The dry, hot air and the sand slapping against his face weren't exactly the most pleasant feelings in the world. Asterion had been flying dozens of meters above the ground for some time, but there wasn't a single living soul in the desert.
The infernal heat distorted the field of vision and created some mirages on the horizon, but they were just that, mirages.
It made Asterion wonder if he was in the World's Largest Hot Desert, the Sahara Desert, with 9.2 million square kilometers. Honestly, if this was the Sahara, finding the Golden Path wouldn't be easy at all. It was no different than looking for a golden beetle in this golden expanse of sand.
Suddenly, Asterion looked in a certain direction and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully; through the cursed spirit he had summoned earlier, he glimpsed a verdant oasis in this golden hell.
Without needing Asterion's command, Ancalagon let out a low trill and changed direction in the air with surprising agility despite the enormous size and weight of the magical beast.
Asterion stroked the dragon's scales and couldn't help but notice that Ancalagon was adorably helpful at times when he didn't need to be, trying to help him with the smallest of details.
Flying for some time, the fifteen-meter-long dragon with huge unfolded wings dived towards the ground. As it was relatively close to the ground, about ten meters high, wherever the dragon flew above, golden sand was thrown everywhere, scattering all around.
Asterion soon spotted the oasis, a paradise in the midst of the hot hell that surrounds the environment with ferocity. Even the air seemed more humid near the country, which was normal given the moisture in the air.
Ancalagon landed on the verdant ground with a thud and lowered his strong chest, he rested his head on the ground while cautiously looking around for any danger.
Asterion unfastened the chain belt from his saddle and jumped off the dragon with a small leap and landed on the ground. He couldn't help but take a deep breath at the smell of the trees and water in the air, a trivial thing he never thought he'd miss, but here he was, feeling relaxed at being surrounded by the green color of nature.
The dragon got up after Asterion's descent and walked slowly with heavy steps towards the lake, where he basked in the fresh, sweet water of the oasis.
Asterion smiled gently when he saw the dragon taking a drink and joined him to cool off. He also took the opportunity and brushed off the sand stuck to his body; having sand on certain parts of his body was a real nuisance.
Suddenly, Asterion's movements stopped, he turned his head and looked towards the south, even without the cursed spirits, he could still feel two different magical energies rapidly approaching his location.
Making a cursed spirit focus in a southerly direction, Asterion was speechless when he saw the beautiful dragon flying through the air and riding on top of it, a beautiful young woman with golden hair and blue eyes.
Without his intervention, Asterion watched the beautiful dragon land in the oasis with a heavy thud and a young girl jump off the dragon and land on the ground without much difficulty.
The dragon was simply beautiful, a work of art made by nature. Its pearly scales seemed to reflect the sun's rays, making the scales practically glow. The dragon's eyes were even more special, they were multicolored even though there were no pupils.
It was an Antipodean Opaleye, considered the most beautiful dragon in the world and the least aggressive of all the dragon breeds.
"I didn't expect to meet you first, Lord Black." Removing her gloves with the help of her teeth, Fleur greeted her rival with a graceful smile on her lips. Her eyes danced over Asterion's abdomen for a moment before focusing on his face as if nothing had happened.
"I must say it's a surprise too, Lady Delacour." Asterion greeted the woman with no intention of attacking, which was true, he had no intention of attacking Fleur. At least, not at the moment.
"I hope my sister isn't being too much trouble." Fleur approached Asterion and commented with obvious amusement in her eyes. It was more than obvious that she knew Gabriele's intentions.
Asterion rolled his eyes, picked up his dark green suit and got dressed again, much to the disappointment of Fleur and the audience watching everything on the big screens in the Quidditch Stadium. "She's lovely, although a little too invasive."
Fleur let out a graceful laugh and replied in an amused tone. "We're quite insistent when we want something."
"Believe me, I've noticed and so has my fiancée." Asterion commented harshly, he wasn't blind to the girl's advances, but apart from appreciating Gabrielle's talent for being a great Foreign Minister, he didn't really have any feelings for the lovely French girl.
Fleur shrugged, knowing about her sister's seduction of an engaged man, then her face showed a serious expression. "I assume you've read the scroll."
Asterion nodded at her words, agreeing.
"It's impossible to find the Golden Path by blindly searching, the Tournament must have placed clues in certain special places in the desert like the oases." Fleur spoke with a calm, cold expression. That's what she thought after seeing the size of the desert and guessing which one it was.
"Yes, that's what I thought too, but how many oases are there in such a large desert?" Asterion sighed a little wearily, he could imagine that even with the artificial oases made by the Muggles, the amount was definitely not great.
Even if the scope of the search had narrowed because of the oases, how could it be possible to find oases in a desert that was bigger than many countries put together?
"All that remains is to wait and investigate this oasis." Fleur said looking around, her eyes stopping for a moment on the huge dragon next to her, black scales with reddish tones at the edges, it looked like a monster capable of terrifying anyone with its appearance alone.
Its huge body made her dragon's body look like a child next to an adult. Fleur had no idea that her dragon would be killed in seconds in an arena fight.
Her beautiful dragon looked like a docile sheep compared to the black and red monster. At the same time, she saw that her dragon seemed attracted to Asterion's dragon and that made her roll her eyes. She hadn't expected her dragon to like big guys.
"Your dragon seduced mine." Fleur said with an exaggerated tone of indignation as if it was Asterion's fault in the first place.
Asterion rolled his eyes, but looked at Ancalagon with satisfaction, like a father seeing his son dating for the first time.
Asterion and Fleur stopped talking and went to investigate the separate oases, both looking for any sign of a clue left by the Tournament. Unfortunately, even after a few hours of searching, nothing was found.
Looking at the sun setting on the horizon and the scorching heat diminishing by the minute, Asterion knew that this search would have to stop for a moment. "Let's stop, it's pointless looking for any clues at night."
Fleur beside him nodded and wiped the sweat running down her face, an exhausted look appearing on her beautiful face.
"I want a shower, I've got sand in certain areas that I never thought I'd have." She spoke in a harsh tone full of annoyance, feeling dirty all over.
Asterion nodded in agreement with her words, a bath really would be a boon right now.
"I'll put a barrier across the lake so that you and I can bathe in privacy." Fleur commented, taking out her wand and turning her wrist. The next moment, darkness descended from the sky and covered the entire lake.
However, if you looked closely at the Barrier, you could see that it was crooked and in many places looked uneven. It didn't even look like a conventional barrier, which was usually oval.
Seeing the barrier, Asterion raised an eyebrow and couldn't help noticing how bad Fleur's skills were.
Perhaps noticing Asterion's strange looks, Fleur smiled and spoke in a simple tone: "I'm terrible at barriers, but that's normal, nobody's perfect. Being human means being naturally flawed."
Patriarch Black nodded in agreement with Fleur's words, he himself could dissect a body so cleanly and without errors that it would frighten even the most experienced of doctors. At the same time, he was terrible at potions, no matter how hard he tried, potion recipes seemed like ancient gospel from the olden days.
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Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 200 - Dragon Race (6), Chapter 201 - Dragon Race (7), Chapter 202 - Dragon Race (8), Chapter 203 - Golden Path (1), Chapter 204 - Golden Path (2), Chapter 205 - Golden Path (3), Chapter 206 - Battle in Desert City (1), Chapter 207 - Battle in Desert City (2), Chapter 208 - On the Night of the Storm (1), Chapter 209 - On the Night of the Storm (2), Chapter 210 - On the Night of the Storm (3), Chapter 211 - On the Night of the Storm (4), Chapter 212 - On the Night of the Storm (5), Chapter 213 -At the Highest Point of Heaven (END Dragon Race), Chapter 214 - The Spark of Chaos (1), Chapter 215 - The Spark of Chaos (2), Chapter 216 - The Spark of Chaos (3).