Demon King: Hero, don't run away!

The Ghost Horn emitted a brilliant blue light, and deep blue currents flickered around Gao Yuanyi, coursing through his arms.

Hero Lux had already passed through the gap between his two shadows, but no matter.

All of this was part of Gao Yuanyi’s plan.

Taking a deep breath, Gao Yuanyi lifted [Laplace] high above his head and smashed it down towards the ground.

"[Shattering Ghost Hand]!"

The ground was instantly blasted into a deep pit, with Lotcar at its center, a large mass of black shadow suddenly appeared.

A massive black ghost hand emerged from the ground, covering Lotcar.

[Shattering Ghost Hand] is a skill that combines both attack and control.

However, the casting time of the ghost hand was too long, and against an enemy with instantaneous movement like Lux, Gao Yuanyi didn’t really expect such a skill to deal harm to Lux.

Although [Shattering Ghost Hand] is both an attack and control skill, it doesn’t mean it can’t be used for defense.

The ghost phantom hand created by [Shattering Ghost Hand] was surprisingly strong. Gao Yuanyi had tried, and ordinary attack skills were difficult to shatter it.

Lux might be able to destroy this ghost phantom hand, but he would probably take some time.

This time was enough for Gao Yuanyi to seize the opportunity.

The massive ghost hand enveloped Lotcar and Iyas, while Lux summoned a small magic array, unleashing various magics to bombard the giant ghost hand, but with little effect.

Lux’s body swayed back and forth, using speed to oscillate from left to right, making it hard to catch his movements, leaving it unknown from where he would launch an attack.

Gao Yuanyi was not at all flustered.

Even though Gao Yuanyi had never witnessed Hero Lux’s heroic feats in the land of the Nine-Life Cat Demon, Yang Yu, from the giant dragon’s knowledge repository, had stripped Lux’s abilities bare.

Before coming here, Yang Yu had thoroughly reviewed Hero Lux defeating others, sharing the details of the Hero’s battles.

Habits accumulated from long practice are not so easy to change.

Even if one becomes the Demon King, it’s the same.

Clenching his fist, Gao Yuanyi’s body "transformed" into a blue ghost shadow.

Gao Yuanyi switched positions with his ghost shadow once again, and Lux instantly changed his course of action, having decided on his attack direction.

Who knew that after Gao Yuanyi switched with his shadow, he didn’t immediately use the next displacement skill to approach Lux, but instead...

"[Ghost Shadow Assault]"

Gao Yuanyi came beside Qiuye, ran two or three steps along Lotcar’s spine, then used the next displacement skill:

"[Barbaric Strangulation]!"

Lux wanted to change course again, but it was too late; Gao Yuanyi’s figure suddenly disappeared, and the next moment appeared before Lux’s eyes.

Magic power transformed into a spinning hurricane, spiraling up Gao Yuanyi’s mechanical arm.

"[Disrupting Hurricane]!"

Raising Laplace, Gao Yuanyi punched Lux’s Demon King Armor.

A dull sound reverberated through the sky, and Lux was knocked back a few steps by Gao Yuanyi’s punch.

Mysterious whirlwinds transformed into unique magic powers, scattering widely, engulfing several nearby squares.

[Disrupting Hurricane] indiscriminately blocks a certain area, making displacement skills completely ineffective.

Gao Yuanyi had nearly exhausted his displacement skills, so there was no longer any need to be cautious.

Just as Lux regained his balance, Gao Yuanyi stepped forward and aimed his fist directly at Lux’s face.

Activating [Acceleration Circuit], rapidly increasing his speed, Lux quickly dodged Gao Yuanyi’s fist. Black waves released from Lux’s body, rippling outward, trying to blow Gao Yuanyi away.

The end of Gao Yuanyi’s prosthetic limb transformed into iron nails. With a mighty stomp, he nailed it into the square beneath him, swung his iron fist once again towards Lux.

Activating the Holy Sword’s Shield Skill, Lux took Gao Yuanyi’s incoming attack without flinching.

"This shield skill cools down really fast.

On our side, the necklace has a day-long cooldown. You’re too sneaky.

This small shield can only protect you, not your companions."

Lux responded to Gao Yuanyi blankly: "I know. But there are no more companions in this world. You once had a chance to be my companion, but ultimately, you still succumbed to the goddess’s allure."

"I don’t like being judged so easily.

Whether I’ve succumbed to the goddess’s allure, only I know.

Do you really have no companions?

If you had no companions, you couldn’t have come here.

Aren’t those demons and evil dragons your companions?"

"Of course not," Lux replied emphatically, "We are only allied because our interests coincide."

"That’s great. In that case, I don’t have to feel guilty about defeating them. Defeating the companions of someone like you always feels a bit awkward. After all, you are the Hero who saved this world!"

"Smooth-talker."

Lux’s target had not changed as he both fended off Gao Yuanyi’s punches and observed Lotcar and the others not far away.

Iyas and He Meng climbed back onto Lotcar’s back. With the [Disrupting Hurricane] in place, they didn’t have to worry about being caught suddenly.

With the suppressive magic broken, Bai Jin and others prepared new spells, just waiting for Lotcar and the others to move a bit further away, to rain magic down quickly on Lux’s location.

...This, however, was only a façade.

Bai Jin and the others knew well that indiscriminate use of magic in front of the Demon King would bring unwanted consequences.

However, they couldn’t just sit idly by.

Granted, the Demon King could manipulate all magic, but that didn’t mean magic attacks were completely ineffective against him.

As long as they could find effective magic, what’s the harm in taking a bit of risk?

Moreover, they had long prepared ways to mitigate the risks. Their only worry was the safety of others.

The recent events were still fresh in Bai Jin and the others’ minds.

If Lotcar and the others hadn’t drawn Lux’s attention, there was no way they could comfortably cast spells and probe in the sky.

Surely, Lux intended to amass a lot of magic power, but everyone could imagine the scenario if Lotcar and the others weren’t there and Lux had flown into the sky.

The situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable to Yang Yu and the others; sometimes only by letting go could they find a new chance for victory.

Though Lux gathered magic power in an extremely peculiar way, like a magnet, fixing all the ambient magic. Bai Jin and the others had to gather magic from afar or use their own magic, but Bai Jin, through repeated casts, identified the pattern in Lux’s magic gathering.

What remained was figuring out how to counter this pattern and how to continue deceiving the eye.

If Lux detected a hint of this early, no one could ensure he wouldn’t suddenly change his target and aim for them.

Lux was the king of manipulating all magic. It was precisely because he held considerable confidence in his abilities, believing ordinary magic couldn’t deal with him, that Bai Jin and the others seized the opportunity.