Chapter 490: Chapter 490: Weighing the Pros and Cons

Thud!!

The Yin Yang Umbrella and the long halberd clashed, producing a dull sound.

The duration of Reverse Yin and Yang was three minutes. At this moment, Li Rui was still in an enhanced state, with his physique greatly improved.

In contrast, the man wielding the halberd on the other side had not only lost his treasure armor that could transform into a golden body, but he also expended significant energy. Consequently, he was instantly suppressed.

However, this man was particularly skilled in close combat, so the situation didn’t continue to tilt but gradually reached a stalemate.

Li Rui knew he had to get serious now.

After another Thunder Shocking Earth move, he suddenly jumped back to avoid a surprise attack from the fleshy giant using its tentacles, as if planning to retreat.

The halberd-wielding man took the opportunity to pursue him.

Of course, Li Rui wasn’t actually running away. He did this partly to buy some time for the continuously flowing energy to restore his spiritual power, and also to launch a counterattack.

However, what he launched in return was a Void Spirit Golden Light Spell.

This skill brought by the Dragon Thunder illuminated an entire sector and the now bare-chested man.

"Ah—"

Tears flowed from his eyes, and his movements instantly became sluggish.

No matter what, he was just a mortal, and Dragon Thunder belonged to the heavens. He couldn’t evade its influence.

But this man was also ruthless. Relying on his robust physique, he forced out his last potential, with his upper body skin turning red as if about to ignite, and veins bulging out, making him even more fierce than before.

Li Rui was also taken aback. He raised the Vajra Umbrella and once again used Thunder Shocking Earth to take on the move, but the opponent was clearly determined. Even with the Yin Yang Reverse, he couldn’t match him in physique alone.

After a collision, there was a cracking sound of bones, and he was sent flying backward.

But along with him, the man with the halberd also fell.

During their clash just now, Li Rui had secretly summoned a Void Flame Spell in the surrounding area.

The opponent’s condition was already poor, affected by the Void Spirit Golden Light Spell, combined with his confrontation with Li Rui, and the concealed nature of the Void Flame Spell.

All these factors combined and when the fluttering White Thunder attacked him from behind, he didn’t notice.

The man had already lost his armor and was directly hit by Li Rui’s Dragon Thunder. His back became a bloody mess, with even the spine exposed.

At this moment, Li Rui, initially sent flying with many broken bones, activated Reversal.

This was his third reason for retreating earlier, to create space for the Reversal.

Just like the first time facing Zuo Qiutian, he appeared behind his opponent.

Boom—

The final Thunder Shocking Earth almost shattered the three-meter-tall man into pieces.

Li Rui used several trump cards to finally defeat this opponent.

But the greatest credit goes to the Nine Heavens Extinction Spell.

If it were only the previous All Heaven Great Thunder Fire Seal Spell, even with the power of Dragon Thunder, it wouldn’t be able to shatter that golden body.

Only this spell, which combined the power of four thunders, gave him the ability to single-handedly challenge a world NPC under level disadvantage.

One must know, under normal circumstances, Secret Realm agents would only dare to fight world NPCs with a level or numerical advantage.

Li Rui squatted in front of the barely breathing man and asked, "What’s your name?"

The other party barely opened his eyes and glanced at him.

Spit.

Li Rui snorted and ended his life. Until the end, he never found out this man’s name.

Although the man died, the fleshy giant was still there. Li Rui waited until his spiritual power recovered fully, then threw down an All Heaven Void Spirit Thunder Fire Seal Spell to deal with this mindless creature.

Thump, thump.

"Chief Ling, I’ll escort the fleet back to the Western Kingdom and then go support the Southern Nations, what do you think?"

Ling Zixiao replied vaguely, "I’ll ask the Division first. Anyway, let’s wait until the ship docks."

During the subsequent voyage, Li Rui seemed godlike on the ship. Even the captain had to be polite to him, as he was considered a lifesaver. Besides, the sea battle from that day left a deep impression on these ordinary people.

Fortunately, on the remaining journey, no members of the Hidden Sect pursued them, and the fleet finally arrived at Reo Port in the Western Kingdom.

It was Li Rui’s first time entering this country, which had previously had poor relations with Dragon Country. If not for the Polar Alliance’s sudden betrayal, the two would never have allied.

Ultimately, Li Rui couldn’t participate in the direct battle against the Land of Chaos as planned, because he received the highest mission from the organization: to protect Ling Zixiao and a group of other Prophets.

Although the Western Kingdom and Dragon Country were allies, there was no unconditional trust between major countries, so powerful bodyguards were needed, and none were more suitable than Li Rui.

After all, when the naval battle report reached the Superpower Division, they had already understood his rapidly evolving strength.

....

On the beach, Li Rui, wearing big shorts, lay on a beach chair with Ling Zixiao.

"Don’t you think, Chief Ling, that we are living too leisurely? Lying here every day, doing nothing."

"Why are you in such a hurry? Our mission is just to stay in the Western Kingdom." Ling Zixiao was in no rush, sipping from a coconut nearby.

With the permission of the Western Kingdom’s upper echelons, the two of them were out of surveillance and arrived in a coastal city.

Only a few top people in both countries were aware of their whereabouts.

Their purpose, of course, was to deal with that mysterious and unpredictable Prophet, also known as the Divine Calculus.

So far, all real-world Prophets had been defeated by this person, especially in the sea sniping incident. If Li Rui had woken up a few hours later, the losses would have been significant.

Now, as Li Rui basked in the sun and felt the sea breeze, his mood was far from relaxed.

"I read the news. All the world’s frontlines are being pushed back, the entire Land of Chaos is being taken over, and there’s pressure on the Western Kingdom’s northern side, the Base Alliance is like it’s gone mad."

"Surely, there are many other people like us hiding somewhere? But if we keep hiding, how much loss will that cause?"

After hearing what he said, Ling Zixiao gave a noncommittal response and asked, "Do you know what the result of our secret conflict was before the formal war?"

"Can’t be too different, right?"

Li Rui said, "The Holy Judgment High Court was turned into a blood pool by Zuo Qiutian, fighting him there is probably impossible, but anywhere else, there shouldn’t be such great loss, right?"

"Heh."

Ling Zixiao chuckled and asked, "You know the story of Tian Ji and the horse race, right?"

"Can you just be straightforward?"

Li Rui replied irritably, "What’s with the suspense?"

Ling Zixiao smiled wryly, "I’m just trying to be illustrative. I’m saying that although we don’t lose to them in hard power, because they have control over a Prophet that overwhelms us, they often catch us off guard. From the start, we were at a disadvantage, just never officially acknowledged."

"...." That was something Li Rui hadn’t expected.

"And then there’s your question."

Ling Zixiao continued, "We can’t quantify the losses, but after weighing the pros and cons, it’s a choice that has to be made."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow, thinking, here we go with this reasoning again.