The Great Wall: the impenetrable shield of Human Civilization. Those within are safe, while those outside must run and hide from demons in hopes of survival.
Centuries ago, at the inception of the Great Wall, Master Max brought the overwhelming majority of humanity inside, but some remote towns and villages were inevitably left out.
Over the years, most remote cities were found, and their residents brought into the walls, but some cities refused. Human Civilization tried to reach them and persuade them time and time again, but it rarely succeeded; the inhabitants of the cities that refused to move after such a long time were very hostile and unwilling to abandon their cities. Forcing them to move was not an option; that would have only led to war and bloodshed. After many years, the Human Civilization gave up on them.
The existence of humans outside the Great Wall is not in doubt. However, the size and population of any such settlement would not be significant. They would be relatively small and in remote, hidden locations. It can be said that the only chance for humanity to live outside the walls is to hide and hope not to be discovered by pure-blooded demons or big demonic cities.
One genius aspect of Max's wall design is that its defensive power against demons increases the longer it is. The Great Wall is extremely long, which has increased its defensive power to an unimaginably high degree, especially considering the materials used in its creation are not very expensive.
Therefore, even if Human Civilization had given Max's wall design to wild humans outside, its power wouldn't have been nearly as strong. After all, wild humans outside do not have the resources to build such long walls.
But all of this is theoretical. Human Civilization cannot give away the wall's formula. Spells, wall designs, magic formations, etc., are secret. Once demons know them, they can decode and neutralize them.
Humans outside the walls probably wouldn't leak it willingly, but once their city is ravaged by demons, the secrets can be lost to demons.
It's also not possible to build a wall for them. After all, the overwhelming majority of the remaining humans outside the Great Wall are hostile to Human Civilization. They would not allow unknown people to tear down their city walls and build new ones.
Therefore, even though Human Civilization wanted to help those outside, there was no good way to give them that aid.
That said, there are a few wild human cities outside the wall that have become open to cooperation over the years. One such wild human city is called Hard Summer City.
Hard Summer City is ancient; its history is far longer than that of the Great Wall. It was built at the top of a tall, remote mountain at the border between two big demonic cities.
Being located between two demonic cities may sound like a nightmare, but it is actually not. The leaders of big demonic cities avoid coming into conflict with each other; they prohibit their minions from passing the border or getting close to it. Both big demonic cities knew of the existence of Hard Summer City, but none touched it because they knew it could lead to conflict; the city was simply not worth the risk.
The worst one can encounter at the border is some wild demons with muddled blood. This is why a small city has survived for so long.
Of course, there are also risks. In the event of a conflict, even on a relatively small scale, between two demonic cities, Hard Summer City or any other border settlement would be obliterated.
Being located on a tall mountain also has its set of challenges.
First, there is no room for development; they have already annexed all the suitable land. The city's population has been stuck at around 10,000 people for hundreds of years.
Second, there is very little arable land, making it difficult to provide for dietary needs solely by farming. Hard Summer City has nearly a thousand hunters; without them, the people would starve.
Third, as with most cities placed on a mountain, in winter, the air becomes extremely cold, making life difficult. To survive through the winter, they have to store food in the spring and summer. Of course, they can also hunt in winter, but it would be nowhere near the amount of food required to feed 10,000 people.
There are many other issues with being in such a remote location, such as having no route to other cities and no trade partners. No one country, let alone a small city, can create everything it needs. Not having any way to reach other human settlements means that they basically have to live like savages.
Maybe due to its remote location or its unique needs, Hard Summer City was much more receptive to contact with the emissaries from the Human Civilization.
50 years ago, the city made a deal with the strange people who claimed to come from a wall. The deal was simple: they would allow people from the wall to stay in the city and build a station, while in return, the wall people agreed to provide food and other necessities to the city's residents.
The deal was a win-win. Even with all the hunting and farming, Hard Summer City still lost many people to hunger, especially in the winter. Human Civilization also liked the deal. It has many locations and stations around the world, but maintaining security is a difficult task. By placing the station inside another city, it vastly reduced the need for security.
One additional reason the Human Civilization readily agreed on the deal and didn't bargain it down was simply that it wanted to help the people of Hard Summer City. As a country that calls itself 'Human Civilization,' it sees it as its duty to help humans, even if they are not part of it. From the Human Civilization's view, all humans are part of it; it won't discriminate against those who are not born within it.
...
Mike looked at the city walls ahead of him. These city walls were far less powerful than those of Human Civilization. They were 15 meters tall, but the protective aura above them was red. Appearance-wise, they were not much different from the walls of Human Civilization besides the color difference. But in Mike's estimation, its protective aura was barely at the level of core formation.
There were people moving around, most of whom were probably hunters, judging from their clothes. The gate of the city was tightly shut, with some guards at the top.
As Mage Shining Light and her group made their way to the gate, the hunters stopped what they were doing and looked at them quietly. Even though Human Civilization has placed a few mages in the city, it's still rare for them to see strangers. The mages from Human Civilization usually remain in their station and won't come out too many times. They are replaced every few months, and the time of their replacement is known. It's extremely rare for people of Human Civilization to visit outside the schedule.
On the way to this city, with the help of the amazing powers of Shining Light Mage and her team, the group didn't encounter any strong demons. They used spells and magic items to hide their presence. Of course, that is not the only reason that they reached here so easily. The route between the Human Civilization and Hard Summer City has been tried hundreds of times. By now, they have drawn a perfect map, which allows them to use the borders of big demonic cities to avoid most dangers.
Mage Shining Light said a few words to the chief guard at the top of the gate, placed a token in a box and threw the box to the top of the wall.
The chief guard took the box and hurried away.
To make sure that no one can impersonate Human Civilization's agents and soldiers, anyone intending to enter must have a token. The token will be matched with the one inside the city. If the two match, they will be allowed in.
Demons usually won't bother to plan that much to enter a small human city; they would directly attack head-on. But still, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Some demons have bloodline spells that allow them to create human-looking clones or even change the appearance of their bodies to that of humans. Other wild human forces may also try to harm Hard Summer City. One must never underestimate how much evil humans are capable of.
After about 30 minutes, the chief gatekeeper returned and opened the gate. Obviously, the two tokens matched.
Mage Shining Light and her team entered and continued walking without stopping. People on the street, most of whom were wearing clothes that they had obtained from Human Civilization, looked at the Shining Master's group as if they were seeing a rare species.
After walking for ten minutes, Mike and his group finally reached a building that was completely different from the others. Its style was like that of Human Civilization, built with concrete instead of wood, and much tougher than those around it. It was protected with a short wall, but the protective aura of the wall was at least as strong as the one in the city wall, maybe even stronger. After all, the city wall protects a whole city, while this wall only covers a very small area. It is much easier to protect small areas than large areas. The wall of the station was not Max's. Mike guessed it to be one of those expensive walls that have a better protective aura and are suitable only for small essential buildings due to their very expensive price tag.
Someone came out of the building with a smile. It was a man with a goatee and relatively big eyes, considering his small face.
"Mage Shining Light! Such an honor to meet you!" the man with a goatee said.
There were nine mages in this station, three of whom would be replaced every six months. They were able to place so few mages here because of the city's existence. Otherwise, with the cautious approach of the Human Civilization, it wouldn't have rested assured unless it had about fifty.
"Mage Wide Vision, good to meet you. I came here this time on an important mission. Let's go in; I will tell you the details once we can speak safely," she said.
After all, it's easy to be eavesdropped on out in the open. The people of Hard Summer City also have mages, some of whom are powerful. Once inside the building, however, no one can eavesdrop on anything; there are many protective formations placed there.
"Please," said Mage Wide Vision.
Mage Shining Light, her team, Mike, and Mage Demon Hand all entered the station.