My Misfortune Crushed Instances-Chapter 79: Someone Isn’t Too Sharp

On the tree-lined path of the villa area, Zheng Xiaoyue was leading two team members in battle, facing five swordsmen wearing cloaks.

She herself was already level 20, the second strongest in the group, though the other two were a bit weaker, only at levels 17 and 18, all three were combat professions, Martial Artist and Sword Cultivator.

Against five swordsmen, this setup wasn’t under much pressure, only one person sustained minor injuries before the battle was over.

"Zheng Hong, do you need a break?"

Zheng Xiaoyue asked, knowing that in the Secret Realm, it’s not easy to encounter real danger, as long as they manage their pace and don’t charge blindly. The biggest advantage of spatial barriers is that the creatures of the Secret Realm generally don’t cross them. After each battle, there’s ample time to heal wounds, recover physical strength, and restore spirit.

Upon hearing the question, the round-faced man named Zheng Hong shook his head, "Let’s go, Sister Yue. We need to meet up with the team leader first. He’ll surely be worried if he sees we haven’t returned on time."

"That’s true."

The three of them immediately crossed the next layer of mist walls, and the space twisted. The tree-lined path disappeared, replaced by a deserted construction site.

As soon as they entered, they spotted a man engaged in combat.

"It’s the team leader!"

None of the three intended to join in the fight. Zhou Xiong was wielding a sword as tall as himself, and with a sweep of "Hundred Slash", he severed two swordsmen’s bodies, while the remaining three took the chance to flee.

Only then did Zheng Xiaoyue lead her team members forward to assist, five of them effortlessly dealing with the remaining swordsmen.

"Brother Zhou, why are you here alone? Where is Xiaoli?"

Zheng Xiaoyue was the first to worry about Li Rui’s safety.

Zhou Xiong’s stubble partially covered a worried expression on his face. He shook his head, "Such bad luck. This time the edge of reality overlap was right on the road in front of our villa. When I saw you hadn’t returned, I went to check the platform across the street and then got swept into a time-space distortion."

"Then it should be alright. Li Rui should still be in the villa," Zheng Hong said.

Zheng Xiaoyue gave him a slightly impatient look, "You guess, if he wakes up and doesn’t see Brother Zhou at the courtyard gate, would he go out to check?"

"Oh no, that’s troublesome!"

Zheng Hong exclaimed belatedly, "We’ve jumped two cells, encountering all swordsmen, around level 18 strength. If he, a level 17 Rain Summoner, runs around on his own, it’s going to be bad."

Two cells mean passing through two spatial barriers.

Zhou Xiong was more serious than usual, "Don’t panic. He’s sharper than you. If luck smiles a bit and he jumps into a cell without Secret Realm creatures, he’d naturally know not to move rashly."

Zheng Xiaoyue also agreed, "Brother Zhou is right. Let’s quickly set off to find him; should be just in time."

Zheng Hong pondered for a while, "Sharper than me...Sharper than me...Eh? How is he sharper than me?"

.....

"Too late, too late."

Li Rui picked up the materials from the ground, stuffed them into a burlap bag he found by the roadside, then hurriedly dashed towards the next cell.

This was the third cell he had already cleared, yet despite surpassing the combined progress of Zhou Xiong and Zheng Xiaoyue, he still felt the pace was too slow.

With the burlap bag half-filled, slung over his left shoulder, and the folded Vajra Umbrella over his right shoulder, he stepped into the next cell.

Sure enough, there were still monsters inside.

Li Rui’s spirits lifted because this time, there was only one enemy, but judging by its attire and aura, it appeared to be an Elite Monster.

It wore a bamboo hat and bore a sword at its waist much larger than a typical swordsman’s blade, as its physique was also significantly bigger.

Upon spotting Li Rui, the swordsman with the bamboo hat let out a sharp whistle, launching itself forward, leaving only an afterimage behind.

Next instant, it had already reached Li Rui.

Boom!

The sword seemed to enter and exit its sheath in an instant, yet who knows how many slashes were made during that moment, amidst the booming sound, a several-meter-long trench was carved into the ground.

Still, Li Rui remained unharmed as before the swordsman unsheathed its sword, he had noticed its movements and had dodged aside, executing Thunderbolt Palm.

The swordsman was no pushover. His opponent’s dodge didn’t surprise it; it swung its sword horizontally, clashing with Thunderbolt Palm.

The advanced shock effect dealt a violent blow to the swordsman, almost causing it to lose grip of its longsword, but it stayed composed, drawing a short knife hidden under its cloak with its other hand.

Clang!

The short knife struck the Vajra Umbrella, neither side wished to stand still, thus both backed away.

Unexpectedly, the swordsman with the bamboo hat had plenty of tricks up its sleeve. Just as distance was gained, before setting its footing, it turned, releasing a torrent of hidden weapons from under its cloak.

These hidden weapons cut arcs from all directions like serpents, clearly considering that the Vajra Umbrella could block straightforward attacks.

Yet Li Rui responded aptly, activating the Vajra Umbrella’s skill, the Wave Barrier.

Water waves swept away the hidden weapons, and misty water fog surrounded the area.

The swordsman intended to bypass the fog to locate Li Rui but was suddenly alerted; it realized the fog wasn’t residual from the earlier barrier because the fog began to rotate, condensing into a vortex.

Sizzle.

Upon sensing the electricity, the swordsman knew something was amiss, but it was too late. The Thunder Vortex inherited the high-frequency oscillation from Thunderbolt Palm, spinning swiftly toward it.

Though many things happened, the actual time elapsed was short; from the release of the hidden weapons to the imminent Thunder Vortex, the swordsman hadn’t yet landed from midair.

Boom!

The incessantly oscillating Thunder Vortex seemed precisely aimed, striking the enemy’s chest directly.

The towering swordsman was knocked backward, its cloak and chest armor penetrated, with the shriveled flesh left scorched.

In a flash of lightning, Li Rui emerged, finishing the enemy with an unremarkable Critical Strike using Big Swing.

The Elite Swordsman’s corpse dissipated into flying ash, leaving behind two strips of tattered cloth and a damaged throwing knife.

He picked them up and was surprised to discover the items were of rare quality Spiritual Profound Iron.

Although consuming bad luck in the Secret Realm had improved his luck in reality considerably, it wasn’t good enough to easily reveal rare items, which should be the default mechanism from defeating an Elite Monster.

No matter their monetary value, according to the organization’s exchange system, a level 20 rare item can be swapped for another level 20 rare item, and if the desire to exchange is absent, it’s fine for personal use.

Li Rui consumed a bottle of Spirit Recovery Potion and rushed into the next cell.

At the same time, Zhou Xiong, Zheng Xiaoyue, and others entered a grassy field.

"This seems like a planned mountain golf course."

"Hmm, no enemies, safe confirmed."

"No, wait."

Zhou Xiong seized the moment to light a cigarette, taking a few steps forward to confirm there was a patch of chopped weeds ahead. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Someone has been here; no bodies are around, looks like the monsters were eliminated."