Chapter 320: Hungarian Horntail and the Contract Transfer

Chapter 320: Hungarian Horntail and the Contract Transfer

"The Hungarian Horntail Reserve doesn't always offer a view of Hungarian Horntails. They have a strong sense of territory," Charlie explained. "But we do bring injured Horntails back to the camp for treatment."

Felix followed him to a fenced area within the camp. There, several Hungarian Horntails were bound by chains and fire-resistant materials. When they saw someone approaching, they restlessly tossed their heads. Among them, a black dragon with a injured leg half-closed its eyes, observing them.

"This is the Hungarian Horntail, highly dangerous. To capture it, we had a team of twelve. Breathing fire is their usual means of attackbest to keep a distance," Charlie said. "I've seen them breathe fire up to forty feet away."

Felix's gaze swept over the black scales of the dragon. It looked like a lizard with bat-like wings attached. Its skull bore sharp ridges, like spears, extending all the way to its tail. Whether it was the bronze horns, the row of spikes on its back, or the hooked and powerful claws, all indicated this creature was not to be trifled with. Even the tips of its wings were sharp hooks.

Among the dragons present, it was the largest, even twice the size of the smallest one. The other dragons held a respectful distance around it.

After observing for a while, Felix inquired, "If all goes well, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament will involve dragons. Do you have any plans?"

Charlie thought for a moment, then said seriously, "We've prepared five dragons, each representing one of the five schools: the Welsh Green, the Norwegian Ridgeback, the Antipodean Opaleye, the Swedish Short-Snout, and the Chinese Fireball."

"Only these five?"

"You're looking for dragons that are nesting mothers, which is hard to find. I don't quite understand why..."

Felix guessed, "Perhaps it's to let the champions steal the mother dragon's eggs?"

Charlie looked somewhat uneasy. "Don't joke about it. They are already dangerous, and nesting mothers are a whole new level of danger. See the scar on my arm? Left by a mother dragon rearing her young."

"We excluded the particularly dangerous Peruvian Vipertooth and a massive Hungarian Horntail. The former has venomous fangs, and the latter is considered the most dangerous dragon."

Felix nodded. "Maybe we just need to pass by the dragons."

As evening neared, Felix and Charlie discussed the details of dragon placement inside a tent. "Hogwarts can clear an area in the Forbidden Forest, and the kitchen can provide food. However, we don't know much about dragon behavior, so we'll need your experts to care for them."

"No problem, that was our plan anyway," Charlie readily agreed. "During transport, we'll assign extra personnel to ensure safe arrival."

"You'll lead the team?"

"I'll do my best. It's a rare event."

"Charlie," a wizard entered the tent, a middle-aged captain whom Felix had seen once before. "I heard the young professor wants to stay a few more days. There's an agreement for him to sign."

Seeing Felix, the captain paused. "You're here too, good. This is for you."

Felix took the parchment, somewhat surprised. "A secrecy contract?"

The Ministry's contract operated on specific keywords. The problem was, he wasn't sure if there were hidden clauses, which introduced significant uncertainty. During the summer break, he'd spent most of his time wandering Nicolas Flamel's hidden library. He didn't want to expose those places. Furthermore, some of his planned trips were sensitive: the black market, Beauxbatons Academy, for instance.

An interesting fact was that, based on his connections, he was closer to Beauxbatons, given that he was a trustee of the school.

For safety's sake, he decided to transfer the contract. He had considered using just any deer or rabbit as a substitute, but that would pose an issue. What if the rabbit got eaten? His status in the Ministry would then be marked as deceased.

Fortunately, the dragon reserve had no shortage of dragons. This particularly fierce Hungarian Horntail was his chosen target.

The dragon was futilely attacking, breathing fire, swiping its claws, thrashing its tail, biting. But Felix kept recovering in the next second, methodically checking. In just a few minutes, Felix had endured hundreds of fatal attacks.

Eventually, the vicious Hungarian Horntail panted, looking at him without options. It was utterly helpless. Dejectedly, it lowered its head, slumping onto the ground, hot puffs of air emanating from its nostrils.

"Excuse me, just turn around." Felix told it.

The Hungarian Horntail stared at him with its vertical yellow pupils for a good while, then slowly exposed its belly. As it turned, its eyes seemed to blur, as if its sight experienced a subtle shift. But the awful and persistent wizard was still there, prodding it with his wand, urging it to hurry.

Then, Felix followed the path of opened black scales on the dragon's body, walking up to its back and standing there.

"The scales beneath its neck are quite good, and the magical radiance is strong enough."

...

Charlie emerged from his tent, unable to find Felix. Subconsciously, he went to the back of the camp and was taken aback by the scene before him. The fierce Hungarian Horntail lazily opened its mouth, emitting a thin trail of flames.

"Don't be hasty, needs another layer of oil." Felix patted its reaching mouth, flipping the meat on the grill, "I have a secret sauce. Want some?"

The Hungarian Horntail nodded eagerly.

Thank you for reading this far! You can access more chapters from HERE by joining my Patreon community. You'll gain exclusive early access to the COMPLETE NOVEL.

As a member of my Patreon community, here is what you'll get:

For $5

Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public. You also get access to all the novels I'm translating, you can find them here HERE.Your name will be featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".The power to vote on which novel I translate next.You Get Ad-free Chapters.

For $10

You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.You get access to Digital art.Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in gold).

For $20

You get to recommend a Novel and I will immediately start translating it.Your name featured on the "Wall of Gratitude" (in blue).

Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!