I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 306 The Awakener Louis

Old Mai poked his panda head out from the city wall, his two little round ears twitching. He shouted, "What do you want?"

Old Chen didn't use a basket; he simply hoisted the burly Mogu man up the city wall and quickly climbed up, his agility unlike that of a fat man.

Perhaps it could be said that he was the most hated player in pickup basketball – the agile fat guy.

Fortunately, no one plays pickup games in Pandaria. In fact, almost every single one of the Pandaren race is agile and chubby.

Old Chen, who had climbed up the city wall, was discussing with Old Mai how to deal with the Mogu clan's Koror. When he took out the bottle of Truth Potion and explained it to Old Mai, Old Mai's eyes lit up.

"With this, we won't need to torture people to capture them, saving a lot of time, and we don't have to worry about it being false information..." Old Mike snatched the truth serum as if it were a treasure, and carefully tucked it into his pocket.

They were chatting up there, and Louis didn't bother to watch what they were doing. He took a couple of steps and noticed something was off about a spot ahead.

It was raised, with a small mound, and you could vaguely see signs of digging. It seemed that Kroll was digging for something here, but before he could completely level it, Louis and his men cleared it away.

He walked over, beckoned with his finger, and used his mage's hand to dig away the soil, revealing an amber-colored crystal.

"Ah, it's amber." Louis said, increasing the pressure a bit, and soon the amber, as tall as a person, was fully revealed.

Inside was a humanoid insect with its eyes closed. It was rather thin, and had a pair of mantis-like arms tightly tucked into its abdomen. It wore armor made of blue and white rhomboid blocks, and had transparent wings on its back. Because the insect was completely encased in amber, it was difficult to see its transparent wings clearly, which was only possible thanks to the presence of veins on the wings.

"Mantis!" Zhu Talan and Tao Shi drew their weapons almost instantly, assuming a defensive stance as they stared at the amber.

"Ugh, he's really ugly." Ron muttered, twisting his nose, and took two steps back, trying to get away from the mantis demon and keep his distance.

Louis wasn't too wary; he looked left and right, unsure how to break the amber.

Why not... try tapping it? This thought popped into his head, and without hesitation, he reached out and tapped the amber with his finger. Immediately, the amber began to melt, and the mantis demon inside lost its support and fell to the ground with a thud.

Louis was really afraid that his thin arms and legs would fall apart. Arthropods have very fragile bodies, and a slight mishap could break a leg.

The fall woke the mantis up. It opened its compound eyes, and the four antennae on its head twitched. After a while, it sat up and, after focusing its attention, saw the situation in front of it clearly.

"Oh, a panda." His tone was somewhat disdainful, and his voice had a clicking sound, which seemed to be related to the structure of his mouth. "No need for your pointless fighting stance. I have no interest in being your enemy."

After saying that, the mantis turned its gaze to Louis, a strange smile appearing on its ugly face.

"You look strange, Awakener." The mantid extended its claws. "Let me introduce myself. I am Kerruk the Windbreaker, one of the Klaxxi's Champions... Perhaps you haven't heard of the Klaxxi, but don't worry, you'll soon find out."

Louis immediately recognized him. Oh, it was that Klaxxi Champion who died out of nowhere, the last one to appear in the BOSS activation order...

"Hello, I've heard of you, 'Windbreaker' Kerruk." Louis reached out and grasped Kerruk's outstretched claw. It felt a little strange; it was icy cold and a bit prickly.

Kerruk paused, realizing at a glance that Louis wasn't a native Pandaria. However, since Louis had said so, he was at a loss for words. He hesitantly asked, "You...have heard my story?"

"No," Louis said sincerely, shaking his arm. "But your face tells a story."

"Then we'll have a good talk, Awakener," Kerruk said meaningfully. "Since you've awakened me, it means you have an unspeakable bond with the Klaxxi Champions. Besides me, there are eleven other Champions sealed in various places in the Dread Wastes, waiting for you to awaken them..."

"Don't agree to his request, Louis!" Zhu Talan shouted. "The Pandaren are already struggling against the Mantid; you're just helping them increase their strength!"

Before Louis could speak, Kerruk straightened up, walked up to the wary Zhu Talan, peeked left and right, and suddenly smiled under Zhu Talan's watchful gaze.

"Young Pandaren..." Kerruk clattered, "Do you really think that with your strength and that of the Mogu, you can really stop the swarm? Oh, perhaps if you joined forces with that 'King of Kings, God of Godslayers,' there might be a chance, but as far as I know, the relationship between your two races isn't very harmonious..."

Seeing Zhu Talan's clearly disbelieving expression, he chuckled and said, "You should know that every year, new swarms of insects fly over the Mantid Plateau and the Spine of the Dragon, battling the Pandaren and the Mogu. Only the most intelligent, strongest, or most agile Mantid survive. The surviving Mantid return to the Sacred Tree, most carrying spoils of war. There, they are accepted by the swarm and, based on their merits, earn their place within it. Thus, generation after generation, the swarm grows ever stronger."

"But what you don't know is that the Sacred Tree cannot nurture too many Mantids, so it can only consume them in this way, which can also be considered as training troops and streamlining the Mantid swarm."

Zhu Talan's eyes reddened upon hearing this. Kerruk's nonchalant attitude infuriated him, and he practically roared, demanding, "Just for training! To reduce the population! You bastard! Do you know how many brave Pandaren die on the Great Wall every year?!"

"That's your problem." Kerruk spread his claws. "You only grow through battle, and you understand that much better than I do. Otherwise, what do you want me to do? Apologize to you? Pandaria is such a small place. Do you really think it's a good thing for the Pandaren to occupy the entire Pandaria, have no natural enemies, and just live a life of idleness and waiting to die?"

"He's right, Zhu Talan." Old Chen's voice rang out, and somehow he was already standing behind Zhu Talan, placing a bear paw on Zhu Talan's shoulder: "Without the Mantid's attacks year after year, the Pandaren wouldn't have grown, and might have gradually degenerated in their comfortable lives."

"Therefore, one is born in hardship and dies in comfort," Louis concluded.

"Louis is a man of great wisdom..." Old Chen exclaimed, squinting his eyes.

Kerruk turned to look at the Awakener and chuckled, "It seems our Awakener is a person of great wisdom..."

"Oh, that's what a philosopher from my hometown named Mencius said," Louis said with a smile. "When the opportunity arises, I can give you a few of his works."

Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron, "Mencius? I don't recall any philosopher like that in England... Uh, okay, I remember now, he must be referring to Mencius, the ancient philosopher from Seres... This guy..."

"Let's go, let's talk as we go. Let's go to Klaxevis first, rest for a while, and then we'll go awaken the other heroes." Kerruk said, looking at Zhu Talan meaningfully: "Perhaps after we talk for a while on the way, you will get rid of your prejudice against us mantid."

Zhu Talan gave a haughty snort and turned his head away from him, but he knew in his heart that Kerruk was not wrong. But emotionally, he could not accept that so many brave and fearless Pandaren had given their young lives on the Great Wall.

Kerruk stomped his foot, and several giant amber scorpions emerged from the ground. He jumped onto one of the scorpions first and said, "You can choose one you like. The giant amber scorpion is quite stable when it walks, so don't worry about it throwing you off. You can choose to have multiple people ride on one, since its back is very broad."

The group looked around, and Old Chen patted his butt and got on Kerruk's scorpion. Louis was with him.

The three ladies sat in one room, while Harry, Ron, and Zhu Talan sat together in another.

"I've been buried for too long, and my memory is a bit hazy. I need to go back to Klaxxivis and look through the records to remember where the other heroes are sealed." Kerruk said, clicking his tongue, his antennae swaying wildly from side to side like antennas. "Relax, skinny Pandaren. The Klaxxivis have never been enemies of the Pandaren."

He was referring to Zhu Talan as a "skinny panda man," and when Lao Chen heard this, his face visibly brightened.

Pandaren consider plumpness beautiful, so Kerruk was indirectly praising Old Chen.

"I've heard your beliefs are rather strange?" Old Chen asked indirectly. "The Mogu used to worship a Titan creation, I think his name was Ra-den... but I heard from the Pandaren wanderers that Ra-den seems to have disappeared."

"Rayden? You mean Rayden?" Kerruk laughed loudly as if he had heard something ridiculous. "Oh, that poor Rayden, I know him. He had his core ripped out by the Mogu's Thor and was imprisoned beneath the Throne of Thunder. It was he who made Thor's title 'God of Godslayer' come true."

As he spoke, he reached up and fiddled with the antennae on his head, continuing, "The Mantid worship an Ancient One, a fact I believe even the Pandaren wanderers know. The Klaxxi are among the most devout… We never dare to call him by his name. In ancient times, we waged endless wars against the Aqir, who served the 'Thousand-Eyed Demon,' and the kingdom of Azjol-Nerub, who served the 'Thousand-Throat Demon.' But unexpectedly, those who called themselves 'Titans' killed the Ancient One the Mantid worshipped as easily as crushing an ant, and at the same time, freed the Mantid from their enslavement…"

At this point, Kerruk suddenly fell silent.

Louis seized on Kerruk's words and pressed further, "So, you've actually been unhappy with Y'Shaarj for a long time?"

"We are enslaved. Most of the mantids have been completely corrupted in body and mind by Y'Shaarj. Only a small number of mantids escaped his control, which is the predecessor of the Klaxxi Council." Kerruk scratched the amber giant scorpion sitting on him with his claws. "So, to some extent, at least a few of us Klaxxi heroes have no desire to serve that ancient master."

"Exactly, mantises will never be slaves, you should think that way," Louis said with a smile, adding in his mind that unless food and lodging are provided.

After riding the amber giant scorpion around for a long time, a towering tree with enormous and wildly growing roots blocked their way. However, this did not deter the amber giant scorpion, which nimbly climbed up and reached a downhill slope in just a few steps.

Ahead was a campsite, and in the middle of the campsite was a platform. A huge obelisk with a large piece of amber inlaid at the top stood in the center of the platform. The amber, like a mind beacon controller, continuously expanded outward with a yellow halo.

"Who goes there!" The mantis demons in the camp spotted the group and rushed out with their weapons.

"We've arrived, Klaxxivis, the Klaxxi camp," Kerruk announced, leaping off the Amber Scorpion and shouting to the charging Mantid, "Klaxxi! Your heroes have returned!"

The mantises whispered amongst themselves, and it seemed that most of them were newcomers. Soon, a tall mantis parted the crowd, saw Kerruk, walked over, and hugged him tightly.

"Welcome back, beloved 'Windbringer' Kerruk!" the tall mantis proclaimed.

“Oh, Wall, you old codger,” Krruk chuckled. “These are my friends, and this one—” he pointed to Louis, “is my awakener. I can feel the ancient bond between him and our heroes.”

"Welcome, outsiders." Vol nodded to everyone. "I am Karaksiva Vol, a member of the council. Welcome to Karaksivas."

After speaking, he made a point of greeting Louis separately: "And you, esteemed Awakener..."

Louis understood. The Mantid had broken free from Y'Shaarj's control and now treated the Awakener with the same disdain he showed in the game, instead displaying extreme respect.

This improved Louis's mood considerably. At least it wasn't the kind of situation where someone rescued everyone and then kept nagging you about how one day they would turn against you for the sake of the ancient venerable one. It was much better than that.

(End of this chapter)