A wand!
Henry's eyes lit up with desperate hope. He'd been trapped in this cell for so long but had never seen this young man before. And the stranger wore no shackles either.
Must be a rescue sent by the wizard forces!
"Where are the others? Have the wizards already broken through?" Henry asked excitedly.
Hearing this, Ethan thought for a moment and shook his head calmly. "No. Just me alone transported here."
The other students should have been sent elsewhere by the silver key. Professor Lupin and Professor Snape are both excellent warriors—I can confidently entrust the students to them.
Saying this, Ethan curiously looked around with a relaxed, comfortable manner—like strolling through his own backyard—occasionally making appreciative comments about the architecture.
"Geometric arrangement... Mm, very orderly, highlighting the beauty of mathematics and spatial design."
Henry stared: "..." His smile froze. You're actually appreciating the prison layout?!
In that instant, the stranger's image shifted dramatically in Henry's mind—from heroic savior to brain-damaged lunatic.
Moreover—"Just you alone?" Henry cried out in alarm, feeling his heart slowly sink into his stomach. "How—how did you even get here? Who sent you?"
Ethan turned his head, looking at this red-haired young man he'd casually saved, answering honestly, "Um, just teleported here directly. I came on my own initiative."
Henry's and the other prisoners' faces turned deathly pale. To their ears, this sounded like a reckless teenage boy foolishly entering goblin headquarters to deliver himself as a gift.
One person against an entire nest of goblins? Insane! Absolutely no chance of winning!
Just then—"Damn it! Where did you come from?!" The goblin guard scrambled up from the ground in shock and fury, pulling out a whistle and blowing it with all his might!
"SHREEEE!" The sharp, piercing whistle suddenly rang throughout the underground prison! From all directions in the tunnels, chaotic footsteps immediately echoed ominously!
No good! All the guards are being summoned!
Ethan nodded with obvious satisfaction. "Not bad. Saves me the trouble of hunting them down individually."
The little monsters even auto-gather—very considerate.
Henry stared in disbelief: "..." What is this "what others fear excites me" attitude?!
He gaped at the unnaturally calm Ethan, feeling that beneath that handsome exterior was some new species completely incomprehensible to humans!
Seeing goblins already starting to emerge from tunnels and surround them, Henry urgently shouted, "Quick! Do you know unlocking charms, severing charms? Help me get out of these!" He rattled his chains desperately. "Then give me your wand! Let me fight!"
Ethan raised an eyebrow: "?"
"Shut up," Ethan said with surprising gentleness. With a light wave of his wand, he knocked this yelling red-haired young man to the ground.
Noisy. Looking at the red hair and freckles—is this the Weasley family? That explains it.
Henry collapsed: "???" He raised his head from the ground in shock. However, before he could protest again, the goblin who'd blown the whistle had already pulled out a heavy battle-axe from behind his back. Carved with ancient runes, driven by pulsing magic power, wreathed in dangerous red light—it could easily smash through magical barriers and cut through flesh and bone like a hot knife through butter.
The goblin stared at Ethan with pure hatred, laughing maliciously. "Die, you fool."
The next second, a sharp wind-breaking sound—that heavy enchanted axe flew from his grip! Spinning toward Ethan with lethal velocity!
"Eep!" Henry instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear witnessing this strange "young master" getting cut in half.
"AHHH!" A bloodcurdling scream rang out. However, it was low and hoarse, coming from ahead.
A drop of scalding liquid splashed onto Henry's face. Henry opened his eyes to witness a scene he'd never forget for the rest of his life.
The goblin's body collapsed limply on the ground, cleanly severed in two at the waist. His muscles still twitched spasmodically—like a fish dying on a cutting board. His eyes bulged to impossible extremes, staring in disbelief at Ethan ahead—as if witnessing something beyond all reason and natural law. His mouth struggled to form final words:
"Impossible... why can you... control goblin axes..."
The goblin battle-axe that was supposed to kill Ethan now stood embedded deep in the ground behind the goblin's bisected corpse.
As the words fell, the goblin breathed his last rattling breath. Eyes wide open in permanent shock.
Time seemed frozen. Henry stared blankly at this horrifying scene—the black-haired youth's pale, aristocratic face splattered with crimson blood, making even that pure, innocent smile appear somehow fierce and terrifying.
Ethan raised his hand, red magic power wreathing around it like living flames. The distant goblin battle-axe trembled, then obediently flew up and landed perfectly in Ethan's outstretched hand.
"Very simple. Just adjust your magic power frequency to match the goblin signature," Ethan explained casually. These righteous modern wizards have long since cracked all goblin alchemical weapon designs!
Then, under countless stunned gazes, Ethan turned calmly toward the howling goblin guards rushing at them from multiple tunnels. Painted cards materialized in his other hand.
"ROARRR!" A heaven-shaking roar! A massive shadow suddenly enveloped the goblins' heads like a terrible eclipse!
The charging goblins skidded to confused stops: "CHARGE—huh?!" They abruptly halted, staring up in primal terror at the three massive heads suspended above them like car-sized canopies. Black manes flowing like rolling flames, six orange-yellow eyes glowing like demonic lanterns, and fangs like curved daggers—all hungrily and bloodthirstily looking down at them.
What—what IS this? The goblins froze in place. A bone-deep chill from feet to skull instantly extinguished their battle momentum.
From behind this terrifying three-headed monster emerged a blood-stained face. Cobalt-blue eyes clear as water, brilliant as stars—starkly beautiful against the gore.
Ethan gazed at the silenced goblins, slowly grinning with obvious delight:
"Little goblins, do I look more like a human or a demon?"
Immediately after, screams overlapped in terrible harmony. Blood stained the earth in spreading pools. But this time, it was the goblins' own blood dyeing red the very prison they'd used to imprison and control others.
[You killed all goblin guards!]
[Affected by skill "Fear Harvest," you absorbed massive magic power.]
[You obtained item: Goblin Fortress Map!]
Pat. Boots stepped through minced meat and gore. Ethan bent down, pulling a parchment scroll from the now blood-soaked guard uniform. It detailed the complete fortress layout and marked in red ink a route leading underground to the [Furnace].
It seems like the Furnace not only smelts minerals but also uses flesh and life as fuel—day and night ceaselessly supplying energy to this massive living fortress.
Complete fortress blueprints! Ethan's eyes sparkled with satisfaction, vague strategic inspiration floating through his tactical mind. After memorizing the route and casting a cleaning charm on the blood-stained map, he pocketed it with obvious pleasure.
With the Fear Harvest skill activated, Ethan's magic reserves remained abundant—more than enough for a major battle.
Just as Ethan prepared to follow the route to the underground Furnace, a trembling voice suddenly came from behind:
"Who—who exactly are you...?"
Ethan turned, seeing the red-haired youth frozen in place and prisoners huddled together in terror. Before Ethan could answer, Henry stumbled forward as if sleepwalking, mumbling incoherently:
"I'm truly foolish, really... I only knew he could break through layers of magical restrictions, appearing in the goblin fortress without anyone detecting him... But I didn't think he could single-handedly slaughter his way through entire goblin forces!"
Thump! Henry's knees went soft, dropping directly before Ethan! His arms wrapped around Ethan's thigh, crying out with overwhelming emotion:
"Please—take me with you, great wizard—"