Watching the Hungarian Horntail plummet into the lava below, Cedric began to somewhat understand why Link had earlier been so confident when he said he would be Hogwarts' champion.
"This guy Link… he's way too strong, isn't he?"
In a daze, Cedric muttered blankly. He even felt that Link really had no need to keep studying at Hogwarts anymore.
Because the power Link possessed had already far surpassed all the students of Hogwarts.
And his voice was not small.
Yet at this moment, only he could hear it.
Because John and the other Hufflepuffs around him had already fallen into a state of madness, breaking into hysterical shouts.
"Link!"
"Link!!"
"Link!!!"
Gradually, this frenzied state spread to the stands of the other areas.
In the end, all four houses of students were shouting Link's name.
As for Link, at this moment, he had already returned to that initial leisurely confidence that was close to arrogance.
He stepped along the charred body of the Hungarian Horntail until he reached the dragon's nest, yet he didn't rush to pick up the golden egg. Instead, he made a quieting gesture toward the spectators who were still shouting loudly.
Not just Hogwarts, thousands of spectators from all three schools present, and even the commentators Bagman and Dumbledore at the judges' table, all couldn't help but hold their breath.
In the silence, Link raised the golden egg high, "Hogwarts!"
The roar echoed across the vast arena.
"Ah!"
"Hogwarts! Hogwarts! Hogwarts!"
The mountain-and-sea-like cheer erupted once again.
Judging just by momentum, it was even greater than before.
Within Hogwarts, there were many people who had only a distant relationship with Link, even those who disliked him were not few.
But in this very moment, under the infection of Link's powerful personal charisma, under the atmosphere of the scene.
All the Hogwarts students present stood up excitedly, roaring with all their strength.
"Smart, handsome, strong, the definition of perfect, there actually exists such an outstanding person in this world!"
At the judges' table, Madam Maxime sighed.
At this time, her gaze at Link was almost blank.
Because truthfully, Link really did fit the image of the husband she had fantasized about in her teenage years.
No.
It should be said, not only her, but for all the women present, Link could be counted as the most perfect partner in fantasy.
However, when Maxime's gaze inadvertently swept across the Beauxbatons students at the edge of the stands, who were also shouting along, that little bit of expectation and fantasy in her heart instantly turned into bitterness.
She really regretted it now.
If only she had known earlier that Link was such a gifted child, she would have agreed back then to Madame Flamel's request to send Link to study at Beauxbatons.
That way, the ones shouting here in unison would have been Beauxbatons.
But unfortunately, whether in the Muggle world or the wizarding world, there is absolutely no regret medicine to take.
'No!'
'Wait, that's not right!'
'Maybe there really is regret medicine one can take!'
A brilliant light flashed in Madam Maxime's eyes, and her gaze quickly fell upon the small figure of Gabrielle.
She remembered very clearly that the Delacour sisters had a fairly good relationship with Link, and they themselves had very good conditions.
So, couldn't they perhaps use the bonds of love to coax Link into Beauxbatons?
Once this thought appeared, Madam Maxime's breathing grew somewhat rapid.
She felt this plan was completely feasible.
At worst, just give both the Delacour sisters to Link.
Anyway, most likely those two sisters would also be willing in their hearts.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore, sitting at the same table as Maxime, hadn't yet realized that someone was plotting to steal his treasure.
At this moment, all of his attention was focused on Link.
He also strongly agreed with what Madam Maxime had just said.
Link Flamel truly was that kind of once-in-a-century perfect genius.
By comparison, that Harry Potter whom he had also been fully nurturing was far inferior.
Although Link was perhaps a bit too clever.
And a bit petty.
Often forcing him due to his own interests and small grudges.
But after watching Link's performance today, Dumbledore really had a desire to reset his plans and make Link the core instead.
After all, the strong are always entitled to preferential treatment.
And that powerful, handsome, roguish look Link now had was really very much like that figure who often appeared in Dumbledore's dreams.
This inexplicably increased Dumbledore's goodwill toward Link.
The cheers above the arena lasted for a long time without fading.
Commentator Bagman, stirred up by his excitement, even forgot to announce the end of the match.
But the dragon keepers could wait no longer.
One by one, they rushed madly onto the field to check on the Hungarian Horntail's condition.
This dragon was an important asset of their dragon farm.
The economic value it could generate was equivalent to a small trading firm.
If it really died here, regardless of whether the British Ministry of Magic compensated the farm's loss, at the very least all these accompanying dragon keepers would likely lose their jobs.
Fortunately, the vitality of the Hungarian Horntail was truly terrifying.
Even after suffering such heavy damage, it still hadn't died, hanging onto one last breath.
This made the dragon keepers all sigh in relief.
Link ignored the mixture of hatred and awe in the dragon keepers' gazes.
Holding the golden egg, he was about to head out of the arena.
This time, he had already perfectly displayed his terrifying power.
With that, perhaps the hidden mastermind in the shadows would restrain themselves somewhat?
Just as Link was pondering, however, a purple-black overlay suddenly appeared on his retina.
[Temporary Emergency Mission: Glory and Release]
[Mission Requirement: Kill that Hungarian Horntail!]
[Mission Reward: Title, Dragon-Slaying Warrior, Free Skill Point *1]
Link was a little stunned.
Because this was the first time his system had ever suddenly given him such an outrageous mission.
Outrageous here referred to the mission's difficulty and reward.
Killing the Hungarian Horntail was practically effortless for Link at his current level.
Yet the system not only gave him a free skill point, but also, for the first time, gave a title reward.
This made Link feel very conflicted.
He really wanted the reward, but the Hungarian Horntail was already so pitiful.
Link felt some pity in his heart.
While hesitating, he turned his head to look once more.
And this glance happened to meet the pair of orange-yellow vertical pupils of the Hungarian Horntail.
At this time, the Horntail was receiving the dragon keepers' diligent treatment.
With the help of potions, Link estimated it would soon be out of life-threatening danger.
But in the Horntail's eyes at this moment, there was no longer ferocity and hatred, only a deep sadness.
As if noticing Link's gaze, a hoarse roar came from the Horntail's throat.
The emotions within its eyes turned into pleading.
It was begging Link to grant it the honor of dying in battle.
It was begging Link to help it be released from this endless enslavement and exploitation.
It was begging Link to kill it.
This was the message Link read in its eyes through Legilimency.
"…Is that so? I understand."
After a long silence, Link muttered to himself.
In the Horntail's eyes suddenly flashed a trace of joy. With its last strength, it flung aside the surrounding keepers and charged toward Link.
Magic surged violently at the tip of Link's wand, so dense and fierce that it whipped up a whirlwind across the arena.
"Sectumsempra!"
A brilliant blade dozens of meters long was swung out.
It pierced straight through the Horntail's neck without pause, then shot skyward, splitting apart a passing white cloud above the arena.
Thud!
The corpse fell to the ground.
The expected spray of blood did not appear at the severed neck.
Its blood had long since drained dry.
Only that pair of vertical pupils, already devoid of light, still stared fixedly at Link, with faint remnants of gratitude within.
[Mission Complete!]
[Title Gained: Dragon-Slaying Warrior]
[Free Skill Point *1 Obtained]
[Title: Dragon-Slaying Warrior, As the warrior who slew the king of the Hungarian Horntails, fire dragons are extremely likely to be intimidated by your might!]
The title took effect automatically once obtained.
Along with the slow spread of an invisible aura, the few fire dragons that had still been roaring outside the arena instantly fell silent, each burying its head into the ground like ostriches, trembling all over.
This astonishing effect, had it been in the past, would surely have made Link laugh in pride.
But right now, he couldn't feel happy at all, only burying his head and walking out.
That gaze of the Horntail, begging wholeheartedly for death, had shocked him deeply.
Just what kind of torment had it suffered at the dragon farm, that it would abandon even the desire to live?
Link didn't know, but it didn't stop his mood from turning very heavy.
"Hey! You brat, you can't just leave!"
A thick-browed dragon keeper hurriedly chased after Link.
He was truly furious.
He reached out to grab Link's shoulder.
But just as his hand extended, he was glared back by Link's killing-intent-filled eyes.
At that moment, the dragon keeper suddenly remembered.
The boy standing before him was the one who had just slain a fire dragon alone.
If that person wanted to kill him…
Wouldn't it be all too easy?
"This fire dragon was bought by our Flamel family and the Victoria family! You'd better scram!"
At some point, Emily had already arrived at Link's side.
After speaking, she completely ignored the sweating dragon keeper, and supported Link out of the arena.
"Link! Are you alright?" she asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just not in a very good mood."
Link glanced again at the group of dragon keepers and said, "Those guys are really annoying!"
As one of Link's closest companions, Emily naturally knew what was truly bothering him at this moment.
She patted his back gently to comfort him, "Don't be angry. Both our families deal in magical creatures, you should know very well just how cruel those dragon keepers really are behind their righteous fronts! Getting upset over this kind of trash isn't worth it!"
Link didn't reply, but began to take deep breaths, adjusting his emotions.
At this time, John, Cedric, and the others rushed down from the stands.
Excitedly, they surrounded Link, cheering and shouting with all their might.
Words alone couldn't describe their excitement in this moment.
If not for Link's strong opposition, they probably would already have been tossing him into the air in celebration.
"Link! You're the best! No one can compare to you!"
John shouted right into Link's ear, only that way ensuring Link could hear him in the surrounding roar, "Harry Potter used the Summoning Charm to call his Firebolt and relied on mobility to grab the golden egg! But he also got a bit injured!"
"That girl called Fleur used some strange magic, trying to put the dragon to sleep! In fact, she did succeed! But unfortunately, while she was stealing the egg, the dragon snored, and the flame from its nostrils set her skirt on fire, making her quite embarrassed!"
"As for Krum, he was probably second only to you! He used the Conjunctivitis Curse to blind the dragon's eyes and successfully got the golden egg!"
"Not to say their performances weren't decent, but you were the strongest!"
"You actually slaughtered the fire dragon directly!"
By the end, John's voice was cracking.
Unfortunately, the noise all around was simply too loud, and with his enhanced hearing spell shut off, Link couldn't hear clearly what John was saying, he could only nod perfunctorily.
"…And next, let's have our judges give scores to Hogwarts' champion, Link Flamel!"
At the commentary table, Bagman said breathlessly.
All his earlier roaring had already made his voice somewhat hoarse.
But after he finished speaking, the previously noisy spectators finally quieted, focusing their attention on Dumbledore and the other judges.
The first judge, Madam Maxime.
She raised her wand high, and a ribbon of silver light shot from its tip, forming the number 10 in the air.
Ten points.
Full marks.
"This is only natural!" John said proudly, chest out.
At that moment, he looked even more proud than Link himself.
Next were Dumbledore, Bagman, old Barty, and Karkaroff.
They didn't do any flashy tricks like Maxime, but instead simply used their wands to conjure flaming numbers.
As for the scores, all were tens.
Applause and cheers once again filled the arena.
Cedric clearly sighed in relief, and loudly said to Link, "That guy Karkaroff actually gave you full marks, now that's rare! You know, for all the previous champions except Krum, he gave especially low scores! Everyone already knows he's biased toward his own student!"
"But your performance was just too amazing! Giving you full marks was normal! After all, if in this situation he still gave you low marks, then he'd really have no shame left!"
Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, taking it as the most natural thing.
Only Link frowned.
Because he knew very well that someone like Karkaroff didn't care one bit about shame.
As long as it was within the rules, he would give as low a score as possible, regardless of performance.
Yet now Karkaroff, unusually, had given such a high score.
Link instinctively guessed there was another reason behind this.
Was it that Madam Flamel and Snape had pressured Karkaroff beforehand?
Or was Karkaroff secretly plotting some other scheme?
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