Ivan's plan was for the previous aerial battle to last longer and be more exciting, rather than for Norbert to fall out of the sky and crash to the ground with a wave of his wand.
Because it was too fake!
While Ivan was thinking about this, Norbert was trying very hard to remember what to do next.
Although Ivan's explosive magic did not directly harm it, the aftermath of the explosion still stunned it.
The two parties stood there for a full minute, and the speechless Ivan could only lower his voice and remind them.
"Tails… whip with your tails!"
With Ivan's repeated warnings, Norbert finally made his move. He extended his body and let out a furious roar. His long tail whipped rapidly towards his opponent, leaving afterimages in the air. The ear-piercing sonic boom was audible even to the spectators.
The sudden outbreak of battle tugged at everyone's heartstrings again. Everyone's eyes widened, and their emotions were extremely tense. All of them leaned against the railing, curious as to how Ivan would react to an almost unavoidable attack!
Ivan vanished as the dragon's tail swept past him like a whip, reappearing several feet away.
Although Apparition was a very risky spell to cast in battle, it was still a hundred percent successful if one knew the opponent's movements in advance!
"The boulder is coming!"
Ivan's return fire was equally swift. He waved his wand and a two-meter-tall boulder flew past him, sending the giant Norwegian Ridge Dragon staggering.
"What a wonderful Apparition! Oh, and the Flight Charm! Hales's use of the charm was always beyond our expectations. He has successfully suppressed the dragon, and I believe the battle will be decided soon!"
Bagman, acting as the docent, conveyed Ivan's performance in words to ensure that a few spots were not well-placed, and that the young wizards who were blocked could understand what was going on in the paddock.
"I must warn you, however, that it is highly irrational to engage in combat with a dragon in a small, rocky area, and that I would never recommend any wizard imitating it! I repeat, I would never recommend any wizard imitating it!"
Bagman's voice was hoarse from shouting, and he tried to calm himself with a drink of water, but the situation in the paddock became dangerous again.
The Norwegian Ridgeback, which had been suppressed by the spell all this time, completely erupted. A hot dragon breath erupted from its wide-open mouth, and because it was so close, it instantly engulfed Ivan.
"Oh, no, our champion has thoroughly angered the dragon! It's a dragon's breath, get out of the way!" Bagman shouted, but it was too late.
The young wizards present screamed as they watched Ivan being engulfed in the flames.
The sharp-eyed Bagman soon noticed a figure standing out in the heat created by the dragon's breath.
"Hold on … that's great, Hars is fine!"
Hearing this, the young witches and wizards present also looked over.
As Bagman had said, Ivan remained upright in the middle of the inferno.
He raised his wand high in his right hand and shot a beam of light forward, creating a solid shield in the air less than two meters in front of him!
The scorching dragon breath was separated in the middle, and the two seemed to be in an intense competition, constantly wearing each other down.
Ivan forced himself to hold on for a while. When he felt that he had transferred enough emotions, he waved his wand again and began the final performance!
The boulders that had been thrown at Norbert by the incoming curse suddenly melted at an extraordinary speed, transforming into several huge chains that wrapped around Norbert's body.
Roar ~
The powerful Norwegian Ridgeback let out a cry of pain and struggled to get up. The dragon's breath deviated and hit the grass, causing a small fire.
As the crowd watched, the chain tightened, and Norbert began thrashing around in the pile of rocks, trying to roll on the ground.
"What are you doing, Norbert?"
Ivan was frustrated. He knew that Norbert must be having a lot of fun. The giant chains he had conjured up were just for show. It was not easy to chain a dragon, and it would be bad if he accidentally broke free.
So Ivan shouted a warning. "Fly! Norbert, fly to me!"
Now that he had been given the order, Norbert was no longer mad. He spread his wings and charged towards Ivan.
Ivan easily dodged it, then took the opportunity to grab one of the chains and jump onto the dragon's back.
"My God! This is unbelievable! Did you see that? Our champion is riding a dragon!" Bagman cried hoarsely.
Everyone looked up and saw that the Norwegian Ridgeback was still tied up with huge chains. It struggled to circle the paddock several times, and its dragon breath dyed the entire sky red!
Waves of heat swept through the area, and every time Norbert passed by, the young wizards below were so frightened that they screamed and sat on the ground with their heads in their hands, afraid that the flames would burn them.
The others kept their eyes on the blond wizard on the dragon's back. No matter how Norbert tried to perform stunts, Ivan held fast to the end of the chain.
After three rounds, the powerful Norwegian Ridgeback became weaker and weaker, and was finally forced out of the sky.
With his broad dragon wings extended to their fullest extent, Norbert flew like an oversized glider and landed in a relatively respectable position next to the dragon's nest in the middle of the paddock.
Its huge body seemed to be tightly bound by five chains, and it could not move at all. The dragon claw that was holding the golden egg finally loosened…
The golden ball slowly floated across the relatively flat ground before landing inside the dragon's nest.
Ivan leapt from the dragon's back and, to everyone's surprise and admiration, picked up the golden egg and held it aloft…
At that moment, the audience erupted into thunderous applause, and countless young wizards and witches screamed their emotions out.
"Bravo, Hales, our hero!"
"You are a true champion! I love you!"
"Hales the Dragoon!"
… .