Chapter 683
Orangutans and Lizards
Chapter 683 Orangutans and Lizards
An invisible, transparent barrier stood behind Natalia. With a loud crash, the girl turned around quickly, her eyes wide with astonishment.
Fortunately, she only hesitated for a moment before running away quickly, because the next second, the armor shattered, the attacker fell heavily to the ground, and let out an angry roar.
"Roar!!!"
The blast wave sent Natalia's messy hair flying backward, and in her shock, she quickly took several steps back.
The attacker turned out to be a large, muscular gorilla with prominent muscles on its shoulders and back, thick forearms that almost touched the ground, and large nostrils that twitched and made a gurgling sound.
The fluorescent light that had illuminated the two during the battle had long since disappeared, and the sparse sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves provided only a faint glimmer of light.
In the darkness, apart from its yellowish eyes, the gorilla's body was entirely dark black, making it appear strong and intimidating.
"Thunderbolt explosion!"
Natalia's wand emitted a blinding red light, but the enormous gorilla dodged with a nimble side somersault, its movements as agile as if it were a replica of the two people from before.
The girl's pupils suddenly contracted.
How do these wild animals know to avoid the sorcerer's spells?
But before he could think, the gorilla's fist, carrying a strong wind, came crashing down on him!
"There are many obstacles!"
Harry shouted, and the beast's movements noticeably slowed. Natalia seized the opportunity to leap to the side, her heels carving two deep grooves in the ground.
But the chance to catch one's breath was fleeting, and the gorilla pounced on him with lightning speed, slamming its hand down!
The girl rolled awkwardly on the ground, narrowly avoiding danger.
Harry ran over, shouting, "Immediate restraint! Tarantella! Upside-down bell! Come at me, you big idiot!"
But that big guy was incredibly agile; it skillfully dodged every spell, and for some reason, it targeted Natalia, roaring as it chased after her and attacked.
"Roar--"
A deep roar, like a war drum, shook the forest. The giant beast, on all fours, charged forward like an armored vehicle!
"boom!"
This time, the girl who didn't have time to dodge was sent flying by the impact. Her wand slipped out of her hand uncontrollably. She endured the pain, pulled out the dagger tucked in her thigh, and stabbed it with all her might!
The knife tip pierced the gorilla's chest smoothly, but the girl stared in astonishment!
The next moment, she was sent flying and crashed heavily into a nearby tree.
"Natalia!" Harry shouted, then cast a Stunning Charm on the gorilla: "Stun!"
The spell had no effect this time either.
"Roar--"
The gorilla roared and slammed its fists down on the girl under the tree.
"Fire!" Natalia cried, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She struggled to sit up and shouted at Harry, "Use the Fire Charm!"
Harry, who had already run nearby, didn't think twice. He flicked his wand and shouted, "Firestorm!"
The flames landed on the gorilla and burst into flames with a "whoosh." The gorilla squeaked and took several steps back, frantically patting the flames off its body.
The flickering firelight finally illuminated the ferocious attacker. Harry was stunned when he saw the attacker's appearance, while Natalia's eyes flashed with understanding.
She had sensed something when she stabbed him, and now her suspicions were confirmed.
This is not a black gorilla, but a dark green one. Vines and branches intertwine and coil to form its body, and several clusters of tender green buds even sprout from its joints. A small yellow flower is also on top of its head.
Natalia took a breath, feeling a sharp pain in her chest as if her ribs were poking her: "It really is... a puppet..."
Harry's eyes widened: "This thing... is it Wade's creation? He made it in the Forbidden Forest?"
He still remembered the scorpions Wade created during the first match. Those creatures were terrifying because of their sheer number and stealth, and because the contestants had never seen such tactics before. In a real fight, dealing with one or two scorpions wouldn't be difficult.
However, even with the two of them working together, the gorilla in front of them was in grave danger.
Perhaps it heard its owner's name, for the gorilla suddenly turned to Harry, its yellow eyes seeming to flicker a few times.
Just as Harry was on high alert, preparing to defend against an attack, the gorilla suddenly turned and crashed into the bushes, quickly climbing up a large tree and disappearing from sight.
The two women relaxed slightly, and Natalia slid down to the ground against the tree trunk, wryly opening a bottle of potion and gulping it down. "That guy... he only sent one puppet, and he almost eliminated me."
The fiery potion slid down her throat into her stomach, rapidly healing her injuries. However, the intense pain caused her to wince and groan.
Harry still gripped his wand, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings, and occasionally looked up at the treetops above, worried that the gorilla might jump down again.
Hearing the voice, he turned his head and looked at the girl with concern, asking, "Are you alright?"
His tone contained both worry and a hint of wariness.
Harry hadn't forgotten that the two of them were actually rivals in this competition.
"good."
Natalia wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said through gritted teeth, "Be careful, it could pop out at any moment."
Harry nodded and continued to observe his surroundings; even the sound of the wind rustling the leaves made him tense.
Natalia stared at his retreating figure, her gaze complex and unreadable, and couldn't help but question the absent man in her heart:
Why not attack Harry? Just because you're from the same school? But this is the final match, everyone is a competitor...
After a while, Natalia took a few deep breaths and felt that the stabbing pain in her chest and abdomen had disappeared. She slowly stood up, supporting herself on the tree trunk, and retrieved her wand that had flown away.
Harry turned around, his arm muscles slightly tense, and asked, "Shall we continue?"
"Why did you save me just now?" Natalia asked, holding her wand and kicking away a charred branch at her feet. "If you hadn't intervened, I would be eliminated by now."
"what?"
Harry paused, then said somewhat embarrassedly, "I...I wasn't thinking that much about it..."
Now that he's come to his senses, he feels a little deflated, realizing how incredibly stupid he'd been.
—Yeah, they're rivals...and Dumbledore certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch his opponent get killed. There might be an invisible Auror right next to him waiting to save him! There's no need for him to go through the trouble of impersonating a hero.
If he were to be defeated and eliminated by Natalia because of this, Harry could almost picture how others would mock him—"Potter, you big fool! You're just a hero-playing idiot!"
"Thank you."
Natalia's words startled Harry slightly, and he instinctively asked, "What did you say?"
The girl snorted, but the hostility in her eyes had completely vanished. She brushed her messy hair back and said seriously:
"Even if you help me this time, I won't hold back next time we meet! I will do my best to win the championship for Cordos Dorris! From now on, let's rely on our own abilities and see who can go all the way."
Harry nodded and said, "Okay, let's see who can do it."
"Goodbye."
After Natalia finished speaking, she casually chose a fork in the road and left, while Harry waited for a while before heading down another path.
Both were warriors participating in the league, aiming for the sole championship. Neither of them chose to join forces with the other because of the threat from the puppet.
On the other side of the forest, Clementine and Hope, who had chosen to join forces from the beginning, sat back to back on the ground, panting heavily.
They had just survived a fierce battle—seven or eight dwarf pig monsters sprang out of the bushes, their sharp tusks dripping with saliva, ready to devour the two of them for dinner.
After defeating the horde of dwarf pig monsters and breaking through a magic trap, the two were exhausted and had to stop to rest.
“I wonder how the others are doing… Have something to eat.” Clementine took out a sandwich and handed one to Hope.
Hope shook her head and refused, unscrewing the kettle and taking a sip, the water flowing down her dusty chin.
"It's best not to run into anyone else," she said in a muffled voice. "Otherwise, given our current state, I'm afraid neither of us can handle it."
"Ha, the others are all acting alone, and they might not be in as good shape as us!" Clementine said optimistically.
A dozen meters away from the two, a lizard was silently crawling along the trunk of a large tree, its throat slightly bulging and tiny spores spraying from its nostrils.
(End of this chapter)