"Boom—"
The heavy and orderly footsteps resounded like thunder. Everyone's curious gaze turned to the center of the crowd, where a formidable-looking poacher squad was marching. Most of them were nearly seven and a half feet tall, except for the three at the front who seemed a bit out of place. Yet, they held in their hands the chains that bound a Fire Dragon—
And the Fire Dragon, which had initially roared fiercely upon its appearance, now looked much more subdued. It would occasionally let out a low growl, as Norbert felt exhausted from acting and was negotiating with William about the share of employee meals. They quickly passed through the bustling market, and the surrounding crowd merely gave them a respectful nod, without anyone stepping forward. They soon arrived at an inconspicuous canvas tent.
William was the first to bend down and lifted the thick and rough curtain. Immediately, he was met with a curtain of water; the Thief-Preventing Waterfall could wash away any magical disguises—
But it had no effect on other magic, so William's group successfully walked into the tent.
As they stepped inside, it felt as though they had entered a different world.
The space here was expanded to an unbelievable degree by the Capacious Extremis, even more exaggerated than Newt's suitcase. Its scale far exceeded what the exterior suggested, resembling a vast Ancient Roman Colosseum, with the gigantic arching space stretching upward into the gloom—
However, instead of rows of seats for entertainment, the surroundings were composed of enormous cells built into the curved rock walls, constructed from thick metal bars.
"Roar—!"
"Hiss-roar—!"
The deafening roars, cries of agony, and heavy thudding filled the surroundings, echoing repeatedly in the enormous enclosed space, creating a soundwave that was deeply unsettling.
In every visible cell, a Fire Dragon was imprisoned.
Peruvian Vipertooth, Hungarian Horntail, Antipodean Opaleye... behind the iron bars, some paced restlessly, some spewed fire in rage, and some even rammed their heads against the bars. Without exception, all these Fire Dragons wore thick collars that gleamed with a sinister red-brown light around their necks, seemingly tightening the shackles of their fate.
Norbert's neck was also adorned with one at the moment, though it was a broken one they had salvaged from the Romanian Forest.
On the ground lay dirty straw, scorched marks left by flames, and the filth of dragon excrement. Besides the stench, the air was filled with the pungent odor of magic potion.
Just then, William and the others, standing at the entrance and hesitating like ideal car owners... ahem, finally drew the attention of the NPC.
A bald middle-aged man in leather armor with a roll of parchment and a quill tucked into his belt quickly emerged from the shadows. He was corpulent, with a face of cold indifference to everything around him.
His gaze paused briefly, especially on Norbert who was curiously glancing around behind William's "squad." Then, in a businesslike manner, he opened his mouth, his voice sounding a bit hoarse amidst the background noise of dragon clamor—
"The new arrivals? From which area? What kind of dragon?"
"Romania, Norwegian Ridgeback, name... Norbert?"
"...Who asked for its name?"
The man rolled his eyes, quickly scribbled a series of numbers on the parchment, and then cut off a piece with his Magic Wand, handing it to William, "Take it upstairs yourself."
"Are you done asking?"
William did not reach out to take the slip.
"What else?"
The man couldn't help but frown. He looked up at William's face under the cloak and said irritably, "Hurry up, I still need to—wait, you are—" Before he could finish speaking, a pair of deep blue eyes suddenly met his gaze, "Now it's my turn to ask."
...
"...So, how many Fire Dragons have they gathered here?"
Charlie's gaze shifted away from the bald middle-aged man who was heading to meet the next group of poachers. He caught up with the team again and leaned in to whisper to William.
"More than you can imagine, probably a few hundred."
William looked up, the cells seemed endless, "But Fire Dragons in this world are ultimately finite, and the survival rate of artificially hatched Fire Dragon Eggs is less than thirty percent... thinking about how Hagrid managed to hatch Norbert's brother really is astonishing..."
"She's a sister, Norberta, and she's a girl." Charlie instinctively corrected.
"Close enough."
William led Norbert onto an elevator, glanced at the serial number on the parchment, and poked a few buttons on the elevator panel. With a rumbling sound, amidst the noise of steel cables and the sound of cells being struck, the elevator started to carry the group and the dragon slowly upwards.
"Why do they need to gather so many Fire Dragons?"
Newt couldn't help but remain silent, his gaze constantly wandering over the nearby wailing and howling Fire Dragons.
"Even that man doesn't know, we need to find a way to make contact... no, to find out where the higher-ups of these poachers are."
William shook his head, the current developments brought back the feeling he had when facing Lanlock's Goblin army, pushing the main storyline step by step—of all the "monsters" active in the Forbidden Forest a hundred years ago, the poachers were the ones he was least familiar with—
The Goblins were defeated, the Ashwinder later exterminated by him, but the poachers, after he "merely" destroyed all their bases in England, seemed to have no follow-up.
Now, the follow-up plot has arrived... albeit a bit late.
"...William, what are you thinking?"
Newt stared at William's profile for a while before he couldn't help but ask.
"...Thinking about when I can start the slaughter."
William stared at the poachers' heads below, his right hand gripping the Magic Wand, tapping against the metal railing.
"We could release all these Fire Dragons. These guys probably have a lot of anger pent up, I think if we release them all..."
Charlie grinned, seemingly starting to plan along with William's idea, "By then, these little guys might turn this place upside down. The only problem is, it won't be easy for us to wrap things up, after all..." Seeing William's somewhat contemplative gaze, Charlie couldn't help but gulp, "Wait, we're... just chatting, right?"
"..."
"Ding—"
With a piercing beep, the rumbling elevator came to an abrupt stop on the middle level of the rock wall, at a platform that was somewhat narrow, just wide enough for two Fire Dragons to walk side by side. The cold firelight shone down as a group of people tossing money bags approached, William nodded.
Hmm, the "monsters" have respawned.