Chapter 1555 - 1552: Demon King of the Otherworld

He gripped his huge axe-gun tightly, roaring as he charged forward.

Ye Qiu barely had time to stop him. He swung his heavy weapon forcefully towards Long Yijian—

But Long Yijian was a step quicker. With a wave of his left hand, a tiny wormhole suddenly appeared in the air. From the wormhole, a burst of yellow smoke sprayed out... it was poison gas!

"Ah… Ye Qiu…"

Turning around, he saw Fang Wushang already kneeling on the ground. Ye Qiu immediately checked the situation of the surrounding players and found that, apart from himself and Long Yijian, everyone was lying on the ground in unnatural positions, moaning.

After sheathing his sword on his back, Ye Qiu knelt down and picked Fang Wushang up, holding her hand. Then he raised his head to look at Mao Chang.

"...What do you really want? To kill us all to silence us...?"

"How could that be? I would never do something so excessive."

The blue-clad man shook his head with a smile.

"Since things have reached this point, there's no choice. Let's advance the schedule and go for the boss of the next wave. Although abandoning the Lantian Clan, who were nurtured along the way to counter the powerful monster groups of the final wave, as well as the others, is not my intent."

"But I think with your strength you should be able to reach the top level. However... before that..."

After Long Yijian stopped speaking, those eyes, filled with overwhelming willpower, stared intently at Ye Qiu. Then he gently plunged the sword in his right hand into the Obsidian floor, the sharp and clear metal attribute sound tearing through the surrounding air.

"Ye Qiu, I have to reward you for uncovering my true face, so I'll give you a chance. I'll grant you the chance to duel me one-on-one here, and of course, I'll lift the barrier. If you win, even if the wave is fully conquered, this world will return to normal. What do you say...?"

Upon hearing his words, Fang Wushang in Ye Qiu's arms desperately moved her paralyzed body, shaking her head to say:

"No, Ye Qiu...! He's trying to eliminate you now... At this moment... we should retreat first...!"

Ye Qiu's reason also told him that this opinion was correct.

That guy is a Demon King interfering with the Otherworld. Although he speaks of a fair duel, there's no knowing what actions he might actually take.

It's best to retreat for now and exchange opinions to devise a counter strategy.

But...

What did that guy just say? He said he had nurtured the Lantian Clan? Said they could certainly reach...?

"Don't joke around..."

Ye Qiu unconsciously uttered a faint sound.

This guy imprisoned everyone in a world he created, and not only have countless people already died, he personally watched as others followed his script, making foolish and pathetic struggles. As a Demon King of the Otherworld, this must be the most thrilling experience.

Ye Qiu remembered Fang Wushang mentioning her past before. Remembered the tears she shed while leaning on him back then.

This man inflicted countless wounds and made Fang Wushang bleed for his enjoyment of creating worlds. There was no way Ye Qiu could back down just like that.

"Alright. Let's decide the outcome."

Ye Qiu nodded slowly.

"Ye... Qiu!"

Fang Wushang's sorrowful call rang out again, and Ye Qiu looked at her in his arms. Despite the pain in his chest, as if directly pierced through, Ye Qiu forced himself to put on a smile and said to her:

"Sorry. I can't... run away at this time..."

Fang Wushang opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but gave up halfway, replaced by a smile she squeezed out with effort.

"You're not planning... to sacrifice yourself, are you...?"

"Of course... I will definitely win. With my victory, I'll put an end to this apocalypse."

"I understand. I believe in you."

Even if defeated and eliminated, you must survive—although Ye Qiu wanted to say this, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to. Instead, he just tightly grasped Fang Wushang's right hand as a substitute for those words.

After releasing her hand, Ye Qiu laid Fang Wushang's body on the Obsidian floor and then stood up. As he slowly walked towards Mao Chang, who was watching silently, he loudly drew his sword with both hands.

"Ye Qiu! Stop...!"

"Ye Qiu—!"

Looking towards the source of the voice, he saw the shopkeeper and Kleek struggling to hold themselves up while calling out to Ye Qiu's name. As Ye Qiu advanced, he turned to face them, exchanging a glance with the shopkeeper, he gently lowered his head and said:

"Shopkeeper, thank you for always helping the swordsmen. I know you've spent almost all your money on nurturing those newcomers."

After giving a slight smile to the wide-eyed giant, he slightly shifted his face.

The blade master with a low-grade pattern turban shook his bearded cheeks, seeming eager to say something, breathing rapidly.

Ye Qiu looked straight into his sunken eyes, taking a deep breath. At this moment, no matter how hard Ye Qiu tried, his throat started to choke with emotion, unable to control the intermittent sounds from escaping.

"Kleek. At that time... I'm really sorry for leaving you alone, I've always regretted it."

After speaking that short sentence with a hoarse voice, a small shining object appeared at the edge of the old friend's eyes, followed by continuous dripping.

Kleek's eyes instantly overflowed with tears as he struggled fiercely to stand again, yelling with his throat on the verge of tearing:

"Ye Qiu... you fool! Ye Qiu! Don't apologize to me! Never apologize now! I won't forgive you! If you don't treat me to a meal in the restored world, I definitely won't forgive you!"

Ye Qiu nodded to Kleek, who seemed eager to continue yelling, and said:

"I got it. Let's settle that, we'll meet again in the original world."

Ye Qiu raised his right hand, giving a strong thumbs up.

Finally, Ye Qiu gazed once again at the girl who made it possible for him to speak the words he buried in his heart for two years.

To Fang Wushang, who cried yet smiled towards Ye Qiu—

With a whispered "I'm sorry" in his heart, he turned around. Facing Long Yijian, who maintained an aloof expression, Ye Qiu spoke:

"...Excuse me, I have a request."

"What request?"

"Of course, I don't expect to lose, but if I truly fall—just for a while, I hope you can restrain Fang Wushang from being able to commit suicide."