Chapter 685
Pincer Attack
Chapter 685 Pincer Attack
Clementine swallowed hard, her throat dry and sore, fear creeping up her ankles like a cold snake, making her tremble all over.
Ignoring the fact that she was soaking wet, she scrambled onto the bank and staggered into the depths of the dense forest.
Not far behind her, a branch that stretched over the stream suddenly bent downwards, making a creaking sound as it struggled to bear the weight.
"Clap!"
Water splashed everywhere as the lizard fell heavily into the stream. It shook its head, then crawled forward until its entire body was submerged, leaving only ripples on the surface.
A few minutes later, a figure appeared silently in the open space where the two had been resting.
Hope dusted himself off, bent down to pick up his water bottle and backpack, then picked up Clementine's backpack, took out a sword-shaped pointer, and combined it with the compass and bearing in his hand.
"Click!"
Amidst the soft sound, the girl slightly curled the corners of her lips.
……
"Quick, quick! Retrieve that clip from just now!"
The person in charge of the live camera broadcast noticed a change in the image in the corner and immediately shouted instructions to his subordinates:
"Hurry! We can't miss any crucial scenes!"
Seconds later, the audience in the stands saw a flash on the camera, wondering if Clementine would be caught by the lizard, but Hope emerged from the woods.
After a brief moment of confusion, an uproar erupted in the audience—
"What? This girl wasn't taken away by the puppet?"
"When did she disappear? How come I didn't notice?"
"Merlin's beard! I thought she was already eliminated, but I didn't expect there to be a sequel."
Who bet on this warrior?
Which college is she from?
The audience erupted in a clamor after seeing Hope assemble a complete compass.
As everyone has seen before, Hope has the compass and bearings, while Clementine only has the pointer. Each of them keeps their own parts and only takes them out to assemble them when they need to confirm the direction.
Logically, Hope, who controlled two-thirds of the parts, should have more say, but in reality, Clementine always made the decisions. Hope, the dark-haired girl from Salem College, remained as silent as a shadow.
No one expected that this combination would undergo such a change.
As the girl held the complete compass and corrected her course, Ms. Owens of Salem Academy finally smiled faintly, while Abby and Samuel (two other Salem warriors) sitting nearby exchanged a knowing smile, seemingly unsurprised.
Gilbert of Iphamoni asked curiously, "Does your child... possess some special ability?"
Ms. Owens smiled politely and said, "He's just a kid who's good at Disillusionment Charms."
Egilbert raised an eyebrow and asked, "Disillusionment Charm... even the puppet's sense of smell is clouded?"
Ms. Owens countered, "Are you sure that lizard has a sense of smell?"
Gilbert: "..."
That thing looked just like a real lizard, with its nostrils twitching. You're telling me it can't actually smell the person hiding next to it?
—I think you're not underestimating Wade Grey's alchemical skills, but rather underestimating my intelligence…
……
In a corner of the audience, Antoine was also quietly explaining to the person next to him: "Doesn't the British Ministry of Magic have a natural-born Disguise Magus? Hope is almost the same, except she has a built-in Ignore Charm. I heard that even her parents often forget that they have a child. She often cried from hunger when she was little."
He pointed to the slideshow that was playing, which happened to just then shift from Hope to the scene of Wade traveling for two seconds before switching back to Clementine running away at high speed.
Antoine glanced at the mirror and said, "Ever since she learned the Disillusionment Charm, Hope has become practically an invisible beast in human form. It seems that even the puppets unconsciously ignore her now, which is quite a new discovery."
Derain's brow furrowed deeply: "Didn't you remind Wade about this girl's abilities?"
Before Antoine could speak, Grindelwald sneered and tapped his fingers lightly on his knee.
“If he can’t handle his opponent because of the Ignore Spell, then he might as well give up his studies at Hogwarts and train properly at Greyhold for a few years… so he won’t spend all his time playing house with a bunch of kids and end up making a fool of himself in public.”
Derain's face stiffened, his back straightened, and he was once again surprised that he had guessed the leader's attitude wrong.
He thought Grindelwald would say, "Then he's not qualified to inherit my business either!"
So, they just wanted to take people away from Hogwarts and keep them by their side to teach them themselves?
In that case... Dumbledore will definitely come knocking again, right?
De Laine licked his lips, his Adam's apple bobbed, and finally he just nodded silently.
Antoine didn't think too much about it. His eyes were fixed on the streaming screen, his fingers rubbing his chin as if he were considering something. Suddenly, he laughed and exclaimed:
"How could they run into each other like that? They're quite destined to meet."
……
Clementine stumbled out of the bushes and suddenly saw Natalia resting against a rock.
The moment their eyes met, it felt like a replay of the previous scene.
"you……?"
Natalia straightened up alertly, wand already in hand, her eyes darting around, but she couldn't find any trace of Hope in the vicinity.
"A lizard...a lizard puppet is chasing me!" Clementine gasped, pointing behind her. "Hope might have been...Oh my god! That thing is terrifying! It's not something a student could create!"
Natalia's pupils contracted sharply, and she quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly sensed something amiss—
It was so quiet all around that even the usual chirping of insects and birds had disappeared; only the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard.
"Wow!"
The sound of swaying branches made her turn around quickly, and she saw a burly gorilla hanging from a tree with one arm, its lips curling up to reveal a particularly ferocious "smile".
Clementine, standing beside him, gasped sharply, a sound that was both a groan and a sob escaping her throat.
Natalia turned her head stiffly and saw the lizard puppet crawling out through the waist-high weeds, its yellow eyes cold and ruthless.
"boom!"
The gorilla landed on the ground and swung its arms as it walked over. The lizard raised its head and met the gorilla's gaze.
Although they are both man-made objects, at this moment, there seems to be an eerie tacit understanding flowing between the two monsters, which makes one's scalp tingle and one's whole body tremble.
"Back to back!"
Natalia said in a hoarse voice.
Clementine quickly pressed against him, their backs touching, both able to feel each other's rapid heartbeats.
Boom!
Boom!
dong dong!
"Roar--"
The gorilla roared, pounded its chest twice, and lunged forward; the lizard lashed its tail like a whip, propelling itself forward at high speed!
(End of this chapter)