But since the crevice was so narrow, it could only accommodate one person at a time. Coupled with the crowd of people packed outside, the crevice was nearly impassable, and the scene descended into chaos.
Under Fang Zhouâs command, Gugu dove swiftly, circling in the air just outside the range of the studentsâ attacks.
The Stone-Throwing Trolls continuously hurled boulders down from above.
The students immediately cried out in despair. Many were knocked to the ground by the boulders, creating utter mayhem.
Meanwhile, the close-combat Demons seized the opportunity to charge in, engaging the students in fierce, close-quarters combat.
"Everyone, stay calm! There arenât that many Demons! Hold your ground!" someone shouted loudly.
"Whatâs there to panic about? Spread out! Close Combat Professionals to the front! Ranged attackers, protect the healers! These Demons are all points!" other students chimed in.
After all, they were battle-hardened participants. After a brief period of chaos, the vast majority began to consciously establish a defensive line. They quickly adjusted their formation, with the Close Combat Professionals holding the front while the ranged attackers and healers provided support from the rear.
The students fought fiercely against the swarming Demons. Despite the chaos, their defensive line gradually stabilized.
Seizing the opportunity, Fang Zhou led Bai Xiaochan, Meng Hongzhuang, and the others into a small hall. Outside, a solid line of one hundred Skeletons completely blocked the Demonsâ attacks, allowing them to rest safely for a while.
"Your Gugu is ridiculously powerful. It attracted so many Demons," Bai Xiaochan said enviously as she focused on recovering her Spiritual Power.
"That was a ruthless move," Meng Hongzhuang said hesitantly, wrinkling her small nose.
"They were delivering points to my doorstep. Why should I refuse?" Fang Zhou replied with a smile.
The Sea City Military Academy team rested in a corner to preserve their strength, while outside, the Demons and the students from other military academies fought a battle of mutual destruction, creating an exceptionally tragic scene.
As time went on, arriving students chose not to retreat but instead willingly joined the battlefield.
Students and Demons were constantly being depleted and killed, but with a steady stream of reinforcements on the studentsâ side, the battle raged on.
After nearly an hour of brutal combat, the students finally gained the upper hand, defeating the Demons one by one.
Only a few Demons remained in the courtyard.
Of course, some of the stronger and shrewder students also reaped their due rewards from this battle. These eliminated Demons were converted into points, and as long as one participated in the fight, their points would increase when a Demon died.
"What do we do now? The battle is almost over," Bai Xiaochan said. "We canât sustain a prolonged fight, and we wonât be able to find this many Demons again."
Fang Zhou glanced at his point ranking. He was still firmly in first place with a significant lead.
At this point, the battle in the courtyard had basically concluded. Even Mo Zishu had entered, his eyes occasionally flicking in Fang Zhouâs direction.
"So, what tricks do you have left?" Mo Zishu asked calmly.
Seeing Fang Zhou remain silent, clearly ignoring him, Mo Zishu grew secretly angry.
He was just about to organize the students for an attack when suddenly, every studentâs personal terminal received a system notification:
"Duel Arena countdown initiated. All students in the top 50 for points are eligible to participate."
"Occupying a duel position allows for continuous point accumulation."
"There are three duel positions. The main position earns 2 points per minute, and the two secondary positions each earn 1 point per minute."
"Occupying a duel position requires accepting challenges from all students, with higher-ranked challengers getting priority."
Then, a ten-minute countdown appeared in the corner of every studentâs vision, and the Duel Arenaâs location was clearly marked on the map.
All the students grew excited.
This meant that as long as they could get into the top 50, they had a chance to rack up points at the Duel Arena. The main duel position, in particular, was the best way to earn points, granting 2 per minute. Fang Zhou had been busy all day, but his own rate of gain was nowhere near this fast.
The competition had about two hours remaining. They could reach the Duel Arena and start fighting in just over an hour, which was an incredible temptation.
Currently, any student in the top 50, regardless of which duel position they occupied, could potentially surge into the top twenty or even the top ten.
Never mind the students elsewhere; even many of the survivors in the courtyard, who had frantically farmed Demons to secure a spot in the top 50, were now flushed with excitement. They saw a chance to break into the top ten.
Mo Zishuâs expression instantly turned grim. He hadnât expected such a turn of events.
With Fang Zhouâs superior cultivation realm and strength, who among all the students here could possibly be his match in a one-on-one duel? If Fang Zhou was allowed to simply occupy a duel position, didnât that mean first place was guaranteed to be his?
Immediately, a plan formed in Mo Zishuâs mind.
Previously, Jiang Yaoyue and the others from Dragon City Military Academy were defeated and delayed by Fang Zhou. That allowed us, Celestial City Military Academy, to successfully catch up and overtake them. We finally have this great advantage. For the sake of our academyâs ranking, I absolutely cannot let Sea City Military Academy take the top spot. If we kill Fang Zhou and his team here, their random respawn will take a long time. Theyâll definitely miss the opening of the Duel Arena and fall far behind in the rankings. If this plan works, Celestial City Military Academy might even have a chance to claim the title of the First Military Academy this time.
Thinking this, Mo Zishu shouted, "The Duel Arena opens in ten minutes, and weâre not far from it! Fang Zhou has run out of tricks. If we donât kill him now and take his Portable Concentration Meditation Array, we wonât get another chance!"
"Youâve got it all figured out, havenât you? Goading others to attack me while you donât dare to step up yourself. Quite the master plan," Fang Zhou said with disdain, having clearly seen through Mo Zishuâs intentions.
"Haha, see that? Heâs rattled! Why are you all just standing there? The Portable Concentration Meditation Array is right there for the taking! Are you going to throw away all your progress now? Ten minutes is more than enough time to finish him!" Mo Zishu continued to incite them.
The students who had been hesitating were suddenly jolted to their senses.
Thatâs right. They had already come this far and backed him into a corner. If they gave up now, all their efforts would have been for nothing.
"Reform the formations and take the hall! The Sea City Military Academy team has been fighting for a long time. Their Spiritual Power and stamina canât last much longer!"
As Mo Zishuâs words fell, the loose formations quickly reassembled. Another huge battle was about to erupt.
"I waited here for you all just to farm points. Now I have enough, so it would have been nice to part ways amicably. But youâre the ones forcing my hand. In that case, I wonât be so polite anymore."
Fang Zhou glanced at Mo Zishu and said, "I was about to leave, but Mo Zishu insisted I stay. Iâm certainly not going to just sit here and wait to be killed. When the casualties start piling up, donât blame me."
Mo Zishu stood not far away, a provocative smile on his face as he tried to break Fang Zhouâs nerve with words. "Donât listen to his nonsense! There arenât even any Demons left here. What other tricks could he possibly have?"
Fang Zhouâs gaze was as sharp as a hawkâs. He slowly turned his head to fix his eyes on Mo Zishu, his tone still calm. "As for what tricks I have... gentlemen, look over there."
Then, Fang Zhou pointed toward the distant city wall, instantly drawing everyoneâs attention.
They saw several Skeletons bustling about, their actions mechanical yet coordinated. Among them was a unique existenceâa Skeleton wielding a Skeleton Double Axe, its body shimmering with a mysterious purple light. It was commanding the other Skeletons to load a round Magic-guided Cannonball into a massive Magic-guided Crystal Cannon.