Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

Both parties reached a consensus and quickly began their preparations.

The slender boxer, Yuan Shi, glanced at Gordon beside him and asked, ”Aren’t we going over to say hello?”

Gordon, fiddling with the magic cube in his hand, replied, ”They’re in a hurry too. Too much chit-chat will only slow us down. Uncle, we’ll rely on you next.”

Yuan Shi flexed his knuckles and didn’t say anything more, starting to warm up in advance.

Bai Jin and Corola, guided by the square box, drew the arrays they remembered in specific locations.

The square box guided Yang Yu and the Dragon God’s Might here, but there was a difference in the positioning, with Bai Jin and Corola’s arrays twenty meters apart.

However, the roughly drawn sizes of their arrays were identical, without any difference.

The magic technique that had appeared before Yang Yu seemed large, but in reality, only the middle part had the teleportation function.

Leaving space for the magician to release magic, the area on Glantham Mac’s side was packed full.

On Yang Yu’s side, there was plenty of room, and even though Lotcar in Silver Wolf form took up most of the space, Yang Yu and his team could squat beneath Lotcar and touch the ground.

After confirming everyone was ready, Corola and Bai Jin placed the square boxes given by their respective leaders in the center of the arrays.

The covers of the two different square boxes emitted the same light simultaneously.

Bai Jin and Corola almost simultaneously flicked their magic wands, chanting the spells they obtained from the square boxes.

Two beams of light, different yet very similar, spread out from the square boxes; a faint glow extended from under Bai Jin and Corola’s feet, filling the trenches of the arrays and enveloping Glantham Mac and Yang Yu’s separate teams.

The square boxes fully merged into the center of the arrays, becoming the key to opening the maze.

Once the magic was released, all that was left was to start the activation.

Corola tilted her head to look at Bai Jin, who had also successfully completed her part.

Speaking of which...

Corola suddenly remembered something—she had given them the shield, but they hadn’t returned the warship yet.

With the activation time of the teleportation magic unknown, Corola wanted to ask Yang Yu about the condition of the warship.

Those two warships were worth a fortune and belonged to the Dragon God’s Might, jointly owned. Corola wouldn’t allow Yang Yu to borrow without returning.

But before Corola could ask, the array that showed no signs of activation suddenly surged into action, engulfing them completely with white light.

The bright sunlight stabbed into Corola’s eyes, and the Dragon God’s Might and Red Blood Rose curiously surveyed their surroundings, realizing they had unknowingly arrived at a clearing in some forest.

Karakka twitched his ears, faintly sensing that something was rushing toward them.

Bai Jin’s array followed suit, and with Corola’s magic starting up, it too emitted a white light that swallowed Yang Yu and his team, transporting them to the forest’s center unknown to them.

A familiar scent wafted through, and Lotcar vividly remembered the current scene, ”Yang Yu...”

”Let’s observe first.” Yang Yu looked around at the familiar scenery, ”Let’s not rush to conclusions.”

As soon as Yang Yu finished speaking, Lotcar heard rustling sounds from the jungle.

Iyas vigilantly scanned the surroundings and saw tiger-striped hunting dogs darting swiftly through the jungle.

Monster information appeared before his eyes, and Yang Yu leveraged Climbing to quickly ascend the trees, alerting his team:

”I’ll leave this to you for now.”

Groups of A Ke Tiger Dogs charged out from the forest, while Yang Yu assigned the task of defense to his companions and, with a ”whoosh,” disappeared into the jungle.

The giant in the forest scratched his head, finding Yang Yu’s actions quite puzzling.

Did the hero abandon his teammates to escape? He’s fleeing in the direction I’m in; is this walking right into a trap? Or did he already know it was me behind all this?

No matter Yang Yu’s purpose in advancing, the Hundred Beasts’ Ah Ke would never allow himself to miss such an opportunity.

Hairs fell from his body, transforming into A Ke Tiger Dogs in werewolf form.

All these werewolf-form A Ke Tiger Dogs were elite forces prepared by the Hundred Beasts’ Ah Ke, confident of hunting the hero to victory.

The confident Hundred Beasts’ Ah Ke couldn’t imagine the manner in which he would be defeated next, nor how the world he was in would collapse.

...

...

In the cave protected by layers of barriers, two screens lit up successively.

Sister Alan, observing them, didn’t seem very surprised by Yang Yu’s reappearance.

Although Sister Alan wasn’t surprised, she did feel quite strange.

”Clearly, he could have started his journey to acquire the Holy Sword, yet he ended up here...

Seeing the same scenery, his face showed no sign of surprise.

Having strategized once, he’ll likely do so more effortlessly this time.

He is a Transcendent...”

Lux never spoke about dealing with the Transcendent after obtaining the Holy Sword.

The woman called Sister Alan was only tasked with selecting a successor for the Holy Sword; Lux didn’t require any further actions from her.

However, Sister Alan had a vague premonition that this man secretly investigating Lux might disrupt Lux’s plans.

”...Should I kill him?”

With such thoughts, Sister Alan’s gaze shifted to the surveillance screen of the current Heroic Warrior Volcrix.

Under her guidance, Heroic Warrior Volcrix no longer slowly leveled up but learned to listen to his teammates, make decisions, overcome challenges, and advance to the Ninth Floor...

Once he clears the ninth and tenth floors, he’ll become the true successor of the Holy Sword.

Apart from informing Volcrix of those attempting to conquer the Hero Lox Maze, as required by the Elder Council of the Village of Heroes, Sister Alan didn’t interfere too much.

Occasionally, Sister Alan also needed to relay Heroic Warrior Volcrix’s matters to the Village of Heroes, to continue earning their trust.

That group was unwilling to personally do such things and naturally delegated the task to ”outsiders” who, like lapdogs, exhaust every effort to live in the Village of Heroes.

Sister Alan knew no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t earn recognition from the Village of Heroes, just as Lux, who once protected her, could never earn their acknowledgment.

In their eyes, her ”father” would always be a complete ”thief,” and she was merely the ”thief’s” ”daughter.”

Yongfang Chunlan forever remembered being lifted up by those old yet warm hands when, as a lonely half-beast, she had lost all hope, rekindling her will to live.

Yongfang Chunlan also forever remembered that for her to reach the Village of Heroes, that old figure admitted to unfounded ”crimes,” enduring humiliation and derogation from those who considered themselves true heirs of heroes, demeaning all he had done.