Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

Chapter 400: Chapter 400 Everything is Under Control

Yang Yu took out his shield and sword, standing in an extremely casual posture, looking as if he was full of openings.

But Iyas knew that Yang Yu certainly wouldn’t just stand there to be hit; he must be waiting for something in that stance.

What appeared to be full of openings was, in reality, completely devoid of any. Those supposed vulnerabilities were techniques to lure the enemy deeper.

”Come and attack!”

With these incredibly nonchalant words from Yang Yu, the duel officially began.

Yang Yu still did not move from his spot, and neither did Iyas.

Iyas knew that from such a distance, her shots would be easily dodged by Yang Yu; if only she could wait for him to get close enough...

No, that was wrong; no matter how close Yang Yu got, he could rely on his agile figure to avoid attacks.

It might be more accurate to say that what he enjoyed the most was to let the enemy get closer, then dodge their attacks at unimaginable angles, defeating them mentally.

This attack would surely be evaded by him with ease.

As if envisioning the scene of her bow and arrows being cleaved in two, Iyas’s hand, drawing the bowstring, couldn’t bring itself to loose the first arrow.

Even if she hit him, what then?

With her current strength, she couldn’t take Yang Yu down in one strike. He would just get close to her and ruthlessly shatter her illusions.

Despite having resolved to rely on herself and grasp the slim hope in her hands.

When it came to the real duel, Iyas began to lose her nerve. Facing Yang Yu, she simply didn’t know where to start; her eyes could only see a future of defeat.

She had no chance at all.

After something like that had happened, even if she apologized non-stop and vowed to obey from now on, she had lost their trust.

What a fool I am, why did I only realize this and feel regret after losing it?

Iyas’s drawn bowstring was once again slowly lowered.

If Yang Yu truly wanted her gone, no matter what she tried, there was no way for her to stay, so why bother wasting effort here?

”What’s wrong? Didn’t you want to stay and be my partner? If that’s the case, then let your attacks fly and show me how much you’ve grown during this time.”

Yang Yu remained motionless, silently watching Iyas as her desire to attack gradually diminished, his heart tumultuous inside.

Hmm... Was I not arrogant enough just now?

No, that can’t be. I’m the strategy king who’s conquered countless tsundere girls in games; I’ve memorized every word and every thought of a tsundere.

Before coming out for the duel, I had already said plenty of things with hidden meanings to Iyas, and through my actions offering nice things, I showed concern, indicating that there was still hope for Iyas to stay in the team.

However, if she wanted to stay, she couldn’t just do so for nothing; she would have to pay a certain price.

Originally, Yang Yu planned on demonstrating his powerful strength, to let Iyas feel an overwhelming pressure, and to make her recognize who was the real master of the team.

And then, under Iyas’s relentless, sustained attack, forcing a draw between the two of them.

Finally, ”Since it’s a draw, I will put forward some conditions. If you accept them, I will let you join the team,” proposing his conditions to Iyas, thus reaching a happy ending for all parties involved.

Who knew that Iyas, who had agreed to the duel, showed signs of wanting to give up from the very beginning.

MMP, the plan was just one step short of perfect, and Yang Yu certainly wouldn’t let it fall through at this point.

Teammates leaving the team is a trope in many RPGs, novels, and comics.

Every teammate has a different reason for leaving; some seek strength, others differ in principles from the protagonist, and some are coerced...

After leaving the team, the plot can roughly be summarized into two outcomes, ”can come back” and ”cannot come back.”

”Cannot come back” usually means that a companion who has left the team experiences a series of setbacks to end up on the protagonist’s opposing side, becoming an antagonist.

And the common ”can come back” scenario is where the companion, after a series of setbacks controlled by the villain, ends up on the protagonist’s side, eventually has a change of heart, gets thoroughly redeemed, and joins the protagonist’s team.

Iyas was gradually losing her sanity because of her brother’s affairs, and if this trend continued, she would surely leave the team and trigger the separation plot.

As the saying goes, it’s better to guide than to block.

Forcefully preventing the separation plot from happening would only deepen the rift within the team, planting a ticking time bomb for later adventures.

It would be better to let the separation plot unfold ahead of time and take control of everything.

For this, Yang Yu had put in quite an effort.

Seeing that the assassin couldn’t find his squad, Yang Yu even specifically sought out an intelligence merchant to reveal his whereabouts.

Upon realizing he was being followed, Yang Yu didn’t panic; the ghost he had drawn out was what he had hoped for.

After confirming that the assassin was indeed on his trail, Yang Yu deliberately went to talk with Bai Jin, leaving Iyas alone.

Seeing Bai Jin splitting off to talk with him, the trailing assassin would undoubtedly move forward, to be noticed by Iyas.

Iyas, wanting to approach and tell him about the discovery of the assassin, would certainly alert the assassin, prompting him to abandon the pursuit.

Based on Iyas’s personality, all Yang Yu had to do was pretend he hadn’t heard what Iyas said for a moment, and she would take it upon herself to chase after the assassin.

Then, after dealing with the assassin, he could lecture Iyas, further increasing the rift within the team.

Being treated coldly, on top of her obsession with her brother’s affairs, Iyas was sure to be driven to a rebellious state, naturally leading to the separation plot.

So far, Yang Yu’s plan had been very successful, even though there had been some unexpected encounters like with the Red Blood Rose, but overall his plan continued to develop as he had intended.

What he never expected was that a problem arose when his plan was about to wrap up.

Perhaps beaten too brutally by society, Iyas lost hope in her eyes, like a salted fish that just realized its fate. She made a decision but then gradually lost her will to fight not long after the duel began.

If this continued, his plan would indeed fall through.

Having painstakingly built the character of being heartlessly resolute on matters concerning the team, now begging Iyas to stay would strip his persona of all its gravitas.

Yang Yu would absolutely not say words like ”I forgive you, stay.”

But Yang Yu did not want to see the cabbage he had cultivated so long be ruined by pigs; after all, watering and fertilizing every day was quite tiresome, and he also had to be wary of the silly cabbage jumping into someone else’s mouth.

Therefore, he could only continue to put on an expression of pity for her misfortune and anger at her lack of willpower,

”So, when you said you wanted to rejoin us, was it just a joke?”

”Or do you think I’m too strong and want to end this hastily without even starting?

You were the one who asked me to give you a chance; now that the opportunity is right in front of you, you want to give up.

Think over everything that has happened in our journey from the beginning.

I’ve taught you many things, and among them, there must be several bits of knowledge that can deal with the current situation.

If you’re unwilling to think, unwilling to bring out your real skill and fight me, it only shows that this is as far as you go.

Shoot at me! Show me your true strength!”

Yang Yu lowered his body and took on an attacking stance,

”I can give you three minutes to think about it, if you don’t attack from your side, then I’ll attack from mine and end this once and for all.”