novelleonline Chapter 831 202: Two Eliminated!
Chapter 831 202: Two Eliminated!
Krum's heart seemed to skip a beat.
Beside Vid was a large cheetah, lying on the ground, standing nearly as tall as a person, its dark green body appearing agile and dangerous.
Vid was leaning against the cheetah, one hand resting on the beast's neck, showing no fear that it might rip his throat apart.
"Poppet!"
As the word sprang to mind, Krum quickly raised his Magic Wand, the tip just glowing red when a sharp pain shot through his back, followed by complete numbness.
In his rigid gaze, tiny spores could be seen falling from the top. They were too minute, like dust carried up by moving air, completely unnoticed by anyone.
Krum's heart beat faster, his breath short and labored, and his vision became increasingly blurred. He desperately moved his head slightly and finally saw several suffocating figures—
A giant gorilla was hanging from a tree, scattered leaves and some tiny flowers sprouting from various parts of its body, almost blending into the canopy. Seeing Krum lose his ability to resist, it let out a bizarre "cackle cackle cackle" laugh.
A more than meter-high praying mantis hid among the bushes, its forelimbs bearing jagged spikes. Its triangular head adorably tilted, and its enormous eyes reflected Krum's rigid figure.
[Not...this...]
A vague thought surfaced in Krum's mind, and he tried hard to raise his eyes and look upwards.
On a thick tree trunk lay a gigantic lizard that stuck closely to the trunk, appearing almost like part of the tree. Dust-like spores were gently falling from the gaps in its scales.
The lizard "stared" at the enemy ahead, its slender tongue extended from its throat, reaching all the way to Krum's back.
This was also the source of his stinging pain.
Krum's pupils dilated, his knees heavily hit the ground, and his robust body seemed boneless, crashing to the earth.
Before completely fading into darkness, he saw Vid walk over expressionlessly, bending down to pick up his Magic Wand.
"Whoosh—bang!"
Red light suddenly exploded above, adding a blush to Krum's furrowed face.
"Go deal with the others."
Vid tossed away Krum's Magic Wand, looked at his poppets, and softly ordered, "If there are other obstructions in the Forbidden Forest, resolve them too."
The mantis silently vanished through the bushes;
The gorilla's lower lip slightly exposed, revealing gleaming canine teeth. It grabbed a vine and swung gracefully, leaping several meters away;
The lizard moved the slowest, its claws lifted in a unique rhythm, almost silent while crawling, its whole body gradually blending with the trees until it became the same color.
Then, the cheetah stood up, bent down, its curved spine forming a perfectly suitable arch.
Vid climbed onto it, bending over to pat the cheetah's neck, saying, "Let's go... run slower."
The cheetah poppet raised its front paw, initially performing a tentative jog, then slightly increased its speed, tail swaying, swiftly threading through the gaps between trees.
Its paw pads bore curved and sharp claws, like hooks clutching the trunk firmly, allowing this cheetah to climb trees nimbly like a cat, traversing various rugged terrains effortlessly.
Vid hugged the cheetah's neck, sighing softly with some regret.
Theoretically, he could also use Transfiguration Gummies to turn into a cheetah running in the Forbidden Forest, but the last time he turned into a merperson and maintained it for a long time was due to adding the rare Gillyweed into the gummies, which he currently lacked.
Disguising as a Peregrine Falcon with Transfiguration Gummies would just be wishful thinking. The transformation process of an Animagus is quite different from the gummies. With numerous powerful wizards watching the competition, he couldn't naively gamble on not being discovered.
Vid suddenly lowered his head to avoid a few incoming branches, reaching out once more to pat the cheetah. The poppet understood, slowing its pace cautiously to avoid the thorny bushes ahead.
...
Jabari crouched behind a wild rose bush, his body transformed into a gray mouse no larger than a fist, his delicate paws clutching the leaves in front, eyes like black beans blinking unceasingly.
Despite those terrifying poppets scattering, Jabari still didn't move, cold sweat wetting his fur, engulfing him in bone-chilling cold.
"Nothing to be afraid of...he hasn't noticed me...it's because I turned into a mouse, so my courage has shrunk..."
The mouse made "squeak squeak squeak" sounds, Jabari self-encouragingly muttered aloud.
"That's right! Those giants are too bulky, even if discovered, they can't catch me...even if I can't fight back, wouldn't I still have a chance to escape?"
His paws clawed into the soil, instinct urged him to quickly distance from such monsters, but reason forced him to follow.
Ultimately, the desire to win prevailed over fear.
Jabari took a deep breath, using the cover of rotted wood and tree roots, clung to the shadows, following from afar.
...
A massive lion bearing a woman's head, her beautiful almond eyes watched the handsome youth, and she spoke in a low voice:
"I was born from the mouth of void but spoke before dawn;
Vanishing when firmly grasped, invisible as the wind passes,
If I am written in flames, I resurrect from the ashes;
If I am called by flowing water, I sink in reflections.
—Who am I?"
Cedric paced back and forth several times under the Sphinx's watchful gaze and said with uncertainty, "It's... smoke, right?"
The Sphinx smiled contentedly, got up, and stepped aside.
"Thank you."
Cedric breathed a sigh of relief, glad he got it right on the first try, and even more glad to have a Ravenclaw girlfriend who liked to ask him all sorts of quirky riddles.
As he was passing by the Sphinx, the woman's pupils suddenly contracted, and she furrowed her brow, propping up her upper body to look at a nearby bush.
A moment later, the Sphinx glanced at Cedric's retreating figure and again wore a mysterious smile, lying back down.
...
"Thunk!"
The sound of a branch being severed was close at hand, sending chills down Cedric's spine as he turned around in horror, only to see the cold gleam of a blade sweeping toward his neck!
"Iron Armor Protection!"
In a flash, he roared the spell, trembling as if electrified.
"Clang—"
The scythe collided with an invisible armor, creating rippling waves in the air, and the hastily formed barrier shattered in an instant!
Cedric had already rolled away from his spot, quickly swinging his magic wand again:
"Stupefy!"
The red light tore through the air but brushed past the attacker's head and hit a nearby tree trunk, echoing a loud crack.
The attacker was much shorter than Cedric expected, with a triangular green head poking out from the forest, eyes as big as tennis balls, and interlocking fangs within its mouthpiece that looked fierce.
The mantis lunged suddenly, swinging its blades, and Cedric barely dodged to the side, yet his shoulder was pierced by another sharp scythe!
He screamed in pain, using all his strength to press his magic wand against the poppet's mouth, shouting loudly, "Reducto! Confringo!"
"Boom—"
The close-range explosion flung both parties, and Cedric crashed heavily into an old oak tree, feeling as if his ribs would break.
Blood trickled down his forehead as he gasped painfully, seeing the mantis automaton dragging its half-shattered body, crawling toward him, with its head barely hanging on its neck, yet still ruthlessly raising its blood-stained blade!
Cedric struggled to lift his magic wand, shouting, "Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy! Reducto! Reducto!"
The mantis's parts exploded one by one, or rather, each time about to be hit by a spell, it would sacrifice a part of itself to fend off the spell, thus gaining mobility.
Finally, it crawled near Cedric, and with its remaining foreleg, it forcefully swatted away his wand.
Unable to get up due to the intense pain, Cedric closed his eyes in despair but felt the sharp blade lightly press against his neck.
Just about to make a move, the Auror halted abruptly in midair, wand tip glowing and ready.
Cedric opened his eyes in confusion, seeing the dismembered mantis poppet before him emitting a broken, hoarse voice:
"Surrender... surrender… or else... no mercy..."
Cedric smiled wryly, "Ah! Vid, that guy..."
He coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam, feeling his injuries and knowing this time he utterly lost his chance in the match, feeling relaxed instead.
He raised his hands, forcing out his voice, "I yield... I surrender the match..."
Tonks swooped down from the treetop, landing beside Cedric on her broom, waving her wand to form a stretcher from the surrounding branches, and then let the boy lie on it as she took him into the sky.
Cedric turned his head, seeing in his blurred vision the remains of the mantis automaton being disassembled by invisible hands into a pile of grass, dead wood, vines, and miscellaneous things.
"Really terrifying... Vid's Alchemy..."
Cedric couldn't help but mutter.
Tonks nodded upon hearing, her hair turning deep blue from tension, she said fearfully:
"How true! Just thinking about making insects that big gives you goosebumps! You even fought that mantis! Mr. Digory would surely be proud of your bravery!"
She exaggeratedly rubbed her arms saying, "Really don't understand, why Vid Gray always likes to make poppets into bugs, this hobby is too awful!"
Cedric weakly smiled.
What he meant by "terrifying" wasn't this kind of "terrifying"...