From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 400 Malicious Transformation
"The goblin entrails must be making the air smell worse here!" Gale sighed as he looked at the bloody animal pen.

The giant bear transformed by Archdruid Harsin could actually escape from the cage at any time, but he was isolated and helpless in the goblin camp, and any rash action would only lead to the encirclement of the True Souls and goblins.

After getting help from the adventurers, the giant bear not only gained its freedom, but also brutally spilled all of the goblin's internal organs onto the ground.

An emerald magical aura surrounded the giant bear, and a sturdy wood elf replaced it. He was wearing the standard leather armor and cotton robe of a druid, but he looked more solemn. His weapon was an oak staff, but Ivy knew that it was more of a spellcasting prop.

"Please forgive the entrails on the ground. I can only restrain the wildness of the bear form to this extent... To be honest, I didn't expect anyone to help a cave bear. If you are not good friends of nature, then you must be crazy." The Archdruid's voice was steady and powerful, far from his violent performance when he transformed into a giant bear.

"I am indeed studying natural magic, but currently I can only make flowers bloom or seeds germinate." Researching green mana in Strixhaven is Ivy's main pastime, especially after he became a guest of honor at the Mihua Academy. Of course, the research on legendary magic and artificial life still occupies most of his time.

"Mystra, what kind of magic is there that you don't know?" Gale's worldview had collapsed. No mage could make a career with such a wide range of skills, because magic requires years of research and study, and each spell category is enough for a mediocre mage to spend his entire life. Not to mention a spellcaster like Ivy, who is not only proficient in all kinds of magic, but also can cross multiple professions and use different casting methods.

"The answer to the question is obvious, Gale, divine magic." Ivy was quite complacent. He was a man who aspired to become a full-scale spellcaster, and divine magic would only be the next hurdle on his way forward.

"I must say that the connection between divine arts and magic is actually closer than you think. The magic goddess Mystra also has her own priests." The part of Gale that likes to teach others popped up again, but Ivy didn't hate it, especially when Gale was explaining about the magic goddess Mystra.

"It's not a good habit to discuss academic issues in a pile of entrails, gentlemen?" Kalak reminded, "The Archdruid is still waiting for us."

"May the Oak Father bless you, adventurer. Just call me Harsin." The Archdruid didn't seem to mind the stench in the animal stable. He spoke slowly and politely.

"Excuse me, I heard those goblins call you 'True Souls' before?" Halsin asked the question that concerned him most. He had discovered the True Souls infected with the Mind Flayer tadpoles several months ago.

"That's because we, like the True Soulers, are infected with the Mind Flayer tadpoles. And through the research of the bards, we already know that these little bugs with terrible mouthparts will not chew our brains clean at once. Because of a kind of stasis magic, they are temporarily in a symbiotic state with our souls. So opening the skull to remove the bugs and then healing our wounds is not a feasible solution." Gale finished speaking in one breath, "Do you have anything else to add? After all, we heard in the woods that you came to this camp full of goblins just to find a way to remove this magic."

"Oh... you know much more than I thought." Harsin was a little surprised. "Not only were you not controlled by the Supreme God because of the Mind Flayer tadpoles in your brain, you even actively made various attempts... It took me several months to research those contents to confirm them."

"Although I didn't achieve my goal of coming here to find a way to eliminate the Mind Flayer tadpoles, I did find the second best thing, which is their source. The cultists sent innocent captives to the Moonrise Tower, and those who walked out were the True Souls of the Supreme God. So I guess the Moonrise Tower is the source of all this." Halsin continued, "But to reach the Moonrise Tower, you must pass through a cursed land of shadows, where there is no life, no light, and the power of nature will not respond to anyone there."

"All lives that wander there will be twisted by the Shadow Curse and transformed into shadow-like beings - tortured and dangerous ghosts." Halsin's tone was unmistakable. He did not hear about the Shadow Curse from hearsay, but saw it with his own eyes.

"You seem to know a lot about this? Master Harsin, can you tell me in detail?" Gale asked.

"Don't forget that we have teammates outside preparing a surprise for the goblins, Gale." Ivy interrupted him, "We can talk about that when we set up camp. No one knows how long Minsala will be fooled by those lies."

"You plan to destroy this camp with just a small team?" Harsin asked, "Then I must see it with my own eyes. You won't refuse the help of a giant bear, right?"

"If you can transform into a smaller creature, we can act together." Ivy said, "Our adventure team is full of talents. We can deal with these goblins mainly by relying on brains, not brute force."

"Yes - you can disguise yourself as true souls, which is why the goblins didn't attack you at first." Harsin nodded. The Archdruid was indeed good at violence, but using wisdom was obviously a more labor-saving strategy. "I can turn into a mouse and follow you. Let's bring the wrath of nature to those who disrupt the order!"

The Archdruid's rat form is extremely difficult to spot, especially in the rat-swarmed environment of a goblin stable.

However, druids can possess the intelligence of ordinary people in the wilderness form, so it is still a very simple thing to keep up with Ivy and the others.

----

Minsara has stirred up a bloody storm in the Broken Temple. It's not that she has discovered the plan of the Evil Team, but because she is venting her anger on the drunken goblins in the courtyard.

A row of heads were hung on the gate of the Broken Temple, and the sounds of wailing and begging for mercy were endless. The already chaotic hall became even more chaotic.

"Your artistic aesthetic is really not that good." Xie Nian looked up at the heads dripping with blood and said to Mingsala beside him.

As Minsara asserted her authority as the head of the camp, this second team of True Souls caught her attention.

Naturally, she stepped forward to ask questions, and Xie Nian was the one who was pushed out to negotiate with the drow elves.

"If you fail to see the art of war in it, it proves that your so-called artistic aesthetics is nothing but a narrow thing." There was no bloodthirsty smile on Minsara's face, only the fanaticism of loyalty to duty. The Cult of the Supreme True God turned Rose's paladin into a weapon and used it at will. "Fear can bring discipline to these goblins."

"In my opinion, goblins and discipline are almost antonyms." Xie Nian shook his head in disagreement.

"It doesn't matter. As long as they die a worthy death, the goddess's purpose will be achieved." Mingsala turned and looked at the scarlet mark extending from the corner of Xie Nian's eye. "It's really strange that I saw so many True Souls today. What mission did the goddess send you to perform?"

"A wanted archdruid." Xie Nian lied.

This was just what Minsara wanted. She was worried about not being able to find someone to help her attack the Druid Forest, and now someone came to her door: "Great, it seems that we have the same path! Those cultists have built a shelter in the east. The druid you are looking for and the weapons I am looking for must be in it. You should join my hunt and win victory for the Supreme God together!"

"Really?" A hint of surprise flashed in Xie Nian's eyes, "What a coincidence! Where is the map? You should show me the way!" "I sent out several goblin patrols, but no one came back... But we did catch an invader. If we can get the location of the forest from him... I just hope those idiots don't use too much force. I haven't heard his howling for a while." Mingsala looked towards the prison area. She was so busy enforcing military discipline that she almost forgot about it.

"Forget about your prisoner. Those goblins don't know the art of torture. Maybe they have killed the prisoner and fed him to the wolves... My team is full of experts in tracking. As long as we have a rough range, we will definitely find the druid camp you mentioned." Xie Nian hurriedly stopped her. She didn't want Minsara to find that her prison was empty. "Since you are the leader of this camp, you should have your own war room. At least draw a circle for me on the map."

"This is the first time I've seen a True Souler so cooperative..." Mingsala cast a suspicious look at Xie Nian, but soon she was relieved. "Anyway, your presence does help a little. Let's go. There's a map in my war room. Let me show you."

There are not only maps in Minsala's war room, but also several uninvited guests.

While Mingsala was chatting with Xie Nian, Ivy and the others had already come out of the wolf pen, smelling bad.

The Archdruid Harsin who was with them obviously had a special advantage in reconnaissance. So Ivy led the team to climb over the ladder set up by the goblins and returned to Minsara's war room again, and used short message magic to convey the instructions to Xie Nian.

It was for this reason that Xie Nian suggested returning to the war room with Ming Sala.

The two eyes of detection that belonged to the Supreme God in the war room were the first to be dealt with.

This pure magic entity has many types of damage resistance, and ordinary physical attacks and energy attacks cannot cause much damage to it. However, with two spellcasting geniuses in the team, the party still easily dealt with them.

The surge of magical power quickly destroyed the core of the Eye of Exploration, and then the two goblins guarding Minsara. One of them was cut in half by Laizer's everburning giant sword, and the other was thrown by Kalak into one of the countless cracks in the broken temple.

The battle ended as quickly and abruptly as it began. In just a few seconds, Minsara's war room became the territory of Ivy and others. The noise of the battle did not attract any attention, especially in the broken temple that was constantly echoing with noisy sounds.

Mingsala, who was leading the way, noticed something was wrong as soon as he arrived at the operations room.

She raised her arm and grasped the mace on her back, looking around vigilantly: "There is a smell of blood... Be careful around you! True Souls!"

"Behind the bookshelf! I saw him!" Xie Nian pointed in front of Mingsala and shouted anxiously.

"Very good! Let's consider this battle as a rehearsal for our cooperation... eh!" Mingsala took out two maces from behind, but before he could finish his words, he was attacked from behind.

For some unknown reason, the evil thought kicked Mingsala on the butt, which showed a beautiful curve because of the close-fitting armor, causing her to stagger forward several steps involuntarily.

As the drow glared back at Evil Thought in anger, Ivy, hiding in the dark, played her lute.

The sluggish piano music turned into a physical chain, locking the arrogant paladin firmly in place. Kalak, who was hiding on the shaky wooden beams, suddenly jumped down and used his strong arms to add a double layer of insurance for the drow elf.

"Good, we caught her." Ivy looked at Mingsara who was glaring at them, and nodded with satisfaction.

The human immobilization spell cast by a legendary spellcaster is not so easy to break. At least for the next period of time, she will be unable to move.

“Should I use the relic on her now?” Shadowheart pulled out a celestial prism engraved with Githyanki runes from his back and began to fiddle with it. “To be honest, I haven’t figured out how to actively activate its power... If it doesn’t work, what should we do with her?”

"Of course we have to kill him." Laizer said grimly, "We can't clean out the goblins in the temple with a burden."

Yingxin tried various methods to activate the Astral Prism in his hand, such as praying to Shar, communicating directly with thoughts, using the psychic power provided by the Mind Flayer Tadpoles, and even almost using his teeth, but the Astral Prism remained unmoved.

Even Ivy's human immobilization technique was about to fail.

"I feel her starting to struggle!" Kalak warned.

"Let me try!" Laizel suggested, staring at Shadow Heart. "That's a Githyanki artifact..."

Before she could finish her words, a loud explosion interrupted everyone's discussion. The already dilapidated ceiling of the temple began to drop rubble and dust.

"Where do you put the smoke and powder barrels?" Ivy asked, "If the explosion blocks the door, it will be bad."

"Praise the Supreme God! Not only did she send you to me, but she also let you bring the weapons she has been looking for!" Minsara, who was locked by Kalak, shouted, trying to attract the attention of the guards.

Xie Nian took out his dagger and began to think about which blood vessel in Minsara's neck to cut so as not to splash blood on Kalak.

Ivy shook his head and quickly plucked out a series of rapid melodies. Minsara, who was held in Kalak's arms, shrank rapidly under the magic notes and soon turned into a frog jumping on the ground.

Kalak was quick to grab it with one hand, and his force was so great that the little gray frog stuck out its tongue.

(End of this chapter)