Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 165, Section 164: The Attack of the Eight-Eyed Giant Spider and the War with the Centaurs

Everyone realized that some disturbance was taking place in front of them, and they instinctively wanted to get away from this strange sound that shouldn't have come into the forbidden forest at night, because it didn't sound friendly at all.

But the reality was that no matter how much they resisted in their hearts, their bodies continued to move forward along the intricate paths in the forest—because that was the direction Mosali was heading.

So everyone could only watch helplessly as the firelight in the distance gradually became clearer and more conspicuous, and the angry roar of some creature grew louder and louder.

Some of the more timid apprentices instinctively moved closer to those around them, some even grabbing other people's arms for a sense of security—completely unaware that when danger actually struck, this mutual tugging would actually hinder their escape.

“…Wait, what’s that?” Ron managed to squeeze out a sentence through his throat, his voice trembling. “Can you tell me that’s a bird’s nest?”

It was a very difficult smile. Ron tried his best to look more reliable and calm, but unfortunately, the forced smile only made the others more nervous.

“I think… that should be a spider cave,” Katie Bell said, her eyes wide with amazement.

There was no other reason, simply because the spider cave was suspended in mid-air on a tree trunk. The entrance was as wide as one or two people, and it was surrounded by white spider webs. The overall shape was similar to the spider webs and spider caves they had seen before, but—why was it so big?!
Just how big of a spider would it be to have such a large burrow?!
“I…I’m suddenly feeling a little dizzy,” Ron said, looking completely unsteady. “Do we really have to keep going? I mean—the people who live here don’t seem very friendly.”

Nobody paid him any attention, or rather, everyone else was a bit dizzy by now.

"Morsali!" Penelope called out as she caught up with the earth elemental at the front, "Please stop—could we take another route?"

The dark earth elemental stopped and turned around, babbling a string of words in a very friendly manner. However, Penelope was devastated to find that she couldn't understand a word the earth elemental was saying.

True elements should, of course, use elemental language!

"He was saying, 'The routes are all set by your mentors, and I can't change them at will, but you can choose for yourselves whether to continue the trial.'"

Just as Penelope's heart sank, Luna suddenly stepped forward and spoke.

"You can understand?" Hermione asked in surprise, then looked deflated. "Yes, you started learning elemental languages ​​during your vacation."

“I could only barely understand it,” Luna shook her head slightly and said to Ron, “Relax, Ron, it’s normal to feel dizzy—and it seems the owner of this place has already come out to greet us.”

"What do you mean?" Ron's mouth dropped open.

But Luna no longer needed to answer his question. The mingled chirping of insects had disappeared at some point, replaced by a dense, eerie rustling sound—like countless tiny brushes brushing across fallen leaves, furry, chaotic, and limb-like.

"Gah—!!"

A huge, dark brown spider suddenly leaped out of the darkness. One of its legs was broken off, and the wound was still very fresh, as a semi-transparent, viscous fluid was seeping out from the broken area, splattering as it thrashed about.

"what!!!!!"

In an instant, the apprentices screamed in fright, with Ron's voice being the loudest.

Magic, totems, elements—everything they had learned was thrown to the back of their minds the moment the giant spider leaped out. Their instinctive reaction was to run away, and some even dropped their torches.

"Calm down!!!" Penelope shouted, but unfortunately her cries had no effect.

The enormous spider's eight fist-sized black eyes gleamed with malice. Its pair of huge pincers clashed open, revealing the tentacles on either side, resembling a blooming flower, yet no one could appreciate it.

There is only terror.

Harry, who was far away, had naturally seen his apprentices' embarrassing reactions through his vision spell. Such reactions, which could even be described as foolish, certainly did not satisfy him—once again, Harry wondered if he had been spoiling his apprentices too much.

It's just a spider. Do you think screaming would be more intimidating than throwing a stone ball at it?
Spiders' heads aren't indestructible.

“They’re just ponies,” Triton said, noticing Harry’s dissatisfaction.

“I’m not even as good as a gnoll cub. At least a gnoll cub knows how to bite,” Harry sighed. “If I had behaved like that back then, no matter how much my father protected me, my mentor would probably have tried to kick me out of the tribe.”

“You have a demanding mentor, but they are not you,” Triton said calmly. “Even though you still look like a pony, you have the heart of a warrior.”

“Yes, there are too many differences,” Harry shook his head. “Hopefully they can get into the swing of things soon.”

The trial was almost explicitly stated to be safe, so why did we handle it so poorly?

Harry had indeed heard old shamans complain about their apprentices' stupidity and incompetence when he talked with them, but this was the first time he had ever truly experienced it firsthand.

Hmm, it feels like you painstakingly built a sandcastle only to find it's just a bunch of vaguely shaped sand.

Fortunately, Luna's reaction was relatively calm, and she didn't disappoint Harry too much.

"Spider! Spider!!"

Zacharys Smith screamed in terror, and what he shouted was actually what everyone else was thinking at that moment—too many spiders were crawling out from behind the giant spider, under its feet, and from the webs beside it.

If the giant spider is frightening because of its size—almost the size of a Muggle car—and its terrifying appearance, magnified hundreds of times, then the newly appeared small spiders are frightening for only one reason: their sheer number.

They were densely packed, like a wave of brown, black and gray mixed together, surging towards the crowd.

This time, even the screams disappeared. The apprentice who had accidentally dropped the torch almost leaped up to retrieve it. He roared and flung the torch in all directions, and wherever the flames touched, the swarming spiders retreated.

The rustling sounds we just heard were the scurrying of these tiny spiders' limbs, and when so many spiders gathered together, even the faintest hissing became deafening.

"Flames are raging!!"

With a sudden swing of her wand, Penelope shouted, and as she inscribed her spell, a burst of flame erupted from the tip of her wand, instantly incinerating some of the little spiders that were eagerly anticipating the meat.

"Don't just stand there! Hurry up! Cast the spell!" Penelope breathed a sigh of relief after realizing the flames were working, and without even turning around, she shouted.

After having a few seconds to catch their breath, the other apprentices finally realized what they should be doing.

All the knowledge they had learned in the past seemed to surface in their minds at that moment, leaving them momentarily unsure which option to choose.

"There are many obstacles!"

"The flames are blazing!"

“Hot and sizzling!”

"Tarantella dance!" "..."

It was true that all sorts of spells were being used. The older apprentices quickly cast the spells they could think of at first, but for the apprentices who had only been at Hogwarts for a year, all they could rely on was earth elemental magic.

Compared to the everyday spells and harmless minor curses he already knew, the spells Harry taught him were at least offensive at this moment.

Fortunately, since this was the first trial in Harry's class, each apprentice brought with them new friends they had made while forming a bond with the earth elementals—well, the earth elementals that the other students regarded as pets.

Although these earth elementals do not have the robust physique of Mesar, they are still able to unleash their power in such emergencies.

The soil that filled the Forbidden Forest coalesced and then transformed into solid stones, which crashed down on the spider sea that had surrounded several people.

Yellow and green juices burst open again and again, and the spider's dying hiss continued—but to be honest, such minor casualties were insignificant to a sea of ​​spiders.

When someone noticed that the little spiders were afraid of fire, Butt and Draco, under the cover of the others, quickly lit their own and the others' spare torches and threw them out one by one—and it worked.

The thrown torches pushed away the small spiders that were originally there, even revealing the open space on the ground again. The dry and damp fallen leaves were gradually ignited, and the burning flames made the spiders cry out in pain, as well as make crackling sounds as their limbs were burned and burst.

The plumes of black smoke and the acrid smell made many people feel nauseous and want to vomit, but no one dared to vomit at that moment.

Using the burning torches, Harry's apprentices finally had a place to rest back to back, but this did not mean they could relax, because they had completely lost their way out.

The sea of ​​spiders had completely surrounded them. The circle formed by the flames of the burning torches was the last piece of land where the apprentices could find refuge. Even this last safe space was constantly shrinking under the relentless onslaught of spiders.

At that moment, everyone prayed in their hearts that the flames could burn longer, even setting the surrounding dry branches and leaves or anything else on fire, preferably burning all the spiders to death.

The crimson, flickering flames were relentlessly taking the lives of the little spiders; they were undoubtedly flames of slaughter. But even the most merciful person would sincerely hope that these flames could burn even brighter and kill even more.

Cedric was drenched in sweat, his eyes bloodshot, and before him, on a stone pillar totem sculpted from clay, symbols with special meaning were rapidly appearing.

As the totem was completely carved and inserted into the ground, the next second, all the apprentices felt their bodies sink slightly, as if a dark yellow shield or a cracked stone wall had covered their bodies.

This is a protective totem, and it's what Cedric believes is the most important thing right now.

"Don't be careless!" Wiping the sweat from his brow, Cedric shouted hastily, "I've only recently mastered this spell! This shield isn't very reliable!"

Click-clack-clack-clack.

The giant spider's pincers were striking each other.

"How foolish," the spider scoffed, "to admit one's own weakness."

“Merlin’s beard!” Ron said in despair, “A talking spider that can understand human speech—what a nightmare!”

"Giant eight-eyed spiders! They're all giant eight-eyed spiders!" Finally remembering something, Qiu Zhang shouted excitedly, "Don't get bitten by them! Giant eight-eyed spiders are highly venomous!!"

“Fresh, tender meat, though small, but plentiful,” the giant spider greedily scanned the children before it. “Although there are no centaurs, there is enough prey… Take them back, and Aragog will be pleased.”

Its words were the final command, and the little spiders piled up one after another, forming a high wave that looked down on the apprentices like a wall.

Even Luna, who always seemed to be lost in thought, seemed to have returned to the real world. She tried her best to call upon the power of the earth element, and the earth did indeed surge and squeeze in response to her call, like a blender swallowing up the eager little spiders and crushing them into pulp.

But—there are still too many.

The reason why the giant eight-eyed spider can become the tyrant of the forbidden forest is not only because of its near-human intelligence and venom, but also because of its large numbers. After all, in a distant foreign land, there are no natural enemies in this forest.

"Mosa Li!!!"

Roger Davis's cry was so desolate and indignant, and the name he called out finally reminded everyone of some of Harry's words—that they had a protector on this journey, this trial.

Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da.

"Wait, listen!" Draco suddenly looked excitedly in one direction. "Shut up! Be quiet! There are other sounds!"

No need to listen anymore.

"Die, spider!!!"

With a wild roar, a centaur wreathed in flames crashed through a wall of spiders like a train. The flames wrapped around him like a cloak, protecting the vulnerable parts of his body.

The little spiders were undoubtedly enraged. They hissed and pounced on the centaur, but they couldn't even hold him off for a moment. The little spiders that pounced on him burst into flames as soon as they touched the cloak of fire, and were burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

This centaur was like a god descending to earth; his spear was also burning with crimson flames, and he pierced directly through the huge eight-eyed spider from the side!

The vitality brought by its size prevented this eight-eyed giant spider from dying immediately. It hissed and struggled frantically, its remaining legs lashing at the centaur like whips, but they turned to ashes when they touched the fiery cloak.

It was a kind of dying madness. The huge eight-eyed spider twisted its broken body and bit at the centaur's arm, but it dodged very nimbly. With a kick of its two front hooves, the spider's corpse was kicked off the spear and landed far away in a sea of ​​small spiders.

From roaring as he appeared to piercing the spider and kicking the corpse away, the series of movements flowed smoothly without any pause, making the eyes of the young wizards light up.

“It’s a centaur!!” Ron couldn’t help but shout.

Compared to the others who simply felt saved, these few were more... knowledgeable about centaurs.

"Hogwarts—" The centaur's words trailed off, his voice rough as his gaze swept over the elements around the apprentices, especially the totem in front of Cedric, "—Shaman? Pony?"

“Bane! You rushed in too fast!” Before the apprentices could respond, another centaur, also wreathed in flames, appeared. He had beautiful red hair.

“I know what I’m doing! Ronan! I don’t need you to tell me!” Bane turned and glared at his companion. “I can’t let it escape! That monster has already killed two of our people!”

He looked unusually angry, and a centaur who also looked extremely angry made Penelope, who had just been about to speak, obediently shut his mouth.

The centaur named Ronan who suddenly appeared was clearly also a shaman, because although he was talking to Baine, his hands were constantly waving—with his movements, flames fell like clouds onto the sea of ​​spiders.

After losing the giant eight-eyed spider's lead, the little spiders began to flee. They flowed like water, quickly darting through tree trunks and bushes, and even under fallen leaves, into the darkness.

(End of this chapter)