"Backlash? Do you really think I'm afraid of that word?"
Douglas suddenly gave an icy laugh.
"You and your tribe have no idea what changes are taking place at the edges of the world."
"Have you seen the modern industry of Muggle society, advancing by leaps and bounds?"
"Do you think those ordinary people without magic are still the farmers who chased witches with pitchforks centuries ago?"
"They now have heavy weapons capable of precisely destroying an entire mountain range from thousands of miles away."
"They have advanced technology that can detect your heartbeat in absolute darkness."
"When Muggle bulldozers one day mercilessly cross Hogwarts' crumbling barriers."
"Do you think this Forbidden Forest can still cling to life by relying on the stars?"
Firenze's pale blue eyes widened in shock.
Centaurs had always disdained paying attention to any developments among Muggles.
Douglas's words completely shattered his established framework of knowledge.
"This is why you are destined to break with your tribe, Firenze."
Douglas moved closer again.
He raised his right hand.
His slender fingers tapped his temple.
"Your thinking hasn't been completely trapped by those rotten old fools yet."
"You want to find a way for the dwindling Centaur population to survive."
"But let me tell you this plainly."
"That way forward is absolutely not in that deified starry sky above your head."
"It's in the ground beneath your feet."
"You think you know the truth of the whole situation?"
Firenze stamped a hoof.
"You extremely dangerous liar."
"My smoke indeed cannot reveal the specific future."
"But it shows that Eling's cage has become an empty shell."
"That prison of despair is empty."
Firenze stared hard into Douglas's eyes.
"This is another despicable performance you orchestrated single-handedly."
"Those killers who were supposed to bring blood and fire everywhere in the