Chapter 974 Dark Horse
The suburbs were eerily quiet at night, as if everything had fallen into silence, and even the houses on both sides of the street had turned off their lights.
However, some figures could be vaguely seen walking along the road.
As long as you take a closer look, you will find that they are actually several Spanish policemen. If an unsuspecting Muggle passed by, they would think something happened here.
However, the wooden sticks in the hands of this group of "policemen" have revealed their identities.
Employees of the Spanish Ministry of Magic are performing the task of patrolling the building. Although the barrier to expel Muggles has been released around them, possible accidents cannot be avoided.
As soon as Albert apparated to the open space near the stadium, he saw someone walking towards him. He was a male employee of the Spanish Ministry of Magic. The person came to him to register his identity.
After he directly identified himself as a player and took out his player ID, the wizard said formally: "Contestants, please go to entrance No. 9. From there, go to the player waiting hall. There are special registration personnel at the entrance."
Albert walked in the direction pointed by the wizard, and soon saw a "road sign" written in many languages, telling the players where the No. 9 entrance passage was.
As soon as we arrived at the entrance, we were greeted by a loud noise.
There is a table at the entrance. There is a lottery-like box on the table. There are four grids next to the box, which are also marked 1, 2, 3, and 4. The waiting room is divided into 4 areas according to the players.
The wizard took out a card from the box with the number 1 on it, then threw it into the box again, motioning for Albert to draw it himself.
Albert randomly took a card from the box with the mark "3" on it. The card was placed in area 3, and Albert was signaled to go to area 3.
The area inside the passage is very large. There are about two or three Hogwarts halls. It is divided into four areas. There are many small round tables in each area, a bit like a coffee shop.
In fact, you can actually order drinks here, but they are not free.
As soon as he arrived in District 3, Albert saw several Aurors maintaining order, wearing very serious robes, a bit like civil servants.
The existence of these guys should be of greater significance as deterrence.
He didn't think that if turmoil broke out here, these Aurors would be able to maintain order!
Before entering the third area, you need to draw again, this time in the order of entry.
The Spanish Ministry of Magic obviously has a lot of experience in organizing dueling competitions, and the entire competition process was properly arranged without any confusion.
Albert glanced at the round number in his hand. The number on it was: 17.
After putting the number plate into his pocket, he found an empty seat and sat down. Many people around him cast curious glances at him, obviously surprised at Albert's youth.
Of course, no one really takes him seriously. Young wizards like Albert are the favorite opponents of other contestants because they can advance easily.
Albert took out a chocolate-flavored toffee from his pocket and threw it into his mouth, chewing it slowly. According to Bud, only in the top 16 will the competition test the players whether they have taken Fuling Elixir or not. Cheating by other means.
Well, the test method is also very simple, which is to drink a little bit of diluted Veritaserum under the watchful eyes of the referees.
Then, someone will ask you if you cheated.
As for cheating in the previous knockout rounds, it actually doesn’t matter.
Also, don’t think that others won’t notice it after drinking the elixir.
If you jump up and down during the game, you will easily be suspected of taking Felixir.
In the end, he was pulled for testing. Once he was found to have taken Felixir, he would be banned from participating in the International Wizarding Duel Competition, and he may also be permanently banned from participating in other competitions.
Time passed little by little, and after midnight, countless fireworks exploded over the stadium, kicking off the International Wizarding Duel Competition.
The players also entered the field in order. The space of the football field is large enough to accommodate four games at the same time. The top 16 players in each district will be quickly selected tonight.
Albert waited in Area 3 for a quarter of an hour before it was his turn to play.
His opponent is a brown-haired middle-aged wizard.
Albert didn't pay attention, smiled at the opponent, and took the lead through the passage and entered the arena.
The original lawn of the football field has completely disappeared, replaced by a dueling stage made of marble. The stage is not very large, but it is enough for people to move around. The rest of the duel stages are far apart to ensure that other players are not affected during the duel.
The referee is a middle-aged wizard with a pointed hat and a blue flag in his hand, not far from the stage.
After the two players entered the stage, the referee briefly explained the rules to them and asked the two players to take their places on the stage.
After Albert took the stage, his young and handsome appearance quickly attracted a lot of attention. Especially after Fengya Wizard Clothing Store published a photo of him wearing a fire dragon suit, even more people got to know Albert.
Which girl doesn’t like handsome and powerful men?
Of course, Albert didn't care about this. He focused all his attention on the opponent in front of him, raised his wand in front of his chest like a sword, bowed slightly towards the opponent, and then listened to the referee's countdown.
“Three, two, one…start!”
The two men raised their wands at the same time, preparing to use magic on each other, but Albert's movements were obviously faster than the middle-aged wizard.
At least, Albert did not recite a spell. Almost as soon as he raised his wand, the spell flew directly towards his opponent.
The middle-aged wizard was startled by Albert's quick spell. He gave up on the black magic he was half-reading and raised his wand to block the incoming red light.
However, Albert did not give his opponent time to react. The second spell had already followed. Caught off guard, the wizard was directly knocked away by a huge force. The third spell hit him again and fell to the ground. The target directly disarmed the opponent's wand.
I have to say that Professor Flitwick's "three-axe" is still very effective.
The opponent is disqualified from the competition after losing the wand in his hand.
“You lose,” Albert said in German.
The middle-aged wizard struggled to get up from the ground and looked at Albert in astonishment. He originally thought that his opponent was a soft persimmon, but in the end he encountered a tough opponent, and this guy actually knew German. When he spoke earlier, this guy could clearly understand him, and he was still smiling there.
"It's definitely intentional. He's such an insidious guy." The middle-aged wizard was very depressed. He couldn't understand why the guy in front of him was casting spells so fast. Of course he could do silent spells, but...that kind of speed of casting spells, that kind of magic... The power of the curse was not something he could master at his age. It was almost like cheating.
That’s right, it’s cheating.
That guy must have taken a magical elixir!
Absolutely.
When the referee raised the flag and was about to declare Albert the winner, the middle-aged wizard came directly to the referee to protest against his opponent's suspected use of Felixir.
Albert looked at the wizard in front of him with a strange expression, turned his head and asked the referee: "Do you need to check it?"
"No, I know you. I saw you win the championship with my own eyes last year. Work hard this time." After the referee finished speaking, he glanced at the guy in front of him who couldn't afford to lose and said, "I don't want to lose." I think there is a problem, he has the strength.”
After hearing this, the expression on the middle-aged wizard's face suddenly froze.
“It seems that someone has objections to the result of the game.”
The young wizard who was responsible for commentating on the duel competition loudly said, "Let's listen to what our referee said."
"That young gentleman won the gold medal for spell casting last year. I remember that the news of his award was published in the newspaper." The referee said calmly, "I don't think he showed extraordinary dueling skills. It's a slur to think he might have cheated."
“Okay, okay, maybe we have met a dark horse, let’s wait and see where this young player can go!”
“He seems to be very famous?”
Katrina listened to the people around her discussing Albert's affairs, and turned to look at Isobel, who was not very happy, "What's wrong? You don't seem to be very happy?"
“This is not good news.” Isobel shook his head.
Albert has been targeted by mysterious people and Death Eaters. Being famous also means being too ostentatious and easily causing unnecessary trouble.
If the newspaper publishes the news that Albert is coming to participate in the International Wizarding Duel Competition, God knows what big trouble will be waiting for him.
(End of this chapter)