Ordinarily, magicians do not have stronger bodies than mortals. However, most mages possess magic items that increase their physical qualities, at least to a level where they can nimbly jump around in battles. There are also many spells that can temporarily enhance one's physical abilities, such as the athletic body spell.
With a boosted athletic body, Wide Vision was far beyond any ordinary human. He didn’t fly because the wall's current protective aura would strike down any flying living being indiscriminately. This is especially true in the middle of the city, where the wall is still in full charge. Nonetheless, after casting the boosted athletic body spell, his speed on the ground wasn't much lower than that of actual flying.
The ordinary athletic body spell increases one's physical abilities to that of a well-trained human. There is also a boosted version, the one Wide Vision used, which is a high-level spell that elevates one's physical qualities to half that of a muddle-blooded demon. Even half a muddle-blooded demon is far, far beyond humans.
...
With his amazing speed, Wide Vision reached the station in only ten minutes. But even after ten minutes, the wall was probably completely taken over by demons.
On the Way to the station, he observed the streets; they were quite desolate, with barely anyone in them. Most volunteered to defend the wall, so they most likely either died or fled through other city gates. Nobody is dumb enough to scream or stay in the street, hence the quiet and empty streets.
Screaming is an instinctual act meant to attract attention. Once in distress, any intervention would increase the chance of survival. On average, people who are attacked and scream have a higher chance of being saved than those who stay quiet and take the beating. Generally, in most situations, those who make noise have a better chance of success in what they are doing.
However, the above statement is about ordinary situations. When demons are around, screaming only accelerates one's death. Everyone has lived in constant danger of demonic invasion for years and trained for these situations, and even if they decide it’s not worth running and choose to stay in their house, they will most likely remain quiet.
Running away from other gates has virtually no chance of success. The city is on top of a mountain and far from any other human settlement. Once outside, even ordinary wild animals would be enough to kill ordinary people, let alone demons; therefore, staying in the house and hoping demons would miss you is not a bad choice.
The 13th Army has spies and informants all around the city, but it cannot be burdened by saving any individual human. That’s why it sent a flying ship. Those who missed the ship had already made their choice, and nobody from the Human Civilization would try to save them any longer. The ordinary people are not aware of the presence of the 13th Army in any case.
"I should have around six hours before the demons reach the station," Wide Vision thought, calculating his remaining time.
The biggest defense against demons has always been the wall. Even though the wall's overall power is far inferior to the great wall of Human Civilization, it still kept the city safe for generations. Although the wall's power near the outer border has been exhausted, the demons would not be able to push in easily.
The wall, whether here or in the Human Civilization, is better described as a 'territory' than a wall. The wall's forcefield not only protects outer borders but also those within, even the middle of the city. Of course, the specifics depend on the wall's controllers. The wall's forcefield can be set up to strike all flying creatures, those with demon blood concentration above a certain limit, strike all those who wear red clothing, only allow those who have a token, or exempt places from the restrictions, etc. There are endless possibilities.
The wall of human civilization is quite a lot more advanced than the one that is protecting this city. One of the biggest differences is that the Human Civilization's wall is seamlessly interconnected. Its cores are of great quality, and the controllers can easily draw power from the center to defend against an invader on the border, or the reverse, draw power from the border to suppress a demon-born human who lost control in the middle, or gather the power of the entire wall to defend against a very powerful 100% pure-blood demon. With such great control, the defense power of the Great Wall is much, much more flexible.
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The wall of Hard Summar City doesn’t have that ability. It is also the reason the energy ran out near the border while it is still fully charged in the middle. It doesn’t have the ability to transfer energy from one place to another. If it did have that power, defending against the demons on the outer border would have been many times easier. The reason this wall lacks this technology is simply that the Human Civilization refused to provide it. Once the technology leaks to demons, it could put the entire Human Civilization in danger. They would never risk it.
Wide Vision's six-hour estimation is based on the assumption that no pure-blooded demons or adult demons would attack. If his assumption is wrong, then the wall would fall far sooner.
Seeing the station's reassuring, thick door and its now purple-colored forcefield, Wide Vision didn’t hesitate any longer. He waved his identity token and was allowed in.
The station's forcefield is usually not purple. It has been elevated to purple because of the heightened danger in the last few days. Once purple, it burns through years of energy crystal savings in weeks. It’s not sustainable long-term, but at the moment, the only thing that matters is the short term.
The entire Great Wall of the Human Civilization has run the same purple forcefield without stopping for hundreds of years, which is a testament to its strength.
With the station running a purple forcefield, no muddle-blooded demon can get even close to it. Not even a 70% pure-blooded demon can break the defenses. Of course, if such a demon attacked, the consumption of energy crystals would reach an unimaginable record. In that case, the energy crystals might run out in minutes.
This station is not designed to be a long-term castle. It’s only a short-term delay until…
"Open the teleportation platform!" Wide Vision ordered without hesitation. He didn’t even consider waiting for longer. After all, even though he was 90% sure the pure-blooded demons wouldn’t attack, 10% was still considerable.
All of Human Civilization's stations are equipped with teleportation platforms. However, these platforms don’t lead directly inside the Great Wall. Instead, they lead to a designated area. If a demon takes over and plans to use the teleportation platform, once it arrives at the designated location, it will be eliminated by powerful formations and mages from all sides.
The station's teleportation formation is for one-time use. It would be reduced to ashes after a single use. It is not and never has been intended as a regular transportation method. It’s a last-ditch way of running away, reserved for emergencies, only to be used when there is no other way.
"Are we going? What about Mage Bright Light?" asked Mage Demon Hand.
"She has another mission; don’t worry about her. She can take care of herself. The 13th Army is also around, so the situation is under control," explained Wide Vision. If one of his subordinates had asked questions, he would have scolded them, but it was Mage Demon Hand, a powerful retired mage, so he gave her face and responded respectfully.
Mike shook his head and said, "I didn’t see any demons in the end!" He was looking forward to seeing demons, but in the end, he saw none.
"Once we return, I'll take you to the demon prison camp. Now is not the time for adventure," said Wide Vision. There is a 10% chance that pure-blood demons will attack. If a 70% demon does attack, the demons can reach the station in a matter of minutes. The station itself can delay the demons for many minutes, but Master Wide Vision still prefers to have ample time.
He has to get the teleportation ready as fast as possible.
...
Time passed. Finally, after 15 minutes, the teleportation platform was redied completely, ready to launch, and only waiting for the master token's permission.
Wide Vision, the one with the master token, said loudly, "Everyone, gather in the teleportation room; launch in five minutes!"
All agents of the Human Civilization were in the station. Along with Master Wide Vision and Mike, 11 people gathered. The formation's total capacity was 50 people, so leaving with only 11 while many were dying outside was a bit upsetting for Wide Vision.
Looking outside the well-protected windows, he searched for lucky people who might be passing near the station. If there were anyone, he would have gone out and invited them in. In the end, he didn’t find anyone.
As it was not the time to go out and look for those willing to come to Human Civilization, he put all distracting thoughts aside and completely concentrated on the upcoming teleportation. The teleportation formation was already set up. It works automatically without the need for anyone to maintain it. With the master token, even a child can trigger it. Still, no matter what, being concentrated on the task at hand is a sure bet to reduce risks.
"Everyone, ready; 3 – 2 – 1" Whoosh!
With a bright light, everyone in the teleportation room disappeared!
At the same time, red lights began flashing in the station. Once the teleportation formation activates, the station self-destructs to preserve secrets inside.
After mere moments…
Boom!
The station exploded with a very loud boom. There were no residential buildings around it, so aside from the loud noise, it didn’t cause any destruction.