Chapter 186: Humanity's Backbone

The appearance of the Demon Hunters marked the end of humanity's dark age. Like the sun dispersing the shadows overhead, they granted humans the stature to become sovereigns of the world.

Under the protection of the Demon Hunters, human territories expanded across all continents of Elasia, founding nation after nation. Humanity truly flourished.

With the expansion of humanity and the surge in population, the once weak and powerless gods of humanity, unable to protect their followers during the dark age, saw their divine powers and dominions rapidly increase. Their status in the Pantheon rose, moving their divine thrones higher and higher.

At the same time, more and more humans ascended to immortality, becoming gods themselves. The pantheon of human gods began to wield significant influence within the Pantheon.

From then on, humanity truly had a foundation for eternal legacy, free from the threat of extinction.

Therefore, in the records of many ancient races that document history, this era after humanity's dark age is known as the Demon Hunting Era. However, humans themselves refer to it as the Era of the Gods, with some refusing to acknowledge the term "Demon Hunting Era."

During the Demon Hunting Era, Demon Hunters patrolled human territories, suppressing and slaughtering all beings harmful to humanity: demons, devils, chromatic dragons, soul eaters... All dark races shivered like rats in the gutters under the awe of the 3,000 Demon Hunters, hiding in darkness, praying not to be discovered.

Also, during this period, human resources no longer favored the sage's Demon Hunting plan. Many rulers believed there was no need to develop a tenth generation of Demon Hunting armor, as the ninth was sufficient.

The number of Demon Hunters ceased to grow during this era. The news brought joy to countless dark races, who celebrated their fortune.

Meanwhile, Demon Hunters began their legacy. Humans, being short-lived, could only extend their lives by a few hundred years through cultivation, unlike dragons or elves, who could live for thousands of years.

Demon Hunters possessed power beyond dragons but not their lifespan. Fortunately, as knights aged, new ones donned the Demon Hunting armor, continuing the fight and protecting humanity, passing the torch.

Thus, as humanity developed, the Demon Hunting armor was continuously passed down. Over time, due to the Demon Hunters' unique status among humans, the armor began to undergo very special changes.

They developed their own wills, as all who wore them were true knights embodying the eight virtues, leading to the emergence of consciousnesses dedicated to protecting humanity.

Armors with consciousness did not cause trouble but became stronger, providing even more terrifying enhancements to their wearers. This enhancement, with time, continued to grow stronger.

Under the secret watch of dark races and monsters, they found to their despair that although the number of Demon Hunters ceased to grow, each Demon Hunter, instead of showing any signs of weakening over time, only grew stronger.

Just when they thought to lay low and no longer provoke humanity, the largest rebellion in human history occurred.

Humans, being short-lived, saw even their kings, no matter how exalted, could not escape death and become skeletons unless they achieved godhood.

Thus, in pursuit of immortality, human rulers began to covet the bloodlines of long-lived races: dragons, elves, vampires, undead, demons... all became their experimental subjects.

In pursuit of longevity, some kings nearing the end of their lives took drastic actions.

Bloodline sorcerers were born from these grim and bloody experiments. They are humans with non-human bloodlines, or rather, monsters with human bloodlines.

Bloodline sorcerers possess lifespans beyond purebreds and strength that crushes ordinary humans. To some, they are perfect beings, comparable to the emergence of Demon Hunters.

Even though fusing bloodlines came with various drawbacks, for rulers seeking longer lives, these were negligible. All flaws were ignored.

At the peak of the Demon Hunting Era, rulers secretly experimenting with bloodlines found that dark race bloodlines were the easiest to merge with humans, followed by abyssal demon and hellish devil bloodlines.

Thus, in many human realms, an aging king chose bloodline transplantation, with a vampire prince as the donor.

The compatibility between vampire and human bloodlines was very high, making the transplantation a great success. The life-drained, white-haired, muscle-atrophied old king instantly rejuvenated, regaining his youthful appearance and vitality.

He became a vampire, then, unable to control his bloodlust, drained the blood of his palace servants, drawing the attention of a Demon Hunter who happened to be passing by.

In the end, the king who thought he had attained eternal life and could enjoy everlasting luxury was slain by a Demon Hunter... and then, turmoil and betrayal began.

Once, rulers of the dark age, fearing the Demon Hunters' too-powerful strength and harboring improper thoughts, requested the sage to add restrictions, which now showed their effect.

Demon Hunters could not wield their swords against their kin!

This restriction directly ended the Demon Hunters, the very force that led humanity to glory.

Rulers who felt Demon Hunters blocked their path to immortality simultaneously turned on them, sending disguised minions to hunt them in groups.

Poisoning, ambushes, kidnapping relatives for threats... all despicable means were used. Under the stunned gaze of other races, human rulers broke humanity's backbone themselves, ending the glorious era of Demon Hunting and halting human expansion.

...

"Demon Hunters..." Muria sighed, recalling the historical records he saw in the golden dragon mother's library. "What a pity. Without that rebellion, had the 3,000 Demon Hunters still been around, who knows how far humanity could have developed."

"Little brother Muria, it seems you don't know much."

"What? Is there more to the story?" Muria looked at the golden dragon lady Caslana with curiosity.

"The end of the Demon Hunting Era and the decline of Demon Hunters were inevitable, unavoidable outcomes. Even if the rulers of that era hadn't hunted the Demon Hunters, other human forces would have emerged to make the Demon Hunters disappear."

"What do you mean?"

"You should know, right? The Demon Hunters' armor grew stronger by the day. Take a guess, why was that?"

"Caslana, sister, stop beating around the bush."

"Alright, I'll tell you. Because of faith!

The Demon Hunters of that era, due to their formidable power and virtues, were worshipped by many humans as deities.

Thus, at that time, a large portion of human faith concentrated on the Demon Hunters' armor, while the gods of humanity received only a small share of faith.

So, do you understand?"

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