Chapter 312: Battle
Chapter 312: Battle
Harry found himself in an extremely awkward situation: someone was attacking him from the surrounding forest, but because the attacker was hidden in the trees while he was in the clearing, he could only take hits without much chance to retaliate.
“Harry, I saw what looked like Durmstrang's Gustav nearby just now,” Ginny provided the information she had gathered.
“Thanks.” Harry pulled out a test tube filled with yellow powder from his waist and smashed it against the dagger strapped to his thigh. Instantly, a yellow-green smoke clouded the entire clearing. Harry took the opportunity to bend down and quickly ran in the direction he had previously chosen. At that moment, another red Magic beam shot over his head, indicating that the attacker, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, had directly targeted Harry's previous position.
“Why hasn’t Liam dealt with the problem yet?” Harry thought anxiously, hiding behind a tree. According to the plan, he was to act as bait, while Liam, who was following behind, would take care of the attacker. But Liam seemed to have disappeared, and Harry wondered where he could have gone. Could there be an unexpected situation? Harry tightened his grip on his wand, realizing he would have to rely on himself for the time being.
Harry’s guess was correct. Liam had indeed encountered an unforeseen issue. The person preparing to ambush Ginny was not just Durmstrang’s Gustav. Gustav was merely the mantis, while a larger threat, the yellow bird, was lurking behind.
When Harry was attacked, Liam was just about to trace the exposed attacker. However, due to the psychological shadow cast by Rita Skeeter's Beetle, he habitually used Life Magic to investigate the surroundings. To his surprise, he discovered someone hiding nearby.
“Nature Vision.” Liam cast a Nature Magic spell, and a hoopoe bird flew over the area where the person might be hiding. To his surprise, he did not see anyone on the ground at first glance, so he maneuvered the bird to perch on a branch and began a closer inspection.
Finally, he noticed that the light in that area seemed off, as if something transparent was in the air.
“Krum.” Liam identified the person hiding there by analyzing the approximate size. The two French girls did not have such a large build, and Gustav was currently engaged in battle with Harry. Liam could even clearly hear Gustav’s movements in the forest.
It seemed Krum was preparing to ambush Liam, as their neatly uniformed equipment when they set out had already indicated they would be acting together. Harry’s role as bait was easily seen through by Krum. The only thing unclear was how Krum had convinced Gustav, who was usually at odds with him, to cooperate. It likely involved some under-the-table deals.
However, Krum, as the ambusher, did not expect that Liam, a fourth-year student, not only excelled in Alchemy but also possessed rare Nature Magic. As a result, his ambush was foiled by Liam, who had the advantage of being on home ground.
“Stupefy!” After sneaking to a position not far from Krum, Liam suddenly cast the spell. The red beam of light hit Krum but did not knock him out as expected. Instead, a blue light flashed, and the red spell seemed to dissipate upon hitting a Magic Barrier.
Fortunately, with Liam’s attack, Krum’s Disillusionment Charm also failed. Liam, with his sharp eyes, noticed a bronze bracelet on Krum’s wrist.
This must be a case of the stone falling on his own foot. Liam did not expect to see his own creation at this moment. Krum waved his wand, and a yellow-green light orb shot towards Liam, who quickly took cover behind a tree. He heard the orb sizzle as it hit the tree trunk. When he emerged from behind the tree, he saw that the part it had hit was completely carbonized.
Acid Ball—Liam recognized this Magic, a type of spell considered Dark Magic in Britain. Being hit by it had the same effect as having a bottle of sulfuric acid thrown at you.
"A bit vicious", Liam thought as he waved his wand and countered with a Stunning Spell, while making a gesture with his left hand. Krum had just dodged the Stunning Spell and hadn't even had time to catch his breath when he felt a gust of wind heading straight for his groin.
Fortunately, years of Quidditch practice saved him. He desperately leaned to the right, catching a glimpse of a tree root rising from the ground and lashing out. If he hadn't reacted in time, that blow would have definitely rendered him combat-ineffective.
Even as he fell to the ground, he still lost the advantage. After blocking another Stunning Spell with the Magic Shield from his copper bracelet, he managed to stand up and hide behind a tree.
"Despicable and shameless Hogwarts player. I can't believe Hermione likes him", Krum thought, recognizing who was attacking him. He nervously dodged a few more tree roots, found a spot without roots, and leaned against a tree trunk. He then summoned a water curtain and used its reflection to locate Liam.
"No one?" Krum began to feel anxious. Although many of the spells Liam used were common, he had noticed that Liam moved through the Forbidden Forest as if it were flat ground. Everyone knew that in a battle, if your opponent was familiar with the terrain, the longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became. Krum hoped to end the fight quickly.
Suddenly, a faint sound came from above. Krum instinctively raised his wand and looked up. He saw something diving down at him.
A Flame Whip shot out from Krum's wand and struck the diving object, but as soon as the Flame Whip hit it, he felt something was wrong: it felt light, not at all like hitting a human body.
"Damn!" Krum didn't have time to turn around. He felt a sharp pain at the base of his neck, and then everything went black.
With a thud, Krum fell onto the thick pile of leaves on the ground, revealing Liam, who had been hiding behind him, elbow raised. Liam had activated his Nature Affinity to eliminate the sound of his movements, taking advantage of Krum's limited vision while hiding behind a tree. He climbed onto a nearby branch and then jumped down to the tree Krum was hiding under.
When he saw Krum looking around, Liam first threw a stone wrapped in his wizard robe to draw attention, then chose a blind spot and dropped from above, delivering a powerful elbow strike to Krum's neck.
This physical attack didn't trigger the bracelet's defense, allowing Liam to successfully defeat Krum.
After removing the bracelet and casting another Stunning Spell on Krum, Liam emptied the gold coins from Krum's waist pouch. It seemed Krum had been slow, as the pouch contained only two gold coins.
Liam collected the gold coins, tied Krum up with a rope, and left him under the tree. Since each participant and hostage had been released with a Tracking Charm before the start, he wasn't worried about leaving Krum there.
Having finished dealing with the situation, Liam made his way toward the clearing, concerned that Harry might not be able to hold out. He didn't bother hiding and quickly ran through the branches toward the clearing.
(End of Chapter)
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