Chapter 728: Excavation of the Ancient Ruins
Chapter 728: Excavation of the Ancient Ruins
After the battle against the Werewolves ended, Ryan and the others spent half a month in the forest clearing studying the mysterious ancient ruins. Through the extensive digging by numerous puppets, an ancient city of considerable size emerged before them.
During this time, significant changes also occurred in the outside world. When the alchemic puppets delivered the rescued hostages to Hogsmeade Hospital and their respective manors, they also brought back the latest information from the outside.
Voldemort's previous harassment of Hogwarts was indeed intended to keep Dumbledore occupied, but to Liam's surprise, Voldemort did more than just set up an ambush and distract Dumbledore. He also concentrated all the Death Eaters under his control to launch a surprise attack on Azkaban Castle, nearly succeeding.
Fortunately, under the command of Mad-Eye Moody, the Azkaban Guardians suffered minimal losses. When the group of Death Eaters stormed into the high-security prison located at the top of the castle, they triggered a magic array that Liam had set up.
The magic array, upon detecting a large number of unauthorized personnel, quickly overloaded and exploded. Everyone within the blast radius received a powerful soul shock. According to a letter from Sirius Black, who participated in the battle at Azkaban, 80% of the high-security prisoners were killed on the spot, and three Death Eaters, who were too close to react, also met their end.
Additionally, those who survived suffered severe soul damage. This forced them to withdraw from Azkaban Castle with all the remaining living prisoners and some of the bodies, despite having the upper hand.
In summary, Voldemort's operation was another failure, and the losses were substantial. The near annihilation of the Werewolves was an irreplaceable loss for Voldemort, especially when Liam discovered, among the mangled bodies the next morning, almost all of the key figures of the evil Werewolf faction, including Fenrir Greyback.
The near total annihilation of the Werewolves had a significant impact on Voldemort: he could no longer use them as an effective means of terror, which greatly reduced his control over the regions he ruled. For instance, according to a letter from Lupin, many more wizards had recently fled to the North.
Of course, Lupin's letter also expressed deep gratitude to Liam. Being bitten by Fenrir Greyback had led to a painful first half of his life, and the successful elimination of Greyback by Ryan and the others brought him a sense of closure.
In addition to letters from Sirius Black and Lupin, they also received correspondence from others during their time in the jungle. Letters from Harry, Percy, Neville, the Weasley Twins, and even Luna provided some much-needed entertainment during the tedious excavation work. Reading these letters and writing back to friends under the tent lights became one of their few recreational activities.
After half a month of excavation, an outline of the jungle city was mapped out. According to the archaeological map, the city was large enough to accommodate 10,000 people. Considering that it was built over 1,000 years ago, this city was a true marvel of its time in Britain.
"More accurately, it dates back to 1,400 to 1,500 years ago", Hermione concluded after using a combination of scientific and magical methods to examine numerous architectural components and some of the excavated artifacts.
“I think I can figure out what’s going on here.” Liam had just finished clearing away a red pottery bowl that was now only half intact. From the remaining part, the bowl was smooth and hard, with an even color, indicating it was likely used by the nobility. Flipping it over, he noticed an engraving at the bottom, in Latin, that read: Camelot.
“Camelot, the capital of King Arthur?” Hermione, who had read many books, immediately became excited upon hearing Liam’s words. “I always thought it was just a legend.”
“How could it be a legend?” Liam showed the bowl’s bottom to Hermione. “Don’t forget that in the wizards’ historical records, Merlin truly existed. The Order of Merlin was originally established to honor wizards like Merlin who helped Muggles, and it specifically mentions that King Arthur existed during that era.”
“And this gives us a direction for our next investigation.” Liam pulled a book from his Spatial Bag, flipped to a certain page, and pointed to the words as he read them to Hermione, one by one: “—Because King Arthur’s father, King Uther, had conducted a great wizard massacre in the kingdom, Camelot was declared a holy city that could not be desecrated by dark magic.”
“So, the inability to use magic in this area is related to the wizards who died here a thousand years ago,” Hermione raised an eyebrow after listening to Liam read from the book. “After all, legends don’t just spring from nowhere.”
“Exactly, legends always have a basis in reality,” Liam closed the book and nodded. “And if it’s related to souls, the Death Power you command could be very useful in this situation.”
Sure enough, in the subsequent targeted search, they easily eliminated many areas that were not significant. They eventually focused their search on the clearing they had previously encountered.
The clearing, now cleared of the soil and grass used by the Death Eaters to disguise it, revealed a section of ruins that had been hidden beneath the ground. Due to the severe damage caused by natural and human factors over the long years, the highest remaining part of the ruins was only about one and a half meters tall. However, the occasional remnants of intricate relief carvings and traces of paint in the corners clearly indicated the castle’s former grandeur.
“It’s a shame we can’t share these findings with the Muggles,” Hermione sighed as the entire area was cleared. “Just the name Camelot alone would be enough to cause a sensation around the world.”
She used her wand to gently brush away the dust from a light brown marble panel buried in the wall, revealing a scene depicting a knight on a horse battling a dragon. “This is Syrian marble, considered the best during the ancient Roman era. Its presence here suggests that international trade a thousand years ago was much more prosperous than is commonly known.”
“Because outside researchers have overlooked wizards and magic,” Liam said, looking at the marble panel. “Don’t forget that a wizard could easily transport several tons of marble across the Mediterranean to Britain in just three days. If non-magical people were to do it, it would take at least 30 people and a month to achieve the same feat.”
“You’re right,” Hermione nodded. “Even with the help of wizards, these top-quality marbles from distant lands were extremely valuable. So, I can confirm that we have now reached the core area of the castle.”
With that, Liam held Hermione’s hand and summoned the Rose Madonna. Soon, under the combined power of their magic, a pink glow enveloped by threads of red mist spread out from them in all directions.
“We’ve found it,” they said in unison, opening their eyes at the same time. A few meters to their right, a three-meter-wide area began to emit wisps of gray mist.
“It seems this is the place we were looking for,” Ryan and the others approached, bending down to examine the stone slab ground, which looked no different from the surrounding area. “Let’s hope we find something surprising here.”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
