Hermione eagerly raised her hand to answer, "Stone Axe, Professor."
She paused, then added, "It was used by primitive humans for hunting and cutting food from about two million years ago."
"That's correct," Professor Abigail said. "At that time, Muggles who wielded such weapons regarded wizards as deities. They would kneel to pray for the wizard's protection, offering the best food, clothes, gems, and even their own children to the wizards."
"Then, their weapons evolved into these—"
Spears, iron sabers, and bows and arrows floated into the air one by one, slowly rotating. Professor Abigail picked up a bow and arrow, drew the bowstring, and casually shot an arrow.
The arrow made a "thud" as it embedded itself in a tree trunk in the distance.
From behind the trees, a rustling sound vaguely came, leaves being parted, and fine twigs on the ground being snapped underfoot.
Students with sharp eyes could see the silhouette of a centaur partially hidden among the shadows of the trees.
Two young centaurs, holding bows and arrows, lurked at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching the professor and students attending the class.
"These are bows and arrows, and centaurs still use these weapons to this day. With bows and arrows, Muggles could hunt at a safe distance, greatly reducing the risk of confronting dangerous beasts."
Professor Abigail said, "They could also use these weapons to ambush wizards—no one can maintain the Iron Armor Spell at all times, not me, and certainly not you young wizards who don't even know how to use the Iron Armor Spell."
"By that time, Muggles were no longer so in awe of wizards. Even the Legendary Mage Merlin was merely a close friend and mentor to King Arthur. Muggles no longer revered wizards as deities; they even learned to exploit the wizard's power."
"But gradually, wizards were no longer seen as prophets or companions. People began to believe that all disasters were brought by wizards. The reason wizards possessed magic power was because they were possessed by demons."
Then, more weapons were displayed.
The cannon that appeared in the 14th century, the matchlock gun invented in the 15th century, and the flintlock rifle that emerged in the 17th century.
A gunshot rang out with a "bang," a puff of white smoke rose, and the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest were startled. Someone seemed wanting to emerge, only to be pulled back by a companion.
Professor Abigail said, "So from the 15th century, the witch hunt began."
She pointed to a target not far away that had been pierced by a bullet and asked the students, "Tell me, if several or dozens of such weapons were fired at you, how many of you would survive?"
Silence lingered for a while.
Ron muttered, "It doesn't have to be dozens... even just one and I might be dead already."
Professor Abigail said, "Your textbooks tell you that during the witch hunts, most of those killed were actually falsely accused Muggles... and that's quite true."
"The textbooks also tell you how some powerful wizards toyed with Muggles, like the witch Wendelin, who was burned forty-seven times."
"But many of you may not realize that the Freezing Charm is a highly advanced spell, mastered by only a handful of wizards."
"And there were many young wizards like you who fell victim—because they neither had the ability to escape the pursuit of Muggles, nor could they avoid harm from flames or firearms!"
"Imagine, if you were tied to a stake, could you laugh at the stupidity of Muggles like Wendelin? Could you walk off of it alive?"
The laughter among the students completely disappeared, they gazed at the professor, imagining that harsh scene and turned pale, with unease and fear in their eyes.
"And back then, children, Muggle weapons were still very crude, but they never stopped researching how to kill each other."
"Compared to them, most wizards would become powerless without their magic wands."
"For example, Mr. Nearly Headless Nick of Gryffindor College, once captured by Muggles and robbed of his wand, he couldn't escape from the Muggle dungeon and was repeatedly axed over forty times at the neck with a blunt axe."
Students previously found Nick's story both unfortunate and amusing, now they felt the horror in it.
At this moment, they heard a distressed voice:
"Why use me as an example? That's just too rude, Professor!"
Nick floated off sadly, and several ghosts followed to comfort him.
Only then did everyone realize, the ghosts in the school, including Peeves, had come to audit the class. Peeves remarkably caused no trouble, so everyone overlooked his presence.
Professor Abigail paused briefly, then ignored these minor interruptions, patting the contraption beside her that resembled a telescope.
She said, "This is a Maxim machine gun, an old antique invented nearly a hundred years ago. Who wants to come up and experience its power?"
The students, still reeling from the earlier imaginations, thought Professor Abigail was asking them to face the machine gun bullets directly, and all of them stepped back, fearing the professor might misjudge their competence.
Thus, Vid stepped forward and stood out, receiving the gaze of martyrdom from the crowd.
"Professor, I'd like to try," Vid raised his hand and said.
He had never encountered such a battlefield meat grinder, only seeing its appearance in a military museum.
"Very well."
Professor Abigail let Vid step forward, teaching him to load the canvas ammunition belt and adjust the gun barrel.
Then, the professor waved her magic wand. In the distance on the lawn, rows upon rows of targets stood, seemingly as if a crowd stood quietly.
"You may fire," she said.
Vid complied.
"Rat-a-tat-tat..."
It was like a string of firecrackers exploding, the ammunition belt swiftly moving, metal casings clattering to the ground.
Vid's arms shook vigorously alongside, trying to steady his aim and prevent the bullets from flying astray.
The distant targets toppled swiftly, like wheat being cut down.
Seeing that Vid didn't need to sacrifice himself, students gathered, then backed away fearfully, one Hufflepuff student even stumbling backward, landing on the ground.
In less than a minute, the long ammunition belt was completely expended, and when Vid stood up, he felt the muscles in his arm twitching uncontrollably.
Then they heard Professor Abigail's cold voice: "This is a harvester of life. It once killed over sixty thousand people on the battlefield in a single day."
"...Sixty thousand?" Someone murmured, doubting their ears.
"That's right," Professor Abigail said. "This kind of machine gun theoretically can fire six hundred rounds per minute."
She moved the Maxim machine gun aside, "Now, let's take a look at the others."