Wade's improved broomstick was incredibly fast.
Compared to the Firebolt that would appear in the future, it might not seem particularly impressive.
But compared to the broomsticks of the current era, the difference was like that between a fighter plane and a crop duster.
At first, Slytherin had flown alongside Wade. Later, he simply retreated back into the goblin-made metal container Wade carried on him.
He genuinely couldn't keep up, and unlike ordinary ghosts, he actually had a limited reserve of magic. Wasting the magic stored within his Obscurus garment simply wasn't worth it.
The journey was uneventful. By the afternoon, Wade had already crossed into Albania.
Moreover, he was not far from the forest where Ravenclaw's Diadem was hidden.
Wade landed at the edge of the forest and casually released Slytherin from the container.
"Ah... we're here. Staying in there was unbearably boring. As you know, ghosts can't sleep." Slytherin floated around inspecting the surroundings while darting back and forth to vent the frustration of the journey.
Wade removed his coat and windproof mask before stretching vigorously.
After flying at such speed the entire way, it felt as though the howling wind was still ringing in his ears...
"I'll rest for a bit, then we can head in. Old man, Mrs. Gray gave you the detailed location, right?"
"She was caught in the forest and died there. How would she know exactly where she ended up? Besides, even if she did know the precise location, a thousand years have passed. Countless things have changed... Wait a minute, didn't she already tell you the details? Why are you asking me?" Slytherin said irritably.
"Well, she only told me which forest it was, roughly which direction she entered from, and that the Diadem was buried beneath a very tall mountain. That's about it." Wade spread his hands helplessly.
"Beneath a very tall mountain? Then this won't be completely hopeless." Slytherin floated up to the treetops and looked around. "There actually aren't many places here that could be called high mountains."
Wade ignored him. With a wave of his wand, he transformed a nearby tree stump into an extremely comfortable recliner and slowly lay down.
"Hah... my poor back. Short distances are fine, but for long journeys, maybe I really should stick to travelling by carriage. Old man, keep watch for me."
Seeing this, Slytherin conjured a recliner for himself as well, though his was noticeably more luxurious than Wade's.
"What kind of world is this, making your elders stand guard for you..."
Wade paid no attention to Slytherin's muttering and slowly closed his eyes.
The next second, the Obscurus drone went online and shot straight into the sky!
Only then did Slytherin stop grumbling. So Wade wasn't planning to sleep at all. He was controlling the Obscurus to scout ahead.
Compared to a human, the Obscurus could fly much faster and never grew tired. It was perfect for reconnaissance.
Wade guided the Obscurus deeper into the forest.
The last time it had entered that ancient tomb, the Obscurus had nearly been destroyed. Even after escaping, more than half of its magic had been depleted.
Wade had spent many days feeding it before it fully recovered.
If not for the new-generation converter his senior had sent him, he genuinely wouldn't have had enough purified magic to keep feeding it.
At that moment, Wade controlled the Obscurus as it sped through the air while simultaneously using the magic within it to cast nightmare magic...
The magical energy of the nightmare spell spread out like a giant spiderweb in every direction. Before long, a detailed map appeared clearly within Wade's mind.
"Excellent!"
Wade guided the Obscurus toward the nearest mountain...
For a time, every plant and animal within the forest was recorded in his memory just like points on the map.
Unexpectedly, Albania's forests contained quite a few rare magical plants as well...
He could collect them on the way back later.
At the same time, Wade discovered several human camps hidden throughout the forest.
They appeared to belong to wizards.
Which made sense. Where there were valuable magical plants, there would naturally be wizards gathering them.
Wade paid little attention to them and simply flew overhead.
Soon, the Obscurus arrived at the foot of the nearest mountain.
He continued spreading nightmare magic to search the area, hoping to find the hollow tree Mrs. Gray had described.
During the scan, Wade noticed a wizard's camp near the mountain's base, but his attention was quickly drawn to a massive tree stump that had been cut in half.
He immediately directed the Obscurus closer.
Sure enough, on the front side of the stump was a large hollow.
Within the hollow, faint magical fluctuations could be sensed...
"Aha! Found it!"
Wade sprang up from the recliner.
"I didn't expect it to be this easy!"
As he restored the recliner to its original form, he guided the Obscurus back toward him.
"You found it already? At the foot of that mountain over there?" Slytherin asked.
"That's right! It's right there!"
"Hmm... that does make sense. She was fleeing in panic when she arrived here. She probably never made it very deep into the forest." Slytherin's voice carried a trace of heaviness.
After all, it had been his own student who had killed the daughter of an old friend.
Even now, the matter still weighed heavily on him.
"Let's go."
Wade transformed into white mist and rose into the air, flying toward the distant mountain.
Slytherin quickly followed behind him.
At that moment, the distant Obscurus was also preparing to return to Wade.
However, just as it began accelerating, Wade noticed something reflecting light near the nearby camp.
Curious, he directed the Obscurus closer and soon spotted a familiar pair of golden horns...
It was a dragon.
A massive dragon covered in black scales, with a pair of golden horns gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
Wade was stunned.
Wasn't this the severely depressed dragon Newt had once shown him?
Hadn't it been under Newt's care? Why was it here?
The Obscurus stopped and concealed itself before slowly drifting above the camp.
The dragon lay motionless on the ground, its eyes vacant and lifeless.
Several wizards nearby were straining with all their strength to pull a thick chain.
The other end of the chain was securely fastened around the dragon's neck...
Yet no matter how hard they pulled, the dragon refused to move even an inch. The magical chain had already scraped through the scales around its neck, drawing blood.
Far away, Wade immediately sensed that something was wrong.
His flying speed abruptly increased, and he instantly abandoned his plan to stop and gather herbs along the way...
"Old man, stay with me and don't say anything. It looks like something unusual is going on..."
"Oh?" Slytherin's curiosity was immediately piqued.
Originally, Wade had assumed those wizards were professional dragon handlers or perhaps people releasing the dragon into the wild.
But he remembered Newt saying that this dragon would only be permitted to return to a designated dragon reserve once it had recovered from its depression.
Yet the dragon looked even more depressed than before, and the Albanian forest certainly wasn't a dragon reserve!
Which meant there was no doubt that this dragon's presence here was illegal.
Whoosh!
Wrapped in white mist, Wade appeared high above the camp as the Obscurus returned to the container on his person.
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