The Celestial's judgment of the danger had been correct.
It was just that, the moment he sensed the danger, he hesitated for an instant between "reinforcing the Rule Domain" and "dodging."
In the end, it was an instinctive disdain for an "attacker" who had not reached the Celestial level. He had to maintain the bearing of a Celestial powerhouse.
But at that moment, through the gap blasted open by the Origin Mother's explosion, the water parted and a bright flash burst forth. A sharp blade was already upon him.
The so-called "blade light" was the close-combat blade inevitably equipped on every Exoskeleton Armor.
For many people, it was basically just decoration. There were too many weapons more efficient and deadlier than it that could be mounted on an Exoskeleton Armor platform.
But at this moment, even a Celestial powerhouse had no time to worry about efficiency.
As the close-combat blade cut out from a gap in his Rule Domain, it swept diagonally upward and had already reached his chest.
His first reaction was to raise a hand and block it.
It was not as though a Celestial powerhouse's physical body could not take the blow head-on, but this was hasty—and foolish.
His earlier hesitation between "dodging" and "maintaining the Rule Domain" had made him miss the chance to respond more calmly, and it had truly wounded his... pride.
Why did I make such a low-level mistake?
Looking again at the "attacker" whom he had just chased into a miserable retreat: plunging off the cliff into the water, detonating the Origin Mother, donning armor for a counterkill—there had not been a single error in that entire sequence.
His grasp of every opportunity was as though he were executing practiced moves on a stage.
And he was like a clownish supporting actor,