"Nick, we can't wait anymore. We need more Demons," Aria transmitted to him.
Nick was looking at his collection of fetuses.
They had managed to grow a bit more, but he was still nowhere near done.
Another 20 years had passed since he looked at the researchers.
By now, there were over 2,000 Heroes in the underground city, and the population had also reached its maximum capacity.
There was no longer any space for more humans, and laws had to be put in place that prohibited willful procreation.
"I will deal with it in a couple of hours," Nick answered.
"Thank you," Aria transmitted before cutting the connection.
She didn't want to disturb Nick since she knew that his research was the most important thing in the world right now.
However, the city really needed Demons.
Nick looked at the city and saw the abundance of Heroes.
They needed over 500 Demons.
This was a crazy number.
'I should deal with my other job as Envious Researcher as well. I don't want the Sun to become suspicious.'
After some hours, Nick got rid of the fetuses and left the underground city.
It had been quite a while since he had looked at the world, and he was sure that many things had changed.
First, Nick needed to check on Aegis' development.
As he traveled through the Great Triangle, he noticed something very quickly.
There were many new cities.
In the past, Aegis kept the number of cities relatively low.
More cities meant more ways for the Specters to mess with them.
Nick looked at a couple of cities and read some minds.
'They found a way to deal with the Consumption,' Nick realized.
There were many more Specialists in every city.
The number compared to a century ago had almost tripled.
'They have abandoned the consumption and are using something called a Canvas.'
The method Aegis had created was similar to what the Enlightened Ones did with their Firmament.
The Canvas was essentially a second Zephyx Synchronizer but with a flat shape.
The Canvas could be used like a Specter Core that was absorbed during the Consumption.
Manipulation Lines could be put on it, and it gathered more Zephyx.
However, the Zephyx generation was "only" equal to absorbing a Mid Elder.
But that was already enough.
Absorbing a Mid Elder was enough to become a Shield.
The strongest aspect of the Canvas was its price.
Time.
It was like a Shell.
The Extractor just needed to create it with their own Zephyx.
Alternatively, they could also use external Zephyx to build it, but that would be quite expensive, and most Experts didn't have that kind of money.
Luckily, it "only" took 30 years to create the Canvas with one's own Zephyx.
Nevertheless, after becoming a Specialist, they needed to hurry up.
The ten years for building the Shell and the thirty years for building the Canvas were quite significant.
While the Canvas couldn't even begin to compare to the Specter Cores the underground city made, it was definitely better than the regular Consumption.
How many people could absorb Mid Elders?
Almost nobody.
Now, everyone had the talent to become a Shield as long as they hurried up.
Of course, Aegis members got the Zephyx for the Canvas for free, which saved them 25 of the 30 years.
Another thing Nick noticed was the fervent belief everyone had in the Champion of Light.
The new Right Arm almost seemed like a deity to them.
The Right Arm's holy and calming aura made them feel safe.
And if the Right Arm was already this divine, how divine was the Champion of Light?
It seemed like the image change for the Right Arm had worked out very well.
After looking at some cities, Nick continued and searched for a group of Agents.
He found a good group and snuck up on them.
Then, he used a device to clone the Barrier of the leader of the group.
Nick disguised himself and wore the cloned Barrier before approaching Aegis' headquarters.
A new database had already been created, and Aegis' technology had advanced a lot.
There were now weapons using Star Energy all over the walls of the megastructure.
However, with just a single glance, Nick could tell that the weapons were not very strong.
'Seems like the Champion is doing my job for me,' Nick thought. 'They are focusing on Star Energy instead of trying to make Pure Energy work.'
'Additionally, while their manipulation of Star Energy has progressed, they are not very good at producing them.'
The Star Energy generators around the weapons were huge and had little output.
One of these generators wouldn't even be enough to power a single Seed, and they were several meters wide.
Nick was reminded of the time the Jolly Cannibal told him to forget about Star Energy and to focus on its production before going directly to Pure Energy.
That had been the right decision.
Star Energy was really only useful for two things.
Fighting Specters and making Pure Energy.
Nick decided that he would stage an argument with the guards about some stupid policy.
This would buy him some time.
In this way, he could stay near the entrance of Aegis' headquarters without entering.
Entering Aegis' headquarters would be far too dangerous.
Several Heroes came and went from Aegis' headquarters, and Nick read the minds of the weaker ones.
The guards were also on the weaker side, which meant Nick could also read their minds.
'That fast?' Nick thought with a bit of surprise.
Sure enough, with the death of Famine and the Corruptors, Aegis's progress accelerated massively.
The Shields were growing stronger, thanks to Greed, and they didn't need to focus on the Corruptors anymore.
This allowed them more freedom when it came to hunting Specters.
Two decades ago, Aegis had made a significant step.
Nick remembered the artificial forests in the wild, which killed any living organism that approached.
These forests were made by the False Hope, an Initial Adversary.
These forests were in constant conflict with the countless black blobs created by the Eternal Hunger.
Recently, the Eternal Hunger managed to become an Early Adversary, and it put a lot of pressure on the False Hope.
Under the pressure, the False Hope revealed itself, and Aegis took advantage of that.
In a gigantic battle, which also involved Death and War, Aegis lost two Shields but managed to suppress both the False Hope and the Eternal Hunger.
Right now, Aegis' headquarters had two Initial Adversaries, Greed and the False Hope, and two Early Adversaries, the Eternal Hunger and the False Prophet.
The Shields were growing.
Soon, the Champion would no longer be the only Mid Shield.
Death and the Trio of Destruction were no longer in an advantageous position.
The frequency of their attacks also lessened significantly since unveiling their locations became more and more dangerous.
'Aegis made a lot of progress.'
'It won't be long before they capture Pestilence and War.'
'Then, they will have Late and Peak Shields, and finally, they are going to capture Death.'
'That is when the first level nine Extractors will appear.'
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