Chapter 132: Did I Give You Permission to Take Flight? Making History!

BOOM. With the sound of the goalpost shattering, Slytherin team members widened their eyes as if they'd seen ghosts. Having played Quidditch for so long, they understood better than anyone how sturdy the goalposts were. These goalposts were built with impact resistance in mind from the start. Over all these years, there had been many matches where Bludgers hit the goalposts. But never had anyone seen the goalposts suffer any damage. Yet this time, the Bludger Ciel hit had directly smashed the goalpost to pieces? What kind of power was this?! At the same time, their confidence in the armor they wore was rapidly declining. When they had prepared this armor, they had clearly studied his performance in previous matches. The Bludgers he hit before clearly didn't have this much force. Why had his power increased so dramatically? The little Slytherins suddenly seemed to understand something. Each team member gritted their teeth. "He didn't use his full strength last time. He deceived us! That cunning, evil little Hufflepuff used despicable schemes!" Ciel paid no attention to their shouting at this moment. His gaze swept across the system panel. When it fell on Legendary Vitality and Legendary Strength, his eyes showed satisfaction. The tempering with trolls during this period really hadn't been wasted effort. Just taking a few tiny steps on the path toward the Mythical tier had already brought extremely significant improvements to his actual strength and constitution. Otherwise, though he could have shattered the goalpost with a Bludger using full force before, it definitely wouldn't have been as clean and decisive as now. If he continued strengthening like this and reached the Mythical tier, how terrifying would that be? Mythical Titan giants could tear apart the sky and crush the earth with their strength. At that level, probably any magic below the mythical tier would pale in comparison, right? While various thoughts flashed through his mind, Madam Hooch blew the whistle to continue the match. The little Hufflepuffs immediately flew back into the sky. Cedric beckoned to Flint and the others with his finger. "Come on, fly up. You wouldn't want to become the first Slytherin team in over a decade to miss the finals, would you?" With these words, the little Slytherins temporarily rallied their fighting spirit. They gritted their teeth. "That's right. We absolutely can't let this happen to us. There's still a chance, as long as we catch the Golden Snitch before Hufflepuff gets enough of a lead. We can still win! Without a goalpost, not needing to attack with Quaffles is actually a good thing. We can all go looking for the Golden Snitch." Flint and the others comforted themselves this way, rekindling a glimmer of hope for victory. "Seven against one, the advantage is ours..." So the next moment, they collectively flew toward the sky. They completely ignored the Quaffle, focusing entirely on searching for traces of the Golden Snitch. Seeing this scene, Ciel and Cedric's eyes showed an "as expected" expression. Slytherin had won so many Quidditch Cup championships before, not just because of Snape's biased refereeing... they did have real skill. Their reaction now was also quick. But his expression remained indifferent. He suddenly swung his bat powerfully. Another Bludger, like a cannonball, flew out in a graceful arc. "Did I give you permission to take flight?" The five Slytherin team members felt the fierce wind rushing toward them. Even through their armor, they felt their scalps tingle. Was this really a Bludger that a human could hit? Even giants weren't this ruthless! But Flint gritted his teeth and pointed to a Beater on the team. "You. You go hit this Bludger back." The Beater's eyes widened. "Me? I hit this Bludger?" Flint stared at him. "Isn't that what Beaters do? What are you afraid of? Think about the armor you're wearing... you'll be fine. Go try it. If you can deflect it, even for just a moment, you'll be the biggest hero in our victory!" With these words, the Beater steeled himself. Riding his flying broomstick, he charged toward the rapidly approaching Bludger. He swung his bat forcefully with a low roar. "Let's try..." The next second, the moment his bat touched the Bludger, it was shattered to pieces by the tremendous force. And he immediately felt a massive impact. If not for the protective magic on his armor, his photo would probably be displayed in the Slytherin Quidditch team locker room tomorrow. The black and white kind. But even with protective magic, faced with nearly overwhelming power, the armor on this Beater was covered in cracks. In moments, it was about to become a pile of scrap metal. The Beater himself felt severe pain in his shoulder... it was probably dislocated. His vision went completely white. Then like a kite with a broken string, he fell down. He was immediately sent to the hospital wing for emergency treatment. Seeing this scene, the remaining Slytherin team members looked at each other. Gulp. The Beater had tried as Flint suggested. The result was "try and die." What could they do now? Flint's gaze fell on the second Beater. "You..." Before he could finish speaking, the Beater's face suddenly flushed red as he angrily spat. "Why don't you go? Aren't you always showing off how strong you are? You're the captain too. Now it's time for you to perform... you go up." Flint roared. "I'm a Chaser! How can I do a Beater's job?" The Beater laughed coldly and threw his bat to him. "The goalpost is gone... what use is a Chaser? Captain, you need to take responsibility. Let's switch now. Now you're the Beater. I'm the Chaser. If anyone's going up, it's you. I'm not going anyway. I'm not stupid enough to fight a battle we can't win, especially when it might cost me my life." Flint, gripping the bat, was trembling with rage. "You?!" Then he gritted his teeth. Grabbing the bat, he flew toward the sky. At this time, Ciel swung his bat again. Another Bludger flew over. Flint roared. Before even touching the ball, just feeling the oncoming air pressure, he immediately lowered his altitude again. In the following attempts, Flint tried to ascend several times. But each time, he faced Bludgers with undiminished force. He also tried having other Slytherin team members spread out and ascend. But even if someone succeeded briefly, within seconds they would be forced down again by precisely aimed Bludgers. Those who couldn't dodge in time would even be directly knocked down and sent to the hospital wing like the previous Beater. Soon, the Slytherin team, reduced to just five members, had to desperately accept one fact. Under Ciel's suppression, they couldn't even maintain a certain altitude. It was like there was a wall of despair separating them from the air! The little Hufflepuffs continuously took Quaffles and bombarded Slytherin's goal. The scoreboard kept updating again and again. The remaining five Slytherin team members could do absolutely nothing. They could only watch helplessly as the score gap widened. When the score reached 150-0, everyone in the stadium understood that victory was decided. Even if Slytherin caught the Golden Snitch first, they couldn't make up this score difference. Moreover, this was completely impossible. Unable to fly up, pinned firmly to the ground... how could they catch the Golden Snitch? Everyone's gaze fell on Cedric, who was the Seeker. As soon as Cedric caught the Golden Snitch, this match would end. But what nobody expected was that Cedric showed no signs of taking action. He leisurely rode his broomstick, performing various stylish moves. Just not looking like he wanted to search for the Golden Snitch. A shocking thought emerged in the spectators' minds... the little Hufflepuffs didn't want to end this slaughter of a match so quickly. They wanted to continue expanding the score before ending the game. They were going for the score difference record! Only then did Lee Jordan react, saying in a trembling voice. "The largest score difference record in Hogwarts Quidditch history was 127 years ago, Slytherin versus Hufflepuff. At that time, three Hufflepuff team members were sick with no substitutes, and they were finally crushed by Slytherin with a score of 570-30, a staggering 540-point difference." "For a century, no match has come close to this score. Not even one has broken the 500-point difference. But at this rate, Hufflepuff is poised to overturn this century-old humiliation record. They might even create a new record. Largest score difference and a shutout... no team in a thousand years has achieved this in any match!" With Lee Jordan's commentary, the little Hufflepuffs in the stands breathed more rapidly. Their eyes were all shining. That's right. Hufflepuff was never known for Quidditch prowess. Every Quidditch Cup, they were like Ravenclaw... stepping stones for Gryffindor and Slytherin. Just background boards before the finals. But this year, they had Ciel! Creating Hufflepuff history starts this year! Gradually, with each Quaffle entering the goal, the stands echoed with the little Hufflepuffs' unified, tsunami-like counting. "Two hundred twenty. Two hundred thirty." On Slytherin's stands, no one could make a sound anymore. Draco Malfoy, who had been smug before, was now pale. Many Slytherin students couldn't bear to watch. Since they couldn't win, why torture themselves by staying here to suffer? The stands were almost completely empty, leaving only countless Slytherin support banners piled on the ground like garbage. Board of Governors members and review committee members all had faces uglier than death. They were almost all Slytherin-born. Based on their experience, Slytherin dealing with little Hufflepuffs should have been effortless. This should have been a thoroughly satisfying victory. Who could have imagined it would be a complete slaughter? The key was... Dumbledore and the others were still watching the match with great interest, so they couldn't leave either. They could only bite the bullet and stay here, feeling like they were sitting on pins and needles! Only Hufflepuff's counting echoed throughout the venue. "Five hundred twenty. Five hundred thirty." When the Quaffle penetrated the goal once more, bringing the score to 540-0, the little Hufflepuffs' cheers seemed like they could overturn all of Hogwarts. Cedric Diggory also flew out at this moment with a whoosh. In less than three seconds, he caught the Golden Snitch, whose location had long been tracked. Lee Jordan's trembling voice rang out. "The Golden Snitch has been caught, the match is over! The final score is... Six hundred ninety to zero! The largest score difference in a thousand years of Hogwarts Quidditch Cup history. At the same time, this is also the only shutout in all the largest score difference records. Hufflepuff's match today has created a record in Hogwarts Quidditch's thousand-year history!" The moment the match ended, the remaining Slytherin team members let out long sighs of relief. They felt like a burden had been lifted. But the little Hufflepuffs paid them no attention. The team formed almost a straight line with Ciel, circling the tower three times, repeating his celebratory moves. Cedric was nearly mad with joy. He shouted hysterically, "We made history!" At this moment, in the stands, Professor Sprout's previous angry expression had completely vanished. In its place was a face full of pride and honor. She looked again at Bozo Chalman, who had spoken rudely before, and laughed coldly. "What did you say before? You could beat Hufflepuff even while holding in... digestive distress? Say it again now? My Ciel... beat the stuffing out of you all!" [Chapter Complete] *** Want more? Check out my Patreon for: ✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories ✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics ✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl ???? Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter! Thanks for reading and supporting the story!