Chapter 962: Decision
The power of the blood rain was very domineering, and it contained some kind of ‘fear’ erosive power. The 2 hobbit powerhouses were seriously injured. Fortunately, there was the Crown of Thorns [Divine Blessing] and [Divine Healing]. With Chen Rui’s full rescue, Hodheck and Sterklin’s injuries were quickly brought under control, and the erosive power was removed.
However, if they wanted to recover, they must rest for a long time. Before they fully recovered, the 2 couldn’t channel their strength, which was almost equivalent to losing their fighting ability.
After the altar at the bottom of the mine was completely destroyed, those corpses were also cleaned up by the hobbits. So far, the crisis of the mountain hobbit had finally been completely resolved. Hodheck, Sterklin and the Hobbit King Ovge expressed their most sincere wishes to Chen Rui and others.
First of all, if Chen Rui hadn’t rescued Ovge in time, he would have died. Once Inke took over the power, it was very likely that the entire Thick Soil Castle would become the second Golden Bright Underground Palace, and even the entire Black Rock Mountain would become the second Nightmare Wilderness controlled by the Abyss, which had unimaginable consequences.
Then, in the underground pit, it was Chen Rui who unlocked the camouflage of the altar. In the next treacherous fight, thanks to his ‘guardian’ Zola, he fought off that terrifying and evil unknown powerhouse (Chen Rui attributed the defeat of Sosbach back on Zola). In addition to the poisoned hobbits, 2 more hobbit super powerhouses were rescued. They were great saviors of the hobbit family.
In fact, the abyss crisis lurking in the Thick Soil Castle resolved by Chen Rui this time was likely to be the last link in the entire ambush plan. Even if ‘Arthur’ was able to resolve the misunderstanding with the hobbit before, facing the Abyss-ized Hobbit King Inke, he would probably die in the ‘poisoning crisis’ that broke out among the hobbits.
This was indeed a terrifying killing scheme. Unfortunately, the planners did not expect that Chen Rui’s guardian and even himself would have such a powerful strength. Not only did the killing scheme fail, but the long-term conspiracy against the hobbits also failed.
Then Chen Rui learned from Ovge something that could not be ignored – Hodheck and Sterklin were super-level guardians of the mountain hobbits, and the cave hobbit also had 2 super-level guardians. According to the original Inke, after the underground palace collapsed , the 2 guardians went to the Jade Forest Sea to find the forest hobbit adjacent to the elf tribe to discuss the reconstruction of the underground palace.
Later, when the ‘super-level guardian’ who contacted the forest hobbit received the news from Inke that the cave hobbit and the mountain hobbit had merged, they did not return immediately. Instead, they were trying to excavate some treasures buried in the underground palace. Afterward, they would go back to Black Rock Mountain.
Now it seems that there must be something wrong with what Inke said. Those 2 powerhouses should have either died or fallen, and the ‘earthquake disaster’ of the Red Rock Mountain Range is most likely not a natural disaster but a hobbit-made disaster!
I’m afraid there are still tricks in the collapsed Golden Bright Underground Palace… But after seeing the enemy’s terror, plus Hodheck and Sterklin are seriously injured, we don’t have the combat power to go to the Golden Bright Underground Palace to explore.
One thing that could be described as a top priority was to go to the Stone Fist Village, the residence of the forest hobbit in the Jade Forest Sea. No matter whether the 2 guardians of the cave hobbit really went to the Stone Fist Village, they must tell the forest hobbit what happened at the Red Rock Mountain Range and Black Rock Mountain. One was to avoid repeating the same mistakes, and the other was to unite the power of the forest hobbit and go to the Golden Bright Underground Palace in the future to eliminate the evil power that poisoned the hobbits.
“I’m going to the Blue Glory Empire this time to also visit the 2 grand masters, Finoia and Bernd, in the Jade Forest Sea. If you trust me, leave this mission to me.” Chen Rui was also a little worried about the situation at Bernd’s side. On the other hand, if the 2 cave hobbit guardians of the Golden Bright Underground Palace really went to the Jade Forest Sea as Inke said, then what they brought to the forest hobbit would be a terrifying disaster.
Chen Rui must not allow this to happen. Even without Finoia’s invitation, this trip to the Jade Forest Sea was imperative.
“Certainly, you are the hobbit’s utterly trusted partner,” The Hobbit King Ovge said sincerely, “Your Highness Arthur. Roland, the hobbits will always remember your friends.h.i.+p and kindness.”
Chen Rui blinked, “What if there was no ‘Roland’ or ‘Your Highness’?”
Ovge was stunned for a moment, and he did not get it at the moment.
At this time, Askari, the teacher of the king of the hobbit and the elder sage in the hobbit, stepped forward and whispered a few words. Ovge woke up like a dream, “No matter what your ident.i.ty is, you are the friend and savior of the hobbit forever.”
“Since it’s a friend, then the redundant t.i.tle of ‘savior’ can be omitted, my hobbit friend.” Chen Rui smiled, “I have a request, please keep our friends.h.i.+p a secret… In fact, I have some other secrets which is why I’m intentionally isolating myself from those guards, so I won’t explain it for now. Just to say, in my heart, the hobbit is an indispensable true friend, whether the forest hobbit, the cave hobbit or the mountain hobbit.”
Ovge’s temperament was very forthright, he nodded without questioning as he stepped forward and hugged Chen Rui tight.
After a short rest, Chen Rui saw Proyo and others who had been isolated for a while. Seeing that Prince ‘Arthur’ was safe and sound, Proyo breathed a sigh of relief, “Your Highness, did the hobbits make it difficult for you?”
“Why would they?” Chen Rui shook his head confidently, “I successfully completed a deal with the hobbits. I cured the poisoned hobbits and got a batch of valuable equipment and minerals. I’m very impressed by your bravery and loyalty. As a reward, I will pick a suit of armor and weapons for each of you later.”
Although the forging skills of the hobbits couldn’t be compared with that of the mechanic grand master of ‘Arthur’, they were also world-renowned for their superb skills. To get a set of superb equipment produced by the hobbit was also a very valuable a.s.set even for the elite knight of these legions.
Everyone was overjoyed and bowed, “Thank you Your Highness!”
The top-notch equipment and minerals were actually what Ovge insisted on giving. As a reward, Chen Rui gave Ovge a batch of top-quality aromatic millet wine and highly refined forging materials. That kind of superb aromatic millet wine made the hobbits smile, and the 100% refined ‘pure’ minerals were also good things that were hard to buy. They had been sold for staggering sky-high prices at auctions. According to the market price, Chen Rui’s gift far exceeded Ovge’s gift.
The equipment from the hobbits also did a good job of disguising what Chen Rui did last night, as the ‘prince’ himself said to Proyo and the others, it was just a deal- Royal Highness ‘Arthur’ was a mechanic grand master who was also a businessman. Otherwise, how could the Golden Estate become the commercial focus of the entire world, so the deal to save the hobbits was completely reasonable.
Proyo spoke up, “Since the misunderstanding with the hobbit has been resolved, let’s hurry to the Garden City as soon as possible, Your Highness.”
Chen Rui didn’t order to leave immediately, but his tone changed, “You should have seen the a.s.sa.s.sination I encountered earlier, the layout of the enemy is quite terrifying. First ambush and then use the means of poisoning the hobbit in order to induce the hobbit to kill us… If it weren’t for the strong strength of my guardian, everyone would have died in the hands of the hobbit. It can be seen that the enemy we are facing is extremely cruel and cunning. We are likely to encounter more and more terrifying a.s.sa.s.sinations on the road. I want to ask everyone, are you determined to fight to protect me?”
“Yes!” Proyo and the knight shouted together, and the 2 powerful Saints also nodded.
“Thank you for your loyalty and courage.” Chen Rui showed a knowing smile, “Then I will announce a decision: I will be separated from everyone on the following trip.”
Separate? Everyone was surprised, Proyo’s facial expression changed slightly, “Your Highness, what do you mean? Although our strength is not comparable to several sir guardians, our loyalty is definitely not below them. We can protect Your Highness by dedicating our life at any time.”
“You’re wrong.” Chen Rui shook his head, “You are not a burden. On the contrary, you are the necessary strength for me to reach my destination safely this time. My plan is that you pretend to protect ‘me’ and go directly to the Blue Glory Empire, while the real me will disguise, hide my ident.i.ty, and choose a safer path.”
Proyo reacted the fastest and showed a realization expression. Chen Rui looked solemn and pointed to Dodo on his shoulder and said, “My guardian has the talent to change and can become my appearance to go on the road with you. In order to further confuse the enemy and to keep you safe, I’ll let the mighty dragons join the team. And Ms. Zola… will just protect me. We’ll find a rendezvous point before we officially enter the Blue Glory Capital.”
“Your Highness wants us to attract the attention of the enemy.” Proyo explained to the crowd, “Decoy tactic is indeed a pretty good battle plan, but the safety of Your Highness…”
Decoy tactic? It’s obviously advance secretly by an unknown path, okay…Chen Rui smiled and glanced at Ms. Fairy Dragon, “You think Ms. Zola can’t keep me safe?”
“Your Highness has misunderstood! If even Madam Zola can’t protect Your Highness, then we are only a real burden there.” Proyo smiled bitterly when he noticed the unkind look in Ms. Fairy Dragon’s eyes, “In that case, just follow as Your Highness says.”
“For you, this mission is not easy. You are likely to encounter more dangers.” Chen Rui patted Proyo’s shoulder, and glanced at the 2 Saints and the knights, “I order you all, whatever situation you encounter, the first choice is to save your life.”
Everyone showed a moving expression, “Yes!”
Master Poison Dragon, who had already got the instructions earlier, took a sip of wine in dissatisfaction – Go on and act, the guy who prefers lovers to friends! It’s too inauthentic, throwing Dodo and I as targets while you young couple go and have fun yourselves…
Dodo looked at the master with a pitiful look like an abandoned pet. After Chen Rui’s hands showed 2 sparkling, crystal-clear red gems, Master Slime immediately regained his spirit and stretched out 5 ‘fingers’. Thinking about it, it was not enough. 1 ‘palm’ suddenly changed to 10 fingers. He actually began to bargain.
In the end, Master Truly Handsome successfully sold himself for 10 Fire Crystals.
(Unscrupulous master note: Fire crystal is one of the cheapest magic materials in the human world)
TL: Decided to capitalize the ‘Abyss’ word, also the lord of the Abyss lord and Hatred Lord is different, one is more like a castle lord and one is more like a G.o.d (lord)