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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 305: BloodFang
"Wow! They have a coliseum down here?" Daphne stared in awe at the magnificent structure.
"I'm sure they have much more hidden in these tunnels. I really need to write an article about this," Xeno was taking mental notes.
"I'm not sure that would be a good idea, my friend…" Dumbledore added.
"What you see here," spoke the General, " Is just a small arena meant for trials. We have a much bigger one for the tournaments."
"I didn't expect to have an audience," Dumbledore glanced at the goblins sitting around the stone platform.
There were at least two dozen of them, watching attentively from the stone benches that surrounded the arena.
The Commander gave the goblins a glare of disapproval.
"This matter should not have reached the ears of the public. But word gets around quickly. I'm sure many are here to see what kind of human dares to challenge a goblin to a martial battle."
They moved to one side of the arena. Once inside, it was not too different from the one at the Ministry of Magic.
It was a rectangular stone platform that had been raised a few feet off the ground with one entrance on each side.
All around it were places for the audience to watch, as well as some extra-large doors covered with metallic fences situated below them.
The decorations were undoubtedly superior, and the intricate carvings on the stones were a clear showcase of goblin artisanal skills.
On the other side of the fighting arena, they spotted the judge, Bluefang. Next to him was a large goblin, fully clad in dark metal armor with a helmet that completely hid his face.
"I assume that is my opponent?" Harry asked.
Commander SilverAxe nodded. "Indeed…that is BloodFang," he said with a solemn tone.
"You seemed very upset when the judge mentioned that name before. Why is that?" Daphne decided to ask.
"Of course I was. You wouldn't know about him…but Captain BloodFang is one of our best warriors. He has also been the Coliseum Champion for the past five years in a row. There aren't many who would dare to cross blades with him. He is known for his cruelty and incredible thirst for blood. Judge Bluefang has been excessive in his choice of a champion for this trial…to fight a human child," he glanced at Harry.
"No offense." He added.
"Well see about that..." Harry returned the stare.
BloodFang stepped into the arena platform, and they could now see him much better.
He was certainly much bigger than the average goblin, almost reaching the height of a human.
His body was also incredibly thick. His bulging muscles could be seen in between the gaps of his armor.
He looked very impressive and intimidating as he turned to glare at his opponent.
BloodFang pulled out his sword and pointed it at Harry.
"The human who wants to die…step up here! I don't have all day!"
His sword was very crude-looking. It had a single-edged thick blade shaped more like a cleaver than a sword.
On his left arm, he held a circular metallic shield with intricate carvings on it.
All of his equipment seemed to have been crafted with goblin steel, and all of it was heavily enchanted, as the glowing runes indicated.
"How scary…" Harry said.
"And am I supposed to face my opponent while still chained and unarmed? Does your champion require a handicap, perhaps?"
"What did you say?!" BloodFang shouted.
The Commander gave a sign to one of his men, and this one removed Harry's restraints.
"Over there…" SilverAxe pointed to one side of the arena.
"You will find weapons and armor. Take what you need." He didn't believe this was going to be a long fight, but to send him in unarmed would be a stain on his honor.
"Then…" Harry gave Dumbledore, Daphne, and Xeno a quick look before turning around.
"I'll be back in a moment."
This earned him a few grunts and huffs from the upset goblins who were watching the human group.
"We'll be here," said Xeno.
"Don't take things too far…" Daphne added.
Most of the goblins in the arena thought that this wizard had lost his sanity for even requesting a trial by combat, and even more so after the fact that he did not try to run away from the challenge after learning who his opponent was.
Harry ignored the stares and walked to the shelves containing the armament.
He never had any intention of wearing any goblin armor, even if there was something there that could fit him.
His eyes moved to the weapons. There was a good variety of them. Short swords, long swords, hammers, axes, spears…
But even he could easily tell that these were just normal weapons, made with regular steel and without a single rune carved into them.
One could find weapons such as these in any Muggle shop that sold medieval-style blades. There was nothing special about them. And the armors were much the same.
Compared to that, the equipment worn by BloodFang could be considered priceless magical artifacts.
Harry shrugged and picked up a long sword. These kinds of things did not have much importance to him. It also didn't really matter what weapon he chose, as none of them would be able to pierce that goblin steel-enchanted armor.
With his sword in hand, he jumped on top of the rectangular platform, ready to face his opponent.
BloodFang laughed when he saw him like this.
"Oh, this is going to be quick!"
Harry's eyes became sharp for a moment.
"Yes…I think so too."
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