From the close combat of a medieval knight... even this aura was fully resistant to magic.
After witnessing Cedric even withstand his Killing Curse, Percy's frantic thoughts suddenly came to a halt—
Damn, is this reasonable?
He solved the other two champions in just three minutes, the American lying on the ground didn't even last a minute, and now, you're telling me this guy in front of me, who seems like he could swing that "door plate" to slay a dragon, and those two people are the same age, all ungraduated students?
?
"Damn it! How is that possible!"
When he tried the fifteenth time to use dark magic but was once again thwarted by Cedric smashing the attempt with a door plate, Percy finally let out a roar of disbelief. He almost lost his mind and raised his hand to shoot a charm again, only to be blown away by a door plate—
"Phew— finally hit!"
Cedric blinked his eyes hidden in the armor's gap. This man was like a slippery loach. Although his armor was very strong and his movements were not slow, Cedric ultimately had not received formal combat training, and Percy's proficiency in short-distance Apparition was ridiculously high—
Seeing the anger and unwillingness in the man's eyes, Cedric didn't even plan to catch his breath. He followed up as the man was blown away, hesitated for a moment, and then directly laid the door plate down horizontally, with a sharp blade aiming right at the former's head.
It couldn't keep dragging on. No one had come over for so long; who knew how chaotic it was outside now—
But unfortunately, Percy seemed to still have some reserve strength. His figure instantly turned into a stream of light and delved into space, and the next moment appeared on the other side of Cedric's body—long-distance Apparition requires charging time, now he could only manage such short distances.
The next moment, just as Percy's figure reappeared, the hedge on their right suddenly exploded with a bang, countless charred branches and wood chips splattered out like cannonballs, and a battered figure rushed from the breach in the wall. In his haste, Harry couldn't see where he was going and crashed straight into Percy's kidney—
"?"
Cedric forcibly stopped and looked in surprise at the two people who tumbled and rolled into the wall. Percy seemed to be knocked unconscious by the collision, and Harry didn't fare much better; the boy's current state was quite pitiful—
His wizard robe was corroded with countless holes; his already messy hair was now even more so, with burnt strands mixed with blood and dirt plastered against his cheek.
But this wasn't the time for Cedric to step forward and finish off Percy because those two giant creatures had already appeared before him, stepping on the charred hedges. Cedric's hand holding the sword couldn't help but tremble as he looked at those bizarre monsters, almost as large as small trucks—
He had indeed "fought" these things before, but in the end, he and Harry reached a consensus.
That is, under any circumstance, avoid these things at all costs—they simply don't seem like creatures that could be conceived by human research, and Hagrid even gave them names?!
Fight the Explosive Snails? Really?
Cedric felt his blood freeze.
The bulging compound eyes of the Explosive Snails glowed with irrational frenzy under the dim blue light, and their sharp pincers clashed with a tooth-aching "clack" sound. Their tails twitched violently, and Cedric almost instinctively dove to one side, and the next moment, a magma-like substance, as if it could destroy everything, splashed onto where he had just been—
Holy crap! What kind of creature can produce magma within its body? Does this really align with magic theory?!
"Merlin's Fiji Cup!"
Cedric cursed instinctively, the heavy armored boots thudding on the ground. He held the giant sword horizontally in front of him, the deep blue magic pattern on the blade glowing steadily, yet still slightly trembling under the chaotic, frenetic magical field emitted by the Explosive Snails.
Hard confrontation was definitely not a wise choice.
But if he ran away now, those few guys lying behind him would likely become snacks for these things.
He almost instinctively turned to look back, but in that instant, the scene captured in his peripheral vision made Cedric's heart sink to the bottom!
On the ground, the figure Harry had launched away by crashing into his kidney—
The man disguised as Percy suddenly opened his eyes. The face that belonged to the third child of the Weasley family, now twisted with madness, first showed confusion, then deep-seated anger and a frenzy of deception. His gaze instantly locked onto Harry, who was also knocked over and still dizzy while trying to stand up nearby!
Cedric's mouth didn't even have time to form a complete "watch out."
"Potter!"
"Percy's" voice was hoarse, yet carried a fanaticism as if a believer had finally seen a holy relic, shedding any pretense of Percy. He completely ignored the terrifying creatures Cedric was dealing with, as well as his own disoriented state from being knocked out. His eyes focused solely on the glasses-broken, hair-disheveled black-haired boy.
The man's movements were unbelievably swift! With an agile roll like a leopard pouncing on prey, he lunged fiercely towards Harry—
"Get out of the way!"
Cedric's shout finally broke through the obstruction in his throat but was, evidently, too late.
"Percy's" cold, powerful hand clamped down precisely on Harry's right arm, which was just supporting his body, marked with scratches and burn marks. Harry's face was instantly covered with bewilderment, instinctively reaching for his magic wand, but at that moment, the blue light in the boy's eyes shattered suddenly, and a flicker of red light flashed through his eyes.
Although the red light faded quickly, it was enough to cause a momentary pause in Harry's movements.
"Got him!"
Next moment, "Percy" let out a frenzied howl at the sky, his twisted face filled with a pathological satisfaction and ultimate excitement, he didn't even bother to glance at Cedric, who was like a trapped beast, or the two horrific Explosive Snails.
As his words fell, Barty Crouch Jr raised his empty left hand, and his magic wand pointed sharply at the sky—
"Morsmordre!"
Instantly, a dazzlingly green light tore through the night sky, accompanied by a piercing shriek, shooting from the tip of his wand towards the sky—it broke through the layers of labyrinth hedges, aiming directly at Hogwarts Castle—
Then, merely moments later, a massive skull pattern composed of pure green light emerged prominently over the castle—
In the mouth of the skull, a snake twisted and coiled, hissing like something alive.
At this moment, the audience erupted into unprecedented chaos of screams and terror.
They saw everything that had just happened, even though Cedric and the other three champions had vanished from the cameras, Harry's humiliating history of being chased around by the Explosive Snails had been completely recorded.
Thus, at this moment, the roar of fear completely overshadowed the previous cheers, panic spread instantly like a plague.
Looking at the Dark Mark, almost everyone's heart felt as if it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand.
The memories of the dead suddenly appeared and started to attack them—
In the maze, staring at the huge skull hanging overhead, Cedric felt a chilling sensation running from his spine piercing through his skull.
Then, "Percy" revealed a cruel and satisfied smile of assured victory on his face, tightening his grip on Harry's arm. Simultaneously, his wand swiftly slashed around him, causing the air to twist violently like water, and black smoke began to spread—
This bastard is going to use Disillusionment to escape?!
Harry could already feel the dizziness from the violent pulling of space, he struggled in vain as all his movements seemed to be seized by an unseen force.
However, just as "Percy" was about to disappear with Harry in the distorted air—
Cedric didn't even have time to consider the risks, nor what the Dark Mark looming overhead meant, or where Barty intended to take Harry. Or even think about the two Explosive Snails that continued to close in?
His body acted faster than his brain, driven by the loyalty to friendship inherent in Hufflepuff House, Cedric lunged sideways towards the disappearing duo, seizing a thread of spatial fluctuation lingering in the air, he unhesitatingly swung his magic wand—
The somewhat unskilled Apparition Spell activated, the boy, along with the heavy armor he wore, vanished.