Mastering Lightning from Hogwarts

Ron and Malfoy stealthily crept to the front door and began rummaging through the rubble-strewn ruins.

Soon, the two unearthed an item from a crack in the stones.

After seeing the specific attributes of this item, both Malfoy and Ron couldn't help but gasp.

"Hiss… Could Penelope be planning…?" Malfoy muttered with wide eyes, filled with surprise and a hint of doubt.

"I didn't expect Penelope to have such a good thing in her hands! It seems we're not without a chance to turn the tables!" Ron exclaimed excitedly, his eyes also wide.

"Time is of the essence, let's hurry and follow them!" Malfoy couldn't wait after seeing the item's function.

"Don't rush. Not to mention the monsters guarding inside, Percy's team should have also entered the shopping center. Our top priority now is to hide ourselves." Ron, usually boisterous, was surprisingly calm at this moment.

And Malfoy, who usually liked to argue with him, didn't refute this time. Instead, they huddled together and muttered, showing that their previous shared experiences had given them a strange understanding.

Meanwhile, Cedric and the others, who had already entered the shopping center, were slowly advancing in the first floor lobby, keeping low.

It wasn't that they didn't want to speed up, but the shopping hall was full of enemies. There was a skeleton monster stationed at almost every corner and under every pillar.

The group didn't want to be like fools, rushing in headlessly, which would only waste stamina and magic power.

So, after seeing the situation, Cedric immediately determined the advancement plan: try to avoid the more remote enemies and only clear the monsters encountered along the way.

As for the method, Cedric's idea was to use the 'Silencing Charm' in conjunction with the 'Shattering Charm' to solve the enemies.

Cedric and the others had already tested it. These ordinary skeleton soldiers had very questionable intelligence. As long as the distant skeletons didn't see them with their own eyes, even if a skeleton was smashed near them, it wouldn't attract attention.

Using this method, the group of six quickly opened up a safe passage to the second floor, but now they were facing a choice.

That was whether they should first rescue the hostages on the second floor or go directly to the third floor to find the most important princess.

Penelope, who was responsible for detecting the direction of the hostages, had confirmed that the location where the other group of hostages were held was in a different direction from the road leading to the third floor.

"What do we do, go to the third floor or stay on the second floor?" Penelope held a compass in her hand, looking calmly at Cedric and the others. She was the least anxious of the group.

"What are your thoughts?" Cedric, who always advocated democracy, looked at the others.

"To be honest, I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both paths." Hermione pondered for a moment before sharing her views with everyone. "Staying on the second floor allows us to rescue a group of hostages first, which can earn us points, but it will also slow down our progress."

"We came in later than Percy's team. If we delay for too long, I'm afraid the princess will fall into their hands, but going straight up may lead to a head-on collision with them. There may be a chaotic battle. If we lose, let alone the princess, we may not even be able to take down the hostages on the second floor."

After hearing Hermione's analysis, everyone nodded in agreement. This was also what they were more concerned about: whether to seize the readily available points first or risk pursuing high scores.

"I think we should search the second floor first and grab some points." Fred, who was usually more outgoing, was very steady at this time. "You know, we don't know how strong the defense is where those hostages are held. If there are opponents that are difficult to deal with, it won't be a two-sided battle, but a three-way melee."

Fred was very clear that Anduin had no shortage of terrifying constructs in his hand. What if a steel golem was responsible for guarding the princess upstairs? Wouldn't that beat their brains out?

"But I think it's a good idea to go straight for the main target. If we are delayed too long on the second floor and the princess falls into Percy's team's hands, it won't be easy to snatch her back. I guess the princess's score must be higher than the hostages on the second floor. If we miss it, we will fall behind even if we rescue a group of hostages."

George suddenly disagreed with his brother Fred at this time.

"And don't look at them coming in earlier than us, but they don't know the princess's specific location. This shopping center is so big, it won't be easy to find accurately in a short time. We have Penelope to lead the way, they may not be faster than us!"

George's reasoned speech quickly impressed the others around him.

Indeed, they had items in their hands that could clearly point to the mission target, so they could go straight to the princess's direction, while Percy and the others could only search little by little. They might not even be able to determine whether the princess was on the second or third floor.

"But what if they happen to arrive when we are in a firefight with the enemies on the third floor? Wouldn't we be attacked from both sides? Isn't the risk too great?" Hermione said with some concern.

"This… such a coincidence won't happen, right?" George muttered, stroking his chin. "Why don't we go upstairs and see the situation first? If the defense on the third floor is particularly strong, we'll retreat back?"

"That's a safe way to do it."

Hermione agreed with this, and Fred and Terrence also agreed.

Seeing that everyone was gradually unified in their thinking, Cedric was ready to implement the plan, but before speaking, he looked hesitantly at Penelope beside him.

"What do you think, Penelope?" Cedric asked in a tentative tone. "We have successfully entered the shopping center. Are you still willing to travel with us? If you are now preparing to stay here to rescue the hostages on the second floor, we will not stop you."

"You are quite chivalrous." Penelope glanced at Percy appreciatively. "But I can't guarantee that I can explore the second floor alone. I'll follow you for now."

"I respect your choice." Cedric nodded kindly, then his face became serious again. "But at this critical moment, we still have to make things clear, otherwise we can't stand being backstabbed by you halfway."

"You are really cautious." Penelope rolled her eyes speechlessly. "Let's do this, our previous gentleman's agreement is still valid. I guarantee that I will never turn against you before seeing the princess."

"Then you have to keep your word!" George suddenly interjected at this time. "Don't tell us that you are a girl and not a gentleman. If you go back on your word, we won't play with you in the future."

The future George was talking about was naturally after leaving this ruin副本. They knew very well that since Anduin called this a temporary 副本, there would definitely be an official 副本 in the future. There might be opportunities for cooperation, so their credibility was still very important.

"Don't worry, I'm not that despicable." Penelope glanced at the other party dissatisfiedly. Did she look like someone who would backstab a teammate?

Seeing that Penelope had said so, Cedric was relieved and said, "Okay, let's set off now, target the princess's location on the third floor, and decide on the rescue after determining the defense force!"

After saying that, they immediately took action, ignoring the hostages on the second floor.

As soon as they reached the third floor, everyone found that the monster density here was much greater than the two floors below, and some teams of skeleton soldiers were patrolling the corridors.

Therefore, it was quite difficult to advance in a semi-stealthy manner like before.

However, they had equipment in their hands, and they were not very afraid of these mobs, so after a simple discussion, everyone blatantly began to push forward.

Relying on the power of Cedric's [Bone Warhammer] and Penelope's strong spells, their speed of advance did not slow down much.

And Terrence's halberd, even without releasing skills, was an extremely strong melee weapon, so the advance was fairly smooth, and everyone's state was well maintained.

Soon, after advancing a distance towards the central area, everyone finally came to an empty and open indoor square, and at the deepest part of the square stood a double metal door, which was the direction Penelope's compass was pointing.

"It seems that the princess is inside, but why is there no guard here? Could the guards be hiding inside?" Fred poked his head out from behind a hiding stone pillar and muttered to his teammates, somewhat puzzled.

"I don't know, the guards may be inside, or the guards here may be similar to giant skeletons, hiding in the dark and suddenly appearing when we break into a certain range." Hermione reasonably speculated.

"Then shall we go up now or not?" George frowned, a little embarrassed. "Once we engage the enemy, it won't be easy to escape. It's no joke if Percy and the others suddenly kill us."

"Yes, no matter whether we go up or not, we have to make a decision quickly. The longer we delay, the more dangerous it will be." Terrence was also a little anxious at this time.

After hearing everyone's words, Cedric also lowered his head and pondered. He knew that now was the most critical moment. If the decision was wrong, everyone's previous efforts might be in vain.

"Fight!" Cedric said firmly and fiercely. "Now is not the time to retreat. We are still in the advantage at this time. We can't waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Okay!"

After hearing Cedric's decision, everyone responded without hesitation. In fact, they were very entangled in their hearts, and it was a good thing for someone to make a decision for them.

"But as Hermione said, there may be enemies lurking in the square ahead. We can't rush up like a swarm." After determining to fight, Cedric immediately considered tactics.

"I'll explore the way for you!" George stood up with a sense of responsibility. "The most important thing for Terrence and Hermione now is to take care of the [Guardian Halberd]. Leave the probing to me!"

"Well, be careful!" Cedric didn't waste any words when he heard the words. Every second wasted would add a risk. Percy's team might be very close to here.

After making up his mind, George clenched his wand in his right hand, topped with a white bone shield with high durability in his left hand, and walked cautiously into the square.

However, until he approached the center of the square, there was still no strange phenomenon, which made him relax a little. It seemed that the enemy responsible for guarding the princess should be inside the door.

"Click!"

When George's mentality was slightly relaxed and he approached the door, a crisp click suddenly came from his ear, as if something had broken.

This abnormal sound made him tense his whole body instantly, but there was no abnormality in his sight at this time.

"Be careful of the top of your head!"

Just when George didn't know why, Fred's warning suddenly came from behind. After hearing his brother's reminder, he hurriedly jumped to the side without even looking up.

"Bang!"

George jumped away, and a burly figure fell straight down on the spot where he was originally standing, and a conspicuous hole also appeared in the ceiling.

George, who had finally escaped, turned his head and saw that it was a large skeleton squatting halfway, named [Vanguard Skeleton]. Looking at its skeleton, it was at least three meters tall when standing upright. The bronze-colored skeleton all over its body looked very difficult to mess with.

At the same time, the opponent's right hand was a metal spear held upside down, which was deeply plunged into the ground at this time, and the left hand was holding a kite-shaped shield flashing with dazzling aura.

"Aww!"

The Vanguard Skeleton, which had landed violently, found that it had failed to kill its opponent, and immediately roared loudly in anger, and then pulled out the spear inserted into the floor with a bang, staring fiercely at George not far away with eyes emitting scarlet light.

"Merlin's beard!" George, who had just escaped, glanced at the skeleton, and then a trace of cold sweat seeped from his back. Was this guy's posture a little too scary?

"Hold on! We're coming!" Seeing that the enemy had finally appeared, Cedric and the others immediately rushed out of their hiding places, shouting loudly while constantly launching spells at the Vanguard Skeleton.

"Buzz!"

Faced with the rushing spells, the Vanguard Skeleton swung its left hand very freely, and the kite-shaped shield greeted those spells with the sound of bursting wind, instantly blocking all the spells easily, and even failed to splash a trace of ripples.

Seeing that even Penelope's powerful spells could not break the defense, everyone's heart suddenly thumped. This enemy was probably not comparable to the elite monsters they had encountered before. Their attack this time was probably a bit reckless.

"Bang!"

After blocking all the spells, the Vanguard Skeleton was also attracted by Cedric and the others in front, so it took a heavy step forward towards the crowd, making the entire floor buzz.

At the same time, after stepping, the Vanguard Skeleton put the spear in its hand next to the kite-shaped shield, put on a defensive posture, and then suddenly burst out.

It launched a charge towards Cedric and the others!