Chapter 458 Showdown

"This is... the path to the Acromantula's lair."

In the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, Dumbledore looked solemnly at the footprints spreading deep into the dark Forbidden Forest.

As an old wizard who has lived in Hogwarts for nearly a hundred years, he knows even better than Rubeus Hagrid the distribution of magical animals in the Forbidden Forest - whether it is unicorns, centaurs, or... He knew all about the Acromantula.

Following the guidance of the illusion formed by the Shadow-Seeking Curse, it didn't take long for Dumbledore to determine the end point of the trip.

If nothing else, Elena and Grindelwald should have encountered the Acromantula.

After briefly imagining the scene he might see, Dumbledore shuddered and murmured to himself.

"Gellert, don't be impulsive. This is Hogwarts, not Paris..."

Snapped.

Accompanied by a soft sound.

Dumbledore's figure appeared at the edge of the Acromantula hollow.

There was a mess all around. Almost all the trees within a ten-meter radius with the depression as the center were cut off. The ground was full of pits, as if it had just been hit by a meteor shower. It was obvious that it had experienced an extremely brutal battle...

No! It's not a battle...

Perhaps, it would be more appropriate to describe it as a massacre...

Dumbledore's gaze slowly moved around. The corpses of hundreds of Acromantulas were all over the spider lair. Most of them died in extremely miserable conditions. They were either chopped off at the waist, or more than half of their bodies were smashed into pieces. Got minced meat.

What shocked Dumbledore the most was that most of the dead Acromantulas had no complete bodies left - most of them had eight limbs broken off roughly, leaving only incomplete bodies and A few broken limbs.

At this moment, a strange aroma drifted into Dumbledore's nose along the forest wind.

Looking down the steep slope, in the center of the depression shrouded in fog and thick smoke, there was a vague flicker of fire. There were many huge black shadows moving around the fire, and there seemed to be many Acromantulas. Activity.

In the end what happened?

Vaguely, it seems that you can hear strange sounds like clicking, clicking, smashing, snoring...

Dumbledore's expression suddenly tightened, he swallowed slightly nervously, took out his wand and walked forward slowly.

"...The best ingredients require only the simplest cooking method..."

"In order to move flexibly in dense forests, the velvet soft-shell crab's joints are rich in protein. Although it tastes similar to tender chicken, it actually contains almost no lipid sterols, making it very suitable for the elderly to eat. .”

"However, when cutting this kind of soft crab legs, you should pay special attention. The remaining nerve endings inside may struggle a few times reflexively. At this time, you only need to bake them on the flame for a few times and they will stop moving. .”

"...It's delicious, old man. Let me tell you, if you take one bite, you will fall in love with the taste."

"Aragog! Don't touch the left one, it was just inserted and is not yet cooked!"

"Lu Wei! You too, squat down! I'll have your share later!"

"Hey, the one next to you, the legs here are almost finished. You can fold a few more from the surrounding area and bring them over..."

As Dumbledore slowly approached, the devil's whispers beside the fire gradually became clearer.

I saw Elena roasting spider legs on the bonfire while ordering and explaining in an orderly manner about the eating experience of [velvet soft shell crab]. Her delicate little face was flushed by the flames, and the corners of her mouth were filled with satisfaction. smile.

Next to the silver-haired little witch, Grindelwald was leaning on Lu Wei's big furry paws, holding a fragrant and crunchy spider leg and devouring it with a look of enjoyment, not caring about the three-headed dog next to him that was drooling all over the floor. Envy eyes.

Farther away, in front of a giant semi-circular spider web, an old spider as big as a small elephant lay quietly on the ground. From time to time, its long claws fiddled with the spider's legs stuck beside the campfire, making a clicking sound. .

Dumbledore glanced at the empty shells of spider legs that the girl had randomly discarded around, and immediately understood whose handiwork those mutilated spider corpses were, and what caused them...

"Eh? Professor Dumbledore, you are here."

Hearing the noise coming from behind, Elena turned around, glanced, and nodded as a greeting.

"But the timing of your arrival is not very coincidental. You have to wait a little. The new batch of soft-shell crab legs have just started to be roasted."

"Soft shell crab?!"

"Yes, the full name is Scottish Forbidden Forest soft-shell crab. Here, these are the ones on the fire."

"Oh, that's it...hehehehe..."

Albus Dumbledore took a deep breath, his cheeks stiffened, and a look of helplessness appeared on his face.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered the "Scottish round-faced fat chicken" he heard about when he met Elena for the first time a few months ago - this little girl seemed to have a certain knowledge in identifying animals. Knowledge barriers.

"Albus, don't stand here, come over and have a taste together..."

Noticing the arrival of his old friend, Grindelwald, who was half-lying, stood up, raised the half-eaten "roasted soft-shell crab legs" in his hand, shook it towards the old wizard, and said with a grin.

After looking around at the spider remains, Dumbledore shook his head politely.

"I don't have to...eh!?"

Before Dumbledore could refuse, Grindelwald raised his eyebrows, showed a wicked smile, and directly thrust the black and thick cylinder into Dumbledore's mouth, blocking the old wizard's next words in his throat.

"Just smoke it directly, it tastes very good! It's suitable for elderly people like us."

"Hmm?! Hmm. Well..."

Dumbledore frowned and pulled out the spider legs from his mouth - although they did taste quite good?

However, the first priority is not eating!

The old wizard first glared at Grindelwald fiercely, and then glanced at Elena with his peripheral vision, feeling slightly certain in his heart.

The clothes on both of them were neat, and there were no obvious scars. Compared to a defense against the dark arts professor who was still breathing, he looked as if he had just returned from an autumn trip in the Forbidden Forest.

It seems... there is no big problem.

It seems that Tom, who only has a remnant of his soul, has indeed been severely weakened. Perhaps the difficulty of the levels near the Philosopher's Stone should be slightly lowered. If there is no hope of stealing, Professor Quirrell always running outside the school is not an option.

"You two, do you know that there is going to be an uproar in the castle right now?!"

Dumbledore lowered his face and looked at Elena and Grindelwald seriously.

"The life or death of a formal professor is uncertain, the whereabouts of a student are unknown, and there are dark forces poaching unicorns in the forbidden forest outside the school... The most important thing is that all the teachers and students in the school know it. What are you going to do?!"

"No hurry, no rush, there is still time..."

Elena shrugged and took a steaming Acromantula leg from the campfire, exuding the aroma of grilled king crab.

"I believe you must have a lot of confusion in your mind at this time, don't worry, let's chat while eating... Anyway, there are a lot of fluffy soft-shell crab legs around. I plan to bake more by the way, just in time to take them back to make the next issue of "Tips of the Tongue" "Hogwarts" special episode."

"This is not..." Dumbledore frowned.

"The soul possessing Quirinus Quirrell is the Voldemort who disappeared ten years ago, right?"

At this moment, Gellert Grindelwald grinned and suddenly interrupted.

"Elena and I have fought against him, so don't try to hide it anymore. That young man's basic magic skills and dueling awareness are pretty good, but he can hardly display his strength. Even Lu Wei Can't beat them. But..."

Grindelwald paused, a hint of admiration and seriousness flashed in his eyes.

"Even in this situation, he can deal with the crisis rationally and calmly, and in a state that is not even a remnant, he can play a role in affecting the situation. This is quite remarkable - facing such a wizard, Albus, Have you figured out how to deal with it?"

As a mature Dark Lord, Grindelwald has now learned not to underestimate the power of any wizard. After all, he has paid a lot for it over the years.

"Voldemort, okay, let me think about what to say."

Dumbledore murmured thoughtfully, glanced at Elena, who looked calm, and Gellert Grindelwald beside him, rubbed his brows with a headache, and subconsciously took Elena and handed it over. of grilled spider legs and took a bite.

"Well...his current situation is rather complicated. Let me briefly explain it first..."

————

————

Please give me your monthly ticket, please give me some advice~