Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!
Chapter 383: Running Away

Chapter 383: Chapter 383: Running Away

Within the dimly-lit eleventh floor of the Goblin Maze, a crack emerged on the rigid shell of Emperor Ci De—it signified the arrival of his first transformation after a prolonged wait.

The new body was nurtured beneath the old shell, and like a cicada shedding its skin, Emperor Ci De split the black carapace in two and rose from within.

Having completed his first molt, the traits of a goblin on Emperor Ci De’s body diminished yet again. The characteristically narrow nose of the goblins abruptly shortened, and the sharp ears gradually hardened, transforming into horn-like protuberances that resembled a pair of dragon horns.

The surge of vigour in his body filled Emperor Ci De with unparalleled exhilaration, and he could distinctly sense that his perception of magic had further increased.

Yet this was far from sufficient. With his current strength, any attempt to make a move would simply result in the powerhouses of this world laying him back in his coffin, singing celebratory chants and dancing with joy as they buried him once again in the Underground Maze.

To avoid such a fate, Emperor Ci De planned to wait for two more moltings before he resumed his former strength. Only then would he personally intern the world’s powerhouses.

The magic tools and Potions hidden within the eleventh floor were more than enough for Emperor Ci De to complete three moltings.

He had already waited for centuries; Emperor Ci De couldn’t care less about biding his time a little longer. Regrettably, there were those who had no intention of letting him wait peacefully.

With a slight furrow of his brow, Emperor Ci De detected someone employing Magic, probing into the depths of the Underground Maze.

"What’s going on? Why would anyone use Detecting Magic to explore deep into this Underground Maze?

Could my affairs have been exposed?

No, it’s more likely that an adventurer is simply trying to find out if there are floors beyond the Tenth floor, to see if there are other benefits to reap."

Emperor Ci De adopted a laissez-faire policy towards the detected Detecting Magic.

Between the tenth and eleventh floors of the Goblin Maze, a gap of over fifty meters exists, making it impossible for ordinary magicians to extend their magic power this far to probe; they would typically investigate a mere twenty or thirty meters down before concluding there’s nothing further and retracting their magic power.

That was what Emperor Ci De originally thought, but within his perception, the Detecting Magic had managed to compress itself into a thin needle. It seemed to know that something lay beneath, persevering relentlessly and reaching over twenty meters down in just a few minutes.

"This can’t be happening. Could my existence really have been discovered? What’s going on here? Didn’t I say, I just wanted to build a maze suitable for novices? This level of magic manipulation, it’s certainly not the work of a novice... "

Ignoring the weakness that came with his freshly completed molt, Emperor Ci De focused his spirit on perceiving the slowly approaching Detecting Magic.

Typically, the difficulty of employing Detecting Magic would geometrically increase with the thickness of solid matter. Yet, this Detecting Magic had descended over thirty meters without any signs of operational difficulty.

Having become a new species, the Goblin Emperor possessed a Magic Perception Ability far stronger than ordinary people, allowing him to sense others’ magic before they could detect his magic power.

However, this also had drawbacks. Magic power would converge around him, making it impossible to conceal his presence.

As the Detecting Magic came closer, the individual using it would eventually notice the surging magic power within him and subsequently discover the existence of the eleventh floor of the Underground Maze.

The current Emperor Ci De was still too weak, and furthermore, having just completed his molt, he was incapable of engaging in combat for a short while.

Someone who could send a Detecting Magic probe to such depths was certainly no ordinary individual and was definitely not someone he could confront at the moment.

As he waited for the scales on his body to harden, Emperor Ci De fell into deep thought and, within a minute, he made his decision.

He brutally kicked apart the coffin and found a mechanism beneath it. He pounded it forcefully, and the surrounding walls opened one after another.

Countless rare items filled the walls, each protected by the eleventh-floor Barrier, undamaged over the centuries—with not even a speck of dust settling on them.

Every single item here, if taken out, was invaluable.

These were the real treasures gathered using the resources of the Goblin Empire, far more impressive than the "inheritance" above.

Uncertain of the situation above and not knowing who had come for what purpose, it became highly dangerous for Emperor Ci De to stay. He was prepared to escape.

Of course, he didn’t want to give up his life’s savings for nothing, but unfortunately, the Storage Magic for keeping items was too complex, requiring quite some time for just the inscribing, not to mention the startup and storage, which would consume a lot of Magic Power.

At this moment, he simply couldn’t draw the Storage Magic required to take everything with him; he could only take as much as he could.

As he collected his possessions, Emperor Ci De found a very plain-looking box placed conspicuously among the treasures.

Inside, he found an exceptionally plain White Key.

Picking up the key, Emperor Ci De clenched his fist, feeling its texture, and recalled the past events.

"I remember, that guy said this key was the crucial tool to waking him up alone; otherwise, at least five similar keys would be needed... If one key can resurrect him, why would I need five keys? I don’t quite understand his logic, but I should take good care of it, otherwise, if it’s lost, I will have to spend time looking for five other identical keys."

Having gathered all his possessions and wearing the White Key on his chest, Emperor Ci De stood beneath the stalactite. His eyes glinted red like a giant dragon’s, as he looked over the treasures he didn’t take with him.

"The rest of you treasures, keep safe for me. One day, I will reclaim you. Teleport."

A brilliant red light emanated from the stalactite, enshrouding Emperor Ci De, and within a short time, his figure completely vanished from the Underground Maze.

On the Tenth floor, Wanjing Zhuhua showed a look of surprise; her probe had encountered a powerful Barrier.

Perhaps it was the eleventh floor that Yang Yu had spoken of, but reaching it was far too troublesome, truly a case of having to dig three feet into the ground.

Fortunately, each member of the Red Blood Rose could contribute to the grave-digging effort.

Chel Belli’s fists could shatter the tenth floor’s floor completely, while Gordon and Wanjing Zhuhua could use magic to excavate the soil, and Sena, controlling Luo, froze the dug-up soil into manageable blocks, which were then handed to the hired novice Magicians for removal.

After half a day of digging, the Red Blood Rose encountered a solid stone slab.

Once confirming that the depth they dug matched what had been detected, Wanjing Zhuhua immediately dismissed the surrounding people and performed a powerful single-point Barrier Blast, creating a pathway to the eleventh floor...