Chapter 345: Rescue and the Tree Net
Chapter 345: Rescue and the Tree Net
As the evening progressed, Charlie arrived, looking more exhausted than the others, his face ashen like overcooked cabbage.
"I flew for over thirty hours!" Charlie exclaimed.
During dinner, Charlie couldn't help but mutter, "And I had to constantly keep an eye on the dragons to avoid being bitten in half or knocked out by them."
"I think the Quidditch teams should come here for special training," Kyle suggested. "Flying brooms among seven or eight dragons would be far more useful than training on the pitch."
"I just want to play Quidditch, not risk my life..." Kyle laughed, "And the reserve probably wouldn't agree to it anyway."
"Yeah, you're right. It's a shame they missed out on such a great training opportunity."
Seeing Charlie's lack of energy, Kyle handed him a mentholated explosion jelly bean.
"Want one? It's not as good as a Wake-Up Potion, but it should help you stay alert."
"Thanks, I could use it." Charlie took the mentholated bean.
Soon, a muffled sound came from his mouth, and his entire face puffed up, making him look like an oversized toad.
Charlie shivered all over and quickly rubbed his face with his hands.
"That's much better." He took a few deep breaths, "It's amazing, I used to hate mentholated beans the most."
"Tastes change," Kyle said.
Charlie raised his eyebrows and laughed, "So, you'll like licorice beans in the future?"
"Let's not go there!" Kyle replied immediately.
"What a shame, you missed out on a delicious treat."
The Weasley children were all loyal fans of licorice beans, and so was Harry. On the train, licorice wands were among the essential snacks for Harry and Ron.
Usually, Kyle would set aside the licorice beans he received and give them to the children as extra gifts on different occasions, such as Christmas or their birthdays.
Oh, and now...
Since Charlie still had to patrol the reserve later that night, he left shortly after dinner.
Kyle gave him a large bag of sweets.
Near the Romanian Dragon Reserve, there were wizarding settlements and shops, but they mostly sold various types of alcohol, minerals, potions, and magical tools.
The candies that were readily available at school had become rare treats here.
It's not that they didn't exist, but it was quite troublesome to obtain them. Not only did they have to be delivered by owl from a distant place, but the variety and taste were also far inferior to those of Honeydukes.
After Charlie left, Kyle returned to the tent area.
Several people were there, including Newt.
There was no sign of fatigue on their faces, and they were chatting happily, just like when they first arrived a few days ago.
The topics were all related to magical creatures, ranging from treating dragon injuries to postnatal care for Tebo Boars.
Kyle stood silently beside Newt, learning a lot of useful trivia.
Even Professor Lockner mentioned that he had accidentally discovered a brand new magical creature in the Barisan Mountains—a massive creature with four arms.
Before coming to Romania, he had been organizing the related materials and pictures, and it wouldn't be long before he published them.
Everyone showed great interest, and Newt seemed to be tempted as well. It was clear that he wanted to visit that place.
Of course, this would have to wait until Professor Lockner published the relevant information.
...
This time, the dragons would need a slightly longer rest.
Everyone had been at the venue for three whole days before the surroundings became lively again.
Kyle and Newt returned to the hill they had been on before.
The area they were responsible for had been agreed upon beforehand, probably to accommodate Newt's age. This location was slightly farther from the highest cliff, making it safer.
It was just a bit boring...
It was another consecutive day of intense battle.
However, this time, there were significantly more dragons that failed and retreated compared to before. Kyle could almost hear that hissing sound every day.
But there were exceptions.
On the second day, a Romanian Horned Dragon exhausted itself and was struck by the tail of a Ukrainian Ironbelly on the head, causing it to flip over and fall straight down from mid-air.
The location happened to be near the hill where Kyle and Newt were.
It was unclear whether it didn't hear the sound of conceding or if it had gone mad, but the Ukrainian Ironbelly circled in mid-air for a moment before diving down as well.
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Newt frowned and quickly Apparated next to the Romanian Horned Dragon, using his wand to press against its throat while making a series of short sounds, trying to convey the message of surrender on its behalf.
But it was useless; the sounds he made were very different from the dragon's, in other words, he had a heavy accent.
Under normal circumstances, the Ukrainian Ironbelly might have understood what this meant, but it was clearly agitated and couldn't hear Newt and Kyle's voices at all.
"This is trouble!" Newt's face turned serious.
If it were to dive down, its nearly six-ton weight alone could crush the unlucky Romanian Horned Dragon to death.
Moreover, most of the spells he could use to stop it would cause harm to the Ukrainian Ironbelly, affecting its subsequent battles.
As mentioned before, human wizards cannot interfere in dragon-to-dragon combat, no matter the reason.
"Fog Veil!"
Newt had no choice but to create a thick fog around it, trying to block its line of sight, and then he waved his wand, forcefully pushing the Romanian Horned Dragon on the ground forward a certain distance.
Kyle also cast the Softening Charm and Bog Charm on the ground beneath it, which should provide some cushioning.
Almost simultaneously, the surrounding trees suddenly stretched out, as if they had turned into thick, sturdy "ropes," extending into the fog and intertwining to form a large net.
"Crack..."
Accompanied by a firecracker-like sound that made one's teeth hurt, the "tree ropes" were broken one after another, but new ones quickly replaced them.
Finally, the Ukrainian Ironbelly stopped less than two feet from the ground.
Its claws were almost touching the tail of the Romanian Horned Dragon, and if it really fell, the Dragon Reserve would likely have one more tailless dragon.
The Ukrainian Ironbelly struggled for a while, gradually regaining its senses. It roared in dissatisfaction, then broke free from the obstructing tree net and flew up again.
"That was close, just a little more." A familiar voice came from behind.
Chris put away his wand and walked towards the two of them. The tree net he had just created was still in place.
...
(End of Chapter)
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