Chapter 142: The Demon King Left the City?

Demon King City, the central great hall.

It was a magnificent palace filled with a Gothic dark style.

Suspended from the dome, dozens of meters high, hung an enormous chandelier.

The surrounding walls were built from enormous black stones of unknown origin.

Right in the center of the great hall.

A throne stood silently atop a raised platform.

And to the front-left of the throne sat a rhomboid crystal — that was the core of this trial, the Heart of Light.

"Holy crap, this is way too realistic."

Han Mengqing was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, touching this and looking at that. "This texture! These details! It's literally identical to the real thing!"

"So this is an artificial fuben? That's amazing!"

The other students of Long Xu Ban were also stunned by the sight before them.

After all, what lay before their eyes was an other-dimensional space created entirely by the fusion of human technology and the supernatural — a completely different matter from a wild fuben.

"Obviously."

Han Mengyao stood to one side, looked around, and said:

"Research into otherworldly spaces is already very mature now. This is something those scientists at the National Academy of Sciences spent several hundred years developing."

Hearing her sister's explanation, Han Mengqing asked curiously:

"If it's that amazing, then why not just make a fuben where you can grind monsters and level up?"

"Wouldn't everyone just grind, grind, grind their way through?"

Han Mengyao shook her head at the words:

"Matter and life are two different things."

"At present, the best the technology can do is open up an other-space and add some preset scenes and props inside."

"Wanting to conjure monsters out of thin air that grant experience points? That touches on the level of the 'Origin of Life' and the 'Rules of the World.'"

"That's probably… the domain of the gods."

Han Mengqing nodded, half understanding:

"Oh… so that's how it is."

"Well, forget it then. Even if we can't grind monsters, using it as a playground or an arena sounds pretty fun too, right?"

At the same time,

Ye Kong turned his head to look at Lin Mo, who had already plopped himself down on the throne.

"Class monitor."

Ye Kong stepped forward and asked:

"How do we fight from here?"

"According to the rules, we win as long as we hold this 'Heart of Light' for four hours."

"This Demon King City is easy to defend and hard to attack. We can use the terrain advantage to set up a defensive line outside the city."

Ye Kong's analysis was fair and also the most prudent tactic.

The surrounding classmates nodded one after another.

"Right, class monitor, let's just wait here for them to walk into the trap."

"The second they dare attack, we'll smash them dead with our skills!"

Lin Mo, sitting on the throne, yawned.

Then he stood up from the throne.

"How long would that even take?"

Lin Mo curled his lip, his face full of disdain:

"Just sitting here waiting for a few hours? I came here to be the Demon King, not a security guard."

"Finish it early, head back and sleep early."

Ye Kong was stunned and hurriedly pressed:

"Then… class monitor, what do you mean?"

Lin Mo thought for a moment, then said:

"The rules also state another victory condition — smashing the Hero Alliance's main-city king statue."

"I'll go smash their statue, clock out early, and head back to sleep."

After saying that,

Lin Mo strode toward the great hall's main doors.

"But…"

Ye Kong quickly stepped in to stop Lin Mo, a hint of worry in his voice:

"But the Hero Alliance's victory condition also includes defeating the Demon King. If you go to their home turf alone, won't that be a little dangerous?"

Wang Dawei, seeing this, also stepped forward to counsel:

"Right, class monitor, and the rules also say—"

"The moment you leave the city, your position will be exposed on the map. They'll all know your exact location then! That's really bad for you!"

Lin Mo stopped walking, turned around to look at the two of them, and smiled:

"What's dangerous about it? They're just a bunch of seniors in their thirties and forties, that's all."

"Think about it — if we just hole up here defending, aren't we the ones on the back foot?"

"What if they don't come attack the city? What if they pull some kind of strategy and drag things out to the very end? Then wouldn't we just be sitting here doing nothing for four whole hours?"

I hate overtime the most; it's easier to just raid their hometown.

The initiative should be in our hands.

But…

Ye Kong still felt it was inappropriate.

He thought for a moment, then spoke:

"How about this—I'll go with you. If anything happens, I can use Spatial Leap to take you with me."

As vice-class leader, he felt it was his duty to protect this one and only "Demon King."

As long as the Demon King lives, they haven't lost.

With Ye Kong's declaration, the three girls beside him could no longer sit still.

"Lin Mo, I'm going too."

"Even though you're the Demon King, we're a team."

"If it's a siege, how can we let the Demon King charge in alone?"

"Exactly! Lin Mo boss, I'll heal you!"

"Lin Mo, I'll be your tank!"

In an instant, the strongest members of Long Xu Ban all volunteered to go.

Looking at them all.

Lin Mo felt a flicker of emotion inside, but mostly he felt helpless.

These guys…

Really don't understand what "burden" means.

Going alone, activating the Unrivaled Mode, I could have it all my way.

Bringing along this whole group? So restrictive.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Lin Mo shouted loudly.

He hardened his expression.

"Ye Kong, don't you remember you said that during battle, you'd follow who?"

Ye Kong froze, then answered instinctively:

"Follow… follow the class leader."

"Then isn't that settled?"

Lin Mo's tone turned forceful:

"Since you follow me, then obey orders!"

"You, you, you—all of you—stay here and guard the base."

"Understood?"

"…"

They exchanged uneasy glances.

Lin Mo patted Ye Kong on the shoulder and said solemnly:

"Old Ye, you're vice-class leader—I'm leaving the base in your hands."

"Don't let me down."

"If I get halfway and find the base gone, I'm holding you responsible!"

"Uh…"

Ye Kong paused, then reluctantly agreed, "Alright, we'll handle the base."

Lin Mo then turned to the three girls.

"You three too."

"Guard the base. Don't let anyone slip through."

"Razing their place? Leave that to me—I'm the Demon King, after all!"

After saying this,

Lin Mo gave them no chance to speak.

He turned away with effortless grace, back to them, and waved casually.

"I'm off."

Suddenly, he stopped and turned to Han Mengqing.

"Oh, by the way—give me some buffs first."

"Uh… got it!"

Han Mengqing blinked, then immediately cast a full suite of buffs on Lin Mo.

After the buffs were applied,

Lin Mo finally turned away, satisfied.

His silhouette was elegant, arrogant, yet radiated an undeniable aura of dominance.

【"Earth Shield Technique" timidly poked its head: Wait, Master… weren't we supposed to be defending the city? Why are we attacking now?】

"Shut up!"

Lin Mo cursed inwardly.

…

On the other side.

The Hero Alliance, the main city square of the Heroes.

This was a vast square filled with a medieval style.

In the center of the square stood a statue of a king.

At this moment,

Shen Jun stood on the steps below the statue, directing the various regiment commanders before him:

"Alright, the regiments are now almost fully assigned."

"Two thousand people, divided into twenty hundred-man regiments: eight ranged damage regiments, five melee damage regiments, three knight tank regiments, and four support regiments."

"Without a doubt, Long Xu Ban will definitely choose to huddle inside the Demon King's Castle, waiting for us to come and besiege the city."

Speaking of this,

a weak voice sounded.

"Um, Brother Jun..."

Shen Jun frowned, turned his head to look, and said, "What? Can't you see I'm speaking? Don't interrupt me, ok?"

As the overall commander, authority was very important.

How could one speak halfway and get interrupted by people below?

Shen Jun turned his head and continued speaking:

"Um... where were we just now? Oh right, they will definitely huddle inside the Demon King's Castle!"

"No, Brother Jun..."

That student spoke again.

Shen Jun's frown deepened, and he looked at him again:

"What exactly do you want? Interrupting me once or twice? Do you want to take command?"

That student paused for a moment, then spoke:

"Brother Jun, I want to say... the Demon King has left the city."

"Huh??"

Upon hearing this, everyone present turned their gaze to the map on the panel.

At this moment,

a red dot suddenly appeared outside the Demon King's Castle, and was constantly moving away from the Demon King's Castle.

A look of incomprehension appeared on Shen Jun's face.

"Demon King Lin Mo... has he gone mad?"