Chapter 138
Soren was the first warrior to take the stage.
As the whistle blew, Soren walked through the entrance of the tent and stepped outside. He adjusted his robe once more, held his head high, and strolled confidently into the arena.
The arena was designed like an ancient coliseum, a circular space with a wide central area featuring trees, rocks, and ponds of various landscapes, surrounded by brand new spectator stands.
The stands were filled with people, thousands of faces looking down at him.
It was afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly, casting golden rays that slanted down on Soren, creating a shadow behind him that accentuated his tall figure.
The sunlight illuminated the youthful, handsome face of the boy, softening his somewhat childish features; his figure seemed to be coated in a layer of faint golden light, paired with the majestic aura of the supreme wizard's robe, exuding a solemn and sacred golden halo. In an instant, his entire demeanor became as imposing as a mountain, exuding an extraordinary presence.
Many young wizards couldn't help but feel an illusion, as if Soren was no longer that fourth-grade little wizard, but rather a war god clad in golden armor!
At the other end of the arena, a silver-blue dragon loomed, lying on a high rock in the center, its wings gently flapping, possibly to swat away flies. Not far from the dragon, there lay a gleaming golden egg.
Soren was fortunate; as the first competitor, this dragon had been released into the arena too early, and at that moment, the dragon was resting with its eyes closed.
This competition posed no challenge for Soren; a dragon lying still, allowing him unlimited time to prepare, was far less difficult than battling the eight-eyed spiders in the Forbidden Forest.
Soren lowered his right hand, gripping his wand, and silently concentrated, channeling all his magical power.
Suddenly, he raised his wand sharply to his eyes, and it danced swiftly at his fingertips, leaving trails of afterimages in the air!
In an instant, over a dozen thick black vines erupted from the ground around the Swedish Short-Snout dragon, growing at an astonishing speed. Just as the giant dragon reacted, hundreds of vines had already grown, binding it tightly to the ground. The dragon let out a thunderous roar, struggling violently and attempting to tear the vines apart with its sharp claws and teeth. However, the growth rate of the vines was simply too fast—just as the dragon managed to break a few that were wrapped around it, and flapped its wings in an effort to escape this dangerous place, more vines wrapped around its bulky body again, forcefully pulling it down from the low altitude, crashing heavily to the ground with a loud thud.
At this point, the Swedish Short-Snout dragon was already covered in wounds, consumed by rage! Among the known dragon species—
If we talk about the largest size and greatest strength, it would undoubtedly be the Ukrainian iron-bellied dragon; If we consider the wildest, most aggressive, and longest-range attack, the Hungarian tree peak dragon is second to none; But when it comes to destructive power of flames, no dragon can compare to even a fraction of the Swedish Short-Snout dragon!
The flames of the Swedish Short-Snout dragon are unique; it is the only dragon species capable of spewing bright blue flames, with temperatures sufficient to reduce wood and bones to ashes in a second. Although it cannot shoot a long flame pillar like the Hungarian horntail dragon, nor can it emit mushroom-shaped fire clouds like the Chinese fireball dragon, the flames it breathes have the widest coverage. If one were to describe that kind of flame, it would be a massive wave of roaring fire!
Thus, it is evident that the flames of the Swedish Short-Snout dragon are the strongest among all fire dragons, both in quantity (firepower) and quality (flame temperature)!
Anger made this Swedish Short-Snout dragon lose its reason. It continuously roared, and the dense silver-blue scales on its body began to glow with a faint blue light, then it opened its mouth— it breathed fire!
The dazzling blue flames surged like a high, wild wave, engulfing everything visible before it. A hot wind erupted in the center of the arena, and even the spectators far in the stands could feel the astonishingly hot wind hitting their faces!
Astoria covered her mouth with a worried expression, while Daphne and Moray appeared calm; they clearly had a deeper understanding and experience of Soren's strength.
Moray even joked, "Goodness, look at this temperature; I'm afraid even the black gold forged by goblins could melt!"
Astoria tightly clasped her small hands together and said, "Isn't this very dangerous? Can Brother Soren handle it?"
Daphne patted her sister's small hand and said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. His strength is not something a mere dragon can contend with."
The irrational Swedish Short-Snout dragon unleashed blue flames recklessly around it, even engulfing its own massive body in the blaze. Under the influence of the raging fire, the entangled vines turned to ashes in an instant upon contact, but at the same time, chunks of scales on the dragon's body were burned and melted away, visibly peeling off one by one.
After enduring much suffering and harm, the Swedish Short-Snout dragon finally broke free from the vines' restraint, spread its enormous wings, and soared into the sky!
It raised its dragon head high and let out a long, deafening roar that pierced through the clouds, stinging the eardrums of the audience and making everyone present acutely feel its fury.
In the danger ranking of dragons, most fire dragon scholars and textbooks on magical creatures would list the Hungarian Horntail as the most dangerous.
This is because the Swedish Short-Snout dragon lives in uninhabited areas of the wild, and humans are not its primary food source. Therefore, this dragon rarely comes into contact with people, and the fatal incidents it causes are exceedingly few, making its accident death rate the lowest among all dragons.
This creates a false impression of the Swedish Short-Snout dragon being less dangerous.
If one considers it a safe dragon based on this, then they can expect a harsh lesson from the cruel reality.
Although the Swedish Short-Snout dragon rarely attacks humans, that does not mean it is a docile little dragon. Only experienced fire dragon scholars know that when a Swedish Short-Snout dragon truly gets angry, it is definitely not something to be taken lightly, as it will make everyone aware of what true terror is under dragon rage!
However, at this moment, Soren's long-prepared magic was complete!
Soren's self-created protective magic—Guardian of the Gods!
Centered around Soren, a sharp wind howled, and powerful white light magic rapidly gathered, swirling around Soren like a magical tornado, enveloping him in its eye. Soon, the indistinct magical tornado gradually solidified, with wave-like magical energy subtly appearing and rolling violently— to outsiders, it looked as if Soren was wrapped in a white water tornado carrying tumultuous waves and an imposing presence.
The Swedish Short-Snout dragon simultaneously spewed forth a fierce flame of blue tinged with purple while lunging forward with its claws, crashing its massive body against the barrier.
Bang!
The Swedish Short-Snout dragon emitted a heart-wrenching shriek that echoed through the skies, flipping backward and landing awkwardly on the ground, yet it still couldn't stop the rebound force, uncontrollably rolling in the opposite direction, kicking up large clouds of dust.
Around Soren, the shimmering protective shield stood tall and intact, showing no signs of damage!
The audience erupted in synchronized cheers—"Soren! Victory! Hogwarts! Victory!..."
Soren slowly began to speak; despite the surrounding noise, his voice clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
Rather than speaking, it was more like he was chanting—he loudly recited an ancient, mysterious language, his voice deep and powerful, like a song or a chant. Each word, each pronunciation resonated like thunder from the ends of the earth, vibrating the eardrums of everyone present, momentarily stunning the crowd into silence.
Dumbledore even stood up from the judges' seat, his usually calm and composed face displaying a rare look of shock and disbelief.
Although Professor McGonagall is the head of Gryffindor, Soren can be considered her proud student. Her concern for Soren is no less than anyone else's, and she couldn't help but ask, "Albus, do you know what's going on with this child?"
Dumbledore first furrowed his brows tightly, then relaxed them again. He shook his head and said, "I'm not entirely sure, but it sounds like Dragon Language, and it is very likely an ancient Dragon Language that has been lost..."
Madam Maxime and several nearby professors immediately showed expressions of disbelief.
In today's era, let alone ancient Dragon Language, there are almost no wizards who can speak Dragon Language at all.
Karkaroff snorted loudly, looking disdainful as he said, "Albus, you can brag all you want... A language you can't even speak, and you expect it to appear in a fourth-year student? When did Hogwarts become this impressive?"
Several professors and Madam Maxime, familiar with Dumbledore's character, frowned at Karkaroff's words. Just as Professor McGonagall was about to retort, the audience collectively gasped in astonishment!
Every Hogwarts student must have read the textbook "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" (which is on the first-year reading list). In this book, the author Scamander explains that dragons are the most dangerous of magical creatures, and no breed of dragon can be tamed hundred percent.
Wizards might be able to force a dragon to submit through torture; for example, it is rumored that Gringotts once trained a dragon to associate a specific noise with pain, making it unable to resist. Thus, Goblins who know how to produce that noise can easily pass by the dragon, while others cannot, allowing that dragon to be used as a guard for underground vaults.
However, this is not true taming!
Once a dragon breaks free from its restraints and soars into the sky, it is no longer suppressed and may even retaliate fiercely.
"The dragon cannot be tamed" is a rule that wizards have learned from countless lessons over a thousand years. This notion is deeply ingrained in the hearts of all wizards, and no one doubts it. Yet today, this ironclad rule was broken before the eyes of hundreds of Hogwarts teachers and students!
Soren's ancient Dragon Language was grand and magnificent, resonating like thunder; each syllable carried the majesty of ancient dragons, filled with the pressure of a superior over an inferior, suppressing the rebellious Swedish Short-Snout Dragon until its head, limbs, and body were all prostrate on the ground, unable to move, only able to emit pitiful cries.
It was the might of the dragon!
It is an innate power that all fire dragons and sub-dragons possess, imprinted in their blood, a reverence for the power of their ancient ancestors, a restraint and pressure they cannot resist!
Of course, ancient Dragon Language is profound and has been lost for a long time. Even Professor Binns' records cannot be considered a complete legacy, so Soren does not truly master this language; at most, she has just touched the threshold.
However, this passage of ancient Dragon Language was carefully selected by Soren and specifically prepared for this moment. It is the last words left by the last ancient dragon decoded by archaeologists, which could also be seen as a kind of prophecy. If translated into human language, this passage roughly means:—
"O descendants of the dragon clan, though dragon blood has withered, do not abandon the hope in your hearts. Uphold the pride of the dragon clan; the long night will eventually pass, and suffering will not last long. When the horn of the dragon clan sounds again, I hope you will still fly ahead..."
The Swedish Short-Snout Dragon had completely lost the power to resist. Soren smiled lightly, walked in front of the fire dragon, and gently patted its head as if petting a puppy. Then he picked up the golden egg and held it high toward the judges' table—
The audience, which had just quieted down, erupted into a thunderous roar once again.
Having completed her task, Soren did not return to the tent but walked near the audience to watch the performances of the next three champions.
The competition rules only stated that those who had not yet participated in the contest could not leave the tent freely to avoid "referencing" or "copying" the methods of the champions who had already competed, as that would be unfair to the champions who had finished their contests. However, there was no strict requirement for the champions who had already completed their contests to return to the tent.
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