee, that aura just vanished."

Chen Cheng nearly banged the table, "You’re not a Prophet, what do you know."

Cheng Wen didn’t argue back; he simply responded calmly, "There’s no reason for that, the grain and water stronghold hasn’t sent any battle reports."

"Well, I don’t know then, maybe you should proactively send a messenger to inquire." Chen Cheng had a rogue look, folding his arms, rocking back and forth on his chair.

Li Rui didn’t know what the two were arguing about; he just knocked on the open door and then walked into the room.

"Why are you back?!" Both of them were startled.

Li Rui said curiously, "What do you mean why am I back? I completed the mission and returned. What’s up, didn’t the messenger bring the battle report?"

Cheng Wen shook his head, "No, the last battle report was when you arrived, and then there was nothing temporarily."

Li Rui thought for a moment and realized, "Oh, it looks like the Herculean’s shortcut speed was too fast, and the battle report hasn’t arrived yet."

Some mountain terrains are rugged and steep, which even the Extraordinary wouldn’t choose to traverse, but for an all-terrain mount like the Herculean, it was not an issue, so his return time might have been earlier than the battle report.

Just at that moment, a messenger rushed in from outside, "Commander Cheng, Commander Cheng! Big victory at the grain and water battlefield! 0109 killed Farah Land in battle, and the Western Kingdom has retreated!"

The three inside the room were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, leaving only the messenger bewildered.

After the other had left, Cheng Wen got to the main topic.

"Farah Land is dead, very good. In this case, they will give up the grain and water area. But have you seen their Prophet? I mean, Chen Cheng said their Prophet suddenly stopped interfering, do you know why? Did he die?"

Li Rui replied, "Uh, I can only confirm the death of Farah Land, and then I took advantage during their retreat to find the position of the Vanguard Camp, and threw a skill, not sure if the Prophet died."

"I told you so!"

Chen Cheng got spirited, "About how long ago did this happen?"

"Four hours?"

Li Rui estimated.

The one-way trip from here to the grain and water frontline takes about three hours.

Cheng Wen looked at Chen Cheng, seemingly asking if the timing matched, the latter nodded and said, "Then it’s correct. It was around that time my side’s pressure suddenly vanished."

Cheng Wen got excited, grabbing Li Rui’s shoulder: "You made a great achievement!"

He was very excited, even somewhat incredulous.

Originally, they just wanted to send someone to help Yi Xin wrap things up, but not only did they kill the enemy’s main powerhouse, but they also managed to barge into the enemy’s ranks and take down a Prophet—a dream start. It felt like winning the lottery for the command level.

Li Rui smiled, "I was just lucky, threw a skill randomly and it hit."

"You’re not just lucky; Prophets almost always have dedicated bodyguards. The skill you threw wasn’t ordinary, was it?"

"Hmm, it was my most powerful ultimate move."

"That explains it."

Cheng Wen still hadn’t calmed down, "Chen Cheng, you do the calculations for him about that thing, I have to go arrange the follow-up plans."

He left the room eagerly, as the chief commander, since the enemy’s Prophet was taken down, executing sneak attacks or ambushes would become much easier. He needed to arrange things promptly.

Not long after he left, cheers erupted from the battle command room two rooms away.

Chen Cheng shrugged, "So, what was that thing you wanted to calculate?"

Li Rui muttered with him for a while, explaining the situation about the Cave Profound Yin Yang Umbrella and its inlays.

"Hmm..."

Chen Cheng frowned silently.

"What’s wrong, is it hard to calculate?" Li Rui asked with concern.

"No, I’m just thinking about how to start. Help me get the map."

Chen Cheng pointed to a table beside him, "This prophecy is like solving a math problem, it needs to be done step by step, not like throwing a toothpick on the table to calculate. Also, with the enemy’s Prophet interference now, I can’t let him detect my intent, otherwise, it’ll lead you into an ambush."

Li Rui brought a leather map from the adjacent table: "No need to worry about ambushes, just consider where I should go to find the related artifacts."

Chen Cheng stared at him for a few seconds then said, "Alright."

He took out a tortoise shell and started burning it with an oil lamp beside him. This was not equipment, but a rare consumable item that could increase the accuracy of triggering his skills.

Li Rui watched him perform the ritual without rushing.

He remembered Wu Bing mentioning in Huangliang City that prophecies could be fast or slow, unlike ordinary skills which are instant cast.

He took out a map he obtained from the Divine Wood Forest to look at the terrain and the distribution of some legendary artifacts while waiting.

After about half an hour, Chen Cheng finally completed his prophecy.

"Wolf Fang Cliff."

He chugged down a big glass of water and then continued, "There’s something related to the umbrella near that cliff, probably another inlay."

"That place, from what I felt earlier, has dangerous things."

Chen Cheng said, "Which is normal, treasures are usually guarded by powerful monsters. You’d better ask Commander Cheng about the rest."

Li Rui glanced at the map in his hand, and sure enough, a dim question mark appeared in the southwest direction, indicating the general direction of the prophecy was correct. How to look for it specifically would depend on on-site verification.

He nodded and left the place, arriving at the battle command room just as their strategic adjustment meeting had concluded.

Cheng Wen said, "Wait a moment, take these with you."

Li Rui took the things he handed over and looked; to his surprise, it was a whole stack of more than a dozen fine gold coins.

"So many!? Just giving them to me?" He was both surprised and delighted, and with this, he already had over thirty coins, just half short from the eighty-one needed to open the gate.

Cheng Wen found it amusing, "Not just for free; this is the command center’s decision after comprehensive consideration, based on your contributions, profession, strength, and other factors to allow you to unlock the treasure trove of Nuanyang State."

"If further clues are discovered, or more gold coins are collected later, I’ll store them for you, and you can come to me if you need any."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow, "How did you know I was going out?"

"Chen Cheng must’ve given you clues; you wouldn’t resist finding them."

"Hehe, if there’s a mission, I can also do the mission first." Li Rui smirked whenever he felt guilty.

Cheng Wen earnestly said, "Securing the ultimate loot is also a mission. If you get it, the Polar Alliance and Western Kingdom can’t, and the essence of our battles in the Secret Realm is for our side to gain more benefits."

"Got it."

Li Rui then shared the location of the prophecy with him.

Cheng Wen frowned, "Follow me."

They entered the command room, and he pointed at the sandbox, "Look, Wolf Fang Cliff is here, a barrier entering the western Cold Wind State, the rear of the Western Kingdom."

"You can take this route, according to the intelligence we gathered, there shouldn’t be many enemies, and you have a mount anyway."

Cheng Wen didn’t go over possible challenges and dangers; as he said, this is a mission, and those with the 01 designation are there to undertake high-difficulty tasks.

Li Rui nodded, "Any other intel?"

"Hmm... let me think."

Cheng Wen pondered for a moment and said, "Oh, right, something off-topic. You might not know yet; based on intelligence from the northern stronghold, Nuanyang State has a harsh environment, vast and sparsely populated, mostly endless desert. Not to mention the monster strength, just finding directions is hard enough."

"To search for the treasure trove, a large number of personnel were needed, so for now, no one should have gone deep."

"Additionally, there are rumors that there might be a few hundred fine gold coins on this island, but the gate only needs dozens, so you better watch your progress, don’t linger too long and let the other two countries gather them first."