Viktor Krum stood at the edge of the bamboo forest and raised his wand decisively.
"Reducto!"
A dazzling spell shot out like a bullet, striking precisely at the Chinese Fireball's shoulder, where scarlet scales covered the joint.
The spell hit the scales and burst into a shower of sparks. Although it failed to break through the dragon's defences completely, the obvious pain made it let out an angry hiss.
And that was only the beginning.
Krum moved quickly, constantly changing position so that he would not become an easy target for the fireballs, while continuing to wave his wand.
"Diffindo!"
"Bombarda!"
"Impedimenta!"
Beams of spell-light in various colours flew out like a sudden storm, striking towards the dragon's head, eyes, wing joints, and other relatively vulnerable areas.
His casting speed was extremely fast, and his aim was astonishingly precise. Every spell had a clear purpose: to enrage the dragon, harass it, and force it to leave the safety of its nest.
"My goodness! Champion Krum has chosen a frontal assault!"
Ludo Bagman's voice was filled with admiration. "Amazing casting speed! Incredible precision! It seems Krum isn't only outstanding on the Quidditch Pitch, he's also an excellent duellist!"
The Chinese Fireball was thoroughly enraged by the relentless attacks.
It repeatedly shook its head and spat fireballs, fury blazing in its emerald-green eyes.
Soon, however, it was no longer satisfied with attacking from a distance. The tiny creature's constant provocation had finally pushed it too far.
"Sss-roar!"
The dragon let out a sharp roar and suddenly reared up from its pebble nest, its powerful hind legs supporting its massive body. With a rush of foul-smelling wind, it lunged directly at the constantly moving Krum.
It had left the nest.
"It's out! Krum has successfully lured the dragon away from its nest!" Bagman shouted.
This was exactly the opportunity Krum had been waiting for.
Facing the charging behemoth, he displayed excellent composure and reaction speed.
With a nimble sidestep, he narrowly avoided the sweep of the dragon's claw, while his wand never paused for even a moment.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two swift grey beams of light shot out like a snake's tongue, heading straight for the dragon's emerald-green eyes.
"ROAR!"
The Chinese Fireball let out the most agonised shriek heard since the competition began.
It thrashed its head violently, its massive body trembling from the intense pain. It quickly lost its balance and crashed heavily to the ground, crushing a large section of lush bamboo beneath it.
Both of its eyes had been struck precisely by Krum's Conjunctivitis Curse, instantly blinding it. It could do nothing but writhe and roar in pain.
The opportunity had arrived.
Krum did not hesitate for even a second. Without sparing another glance at the struggling dragon, he shot forward like a bolt of black lightning, rushing straight towards the nest at full speed.
His target was perfectly clear: the gleaming golden egg.
He crossed the distance in only a few strides, bent down, and snatched the heavy golden egg from among the dark red, spotted dragon eggs, holding it firmly in his arms.
The entire sequence was smooth and efficient, without the slightest wasted movement.
Only then did the arena's protective magic activate. The still-writhing Chinese Fireball, along with the dense bamboo forest surrounding it, began to slowly disappear.
Krum stood in the centre of the restored arena, his gloomy face still expressionless.
He had successfully obtained the golden egg through a precise and efficient frontal assault.
"He succeeded! Viktor Krum! He's done it!"
Ludo Bagman's voice echoed throughout the arena. "A clean and decisive frontal assault! Unparalleled spell precision! And that cunning, ruthless Conjunctivitis Curse! He executed his plan perfectly, luring the dragon out of its nest, blinding it, and ultimately obtaining the golden egg! Simple and direct. This is the strength of a world-class star!"
The Durmstrang contingent erupted into thunderous cheers, as though sweeping away all the gloom left by their first champion's failure.
"A brilliant performance! Now, judges, please score Champion Viktor Krum!"
Karkaroff impatiently raised his scorecard with an exaggerated flourish.
10 points.
His face nearly glowing with pride, he loudly proclaimed, "Perfect! Impeccable! Precise, powerful, decisive, composed! This is the true bearing of a champion! The pride of Durmstrang!"
Such blatant double standards made many spectators frown.
Professor Dumbledore calmly raised his card.
8 points.
A fair score.
Madame Maxime nodded slightly and gave 7 points.
The Ilvermorny judge also awarded 7 points.
The other Headmasters, including the representatives from Uagadou and Kunlun Magic School, mostly gave scores between 7 and 8.
Krum's performance had indeed been excellent, but the universally high scores Karkaroff had clearly expected did not appear.
On the contrary, two Headmasters gave noticeably low marks.
Headmaster Oliveira of Castelobruxo gave a cold snort and slowly raised a 4-point card.
Under Karkaroff's instantly darkening gaze, he said unhurriedly, "Too aggressive, and lacking respect or compassion for magical creatures. Deliberately blinding the dragon was hardly an honourable method. Compared with a certain 'opportunistic' champion earlier, this is merely another form of 'opportunism'. One used vines, the other used a Conjunctivitis Curse."
He had neatly thrown Karkaroff's earlier criticism of Diego straight back at him.
What made Karkaroff's blood pressure rise even further was that the veiled Black Headmistress from Uagadou awarded only 3 points.
She did not even look at Karkaroff, merely saying calmly, "Uagadou does not advocate methods of combat that rely purely on harming an opponent to achieve one's goal."
"You!"
Karkaroff abruptly rose from his seat, his face flushed red and his fingers trembling with anger.
He pointed at Headmaster Oliveira and the Uagadou Headmistress.
"This is prejudice! Krum's performance was far superior to those champions of yours who rely on petty tricks!"
Headmaster Oliveira waved a hand dismissively and scoffed. "Igor, every judge has the right to give whatever score they believe appropriate. Just as you exercise that right, so do we."
The Uagadou Headmistress merely gave Karkaroff a cold glance and said nothing.
"Everyone! Please calm down!"
Already accustomed to mediating such disputes, Ludo Bagman once again stepped in as peacemaker.
"Differences in scoring are perfectly normal! In fact, they reflect the very purpose of this tournament, which is to embrace different magical philosophies! Let us respect every judge's decision!"
Professor Dumbledore also spoke at the right moment.
"Igor, please sit down. The competition is not over yet. Let us not allow personal preferences to interfere with the fairness and harmony of the event."
Under Dumbledore's intervention and the gaze of the entire arena, Karkaroff could only drop heavily back into his chair, his face ashen with anger.
He glared fiercely at the Headmasters who had given low scores, especially Oliveira, but ultimately said nothing more.
In the end, although Karkaroff had awarded a perfect score, the deliberately low marks from several other Headmasters balanced it out.
Krum's final score was still high, but it did not give him the overwhelming advantage Karkaroff had hoped for.
Sagres found the situation somewhat amusing.
Karkaroff was truly short-sighted and foolish. Even if he wanted to suppress the other contestants through such underhanded methods, he should at least have chosen his targets more carefully.
For example, he should have focused on someone good-natured like Dumbledore, who would not retaliate, instead of provoking someone as stubborn and vindictive as Alfonso Oliveira.
Krum himself, however, did not seem to care.
Holding the golden egg, he glanced towards the Gryffindor stands before silently leaving the arena amid the cheers of the Durmstrang students.
The commotion at the judges' table had nothing to do with him.
His task was finished.
"All right... all right!" Bagman quickly announced. "Let's continue! Our next champion is ready to enter. From Kunlun Magic School, Jing Xue!"
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