Chapter 545: The Hippocampus Knight
Chapter 545: The Hippocampus Knight
"Since we discovered it, we've lost over a dozen warriors," the mermaid leader said gravely. "If you can help us get rid of this monster, you will become a friend of our tribe."
"No problem, leave it to me," Kyle said, swimming towards the Hippocampus.
Under constant attacks from the mermaids, the Hippocampus was indeed going mad. It struggled, trying to transform into different forms to break free from the ropes binding it.
The Hippocampus was like an Animagus in the Care of Magical Creatures class, able to transform into various shapes.
However, the mermaids seemed to have learned from past experiences. They were always ready to tie new ropes as soon as it transformed.
Kyle had intended to calm the Hippocampus, but it was not listening at all. Upon seeing Kyle, it immediately opened its mouth to bite him.
Kyle was not surprised by this situation, and he had several solutions.
But all of them required time, and with the one-hour deadline approaching, he didn't want to waste any more time here.
So, Kyle chose the simplest and most brutal method.
He extended his wand, and a small fish made of flames, with a golden-red hue, emerged from the tip.
In an instant, the cold lake water began to heat up rapidly. The mermaids screamed and fled towards the distance. Kyle waved his wand again, and the flame-fish disappeared.
Kyle had now mastered the Blazing Flame Charm. Since he was in the Black Lake himself, he deliberately controlled the flame to minimize its impact, not wanting to be affected.
Even so, the effect was evident.
First, the cold lake water became much warmer, like soaking in a hot spring.
Additionally, the Hippocampus calmed down. It stood motionless, and its gaze towards Kyle lost its madness, becoming clear and bright.
"You should have done this earlier," Kyle swam to the Hippocampus and whispered, "Calm down, I'm here to save you... Follow me, and the mermaids won't attack you again."
He untied the ropes binding the Hippocampus and flipped onto its back.
The Hippocampus remained quiet throughout.
Kyle grabbed the wide-leafed cattail on its body and pointed forward.
"Go this way, and quickly. I'm in a bit of a hurry."
After feeling the ropes binding it disappear, the Hippocampus turned its head to look at the mermaids approaching. It neighed loudly and then darted off.
Compared to Kyle swimming on his own, the Hippocampus was several times faster... Kyle felt like he was riding an underwater Flying Broomstick, and the bubbles on his head were deformed by the water current.
Whether it was the Griboild or other creatures, they were all left far behind. All Kyle had to do was hold on tight to the Hippocampus to avoid being thrown off.
In less than five minutes, Kyle faintly heard a melody.
"The hour is almost up...
How much longer will you delay...
Come and reclaim the treasure we took from you..."
Kyle patted the Hippocampus and swam towards the direction of the sound.
Soon, he arrived at the center of the Black Lake, beside a rock pillar adorned with mermaid patterns.
This was the mermaid tribe's settlement, with stone-carved houses surrounding the pillar.
Some of the houses had gardens, and others had a small Griboild tied to their doors.
Upon seeing Kyle, the mermaids became excited and emerged from all directions. They slapped the lake water with their strong, silver fish tails, seemingly trying to intimidate Kyle.
Then... they noticed the Hippocampus beneath Kyle.
The originally melodious song instantly turned into shrill screams. The mermaids closest to it scattered, screaming as they rushed to grab their weapons.
"How did this monster return..."
"Run, the leader has been eaten..."
"Get your weapons, get your weapons..."
Chaos ensued, and it was clear that the mermaids, as fellow water creatures, had an innate fear of the Hippocampus.
However, this made things easier for Kyle. Without offering any explanations, he went straight to a stone statue of a mermaid.
On the statue's tail, three people were tightly bound.
The one on the far left was unfamiliar, but from his clothing, he seemed to be from Durmstrang.
Recently, Karkaroff had not been seen around the castle, and the others, including Krum, had rarely made an appearance. Kyle had little impression of him at the moment.
In the middle was an eight-year-old girl, Gabrielle, Fengrong's younger sister.
On the far right was Cona, who had not been seen since being called away by Professor McGonagall the night before.
All three of them appeared to be sleeping deeply, their heads drooping onto their shoulders, and a string of bubbles kept emerging from their mouths.
They were tied to the statue with three large round locks, each lock separated from the others, and only by opening all of them could they be freed from the statue.
Kyle didn't have the keys, but his wand was enough.
He extended his wand-holding hand, and the hippocampus beneath him suddenly became restless, swaying a few times... It seemed to recognize the wand and wanted to escape.
Kyle quickly reassured it, "Don't worry... It's okay..."
Although the hippocampus was still a bit uneasy, it had calmed down considerably.
Kyle raised his hand once more.
"Unseen Blade Spell."
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As if an invisible gust of wind had sliced through the lake water and then cut through the three large round locks, splitting them in half.
Kyle carried Cona onto the hippocampus and then used the same method to rescue Gabrielle.
Well, that's it...
Kyle turned to look behind him. A large group of mermaids with spears charged towards him, and he patted the hippocampus's neck.
...
On the viewing platform by the Black Lake, everyone was grumbling softly.
An hour ago, they had been excited, thinking they would witness an exciting competition. Instead, they ended up standing by the Black Lake, enduring the cold wind for an hour without seeing anything.
"Who came up with this second task anyway..." Fred pulled at the flag's strings, muttering, "It's either the Forbidden Forest or the lake bottom; we can't see anything here."
"Can't Dumbledore remove the Great Hall's ceiling and bring it here?"
George couldn't help but say, "That ceiling is enchanted to display the weather outside. It should be able to show the situation in the Black Lake, right?"
"That's right. The headmaster is so stingy." Fred sighed, "I really want to know how Kyle is doing now."
"It won't be long." Cedric glanced at the time, "There are only a few minutes left in the hour. I believe in Kyle; he can definitely complete the task within an hour."
"I believe in him too, but..."
George's words were cut short as he suddenly fell silent, rubbing his eyes and looking incredulously towards the lake.
Merlin, he seemed to see a horse rushing out of the Black Lake, but this was the Black Lake, not the grounds outside the Forbidden Forest...
Even more bizarre was that Kyle was sitting on the horse's back, like a majestic knight, leaping onto the lake's surface.
This... George felt his brain wasn't quite up to the task, but he reflexively clapped along with the people around him.
"They're hippocampi!" Cedric shouted beside him, "Their speed in the water is as fast as a flying broomstick. I never imagined there would be such a magical creature in the Black Lake."
The viewing platform erupted in cheers, people stood up, shouting and cheering, and even the judges were clapping, although it was unclear if one of them was genuinely enthusiastic. But at least he clapped.
On the other side, as soon as Kyle left the lake, Cona, who had not fainted, woke up. In the bright sunlight, she blinked a few times.
"I knew you could do it," she said, looking at Kyle.
"I admit you have good judgment," Kyle said with a smile, "and we're the first ones out."
Cona also smiled, but soon she thought of something and hurriedly asked, "What about Fengrong? Has Gabrielle been rescued? She's still so young; the professors really shouldn't have arranged for her to go into the lake."
"I don't know where Fengrong is, but Gabrielle is fine..." Kyle turned his body, letting Cona see Gabrielle lying on the hippocampus's back.
The little girl had also woken up. She coughed up a mouthful of lake water and looked around in a daze, clearly not understanding what had happened.
At this moment, Cona also noticed something amiss. She seemed to be sitting on a large clump of moving seaweed.
"What's this?"
"It's a hippocampus I rescued from the Black Lake," Kyle explained. "As a reward, it's willing to carry us for a while."
...
(End of Chapter)
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