Chapter 238 The Source of Unrest

To be honest, Hao Ren hadn't expected the opposition within the Athenian Sanctuary to be this severe—or rather, that the radical and conservative, young and ancient factions among the otherkin had become so opposed. He had originally thought that even with disagreements, these people would choose a relatively moderate way to negotiate under the suppression of elders and great families, but he didn't expect these young groups to bravely besiege the council hall.

Sitting inside the council hall were representatives of the Sanctuary's largest families, and several elders!

These reckless and impulsive young otherkin… where did they get their confidence? Were they just hotheads?

After his initial surprise, Hao Ren quickly realized that something seemed wrong here.

Meanwhile, the confrontation in the square continued.

The "new generation family" members surrounding the council hall surged across the square like a black tide, with countless werewolves, vampires, nightstalkers, wizards, and other strange humanoid creatures mixed together in this murky soup. Some were shouting slogans, some were pushing the council guards, and some were skulking around in the crowd. The noisy clamor came from all directions, making people dizzy and irritable. But even these seemingly united groups were actually in chaos. Although the phenomenon of innate hostility had almost completely subsided, the grudges accumulated over the years still existed. Each race in the square maintained a subtle opposition, carefully observing the many intertwined small and medium-sized groups…

It was a complete mess.

"Let the people inside the council hall come out and explain the truth! The demon hunters have disappeared! Why are you hiding it from the public?!"

"Doing nothing but collecting salaries, weak and incompetent! Now is a great opportunity for us to reclaim the glory of our ancestors. The people in the council hall are only causing us to miss the opportunity!"

"We need an explanation! We need the truth! The disappearance of the demon hunters is a foregone conclusion, so why hasn't anyone come out to announce the situation?!"

"Who is afraid of those humans? They are just the descendants of our servants. Only cowards would bow their heads to them! We must take back this world and return humans to their cages! The age of the gods is coming! We are the rulers of this world!"

The chaotic clamor spread throughout the square, yet these loud shouts could still be heard clearly from various places. The opposition sharply criticized the cautious decisions of the great families and elders, as if they had already grasped the true direction of the entire world. Nangong Sanba squinted and scanned the crowd in the square. Although he was weak, his eyesight was excellent, and he quickly spotted those guys skulking around in the crowd.

"...Someone is organizing and inciting," Nangong Sanba said in a low voice, "and the reaction of the soldiers in the square is also very strange."

Nangong Wuyue stared around, wide-eyed. "What's so strange about the soldiers' reaction?"

Before Nangong Sanba could say anything, Lily had already crossed her arms and muttered, "They're not putting in any effort, and their faces aren't tense at all. Especially the front row of guards, look at their calm and composed appearance—either they're used to riots every now and then, or they're working pretty well with the people in the square."

The husky girl's analysis was spot-on, prompting Hao Ren to glance at her. "How did you suddenly become so perceptive?"

"Come on, I graduated from Peking University four times and roamed Shanghai! What kind of scene haven't I seen? I know this kind of situation like the back of my hand!" Lily puffed out her chest proudly, her fluffy tail wagging vigorously, looking eager for praise. Then, she pointed to her eyes. "And I really am perceptive! Look, my eyes are golden..."

"It seems that the soldiers in the council hall aren't necessarily on the same side as the old families," Hao Ren clicked his tongue. "The city is completely unsettled."

"Just unsettled?" Vivian muttered to herself, her eyes narrowed. "I don't think it's that simple..."

While Vivian and the others were muttering, the rioting crowd in the square had begun a new round of clamor. There were clearly several "leaders" in the crowd who were taking the lead in shouting, and now a new representative was stepping forward, surrounded by people. This was a dark-skinned young man with a strange white light in his eyes. His slogans were no different from the others, but his tone and demeanor were full of incitement, as if he had practiced the lines and gestures he should use at this moment countless times at home. He waved his fist and passionately denounced the council hall, proclaiming his belief in eliminating human civilization and reclaiming the glorious age. His voice almost echoed throughout the square: "We must go out from the Sanctuary! We are the masters of the world outside! Let humans return to their cages!"

As he shouted, Hao Ren and Vivian stood just a few meters away from him, watching the farce with cold eyes.

"Let humans return to their cages! Let humans return to their cages!"

Countless people echoed the dark-skinned young man's slogan. At first, it was a specific small group in the crowd who were waving flags and shouting, but soon the ordinary young people watching the excitement were drawn in and began to shout feverishly.

"The Sanctuary is our shame!"

"The Sanctuary is our shame!"

"Eliminate the parasites in the council hall, eliminate Hespero, that traitor! She is a traitor to our generation!"

"Hespero is a traitor to our generation!"

Vivian silently walked up to the dark-skinned young man and stared at him expressionlessly.

The dark-skinned young man gesticulated wildly, his arms waving, his face full of grief and heroic fervor, but this meant nothing to Vivian. She simply stared unblinkingly, without saying a word.

One was a passionate family representative, and the other was the expressionless progenitor vampire. This strange atmosphere finally infected the surrounding crowd. The dark-skinned young man shouted a few slogans, his face growing increasingly awkward. Finally, he couldn't stand this deadly confrontation any longer, so he stared at Vivian's face and shouted righteously, "What are you looking at?!"

"Looking at you... jumping and shouting," Vivian shrugged. "Don't you really know why the councilors forbid you from declaring war on humans?"

The dark-skinned young man felt insulted by Vivian's first words, but his expression changed slightly when he heard the second half. He immediately raised his voice. "We don't want those fools riding on our heads! They've blocked the news! They're plotting something! He... wait, are you with Hespero..."

Vivian casually slapped the dark-skinned young man in the face. The crisp sound of the slap immediately silenced the surroundings.

The dark-skinned young man didn't even realize what had happened. He staggered from Vivian's slap, covering his face and staring blankly. He never expected to be treated this way in this situation. He had imagined being suppressed by the great families, clashing with the city guards, and even a heroic, memorable death, but he never thought he would be slapped with such force that he saw stars. After a moment, the young man finally reacted. His face twisted, and the white light in his eyes intensified. "You dare..."

Vivian didn't let him finish. As soon as he steadied himself, she raised her hand and slapped him again: Whack!

The surrounding crowd finally came to their senses, and some immediately rushed forward to try to stop her. But at this moment, a few of the older city guards recognized that the person who was blowing her top was actually Vivian, the living ancestor of all otherkin. So these guards, who had been lazy just now, suddenly became energetic, rushing forward and pushing the impetuous young rioters back.

Vivian didn't pay attention to the commotion around her. She simply released an arc of electricity to interrupt the dark-skinned young man's counterattack, and then delivered another slap: Whack!

The dark-skinned young man tried to resist several times, but he was just a "spokesperson" who was good at performing and speaking, and the nightstalker race itself was not good at fighting. Even if Vivian was weakened ten times, she couldn't possibly be unable to deal with such a "little guy". Soon, only the monotonous sound of slaps remained—Vivian didn't change her moves at all. She just used arcs of electricity and shadow magic to control his movements, and then slapped him firmly, one slap after another.

After an unknown amount of time, the dark-skinned young man finally broke down. His previous heroic fervor had all turned into a blank stare. He even subconsciously shouted a classic line, disregarding his image, "You... my dad has never hit me!"

Vivian casually slapped him again. "But I've hit your dad!"

"Whack!"

"I've even hit your dad's dad!"

"Whack!"

"I've hit every generation of your ancestors' dads! Back then, besides hitting werewolves and demon hunters, I hit you nightstalkers the most!"

"Whack! Whack!"

The loud slaps continued for a long time until everyone around—including the city guards and the rioters—was petrified with shock.

Vivian withdrew her hand and shrugged. "It's the first time I've seen such an impudent guy. Don't young people nowadays recognize their elders?"

"Is it over?" Hao Ren had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, and he stepped forward when he saw that Vivian had finally calmed down. "I didn't expect you to be so protective of Hespero."

Vivian raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Even if a brat is a brat, they're still family. It's my personal entertainment to hit and scold her, but it's an infringement of private property for others to scold her!"

At this moment, the dazed nightstalker youth finally came to his senses. He was filled with fear. "You... you're the Red Moon..."

"Now you know," Vivian said, crossing her arms. "I'm hitting you for your own good! Do you really not know the consequences of being used as a pawn? Everyone should do what they're supposed to do. Don't stare. Can't I guess that someone's behind you? Get lost, get lost..."

Most of the nearby rioters looked confused, but the expressions of some of them changed several times in a row. Then, as if they had been well-rehearsed, these people scattered and retreated. Soon, the surrounding onlookers also headed towards the exit of the square.

After the crowd had dispersed, Hesperides came to Vivian's side and casually muttered, "The one you just hit, his ancestral home is Australia, and he's a descendant of the Finkel family of nightstalkers..."

Vivian's expression immediately became a little awkward when she heard this. "Um... then I accidentally lied to him just now."

Hao Ren was confused. "What did you lie to him about?"

Vivian rubbed her hands together. "I probably haven't hit his dad..."

Everyone: "..."

"Forget it, it's all in the details," Vivian waved her hand, skipping the topic and turning to walk towards the council hall. "These guys outside are just clowns. I want to see who's causing trouble inside!"