Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

The sea breeze blew through the harbor, carrying the pervasive smell of blood.

Lox gently swung the Holy Sword, cleaning off the bloodstains, and sheathed it.

Perhaps he should have spared her life.

Lox looked at his constantly trembling right hand, feeling an awareness slowly awakening within him, screaming hysterically in his mind, roaring, attempting to regain control of the body.

But...it’s futile.

Lox clenched his hand tightly, forcibly stopping the trembling:

”You’re still too inexperienced.

Feel the pain of personally killing the one you love.

The former me, too, has experienced this countless times.

Even if I don’t do it this way, when you truly face the Demon King, you’ll watch helplessly as the Demon King kills your companions.

What are you fighting for?

For that so-called Hero in your heart?

Heh, that’s truly laughable.

Is it worth sacrificing yourself and your comrades’ lives for such a lie?

Answer me a bit, how much do you know about the past?

Ignorant, right? Not even a trace of desire to understand it...

Just like every other Hero in the past.

Someone like you will soon forget your true self.

I’ll show you clearly!

The future this world should move towards.

If you can understand the path this world should progress, bringing her back wouldn’t be impossible.

You don’t believe it?

Whatever you think, I’ll only tell you, my name is Lox.”

Regaining full control over his body, Hero Lox placed his hand to his temple, contacting his ally.

A bright purple light emerged from the dark sea surface; a woman with striking purple hair and wearing a meticulously designed tight outfit surfaced from the Teleportation Array, saluted Lox, and asked:

”What are your orders?”

Pointing towards the direction where feathers were scattered all over, Lox said, ”Clean up there, take her back, preserve her temporarily. Then, check on that Priest at the inn.

If she’s done nothing and is still asleep, let her remain asleep until everything is over. Just think of it as her reward for doing so much for us.”

”Understood.” Yongfang Chunlan continued to ask, ”Then, how should we handle the woman who fell into the sea?”

Lox looked indifferent: ”A scheming woman like that has no value; let her feed the fish!”

”Understood.”

Yongfang Chunlan nodded and was about to start cleaning when Lox reminded:

”Don’t forget to clean up the traces of magic potions around here.

Once you finish everything, we’ll set sail.

Next, I need your strength.”

”Us?”

Yongfang Chunlan’s eyes sparkled instantly, understanding the meaning in Lox’s words, her motivation visibly increased.

Blowing in the sea breeze, Lox once again gazed at the far sea.

For him, there’s still a long, long road to reach the end.

...

...

The events at the coastline were known not just by Lox’s group.

The Nine-Life Cat Demon recording the world knew, the giant dragon using heritage strength to oversee the entire world knew, and Sol Rott perched on the cliff also knew.

After Yang Yu and the others left, Sol Rott connected his Magic Power to the sky’s network.

In the intelligence Yang Yu showed him, there was also information about the Hero.

The Hero most likely had connections with the Evil Dragon and Demons as well.

Since knowing the Hero might be related to them, surveilling the Hero might uncover the Evil Dragon sooner than Yang Yu and the others.

Believing it worth a try, Sol Rott seamlessly connected to the dragons’ network without any pressure.

Sol Rott adopted a clever approach, not aimlessly searching the entire world; instead, he went straight to Panlong Peak, intercepted countless Magic Power signals, analyzed them, selecting actions most likely related to the Hero for observation.

Then, Sol Rott saw images of the Hero breaking into the Demon Clan’s harbor; he also saw the Hero killing his own companion.

Without much thought, Sol Rott directly contacted Yang Yu, informing him of everything:

”...The Hero is currently at a certain harbor, haven’t seen any traces of the Evil Dragon and Demons yet.”

Yang Yu and the others knew the general direction of the Hero’s group but not their current specific location.

Yang Yu initially planned to catch some Demons along the way to inquire about the situation, but Sol Rott’s contact saved them this tedious step.

Quickly, Yang Yu asked about the Hero’s current specific location: ”Around the harbor, likely intending to take a ship to the Demon King City for a final battle with the Demon King.

He has ample fighting strength.

The Demon King City is far from land; even if something happens, no one would think he’s in cahoots with the Evil Dragon and Demons.

Speaking of the current Hero, does he still act together with his companions?

Or has he completely abandoned them, letting them work elsewhere?”

After pondering momentarily, Sol Rott decided to reveal the truth to Yang Yu, sending slightly indistinct images to Yang Yu and the others.

In an instant, Yang Yu and the others were utterly stunned.

Yang Yu needn’t doubt anymore that Vorquis’s body had been overtaken by Hero Lox.

The facts were right before their eyes.

The Vorquis Yang Yu knew, no matter how arrogant, no matter how incompetent, was someone who deeply cherished his teammates.

The person in the picture clearly was no longer him.

The only solace was that Vorquis’s will hadn’t disappeared.

Though he couldn’t hear any sound, Yang Yu saw from some image details that Vorquis was attempting to resist.

Except...the resistance efforts were negligible.

In games or animations, the protagonist often uses their powerful consciousness to expel creatures occupying their bodies.

However...even if their beloved dies before their eyes, Vorquis couldn’t take control of his own body.

Perhaps, this was because Lox might possess a stronger will than Vorquis.

Speaking of a strong will, Yang Yu recalled an incident...

During the war between the Luo Ze Empire and Wansheng Country, he encountered golden ape-shaped creatures hunting them.

The battle of consciousness is unpredictable.

If possible, Yang Yu wishes not to engage in any consciousness duel with Lox.

He hopes to resolve this with his unique method.

Besides him, Gao Yuanyi, though noticing the same thing, thinks entirely differently, not easily conceding in the battle of wills as a longstanding second place!