Chapter 1532: Reinforcements
Chapter 1532: Reinforcements
As expected, when the overpass connecting to the castle suddenly collapsed, the werewolves running amok on it and those who had not yet set foot on it were all stunned by the sudden turn of events.
They never anticipated that their opponents would resort to destroying the overpass to halt their advance.
No, to be precise, they never imagined that Yaxley would betray the Dark Lord and lead them into a deadly trap.
While a simple Cushioning Charm could ensure that the werewolves on the bridge wouldn't fall to their deaths, let's not forget that there were still enemies on the other side of the broken bridge. They could easily throw Mandrake roots at the unfortunate werewolves who had fallen, and even if it didn't kill them, it would certainly cause some serious damage.
Most importantly, with the collapse of the overpass, the hundreds of werewolves gathered would find it difficult to breach the castle walls and put pressure on their opponents in a short amount of time.
With the immediate werewolf threat eliminated, their mission was as good as accomplished. Whether or not they could take the opportunity to wipe out a large number of werewolves depended on Nelson Tobin's performance.
To ensure the plan's success, Nelson Tobin, as the executor, had also taken Felix Felicis. At the most opportune moment, when the bridge collapsed and everyone was stunned, he quickly pulled out a Mandrake root from his pouch and threw it towards the crowd behind him, intending to cut off their retreat and leave them with no chance of escape.
The effect was astonishing. The cry of just one Mandrake root was enough to take down a large group of werewolves who were completely caught off guard.
He didn't know if those werewolves would lose their lives, but Nelson knew they were done for.
The successive bizarre occurrences froze all the werewolves in place, giving Nelson enough time to throw the Mandrake roots. He believed that those guys wouldn't be causing any more trouble.
Because until the war was over and someone came to clean up the mess, the cries of the Mandrake roots would continue.
"What a horrific massacre," said Neville, who had flown over on his broomstick to lend a hand, as he gazed down at the fallen figures lying like stalks of wheat.
Herbology was one of the few subjects he excelled in, and Neville was well aware of the deadly power of a mature Mandrake.
Those werewolves were most likely done for.
"I wonder what those guys who were just celebrating their luck are thinking now. To die without even understanding what's going on... they must be feeling so resentful!" A strange thought suddenly popped into Neville's head.
However, he felt not a shred of sympathy, because Neville understood that the absence of werewolves was crucial for the future of the British magical community, and this was a golden opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
The only thing that eased Neville's mind was that he didn't have to get his hands dirty. Otherwise, he would surely be plagued by nightmares in the future.
As for the act of throwing Mandrake roots onto the bridge and having the house-elves blow up the overpass, while it did kill quite a few werewolves, Neville had no qualms about it. He knew what he was doing and never regretted his actions.
"Let's go!" Neville smiled and gestured to Nelson Tobin, indicating that it was time for them to head back, as another battle awaited them.
However, just at that moment, countless meteors streaked across the sky and landed on the castle. Soon after, figures darted through the night and descended upon the castle, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the spells raining down on the castle to successfully infiltrate it.
Yet, people did not fall into a panic. As Albert had anticipated, Voldemort intended to launch a three-pronged attack to tie down most of their forces, and then strike hard at Hogwarts Castle, aiming to resolve all his problems in one fell swoop and prevent Harry Potter from finding the treasure hidden within the castle.
With their plot already exposed, Albert was naturally prepared, and these matters were not their concern.
"It's our turn now!" Hagrid said as he lowered his telescope and turned to the centaurs behind him.
Before this decisive battle, Hagrid had already been tasked with a mission: to venture into the Forbidden Forest with Firenze and convince their old friends to join the battle of Hogwarts.
When Voldemort extended his influence to the Forbidden Forest, even the centaurs could not avoid being dragged into this wizarding war, and no one would be spared unless they chose to migrate their tribes deeper into the forest.
However, just as Albert had said, the centaurs didn't mind winning this war, especially since they would be facing their old adversaries, the Acromantulas.
It was undoubtedly a painful prospect for Hagrid to target Aragog's descendants, but he couldn't refute Albert's words.
Especially now that the Acromantulas had become entangled in this wizarding war, Hagrid had to make a choice between Aragog's descendants and his colleagues.
It was an agonizing and difficult choice, but Albert's persistent efforts finally made Hagrid realize that he had to make up his mind: to stand with Harry and everyone else, instead of making a foolish decision because these Acromantulas were Aragog's descendants.
"We need to help deal with Aragog's descendants so that others can spare some hands to tackle the Dark Wizards invading the castle," Hagrid said, his tone somber as he pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket and glanced at it once more. "This is the task assigned to us."
"It seems he's quite confident," Firenze said, his gaze fixed on the direction of the castle, before charging towards the Acromantulas alongside the other centaurs.
This was not the Forbidden Forest, and without the dense trees to serve as cover, the Acromantulas, which could only crawl on the ground, were no match for the centaurs.
A volley of arrows took down the spiders that had already crossed the defensive line, pinning them to the ground and granting a reprieve to those who had been anxiously casting the Spider Repelling Spell.
As Albert had said, the Acromantulas were sitting ducks once they left the forest, but those who were left here were inexperienced witches and wizards, and for them, facing these giant spiders was still extremely dangerous.
Especially for certain unlucky individuals who had been forced to join, their legs were already trembling from the sheer terror of the swarming Dementors earlier, and the only reason they hadn't turned tail and run was that their legs wouldn't carry them.
Fortunately, the arrival of the centaurs bolstered everyone's faith in Albert once more.
Aberforth, in particular, heaved a huge sigh of relief. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly rallied the relatively reliable witches and wizards around him to stabilize the shaky defensive line and prevent the Acromantulas from completely shattering their psychological defenses, thereby averting a total rout.
(End of Chapter)
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