“Where is the entrance to that Goblin ruin, and how do we get in?” Weilan pressed for more details.
“It’s on this mountain, near the summit. There’s a cave sealed by a huge rock, and inside is that Goblin ruin.”
“Aren’t you Wizards? Can’t you just use magic to move the giant rock?”
The group was about to give up. Weilan still had no intention of stopping:
“The giant rock seals the cave? Then how do you usually communicate with that ‘Gannag’?”
“Of course, the stone disappears at a specific time each month, you idiot!” The man’s forehead bulged with veins. “Either give me food or kill me, you son of a bitch, what kind of torture is this?”
Weilan waved his hand, and McCarthy unbound the Binding Charm.
The group immediately rushed to the remaining paste by the campfire like hungry wolves, scooping it up with their hands and eating it ravenously.
“I want to go to the Goblin ruin to take a look.” McCarthy stated his intention. “I must find out what exactly harmed these Squib villagers.”
“I want to go too.”
They were so close to success, Weilan didn't want to stop here. Moreover, the ancient knowledge potentially hidden near the ruins was very attractive to Weilan.
After Ron and Hermione also followed, McCarthy hesitated.
Weilan saw his concern:
“Mr. McCarthy, we won’t go inside; we’ll just keep watch for you outside. If there’s any danger, we can respond immediately.”
In fact, Weilan truly didn't intend to venture deep. He knew very well the actual skill level of them, the students.
He just wanted to wander around the entrance, to see if he could find some ancient knowledge that could be used to gain experience, just like he did with the Slytherin notes last time.
Considering that going into such ruins alone was indeed too risky, McCarthy finally agreed to their request.
“Mr. McCarthy, we’ll take John with us.”
Weilan whispered to him, “To prevent anyone from deceiving us, and these people are hallucinating.”
McCarthy adopted his suggestion.
After John’s craving was satisfied, McCarthy bound him and pushed him forward.
After repeated confirmation, they stopped in front of a dark and deep cave.
Rather than a cave, it was more like a vault built into the mountain. Various complex metal devices were embedded around the cave entrance, together forming a perfect semicircle.
It greatly resembled the heavily fortified vault doors Weilan had seen in movies in his previous life.
Only now, there was just the doorframe, with the crucial door itself missing.
As far as the eye could see, there were many metal pillars inside the cave, tightly clinging to the walls, collectively supporting the stability of the entire cave.
Deeper inside, darkness swallowed everything.
“Where is the giant rock you mentioned?”
Weilan asked John.
“I… I don’t know either, it was clearly there before…”
John swallowed, looking at the exposed ruin entrance.
“It’s Professor Dumbledore.”
Weilan quickly found the answer himself.
He pointed to the string of footprints disappearing into the darkness of the cave and told them:
“Professor Dumbledore opened the entrance.”
“Generally speaking, a person’s footprint length is one-seventh of their height. Look, the length of this footprint on the ground matches Professor Dumbledore’s approximate height.”
“The footprints lead from the direction of the mountain top to here. This means Professor Dumbledore Apparated to the mountain top, then walked down from the top.”
Although his magic power was still a bit short of full recovery, Weilan, relying on his keen intuition, still deduced:
“He lingered outside for a while, found a way to open the entrance.”
“Then he entered alone.”
As Weilan was speaking, he was suddenly interrupted by a series of “clack-clack-clack” knocking sounds.
McCarthy pulled out his two-way mirror, and finally, Seven’s message came through:
“I found out, Wilson! This Goblin ruin is very dangerous, do not go in, do not go in!”
McCarthy gripped the mirror tightly, his breathing hitched:
“We haven’t gone in yet. What’s wrong with this Goblin ruin? Tell me slowly.”
Gobert took a breath and slowly recounted the information he had gathered to his partner:
“According to those Goblins, what lies dormant in this ruin is Gannag, the Goblin King who initiated the First Goblin Rebellion.”
“In that era of flourishing ancient magic, Gannag possessed the magical authority representing ‘chaos’ and ‘war’.”
“Later, the legendary Great Wizard Merlin sealed him deep within this ruin.”
“But his consciousness did not perish; instead, under the erosion of the ‘chaos’ and ‘war’ authority, it became increasingly hostile and aggressive. Even many present-day Goblins dare not approach that ruin!”
“Gannag’s lingering consciousness will indiscriminately lure every intelligent creature, making them his captives, to help him escape at all costs.”
“Do not try to communicate with the voices in that ruin! It is said that the disturbances in that ruin have become increasingly obvious recently. The Goblins suspect that some humans might have been bewitched by Gannag and are working to help him escape…”
McCarthy adjusted the mirror’s angle to point at John:
“See, we’ve already found the bewitched ones.”
Gobert seemed startled by John’s terrifying appearance and remained silent for a moment.
“But Professor Dumbledore is still inside…”
Weilan was about to discuss whether to wait for Professor Dumbledore when a booming, bell-like voice suddenly echoed from inside the cave.
“#*&€..%…”
Weilan couldn’t understand what the voice was saying, but he could vaguely discern that it seemed to be speaking Goblin.
John, tightly bound by the Binding Charm, suddenly became agitated. He thrashed about, trying to break free from the charm.
McCarthy had no choice but to point his wand at him and re-strengthen the Binding Charm on him.
As everyone’s attention was drawn to John, a rustling of footsteps suddenly startled Weilan, making him turn his head sharply.
Those Squibs who had originally fled now reappeared from the direction of the mountain top, drawn by the vibrations of the Goblin language, and were gradually closing in on them.
At this moment, their faces were filled with hatred, their eyes bloodshot. They had clearly lost their minds, recklessly raising the sharp weapons in their hands and lunging at them!
“Run!”
Weilan grabbed Hermione and was about to retreat.
Hermione stood her ground, unmoving.
Weilan looked at her face in horror.
The gloomy shadow from the cave completely enveloped her. The bright sun directly overhead only cast a faint glimmer in her brown pupils.
She trembled all over, unleashing boundless hatred and a desire to fight towards the charging Squibs.
“Oh no!”
Weilan gasped and turned to look at the others.
Ron and McCarthy were also affected by the Goblin language from the cave, their minds corrupted and controlled.
They engaged in battle with the Squibs with an irrational hatred.
This time, the Squibs did not retreat. They raised heavy metal weapons with arms as thin as matchsticks, charging at them repeatedly like fearless soldiers in a holy war.
Ron and Hermione’s wands were still in Weilan’s backpack, so they fought the Squibs bare-handed, and soon their bodies were covered in gruesome bloodstains.
“This is a meaningless battle!”
“Quickly find a way to stop them from fighting like this!”
The Silver Glow Protection kept Weilan from the same predicament as them. As the only clear-headed one, he had to quickly come up with a solution to stop this senseless bloodshed.
The vast, ancient language still echoed and spread from the cave entrance, fueling the battle to gradually enter a fever pitch.
Amidst the chaotic struggle, Weilan calmed down. His eyes saw clearly, and his mind understood.
He took out his wand from his backpack, pointed it at Hermione, and cast the spell:
“Muffliato”
There was no time to worry about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Wizardry Act now.
Upon using the spell, it immediately took effect.
The buzzing sound brought by the spell greatly interfered with the voice speaking Goblin.
Hermione’s pupils gradually cleared, and after seeing her surroundings, she huddled closer to Weilan in horror.
Several more Muffliato charms were cast.
The chaotic scene returned to order.
Although their ears were filled with buzzing, preventing them from communicating with each other, everyone understood tacitly—
This place was merely the entrance, yet it was already extremely dangerous. It was simply beyond their capabilities, and they needed to retreat as quickly as possible.
The Squibs helped each other, running wildly down the mountain.
Ron had a cut on his calf, and McCarthy supported him as they walked ahead.
As Weilan and Hermione were about to leave together, Hermione tugged at Weilan’s sleeve, signaling him to look back.
Weilan turned around and saw a glimmer of a Lumos charm light up in the deep darkness of the cave.