The First Alchemist of the Wizarding World

Chapter 36

"Monster!"

Nicolas Flamel hurled a Gale Curse in shock.

A fierce wind erupted in the center of the Great Hall, funneling all the superheated steam toward Li Mu.

Before it could reach him, Li Mu had already cast an Explosion Curse at the steam.

The Super Iron Skin Charm shuddered on the verge of collapse. The Explosion Curse blasted the superheated steam back against the gale, sending it sweeping toward the old wizards.

Fiendfyre blazed at the tip of the Elder Wand in Li Mu's hand. From a pocket hidden in his sleeve and expanded with the Vanishment Charm, he tossed out bottle after bottle of Magic Power Booster. When the Fiendfyre touched them, it was like oil being poured onto a fire. In an instant, a sea of flames surged toward all the old wizards.

The Super Iron Skin Charm held off the Fiendfyre, and the Super Iron Skin Charm on Li Mu's Elf Wizard Robe activated automatically as well.

The Super Iron Skin Charm blocked every Killing Curse from Nicolas Flamel and the Hogwarts professors. The charm alone wouldn't have been enough, but empowered by the defensive properties of the Elf Wizard Robe, it held firm.

The old wizards couldn't deal with so much Fiendfyre in a short time. Li Mu used Apparition to close in on the professors.

He didn't get too close. The closer he was, the easier it would be to sense the magical fluctuations of his Apparition.

If his landing point was seen through in advance, an enemy's Killing Curse would be waiting to strike him out of the air.

So he appeared ten meters away and cast a Killing Curse the moment he materialized.

Just as Professor McGonagall was about to be hit, she suddenly transformed into a cat with her Animagus ability and dodged the Killing Curse.

Several more Killing Curses immediately filled the spot where Li Mu had appeared, but the Li Mu they hit shattered into pieces of stone.

It turned out that from the very beginning, the one who had Apparated there was a duplicate Li Mu had created with the Polymorph Spell.

Having fused with Spark Energy, Li Mu could use these duplicates to cast a few spells.

The instant the duplicate shattered, Li Mu had already turned invisible and moved in close to Professor Sprout.

Nicolas Flamel's Alchemy Eyes could indeed see through invisibility. But Li Mu's Illusionary Body Curse had reached LV8 through frequent use. The Elder Wand boosted it by two levels, bringing it to LV10 and the pinnacle of this world. The last time Nicolas Flamel had seen through his invisibility, Li Mu had merely been pretending to be weak, just as Dumbledore had.

A flash of light from the Imperius Curse struck Hufflepuff's head of house, Professor Sprout, from behind and out of sight.

The plump witch's mind was seized in an instant. Her wand swung, and a Killing Curse shot toward the cat Professor McGonagall had become.

Although Professor McGonagall was fast as a cat, she hadn't been prepared for Professor Sprout's attack. Just as the Killing Curse was about to take her life, Nicolas Flamel finally recovered from Li Mu's invisible ambush and hurled an enchanted Alchemy Shield.

The Killing Curse blasted the shield away, and it crashed into Professor McGonagall, leaving her spitting blood.

Professor Flitwick had also recovered. He turned and aimed a Killing Curse at Li Mu.

Professor Flitwick was only a meter tall, and the angle of his Killing Curse made Li Mu furious.

Unlike those old wizards, Li Mu had actually hoped to spare these professors. After all, once he ruled the Wizarding World, he would still need them to teach at Hogwarts. But Professor Flitwick had suddenly made him want to kill.

Li Mu Apparated in an instant, reappearing elsewhere behind the old wizards and out of sight of Nicolas Flamel and the others.

Nicolas Flamel sighed and took out several rings, tossing them to McGonagall and the others.

The Phoenix City Lord's Apparition was astonishingly fast. Unless they could block Apparition, they couldn't capture him. Fortunately, Hogwarts itself already prevented Apparition. All Nicolas Flamel had to do now was strengthen that effect.

One magical artifact after another flew out of Nicolas Flamel's pocket.

There were many Metal Quills capable of inscribing alchemical magic circles, all sorts of Alchemy Magic Statues, and even two knights who looked almost alive. They rode winged horses and charged toward Li Mu through the air the instant they appeared.

"Dragonblood Knights?"

Li Mu was slightly startled.

It was obvious that the two weren't living beings, but Alchemy Puppets made by Nicolas Flamel.

Judging by their appearance, however, their materials might have come from Dragonblood Knights who had once been alive. Fully armed by Nicolas Flamel, they were surely even more fearsome than they'd been in life. If Dragonblood Knights were really as powerful as the books claimed, then his plan to decide the battle in one stroke today was in jeopardy.

A Killing Curse hit one, and an Explosion Curse hit the other.

The Killing Curse produced a physical impact, but the Dragonblood Knight it struck didn't take a single step back.

The Explosion Curse did little better. The magical armor covering the Dragonblood Knight's body had astonishing resistance to magic.

These were two indestructible tin cans, practically impossible to kill. The only spells that could threaten them were Fiendfyre, the Super Fierce Fire Curse, and the like.

Super Fierce Fire Curse!

Blazing flames instantly engulfed the entire Great Hall. The flames that sprang up merged with the Fiendfyre, turning an ordinary sea of blazing heat into a sea of Fiendfyre. Some of it transformed into two Fire Phoenixes that swooped toward the Dragonblood Knights, while the rest began a lethal assault on the trapped old wizards.

By now, the professors who had managed to break free had helped Professor Sprout escape the Imperius Curse.

They then went to reinforce the old wizards trapped by the Fiendfyre, and managed to hold the flames Li Mu controlled in a stalemate.

They even began to gain the upper hand. These old wizards had once been among the most powerful in their countries' magical communities. If age and infirmity hadn't weakened them—and the superheated steam hadn't injured them at the start—the Fiendfyre wouldn't have stood a chance against them.

With reinforcements, they began treating the wounded and counterattacking.

Working with the Dragonblood Knights, they sent all sorts of movement-restricting spells hurtling toward Li Mu.

The Great Hall was spacious, but there still wasn't enough room to fight without restraint.

Li Mu Apparated onto the grounds outside Hogwarts Castle.

The Dragonblood Knights pursued him, deflecting the Fiendfyre Phoenixes with their shields as they hurled their short spears at him. The two spears, each only three feet long, broke the sound barrier with a shriek and instantly pierced the defensive barrier created by Li Mu's Impediment Jinx.

Li Mu Apparated again, appearing in the sky and circling above with the flying talent of a Dementor.

But the spears that had broken the sound barrier turned at the spot where he had vanished and continued after him. They clearly had a tracking effect. The Dragonblood Knights, now free to act, each threw four more spears. All ten surrounded him in the air like heat-seeking missiles.

Li Mu used more than ten different spells in a row, but the spears were indestructible and didn't even fear Fiendfyre.

Worse, the spears could choose whether or not to turn invisible. As they pursued him, some would suddenly disappear. That was even more infuriating than facing a whole group of invisible weapons. For the moment, he couldn't do a thing about them.

The First Alchemist of the Wizarding World truly lived up to his reputation. Those six hundred years hadn't gone to waste.

P.S. Thanks to Hongchen Zhong De Lianxin Zhe, Lonely Burning Cloud, and Lan Feng Zi Yun 11 for the three 100-unit tips.