Chapter 145: Intimidation, Harvest, Surprise

After Umbridge looked in Ciel's direction and let out a venomous shriek, the Acromantulas all turned their gaze toward him in unison. Countless dense eyes glowed green in the dark Forbidden Forest, looking particularly sinister. But the Acromantulas' eyes showed confusion. They found no trace at all. Where was any young wizard? Umbridge growled, "Invisibility Cloak. He has an Invisibility Cloak!" Only then did the Acromantulas understand. Then their gazes became excited and bloodthirsty. "The taste of a young wizard... I've never eaten one! Definitely much better than poachers. That flesh must melt in the mouth without even needing venom injection. Find him!" Not being able to see Ciel didn't matter. In the Forbidden Forest, there were magical creatures that could turn invisible too. But anything entering Acromantula territory had only one fate... death. Their webs could clearly sense the slightest vibrations. At this moment, several Acromantulas began spraying webs in the direction Umbridge had indicated. Clusters of sticky webs spread through the air. Even the highest-grade Invisibility Cloak only provided invisibility, not true incorporeality. If he touched the webs, the Acromantulas could sense his location through vibrations. Under the Invisibility Cloak, his gaze darkened slightly at this scene. But then he regained his composure. He always considered failure before success when doing things. Before bringing Umbridge to Acromantula territory, he had naturally considered the worst-case scenario... what to do if he was also targeted by Acromantulas. Being targeted by this type of gregarious Class 5X dangerous magical creature would be certain doom for most wizards. But compared to magical creatures with extremely strong magical attacks like dragons, Nundu, or thousand-year-old basilisks, Acromantulas posed no great threat to him. These creatures' magical characteristics were mainly concentrated in intelligence and language abilities. This was indeed incredible and could play a huge role in cooperative hunting. But they lacked any decent magical attack methods. To him, they were essentially just spiders magnified countless times. Disgusting, yes, and dangerous too. But desperate circumstances? That didn't qualify. His Legendary Strength, Legendary Vitality, and other abilities were best suited for dealing with this type of enemy. A single Acromantula's threat was even less than that of a troll, which had a lower danger rating. Even so, he hadn't wanted complications. He hadn't intended to do anything to the Acromantulas. But now, seeing the webs floating through the air, his eyes flashed coldly. Since they wouldn't let him leave peacefully, he wouldn't indulge them either. Acromantula venom was extremely valuable, a rare material for brewing certain potions. Even Snape's collection lacked it. It could also be used to cultivate certain rare magical herbs related to toxins. Though blood would be worth much less, for him, Class 5X magical creature blood could still be used to cultivate Blood Jade. Fighting wouldn't be a loss. At this time, the webs the Acromantulas sprayed into the distance almost completely covered the nearby forest floor and ground. Webs filled every gap. Even a fly couldn't escape silently. After blocking escape routes, they continued spraying webs into the sealed area, gradually narrowing the search range for him. Even with Ciel wearing an Invisibility Cloak, finding him was just a matter of time. Seeing this scene, even as her internal organs melted in burning pain and the sound of her own organs flowing filled her ears, Umbridge still let out venomous laughter at life's end. "Ha ha! Those who oppose me never have good endings! Ciel Sprout, I'm dead, but you won't have it easy either!" Suddenly, smoke burst forth in the forest again. Then the smoke condensed into a massive five-headed snake. Orange-yellow serpent eyes stared intently at the Acromantulas. The Acromantulas suddenly became agitated. Their natural enemy was the basilisk. Therefore, Acromantulas had some instinctive fear of snakes. But after a moment, their intelligence made them realize. "This is Transfiguration! The young wizard is trying to scare us... he wants to escape while we're distracted!" Several Acromantulas suddenly lunged at the five-headed snake. The five-headed snake raised its heads and hissed, trying to fight the Acromantulas. But the five-headed snake conjured by his Transfiguration, while certainly overwhelming against wizards, couldn't compare to genuine Class 5X magical creatures. In just seconds, the five-headed snake let out a mournful cry under the Acromantulas' siege and dissolved back into smoke. The other Acromantulas spread out, watching the various routes out of the area to prevent him from escaping in the chaos. "Young wizard. Don't think you can escape!" Venomous pincers clicked open and shut. Sinister words echoed through the forest. However, suddenly, an incredibly bright pillar of light carrying sacred magical energy burst forth in the darkness. It was a Platinum-tier Lumos charm. And he had adjusted the frequency to trigger maximum brightness! The entire area was almost illuminated by this light. The Acromantulas, accustomed to darkness, couldn't keep their eyes open, their movements all stopping as they lost track of his position. Especially the closest Acromantula... it felt its eyes burning under the light pillar containing sacred magic. At the same time, Ciel emerged from under the Invisibility Cloak. Following a plan already rehearsed in his mind, he waved his wand at this Acromantula. Movements practiced thousands upon thousands of times, incantations recited millions of times. Even in this situation, he performed steadily. "Sectumsempra!" The holly wand faithfully carried out his command, unleashing invisible sharp magic that struck the stunned Acromantula. Strong resistance feedback came through the wand. Hard! Really hard! This Acromantula was truly worthy of being a Class 5X magical creature. Its magical defense was far, far stronger than any wizard's. Gold-tier Sectumsempra could now easily cut through Devil's Snare's new tendrils. But on the Acromantula's shell, it encountered long-unfelt resistance. Fortunately, it was only momentary resistance. Sectumsempra inherently had effects against magical defenses. Plus his mastery had reached the Gold tier. And the frequency-enhanced Lumos seemed to have some weakening effect on dark creatures like Acromantulas. In the blink of an eye, Sectumsempra cut through the Acromantula's shell and flesh beneath, leaving a huge wound. Such a wound would be fatal to a wizard... probably cutting the entire body in half. But for an Acromantula of this size, it was at most a minor injury. Not enough to be fatal. The injured Acromantula let out pained shrieks. "Young wizard! I'll eat you, I'll eat you!" But his actions weren't finished. That Sectumsempra couldn't kill the Acromantula was within his expectations. His magical strength and mastery... killing a Class 5X dangerous magical creature with this would be too difficult. But his greatest strength wasn't magic! Having Sectumsempra break its defense was enough. The real killing move was Legendary Strength, suddenly brightening on the system panel! He remained calm, taking a deep breath that made his chest swell. He stepped forward, his body shooting like a cannonball toward the wounded Acromantula. Then tremendous power flowed through his body. The air seemed to freeze the instant he swung the beater's bat. Then... crack... it shattered! A strike capable of wrestling with trolls, even directly overpowering them, landed heavily on the gap cut by Sectumsempra. Terrifying force poured into the Acromantula's body. Like smashing tofu. Splashing sounds scattered everywhere. Foul-smelling green blood suddenly exploded through the forest. Half of this Acromantula's body completely shattered under his single blow. When the other Acromantulas gradually adapted to the blinding light of Lumos, they saw their kin... this Class 5X dangerous magical creature... had completely lost its life. And Ciel was tearing off the corpse's venomous pincers, efficiently taking a large bottle of Acromantula venom. He didn't even spare the blood, filling a large bottle with green blood. These skillful movements even gave these bloodthirsty, cruel creatures an illusion. As if they were his prey? Then, before they could recover from shock and rage, he waved his wand again. Smoke burst forth, and another five-headed snake roared, blocking his departing figure. As the five-headed snake roared, his voice also came clearly, making the Acromantulas wanting to pursue pause and fall into hesitation. "I'm not some young wizard for you to hunt at will... I have plenty of abilities and methods. Whoever wants to repeat your kin's fate, feel free to come hunt me. I can also tell you... I'm the heir of the Sprout family. The Head of Hufflepuff is my aunt; the Head of Slytherin has close personal ties with me. Dumbledore personally cast protective magic on me. And He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught me Transfiguration. If you're prepared to face such towering fury, then let's continue." The voice echoed through the forest. The Acromantulas stopped, their eyes showing hesitation and traces of fear. If he hadn't demonstrated the ability to kill Acromantulas, no matter what he said, they would never let it go. With delicious human flesh before them, how could bloodthirsty beasts restrain themselves? But clearly, once they realized he possessed the ability to kill them, the intelligent Acromantulas regained their capacity for thought. A young wizard of this age. Such methods. And the background he mentioned. It really made them wary. The White Wizard and Dark Lord both favoring one young wizard simultaneously? Though he might be bluffing, as long as there was even a ten percent chance it was true... thinking of those consequences... The Acromantulas' legs went somewhat weak. Considering that pursuing him itself carried risks, and after expending so much effort to kill him, what then? That bit of meat wouldn't even fill their teeth gaps. The more they thought, the more the Acromantulas abandoned thoughts of continuing pursuit. Forget it... couldn't afford to provoke him. Moreover, there were more reliable food sources at hand. Their green gazes fell on Umbridge and the Acromantula that had just been killed. These were all meat. Then the Acromantulas turned around, surrounding Umbridge and their dead companion. Amid bone-chilling sucking sounds, the nighttime Forbidden Forest returned to silence. At the same time, he had already reached the forest's edge. But his expression showed no relaxation. Not until he truly stepped out of this dangerous forest and confirmed nothing was pursuing from behind did his tense expression gradually relax. Then came laughter. The satisfaction of defeating Umbridge, killing an Acromantula, and escaping unscathed from an Acromantula colony... Even though the entire process was step-by-step, carefully calculated in his mind, and far from an overwhelming advantage... In some HP fanfiction he'd read in his past life, Acromantulas were small fry before those overpowered protagonists. Struggling to kill just one would probably get him criticized by readers. But at this moment, his eyes were bright. This already far exceeded the strength progress he'd expected when starting at Hogwarts. He didn't seek to compare with those monsters from past HP fanfiction... just comparing with himself, steadily advancing one step at a time. That was enough! The moment he easily defeated Umbridge and personally killed an Acromantula, all past hardships and efforts, all the tedium and pain endured, seemed to tell him... It was all worth it! The power he possessed was real and substantial! An extremely solid feeling echoed in his heart. After a long while, he recovered from these surging emotions. His gaze fell on this harvest, and his lips curved into a smile. Acromantula venom... this was a priceless treasure. Supposedly each pint cost one hundred Galleons! But in reality, Acromantula venom was rarely sold by the pint. Usually divided into much smaller portions. And appearing at black market auctions as finale items. After all, this stuff was too precious. This bottle in his hands was about five hundred milliliters... roughly one pint. If he was willing to divide it into over ten small bottles, the final value should reach three hundred Galleons! This was already a fortune in the wizarding world. As mentioned in the original story, the entire Weasley family's total savings... all those scattered Sickles and Knuts... probably only amounted to a few Galleons! One could imagine three hundred Galleons' value. But for him, compared to its economic value, its worth as a potion and magical herb cultivation material was higher. Whether for Snape or Professor Sprout, Acromantula venom had uses. He could finally repay some favors. As for Acromantula blood, it was also material for cultivating Blood Jade. Adding today's hatched dragon, he now had two materials for cultivating Blood Jade. He wondered if Blood Jade cultivated with different blood types would have any differences? A "luxurious" thought also arose in his mind. What if he used both blood types simultaneously to cultivate Blood Jade? Thoughts flashed through his mind. Then his gaze unconsciously turned to the system panel. His eyes then froze with confusion and pleasant surprise. "This is?" [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! Want more? Check out my other stories!