The defenders were horrified by the Scaled Demon Queen's aura. Some ran without looking back. Some froze in fear, others wanted to flee but glanced back at defenseless people and returned to the line. Which, sadly, was thinning fast.
I didn't jump out right away to beat the Queen for two reasons. First, I wanted to test Ai Tutu's character again. Sure, we were dating, but everyday settings don't reveal true personality.
Now I watched a seemingly weak girl stay to protect people behind her and grasp mages' true nature. Yes, she knew she wouldn't die—especially with Bul inside—but the first instinctive reaction was real. I was very pleased.
Now I could trust this girl almost 100%. She'd earn full trust surviving a truly dangerous situation with me, but even now, she's the one I trust most in this world. That counts.
Mu Nu Jiao impressed too. Her reaction matched Ai Tutu's, just fewer emotions flashing. What more to say? True clan lady says it all.
Anyway, time for me to jump in and defuse things before the defensive circle thins too much, forcing Bul and Pikachu to intervene—which I'd rather avoid.
My second reason for holding back was to rally students and snap them from complacent bliss. Two and a half thousand here now. Most couldn't even cast from fear.
If all fought, monsters would've been crushed easily. Scaled Demons were dangerous only via contagion. Average strength, negligible defense. Even the Scaled Demon Queen could be killed by first step Middle-tier lightning.
Without a Spiritual Seed boost! She's a top Pack Leader, soon breaking to Commander rank. Normally needs High-tier magic. Anyway, students could handle these, especially knowing weaknesses.
Common city problem, including Bo City. Plenty of mages, sure—not super strong, but in crowds, especially formations, they pack punch.
Then clan mages deep in politics like Mu clan, fleeing at first personal risk. Self-interest only; they'd pass by help without gain.
Plus status mages with cushy jobs ignoring growth. Face a monster, they're civilians—maybe faster if not fat.
These factors cripple humanity's overall strength and defense. If I awaken a shred of awareness in a quarter of green campus students, that's many new defenders for mankind.
I'm no saint, but if I can help without harm to myself, I will. Yes, selfish putting my life above others'. But cultivating to Curse level lets me save way more than dying young saving dozens.
And I don't refuse help—just if real life risk, I'd ditch a stranger guilt-free. That's me.
Finishing my thoughts, I yelled into the mic one last time pre-battle:
"Everyone, no panic! I'll handle the Queen. Your job: hold against monster waves till I win!" I sent a spirit soothing wave for courage to first-wave defenders—they'd inspire others—pocketed the mic in my spatial ring, activated speed artifact, and charged the Scaled Demon Queen.
Since she could instantly kill all infected in dire straits for her, I played safe: spirit magic dulled her critical thinking. Now a berserk monster charged me.
With no real danger for anyone, I showboated—went hand-to-hand with the Queen. Dodging claws was easy; born recently, she fought on raw instinct.
Old experienced monsters develop styles, tactics, avoid simple tricks. All infected now fought instinctively—advantage defenders.
We "danced" five minutes. I hit only fists, no magic; as weak monster type, we matched abilities. But skills...
Old Bao's lessons didn't go to waste, and I was reshaping the Queen's face and body like I was tenderizing a slab of meat. The acceleration artifact's effect had long worn off, but due to her clouded mind and possibly a concussion, the Queen couldn't go all out and was taking hits to the face even from my slower self.
By the way, I mustn't forget to order a set of artifacts that keep working if you feed them souls, even with an empty reserve. Otherwise, I have nowhere to store these souls anymore—I've already upgraded all the stars of the elements to the fifth tier. Sigh, even the rich have their problems.
Finally, I spotted Mo Fan's spiritual aura a hundred meters from the concert hall entrance, where the guy was hurrying diligently. Since I wanted to save the girl inside the Queen, I needed to end the fight faster, or Mo Fan would fry her with lightning and send her to the heavens.
Summoning an artifact dagger of the light element into my hand, I made several shallow cuts on the Queen's body, careful not to hit vital points.
The light element did its job, and the Queen let out a horrific hiss before collapsing to the ground, releasing a beautiful young mommy from her scaly shell... completely naked. Though today the concentration of naked girls per square meter was off the charts, so it wouldn't surprise anyone right now.
The guys didn't even have time to enjoy the sights—they were just trying to survive. But fortunately for everyone present, it was all over. After the Queen's death, the Infected started emitting a disgusting hiss and, collapsing, released the naked bodies of the people they'd captured.
Seeing the defenders still warily scanning the surroundings, I smiled, pulled a microphone from my spatial ring, and announced:
"You all did great! You're the heroes of this university! Now you can rest—it's over!"
The reaction to my words was the same for all the defenders.
While the protected ones started jumping for joy and tearfully hugging their friends, the defenders quietly chuckled and collapsed to the floor from exhaustion and mental strain.
Today their world had been turned upside down, but they didn't get scared and withstood the trial with honor. Now they were true mages.
At that moment, Mo Fan finally burst into the concert hall with a belligerent look, but upon seeing the multitude of naked girls in the hall, he froze and swallowed hard as saliva welled up.
In such a moment, I could say only one thing:
"Beat the pervert!"
After my shout, the eyes of the girls who'd survived hell turned red, and they finally found a target to unleash their rage on.
Mimicking predators, they grabbed whatever was at hand to cover themselves and menacingly advanced on Mo Fan.
And I definitely provoked this incident just to relieve the students' emotional tension, nothing more. Heh-heh.