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Chapter 93: Setting Up the Position
Chapter 93: Setting Up the Position
The sunlight in September in England was not intense, especially in the Forbidden Forest. The light filtering through the branches and leaves formed fine columns, creating a poetic and dreamy beauty.
But soon, this picturesque scene was disrupted. A grating voice came from within the Forbidden Forest: "Hey, kid. I really don't understand why Bettie put us in the same group. Look at my size, my teeth, my claws. I should be on the front lines, not hiding behind everyone else doing hard labor..."
Then came a string of complaints, all about the speaker's glorious past.
Liam, standing next to the speaker, helplessly covered his forehead. In his experience, wolves were usually silent. So when he was assigned to work with a wolf, he was a bit worried that the task might be a bit boring.
But he never expected that this wolf not only could talk but was also a chatterbox. Ever since they left the assembly point, he had been talking nonstop, a stark contrast to his aloof demeanor while waiting for task assignments. Especially with the goofy look in his eyes, Liam strongly suspected that this wolf might be a mix of a wolf and a husky.
"Mr. Wolf, don't just talk to me. I have no idea where we're going; it's all up to you." Liam asked with some concern, as he was completely unfamiliar with the Forbidden Forest.
"Don't worry. I've lived here for 15 years. I wouldn't get lost even if I closed my eyes." Gray Wolf replied. Then he asked, "Can you tell me more about those televisions? What are they used for?"
Liam had no choice but to explain what a television was. Gray Wolf was a bit of an unfortunate soul. He was born from two werewolves in their wolf form and abandoned at birth. Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore brought him to the Forbidden Forest, where he was raised by a centaur.
Though he looked like a wolf, his lifespan and intelligence were similar to those of a human. So, for a young wolf eager to learn about the outside world, meeting someone he could talk to was a rare opportunity, and he naturally had endless questions.
After about ten minutes of conversation, they finally reached their designated position: a small hill by a river, with no trees around.
"Why is it that whenever I meet residents of the Forbidden Forest, it's always in a clearing? Even when preparing to attack the enemy, we choose a clearing. Is a clearing some kind of lucky spot in the Forbidden Forest?" Liam asked, puzzled.
"Of course. In the Forbidden Forest, any creature with intelligence is at the top of the food chain. So they don't need to hide. If you don't need to hide, then the best place is where you can see the sky. For example, I like to sunbathe in the clearings when the sun isn't too strong, especially in the morning. Otherwise, the dew in the forest makes my fur wet and uncomfortable", Wolf explained with a serious face.
"As for why we choose such a place for an ambush, spiders can climb trees. If we ambushed them in the forest, we'd have to constantly worry about what's above us. Not to mention, several of your plants can shoot fire. If we're not careful, we might set the forest on fire."
That makes a lot of sense. I've learned something new. Everything in the world has its wisdom. Indeed, one must remain humble on the path of learning to gain more knowledge.
It took Liam an hour to set up enough plants around the area. A special mention goes to the Potato Mines, which can clearly distinguish between friend and foe. After spending half an hour planting other plants in the clearing, Liam and Wolf spent the rest of the time burying Potato Mines in the nearby forest.
While working, Liam suddenly realized that he had only come to the Forbidden Forest to gather materials to kill the Chamber of Secrets Basilisk. How had things escalated to the point where he was now preparing for a battle, and not just any battle, but one where he was a key participant?
What was the difference between this and planting a tree just to eat an apple? However, since he was already here and had come this far, it was out of the question to back out now. The best course of action was to focus on the task at hand.
From this, Liam also realized that he had been subtly guided by Centaur Bettie throughout the negotiations, leading to his current decision. It was clear that no leader was a fool, and Liam could only be grateful that Bettie had no ill intentions and that eliminating the spiders aligned with his own interests. Nevertheless, this experience served as a warning: the next person to guide him might not be as benevolent.
Experience in dealing with people and situations can only be gained through repeated exposure; there are no shortcuts. Given that, the most sensible attitude at this moment was to go with the flow and not overthink things, as excessive deliberation could lead to more harm than good.
As he finished setting up, distant explosions echoed through the forest. Liam recognized the sound of the Cherry Bombs he had given to the centaurs. The spiders were approaching!
Liam quickly ran back to the small hilltop where he had prepared his position and began to get ready. Wolf, taking advantage of his speed, planted a few Potato Mines before slowly retreating to the hilltop.
As the explosions grew closer, the sound of hooves mixed in, along with some peculiar noises. Soon, Liam saw the centaurs charging out of the woods. Though they appeared unharmed, Liam noticed that they all looked somewhat exhausted. The two quivers on their sides were almost empty, with only the quivers on their backs still full.
No wonder they were symbols of war in the age of cold weapons. Liam had seen their quivers, each containing around 30 arrows on average. To fire 60 arrows in such a short time was far beyond human capability.
Bringing up the rear were the unicorns, which occasionally unleashed lightning from their horns at the Forbidden Forest behind them. Truly, they were magical creatures that could rival dragons.
Once all the allies had retreated to the vicinity of the hill, Liam transferred control of the Plants to a few centaurs and Wolf. This was part of the pre-planned strategy, as the centaurs had a better understanding of the enemy and could inflict greater damage on the Giant Octo-Eyed Spiders.
Liam then walked to the ritual array he had prepared. This ritual array was learned from the Maoshan Daoist Scripture, designed to provide energy to the user and create a simple protective barrier around the array, shielding those within from negative and evil forces.
The ritual array was relatively simple, taking Liam only three minutes to set up. It consisted of copper nails driven into the ground, with red lines dyed with rooster blood wrapped around them to form the array. The only difference from the original was that Liam used Sunlight Crystals to power the array, as it was the only consumable he had available. However, this choice also gave the array a stronger positive energy, making it more effective against the Giant Octo-Eyed Spiders.
With everything in place, the rustling sounds of the spiders advancing through the forest grew louder. The Giant Octo-Eyed Spiders were here.
(End of Chapter)
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