Battle in the Forbidden Forest

"Quick, quick! Fall back! Watch out for those damned spiders!"

Eli carefully crept over and hid behind a tree.

Not far ahead, two groups of centaurs were locked in battle.

More precisely, one side was the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest, while the other was the Acromantulas Eli had encountered earlier.

From the look of things, the Acromantulas held the advantage, and the centaurs were retreating in some disarray.

It was not that the centaurs were weak. There were simply too many of those giant spiders, and they moved incredibly fast.

The centaurs seemed unable to use magic and could only defend themselves with primitive bows and arrows.

For a time, they were at a disadvantage.

Should he help them or not?

With the overwhelming power of his spells, killing Acromantulas would be easy.

And in a melee like this, whichever side gained a Wizard would gain an overwhelming advantage.

But did he really need to help the Centaur tribe?

Having watched the movies in his previous life, Eli knew that although centaurs had a form similar to humans, they had always insisted that they were magical creatures rather than humans.

Besides, the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest did not seem particularly fond of Wizards.

Still, not all centaurs were like that.

As Eli hid behind the tree, the Centaur tribe was steadily being forced back.

If he did not help, their defeat was all but certain.

If the centaurs won this battle because of him, surely they would not keep treating him coldly afterward?

Eli did want to make a move.

His goal was to earn the friendship of the Centaur tribe!

As an intelligent race in the Forbidden Forest, the centaurs bore the responsibility of patrolling it.

If he gained the Centaur tribe's friendship, exploring the Forbidden Forest in the future would become much more convenient!

With that thought, Eli made up his mind.

"Reducto!"

A dazzling beam shot into the battlefield like a sharp blade, blasting an Acromantula that was about to attack into scraps.

"A little Wizard?"

A silver-haired centaur stared in surprise at the small figure rushing over. Even with his face covered, it was obvious that he was a young Wizard.

The Acromantula that had just been blasted apart had been about to attack him. He had that timely spell to thank for his life.

"If you don't want to become spider food, you'd better look behind you!"

The young Wizard suddenly called out.

The centaur swiftly turned around and saw an Acromantula charging at him with a vicious expression.

He raised his bow and fired repeatedly, driving the giant spider back.

"Thank you!"

Eli glanced at him. His silver hair was especially eye-catching.

"Focus on the fight!"

"Stupefy!"

"Reducto!"

With incredibly slick footwork, Eli stayed among the centaurs the entire time, never needing to worry about the Acromantulas getting close enough to attack him.

One brutally unreasonable spell after another blasted the Acromantulas threatening the centaur warriors' lives into pieces.

The centaur warriors, who had been desperately resisting, were all stunned by these extremely... crude spells!

Wasn't that Stupefy? How had the corpse ended up in several pieces?

Why was he even using Expelliarmus?

Looking at the Acromantula that had been killed in one blow, its body caved in, the centaur warriors immediately shut up.

As for Eli, he did not want this either. His magic was simply too powerful, while his studies were not advanced enough, so he could only use spells like cannons.

The Stupefy he had used on Goyle had already been the most restrained spell he could manage. Otherwise, Draco Malfoy and the others would have been ready for a funeral feast by now.

It was also Eli's first time taking part in such a chaotic battle. In his urgency, he no longer cared about conserving magic. He would kill them first and worry later!

Anyway, everything he cast hit like artillery fire, so he might as well stop being picky.

Expelliarmus, Incarcerous, Stupefy—he used them all.

Now he simply cast whatever came to mind. The results were all the same anyway.

"Expelliarmus!"

A red beam shot from behind the centaurs, arcing over them and landing among the Acromantulas.

Boom!

A shockwave suddenly swept out, and the centaurs all narrowed their eyes.

For a moment, dust filled the air while spider flesh and blood flew everywhere.

When the smoke cleared, a deep crater had appeared on the ground. The Acromantulas were gone—or rather, they were everywhere.

The centaur warriors fell into stunned silence.

Ronan, chief of the Centaur tribe, stared at the small figure behind them as though he had seen a ghost.

"Are young Wizards all this strong nowadays?"

Another centaur leaned over. "Are you sure that's a young Wizard and not Dumbledore?"

"If he hadn't shrunk, he shouldn't be that short."

Eli panted heavily. He had put far too much force into that last attack, and even with his magic reserves, the expenditure was hard to bear.

Ronan led several centaurs over, then suddenly aimed his bow at the panting Eli.

"Masked short one, leave immediately! The Forbidden Forest does not welcome Wizards!"

Eli was dumbfounded by his words.

What did you say? I just risked my life helping you drive off the enemy, and now you're turning on me?

Eli suddenly regretted stepping in. He had not expected this half-man, half-horse bastard to be so heartless.

He was somewhat out of breath after that attack, but killing this group of people who could not use magic would still not be a problem!

He raised his Wand at Ronan, making the threat obvious without words.

The centaur warriors around them immediately tensed and surrounded him. In an instant, the atmosphere became explosive.

"Wait! Calm down, everyone! Don't do anything rash!"

The silver-haired centaur rushed in and shielded Eli with his body.

The surrounding centaur warriors lowered their bows slightly, but Ronan, standing at the front, still had his bow drawn.

"No, no! Ronan, this Wizard helped us just now. We shouldn't treat him like this!"

Ronan frowned, a flicker of conflict crossing his face. Yes, the boy had helped them tremendously, but... Wizards could not be trusted!

"Move aside, Firenze! You know our tribal laws. Wizards are not our friends!"

Eli sneered, unsure whether to call the man ungrateful or simply stubborn.

Did Wizards steal your wife or something?

"Thank you, Firenze, but I'm not someone who enjoys forcing my goodwill on people. If he wants to attack me like this, he'll have to ask my Wand first!"

Firenze felt the chill radiating from Eli and shuddered. He had witnessed this killer's strength firsthand.

"No, this must be a misunderstanding. Let me speak to my companions, all right?"

Just as they were confronting each other, a massive swarm of Acromantulas suddenly surged out from the depths of the Forbidden Forest like a tide.

There were several times more than before!

The clattering noises rang without end. Under their leader's orders, these giant spiders had come to kill the enemies who had slaughtered their kin!

"This is bad!"

The centaur warriors immediately noticed the army of giant spiders rushing toward them. They raised their bows in panic, cold sweat pouring down their faces.

That small group of Acromantulas had already forced them into such a state. Now that such an enormous swarm had arrived, they were doomed!

Eli stared at the giant spiders, a black flood before him, his expression grave.

The Acromantulas truly were the uncrowned kings of the Forbidden Forest. Their numbers alone were enough to dominate it.

"Retreat! We can't resist them!"

Ronan immediately gave the order, then snapped viciously at Eli, "Your explosions brought them here!"

Eli's eyes widened. "What the hell? That's a pretty smooth way to dump the blame on me!"

Firenze was about to flee with Eli when Eli suddenly broke free.

"Move aside, Firenze. Since that ungrateful bastard wants to blame everything on me, then I'll solve all of this myself!"

Eli was already furious. He had acted out of kindness, yet these people were so cold and heartless!

He could not endure such humiliation!

"Don't be rash!"

Before Firenze could grab him, Eli had already cast the spell.

"Incendio!"

It had originally been an ordinary flame spell, but driven by Eli's monstrous magic, everything underwent a qualitative change!

Endless blazing flames burst from his Wand like wild horses breaking free of their reins, carrying Eli's fury with them.

The flames swelled in the wind, spreading across the sky and earth.

The terrifying heat curled the fur of the centaurs who had not reacted in time, and they all retreated in horror.

At that moment, Ronan had long forgotten about Wizards. He could only stare blankly at the enormous serpent formed from flames.

"Kill them! Leave none alive!"

The fire crashed toward the Acromantulas like raging waves.

The black tide and the golden wave collided violently.

The result was absolute domination. The flames mercilessly devoured every living thing.

The fierce Acromantulas were burned to ash before they could even react.

The blazing wave did not slow, slaughtering its way onward.

The entire Forbidden Forest shone as brightly as day.

In his extreme rage, Eli could no longer care about anything else. He frantically drained the last trace of his magic.

The sea of flames burned the black tide to nothing.

Not a single Acromantula was left!

Eli's arm fell limply to his side, his face frighteningly pale.

He forced out a mocking smile at the stunned Ronan with the last of his strength.

"I've already solved the trouble I caused. What can you do?"

Eli weakly fell backward, and Firenze hurriedly caught him.

Ronan's expression was extremely ugly, shame and anger intertwined within it.

He lowered his head as though he had given up resisting.

Slowly lowering himself, he knelt respectfully before Eli. "The Centaur tribe apologizes to our most honored guest!"

The centaur warriors around him also slowly knelt.

"Quickly take me..."

Before Eli could finish, he completely lost consciousness.

Firenze had no choice but to place Eli on his back.

Suddenly, a series of popping sounds came from the air.

A tall, thin old man walked over, dragging a long silver-white beard behind him.

He held a strangely shaped Wand, with knobby spheres like finger joints set along it.

"Ronan, what happened here?"

When Ronan saw who it was, his expression tightened. "Dumbledore!"

He looked at the still-raging sea of flames. "We had a conflict with the Acromantulas..."

Before he could finish, Dumbledore interrupted him. "I think we should put out the fire first, if you still wish to live here."

He slowly waved the slender Wand in his hand. If Eli had still been awake, he would surely have sensed the terrifying magical fluctuations.

The once-unruly flames seemed to be drawn in by an invisible force and were absorbed into Dumbledore's Wand without any ability to resist.

Before long, the Forbidden Forest became dark again.

If not for the chillingly intense heat, no one would have known that a terrifying sea of fire had just existed here.

Looking at the depths of the Forbidden Forest, now reduced to dead wood and ash, Ronan's heart bled.

Even Dumbledore did not know what to say upon seeing the scene.

After a long silence, he said, "Er... since the magic was cast by my student, then... perhaps... er, I could compensate... part of the damage."

Looking at the devastated Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore's mouth twitched. This would cost him his entire life savings.

Should I collect another round of textbook fees?

Ronan pointed at the ruins with a grief-stricken expression. "Compensate? How can you compensate for this? What can you use to repay what you owe me here? I don't want your compensation!"

Dumbledore let out a sigh of relief. As long as he did not have to pay...