Chapter 214 Evan's Attack
"Impedimenta," Evan shouted, and a red light appeared at the tip of his wand.
He used the Impediment Curse to bring down an Inferius that had just climbed onto the island.
On the rock behind him, more Inferi emerged from the water, simply stepping over the fallen bodies and continuing to advance.
Evan kept casting various spells to slow down the progress of the Inferi.
He then aimed his wand at the rock beneath his feet and focused on the stone. When he dueled Snape a few days ago, he saw him turn a round wooden table into a large black snake and cast a continuous spell to turn the snake into small, dense cobras.
These powerful and seemingly marvelous spells belong to the Transfiguration category.
The principle is exactly the same as turning a hedgehog into a teapot that Evan learned in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class.
But the more complex things are, and the less time it takes to complete them, the more difficult it is to cast the spell.
What Snape did, turning a round wooden table into a giant python, and then transforming the python into dozens of cobras, required a high level of spellcasting skill, theoretical knowledge of Transfiguration, and a lot of magical energy.
Evan was still not able to do such a thing, but it gave him a clue.
In a situation where magic cannot grow and improve quickly, and one cannot readily use powerful dark magic, mastering various spells and techniques like Transfiguration is very useful for enhancing strength in combat and winning a battle.
The Duelling Club led by Lockhart last year, where two people held their wands and remained in place casting spells at each other, demonstrated a relatively basic form of combat.
A true wizard's duel, besides the spell competition, depends on who reacts faster.
The more flexible use of the surrounding terrain, as well as the ability to combine different spells, can win duels.
As the foundation of all magic, Transfiguration is an important part of this.
Of course, this only refers to battles between wizards in a general sense.
When it comes to wizards as powerful as Dumbledore and Voldemort, the battle between them would have a completely different style, beyond everyone's imagination.
Evan pointed his wand at a rock not far from him, and quietly recited a spell, focusing on his target.
He had never before attempted to make such a large stone change.
He did not have the sufficient skill to achieve it, not before many Inferi passed by. But then the rock began to gradually change.
"Success!" Evan gazed at the stones on the shore of the lake with joy.
Under his control, this blue-black rock slowly rose.
It seemed to come to life, and began to transform, growing arms and legs that, though extremely crude in outline, were visible, in a monstrous form.
It is well known that the Troll is a dreadfully fearsome creature measuring twelve feet tall and weighing over a ton. It is extremely aggressive, powerful, yet stupid.
The rock was transforming into the shape of a troll and then suddenly stopped.
That was Evan's limit. Although he didn't manage to make a rock monster, for a twelve-year-old wizard like him, it was an achievement to turn a dozen feet rock into a living being.
Now, this rock more closely resembles a stone giant.
It staggered and stood up, with debris and dust flying, with a stifling momentum.
Before him, those dark and terrifying Inferi seemed like children.
Crash, crash!
Among the rocks, there was a huge and wrenching friction sound.
On the island, everyone halted their attacks, surprised to see the giant that had suddenly appeared. Even the foolish Inferi were left dumbfounded, staring expressionless with their cobweb-filled eye sockets.
No one could imagine that Evan had truly created such a massive creature.
Only Evan himself knew that this stone giant was only truly powerful on the outside. In fact, its attack power was nothing to boast about. Due to its massive size, it consumed a great deal of magical energy.
Feeling the magic depleting from within him, Evan knew he couldn't wait much longer. He hastily controlled the stone giant to launch an attack.
The Inferi seemed frightened and bewildered. With astonishing explosive force, the Stone Giant swept all the Inferi that had climbed up the right side of the island back into the lake.
Bang! Bang!
The violent impact of the collision and the deafening sound continued.
In just a few seconds, after a storm of attacks, Evan gasped and released control of the stone giant. It crashed heavily to the ground, crushing about six Inferi, causing the horrifying sound of their bones breaking.
Everyone was stunned by what had happened in the blink of an eye, and even Dumbledore gazed at the stone giant that fell to the ground and shattered.
In his opinion, Evan's magic was somewhat flashy, with many imperfections in its execution, his magic was not quite perfect, and...
But considering Evan's age, it was truly impressive that he could do that. It was no easy feat.
Dumbledore could see that the type of childish attack Evan had just made was actually an exercise and a bold attempt.
Giving him enough time and training, this child's future has unlimited potential.
There was a flash of anxiety in Dumbledore's eyes, and he thought again about the fact that when the boat arrived, it sank quickly after Evan appeared.
No one knew that he had used almost a quarter of his magical power to sink the boat.
It showed that Evan already possessed a quarter of Dumbledore's magic.
That, of course, was impossible. Dumbledore was very aware of his current magical state. At his age, although his actual combat power might be weakening due to physical reasons, etc., the magic within him was at the pinnacle of what a wizard could aspire to have.
It's not just Evan, not even Sirius could have that much magic.
Dumbledore had just reflected silently, and although Evan's current magical state was extremely good compared to his peers, it was incomparable to a quarter of his own.
This was not Evan's own magic. This meant that Evan must be carrying a powerful magical object. What could it be?
Dumbledore observed Evan closely, and his pale blue eyes were filled with curiosity.
Like Tom Riddle in his day, this student brought him too many surprises.
In all sincerity, Dumbledore did not appreciate the feeling of being unable to control Evan.
However, he had no intention of intervening. The events with Tom Riddle had taught him quite a bit.
Over the years, Dumbledore reflected on how Riddle was steadily advancing down the wrong path, feeling an inevitable responsibility for his actions.
Gellert Grindelwald, his former close friend, left a profound impression on him.
Dumbledore thought he had forgotten those things, but many years later, upon seeing the young Tom Riddle at the orphanage, it was like seeing Gellert again.
He knew he had to stop young Riddle, prevent him from becoming the second Grindelwald, and thwart his descent into becoming the second Dark Lord.
But he failed, and the end result was even worse.
Dumbledore sighed; the thought crossed his mind that perhaps he was doomed to failure.
Perhaps that was the root cause of all the unfortunate events that followed.