Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

The black consumed the sword blade as Clochi stepped on the torso of the Demon God Statue, striking toward Yang Yu.

The sword blade swept up shadows as Yang Yu raised his hand to meet the attack.

The two sharp black sword blades collided, and amidst the crisp snapping sounds, sparks of black light scattered.

Leveraging the force brought by the downward dive, Clochi gained the upper hand in this exchange.

Even with ”Climbing” activated, his feet firmly against the statue, Yang Yu still slid from the thigh root to the knee of the Eastern Demon God Statue under the horrific force, as if at any moment he might fall from the statue.

From within the twisted black helmet came a muffled voice,

”Starting from the seventh floor, I’ve been observing you all.

With your skills, you should’ve easily dodged my attack.

Why didn’t you?”

Yang Yu replied with a smile as he caught the sword:

”It’s just that you suddenly unleashed a strange power, and it gave me quite a shock.

I became a bit curious to see what was so special about that black force.”

”Then by all means, try out this power of mine.”

The sword edges intertwined, and Yang Yu’s attention focused on the sword blade, keeping up with Clochi’s attack rhythm.

The blackness on Yang Yu’s sword blade dissipated first, and the black on Clochi’s sword blade became fragmented with each collision.

Before the blackness could cover the sword blade again, Clochi flung his sword blade repeatedly, intending to use his own imposing force to make Yang Yu reveal a weakness.

Unfortunately, even though he had the high ground in the contest, Yang Yu’s blade was like a towering Iron Wall, enveloping him from head to toe and leaving no opportunity for Clochi to exploit.

Watching Clochi, entwined with blackness, Yang Yu keenly sensed the darkness that enveloped Clochi with each exchange.

Judging from the feel of the attack, the power Clochi was now using had some similarity to the Demon Power used by the bishops of the Curse Sect, yet it felt entirely different.

The power of the Demon was far stronger than this force.

This is not to say that the Demon Power used by Tu Jing at that time was stronger than the power Clochi was now using.

This strength, Yang Yu didn’t know how to describe it.

Perhaps it was just as Bai Jin had said: ordinary magic is like clear water, while Curse Magic, or the magic used by the Enchanting Demon they encountered, was much more frantic than regular magic.

Perhaps, only by becoming a Magician could one understand the difference.

But since he had chosen the path of a warrior, he must carry out his duty to the end.

There are more than one way to uncover the truth.

Once again deflecting Clochi’s sword blade, Yang Yu took a step forward.

Unknowingly, Yang Yu was back atop the thigh root of the Eastern Demon God Statue.

The swinging hands of the Demon God Statue were right above him, and the impact of their weapons hitting the ground turned into a strong wind, blowing against Yang Yu’s face.

”Such a splendid power, I thought the battle would be over in an instant.

Did you slaughter the village you and the Hero belonged to for this power?”

”You’re not wrong to think that.”

The ambiguous reply floated to his ears, and Yang Yu could tell that Clochi was deliberately avoiding any topics related to the Hero.

If he won, Clochi would surely also deliberately avoid the Hero’s story when recounting his own.

Obsessing over information on the Hero might likely result in returning empty-handed in the end.

If so...

”After talking with you for so long, I don’t feel you’re the kind of person who would do such a thing for power.

”

”If you say so, let it be that way.”

”Let’s talk about something else for a moment.”

”Your strength should come from the Demon King.”

”The last time the Demon King wanted to conquer the world, what kind of person was he in your eyes?”

After several clashes that had yielded no results, Clochi paused his assault, allowing the black aura to spread once more across the sword blade.

”My strength doesn’t come from the Demon King, but from the Demon Clan.

The Demon Clan is a rather broad term.

All the races of this world come together, casting aside their differences, to be known as one people.

That’s the kind of feeling it is.”

”Is the difference as great as that between humans and giant dragons?”

Clochi nodded emphatically, ”So, in my view, the Demon King who managed to unify such vastly different races under one banner is truly magnificent.

Before I had any official contact with the members of the Demon Clan, I thought they were brutal and evil, wanting to spread fear throughout the world.

But after having actual contact with them, I discovered that the Demon Clan and us are not fundamentally that different.”

With his sword blade ready, Clochi dove down at Yang Yu once again.

Spreading his arms, Yang Yu raised his shield, with neat rows of red spurs lining up on it.

The black sword blade collided violently against Yang Yu’s ”Shield Counter”, sending a red current along the black blade into Clochi’s body.

But Clochi did not even frown.

This Underground Maze could simulate many things and bring fictional creatures to life.

Even if dead, as long as Clochi fought as the guardian of the maze, he could truly feel the pain produced in battle.

Sometimes, Clochi even got the illusion that he might still be alive.

But Clochi knew that he was indeed dead.

This battle was simply him fulfilling his duty as the Maze Guardian.

After his sword blade touched the shield, Clochi withdrew it and unleashed ”Chaotic Strike”, his sword blade raging towards Yang Yu like a tempest.

While dodging most of the attacks with his position, Yang Yu planted his sword blade into the Demon God Statue.

Confirming that the conditions for activating the skill were met, Yang Yu didn’t hesitate to shout out the name of the skill:

”Thorny Binding”

In an instant, countless thorns grew out of the god demon statue, entwining Clochi from every direction.

Wielding his sword, Clochi slashed the twisting thorns into pieces.

With a twist of his blade, Clochi thrust straight at Yang Yu’s chest.

However, Yang Yu had already seen his move and shifted his right foot, causing Clochi’s sword blade to slide past his body.

The sword blade glowed with an orange light, and with one strike, Yang Yu severed Clochi’s right arm.

Yang Yu’s attack didn’t stop, launching a breath-stopping series of combos.

Clochi felt he could dodge them, but the sword blade in Yang Yu’s hand seemed possessed, always managing to hit with unbelievable angles.

In just a few exchanges, Clochi felt as if something had bound his limbs.

Blackness gushed out from Clochi’s body, turning into a black shockwave.

Yang Yu opened his shield, switching to the Illusion Shield, and the black energy hit against it, pushing him back several meters.