Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 682: Small Figures
Bess understood that Zhao Hai wanted him to withdraw all the troops to reduce casualties among the defending forces. The troops Zhao Hai controlled were all composed of undead beings, which could hold the line against the demon clan's army for a while longer.
Bess was not a fool; he was very aware that relying solely on Demon City here would not be enough to withstand the full force of the demon clan. The last time the demons attacked, it took the combined might of the entire continent to repel them. Many ninth-level experts had sacrificed their lives, using sacrificial magic to seal off several spatial rifts. It was said that the ninth-level experts at that time were much stronger than those today. Following that great battle, many famous forbidden magics on the continent had been lost. It could be said that the magical level on the continent now was no stronger than it was during the first war against the demons, and in terms of forbidden magic, it might even be slightly weaker.
Bess said this because magic on the continent had been continuously improving. It was similar to how people on Earth evolved from cold weapons to hot weapons, from the Stone Age to machine civilization, which took several tens of thousands of years. The development of magic on Ark Continent had also taken tens of thousands of years, constantly researching magic, leading to astonishing achievements.
Statistics show that the magic of the continent several tens of thousands of years ago was not as complex as it is now. The magic of that time was simply powerful, especially certain forbidden magics that could cause tremendous destruction. While modern forbidden magic could achieve similar feats, one must not forget that there are now far fewer mages capable of using forbidden magic.
Historical research revealed that becoming a ninth-level expert was much easier several tens of thousands of years ago. Back then, news of successful ascensions to the God Realm was common. However, in recent thousands of years, there had been no reports of anyone ascending to the God Realm. Most could only reach the ninth level at most.
This situation puzzled many, but no one was able to find a clear answer. Ultimately, it was concluded that the magical elements on the continent might not be as rich as they were tens of thousands of years ago, leading to such outcomes. But was that really the case? Nobody knew.
However, although the forbidden magic on the continent was not as strong as before, the current research into magic had taken a different path. Some lower and intermediate-level spells were now much more potent than before, and many mages could use them. Therefore, if compared properly, today’s magic might not be inferior to that of tens of thousands of years ago.
Yet, it was only not inferior. No one dared to claim that the current strength of Ark Continent was definitely stronger than that of tens of thousands of years ago. Back then, defeating the demon clan relied on the strength of the entire continent, and this time, it would also depend on the collective strength of the continent to defeat the demons.
Though Bess did not know about the situation on the demon clan's side, he was a smart person. He clearly understood that the spatial rift that appeared tens of thousands of years ago was a coincidental occurrence; the demons had no idea of Ark Continent's existence before these rifts appeared.
But things were different now. The demons had known about Ark Continent’s existence for tens of thousands of years. Although they had been defeated and the spatial rifts sealed, the demon clan had been preparing for another invasion of Ark Continent for tens of thousands of years.
The last invasion by the demon clan could be said to be hasty and unprepared, while this time they had been fully prepared for tens of thousands of years. The two situations were not comparable. Therefore, relying solely on Demon City to hold back the demon clan was impossible; all they could do was delay the demons for a few more days to buy the continent some preparation time.