Wizard Earl

Of course, Hummels wasn't worried about the Frostfire Staff itself. As a third-tier enchanted item, the Frostfire Staff was powerful enough to greatly enhance Elena's strength, but it wasn't enough to elevate Elena's strength to a level that could threaten him, Hummels. So, Hummels didn't take the Frostfire Staff seriously!

What truly worried Hummels was the meaning behind Pope Ilsanker's gesture of handing the Frost Staff to Elena!

As the Pope of the Church of Storms, the messenger of the Storm Goddess on earth, and one of the most powerful people in the Kaman Empire, Ilsank's every word and action is closely watched. His act of handing over the third-tier enchanted item to Elena can be understood as Ilsank fulfilling the promise he made to Elena's mentor, Cardinal Camele.

However, Ilsank's haste in handing her the Frostfire Staff so soon after Elena's breakthrough to Level Two Wizardship, before her power had even stabilized, makes it hard not to interpret this as Ilsank having very high hopes for Elena's future, seeing her as a potential successor to the Pope...

Hummels wasn't afraid of Elena, but he was truly wary of Pope Ilsanker!

Despite Hummels' growing influence within the Storm Church and his apparent potential to succeed Ilsank, Hummels himself was not misled by this phenomenon. He calmly recognized that everything he had in the Storm Church was based on Ilsank's tacit approval.

If Ilsank so desired, as the Pope and a third-level wizard, he could take it all back with just a single word!

So even though it was just Ilsank who merely showed a sign of liking Elena without taking any actual action, Hummels was still on edge, as if facing a formidable enemy. He dared not be careless in the slightest and immediately regarded Elena as a thorn in his side, wishing he could remove her as soon as possible!

Hummels is somewhat arrogant in the Church of Storms, and his actions are very assertive and bold, without much regard for the interests of all parties. However, this does not mean that Hummels is a mediocre or reckless person. The Church of Storms would never allow a mediocre person to become a cardinal, even if that person is a powerful second-level wizard. Therefore, Hummels is not only not mediocre, but on the contrary, he is a brilliant and resourceful person of our time!

Hummels clearly realized that although there was only the initial sign that Ilsank was optimistic about Elena, some of his original supporters in the Storm Church began to waver and choose to become fence-sitters, watching the church rise and fall. So, when Elena, who was backed by Ilsank, developed further, wouldn't all of Hummels' supporters turn against him?

Over the years, Hummels, through his tough methods within the Church of Storms, quickly established his authority and gained a large number of supporters. However, these same tough methods also created a large number of enemies for him. When Hummels was in power, these enemies, even if they hated him to the core, were powerless against him and could only curse him in their hearts. But if he lost power, it would be a celebration for these enemies, and without a doubt, they would show him no mercy or let him off the hook!

Therefore, for Hummels, he is now in a situation where he must either move forward or fall behind. He must succeed Ilsank as the next pope of the Church of Storms, or it will be his end, not only because his enemies will not let him go.

Furthermore, it's because anyone else besides him, whether it's Elena or anyone else, who would become the next Pope of the Storm Church would be extremely wary of him. And countless events in the history of the Storm Church prove one thing: within the Storm Church, once you are feared or suspected by the Pope, you are not far from death…

Therefore, although from the perspective of the Church of Storms, Hummels should absolutely not harm Elena and should do everything he can to help her, from Hummels' own perspective, Elena must die, and the sooner the better!

Hummels couldn't gamble, nor did he dare to. Pope Ilsank simply handed the third-tier enchanted item, the Froststorm Staff, to Elena without any other intention. The stakes in this gamble were not only his life, but also the lives of his entire clan. One wrong step would lead to an abyss, from which there would be no redemption.

Therefore, a voice within Hummels constantly told him that he had to nip the danger in the bud and not let it grow wildly, just as he had done in the Church of Storms—to eliminate anyone who dared to challenge him for the next pope.

Hummels clearly understood that no matter how discreetly he tried to kill Elena, it wouldn't escape the notice of Pope Ilsanker. Doing so would inevitably incur Ilsanker's disappointment, reprimand, and even punishment. This was one of the main reasons Hummels was hesitant and hadn't yet taken action against Elena…

However, after arriving in Frosinone and carefully considering his options, Hummels became increasingly inclined to take action against Elena. The Storm Church was currently going through a turbulent period, and Hummels was one of the strongest members of the Storm Church besides Ilsank. At this critical juncture, the Storm Church could do without Elena, but it absolutely could not do without Hummels!

Therefore, Hummels was very certain that even if he had indeed killed Elena, as long as he did it discreetly and did not cause public outrage, Pope Ilsanker, no matter how angry he was, would not do something so self-destructive as to kill him to avenge Elena or severely punish him at this time.

In this way, if Hummels could perform a few great deeds for the Church of Storms at this critical juncture, his merits and demerits might offset each other, and the matter of killing Elena could be reduced to a minor incident, and Elena's death could be left unresolved.

Thinking this through, Hummels' resolve to kill Elena grew stronger. However, Elena was definitely going to be killed, but the method was crucial. He couldn't let the matter become public knowledge, giving others leverage against him. Ideally, he should use a scapegoat, not himself, but someone else to carry out the deed…