Charlotte didn't personally recognize the ancient array pattern, but she could tell immediately by the alarmed reaction of the normally composed Kunlun students that it represented something genuinely terrifying.
She extremely rarely witnessed these usually calm Eastern practitioners react with such obvious alarm and concern.
A profound sense of tactical unease washed over her consciousness, and she immediately ordered defensive retreat. The Hogwarts delegation reacted with commendable swiftness, turning to make for the perimeter boundary.
But they proved a critical beat too slow in execution.
Krum had been preparing this specific deployment for far too long. He absolutely wouldn't permit their escape now.
The ancient array activated essentially instantly. A towering wall of pure concentrated energy rose dramatically in the path of both retreating forces, completely enveloping all trapped groups within its confining boundaries.
The Kunlun disciples collectively swallowed hard with visible anxiety. "Damn it, Senior Sunny, the formation is complete!"
Sunny Finch's expression turned absolutely grim with genuine concern. "Why did he bring this out specifically? It's not even in its complete original form, but it still represents one of Kunlun's signature foundational arrays! Can this genuinely be used as a mere competitive prop?"
Within the sealed sphere, wisps of concentrated energy began systematically coalescing into distinct physical forms—manifesting as floating blades of pure force.
Charlotte's finely honed combat instincts screamed urgent warnings that this development was genuinely dangerous—extremely dangerous.
In Kunlun's Grand Assembly Hall back in the East, a gathered group of senior elders watched the live broadcast with varying expressions.
The precise moment the distinctive formation appeared on screen, one elder couldn't restrain himself from shouting with alarm.
"Fourth Brother, what exactly are you doing? Bringing this particular array out? Students absolutely cannot handle this level of power!"
The Sect Leader merely yawned with apparent unconcern. "Calm yourself. This represents a heavily nerfed demonstration version—it doesn't possess even one percent of the original formation's true devastating power. Since Erwin brought it out deliberately, he must have prepared appropriate countermeasures."
The other assembled elders exchanged uncertain glances. "If Erwin can successfully handle this severely abridged version, does that potentially mean he could handle the complete formation array?"
The Sect Leader shook his head decisively. "That's fundamentally different. Our complete formation has existed since Kunlun's original founding era. We've maintained it continuously for centuries, though progressive lack of rare materials has somewhat dulled its absolute edge. This abridged competitive version remains genuinely formidable. He won't solve it through simple brute force application."
Back in the Forbidden Forest, Charlotte efficiently led her group to join the Kunlun students, deliberately closing the distance to Sunny Finch's position for coordination.
"Sunny Finch, what exactly is this formation?" Charlotte asked directly without pretense. She never feigned knowledge when genuine understanding proved crucial. To solve any problem, one first had to comprehend it thoroughly.
Sunny's voice remained tight with controlled tension. "It's a substantially watered-down version of Kunlun's protective mountain array. The complete original version is enshrined within Kunlun itself, said to be obtained by our first founding patriarch. Absolutely no one touches that sacred original. This demonstration version, while dramatically diminished, still proves terrifying in capability."
She continued her technical explanation. "Once properly activated, all living entities inside are automatically defined as hostile targets. It systematically connects to planetary earth's ley lines to form concentrated sword aura for sustained attack. Kunlun has only deployed the full original array once in documented history, during the Qin Dynasty era. I genuinely cannot believe Erwin managed to successfully design this as a mere competitive prop. Even I would require hours of careful preparation to properly set this up."
Charlotte frowned, carefully observing the progressively condensing sword energy manifestations. "So, how exactly do we break it?"
"It's devastatingly strong, but possesses exploitable flaws," Sunny explained with growing tactical focus. "Like the sacred original, this array version is completely immobile once activated. It cannot be moved or repositioned. We just need to retreat outside its effective attack range."
"I attempted that already," Charlotte noted, her eyes narrowing with concern. "Ordinary tactical tools cannot breach the sealing barrier."
"Then we cooperate directly," Sunny declared without hesitation. She retrieved a distinctive golden card from her pocket. "I possess Fiendfyre Pathfinder here, cast personally by Erwin himself. It's powerful enough to tear an opening through the barrier. However, I don't know exactly how devastating his specific casting proves. To be absolutely safe, you need to deploy an attack-type golden card as well."
Charlotte studied the girl with renewed analytical appreciation.
Sunny Finch was demonstrating characteristic cunning—ensuring that if Kunlun expended a precious resource, Hogwarts would commit equivalent expenditure, leaving them with one fewer trump card for future deployment.
Yet Charlotte genuinely didn't want to simply leech off Kunlun's contribution. Victory remained secondary to genuine growth and proving capability.
Charlotte retrieved her own retained golden card. "The sword energy is fully manifested now. If we want to successfully reach the perimeter edge, we need a defensive shield. I possess a group protection spell here—lasting ten full minutes. It should successfully hold against the sword energy assault."
Sunny Finch's eyes lit up with obvious satisfaction. Hogwarts had genuinely serious hidden treasures.
If Charlotte hadn't revealed this capability, Sunny had planned to let the Fiendfyre rip open an escape hole, then deploy her own shield to cover their coordinated retreat.
Ten minutes of guaranteed protection represented a massive tactical advantage.
In a way, Durmstrang's desperate stupidity had forced Hogwarts to reveal their retained hand. Of course, Kunlun had revealed theirs simultaneously.
Outside the formation boundary, Krum and the Durmstrang students watched the two trapped teams with faces twisted in smugly satisfied smiles.
In their confident view, the ultimate outcome was already sealed and inevitable.
Krum observed with cold satisfaction. They had targeted him repeatedly; he would absolutely retaliate.This array would be their complete end.
Inside the sealed sphere, the manifested sword energy finally struck with devastating force.
It rained down like falling stars from above, aimed squarely at Charlotte and Sunny's combined groups.
Charlotte decisively tore her golden card cleanly in half. A brilliant purple barrier snapped instantly into existence around all the students, forming a shimmering protective dome encasing them completely.
The concentrated sword energy slammed violently into the magical shield, producing a sustained series of high-pitched, distinctly metallic clanging sounds.
Sunny Finch glanced at the sustained barrier with genuine surprised appreciation. "That's remarkably sturdy construction. It's actually blocking the sword strikes effectively. I honestly didn't expect that level of defensive capability."