Jason and Veronica had arrived in the northern part of the Chaotic Territory. According to the original story, this would one day be the birthplace of the Baruch Duchy.
The two were slaughtering a group of bandits.
This region was even more chaotic than the territories controlled by the two churches. The leader of this bandit group had just stopped them to rob them, then lusted after Veronica when he saw her, prompting the two to kill them.
Jason took out the crystal ball at his chest. "Not much change."
When Jason killed a Saint-level expert earlier, he had gained another tremendous reward: he had unexpectedly collected the man's soul. Now the crystal ball was one-twentieth full.
(Among Saint-level souls, there should also be a difference between the souls of warriors and magicians. For now, a Saint Warrior's soul is provisionally set at half that of a Saint-level magician.)
"How about we kill every bandit in the Chaotic Territory?" Veronica proposed a crazy plan.
"Please don't. I haven't lived long enough yet." Jason hurriedly explained the Rhine Clan's awkward position on the Yulan Continent, as well as the ruler of this plane, "Lord Beirut."
"All right, I'm teasing you." Veronica stuck out her tongue.
The two continued on their way. Their destination was the "mysterious mountain village" outside South Mountain City.
The Saint-level experts of the Rhine Empire knew of the place, and this mountain village, where Desri, a Saint-level Limit expert, was hidden, was known among Saint-level experts as "Hermit Village," because many secluded experts went there.
The mountain village was not far from the Dark Forest and could be considered under Beirut's protection. It was quite famous.
"Meow!" Linda's figure flew toward them from the distance.
Veronica asked, "How did it go? Did you find them?"
Shortly after becoming Saint-level, Linda had said she wanted to visit her former territory and look for one of her former mates and her two children while she was there. She had only just returned.
"I couldn't find them. I don't know whether they died or went somewhere else in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. It's been nearly two hundred years since we last saw each other. Maybe my old tomcat has found someone new." Linda's voice was that of a mature woman, full of seductive charm.
Linda was not sad. She had only decided to look for her family on a whim after seeing Jason and Veronica's everyday intimacy. Marital and parent-child relationships among magical beasts were not very close, at least among Moonshadow Flame Cats.
"By the way, did you pay attention to the Saint-level magical beasts during your trip to the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?" Jason had asked Linda to look for magical beasts suited to him.
Linda nodded. "Judging by your current strength, there's a mutated ninth-level Twin-Headed Silver Dragon with both light and wind attributes. His future potential is high, but he's weak right now. I think he's a good choice. I also stopped by the Mist Valley where we used to stay. It's still occupied by that group of dragons, and their leader, a ninth-level Black Dragon, has slightly inferior aptitude. There's a Blood-Eyed Mane Lion who gave me trouble when I passed by. If you're confident in your strength, you can beat him up for me. My territory from two hundred years ago was swallowed up by a Thunder-Winged White Tiger. I heard from a few of my kind I met along the way that he's a show-off who loves looking cool, but I doubt you're fast enough to catch him."
After hearing Linda out, Jason felt that only the first one, the Twin-Headed Silver Dragon, was somewhat interesting.
Silver Dragons were peak ninth-level magical beasts. The mutated Twin-Headed Silver Dragon's aptitude already surpassed that of a Razorback Ironclad Wyrm. If he could break through to the Saint-level, he should be able to stand alongside Tyrant Wyrms and Gold Dragons.
Jason's current strength was above some but below others. Against magical beasts that had advanced to the Saint-level from the ninth level, he could generally crush them as long as they had not comprehended overly powerful Profound Mysteries. But he was at a disadvantage against the likes of Tyrant Wyrms, Earth Violent Bears, and Thunder-Racing Electric Leopards, which were born Saint-level.
The Twin-Headed Silver Dragon was probably the best fit for him.
Besides, Jason vaguely remembered that Kuye seemed to have taken in a Twin-Headed Silver Dragon in the original story. Wouldn't it be even better to fleece the Radiant Church?
Hermit Village lay in a dense forest, surrounded by hills and rivers. Anyone who did not know its exact location would have a hard time finding it.
For the villagers of Hermit Village, it was perfectly normal for outsiders to visit.
After all, most people here were not yet Saint-level, and many villagers still had relatives in the outside world. Some children born in the village also chose to go out and see the world once they grew up. Some Saint-level experts told their friends where they had secluded themselves and welcomed them to settle here.
Thus, the place was not completely cut off from the world. The village's exact location circulated among a small circle of experts on the Yulan Continent.
When Jason and Veronica arrived at Hermit Village, they were greeted by the village's "headman."
"Welcome to Hermit Village. Are you here to visit friends and family, or to live in seclusion?" The man was a ninth-level warrior and reasonably hospitable.
"I am Jason Rhine from the Rhine Empire. I learned of this wonderful place from a friend, so I came especially to pay a visit." Jason also displayed his Saint-level aura.
"Rhein?" The man frowned slightly, making no attempt to hide his wariness, nor showing any fear because Jason was Saint-level.
Clearly, the man knew about the Rhine Clan's demon bloodline, and his attitude toward Jason took an abrupt turn for the worse.
Jason had not expected the Rhine Clan's demon bloodline to be so unwelcome among the humans of the Yulan Continent. He was just about to explain.
"Rhein? A descendant of demons!" A young man stood there in fiery red magician's robes, his face cold as frost.
"A Saint Magus? Fire attribute." Jason made his judgment at once.
"Demon, fight me." The young man threw back his hood, revealing short red hair. His handsome face, however, bore deep hatred.
Of course, Jason would not casually accept a challenge on someone else's turf, especially when something was wrong with this man's emotional state. If either of them failed to hold back, Jason would be in trouble no matter who died. "Sir, I'm only passing through."
"Cut the nonsense. You demons killed Griffins. I'm going to avenge him!"
As he spoke, fire elements rapidly gathered around him.
Jason knew this was a sign that a magician was casting a spell. Trying to cast one so close to a Saint Warrior made it clear that something was wrong with this Saint Magus's mental state.
"Quick, go get someone!" Jason shouted to the Hermit Village villagers behind him.
He knew the people here were all reasonably strong. As long as they went a little farther away, the aftershocks of a battle between Saint-level experts would not do them much harm.
Jason gave Veronica a look, telling them to be careful, then flew out of the village.
"Sir, calm down!" Jason discovered that he was actually slower than his opponent. Knowing that the man was at least in the second tier of Peak Saint experts, he had no choice but to draw his weapon and issue another warning.
Jason's answer was an Explosive Fireball.
It was a spell that even a fifth-level magician could learn. It was very simple, and its advantages were its quick casting speed and long range.
Seeing this, Jason stopped dodging. Relying on his superior defense, he smashed straight through the incoming Explosive Fireball and charged at his opponent.
"Demons should all die." Madness filled the magician's face as a Ring of Fire appeared around him.
Jason saw that his opponent had no intention of dodging at all and was forcibly shortening his casting time by consuming large amounts of spiritual power. This was very disadvantageous for a normal Saint Magus.
To defeat a Saint Warrior, a magician needed at least a "forbidden spell" to settle the fight in one blow. Forbidden spells consumed enormous amounts of spiritual power, and if a magician did not conserve as much as possible early in the battle, there was a good chance he would not even be able to cast one at the end.
His opponent was in the second tier of Peak Saint experts, making the fight a bit of a stretch for Jason. But seeing how abnormal the man was, Jason thought, Looks like there's still a chance to win.