Link's laughter wasn't particularly loud, but at that moment it sounded especially grating.
Umbridge's already none-too-attractive face instantly darkened. She stared at Link and said harshly,
"Link Flamel, don't think you can shelter the giant. Where did you hide it?"
"Professor Umbridge, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say whatever you like," Link said with narrowed eyes.
"We were just hunting in the Forbidden Forest. We've never seen any giant. On the contrary, your subordinates attacked us for no reason at all. Shouldn't you, as my superior, give me an explanation?"
As soon as those words were spoken, Newland and Sigefin both swept cold, vicious gazes over the black-clad volunteers around them, as if trying to memorize every single face.
During the earlier fight, both sides had shown restraint, but that was only to avoid crossing certain lines.
Newland and Sigefin were absolutely certain that those damn volunteers had already arrived nearby long before they disengaged from the giant.
The reason they hadn't made a move was simply because they wanted to watch the giant kill the two of them.
For such a "favor," there was no reason not to return it.
Hearing this, Umbridge finally looked toward the black-clad volunteers still frozen to the ground not far away. The anger in her eyes was so thick it was practically spilling out.
What made her angry wasn't that these people couldn't defeat Link, after all, the gap in strength was obvious.
What infuriated her was that they couldn't even manage to escape. That was just too trashy.
After all, when facing students from the same school, Link would absolutely not strike to kill.
She waved her hand casually, signaling a few people nearby to go rescue those unlucky souls, and only then said impatiently, "Link Flamel, I have no interest in playing childish word games with you anymore. Hand over that giant, and I can let everything that happened between us earlier slide. We can even carry out deeper cooperation in the future."
"You should be clear about this, right? There isn't that much conflict between our interests. On the contrary, once we cooperate, both sides can gain considerable benefits."
By the time she reached the end, Umbridge's tone had shifted from initial impatience to one of genuine sincerity.
This really was, in her view, the best decision after careful consideration.
From her perspective, being willing to overlook Link's earlier humiliation of her and "make up" with him was already the height of tolerance. Link ought to know better and take the olive branch.
But the moment her words fell, what greeted her was another burst of even harsher laughter from Link.
"Hahahaha! Professor Umbridge, don't tell me someone slipped you a dose of Madness Potion?" Link mocked.
"Cooperate with you? You, a third-rate Ministry clerk, think you're qualified for that? What a joke!"
"You..."
Umbridge was shaking with rage. The volunteers beside her immediately drew their wands and pointed them at Link in perfect coordination.
However, the moment they moved, Link flicked his wrist, and several strands of icy cold air wrapped around their wrists, freezing their wands and entire arms solid.
The volunteers who had raised their wands first instantly clutched their arms and collapsed to the ground, joining the ranks of the unlucky ones nearby.
As for the others who had reacted a bit slower, they all dropped their wands at once, raising their hands in terror to show they meant no harm.
Seeing this, Link chuckled softly and led Newland and Sigefin straight through Umbridge's formation.
The black-clad volunteers who had been clustered together immediately parted, making way for them.
As Sigefin passed by Umbridge's side, he deliberately bumped into her shoulder, nearly knocking her over.
Watching the three figures walk away, Umbridge, supported by a volunteer, ground her teeth so hard they were about to shatter.
The giant had definitely been hidden by Link.
On this point, Umbridge had no doubt whatsoever.
But the problem was that Link's prestige at Hogwarts, built up over many years, was simply too strong. She could honestly say she had no way to deal with him at all.
Even if she went back and claimed that Link and Hagrid were in cahoots, covering for each other, without solid evidence she still wouldn't be able to harm Link in the slightest.
Those students who had been brainwashed by Link Flamel might even think she herself had gone mad, trying to frame Link with such crude tactics.
But if she truly failed to get her hands on the giant, then what would her earlier accusations against Hagrid and Harry Potter amount to?
They would probably be dismissed outright as slander by Link Flamel, wouldn't they?
After all, she also had no solid evidence.
For a moment, Umbridge felt her vision go black.
"Professor Umbridge."
Just then, a weak voice suddenly spoke up. "There's something strange about the frost Link Flamel created. Our brothers can't melt it at all. You see… what should we do?"
Hearing this, Umbridge's vision cleared a little.
She turned her head and saw that the frozen injured were still lying on the ground wailing in agony, while the volunteers sent to help them all wore helpless expressions.
This scene made something suddenly click in Umbridge's mind.
Hadn't things reached this point precisely because these black-clad volunteers who had thrown in their lot with her were too weak?
If they had been strong enough, they should have captured the giant during the very first attempt to surround Harry Potter, instead of wandering around the Forbidden Forest for so long, achieving nothing and then having the prize snatched away by someone else.
And now, they were so useless they couldn't even undo a spell Link Flamel had cast casually.
Thinking this, the dark fire in Umbridge's chest burned even more fiercely.
She shoved away the volunteer supporting her and viciously slapped the volunteer who had come to ask for instructions across the face.
"Trash! What use are you to me? All of you are trash!"
———
Link couldn't hear Umbridge's screaming curses.
They had only just left the black-clad group when they were immediately picked up by more than twenty strong centaur youths, who led them at high speed into a quiet, concealed path.
Of course, only Link was qualified to ride on a centaur's back.
Sigefin, the heavily injured one, was dragged along on a crude stretcher made by two centaurs.
As for Newland, he could only run desperately at the back of the group.
If he hadn't already gotten used to rushing along the road earlier, he probably wouldn't even have been able to keep up.
These centaurs were the hunting team dispatched by the centaur tribe specifically for this giant-hunting operation.
They had already been lying in ambush around the Forbidden Forest when Newland and Sigefin officially engaged the giant, waiting only for a single order from Link, or for Newland and Sigefin to truly reach a life-or-death moment, before stepping in.
That was why Link had seemed so unconcerned about Newland and Sigefin's safety earlier.
These centaur hunters, who had lived in the Forbidden Forest year-round, had long trained themselves into the fiercest and most elite hunters.
Within the Forbidden Forest, relying on their incredible mobility and powerful custom-made bows, they could even go head-to-head with ordinary strike teams, let alone Umbridge's black-clad volunteers.
With them around, Newland and Sigefin would have had a hard time dying even if they wanted to.
After winding through a twisting, meandering path, the view before Link suddenly opened up.
A small village lay within this three-sided mountain valley.
Unlike the human villages in Link's memory, the centaur village had very few things that could truly be called "buildings."
Their "houses" were simply enormous hollow tree trunks.
What was astonishing was that these giant trees were not deliberately felled by the centaurs. Instead, they seemed to naturally grow hollow. Some of them even bore tender green shoots hanging from their branches in the middle of winter.
Aside from some farmland full of everyday life and basic living areas, the place was almost entirely a forest of giant trees. It looked chaotic, yet at the same time extremely natural, without giving any sense of messiness.
If one had to describe it, this place didn't feel like a centaur village at all.
It felt more like a settlement where elves lived.
Newland and Sigefin were completely stunned by the scene before them, eyes wide, unable to utter a single word.
In this era, even a pure-blood wizard like Sigefin rarely had the chance to encounter such a wondrous sight.
Link chuckled and explained, "The biggest difference between centaur villages and human villages is that no matter how large a centaur village is, it can always achieve a perfect harmony with the surrounding nature. This is entirely due to the centaurs' natural disposition."
"Centaurs are a race that values living in harmony with nature. They are a part of nature, but also its guardians."
"They never take excessively from nature, only what they need to survive, thereby maintaining the fragile balance of the natural world."
"That was wonderfully said!"
The moment Link finished speaking, another excited voice rang out.
The speaker was the centaur Link was currently riding.
This was a rare handsome specimen among the centaur tribe, strong-bodied, with every strand of hair on his body pure white, almost without a single impurity. It was said he was the village chief's son and the next leader of the Forbidden Forest centaurs.
Everyone knew of this fellow's pride. He was the one who had deliberately ordered the group to speed up earlier in an attempt to shake off Newland, though he hadn't succeeded.
But at this very moment, his handsome, pale face was flushed red, staring at Link with excitement. His horse tail behind him was wagging like a dog's.
This made Link's gaze toward him somewhat strange.
Link even began to doubt the guy's intelligence.
After all, he didn't look particularly smart, and he was pure-blood…
As everyone knew, pure-bloods, while often leaving impressions of elegance and superiority, weren't actually such a great thing.
Although some outstanding individuals with exceptional talent did appear among them, there were also many defects and diseases hidden in their DNA.
Just like certain pure-bred cats and dogs, they generally live quite painful lives…
So Link's suspicion was entirely reasonable.
However, when Link looked around and saw that all the surrounding centaurs wore the same fervent expressions, he relaxed.
It seemed this wasn't an isolated case, centaurs as a species were just naturally this simple-minded.
While Link was speaking, an elderly centaur wrapped in animal hides, with feathers stuck in his hair and an extremely aged appearance, emerged under the protection of a group of centaur guards.
"Lord Morningstar, you have eliminated the giant that was wreaking havoc in the Forbidden Forest. Please allow us to offer you our most heartfelt gratitude!"
The old centaur was already in tears as soon as he appeared. As he spoke, he immediately knelt down.
Following his movement, all the centaurs gathered around, young and old alike, knelt as well.
This left Newland at a complete loss, while Sigefin kept bowing repeatedly in all directions, saying this was simply what they should have done.
Link, however, didn't move at all, calmly accepting the kneeling of the entire centaur tribe.
Only after the old centaur struggled back to his feet did Link smile and say, "It seems you've already made your decision."
"Our resolve has never wavered," the old centaur said solemnly. Then he stepped aside and gestured invitingly.
"It's cold outside. Lord Morningstar, please follow me inside to warm yourself."
Link nodded in satisfaction, dismounted, and led Newland and Sigefin inside first.
Newland and Sigefin behaved like complete country bumpkins.
Everything about the centaur tribe was new to them. Like two rural hicks who had never been to the city, they constantly looked around with curiosity at everything in sight.
But as they went deeper into the village, their brows gradually furrowed, and the curiosity on their faces was slowly replaced by confusion.
Because along the way, every centaur they encountered would bend their two front legs and kneel to them.
This left both Newland and Sigefin deeply puzzled.
From the difficulty visible in the centaurs' movements when kneeling, it was clear that kneeling as a form of etiquette had never originally existed among the centaur race.
The current situation, where centaurs bowed to people at every turn, could only be the result of deliberate, artificial conditioning.
Not only that, they also noticed many living tools in the centaur village that were exclusive to humans, beds, carts, farming tools, that were completely out of place with the centaur village's style.
They even found campfires and stoves in the village.
This made Newland and Sigefin start to doubt their own eyes.
Because even people like them, who weren't deeply versed in the study of other intelligent races, knew that centaurs never ate cooked food and never used fire.
This was tied to their doctrine of revering natural balance, as well as their fear that accidents caused by fire could destroy their entirely wooden village.
Yet even more shocking things were still to come.
When their group formally entered the enormous central wooden hall of the village, the old centaur, clearly the leader of the tribe, directly knelt before Link, holding up with both hands a crown woven from vines, with a black gemstone set in its center.
"Respected Lord Morningstar, I, Brightwing, prophet of the centaur tribe, swear that the Forbidden Forest centaur tribe will be eternally loyal to you. We are willing to become your arrows, your spears, to slay all your enemies! And we beg you… to show us mercy…"