Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!
Chapter 393: No Way Out

Chapter 393: Chapter 393: No Way Out

Damp clothing dripped water droplets as Lund looked towards the bounty hunters not far away,

"You’re saying you found another set of footprints?"

Lund grabbed the Shield Axe Man by the throat and hoisted him up. In the brief moments before breathing became difficult, the Shield Axe Man hastened to explain,

"I... we found two sets of footprints and thought that the woman had met up with her partner, so... so we split into two groups, intending to capture them all in one fell swoop.

Just now, I didn’t mean to attack, just... just thought they heard our footsteps and had dived into the turbulent waters, wanting to strike first to avoid harm, Lord, you..."

Roughly throwing the Shield Axe Man aside, Lund lifted his Knight Helmet, letting the filthy water from inside pour down through the gap around his neck.

Having chased for quite a while, Lund hadn’t caught a single glimpse of Iyas climbing ashore.

Wondering whether Iyas had heard his voice and dived into the water or if her stamina had failed her and she had fallen into the turbulent current, Lund eventually dropped his Meteor Hammer and jumped into the sewage to search for signs of Iyas.

Now that the flood season had just ended, the water level wasn’t high. Tall as he was, Lund could even stand in the rushing water with his head above the surface.

If Iyas was trying to be cunning or had sunk to the bottom of the river channel, Lund was confident he would be the first to notice.

But all his efforts ultimately went to waste, as it turned out Iyas hadn’t jumped into the water at all.

"I knew something was off.

Even with the swift currents, with my speed, I should have found her trail by now.

But up until now, I haven’t seen a trace of her.

Turns out she’s made a fool of me again, underestimating me."

Grinding his teeth, Lund glared at the bounty hunters nearby, who immediately began to tremble.

They had witnessed, with their own eyes, how after the Shield Axe Man had thrown his weapon, Lund had managed to stand in the rushing water, snatch the Shield Axe out of the air, and hurl it back, embedding it deeply into the sewer wall.

This man before them, whether in terms of reflexes or strength, was far beyond their reach, not an opponent on their level at all.

Faced with such a formidable figure, there was only one thing they could do—listen attentively to the boss’s command.

"Immediately follow me back the way we came, and catch up with the other team.

Search every nook and cranny of the sewer, you must find that woman.

Once you find her, notify me right away. I’ll show her what real Hell is like."

Even if the firelight couldn’t reveal Lund’s expression under the Knight Helmet, everyone present knew that crossing a furiously angry Lund would not end well.

Hence, the bounty hunters each sprang into action, following Lund’s orders, retracing their steps, and began to search the sewer pipes separately.

Lund was not one to act rashly without a plan; after being fooled by Iyas twice, he became even more capable of calming his mind to think.

Contemplating the possible escape routes Iyas might have chosen, Lund quickly realized that she might use the maintenance ladders to leave the sewer, so he immediately dispatched the Underground Bounty Hunters to search for her in the passageways with potential ladders.

The sewer system of the city diverted part of the tributary of Star and Moon River, significantly reducing the intensity of manual cleaning.

Regrettably, because Xidelaistra’s layout was intricate, the matching sewer pipes were also complex, with several channels that did not easily funnel into the flow of water.

Garbage would gradually accumulate in those areas, forming thick silt, and once it reached a certain level, it would need to be cleared manually.

And those places were also where climbing ladders were most often repaired.

During her journey, Iyas also thought of this and dragged her legs in search of channels where the water was not turbulent, or even somewhat stagnant.

Unfortunately, due to the injury to her foot and the stamina drained from knocking out Underground Bounty Hunters, Iyas’s pace in searching for a climbing ladder was extremely slow, far behind the hunters who had split up in their search.

Just as Iyas, with the help of Holy Light in her hand, found a ladder on the opposite side of the passageway and was about to step over the sewage on one foot and climb up the stairs,

an Underground Bounty Hunter noticed the light in the passageway, recognized Iyas, and shouted loudly,

"I found her! She’s over here!"

Gazing at the climbing ladder merely five meters away, Iyas bit her teeth in frustration, raised her bows and arrows, and shot through the chest of the Underground Bounty Hunter, then turned and ran deeper into the sewer pipeline.

Iyas had lost the chance to climb that ladder. If she exited there, the Underground Bounty Hunters would surely catch up.

Out of stamina, added with the injury to her ankle, even if Iyas could make it back to the surface via the ladder, she had no way to win a chase on land.

Now Iyas could only gamble, betting that the sewer pipeline would have a fork, where she would take one path and her pursuers would choose the other, and then she could find a new ladder to open the passage to the city.

But even as Iyas hastened her pace, she saw no end to the darkness that stretched endlessly ahead.

She only heard the noise of footsteps getting closer and closer.

Finally, a bright blaze of light illuminated the darkness behind her, stretching her shadow long into the bottomless black.

"She’s over there!"

Iyas, moving along the wall, stopped in her tracks. Injured as she was, her fate was only to be caught; in that case, she might as well stop and fight.

Listening to the footsteps approaching ever closer, Iyas pulled out arrows from her quiver, fitting them to her bow, then suddenly turned and launched a preemptive attack.

However, the same scene played out before Iyas’s eyes once more, as Lund effortlessly caught the whirling arrows in his hand, then crushed them to pieces with a single squeeze.

With the flickering light at his back, Lund’s towering figure gradually overshadowed Iyas. He greeted her with an extremely terrifying tone,

"Yo, we meet again. You really made it difficult to find you. This time, I’m going to break your legs for good and bring you back."

"If you think you can, then just try!" Iyas pulled her bowstring tight once more, launching three arrows simultaneously, which in flight suddenly split into six.

Lund swung his Meteor Hammer and shattered four of the arrows in front of him, continuing his approach toward Iyas,

"It’s useless, I won’t make the same mistake as last time..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Iyas’s arrows struck two Underground Bounty Hunters behind Lund, both of whom let out a simultaneous cry of pain.

But these two cries of pain did not sway Lund’s steady advance. He continued toward Iyas with firm steps, an unstoppable force in his demeanor.