Chapter 681
: Two people eliminated!
Chapter 681 Two eliminated!
Krum's heart seemed to skip a beat.
Beside Wade stood a massive cheetah, so tall it was almost half a person's height when it lay down, its dark green body appearing both agile and dangerous.
Wade leaned against the cheetah, one hand on the beast's neck, not at all worried that it would tear his throat apart.
"The puppet!"
As the word popped into his mind, Krum quickly raised his wand. Just as the tip of the wand glowed red, a sharp pain shot through his back, followed by numbness throughout his body.
Through his rigid gaze, he could see tiny spores falling from above. They were so minute, like dust particles carried by the flowing air, that they would go completely unnoticed.
Krum's heart raced, his breathing became short and labored, and his vision grew increasingly blurry. He struggled to move his head and finally made out several suffocating figures—
A giant gorilla hung from a tree, its body adorned with tangled branches and a few scattered wildflowers, almost blending into the canopy. Seeing that Krum was powerless to resist, it let out a strange, cacophony of laughter.
The mantis, over a meter tall, hid in the bushes. Its forelegs had serrated spikes on their sickles, and its triangular head was tilted cutely. Krum's stiff figure was reflected in its huge eyes.
【That's not it……】
The vague thought popped into Krum's mind, and he struggled to lift his eyes and look upwards.
A huge lizard was perched on the thick tree trunk, clinging to it as if it were part of the tree itself, with dust-like spores fluttering down between its scales.
The lizard stared at its enemy, its long, thin tongue protruding from its throat and extending down Krum's back.
This is also the source of the stinging sensation he felt.
Krum's pupils dilated, his knees slammed heavily into the ground, his massive body crashing to the ground as if his bones had been removed.
Before he was completely engulfed in darkness, he saw Vader walk over expressionlessly, bend down, and pick up his wand.
"Boom-bang!"
A burst of red light erupted above, adding a blush to Krum's furrowed brows.
"Go and deal with the others."
Vader tossed aside Krum's wand, looked at his puppets, and whispered the order: "If there are any other obstacles in the Forbidden Forest, deal with them as well."
The praying mantis darted through the bushes and disappeared silently from sight;
The gorilla's lower lip turned slightly open, revealing its gleaming canine teeth. It grabbed the vine and swung, leaping several meters away in one go.
The lizard moves the slowest, its claws rising and falling in a unique rhythm, making almost no sound as it crawls, and its entire body gradually blends into the trees until it becomes completely the same color.
Then, the cheetah stood up, bent over, lowered its head, and its curved spine formed a perfect arc.
Wade sat down, leaned over and patted the cheetah's neck, saying, "Let's go... run slowly."
The cheetah puppet raised its front paws and began to trot tentatively, then picked up speed slightly, its tail swishing as it darted through the gaps between the trees.
Its paws have curved and sharp claws that grip the tree trunks firmly like hooks, allowing this cheetah to climb trees as nimbly as a cat and traverse various rugged terrains with ease.
Wade hugged the cheetah's neck, letting out a sigh of slight regret.
Theoretically, he could also use the Transformation Gummy to transform into a cheetah and run through the Forbidden Forest, but the reason he was able to maintain his mermaid form for so long last time was because he added a rare material called Gill Sac Grass to the gummy. Now, he doesn't have the same material to help him transform.
If he were to transform into a peregrine falcon and the disguise were merely the effect of a transforming gummy bear, it would be nothing but self-deception. The transformation process of Animagus is vastly different from that of a gummy bear. Countless powerful wizards are watching this competition; he cannot possibly be so clever as to gamble that no one can see through his disguise.
Vader ducked sharply, dodging several branches that were flying towards him. He then patted the cheetah again, and the puppet slowed down, carefully avoiding the thorny bushes ahead.
……
Jabari huddled behind a clump of wild roses, his body now reduced to a gray mouse no bigger than a fist. His tiny paws clung tightly to a few leaves in front of him, his beady black eyes unblinking.
Although the terrifying puppets had scattered, Jabari remained motionless, his fur soaked with cold sweat, which sent a chill down his spine.
"There's nothing to be afraid of... He didn't notice me... It's all because I turned into a rat that I've become so timid..."
The mouse made squeaking noises as Jabari encouraged himself.
“That’s right! Those big guys are too clumsy. Even if he finds me, he can’t catch me at all… Even if I can’t beat him, don’t I still have a chance to escape?”
His claws dug into the soil, instinct urging him to get away from the monster, yet reason compelled him to chase after it.
Ultimately, the desire to win triumphed over fear.
Jabari took a deep breath and, using the rotting wood and tree roots as cover, followed at a distance, staying close to the shadows.
……
A woman's head grew on the body of a giant lion. Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes gazed at the handsome young man, and she said in a deep voice: "I was born from the mouth of the void, yet I spoke before the dawn."
It vanishes when gripped tightly, and leaves no trace when the wind passes.
If I write with fire, I will rise from the ashes;
If I were called by flowing water, I would sink into its reflection.
--who I am?"
Cedric paced back and forth several times, and under the Sphinx's smiling gaze, said uncertainly, "It's... smoke, isn't it?"
The Sphinx smiled with satisfaction, stood up, and stepped aside.
"Thank you."
Cedric breathed a sigh of relief, glad he got it right on his first try, and even more glad he had a Ravenclaw girlfriend who loved to ask him all sorts of strange riddles.
As he passed the Sphinx, the woman's pupils suddenly contracted. She frowned, propped herself up, and glanced at the bushes not far away.
A moment later, the Sphinx glanced at Cedric, whose back was now the only thing visible, and a mysterious smile appeared on its face before it lay down again.
……
"Boom!"
The sound of the branch being chopped was right next to him, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Cedric turned around in horror and saw only a cold glint of a blade slicing towards his neck!
"Iron armor protection!"
In a flash, he roared out the incantation, his whole body trembling as if he were being electrocuted.
"when--"
The scythe clashed with the invisible armor, creating ripples in the air. The hastily formed barrier shattered in just one second!
Cedric had already rolled away from where he stood, and he swiftly swung his wand again:
"Collapse!"
The red light streaked through the air, but grazed the attacker's head and struck a nearby tree trunk, producing a loud explosion.
The attacker was much shorter than Cedric had expected. A triangular green head emerged from the woods, with eyes as big as tennis balls and fangs that looked extremely ferocious.
The mantis pounced suddenly, its blade flashing. Cedric barely managed to dodge to the side, but another sharp scythe pierced his shoulder!
He screamed in agony, pressing his wand against the puppet's mouth with all his might, and shouted, "Shatter to pieces! Explode with lightning!"
"boom--"
The explosion, which was almost touching, sent both of them flying. Cedric crashed heavily into the old oak tree, feeling as if his ribs were about to break.
Blood streamed down his forehead as he struggled to breathe. He saw the mantis puppet dragging its half-broken body toward him, its head still attached only to its neck, yet it coldly raised its blood-stained blade high!
Cedric struggled to raise his wand and roared, "Petrify them all! Collapse them! Powder to dust! Powder to dust!"
The mantis's body parts explode one by one, or rather, each time it is about to be hit by a spell, it sacrifices a part of itself to resist the spell in exchange for the ability to move.
Finally, it crawled to Cedric's vicinity, and with a powerful slap of its remaining forelimb, it sent the wand flying.
Unable to get up due to excruciating pain, Cedric closed his eyes in despair, only to feel a sharp blade gently pressing against his neck.
The Auror, who was about to make his move, suddenly stopped in mid-air, the tip of his wand gleaming with light, ready to strike.
Cedric opened his eyes in confusion and saw the mantis puppet in front of him, now only a mangled limb, emitting intermittent, hoarse sounds:
"Admit defeat...or else...or else...no mercy..."
Cedric gave a wry smile: "Ha! That guy Wade..."
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, felt the pain in his body, and knew that he had no chance in this competition. Instead, he felt completely relaxed.
He raised his hands and, with a strained voice, shouted, "I give up... I give up the match..."
The figure in the treetop swooped down, and Auror Tonks landed beside Cedric on his broomstick. He waved his wand to make the surrounding branches form a stretcher, then laid the boy on it and flew him into the sky.
Cedric turned his head and, through his blurred vision, saw the remains of the Mantis Mantis fall apart as if dismantled by an invisible hand, eventually turning into a pile of weeds, dead wood, vines, and other random things.
"How terrifying... Wade's alchemy..."
Cedric couldn't help but mutter.
Tonks nodded, his hair turning a deep blue with tension, and said in a fearful tone:
"Absolutely! To make insects grow that big, just thinking about it gives me goosebumps! And you could even fight that praying mantis! Mr. Diggory will be so proud of your courage!"
She rubbed her arms exaggeratedly and said, "I really don't understand why Wade Gray always likes to turn puppets into insects. This hobby is terrifying!"
Cedric gave a weak, bitter smile.
The "horrible" he was referring to wasn't this kind of "horrible"...
(End of this chapter)