Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

Time rewinds to two months ago.

After a long campaign, the residence of the Goblin Emperor transformed from a dark and damp cave into a magnificent palace.

Inside the palace, countless gold and silver treasures are casually piled and scattered.

For the Goblin Emperor, who conquered most of the world and established the Goblin Empire, these gold and silver treasures are like dust that can be found everywhere.

Only rare Legendary Equipment can capture the Goblin Emperor’s interest.

To assert his authority, the Goblin Emperor melted down the gold coins of various nations and had his portrait embossed on each new coin.

These coins aren’t just attractive; they actually circulate within the Goblin Empire.

The Goblin Empire has existed for several decades, and its structure greatly differs from when the Goblin Emperor first conquered, possessing a considerably high level of civilization.

Merchants, sculptors, master builders, chefs...

Numerous professions comprise the prosperity of the Goblin Empire.

The Goblin Empire has strict stratification; its inhabitants can roughly be divided into two types:

—Goblins, and ”livestock”.

Goblins hold supreme rights within the Goblin Empire; all other creatures, whether intelligent or willing, are considered goblin livestock, private property, at the goblins’ disposal.

Occasionally, some ”livestock” escape from the ”pen”, hide in the jungle, and transform into beasts, intending to turn other ”livestock” into beasts, posing some challenges to the Goblin Empire’s law and order.

But, it’s insignificant.

As long as the Goblin Emperor remains on the throne, there’s no one able to shake the empire’s rule.

Even if the Goblin Emperor truly wished to conquer the world, there’s a ninety percent chance he could succeed.

With neither Demon King nor Hero, apart from giant dragons, there’s nothing in this world that can stop him.

His mere presence on the battlefield can overturn everything effortlessly.

The reason for his hesitance is due to realizing something extremely serious.

No matter how he selects and trains goblins, even holding a Goblin Conference similar to the Dragon God Conference, the goblin race as a whole is continually degenerating.

Despite the Goblin Empire appearing strong now, in another hundred years, with goblins reproducing for several generations, various problems will surface.

The goblins’ demon physiology dictates that their species, like other demons, will decline with the world’s diminishing Magic Power and become frail.

Continuous wars and ongoing goblin births accelerate the depletion of world Magic Power.

At this rate, regardless of his excellent genes, even a few descendants left before his time ends, would struggle to reach even one-tenth of his stature.

Before the next Demon King opens the Gate of Demon World, his descendants might end up like this world’s goblins: ugly, weak, devoid of Wisdom, eventually hunted and annihilated by other races.

Thinking of this fills the Goblin Emperor with melancholy.

After such a long dormant period and so much effort, he doesn’t want his empire to collapse precipitously.

Thus, the Goblin Emperor temporarily halted his conquests to contemplate ways to sustain the empire.

During these years, the Goblin Emperor employed numerous methods, even capturing several stray giant dragons and having them bear children for him, yet failed to prevent the goblin race’s decline.

Until a strange person arrived, bringing a sudden turnaround.

On that day, as usual, the Goblin Emperor sat on the throne, contemplating ways to prevent the Goblin Empire’s collapse, when suddenly, his son presented a letter, respectfully kneeling before him, recounting recent events.

”Your Majesty, in the territory we govern, Zone 312, a mysterious man appeared and effortlessly killed over a hundred of our soldiers.

...He said he had something important to discuss with the former Martial God, requesting I deliver this letter to you, Your Majesty.”

Upon hearing ”Martial God,” the Goblin Emperor raised his eyebrows, urging his son to promptly present the letter.

Opening the envelope, the letter contained only four short words:

”Speak upon meeting.”

As soon as the Goblin Emperor finished reading, a Magic Array unfurled from the letter, floating before him.

From the Magic Array emerged a figure cloaked in a black long robe, wearing a mask.

The Goblin Emperor’s guards instantly tensed, aiming their Long Spears at the mysterious Black Robed Man.

The Goblin Emperor gestured to his subordinates not to panic, stood up from his throne, and laughed loudly:

”Interesting, truly interesting. Speak then, why have you sought me?”

The Black Robed Man remained silent, yet the Goblin Emperor furrowed his brow, his head involuntarily lifting slightly.

The two engaged in a highly encrypted conversation, with even the giant dragon’s Surveillance Magic unable to capture any specific information.

After a while, the Goblin Emperor said seriously:

”Alright then, I’ll go chat with you elsewhere.”

With that, the Goblin Emperor stepped into the Black Robed Man’s Teleportation Magic Array, disappearing from the palace.

Yang Yu and the others couldn’t follow, as the location teleported by the Teleportation Magic Array was outside the Surveillance Magic’s range, requiring time for the magic to hop over.

When the Surveillance Magic located the Black Robed Man’s teleportation site, neither the man nor the Goblin Emperor was found.

The Black Robed Man vanished without a trace, while the Goblin Emperor returned to his palace, seated on the throne, deeply furrowed brows.

For several consecutive days, the Goblin Emperor remained silent, motionless on the throne, lost in thought.

Three days after meeting the Black Robed Man, the Goblin Emperor seemed to have resolved something, gathering all his favored sons to arrange his ”afterlife plans”.

The Goblin Emperor cast a Magic upon all his favored sons.

One among them shall inherit the Goblin Empire and the title of Goblin Emperor after his passing.

No goblin can reveal this secret; all actions are for the Empire’s stability.

Should anyone dare to reveal it, the magic the Goblin Emperor planted within them would activate, killing them.

This magic will persist like a Curse, accompanying their descendants through generations.

After their demise, their descendants will become the new Goblin Emperor.

As long as the throne’s succession remains unspoken, the one on the throne will always be the inaugural Goblin Emperor, maintaining their uncontested rule.

Three days later, the Goblin Emperor appointed the next Goblin Emperor, then opened the envelope again, summoning the Black Robed Man, vanishing forever from the Goblin Empire’s palace.