Chapter 92: Gathering of Personnel
Chapter 92: Gathering of Personnel
It was Saturday, and Liam spent the morning practicing the Obstacle Charm with Hermione. After lunch, he found an excuse to slip away to the Forbidden Forest.
He had barely walked down the path for five minutes when he saw a Centaur standing there. However, it wasn’t the familiar Bettie, but a male Centaur he had never seen before.
This male Centaur was larger than Bettie, with a horse body of a creamy light yellow. He had pale golden hair and sky-blue eyes, much like Headmaster Dumbledore. He looked much younger than Bettie, probably a young adult.
"Are you here to pick me up as Aunt Bettie asked?" Liam asked the Centaur.
"Yes, I am. I’m Firenze, pleased to meet you, Liam", the Centaur introduced himself, bending down to extend his hand.
This must be the Centaur who taught Divination in the fifth year, and probably the one closest to humans among the Centaurs. No wonder Bettie asked him to come and fetch me. Liam thought to himself as he shook Firenze’s hand.
The two then followed a fork in the path, heading towards a place Liam had never been before. Judging by the direction, they were heading towards the desolate jungle he had seen in the Emerald Dream.
Sure enough, Firenze explained, "We’ll be gathering near the valley where the Giant Octo-Eyed Spiders are entrenched. This way, we can directly reach the battlefield. The village Shaman has already set up a Nature Barrier, so we don’t have to worry about the spiders discovering us prematurely."
Along the way, Firenze curiously asked Liam about life at Hogwarts Castle. It seemed he was quite interested in human society.
He also told Liam that his participation in the battle had sparked a debate within the Centaur Tribe. The conservative faction, led by Ronan, firmly believed that this was a matter for the intelligent beings of the Forbidden Forest and did not require help from humans in the castle.
However, Bettie argued that since Liam had been recognized by the Emerald Dream, the Centaurs, as children of nature, should not refuse to fight alongside someone favored by nature to eliminate darkness.
"You don’t know, almost half of our tribe supports your participation, while the other half opposes it", Firenze said to Liam, who was following behind.
"So, my coming here means you’ve agreed with Aunt Bettie’s proposal. How did Aunt Bettie convince the others?" Liam asked, puzzled.
"Convince? Ronan and his group are as stubborn as mules. How could we convince them? In the end, the Unicorns somehow found out about you. At yesterday’s meeting, they believed you should be allowed to participate. Seeing their allies support Bettie, Ronan and his group had no choice but to agree."
It seems that rescuing the injured Unicorn last time really made an impression on them. Good deeds do bring good returns, Liam thought to himself.
Firenze then added seriously, "While we Centaurs are very upright and will never go back on our word, Ronan and his group will not be friendly to you. I hope you won’t take it personally."
"Don’t worry, I won’t", Liam replied. "After all, infighting among allies is the last thing we need when facing a common enemy."
"Good to hear that. I assure you that they will only say a few words at most. When it comes to actual combat, they won't play any tricks", Firenze looked much more relaxed after hearing Liam's response.
After walking for more than half an hour, Liam and Firenze finally arrived at their destination: a clearing in the forest with a few large stones.
Once Firenze informed him that they had arrived, Liam immediately stopped and began patting his legs, then picked a stone to sit on. It had to be said that the path through the jungle was not easy. Moreover, even with Firenze's four horse legs moving slowly, he was still faster than Liam, who had to keep up by walking quickly or jogging. Even after just half an hour, Liam was quite exhausted.
Fortunately, the Assassin's Enhancement and the Maoshan Technique had strengthened Liam's physique, allowing him to keep up with Firenze without embarrassing himself by falling behind.
At this moment, Firenze also walked over and looked down at Liam, saying, "I thought your stamina as a Foal was weak, and I was prepared to carry you when you couldn't walk anymore."
After a few light-hearted exchanges, a cluster of bushes in front of them parted, revealing a path.
Following the path, Liam and Firenze soon arrived at a small valley. In the valley, there were over forty Centaurs and a dozen Unicorns, along with a gray Giant Wolf standing among the Centaurs. It seemed that this was the entire force for the operation to clear out the Giant Octo-Eyed Spiders.
The number seemed a bit small, no wonder those giant spiders had been entrenched in the Forbidden Forest for decades. This number of fighters was far from enough to completely eliminate the spiders.
After a while, two more Centaurs arrived, and it appeared everyone was present. Bettie stood on a stone and began assigning pre-battle tasks.
As Bettie assigned tasks one by one, Liam started to feel a bit bored. Just as his mind began to wander, he suddenly heard Bettie call his name.
"Liam, please demonstrate your Plants so we can get a better idea. Then we can make the final specific arrangements."
"Of course, ma'am", Liam bowed, then released one of each type of Plant he had prepared for today's battle, demonstrating how they would attack.
After seeing the Plants' attacks, a few Centaurs who had been looking at Liam with disdain immediately changed their attitudes and began to examine the Plants closely. They were likely the opposition Firenze had mentioned, the faction led by Ronan.
However, Centaurs were much more straightforward in their thinking than humans. Soon, a tall Centaur with a red horse body, red hair, and a red beard approached Liam. He seemed to be older and more experienced.
The Centaur walked up to Liam and said, "Human, I am Ronan. I acknowledge your abilities and your importance in this battle. I apologize for my previous prejudice against you."
Liam accepted his apology, and Bettie smiled at the scene before beginning to assign specific combat roles. Liam and the Gray Wolf were assigned to the same group, tasked with setting up an ambush at a designated location. Liam also distributed some supplies to the Centaurs.
With his task assigned, Liam and the Gray Wolf set off for the designated position. They only had an hour and a half, and the Hunt would begin in that time.
(End of Chapter)
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