Chapter 1 Hesperides Never Imagined

Hesperides had never imagined that she would one day be frightened by a simple sentence.

The hunt will end.

Only six simple words, six words that meant nothing to ordinary people, were enough to make Hesperides, an ancient deity who had survived since the age of myths, feel dizzy. She couldn't even understand the deeper meaning of these words for a while, so she stared at Hao Ren for a long time, and after asking him to repeat it again, she trembled and said, "The Demon Hunters... have they really all disappeared?"

"No," Hao Ren hesitated for a moment, not directly telling her about the Demon Hunters' current state of severe injury. "They had some internal problems, but it's over now. But from now on, the hunting war will end, they... well, as long as you can maintain the balance, the Demon Hunters will no longer actively hunt the Others."

Hesperides keenly heard the deeper meaning behind the words "maintain the balance" and "actively hunt", but she didn't say much. She just frowned and looked at Vivian curiously: "You really went to the Demon Hunters' nest? And you came back unscathed? What did you do there?"

"Would you believe me if I said we went to help?" Vivian looked at her old friend with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Hesperides' expression changed, obviously in her worldview, a group of Others running to the Demon Hunters' house to help was a bit incredible. Although Hao Ren had mentioned to her that his group was an "absolutely neutral force," Hesperides still subconsciously regarded them as part of the Other camp.

"You went to help the Demon Hunters?" The "Goddess of Dusk's" eyebrows twitched slightly. "Vivian, Countess, are you sleepwalking again?"

"The Demon Hunters are an important part of the balance," Vivian said deliberately and profoundly, which was in line with her identity as an ancient being, and could also make Hesperides realize that there were intricate truths hidden behind the whole incident. "We went to help them also to ensure that everyone in the Sanctuary could be safe—the Demon Hunters hold powerful ancient forces in their hands, and their destruction would bring even greater danger. Let's not talk about this for now, we're going to the Sanctuary to see the situation. I heard that the most troublesome guys are all in Athens?"

Hesperides shook her head helplessly: "Yes, because this is one of the largest Sanctuaries, and it's also one with relatively convenient access to the outside world. The younger family forces are all here. But don't worry, the Heskanah family, who usually cause the most trouble, are actually the most stable this time. Your cheap daughter has a very high reputation among the younger generation, and she can actually hold the fort better than us old guys. Tsk tsk, these young people nowadays, they don't know how to respect..."

Before Hesperides could finish speaking, Vivian slapped the table: "How many times do I have to say it! That wretched girl is not my daughter! She's just a little bat that I dropped..."

Hesperides looked expressionlessly at Vivian's hand on the table: "Six hundred thousand—euros. You just smashed Octavian's frontal bone."

Vivian's eyebrows shot up: "Stop talking nonsense, I've slapped Octavian when he was alive! We're all foxes from the same mountain, what are you telling me about Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?"

That's roughly how the bickering between two ancient beings goes.

Hesperides, with a look of annoyance, opened the labyrinth leading to the Sanctuary. Soon, the group arrived near the "City Hall" of the Sanctuary.

This city in the shadows had not yet been completely rebuilt, and traces of the last war could still be seen. But besides these traces, Hao Ren's biggest feeling was that the atmosphere in the city was completely different from the last time he was here.

A depressing, gloomy atmosphere enveloped the city streets, filled with a sense of impending storm.

Although the City of Shadows originally had a depressing and bleak atmosphere, it was mostly due to the city's location in the shadow dimension and the delicate relationship between the various races in the city. The depressing atmosphere would never be so obvious as to make people uncomfortable, but now the streets here were obviously different from usual. Hao Ren could hardly see anyone walking outside. Even if there were a few figures on the street, they were mostly in a hurry, and these people walking outside were also wearing clothing with obvious family logos—which meant that they were not out for a stroll, but personnel dispatched by some large families.

"The little guys in the western Dark Shadow District and the Scorching Light Heights caused some trouble," Hesperides walked beside him, explaining the current situation in the city. "They are all new families that have become active in the last few centuries. They don't know the immensity of heaven and earth, and they are prone to flights of fancy. Traditions of authority have little deterrent effect on them. Especially after we sent out several batches of investigators, the situation has become even worse: the investigators discovered unmanned outposts left by the Demon Hunters, and successfully destroyed them. And so far they have not been retaliated against by the Demon Hunters. Those destroyed outposts have all naturally dissipated in the temporal turbulence, so many people believe that the Demon Hunters will never return."

"Emerging small families..." Hao Ren was a little curious about the inheritance of the Others. "Speaking of which, how do these small families appear? With the current survival situation of you Others, most of you should be survivors from ancient families, so how can there be so many small families born?"

Hesperides' voice was a bit lazy, but she still patiently explained: "Splitting, exile, heretics, all sorts of reasons. The Heskanah family was formed by exiles, and some new families are split off from large families, or reorganized from the remaining forces after several large families fight each other. Although we are hiding in the Sanctuary, it doesn't mean that our social structure is solidified—most Others can live for a long time, hundreds or thousands of years, enough for us to create many emerging groups."

Nangong Wuyue muttered casually: "It sounds like these small families should be very weak."

"Not necessarily," this time it was not Hesperides who spoke, but Vivian. "Not all families are stronger the older they are, look at Heskanah—sometimes the bigger the brain hole, the stronger they are. And many things about the Others were cut off during the Twilight of the Gods, the historical background and so on... doesn't actually have much impact. Of course, on the whole, the old families are still stronger, but the difference between the young forces and the old forces is not as big as you think."

Just as Vivian was saying this, a burst of noise suddenly came from ahead.

Hao Ren followed the sound and saw a red light suddenly light up in the direction of the city council hall. This red light carried a huge, fierce power. Just looking at it could make one feel a burning sensation spreading from the bottom of one's heart. And in the place where the red light rose, a large number of people gathered, and bursts of shouts and strange howls like hurricanes in the canyon rang out from the crowd, constantly impacting the eardrums.

Hesperides just shrugged expressionlessly after seeing this scene from afar: "That's why I came out to find some peace and quiet."

"Young people these days..." Vivian lamented, covering her forehead. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept up beside her, and then, accompanied by a large amount of lightning and dark clouds, rushed towards the direction of the crowd's trouble.

Hao Ren was a half-beat slower, but he immediately followed.

The troublemakers gathered in front of the city council hall had almost occupied the entire square. They were numerous and seemed to be not only one race, nor limited to one family. This was probably a force of pressure united after discussion. The action factions from various young families gathered in the council hall square, occupying roads and checkpoints, constantly pushing and impacting the city council's defense line. And the red light just now should be the handwriting of a leader: boasting about their strength, causing greater chaos, but not carrying out real violent attacks.

And in front of the council hall, the "Council's" guards were maintaining the final order. This city of the Sanctuary did not have a real "government". Several large families, including the Heskanah family, and several ancient beings sitting in town were the ruling class here, and the council guards were the personal soldiers of these families and ancient beings. These not-so-professional law enforcers formed a defense line in front of the hall, and had been tensely confronting the troublemakers for an unknown amount of time.

When Hao Ren and the others arrived, the scene was such a tense and chaotic situation. Even the two sides confronting each other did not notice this small team that fell from the sky (the road outside was blocked, and Hao Ren and his party were directly brought in by the data terminal) because of their high mental tension. A young vampire rushing in the front of the crowd shouted loudly towards the direction of the council hall: "This city has been corrupted! We must drag the traitors in the hall out!"

Hao Ren had just walked out of the teleportation light when he heard such a loud shout.