Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!
Chapter 540: Survivors Before You

Chapter 540: Chapter 540: Survivors Before You

"Che Lan, long time no see," Iyas dismounted from the back of Lotcar and walked toward the spirited elf girl, "It looks like you managed to escape the danger successfully. How are you doing now?"

Upon hearing Iyas call her name, tears uncontrollably streamed from the eyes of the elf female named Che Lan, and she threw herself into Iyas’s arms, crying tears of joy,

"It’s so good, so good!

You’re really still alive, the real Iyas.

I can’t believe you’re back. I still remember what happened a year ago. With your skills, you should have been able to escape the village with me, but instead, you ran back to save your own brother...

You fool!"

Che Lan hugged Iyas tightly, gradually sobbing uncontrollably.

The events of the past were still vivid in Che Lan’s mind. After realizing they couldn’t fend off the invading people, Che Lan decided to seek help from the Elf Queen in Luoyu City, together with Iyas and a few other agile survivors.

In the end, only she barely made it to Luoyu City and met the Queen.

But it was ultimately too late. The slave hunters had long disappeared, and there was no chance to talk about a rescue.

Learning that other villages had also faced the same fate as theirs, Che Lan’s already heavy heart grew even heavier. She could never have imagined that the daily laughs and conversations would disappear forever.

She became the only person in their village who had survived. Other villages had only scattered survivors, some without any news at all.

Now, being able to meet Iyas and the others again was simply a miracle.

Iyas slowly hugged Che Lan and gently stroked her hair, doing her best to comfort her younger counterpart.

The other elves looked at each other, somewhat unsure of what to do. Clearly, they couldn’t interrupt this emotional reunion, but upon spotting Yang Yu, a human, they immediately aimed their bows and arrows at him.

Noticing something amiss with the group, Che Lan stopped her sobbing and stepped out of Iyas’s embrace, wiping the hot tears from the corners of her eyes,

"Iyas, I have so many things to tell you, but could you first explain why there is a human here?"

Iyas did not hide anything and introduced her companions to Che Lan,

"Che Lan, let me introduce you. This is my benefactor, named Yang Yu, and the giant wolf he rides is a member of the Silver Teeth Clan, Lotcar. As for that blonde-haired girl over there, she is a survivor from another village, named Bai Jin, and inside her hood is a pale blue slime called He Meng.

They came here because there are some important matters they want to resolve with the Queen."

"Important matters?" Che Lan looked at Yang Yu, her eyes also filled with a slight wariness, asking, "What exactly are these important matters?"

"We are interested in the legends of the Elf Clan and have our own views regarding the tragedy that happened a year ago. We would like to meet with the Elf Queen here."

Before Iyas could respond, Yang Yu spoke up. As soon as Yang Yu’s words fell, the elves surrounding him tightened their bowstrings even more.

Despite the tightened bowstrings, Yang Yu, as if he hadn’t noticed them at all, dismounted from Lotcar and walked directly to Che Lan,

"Since you know Iyas and have escaped from the village, you must have been to the Elf Queen’s city of Luoyu. I wonder if you could lead the way for us."

Che Lan hesitated for a moment. She knew that Iyas was unlikely to lie to her. If Iyas and her group had safely returned here, it must have been with significant help from this human named Yang Yu. She wanted to see what this human who had helped Iyas and her group was really like.

But still...

Che Lan looked around, and besides her, all the elves were glaring at Yang Yu menacingly, as if they wanted to devour him, clearly unwelcoming his arrival.

In the cognition of most elves, it was the Humans who had abducted their kin.

A race that relied on plundering other races to better their lives was inherently evil and extremely dangerous.

Ignoring Yang Yu’s statement, Che Lan pulled Iyas aside and whispered in her ear,

"Iyas, after what happened, you should know our Elf Clan’s attitude towards Humans..."

"I can understand somewhat, but one must not generalize. Among Humans, there are bad people and good people.

The ones who attacked us and abducted our kin are the bad ones, but there are also good people who spare no effort to save us.

Do you know?

After I arrived in the Human World, I found that its vastness and complexity are far beyond our comparison.

Humans are also a highly complex race.

We must judge each case on its own merits and should never blame the whole race because of a few individuals."

"Perhaps that’s the case. Senior, it seems you’ve also learned some new things from the Human World." Che Lan shook her head, "If only you could have returned earlier, perhaps your views might have changed how some people see Humans, but..."

Iyas sensed there was more to her words and asked, "What happened?"

"In truth, a few elves also managed to escape from Humans and return."

"Other elves?" Iyas was delighted, "Really, there are other elves who managed to run back? That’s good news! It seems that besides me, other elves are also striving... Elf Warriors should indeed have such resilience."

Che Lan helplessly dropped her shoulders while looking at Iyas, "Senior Iyas, it seems that you and Hake didn’t suffer much at the hands of Humans, did you?"

After pondering for a moment, Iyas answered, "I’m not sure about Hake, but I did face some hardships, which were more of my own making, and I can’t blame others. I have grown a lot because of them."

As soon as she finished speaking, Iyas suddenly realized something.

But Che Lan had already shaken her head and voiced what Iyas had realized,

"Not all elves were as lucky as you. After being auctioned off, they suffered tremendous torment, both physically and mentally.

Senior Iyas, listen to me calmly, one of the elves suffered such severe trauma to her soul that upon reaching the Luoyu where the Queen resides, she went insane.

She continuously narrated her tragic experiences in the Human World to anyone who would listen.

Although other survivors do not talk about it like her, they acknowledged, more or less, having experiences similar to that of the insane elf.

Our clan’s goodwill towards the Human race has plummeted to an unprecedented low."

Indeed, it had come to this...

Iyas bitterly raised her hand to clutch her elbow, wasn’t this just like herself in the beginning?