The more Andrew thought about it, the more certain he became that this so-called Hamlin was definitely Doehring Cowart's adversary and the culprit who killed him!
"Interesting, what an unexpected bonus." Andrew smiled, took a sip of his drink, and looked away from Hamlin.
In the original book, Doehring Cowart said that Hamlin was his old rival, and those who can be called old rivals must have a deep-rooted history. Now, Andrew thinks that the two most likely had a great feud before they became Saint-level.
"This road is a must-pass for Doehring Cowart, and here I met Hamlin again. Could it be that the two of them became enemies here?" Andrew couldn't help but wonder.
Regardless of the truth, he will keep a close eye on Hamlin from now on.
About half an hour later, Hamlin finished his meal, picked up his magic wand, and left the tavern silently, like a ghost. Andrew smiled knowingly, tossed down two gold coins, and followed. His Divine Power was formidable; he could easily pinpoint the target's location within a kilometer.
However, Andrew didn't dare to be so reckless. Hamlin was, after all, Darkness Magic with the potential to become Saint Magus, and his Divine Power far surpassed that of his peers. If he were too far away, Andrew wouldn't be able to perfectly control his Divine Power and might be detected. Therefore, Andrew set the tracking distance to two hundred meters.
Hamlin stayed in Pearl City for a few days. During this time, he inquired about various information and spent a considerable amount of gold coins purchasing various magical materials for research.
Andrew wasn't surprised by this. In this world, there were no scientists, but almost every mage could be called a scientist. Magic cultivation is different from martial Battle-qi cultivation; mages are generally representatives of secluded cultivation. They are very strong in combat, but their combat experience is not rich. In comparison, most mages prefer to stay in magic towers, conducting research in various aspects.
More than ten days later, Hamlin finally left Pearl City. This time, his destination was the northwest.
Northwest of Pearl City lies the edge of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, which is already in the western part of the Yulan Continent. With Hamlin's level seven Darkness Magic, he would basically not encounter any danger here.
Hamlin, who practiced Darkness Magic, had a strong bloodlust. Along the way, Andrew counted that he had encountered about two hundred magical beasts, most of which were low-level. Ordinary great mages would not waste their magic power on low-level magical beasts, but Hamlin was different. Not a single magical beast he saw survived.
Hamlin did not kill for the sake of killing.
After killing each magical beast, Hamlin would take out a fist-sized black crystal ball, place it above the corpse of the recently deceased beast, and mutter incantations. After a while, the crystal ball would flash, and only then would he put it away with satisfaction.
Andrew watched, not understanding what the other person was doing. Darkness Element magicians were always so mysterious, gloomy, and eerie; in legends, they were also beings similar to demons.
"Perhaps I should do some research too, fusing the Azure Dragon Essence Blood. That's a risky undertaking. Before that, maybe I should capture some Saint-level Magical Beast, recruit a group of people, and have them fuse their essence with the beasts' blood to see what secrets lie within..."
Inspired by Hamlin, Andrew came up with this idea. He knew that Beirut had gone to great lengths to integrate the Four Divine Beasts Essence Blood into human bodies. Countless people had died in the process, with only Baruch and three others surviving by sheer luck. In terms of mortality rate, it would put all the experiments of his previous life to shame.
Thinking about this, Andrew couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, a point he had intentionally or unintentionally overlooked before. Perhaps he was still dreaming of being the protagonist, believing himself to be that one in a million exception. However, when he thought about this again, Andrew finally came to his senses.
"We must do the experiment!" Andrew roared in his heart.
Andrew had no idea how to conduct the experiment. He only knew that he had to be patient until he was sure of success.
Hamlin continued his actions, and as he ventured deeper, more and more magical beasts were killed. Gradually, the number of mid-level magical beasts also increased. With his level seven Darkness Magic, even Sixth-Level Magical Beast couldn't withstand much of his attacks, and many were magically reduced to skeletons.
Another half month passed, Andrew noticed that the black crystal ball had begun to change. Wisps of mist had appeared inside the originally dark crystal ball.
"What is that?" Andrew asked, puzzled.
Later, Andrew began to focus his attention on the crystal ball. He discovered that every time Hamlin killed a monster and finished chanting the spell, the mist inside the crystal ball would increase slightly.
Yes, a tiny, minuscule trace, so small it was invisible to the naked eye! Had Andrew not possessed such strong willpower, he too would not have been able to detect it.
"This mist seems to contain a different kind of power!" Andrew suddenly realized that this must be the work of Darkness Magic.
Andrew was genuinely curious about the mist, especially the power it contained, which was very different from the Battle-qi and magic he knew. In fact, Andrew vaguely felt a desire within him to devour that power.
"Hold on, you must hold on! Wait until Hamlin meets Doehring Cowart before you make your move!"
Andrew struggled to suppress his thoughts and hung behind Hamlin.
Half a day later, Hamlin found a secluded spot and, as usual, entered into meditation. This time, however, he held the crystal ball in his hand. Andrew noticed that as he meditated, the mist from the crystal ball slowly seeped into his body...
Half an hour later, Hamlin finished meditating and put away the crystal ball with satisfaction. Andrew noticed that his Divine Power had increased significantly.
"Could it be something that can enhance Divine Power...?"
Andrew suddenly remembered that in the original book, a Deity-level powerhouse known as the Great Wizard had slaughtered countless humans and used a crystal ball to collect souls for his own absorption... How similar this behavior was to the scene before him!
"It seems Hamlin is collecting souls." Andrew was certain of this; otherwise, Hamlin would never have made such progress in just half an hour of meditation.
The ability to collect souls is not something ordinary people possess.
In this world, after death, the soul is drawn into the Netherworld. Souls below the Deity-level have one more chance to reincarnate; if they reach Deity-level in their second life, their memories of their first life will be restored. However, many powerful beings possess various means to preserve the souls of these beings at the moment of death, preventing them from entering the Netherworld.
Among them, mages who practiced magic related to death and darkness made up the majority.
Andrew felt a surge of excitement. He stared at the crystal ball, thinking to himself: If I could obtain this method and absorb the soul power within, my Divine Power would also increase.
Of course, he was just thinking about it. Not only could he not use that method, but he also couldn't overcome the psychological barrier to it. There are many ways to enhance Divine Power; he wouldn't resort to such a bloody method.
Hamlin became engrossed in this progress, slaying monsters with even greater zeal. Not only that, he also killed every human he encountered, collecting their souls with a crystal ball and absorbing them himself.
Seeing this, Andrew's eyes turned cold, and in his heart, he sentenced Hamlin to death.
"If I can't find Doehring Cowart in three more months, I'll kill him!"
About two hundred miles into the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, Hamlin's magic robe remained unchanged, jet black, showing no sign of alteration. In the past few months, he had taken nearly ten thousand lives. Relying on the souls of the monsters and humans he had slaughtered, Hamlin's Divine Power had grown rapidly, and it was already close to the peak of level seven.
"Buzz..."
Andrew, who was two hundred meters behind Hamlin, suddenly felt a fluctuation on the ground.
" Earth Element magic, probably level seven or eight, about twenty miles away..." As Saint Warrior and Saint-level Magus, Andrew's strength was unfathomable, and he immediately determined the source of the fluctuation.
Hamlin lacked his strength and couldn't sense the fluctuations. However, unintentionally, he found himself heading in the direction of the fluctuations. After walking for more than ten miles, Hamlin finally discovered the anomaly.
At this moment, Andrew sensed it more clearly: a great battle was taking place several miles away. The shockwaves from the battle traveled far, and judging from the intensity, neither side was above level eight.
Hamlin guessed as much as he could, and after thinking for a moment, he carefully crept away. Andrew sneered; this man was probably plotting to reap the benefits.
Darkness Element magic is perfect for concealment. Hamlin, as a great mage, chanted a spell and became a shadow, sweeping through the woods in no time, covering several miles in a short time.
Hamlin secretly lurked to the side, watching the distance. Andrew followed behind him.
Before a mound, a six-meter-tall giant bear roared at the human mage in front of it. Earth Spike more than a meter long kept appearing on the ground, and the surrounding hills were constantly cracking and Shattering apart... This was the scene on the battlefield.