Too Brutal

Zhang San suddenly looked up. "It worked? That fast?"

Less than two hours had passed from the time Fred and George left to when Ron came to deliver the good news. Zhang San was baffled. How had those two managed to complete the magical material property tests in just two hours?

Ron said between breaths, "Whew... Fred split open the bamboo pole and found that fresh bamboo had a membranous layer inside. That layer is a natural enchanting material. Hermione and I can easily apply magic to it."

"Oh... that's great. Then how did you solve the problem of insufficient enchanting space?" Zhang San asked.

"We discovered that after peeling off that membrane, the inside of the bamboo pole could also be enchanted. As long as we stuck the enchanted membrane back onto the pole, we could easily achieve the effect of adding two layers of magic within the same space," Ron explained in simple terms.

Zhang San was completely stunned. The stacked-enchantment structure that had been such a major obstacle had been bypassed by the research group in such an absurdly simple way. Bamboo's natural structure perfectly met the requirements for stacked enchantments. Although it could only support two layers, that was already more than enough for a flying broom.

The stacked enchantments on Nimbus Company broom components also had only two layers. In other words, Ron could now use existing techniques and materials to handcraft a flying broom with performance comparable to Nimbus Company's.

By the time Zhang San arrived at the laboratory, Fred and George were already assembling brooms. Once they had selected the materials, the brothers could begin putting them together.

The broomstick used moso bamboo as its primary material, while the broom's tail was made from the bamboo's thin branches. Mithril was lavishly used to bind the broom together. Although the stuff was expensive, the amount used was small, so the broom's cost had not risen to an unacceptable level.

In the end, the broom looked like this:

Because the bamboo pole had to be split open during processing, its strength would definitely decrease after assembly. So George added several mithril clasps to the broom, effectively improving its overall strength so it would not fall apart mid-flight.

"Have you decided on the magical core material for the broom?" Zhang San asked.

Ron shook his head. "George wants to use phoenix tail feathers... but as everyone knows, the only known phoenix in the wizarding world is Headmaster Dumbledore's Fawkes."

"Phoenix tail feathers are indeed difficult to get. How about trying a different material? I think a unicorn's magical horn is no worse than a phoenix tail feather," Zhang San suggested.

George immediately squeezed in front of Zhang San. "Boss, you're saying you can get unicorn horns?"

"What? Can't they be used?" Zhang San asked, puzzled.

George slapped his thigh hard. "They can be used. More than that—they'd be perfect... If I'd known you could get unicorn magical horns, why would I still be thinking about phoenixes?"

Once the material for the broom's magical core had been decided, the research group disbanded on the spot. Everything was ready now; all they lacked were the unicorn magical horns Zhang San would bring back.

That night, Zhang San drifted into the Forbidden Forest, weary from travel. The last time he had come to the Forbidden Forest had been the previous time. Ever since Zhang San had cursed them, the Acromantula colony had known only death, with no new life.

Pile after pile of spider eggs had become dead eggs. No matter how long they waited, they never saw any baby spiders crawl out.

Aragog was truly panicking this time. Compared with the powerful magical creatures of the Forbidden Forest, the Acromantulas had become its overlords only by relying on their enormous numbers. In a one-on-one fight, many other groups could pin the Acromantulas to the ground and stomp on them.

Once the Acromantulas lost their numerical advantage, the other races of the Forbidden Forest, long oppressed by the spiders, would surely unite to overthrow them. Aragog could not accept such consequences.

He regretted more than ever offending Zhang San that night. But there was nowhere to buy a cure for regret. Since the curse had already been cast, the Acromantula colony could only bear all its bitter consequences themselves.

Aragog had no ability to retaliate against Zhang San now, nor did he dare to.

The current curse period was only one year. The Acromantula colony could endure and make it through. But if Zhang San extended the curse to ten years or eight years, the Acromantulas truly would not be able to hold on.

Every magical creature group in the Forbidden Forest was laughing at the Acromantulas, and all of them were deeply wary of Zhang San, the newly emerged mountain god of Hogwarts.

The Forbidden Forest was Zhang San's territory. No matter where the unicorn herd was located within it, Zhang San could find them.

After meeting the Unicorn King, Zhang San clearly stated his terms—one unicorn magical horn in exchange for the birth of two unicorns.

"Would magical horns from unicorns that have already died be acceptable?" the Unicorn King asked.

Zhang San nodded. "Of course!"

Before dying, unicorns poured their power into their horns, so Zhang San preferred such horns.

Magical creature groups had no tradition of respecting the dead above all else. The mission of every generation of unicorns was to help the herd thrive. The living would always be more important than the dead.

Then, with great generosity, the Unicorn King gave Zhang San twenty magical horns from deceased unicorns. It was not that he could not provide more, but the unicorn herd could not care for more than forty young unicorns at once.

"Inform your herd to hold a breeding ritual on the night of the next full moon. I will activate the mountain god's blessing at that time and add forty young unicorns to your herd," Zhang San promised.

The Unicorn King was not afraid that Zhang San would deceive him, because he could complain to Dumbledore. Zhang San was a Hogwarts student, and Dumbledore was Hogwarts's headmaster.

Moreover, word of Zhang San's curse upon the Acromantula colony had already spread throughout the Forbidden Forest, making every magical creature group believe his methods were extraordinarily mysterious.

After putting the twenty unicorn horns into his storage pouch, Zhang San headed home in high spirits.

These twenty unicorn magical horns were priceless treasures, the kind of premium goods one could not buy even with money. The unicorn horns sold in Diagon Alley for twenty-one Galleons each were shed horns, something unicorns formed during their growth that was similar to a snake's shed skin.

The magical power remaining in those things was extremely limited, yet they could still be sold for the high price of twenty-one Galleons. The unicorn horns in Zhang San's possession, however, were "magical horns"—superb materials created after unicorns gathered all their magic into their horns.

Forget twenty-one Galleons. If he encountered a knowledgeable and wealthy buyer, even if Zhang San asked for twenty-one thousand Galleons, they would obediently pay.

Zhang San was using these things as magical cores for flying brooms purely to test the results. Naturally, laboratory models had to use the best materials. If unicorn magical horns performed well, the mass-produced brooms could consider replacing unicorn "magical horns" with "shed horns."

Early the next morning, Zhang San brought the magical horns to the laboratory. Everyone had long been waiting eagerly, wanting to see what true magical horns actually looked like.

When the jade-like horns appeared before them, everyone was stunned by the abundant magical power they contained.

A flying broom made with these things as magical cores would be insanely fast. If unicorn hair was a car's V6 engine, then a unicorn's magical horn was a fighter jet's turbojet engine. Their performance could not be compared at all. Even calling it a complete domination would be an insult to the magical horn.

Ron could not help but sigh. "Too brutal!"