Surprisingly, amidst this chaos, Jeremy remained extremely calm.
Meanwhile, Emma, Bonnie, John, and others took advantage of the incomplete encirclement by the monsters to rush over.
Gary, of course, wouldn't show up; he wished for Jeremy's early demise.
Without uttering a word, Emma and the others simply pulled out their weapons and silently stood beside Jeremy.
Jeremy glanced at them but didn't say much.
The monsters were getting closer. They refrained from launching an attack, possibly wary of Jeremy and his group, or perhaps sensing trouble within the ranks behind Jeremy, they waited for an opportune moment.
However, the people Jeremy had rescued were blissfully unaware of the imminent danger, their noise levels rising, prompting John and the others to internally curse their stupidity.
As expected, it didn't take long for the noise to attract even more monsters.
The stairs behind the school building were soon blocked by creatures, cutting off their retreat.
Faced with monsters on all sides, many despaired.
With easily a hundred monsters surrounding them, escape seemed impossible.
Suddenly, a teacher pointed at Jeremy, accusing, "This is all your fault! We wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you!"
The skinny student who had first voiced his complaints also angrily added, "Exactly! If he hadn't led us out, we wouldn't be surrounded by monsters!"
Dozens of people began to murmur, quickly turning into a chorus of blame towards Jeremy, with the rest remaining silent.
They only saw Jeremy as the bringer of danger, even though it was their actions that had doomed them. Now, they all placed the blame squarely on Jeremy's shoulders.
The sincere thanks Jeremy had received from these people while rescuing them now seemed like a farce.
The pettiness of human nature was fully displayed in this moment.
Emma, gripping her weapon tightly, her pretty face flushed with anger, exclaimed, "Jeremy kindly saved them, how can they be so shameless!"
The others looked on with displeasure. These people were being too much.
"They've always been like this. You've just thought too highly of them." Jeremy said with a smile, though his eyes grew colder.
He looked around and commanded in a cold voice, "Everyone shut up. If anyone makes noise again, I'll kill them first!"
As he spoke, a terrifying aura of killing intent, honed from countless battles, erupted from Jeremy.
The murderous intent in his eyes was even more ferocious than that of the monsters, silencing everyone present, including the monsters that had been advancing towards them.
Dozens of people looked at Jeremy, some with fear, others with terror.
Of course, there were those who defied him.
The skinny student stepped forward, angrily saying, "Why can't we speak? You're clearly guilty! You said you'd lead us out, but I think you've had ill intentions from the start, wanting all of us to die with you!"
His words seemed to embolden others, and they began to denounce Jeremy once more.
Seeing the agreement in others, the young man became even more agitated.
He lifted his chin in defiance, looking at Jeremy with disdain, "You want to kill someone? Then kill me if you dare! I'm telling you—"
Suddenly, a streak of white light flashed through the air, and the young man's voice stopped abruptly.
A thin line of blood slowly appeared on his neck.
Immediately following, under the horrified gazes of all present, the young man's head slid from his neck and fell to the ground, rolling a few times.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, revealing Jeremy's stern face to the crowd.
"Wham."
The young man's head fell to the ground and rolled twice.
His eyes, filled with bewilderment and shock, seemed unable to believe what had just happened.
Jeremy flicked the blood off his dagger and said peculiarly, "This is the first time I've seen such a strange request."
The crowd fell into a stunned silence, with those who had been most vocal now trembling in fear, worried Jeremy would turn on them next.
John and the others exchanged glances, then shared a satisfied laugh.
Well done!
People who sow discord among the ranks only push everyone deeper into an abyss from which there is no return.
Bonnie's eyes shifted, and for the first time, she didn't openly criticize Jeremy.
No one spoke again. The dozens of students and teachers watching Jeremy now looked at him with fear in their eyes.
At that moment, they even thought Jeremy seemed more monstrous than the monsters themselves.
Just then, a young girl, unable to bear the pressure any longer, broke down in tears, crying out, "He's killed someone! He's killed someone! I'm still young. I don't want to die!"
With that, she ran towards the monsters.
Her fate, needless to say, was sealed instantly as a black wolf snapped her slender, pale neck.
Many who witnessed this scene shuddered, their fear deepening.
The scent of blood agitated the other monsters, causing the hundreds surrounding them to grow restless.
Yet, they made no move, instead fixing their blood-red gazes on the leading ghoul among them, as if waiting for its command.
The reason why leaders among monsters are prefixed with "leader" is because they can command many lower-level monsters to follow their orders.
Sensing the monsters' restlessness, Jeremy frowned and looked at the few dozen people in front of him.
They all had weapons, albeit things like baseball bats and table legs, but it was better than nothing.
Jeremy said coldly, "Now, everyone follow my command. Those who can fight, form a circle around the girls and ordinary people."
Everyone looked down, silent, unwilling to step forward.
Seeing this, Jeremy scoffed, "This is your last chance to survive. I hope you cherish it and understand one thing... I'm saving you just in passing. Whether you live or die doesn't really matter to me. If you prefer to wait here and die, I have nothing more to say."
After Jeremy's words, the crowd was silent for a few seconds.
Then, a muscular young man stepped forward. He said in a deep voice, "I have awakened a C-level ability, Stone Skin, and can stand on the outside."
Several others followed, among them were ordinary players at levels 2 and 3, as well as extraordinary players who had awakened supernatural abilities.
However, it was clear they could not withstand an attack from hundreds of monsters. Jeremy activated The Eye of Omniscience, scanning the crowd.
Immediately, information about several individuals who hadn't stepped forward appeared before him.
Jeremy pointed them out one by one, "You, you, you, and you, the five of you, come forward."
All eyes turned towards these individuals.
The ones Jeremy pointed out had pale faces and eyes full of shock.
They couldn't understand how Jeremy had seen through their hidden strengths.
Some thought Jeremy was merely guessing and kept their heads down, silent, with others following suit.
Seeing their reluctance, Jeremy's voice turned ice cold, "I'll say it again, step forward, or would you rather I make you move?"
After a few seconds of silence, they finally joined the defensive ranks.
Having witnessed Jeremy's strength and methods, no one wanted to provoke him.
Facing the monsters, they at least had a chance to survive, but if Jeremy made a move, they feared they would die right there.
With this, the number of people forming the defense increased to twelve.
Together with Jeremy, John, Bonnie, and others forming the first line of defense, as well as the ordinary people armed with weapons in the core area, a simple, barrel-shaped three-layer defense was established.
At this moment, there was movement among the monsters. The fused ghoul shuffled its massive body, leaving a trail of foul-smelling pus on the ground.
It moved to the front, its dark red eyes fixed on Jeremy, issuing a low growl:
"Roar!"
This roar seemed to be both a threat and a warning.
The surrounding monsters voluntarily cleared a path.
Jeremy understood the fused ghoul's intention. It was telling him to leave this place.
This monster's intelligence was high, no wonder it could produce a fourth-tier energy crystal.
Jeremy's eyes narrowed slightly, "Unfortunately, you seem to have misunderstood something."
Holding his wolfsbane dagger towards the fused ghoul, he smiled and said, "I'm not here to save these people. I'm here to kill you."