Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!
Chapter 108: Running the Grid

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Running the Grid

The cross-shaped light had just vanished when a new light once again illuminated the darkness, creating six "survival bands," each three floor tiles wide, spanning the entire room.

"Go to the place where there’s light, stand side by side with me, one on each floor tile, when a tile suddenly appears in front, step forward, otherwise, step back. Don’t get it wrong, don’t panic, and don’t follow someone else’s steps!"

No sooner had the three of them taken their positions than darkness erupted from the ground, shooting up to the ceiling and forming two black walls.

This time, the death-scented walls were right before their eyes, smooth and refined as if darkness had wrapped itself in a protective film.

"Don’t look at the walls, watch the squares beneath your feet!"

Bai Jin and Iyas, facing the black walls, had their vision stolen by the profound darkness. It was only after Yang Yu’s words that they were able to gather their bearings and focus on the survival bands beneath their feet.

The squares that constituted the golden survival bands were not completely fused together. A more delicate and darker earthy gold intricately divided each survival square.

Suddenly, in front of Iyas and Bai Jin, a section of the wall shot upwards, turned into Black Mist on the ceiling, and a golden survival square appeared. They hurriedly stepped forward. The scenario repeated, and they quickly took another step forward, not daring to slack off.

After five steps, a streak of black shot through the golden squares in front of them, like a square concrete utility pole bursting from the ground, completely filling the space ahead of them. Neither of them was stunned by this spectacle; instead, they promptly stepped back.

Back and forth, over and over, after five or six times, the black wall in front of them disappeared, and the golden survival band beneath them turned pitch black again, divided by golden lines into the original small squares.

Affording them no time to catch their breath, a new light appeared in the room, weaving new patterns.

It was a large "米" character. The closer to the center where the Dark Knight was, the narrower it became; the further out, the wider it extended, from one square wide to three, and from three to five wide.

Yang Yu didn’t choose the widest margin, nor did he approach the narrow area near the Dark Knight; instead, he moved to the center of the survival band.

He directed Bai Jin to stand on the side closer to the Dark Knight and Iyas on the side closer to the wall; he stood in the middle, stretching out his hands as if to hold them both...

No, that’s not right; he placed his hands on their shoulders.

"This pattern is likely to rotate. Think of it as a clock in a low-resolution game; the movement of the clock’s second hand is quite complex. The squares in front of you might suddenly increase or decrease. Stay calm. I’ll put my hands on your shoulders; there will only be two instructions: advance and stop. Focus, receive my directions, and respond promptly!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the black once again soared into the sky, constructing towering walls against the living.

As Yang Yu had predicted, the watermill constructed by the Dark Knight slowly began to rotate, but in the opposite direction to what Yang Yu had anticipated.

"Step back! Then, turn around in one second!"

Darkness ascended high above, and Yang Yu pulled back a step, holding the shoulders of the two individuals, then quickly turned around.

Yang Yu didn’t know whether the watermill was rotating clockwise or counterclockwise; it could be a guess based on luck, and yet he guessed wrong.

Or, they should have initially faced the Dark Knight, and when the watermill started to rotate, decide whether to turn left or right based on its clockwise or counterclockwise motion, or perhaps, he could have simply asked Iyas from which direction the watermill might rotate...

Any of these actions would have helped avoid the current scramble.

But now was not the time for regrets. Yang Yu placed his hands firmly on the shoulders of the two companions, his brain whirring as he quickly delineated the shape of the entire room in his mind, determined their position, and guided them forward with the speed of the moving walls, slowly circling around with the Dark Knight at the center.

Risking the dark piercing through his arm, Yang Yu walked the full distance without mishap and returned to the starting point.

The walls were consumed by the ceiling, and darkness was again perfectly divided by golden lines, forming an array of beautiful black squares.

Seeing the Dark Knight pull out the Long Spear from the ground, Yang Yu could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Each floor tile here could transform into a weapon for Attack. If this BOSS were a heartless killer, it would have let darkness thoroughly devour them long ago.

But this was the underground city, and the Guardians of the underground city had left them a way to survive. Following the hints in its speech and making the most correct Defense judgment was the only way to stay alive.

The initial cross-shaped survival zone, though small, was the safest.

The later wave-shaped survival bands required instant reaction to changes in the waves. Since the bands were composed of squares, one could cope with them by being aware and mastering the method.

The most difficult was the "Watermill"; one had to quickly judge the pros and cons of each position from the start.

The passageway near the Dark Knight was the most dangerous; once the "Watermill" started, it was basically game over.

With some luck, the walls would slowly transform into deathly walls devouring life, ultimately the survival square underfoot would be engulfed by darkness; with less luck, one would be completely crushed the moment the "Watermill" moved.

As for taking the periphery, the area was larger, but too marginal. If the "Watermill" moved too quickly, they would exhaust themselves trying to keep up.

At the corners, the range of the outer survival band would suddenly increase, followed by a sudden decrease. Without a sound judgement, it’d be easy to capsize in the channel.

After some thought, Yang Yu had chosen the relatively stable middle ground.

Just considering the trajectory variations of the survival band they were on made his head buzz, and he had no desire to consider what changes might occur in the survival band behind Iyas.

"No one is dead. Commendable."

The Dark Knight drew back its Light Shield, shook its Long Spear, and the squares under Yang Yu, Bai Jin, and Iyas’s feet turned gold again. They emitted a gentle glow, healing their fatigue, and even their lost MP and HP were recovering to varying extents.

"This is the reward for no one dying. The first game is over; continue the battle!"

As soon as the words fell, the Dark Knight charged at Yang Yu with the Long Spear twirling.

"Really doesn’t give a moment to breathe," Yang Yu said resignedly as he drew his sword and charged to meet the enemy. "Bai Jin, Iyas, slow down your Attacks, think more about what this Dark Knight said, think about how I found the trick. If you can grasp the essence, later you’ll understand my commands faster!"

This round of square-dodging was the Dark Knight’s first game, but definitely not the last.

Considering there were black squares on the walls and ceiling, the Dark Knight would surely employ these squares in some trick.

Yang Yu needed to give Bai Jin and Iyas enough buffer time to fully digest the Experience they just had and adjust their tense emotions. For this reason, he disregarded the risk of HP loss, took several Attacks from the Dark Knight with his body, and then launched a counterattack to fully draw the Dark Knight’s firepower.