Oh, that's Charlie!
When Charlie Weasley and his friends led the several-layered, beautifully silver-blue scales Swedish short-nosed dragon onto the field, the spectators couldn't help but let out a simultaneous intake of breath. Looking at this terrifying-looking fiery dragon, people felt both scared and excited.
Amidst the hum of the people's chatter, Fred called out in annoyance,
"He's known all along that the first project is a fire dragon, and he didn't tell us!"
"But hope he can last for ten minutes!" George stretched his neck and said excitedly, "But his handsome face will definitely suffer, isn't it?"
Taking advantage of the last few minutes when the fire dragon was still dazed, Charlie checked the chain around the neck of the Swedish short-nosed dragon once more. After making sure everything was fine, he took the golden egg from his companion, and with agile steps, placed it next to the real dragon egg. Then, he quickly called for his companions to leave.
This scene was clearly projected onto the big screen, and many found the sight of the dragon riders fleeing quite amusing, as they softly laughed out loud.
In consideration of safety, the entire periphery of the stadium was surrounded by thick, blue stone boards. Moreover, the viewing platform was built up high. People found that it was much more convenient to watch the screen displaying the images captured by those magical surveillance mirrors than to crane their necks to see them directly.
On the big screen of the competition, the Swedish short-nosed dragon's blurred eyes gradually regained clarity. As it slowly stood up, it snorted without realizing it and spewed blue flames that ignited a rock about ten feet away. Under the scorching of the flames, this hard stone melted as if it were a candle, with stone liquid dripping onto the ground.
The studio provided a close-up of that rock, and now, everyone who didn't know much about fire dragons got a clear idea of the terror of dragons!
"Don't worry, Pomona, he'll be fine. We all know how talented that kid is!"
Professor McGonagall noticed that Professor Sprout's shoulders were shivering slightly and her expression was full of terror, so she patted her back to comfort her. However, she didn't notice that her voice was also high-pitched and terrifying.
The Swedish fire dragon finally noticed the thousands of humans surrounding it and flapped its wings violently, stirring up clouds of smoke. It wanted to escape from here, but the chain around its neck restrained its movement. Realizing that it could not escape, the Swedish short-nosed dragon blew out thick smoke from its nostrils and then wrapped its wings around itself and the dragon egg beneath it like a bat.
If it weren't for Bagman's reminder, people might not have noticed that the first warrior had arrived at the scene.
"--Let us give a hearty round of applause for Mr. Severus Digory of Hogwarts, hoping he can complete the task brilliantly!"
Buckbeak's voice drew everyone's attention away from the dragon. Subconsciously, they searched the broad and rocky stadium for Cedric's figure. However, compared to the dragon, Cedric seemed a bit inconspicuous. Standing high above them, people could only see a matchstick-sized Cedric standing there with no detail visible at all.
Several surveillance mirrors flew over quickly, and people finally got to see Cedric's facial expression at that moment, which was also what many found amusing.
The fire dragon was placed in the center of a large false mountain on the playing field, which was the highest point in the entire area. At that moment, Cedric stood at the foot of the slope, holding his wand tightly in his hand as if he were a statue, motionless.
He saw the fire dragon located beneath the giant rock at the top of the mountain. It was the largest and most terrifying creature he had ever seen in his life. From over one thousand feet away, he could feel a surging and powerful breath washing over his face. It was easy to imagine that if he made a mistake, this fire dragon could easily tear him apart!
When the actual competition began, the stadium fell silent instead. People widened their eyes and stared at Cedric standing there, anticipating his spectacular performance.
Cedric felt a dense humming noise in his head, preventing him from thinking calmly. He only found out about this challenge four days ago, and since then, he had mostly been consumed by doubt and fear. The time when his mind was truly clear to think about how to face the crisis was very limited.
Autumn Chou, who was tasked with maintaining order on the passage, could not help but cover her eyes out of mercy. At a temporary building near Diagon Alley but not far away, Amos and his wife held each other's hands tightly while their eyes showed deep concern.
"It seems we need to give Mr. Digory some time to adjust—"
The sudden voice of Buckbeak echoed in the stadium. He spoke in a tone that seemed very interesting, but as soon as he finished speaking, Cedric, who had been standing motionless for several minutes, finally moved.
His movements were still stiff, like an awkward puppet struggling up the slope, but at least Cedric didn't forget to hide himself. He crouched down and circumvented the rocks in front of him, stumbling up the slope.
The stadium was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. No one laughed at Cedric's clumsy appearance; he had at least overcome his inner fear and was preparing to take action.
"Alright, Mr. Digory seems to have overcome his mental obstacles. He's trying to get closer to the dragon!"
Buckbeak shouted excitedly, "Now, we can truly begin!"
"Let's see what Mr. Digory will do!"
More than one thousand feet, about a quarter of a mile, this distance is about the same as the training distance for dodging egg during PE class. Cedric has already done an excellent job in avoiding the eggs, but the process of getting close to the dragon is much more challenging for him than crossing that distance during PE class.
By the time he was two hundred feet away from the dragon, he was drenched in sweat.
He crouched behind a rock, carefully peeking his head out to observe the situation. In one glance, he saw the golden dragon egg that was also coexisting with normal dragon eggs under the fire dragon's belly, shining with a faint glow. Moreover, he noticed that there was a chain around the fire dragon's neck.
This was good news and bad news for him.
The chain bound the fire dragon's movements, meaning that as long as he kept a safe distance, he was safe. However, the bad news was that the fire dragon wouldn't leave his dragon egg too far away; he had to get close enough to do so.
So, Cedric approached the fire dragon with even more caution, and the farther he moved towards the center, the fewer large rocks he had for cover. He had to take advantage of the Swedish short-nosed dragon's opportunity to look around and slowly inch closer.
Two hundred feet, one hundred and fifty feet, one hundred feet...
At this distance, Cedric could clearly feel the imposing and powerful body of the fire dragon. He could even see the terrifying fangs inside its mouth!
"It's time to make a decision, Mr. Digory!"
Buckbeak, who was skilled at timing his comments, spoke again.
Cedric finally stopped at a distance of sixty feet from the Swedish short-nosed dragon, and people knew why he stopped there. Besides the pillar-shaped stone column he was perched on, there were no large enough rocks nearby for him to hide behind.
So far, the exertion wasn't too great, but Cedric was already drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. Leaning against the rock, he quietly turned his head to observe his surroundings. Unless you have overwhelming strength, never forget to familiarize yourself with your environment—it's Professor Branagh's teaching.
The top of the slope had relatively simple terrain. Apart from the giant false mountain jutting out of the ground, the other three sides were yellow soil dotted with small rocks. It was probably to facilitate warriors approaching the fire dragon that the slope he was on was relatively gentle, while the opposite side was much steeper.
With only one chance, Cedric, as a warrior, was very aware that once the fire dragon realized someone wanted to steal its egg, there would be no more opportunities for him!
He was focused on estimating the distance and forgot that he was being watched by thousands of wizards!
Time seemed to stand still in the entire arena as everyone waited for Cedric to make his move. Perhaps influenced by this strange atmosphere, the Swedish short-nosed dragon looked around more and more frequently and blew out thick smoke full of sulfur from its nostrils!
Under the gaze of everyone, Cedric finally made his move.
His wand emerged from behind the rock, pointing towards a rock about twenty feet away. With the breeze suddenly appearing, the rock underwent complex transformations, eventually revealing a Newfoundland dog on the competition screen!
(The end of this chapter)
