"Tell them, Lulu, if they want to continue their previous life, they must leave this valley now."
Andrews said sternly.
Lulu went to the group of trolls and translated his words into troll language for its kin.
Conflict clearly broke out among the trolls. After hearing Lulu's message, some trolls waved their clubs in dissatisfaction.
Seeing their actions, Lulu's voice became even more serious and loud. It practically roared, overpowering the dissatisfied voices of the trolls.
At this moment, the prestige Lulu had accumulated over time among these trolls came into play. Even the most troublesome instigators quieted down under its suppression, becoming as meek as quails.
It was already afternoon of that day. Lupin had finished all preparations at the destination and returned to the valley camp.
Harry and Draco had also surveyed the route out of the valley. They were now gathered near these restless trolls, who were agitated from lack of water and food.
Finally, under Lulu's guidance, the trolls began to dawdle out of the valley.
Harry rode his Flying Skateboard ahead to lead the way. Severus and Lupin guarded the flanks of the troll group. Draco followed beside Severus. Andrews stayed at the rear of the troll procession to prevent anyone from getting lost or staying behind.
The forest floor began to tremble. The movement of dozens of trolls traveling caused the magical and ordinary animals near the valley to flee in all directions.
Chaos erupted as soon as the group left the valley. Some trolls dawdled, refusing to move forward, earning them a series of punches and kicks from Lulu within the troll group.
Under Lulu's pressure, they finally began to move slowly, but the pace remained sluggish. However, throughout the afternoon, no troll fell behind or deliberately refused to move.
By evening, after traveling over ten kilometers, they finally reached the campsite Harry and Draco had initially selected for a temporary overnight rest.
Freed from Lulu's forceful driving, the trolls immediately plopped down onto the ground upon arrival.
Then they saw the clean water source. Some trolls, extremely thirsty, mustered the effort to stand up and went to the stream that eventually flowed into the valley lake to drink water.
Andrews also began methodically releasing a small number of Yellow-Horned Goats, preparing a meager dinner for the trolls who hadn't eaten for over a day.
"We can't let them eat their fill. If they eat and drink their fill here, they might not be willing to leave tomorrow morning." Andrews said to Severus and the others as the wizards also had their dinner.
"I had Lulu tell them that if they reach the destination, they'll get a sumptuous feast. We should be able to smoothly leave this area tomorrow."
Today's migration, though initially encountered obstacles, had proceeded relatively smoothly.
At least at this pace, they could achieve their goal before noon tomorrow.
The trolls could sleep anywhere and didn't need any huts or tents built for them. They simply lay down on the grass by the stream and fell asleep.
Severus and the others slept in the magical tent they had used when first entering the forest to find Andrews. The space inside was large enough, so even with Andrews joining, it was no problem.
But obviously, they couldn't all rest at the same time. Before reaching the destination, someone had to keep an eye on the trolls.
Lulu, Andrews, Severus, and Lupin, one troll and three wizards, divided into four shifts for guard duty.
Lulu and Andrews took the first half of the night, while Severus and Lupin took the second half. The two children, Harry and Draco, naturally didn't have such duties.
In the latter half of the night, after Andrews woke Severus, they together confirmed the number of trolls sleeping on the ground. Then Andrews went to rest, and Severus kept watch alone.
Well, to be precise, one person and one ghost.
[That dragon tamer who came the other day said there have been unexplainable accidents on the western side of their nature reserve. Don't you think it's likely related to the Hag's ghost you're trying to find?] Ghost Snape suddenly asked quietly.
Severus poked the campfire in front of him with a branch.
'Of course, I'm not that obtuse.'
[Then why are you here playing troll house with them?]
'You're too impatient.' Severus said calmly. "The riskier and more uncertain something is, the less you should rush. I can confirm your master is in this forest. He won't be able to leave for the next year or two, he'll stay here."
Ghost Snape didn't understand where Severus's confidence came from, just like he didn't understand why Severus was so sure that the annoying bestselling author Lockhart was a Memory Charm Master and would definitely find them.
But he no longer easily questioned Severus. Over this period, many things had proven that Severus's absurdly accurate predictions were almost always correct.
Severus didn't continue discussing the search for Voldemort with Ghost Snape but instead discussed some issues related to potions and spells with him.
Not long after, around 3 a.m. in the latter half of the night, a faint roar from the distant sky suddenly caught Severus's attention.
He stopped his discussion with Ghost Snape and turned to look at the sky in the west, where the moon hung low. Something was happening there, a small portion of the sky was stained with a strange crimson red.
Ghost Snape clearly also heard the noise. He said uneasily, [What's that sound?]
Almost as soon as his words fell, a roar much louder than before, like thunder, exploded across the sky!
Nearly all the trolls were startled awake by the noise. By then, Severus had already lifted the tent flap without hesitation.
"Get up! Everyone up! We need to leave now! Hurry!"
Soon, Andrews and Lupin, still in their pajamas, rushed out of the tent clutching their wands.
The troll group descended into utter chaos. Even with Lulu trying to calm and suppress them, it was impossible to control the panicked kin in such a short time.
And the owner of that roar was now above them, blotting out most of the starry sky!
It was an extremely large dragon!
Its size was nearly triple that of the Swedish Short-Snout that had landed in the valley!
The huge belly, gleaming like steel, revealed its species.
Ukrainian Ironbelly!
The largest dragon in the world.
The moment this dragon revealed itself in the sky, accompanied by a roar that seemed capable of shattering eardrums…
Dragon breath descended from the sky like divine punishment, enveloping an area half a mile in radius.
"Protego Maxima!"
Severus didn't hesitate. He thrust his wand tip into the ground, and an invisible shield enveloped them all, including the trolls.
The dragon breath clashed violently with the wide-area Shield Charm but couldn't break through the protection.
The surroundings had turned into a sea of fire, grass and trees were all ablaze.
Andrews shouted, "What's happening! What's going on! Weren't they supposed to start expanding tomorrow at the earliest!"
Lupin reacted quickly. He immediately pointed his wand at the sky and cast a warning charm.
A cluster of bright red sparks shot into the sky, exploding into a beautiful firework against the fire-lit night sky!
Harry and Draco also saw this scene in terror. Now, they felt none of the excitement and thrill they had when seeing dragons before.
"Remus! Protect Dudley and Draco. Take them away from here immediately!"
Severus said to Lupin with a serious tone.
Lupin didn't hesitate for a moment regarding Severus's order. He immediately grabbed Harry and Draco and, while casting Shield Charms, ran eastward.
At that moment, the Ukrainian Ironbelly noticed its dragon fire hadn't completely destroyed the ants on the ground. It began to angrily flap its wings, spread its claws, and used its massive body to launch a further attack on Severus's Shield Charm!
Boom!
A huge, trembling collision sound rang out. Countless fine, dense cracks appeared on the surface of the Shield Charm.
The trolls began to panic and flee in all directions. Lulu desperately tried to control them and make them run east, but over a dozen trolls still turned and ran back toward the valley they originally lived in!
"Forget about those! Just save as many as you can now! We really can't do anything about them!"
Severus shouted to Andrews, who was still trying to remedy the situation and bring back the fleeing trolls.
Andrews also calmed down at this point. He understood Severus was right.
They just needed to do their best while ensuring their own safety. If trolls were still injured or killed despite that, there was nothing more they could do.
"The situation isn't right!" Andrews said urgently, "Not only does it not match the initial reserve expansion timeline, but normally raised dragons shouldn't be this aggressive! They've gone mad!"
"You and Lulu take those trolls and run east too. Remember, protecting yourselves is the most important thing!"
"I understand!"
Andrews didn't say anything unnecessary. He immediately used Blasting Curses on the trolls trying to run wild, forcing them with explosions to gather together and run east.
Crack!
At that moment, the Shield Charm cast by Severus finally couldn't withstand the Ukrainian Ironbelly's second fierce impact and shattered!