Chapter 14 The Fourteenth Saint

The room was silent as everyone quietly passed around the precious ancient documents and artifacts. The elder demon hunters were completely focused, handling each item as if it were a treasure, afraid of damaging it in the slightest. Aside from Bai Huo and Tutanin, those present were the most knowledgeable and experienced of the demon hunters, fully aware of the value and significance of these antique objects. These old scrolls, inscribed stone tablets, information-recording crystals, and ancient holy objects with inscriptions—each had a history of at least six thousand years, dating back to the time when the Demon Hunters were established as a true force, a turning point in their history.

It was also an era shrouded in mysteries and fog.

The demon hunters were well aware that they shared many similarities with other paranormal species on Earth. Even though they had always strived to define the differences between them, they at least had to admit that the demon hunter race, like other paranormal entities, had suddenly appeared on Earth ten thousand years ago. They knew they had at least ten thousand years of history on this planet, but a specific period six thousand years ago was a chaotic enigma for their scholars: their history during those few centuries was full of gaps.

That period was only a mere century, a blink of an eye compared to ten thousand years of heritage, but it was the most important century.

Before this turning point, the demon hunters were just a small tribe wandering and migrating in the cold northern lands. Despite their superior physical qualities and magical talents, they lacked the necessary technology and cultural knowledge, and had not developed their own professions or power system. They were quite weak and could only hide from the powerful paranormal races that roamed around, living a secluded life in the frozen wilderness. Almost no other races knew of their existence.

After this turning point, the demon hunters suddenly prospered. They had an other-dimensional kingdom called "Corpus" as their home, countless ancient ruins to explore, and valuable wealth left behind by a super-civilization. They began to develop their inherent talents, forming the current standard "demon hunter" power system. More importantly, they established ambitious spiritual goals, uniting under the noble and consistent goal of "hunting paranormal creatures," launching the first "hunting war" in history.

But no one knew exactly how this turning point occurred: the history of that century had mysteriously vanished.

It was as if the demon hunters had encountered a windfall from the heavens. After sacrificing a century of historical blankness, they suddenly became the most formidable violent group on the planet.

Countless scholars devoted enormous time and energy to investigate the truth of that year, but to no avail. The sparse evidence they found was not enough to lift the veil of that century-long mystery. This was a huge regret for the demon hunters, and Elder Grigory once lamented, "We have ten thousand years of glorious history, but we are missing the most crucial century!"

Such an unnatural discontinuity inevitably made people suspect that there was some conspiracy or shady secret behind it.

However, Hao Ren knew very well that there was only one reason for their historical discontinuity: Vivian had participated in the rise of the demon hunters almost throughout that century. She could be said to be the core character in the "Demon Hunter Rise DLC." Once her name and deeds were erased, there was nothing left of that entire century of history.

"This... this..." Elder Grigory held an ancient scroll with trembling hands. The things recorded on the scroll shocked and confused him, and he couldn't help but breathe rapidly. "The fourteenth mentioned on this..."

Before Grigory could finish speaking, Hao Ren took the initiative to stand up: "Do you need to authenticate the scroll?"

The elders in the room looked at each other. They had already seen the key evidence, but the enormous impact on their worldview made everyone subconsciously suspicious—suspicious of everything, including the documents and files before them.

"If these are true, it's simply a... a huge joke," Elder Andaher said in a hoarse voice. Her slightly petite body shrank further into her large trench coat, as if trying to escape something. "And not a funny one."

Hao Ren didn't say anything, just shrugged with a wry smile, indicating that reality was indeed more bizarre than fiction.

"There is no need to doubt the authenticity of these things," Claude stood up. "These things have been sealed in the First Saint's secret chamber for the past few thousand years, and the magical blessings left by the First Saint still remain on them. Everyone can examine them on their own. Also..."

As Claude spoke, his gaze fell on Elder Grigory.

"Elder Grigory, you are the most senior elder here. If I am not mistaken, you should already be able to confirm the authenticity of these records."

Grigory sighed, pinching his brow as if very tired, and then looked at the younger generations beside him who were waiting for him to speak. After a long time, he tapped the table. "I'm afraid... this is all true."

There was a faint commotion in the room.

"Starting three days ago, I have been troubled by some fragmented dreams and memories," Grigory sighed. "At first, I thought it was the effect of the wandering soul syndrome, but soon the hallucinations and auditory hallucinations of the wandering soul syndrome disappeared, and only these broken memories and dreams continued to emerge. Now I am finally certain that they are memories from my childhood. Several old friends should know that my childhood memories have always been very vague... precisely those we are missing."

Grigory smiled wryly and pointed to the antique scrolls on the table.

"I saw Vivian Ansester leading the demon hunters in the Arctic Circle, as well as the early excavations of Corpus. Although only a small part of the memories has been restored, it can be determined that they are consistent with the records on these scrolls."

Hao Ren's eyes lit up.

He thought that the generation of demon hunters from six thousand years ago had all died out, but he didn't expect that there was still one alive—with this Grigory as corroboration, all problems would be solved!

It was just that the curse of the Godslaying Sword seemed to be quite powerful, having permanently damaged part of Grigory's memory (or it might be that Grigory was too weak back then and was more severely affected by the curse). The old hunter could only recall limited things, otherwise this evidence would be even stronger.

But in any case, the direction of things began to become clear...

Hao Ren told the elders present all the information he had heard from Mimir about Vivian and the "rise of the demon hunters," including the truth about the chaos caused by the Dark Sword. He did not explain in detail the origins of that sword and the secrets of godslaying behind it, because the background involved in these matters was more complicated and it was impossible to explain it all at once. During Hao Ren's explanation, Bai Huo, Tutanin, and Claude constantly supplemented the details, making the entire process more reliable and credible.

The vague fragments of memory in Grigory's mind completely matched the facts.

"In short, that's the way things are," after everything was said, Hao Ren pointed to Vivian, "This is your Fourteenth Saint. Strictly speaking, she is the most qualified demon hunter leader who is still alive. Whether you are willing to admit it or not, in the case of the collective fall of the Saint Group, she has become your supreme leader."

Hao Ren secretly added two words in his heart: "one of."

The leaders on the scene had just heard the story about the Fourteenth Saint and were still immersed in the enormous impact on their worldview, and had no energy to think about these things. At this time, Hao Ren's reminder made everyone suddenly react.

Even Vivian herself was jolted.

If they were to follow the ancestral rules, Vivian, this "Fourteenth Saint," had never abdicated, and all the existing members of the other Saint Groups had fallen, so... the supreme leader of the demon hunter group had really become this vampire progenitor!

However, the shocking news that Hao Ren was about to drop was obviously more than just this. He didn't give the elders time to react at all: "There is also a more important thing to announce. Compared to Vivian's identity as a Saint, this second thing is probably more exciting. You guys can freak out after you hear it..."

Andaher stood up all of a sudden, her voice a little trembling: "Could there be more frightening news than this?!"

In her mind, Vivian's true identity was enough to shatter the worldviews of everyone present and then carry out post-disaster reconstruction. She simply didn't believe that Hao Ren could have more frightening news.

As a result, Hao Ren casually picked up Lily, who was sleeping soundly next to him. He shook the husky girl by the collar: "Come on, call her Ancestor."

Lily opened her eyes in a daze, with drool still at the corner of her mouth: "... Huh?"