Behind a stone pillar, Malfoy hid, unnoticed by anyone. He stared at the troll and Leo's group, wanting to mock their stupidity for not running, but also wondering if he should call for professors. Not to save them, but to catch them breaking the rules.
Who cared about their safety anyway? That annoying Grafton, Potter, Weasley, and what's-her-name... Granger?
"Hey, Draco, move over a bit."
The sudden voice made Malfoy jump. He whipped around.
"Daphne? What are you doing here?"
Crouched behind Malfoy was none other than Daphne Greengrass. She glanced at him. "Mind your own business."
Malfoy didn't understand what she was thinking, but he didn't want to offend the Greengrass family heir, so he gave her some space.
In the corridor, Leonardo relaxed his wrist, raised his wand slightly, and spoke calmly. "In battle, whether facing wizards or magical creatures, try to learn about your opponent first. Answer me: what are the troll's characteristics?"
This classroom-style questioning prompted Hermione to answer instinctively. "Trolls have enormous strength, low intelligence, relatively slow movement, thick skin, and considerable magical resistance."
"Well said. One point to Gryffindor."
Leo made a light joke, easing the three kids' tension slightly. While speaking, Leonardo cast several consecutive spells.
"Glacius. Diffindo. Bombarda."
For demonstration purposes, Leo didn't use full force, keeping the spells' power relatively reasonable. A thin layer of frost covered the troll's body, then over a dozen small cuts appeared, and an explosion pushed it back several steps.
Shaking its head, the thick-skinned troll only felt slight pain. It roared impatiently, then quickened its pace toward Leo, stomping its large feet.
Through specific spell combinations and continuous casting, attacks could flow more smoothly with gradually building momentum. The Weasley family's spell techniques were quite good.
Seeing the troll stride toward them, Leonardo wasn't panicked at all. "During battle, always watch your enemy, but don't ignore the surrounding environment. If direct magical attacks don't work well on your enemy, try using or changing the environment."
Leo waved his wand lightly. The floor before the troll instantly became slick and shiny.
BANG!
The troll fell flat on its back, its head slamming hard into the floor, creating a small crater. Its wooden club flew away. Leonardo tapped his wand, deftly deflecting the flying club to land aside.
When the troll struggled to its feet, charging forward with greater fury, the ground beneath it suddenly turned into a muddy swamp. The troll's legs immediately sank in, unable to free itself.
Glancing at the three kids who no longer looked as panicked as before, Leo said calmly, "Facing powerful enemies, fear is normal, but don't let this emotion control you. Use it instead. Courage that can overcome fear is more powerful than fear itself. Try using this courage to drive your magic."
The three nodded in confused understanding, feeling Leo made sense, but not knowing specifically how to do it.
Leonardo pulled out a small green flask and tipped it upside down. "In wizard combat, spells are the most practical and common means, but not the only means. Potions, alchemy, and herbology—all have combat applications. Waddiwasi."
Several Chinese Chomping Cabbages poured from the flask. Before hitting the ground, they shot toward the troll under the spell's effect.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Then came the troll's pained roars as the Chomping Cabbages' sharp teeth embedded deeply in its flesh, refusing to let go. The troll's thick, misshapen arms scratched at them, pulling the Chomping Cabbages off, even grabbing one and viciously biting it, as if taking revenge.
However, Leo saw the troll immediately spit out what was in its mouth, disgustedly throwing away the Chomping Cabbage. Chinese Chomping Cabbages really were unpalatable—even trolls couldn't stomach them. But this bite force was indeed quite impressive—it could pierce a troll's flesh. Though not terrifying enough to kill a troll in two or three bites, it was enough for humans. Using them as traps would be quite effective. Like mixing them with Devil's Snare or something. If someone carelessly got bitten... well.
When the troll struggled free from the mud and charged forward, driven by rage, Leonardo also put aside his teaching mindset. The demonstration could end.
"If conventional means can't stop your enemy, two options remain. Either make a strategic retreat."
Hearing this, Harry immediately understood, preparing to drag the still-dazed Ron and Hermione away. However, Leo's next words and actions stopped him.
"Or use truly powerful magic to destroy your enemy completely."
Leonardo pulled out several small vials from his pocket containing different potions. That silver-black wand pointed, and the nearby wooden club violently shook, beginning to twist and deform continuously.
The club's grain twisted and expanded, transforming into a serpentine body covered in pitch-black scales with edges sharp as razors. Its head split into crocodilian jaws filled with sharp fangs, four black eagle talons emerging from its belly.
This monster had insect-like crystalline eyes embedded in its sockets. Its head was hornless, but messy bone spurs grew from its spine. Its tail resembled a fusion of scorpion tail and centipede, the stinger at the end constantly opening and closing with scissor-like clicking sounds.
It leapt up, swallowing the potions in the air. Then black-green mist spewed from between its scales, making ear-piercing metal-scraping sounds with each breath. Shrill screams like eagle cries and wolf howls came from the monster's mouth.
The next instant, it had already collided with the troll.
Leonardo had already created an air wall, isolating that black-green mist. The monster instantly bit the troll's neck, its python-like body tightly coiling around the troll, claws and scales shredding the troll's skin bloody.
Amid the troll's creaking bones, Leo evaluated the transformed chimera's performance. Not bad. The chimera, transformed from flesh, sinew, and bone, though lacking magical abilities, already exceeded ordinary creatures' limits in pure physical strength.
A chimera that could somewhat rival magical creatures should be what that ancient wizard, the Chimera Manual's author, truly envisioned. As for stronger, more wondrous transformed creatures, either he'd research magical creature transformation later, or combine alchemy to create semi-mechanical beings.
With a thunderous crash, the troll collapsed heavily to the ground. Its exposed skin was covered in black-green coloration—clearly signs of toxin invasion.
Leo waved his wand to dispel the chimera's poisonous gas, removing the air wall and having it drag the troll over. It seemed a bit dead. Looking at the troll limp like a rag, Leonardo felt regret. He'd originally wanted to raise it, extract troll mucus, and similar materials. This was the first time using a deeply fused chimera in combat—he hadn't gauged his strength properly.
Whatever. Collect it first. If it survived, great. If not, treat it as extra food for the Acromantulas.
Leo pulled out a black flask, collecting the half-dead troll inside. While Leonardo was collecting the troll, that chimera's nose suddenly twitched. Its compound eyes rotated, looking toward a certain pillar. Those translucent, bizarre eyeballs locked directly with a pair of fear-filled eyes.