What is that thing!

Seeing the black cloud, everyone's heart jumped with shock.

The black cloud was bizarre to the extreme, emitting a sinister and terrifying aura.

Many of the girls were so scared that their legs trembled and they couldn't even stand up, while fear also shone in the eyes of the other students.

"Damn it, it's the Demon King!"

Lin Chen's heart quivered, and he quickly said, "Everyone run!"

No sooner had his words fallen than a shadow suddenly burst out of the jungle, its claws grabbing a girl's leg and dragging her towards the woods.

The girl screamed in terror, while the others were so frightened by this scene that they were completely stunned and unresponsive.

Just then, Lin Chen's figure flashed, turning into a blur as he leapt into the air.

"Flame Burst!"

A fireball roared towards the demon.

But the demon didn't dodge or flinch, opening its gaping maw.

"Boom!"

A black light sphere spewed from the demon's mouth.

"Boom!"—with a muffled sound, it collided with the fireball in midair, turning into a cloud of dust.

"Damn it, this demon actually knows spells!"

After landing, Lin Chen leaped into the air once more and kicked the demon, sending it flying.

By this time, the girl's leg was already mangled by the demon's sharp claws.

Lin Chen hastily picked up the girl and handed her over to a female student with wood abilities for healing.

Almost simultaneously, more demons charged out from all directions.

Initially, the students were in chaos, and a few were injured once again.

"Students with earth abilities, earth spell for defense!"

"Fire and water ability students, attack with spells!"

"Wood ability students, heal the wounded!" Lin Chen fought against the attackers with his spells, directing the other students at the same time.

Under Lin Chen's command, the students were no longer panicked. Their attacks became organized, and they managed to break free from the encirclement, carving a path with bloodshed.

Not far away, the black cloud loomed closer, and Lin Chen frowned, stopping in his tracks, "Everyone, we must leave a few people behind to hold off the Demon King, or else none of us will escape."

Hearing Lin Chen's words, everyone fell silent.

What was the Demon King? It was something they could not contend with at their level. To stay was to possibly face death.

Seeing that no one in the group spoke, Lin Chen said, "I'm one. Any others with me?"

After a moment of silence in the group, Qin Mengfan stood up, "Count me in."

Hao Lin bit his lip, "Brother Chen, I'll stay as well."

After two people stepped forward, the group fell silent once again.

"No one else?" Lin Chen glanced over the others.

That's when Sun Keke stepped forward, "We are all one group, I'll stay too."

Seeing Sun Keke step forward, Lin Chen was taken aback; in his eyes, Sun Keke was an extremely timid girl. He had not expected her to step forward at such a time.

Compared to the boys who hung their heads and dared not speak, Sun Keke was far, far stronger.

"Hey, Zhou Ming, aren't you always known as the top talent on the first day? Why have you become a shrinking turtle now?" Hao Lin sneered, looking at Zhou Ming standing silently to the side.

Zhou Ming felt the gazes from all around turning towards him, his face ashen.

By now he despised Hao Lin. He had wanted to slip by unnoticed, but Hao Lin had just humiliated him, pushing him into the spotlight.

To stay might mean death, but to return this way would certainly make him the butt of jokes.

"Zhou Ming, I really look down on you; you're not even as good as a girl like Keke," Qin Mengfan said with a cold huff.

"Seriously, always boasting about how tough he is, turns out he's just a scaredy-cat."

"Hmph, and he's the class rep too!"

A burst of whispering and murmuring came from the students.

Lin Chen glanced over Zhou Ming and spoke indifferently, "Staying is voluntary, we haven't forced anyone. If you're afraid of dying, you can choose to run away with everyone else."

Zhou Ming gritted his teeth and finally stood up, "I'll stay as well."

He knew that if he chose to run away, he would be nailed to the pillar of shame for the rest of his life, especially since he was the class rep, and his strength was among the best in the group.

Lin Chen smiled, "Welcome to the team."

"Alright, isn't anyone else joining?" Lin Chen glanced over the crowd.

Zhou Ming's gaze fell on Sun Peng, but at this moment, Sun Peng's head was lowered, not even daring to look at him.

Disappointment flashed in his eyes; like Hao Lin being willing to live and die with Lin Chen, but Sun Peng, who usually flattered him day after day, chose to escape when truly faced with danger.

As he watched the other students flee toward the outside of the forest, Lin Chen finally turned around.

"Everyone, the Demon King is very powerful, completely beyond our ability to deal with. Our mission is to hold him back, understood?"

"Yes," several people nodded vigorously.

At that moment, a demonic wind burst forth, and a cloud of black mist fell in the jungle.

When the black mist dispersed, a strange dark shadow appeared in front of them.

It was an extremely ugly monster with a huge body covered in long black manes, blood-red eyes, and a gaping mouth exuding wafts of stench. But what was truly horrifying were the two large demonic characters on its forehead.

The group hunkered down in the underbrush, seeing the Demon King for the first time, feeling their blood nearly freeze under its immense presence.

"Attack," Lin Chen commanded softly.

The five of them unleashed their Spells, shooting toward the Demon King.

The Demon King looked at the five attacks with a hint of disdain in its eyes.

Without even moving, it simply waved its claw and scattered the spells from the five of them.

Seeing the Demon King's formidable strength, Lin Chen and the others were shocked.

Zhou Ming trembled all over; now he deeply regretted his momentary urge to show off by staying behind.

"Zhou Ming, freeze its feet," Lin Chen instructed!

But Zhou Ming was already petrified with fear, his hands trembling so much that he couldn't even gather the elements.

"Roar!"

With a roar from the Demon King, the entire forest trembled.

"I'm not playing this anymore; if you all want to die, stay. I'm leaving." Zhou Ming finally broke down and stood up to run towards the woods behind him.

But just as he had run seven or eight meters, the Demon King suddenly expelled a ball of black energy.

"Boom!" A loud noise erupted behind Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming was lucky; a tree branch tripped him just in time, narrowly avoiding the Demon King's attack. However, the blast wave still knocked him unconscious.

"What an idiot."

Lin Chen cursed under his breath and said to the other three, "I'll go out and fight it off; cover me."

"Lin Chen, that's the Demon King. If you go out, isn't that equivalent to seeking death?" Qin Mengfan said anxiously.

"No other choice now, and hey, call me 'husband' for me to hear," Lin Chen suddenly said, looking at Qin Mengfan.

"At a time like this, you're not being serious," Qin Mengfan's cheeks instantly turned red.

"Forget it, you'll call me that one day, I'm not in a rush." Saying so, Lin Chen stepped out of the bushes.

"Husband." Just then, a shy voice came from behind him - it was Qin Mengfan.

Lin Chen smiled faintly, "Wife, just watch how your husband captures the demon."

(Third installment delivered, two more to come, thanks to Old Sun for the 100 coin reward, and thanks for your recommendation votes. I just checked the reader ranking, I've fallen to sixth place, the situation is precarious, we need top three to advance, and there are only three days left.

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