The Record of Unusual Creatures

In the conference room, there were only two things that people were paying attention to:

The mysteries surrounding the demon hunters and what the future held for the unusual creatures.

Now that Hao Ren had answered the first question, it was only natural to discuss the second one.

Unsure of what was going on inside the demon hunter organization, the otherworldling families had no direction. Also because they were unconvinced that innate hostility had disappeared, the otherworldlings divided into factions, including the radicals in the square, the conservatives in the hall, the investigators outside the sanctuary, those who only came for the tea, and the like of Hesperides who could not care less. Now the mystery of the demon hunters had been uncovered, the factions had lost their reason to fight against one another. They could finally begin to think of their future with a fresh piece of mind.

“The demon hunters have not disappeared, they’re still there?” Zeon Lucas first pointed out the most critical factor. “Though the killing has ended, they are still around, and this is the biggest problem. Countess, you are now the leader of the demon hunters, what do you think they will do next?” he asked.

While saying, Zeon Lucas’ face was distorted to the point of unrecognizable. This old vampire valued aristocratic temperance and elegant demeanor, but he could no longer keep his composure. He had never experienced such a ballache moment in his life; he understood every word that he uttered, but they sounded senseless.

“Just an honorary leader,” Vivian said, downplaying her role. “From a hierarchical point of view, I’m not even as high-ranking as the husky. And you also know that the demon hunters would never concede the power to us, so we have literally zero influence over them. But I know their attitude: they will not pursue killing the otherworldlings anymore, but they will continue to maintain the world’s ‘balance.’ This balance is the status quo. They’ve stopped the killing because there is no reason for them to do so anymore. But if you declare war on them or even the humans, they will have a right to reinstate the killing order.

“So are we still trapped in the sanctuaries?” Old werewolf Hogwarf slammed his hand on the table. “Maintaining the balance? The so-called balance is to keep us in this gutter forever? Time has changed, so do we, Lady Vivian Ancestor. We want to honor—”

Without waiting for the old werewolf to finish, Y’zaks guffawed with his arms crossed. “Honor my foot. You just care about yourself,” he said.

Y’zaks had seen more people than everyone in the room had ever met combined: from the commoners, beggars to the kings. His defeat was because he had lost the hearts and minds of the people, but he could still read people’s mind. The old demon knew it well that soldiers would fight for honor and man would die for the same reason too, but real leaders would never talk about it.

When leaders were responsible for the life of their people, their only honor was to seek things that benefitted the people. This was the only thing they needed to talk about.

As a frequent visitor to the sanctuary, Y’zaks’s words carried weight. His forthrightness had the family leaders, and representatives sat up and took notice. Hessiana could not help but mumbled, “Big guy, your words have really knocked some sense into them.”

“Well, I like how he talked,” Hogwarf was not offended at all when Y’zaks interrupted him. Instead, he felt it happy. Twitching his mouth and revealing a smile that was just as wicked as Y’zaks’, Hogwarf said, “Everyone in the room is sensible people, and Vivian is also a highly respected elder, I’m not going to sugarcoat my words. Yes, it’s about self-interest, which is the only thing that keeps things in balance. Honestly, I don’t agree with the attack on the humans as I know that humans are pretty tough now. What’s more, the demon hunters have not disappeared entirely, it is unwise to go out and declare war on anybody. But I also think that we should not remain in the sanctuary, there’s no future in this barren dimension. The world outside is so vast and rich; there must be a place for everyone.”

“The dominant civilization of this planet is the humans,” Hao Ren said, knocking on the table. “You aren’t even a civilization; you are just living off the human society. You should know better that counterattacking is not realistic.”

“I don’t like the way you said it,” Zeon Lucas said, shrugging his shoulders. “But what you said makes sense.”

“You overestimate the human,” a night-demon, who was silent all the while, suddenly said. Her eyes glowed in a light as if lightning in a thunderstorm. “I understand human society, there is no doubt about the destructiveness of their war machines and race. But they are also very fragile as their destructive power has exceeded their own capabilities, which means they are actually vulnerable.”

While saying, the night-demon lady turned around her face and stared into Hao Ren’s eyes, unapologetically. “Many have the same thinking as mine. We all know that humans are difficult to deal with, but it is not impossible. As long as there is hope, there will always be people who are restless wanting to try their luck. More importantly, once upon a time, humans were just our slaves. People will try to put these slaves back in the cage; however slight the chance is.”

Compared with those young people who screamed in the square, the night-demon lady represented the truly dangerous otherworldlings.

They were not impulsive. They knew the situation on this planet. They were the ones who were still restless while knowing the strength of humanity and the remnant strength of the demon hunters. This shrewd group of otherworldlings was the most troublesome.

But Hao Ren could not care less. He spread out his hand and said, “Yes, according to my calculations, if every condition is ripe and in your favor and the otherworldlings could seize the opportunity at the right moment, you do have a chance against the human race.”

His words had caused a commotion in the room. Even Hessiana looked at Hao Ren curiously; she had not a clue what he meant.

“You will be the ultimate winner,” Hao Ren said, ignoring the commotion. He just knocked on the MDT, which projected a series of holograms showing the world of a scorched Earth. “You will no doubt become the master of this planet, but you will only have two to three thousand population, only the top supernatural creatures could survive the war. Humans and the ecology will all perish, so too the demon hunters. This is the best case scenario: you will win and rule the planet. The remaining two thousand people who survive would become the masters of Earth, ruling the radioactive craters, desert, swamp, and river. You will survive but live a primitive life. Your only food is the leftover from the last century and the mud in the crater. Few strong enough people will survive to the end, living in the mud forever, until the next planet begins its next life cycle,” he said.

The holograms ended. Hao Ren knocked on the table and got their attention back. His hands were on the table, and his face was blank. “You don’t think no one would die in a war, do you? You don’t think you could achieve a crushing victory, do you? Both sides of the war have to pay the price, which is more than the benefits you could get. Since you can’t crush the humans, you’d better be prepared for mutual destruction. Believe me, that kind of victory is absolutely no better than your days in the sanctuary,” he said.

“So, since your goal is to seek greater benefits rather than to fight with the humans just for the sake of honor, why choose war?”

Perhaps because of the horrifying scene after winning the war as well as the fact that family leaders had contemplated the pro and cons of war, everyone became as quiet as a church mouse.

A few virtual images combined with Hao Ren’s speech were indeed not enough to convince these wily old foxes, but they were not fools; they knew which side their bread was buttered.

“Then we can only make a compromise,” said Zeon Lucas, his eyes fell on Vivian. He knew that this Ancient may have it all arranged, or even reached an agreement with the demon hunters already. All the discussions here were only ceremonial. “Let’s get straight to the point,” he said.

“The otherworldlings do not have to hide in the sanctuaries anymore, but they shall not interfere with the human civilization; the armistice and follow-up action will be negotiated separately; additionally, a supervisory organization will be formed. Since the old balance and order cannot be kept, then we build a new one and use the new organization to control those who leave the sanctuary into the human society…”

Vivian continued to expound the rules that she and Hao Ren had agreed upon.