Looking at the four trolls emerging from the Forbidden Forest before him, Ciel temporarily pushed aside the slaughter he had just witnessed. The troll settlement he and Hagrid had been searching for had actually appeared before him? Were they attracted by the commotion from the battle just now?
Before he could think further, the trolls' gazes all focused on him. The feeling was as if Ciel had something on him that made their mouths water. The already famished trolls could no longer restrain themselves.
"Hungry!"
Rumble. Rumble. Heavy footsteps approached Ciel.
Ciel squinted his eyes. He pulled out a pot of Goldfish Vine from his pocket. When the trolls saw the plant, they became even more eager and sped up again.
The two young trolls came fastest. Although they were juveniles, they were already nearly three meters tall. They reached out toward the Goldfish Vine, completely ignoring Ciel, the tiny human.
However, the next moment, Ciel suddenly swung his beater's bat. The two young trolls immediately felt an overwhelming force, accompanied by burning pain and crisp cracking sounds from their arms. They clutched their arms and retreated on their knees, then let out loud wails.
The two adult trolls immediately became angry. They grabbed their massive wooden clubs and smashed them down toward Ciel's head. Ciel raised his beater's bat to block. Two dull sounds echoed through the Forbidden Forest, like prehistoric beasts colliding. The ground beneath Ciel's feet even sank down a section.
Trolls, as magical creatures, had no spellcasting ability whatsoever. Their intelligence was also pitifully low. They were rated as 4X-level dangerous magical creatures, only inferior to dragons, thousand-year-old basilisks, manticores, and the like, purely because of their brute strength. This showed how strong their brute force was. Even a dragon taking a solid hit would probably have its scales shattered. Let alone two trolls attacking simultaneously!
Although Ciel blocked with his beater's bat, both his arms were numb from the impact. While he wasn't injured, the sensation was certainly unpleasant.
Ciel took a deep breath. He originally planned to use the same trick as before, like when he dealt with that troll before Halloween. First, use the Pruning Charm to destroy their weapons, then grow thorns to bind their hands and feet, and then beat them while they are helpless.
But then, Ciel's gaze swept across the system panel and saw the changes occurring on it. After that strike, his Legendary Vitality, Legendary Strength, and other constitution-related legendary abilities had imperceptibly brightened by a trace.
Ciel immediately remembered. Previously, when he fell from a great height while trying to plant the Elber Tree and impacted the ground, a similar situation had occurred. At that time, he had guessed that external tempering was an essential condition for advancing from Legendary to Mythical. Now his guess was verified again.
Looking at the changes on the system panel, Ciel took a deep breath. He abandoned the idea of destroying the trolls' weapons. Instead, he waved his bat at them, issuing the most direct provocation.
"That's all the strength you have? Come again!"
The trolls, who had staggered back from the collision, were enraged again. The two trolls raised their wooden clubs again. Ciel also roared and swung his bat.
Another collision. The two trolls swayed unsteadily, one even falling to the ground. But Ciel didn't feel good either. His ears were ringing. However, after a moment, Ciel looked at the legendary abilities on the system panel that had imperceptibly brightened another trace.
Like he had taken stimulants, he raised his bat again and walked toward the trolls. "Not enough. Again! Use more strength!"
The trolls angrily swung their clubs, trying to break through this tiny human's defense and pound him into pulp. However, Ciel's tenacity completely exceeded the trolls' imagination.
Collision after collision. Impact after impact of tremendous force. Even with the trolls' strength, their grips had split open, blood continuously dripping down. Each swing of their clubs brought waves of sharp pain.
Ciel's condition was no better. His entire arm was more swollen than before. He tasted blood in his throat. However, looking at the legendary abilities on the system panel that were brighter than before, his gaze became even more fervent.
The path from Legendary to Mythical was incredibly distant. Every bit of improvement was precious. This opportunity couldn't be missed.
At the same time, as his Legendary Vitality and Legendary Strength became slightly brighter than before, Ciel felt changes occurring within his body. Streams of warm energy flowed out, as if making his life force stronger and his power more magnificent.
In contrast, the trolls' movements became slower and weaker. The collisions continued one after another. With this ebb and flow, Ciel finally swung his bat with tremendous force. The wooden clubs in the two adult trolls' hands could no longer be gripped. They flew out spinning, fell to the ground, and shattered completely!
The two trolls also fell to their knees, unable to stand again. The two young trolls fearfully stood between Ciel and the adult trolls. But even with their intelligence, they could understand that this tiny human was an enemy they couldn't defeat.
However, what they didn't expect was that Ciel had no intention of continuing the fight. Instead, he pulled out several rock cakes from his pocket and threw them to the trolls. Smelling the food, the trolls immediately perked up. After eating several rock cakes, they showed expressions of wanting more.
"Good! Want more!" Mumbled grunting sounds emerged.
Ciel's eyes flickered slightly. Having interacted with that troll multiple times before, he had learned how to communicate with trolls. He immediately made the simplest gestures, conveying a message to the trolls. "Follow me. Have food."
The four trolls looked at each other. Just as Ciel was wondering if they hadn't understood his meaning, he saw the two adult trolls, along with the young trolls, actually kneel down before him. They chanted repeatedly.
"Gronnak! Gronnak! King!"
Ciel was stunned. It took him a long moment to realize, from the trolls' grunting, that these trolls actually believed he was the king from troll legend—the strongest troll who would bring food and safety home to the tribe.
His face showed a mix of laughter and tears. "What? Who's a troll?! And the troll king?"
He imagined if he ever became a prominent figure in the wizarding world in the future. When others introduced themselves, they'd say things like "Member of the Order of Merlin," "Dueling Champion," or "Grand Master." And he'd be: "Ciel Sprout! The legendary King of Trolls!"
Ciel suddenly felt a chill. However, no matter how much he emphasized otherwise, the trolls kept repeating that term. Ciel could only reluctantly accept it for now.
"First, let me take these trolls back to help me grow Goldfish Vines. As for the correct title, I'll teach them slowly later."
At this time, Ciel finally picked up Hagrid and walked toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The four trolls followed closely behind Ciel.
"Hiss..." He didn't know how much time had passed. Hagrid felt like his head was as heavy as lead. But he suddenly remembered what had happened before. His heart immediately alarmed, and he sat up quickly.
"Ciel?!"
Fortunately, what he was worried about hadn't happened. This was the gamekeeper's hut, not some poacher's base or, worse, some kind of magical creature black market. Ciel was also within Hagrid's sight. Only then did Hagrid breathe a sigh of relief.
"Weren't we ambushed by poachers in the Forbidden Forest? I remember being knocked down. What happened after that?"
Ciel said seriously, "Hagrid, you were indeed knocked down. But you got up again quickly. That poacher leader was scared out of his wits by you and ran away without looking back. Two days have passed since then. If you hadn't woken up, I would have had to find Madam Pomfrey."
Hagrid showed a confused expression. He had no memory of what Ciel described. But Hagrid wasn't dwelling on these details now. Instead, he felt a wave of fear. His eyes even reddened, and he cried so loudly that the hut's ceiling shook.
"Merlin above. Ciel, I almost got you killed. I shouldn't have taken you into the Forbidden Forest. It's all my fault for letting you encounter such a thing."
Ciel looked at the battle wounds on Hagrid's body. The poachers had struck heavily. Plus, Hagrid had been protecting him the whole time. Even with a half-giant's constitution, he was now covered in bruises, looking quite miserable. Yet Hagrid was full of self-blame, feeling he shouldn't have involved Ciel in danger.
Ciel sighed inwardly and kept comforting Hagrid. "This isn't your fault. It's because I wanted to find the troll settlement that gave those poachers the opportunity."
After a long while, Hagrid finally stopped crying. At this time, he looked out the window and suddenly froze. He discovered that behind the gamekeeper's hut, besides the original troll, there seemed to be four more massive figures.
"This is... a troll settlement?!"
Hagrid was even more surprised. "When did they arrive?"
Ciel showed some admiration. "They witnessed your entire battle and were impressed by you. So they wanted to follow you and came along."
Hagrid was stunned. He said hesitantly, "Is... is that so? Let me think. Oh right, I do feel like someone fought with these trolls."
At this time, having successfully deflected Hagrid's attention, Ciel breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully reviewed the entire incident in his mind. This time, going to the Forbidden Forest and encountering the poacher ambush, and the fact that they seemed to be targeting him specifically. Undoubtedly, this was definitely Quirrell's handiwork.
A cold light flashed in Ciel's eyes. This Quirrell was really like a stubborn plaster. Once stuck, it wouldn't come off. He could barely walk properly yet was already causing such big trouble. If he hadn't harvested a wave of Piranha Algae, this time would have been really troublesome.
Those poachers had extremely rich combat experience. It was nothing like the playful fights between young wizards at school. Thinking of the shortcomings exposed in this Forbidden Forest battle, Ciel's slightly excited mood from harvesting the Piranha Algae completely calmed down.
In magic, he still had many deficiencies. He had too many gaps to fill in protective charms and counter-curses.
However, this time's harvest was also enormous. Ciel looked at the trolls outside. Including the one from Halloween, he had now tamed five trolls. Although two were juveniles, in terms of catalyzing Goldfish Vines, young trolls were no different from adult trolls.
These five trolls could provide enough "forgetfulness" daily for the growth of over two hundred pots of Goldfish Vines. Plus, the castle could still support forty pots. Ciel could now harvest over 250 pots of Goldfish Vines per batch!
Compared to before, the reward quantity had tripled! This way, his Magical Perception Enhancement, which had just advanced to Gold Tier, wouldn't slow down in its progress toward Platinum Tier.
Additionally, Ciel's gaze fell on the system panel again. After colliding with the trolls, both Legendary Strength and Legendary Vitality had extremely minute growth. Although the increase was small, this was currently the only way Ciel had found to improve his legendary abilities.
These five trolls... he wondered how far they could help his Legendary Vitality and Legendary Strength advance on the path to Mythical?
A series of thoughts and calculations flashed through Ciel's mind. Until the clock unknowingly passed midnight. In Hogwarts Castle, fireworks suddenly rose into the sky. The festive atmosphere lifted. Even the trolls stared blankly at the fireworks.
This interrupted Ciel's thoughts. He took a deep breath. Christmas had arrived.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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