Deep in the forbidden forest, on a narrow clearing, the most intense and fierce confrontation since the start of the competition began.
Ronan and Astoria, a Ravenclaw third-year girl, a Slytherin second-year girl, are performing an exciting duel for the audience.
And Cedric's one-on-two sniping made the audience gasp in amazement!
As for Neville...
The moment the trap took effect, Neville already had an idea of what was going to happen next.
With three against five!
In the absence of a huge difference in personal dueling ability, it is impossible to resolve the battle decisively and even forming a prolonged stalemate is difficult.
Based on the positions of the Slytherin quintet when the duel began, Neville was hoping that Luna and Cedric would overwhelm Astoria in their first wave of attacks. In this way, a mere one-on-five deficit could still be overcome.
But unexpectedly, the young girl from Slytherin actually withstood the most dangerous first wave of attacks, immediately putting them in a very disadvantageous position.
If it weren't for Cedric's equally impressive performance, they would have surrendered by now.
In this complex and unfamiliar forest, escape is impossible. They can only fight to the end!
The current stalemate cannot last long. Cedric has temporarily held off Draco and Penelope, but he won't last two minutes.
Their only advantage is whether Luna can directly defeat Astoria, or whether he can knock down either Breiz or Nott.
Numerous thoughts flashed through Neville's mind, and the light flickering in his eyes became resolute. Neville gripped his sword, which was incongruous with wizards, tensed his reflexes, and pressed forward toward Breiz and Nott with all his might!
At his level, maintaining a safe distance while fighting against two Slytherin members in an attack would not be better than Cedric's current performance. The likelihood of defeating both of them depends on whether he can close the distance.
In a 'Z'-shaped positioning, Neville successfully crossed the safe distance of thirty feet. In the midst of a whirlwind of magical curses, he kept his eyes fixed firmly on Breiz and Nott.
"Do you want to defeat both of us alone, Longbottom? That's an impossible dream!"
With a piercing gaze, Breiz swung his wand and unleashed a scorching magical fire. The fire immediately dried up the moisture on the ground, igniting the fallen leaves into a wall of flames, blocking Neville's path forward!
Slightly tilting his head to dodge a malevolent curse shot by Nott with a fierce expression, Neville swept his silver sword, spraying out a plume of white frost. Breiz's magic encountered the frost's resistance and quickly wilted.
"How can you know if you don't try?"
Flying over the low-lying fire line with an unperturbed expression, Neville landed and immediately started running along the 'S'-shaped curve at a rapid pace.
As Slytherin's elite this year, Breiz and Nott won't overlook Neville's intentions.
Once close, it's self-evident that a wand with limited maneuverability and a magical sword capable of spells pose different levels of threat.
As Neville crossed that line of fire, Breiz and Nott exchanged a quick glance.
They now have two choices: split in two directions, this choice's advantage is to make Longbottom lose his balance on purpose, but the disadvantage is that once Longbottom completes a close-range attack on one person, in close combat, the other person will certainly be hesitant to attack due to fear of accidental injury.
The second choice is for both to move in the same direction at the same time. This allows better coordination of attacks to push back Longbottom, but if Longbottom does manage to get close, with a single stroke, they could both lose their fighting ability.
There's not much time to hesitate.
In the exchange of glances, Breiz and Nott made up their minds. Alternating their attacks while retreating, they moved further into the forest. Then, following the edge of the long clearing, they began to play 'kite' with Neville!
Advancing on the open ground is completely different from moving through the forest.
The complex terrain and continuous attacks significantly slowed down Neville's speed, forcing him to pay more attention to dodging and avoiding falling.
"Crafty Slytherins!"
Neville's heart secretly resented. He had the determination to charge forward, but he had underestimated the cunning of Breiz and Nott!
Within less than two minutes of engaging, the balance of victory had already begun to tip in favor of Slytherin.
It had to be changed quickly!
After training for PE, Neville's slender face flashed with determination.
Breiz and Nott's attack rhythm is not intense.
It's obvious that these two are not intent on defeating themselves quickly; they are planning to drag the battle out.
Overall, Luna has maintained an offensive stance in her duel with Astoria. Although she cannot defeat Astoria in a short time, at least she won't lose.
Breiz and Nott have confidence because they've also realized that Cedric won't be able to hold on for long under the storm of quick and fierce attacks from Draco and Penelope.
Draco.
At this crucial moment where a mistake could lead to a complete loss, Neville's mind unconsciously wandered into memories of the past.
There's no doubt that Draco Malfoy is the most frightening student for Neville since he arrived at Hogwarts, more so than any other student who bullied him before.
Countless times, he had been humiliated and mocked by Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. For countless nights, he curled up in bed, wounded in secret over their taunts!
Glancing with an eye, Neville raised his wand, deflecting two incoming curses aimed at him, drawing a deep breath.
Now is the time to completely say goodbye to those miserable pasts!
With a firm decision made, Neville's eyes turned sharp, his figure suddenly shook, and his silver sword pierced straight.
This highly misleading move made Breiz and Nott believe that Longbottom was 'pulling a big move', so they quickly hid behind trees.
A silver blade glowed with a chilling light, flowing over the surface and then detaching from the tip, crashing into the arena like a meteor!
This strike capitalized on the moment when Breiz and Nott retreated behind the trees, their vision obstructed. Delighted by Cedric's predicament, Draco and Penelope failed to notice this strike amidst bursts of shimmering firelight.
Only one person immediately sensed Neville's move at the moment he struck, and that was Luna!
As the only student invited personally by Amora to participate in all sports, Luna possesses an ability that others cannot understand.
Her acute awareness of magic changes far exceeds that of the average person!
Upon realizing Neville's intervention, she swung her wand immediately, and the colorful notes encircling Astoria were summoned to gather together, forming a dense cloud that blocked Astoria's line of sight.
The sudden gathering of notes made Astoria's expression stern, and before she could gather her wand to counter with a spell, a blood-curdling scream echoed in her ear.
In almost still time, as the wall of colorful notes slowly rotated and revealed a gap, a silver meteor with a tail flame burst through the gap at an irregular speed. It was only an instant before it appeared right in front of her!
Astoria's expression changed dramatically. The thought of dodging and retreating flitted through her mind but was quickly discarded!
Too late!
Astoria immediately realized this.
This life-and-death moment did not shake her inner self. Filling her clear blue eyes was only calmness!
In the infinitely long yet instantly fleeting few milliseconds, Astoria's wrist trembled rapidly. The birds distributed along the path of the silver meteor rushed towards it and were extinguished one after another.
Longbottom is not going to kill her.
The block failed. After realizing the uniqueness of the silver light, the first thought that flashed through Astoria's mind was that he only wanted to render her incapacitated, so...
Astoria suddenly leaped from the ground, curling her body as much as possible and covering her face with her arms!
The silver light, unstoppable, shattered Astoria's last defense spell. In Draco's eyes, filled with shock and fury, it crashed down!
