Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

”Iyas!” Lotcar turned back to look at Iyas, letting out an urgent low growl.

”I know.”

Closing her eyes, Iyas carefully sensed the surroundings, yet she found nothing, unable to feel a trace of darkness.

There’s only one explanation for the current situation: they’ve been trapped by the barrier of the Curse Sect [Moderate Cocarlos].

Lotcar, carrying the Priest on his back, ran towards the direction where Yang Yu was fighting.

Logically, a barrier doesn’t change the structure of a space; it simply adds a shell over it, fixing what connects to what without any alteration.

However, even after Lotcar passed through the area where Yang Yu was fighting the demon, he didn’t touch the shell of the barrier. The surroundings remained silent.

Noticing that the Light Arrow he shot had completely vanished, Iyas raised her head,

”What on earth is going on?”

At such a crucial moment, both the demon and the suddenly appearing disciple were extremely powerful, making it likely for Yang Yu and others to be injured, yet they inexplicably distanced from all disputes.

Lotcar pondered for a moment and said, ”I’m afraid the Curse disciple has created a barrier quite similar to some underground maze layers. What we see could just be a projection of the original world.”

”So, what do we need to do to escape here? We aren’t mages and can’t detect the existence of the barrier like Bai Jin, nor can we dispel it.”

”If we can find the barrier’s creator, perhaps there’s a way. But we can’t be sure that the creator is within this barrier. If the creator is outside, we’ll have to rely on others to defeat her.”

Iyas furrowed her brow, took out the [Holy Light Acceleration Stone], and stared at it for a while,

”Maybe we can try to destroy the barrier with the [Holy Light Acceleration Stone].”

”Use it only as a last resort, moreover, we still haven’t found the edge of the barrier yet.

Let’s go! All of you steady yourselves, I will move forward relentlessly, seeking the barrier’s creator and its borders.

Remain vigilant of what perils we might encounter on our path.”

The priest on Lotcar nodded. Taking action is always better than standing still with nothing to do.

On the other side, the Goddess Sect and [Corpse Collection Coffin] group also ran into trouble. Swells of Black Mist returned with a vengeance, surrounding them from all sides, and countless spiritual entities surged out from the Black Mist with a howl.

Hualan mobilized the Fishman Contract Spirit to engage in battle, the sharp long blade repeatedly striking the spiritual entities.

After several clashes, the members of the expeditionary team, once again fighting the spiritual entities, realized that these entities were mixed with countless familiar faces.

Unlike other spiritual entities, these familiar faces didn’t attack immediately without saying anything but instead murmured phrases like ”I should have never taken part in this expedition,” ”It’s all your fault I’m going to die,” ”The opponent is too strong to ever win, would’ve been better to die early and join me instead.”

Several people with less willpower, upon seeing the spirits of their deceased comrades, inadvertently fell under their spell, allowing their inner negative emotions to take hold, and walked alone into the Black Mist, impossible to pull back.

Icaro Flo, with a hoarse voice, shouted:

”They’re all already dead, turned into puppets of others’ spirits. None of their words are truthful. Show no mercy, freeing them is helping them find release.”

Soon after Icaro Flo’s words, some of the spirits began to target those familiar to them, whispering various memories, luring and threatening the living, eventually dragging a few more people into the Black Mist, becoming part of its power.

The spirits, after being baptized by the Black Mist, became extremely formidable, virtually reaching the strength of contract spirits.

The spirits controlled by Icaro Flo and the other [Corpse Collection Coffin] members weakened with each collision.

”Master.” Hualan looked at Icaro Flo, whose face had turned pale, wanting to express some care.

Before Hualan could speak, Icaro Flo said,

”The current situation is exceedingly grim, almost everyone is tied up. Hualan, do you still remember what I taught you about the weaknesses of Spirit Manipulators?”

Hualan nodded, ”The strength of a Spirit Manipulator depends on their spirits, and they themselves are usually quite frail. The best way to defeat the spirits is to find the manipulator’s true body. Without the manipulator, the spirits will lose their combat ability.”

”You know what I’m implying.” Icaro Flo interlocked his fingers, summoning all of his contracted spirits in one breath, ”We’ll hold the line for now, finding that person’s task is up to you.”

With a solemn expression, Hualan nodded, retracted her contracted spirits, clasped her hands together, and a school of small fish gradually emerged around her, forming an enormous shoal.

This vast Black Mist would devour spirits, and the spiritual power user controlling the mist might be hiding within it as well. Hualan’s spirits have to be prepared for a one-way trip; only this way, after scouting the Black Mist, can she continue to explore outward.

Handling so many spirits at a time was a massive challenge for Hualan. If the spirits suffered too severe an attack, she might falter because of it, but Hualan had no other choice.

The only bit of luck was her brother not being there. If he were, he would worry and chatter ceaselessly.

Preparing the fish spirits, Hualan sent all of them underground.

The spirits in the Black Mist like to devour, so let there be too many of hers for them to consume!

Yang Yu, fighting Marbas, also noticed the anomalies happening elsewhere.

First, a layer of golden Light Shield enveloped Iyas and her group, causing them to disappear in place; then, [Diligent Zero Skill] launched a dangerous aerial battle against Bai Jin, an event from that day that Yang Yu still recalled vividly. Bai Jin facing [Diligent Zero Skill] was a perilous duel of revenge; finally, he saw the returning Black Mist completely engulf the approaching Goddess Sect and [Corpse Collection Coffin].

The issue Yang Yu worried about still occurred. At the critical juncture of defeating Marbas, the Curse Sect sent in someone for an unexpected surprise attack.

Yang Yu wanted to assist the other forces in quickly escaping from danger, but Marbas’s attacks and skills came one after another.

Demons don’t have physical strength; every attack is exerted with full force. Even working with He Meng, Yang Yu could only barely gain the upper hand.

Lang Yi, wielding the Water Blade, attacked the demon once more, barely adding a little extra output.

To be honest, Yang Yu felt overwhelmed with what was happening in the other areas.

However...

Not every situation requires him to step in. Even though the Curse Sect disciples might gain new strength from the demon, Yang Yu believed others had the ability to handle the disciples.

What he needed to do now was to maintain his composure, never allowing the demon in front of him to shift its gaze away from him.