Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

Chapter 433: Chapter 433: Why did you wake me up?

The pristine flower bud slowly unfolded, revealing a slender girl inside who stretched languidly, rubbed her eyes as though still sleep-hungry, and continuously yawned with fatigue.

Long, black hair glistened translucently under the sunlight, captivatingly lustrous, with a cluster of hair on top of the girl’s head slightly curled up towards the sky, resembling the pale-yellow pistil of a flower.

What was even more astonishing was that her thighs downward were completely embedded within the large flower base, merging as one with the white petals.

This girl was also a member of the Plant Clan, her name being Lilith. Lily.

Disturbed from her pleasant nap, Lilith frowned unhappily, her eyebrows arching willow-like as she spoke in a resentful tone,

”Lord William, it’s still nap time, why did you wake me?”

”My deepest apologies, Lilith. It’s indeed ungentlemanly to disturb you at this time. However, time is of the essence, and I have other people to meet soon, as well as my own matters to attend to, so I had no choice but to disturb you now.”

Saying this, the Pumpkin Monster William took out a transparent card the size of a poker card from his sleeve and handed it to Lilith. Lily,

”So far, the stolen Racial Essence has not been recovered. The autumn festival is approaching, and the Tree Mother has asked us to regather the Racial Essence so that we can reward the winners of the festival. Last year, we also owed the winners a chance to strengthen themselves, and after this year, we will use it on both of them.”

”How troublesome,” Lilith yawned lazily again, ”It was supposed to last ten years once gathered. How come it was stolen just after it was gathered...

I haven’t yet recovered from the exhaustion of the last gathering of the Racial Essence. Regathering it, I don’t know how much it will weaken my strength again.”

”Don’t complain. The weakening of your strength is the result of your reluctance to exercise. The Tree Mother has given us more than a year to recover, and I am already as strong as before the gathering of the Racial Essence.”

”It’s a pity that even though we’ve traversed through countless mountains and rivers during this time, we still haven’t found the thief who stole the Racial Essence.”

Lilith pouted, fiddling with the transparent card in her hand,

”If we could catch that thief, we wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble. Isn’t it a bit too early to start now, with autumn still some time away? Look, the surrounding trees are still very lush.”

”It’s not too early.”

William took out a yellowed leaf from his sleeve,

”This is a leaf that fell from the Tree Mother. Summer is about to end, and the bountiful autumn is coming.

As elders, we have a responsibility to care for our successors and guide them.

By nurturing reliable successors early, we can lighten the burden on our shoulders.”

”Hmm, reliable successors... Even after giving some of our people the Racial Essence, they haven’t grown into outstanding individuals... Our Council hasn’t had fresh blood for nearly a decade, and the members have not changed in all that time.”

”The growth of trees takes time. With careful cultivation, allowing it to root, sprout, and branch out, why worry about bearing fruits? We’ve talked for quite a while, I need to go distribute the cards to others. Remember to fill up the card, no slacking.”

”Got it, got it. Good afternoon.”

The Pumpkin Monster climbed up the tree branches to meet the next Council member.

Lilith tucked away the card and gradually drew the petals back together, reforming into a pristine flower bud, and once again began to enjoy the warm afternoon sun alone.

....

....

At this moment, Yang Yu and his group had reached the edge of the Kafezaro Desert.

On the cliff near the Gobi, Yang Yu and his companions could see from afar the endless desert shimmering with golden light under the scorching sun.

Unexpectedly, the desert, bordered by a damp region and a Gobi, was not as desolate as Yang Yu had imagined. A sizable town lay before their eyes.

The vast Kafezaro Desert, stretching across the borders of two countries, was home to extremely dangerous Magic Beasts, which produced high-quality Crystal Stones and materials.

This was enough to attract many adventurers.

There were also rumors that someone had once stumbled into a ruin in the vast desert and brought back countless treasures, thus reaching the peak of their life and marrying into wealth.

Some people, having nowhere else to turn, would try their luck in the uninhabited desert. Perhaps they could truly change their fate; and if not, they could at least die peacefully, as if they had vanished from this cruel world without leaving a trace.

However, what infused life into the Gobi was not the adventurers or treasure seekers but the highly profitable slave trade.

Crossing this desert would lead to Wansheng Country, where Subhumans resided. By capturing these Subhumans and selling them as slaves, one could make a substantial income.

As a result, many unscrupulous people, dreaming of overnight riches, traveled great distances to the Gobi, intending to traverse it and reach Wansheng Country.

The prevalence of the slave trade also brought many problems to the Gobi. The security in the region had changed drastically, with different groups clashing over their respective interests.

After all, not everyone could cross the desert, known as the ”Life Forbidden Zone,” unscathed.

To traverse the vast desert, one needed a Desert Guide skilled in navigating the desert. These guides were usually local residents from near the Gobi.

However, those proficient in accurately navigating the desert usually underwent tens of thousands of hours of training, familiar with every wind direction and every sound.

The requirements for becoming a Desert Guide were extremely strict, and very few people persevered, leading to a scarcity of guides.

This scarcity intensified conflicts between groups with the same objectives, with few able to calmly come together to employ a Desert Guide.

Yang Yu had no intention of hiring a Desert Guide. Having drawn many times in the past, he had obtained a Divine Artifact long ago—the compass

that could instantly recognize directions. With this compass, Yang Yu didn’t have to worry about getting lost in the desert.

Moreover, before coming to the Gobi, Yang Yu had already prepared various supplies in the System, especially a sufficient amount of water. By rough estimate, these supplies could sustain them in the desert for at least a year and a half if they got lost.

Without a Desert Guide, they could explore the vast desert as they pleased. Who knows, they might stumble upon some treasure. With the compass and Lotcar’s strong legs, as long as they moved in one direction, they could always find their way out of the desert.

Thinking this way, Yang Yu took out the compass from the System to check their current direction.

But just at that moment, the compass needle suddenly began to spin freely on the dial like a possessed top.

Yang Yu was instantly dumbfounded. This was too much of a letdown, wasn’t it?