Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

The black shadow wrapped around the sword blade, drawing a streak of black light, as Yang Yu’s [Shadow Deception] blasted towards Karakka’s side.

Karakka held the bloodline of the Yak Clan. Even though she wasn’t as massive as a male of the Yak Clan, her physique surpassed that of an average girl, standing nearly 1.8 meters tall.

Her somewhat tall stature didn’t become a burden for Karakka.

As the black sword blade approached, a unique golden shield expanded from Karakka’s body.

At the moment of releasing the shield, Karakka simultaneously twisted her body, slashing towards Yang Yu.

What Karakka had just released was area-control. Even though Yang Yu wasn’t bound by ice, his speed was still affected to some extent.

Now, Karakka could take in all of Yang Yu’s movements at a glance.

Just as the black sword blade was about to touch Karakka’s shield, Yang Yu activated the [Incredible Braking Boots] once again, changing his body’s trajectory, retreating to the back, and easily evading Karakka’s incoming sword blade.

A peculiar glow emanated from the shield as Yang Yu swept it across, a [Shield Shattering] struck against Karakka’s shield.

The magic power forming Karakka’s shield shattered into a thousand fragments.

The black sword blade cleaved straight down, and Karakka smiled:

”Young and formidable, but what about this move?”

Her ornate attire suddenly became thin, as if Karakka turned into air; the black sword blade passed right through her body.

Without the sensation of an attack landing, several skills Karakka might have used flashed through Yang Yu’s mind.

Intuition told Yang Yu that Karakka wasn’t using her own skills, but rather skills derived from equipment.

In the blink of an eye, Karakka moved behind Yang Yu.

”[Wind Dominator]”

The sharp sword’s edge whipped up a hurricane, raising frozen ice crystals, blasting towards Yang Yu with the swing of her sword.

Yang Yu activated [Avoidance Acceleration], and his body reacted swiftly as if discerning the impending attack, dodging Karakka’s sharp sword blade.

However, streaks of hurricanes carrying ice crystals still struck Yang Yu.

Yang Yu’s clothes rapidly formed a thin layer of frost, and his speed decreased as a result.

[Avoidance Acceleration] could only evade one attack, alleviating the urgent situation for a moment.

The subsequent dodging depended entirely on Yang Yu himself.

Karakka, having been a Magic Swordsman for decades, was acutely aware of the strengths and weaknesses of a Magic Swordsman.

Just as the frost struck Yang Yu, slowing him down, Karakka’s plain and unadorned basic swordsmanship quickly launched an additional attack at Yang Yu.

Without using magic, her attacks wouldn’t have stiffness and could be executed in one fluid motion.

As the sharp sword blade swiftly approached, Yang Yu, seeing he couldn’t evade, didn’t try to dodge at all.

A magic array glowing with golden light emerged from under Yang Yu’s feet, and golden ripples swept over Yang Yu’s entire body like waves lapping against a beach.

With the protection of [Immovable Rock], Yang Yu stood steadfastly, taking Karakka’s consecutive slashes head-on.

The power of crimson blood spread out from Yang Yu, absorbed into the ground.

A Deceleration Field rapidly spread with Yang Yu at its center.

Without warning, countless purple thorns sprung rapidly from the ground, like the massive tentacles of an octopus, entwining towards Karakka.

Facing the dual control of the Deceleration Field and thorns, Karakka didn’t linger in battle.

”[Fire Break]!”

Sword blade engulfed in roaring flames, Karakka attempted to cleave the thorns apart with a single fiery strike.

Yang Yu disengaged [Immovable Rock], shielded himself with the shield against Karakka’s [Fire Break], enduring the freezing effect brought by [Frozen Sword].

The blazing flames melted the ice crystals on Yang Yu’s body, slightly alleviating the freezing effect on him.

Karakka slightly furrowed her brows, and the thorns beside her all started to stir, rushing towards her following Yang Yu’s command.

A ray of red light pierced into Yang Yu’s palm, coating his sword blade in orange.

Yang Yu launched a counterattack.

Focus on Yang Yu, or concentrate on the thorns?

Karakka had no time to hesitate, as the overwhelming thorns were about to touch her body. She stomped on the ground, and tiny magic arrays appeared in the sky.

Stepping on those tiny magic arrays, Karakka lightly ascended into midair, finding a breakthrough point in the enclosing thorns.

Karakka turned into a meteor, piercing through the layers of thorns, soaring into the sky.

The Legendary Boots equipped by Karakka provided a certain floating ability, but what they offered wasn’t true flight, just a brief period of levitation.

High-level Magic Swordsmen knew a bit about flying magic, and Karakka was no exception.

Why use such boots when she could obviously fly?

Most skills of a Magic Swordsman required some time to activate, and battles often raced against the clock, so flying to less crowded skies often bought time for casting various spells.

But flying magic wasn’t simple—it required significant time to initiate.

To get through the gap before flying magic was complete, Karakka chose such boots as part of her Legendary Equipment.

Karakka didn’t release flying magic at the start, partially because flying magic had a long preparation time, and during casting, Yang Yu might exploit a flaw; partially because Karakka aimed to test Yang Yu’s strength, attacking from an unreachable perch felt unfair to a junior like Yang Yu.

The opponent suddenly ascended, taking Yang Yu by surprise, but he quickly adjusted his mindset.

Yang Yu realized it was just the effect of a tool, not actual flying magic.

If Karakka just took to the sky to use remote magic attacks, Yang Yu could then evade her attacks freely, slowly biding for time.

Unfortunately, the world wasn’t so simple.

Karakka descended while releasing a skill, with blazing flames emanating from her body, transforming her into a fiery spear that struck the ground.

The sturdy and resilient thorns combusted instantly upon contact with the blazing flames.

The fire-spear pierced through obstacles, landing heavily on the ground like a spark, exploding and emitting fire that burned the surrounding thorns to ash.

Yang Yu stood motionless, with many of the ice crystals on him melting, yet the freezing effect from Karakka’s previous attacks hadn’t entirely disappeared from his body.

Magic doesn’t simply affect the surrounding environment but also impacts a person’s body.

Fortunately, the icon indicating freezing started to flicker on Yang Yu’s panel, showing that the slow effect was fading.

The moment this slowing effect dissipates is when one relaxes their guard most easily.

A tall silhouette flickered in the firelight, with a sharp blade glinting towards Yang Yu’s chest with flames.

Yang Yu had long sensed Karakka’s movement.

Just as success felt imminent was also when one relaxed the most.

When the sword blade came thrusting, Yang Yu ducked, letting Karakka’s blade graze his shoulder as he enveloped Karakka’s sword arm with his own.

With circling steps, Yang Yu’s shoulder nudged against Karakka’s underarm.

With a burst of momentum, Yang Yu executed an overhead throw, slamming Karakka onto the ground heavily.